Jade Wolf Restaurant - Inside
Luke stormed into the restaurant with Jace and Clary on his heels. Neither of them Alyssa following slowly behind and sitting down at one of the tables
"How could you not tell me that?" he angrily asked.
"The Downworld would be in total chaos if they knew what the Sword could do." Clary said.
"There would be uprisings everywhere." Jace added, backing Clary up. Luke turned to the two of them, anger evident in his expression.
"So you're saving the Downworld from themselves? We never asked."
"We didn't even know that Valentine could activate the sword until we realized he had an angel." Clary said. "Luke, I didn't want you to worry."
Alyssa watched them argue back and forth, a headache forming from the overwhelming emotions coursing through her. She closed her eyes and rubbed her temple, trying to process all the events of the night and the new information they had been given.
"There's no other explanation." She heard Clary say, bringing her mind back to the conversation. "When the demon touched the Sword, he and the Sword both disintegrated."
"Luke, it was a demon I'd never seen before." Jace put in.
"Then go find it. I'll head out and see if that bastard left any clues for us to track him down." Alyssa lifted her eyebrow at Luke when he said this.
"Why?" She asked, speaking for the first time since they returned and stopping Luke from leaving. They had all forgotten she was there since she hadn't spoken.
"Why what?" Luke asked.
"Why do you want to track him down? Are you hoping that finding him will help you find Cleophas?" Alyssa asked.
"Besides the fact that it will also help us get the Soul-Sword, yes. I want to track him down to find Cleo." Luke answered.
"Well first, you'd be wasting your time since the bastard, as you call him, is not stupid enough to leave something that could be used to track him. And second, again, why? Why do you want to find Cleophas?"
"How can you ask me something like that, Lyssa? She's my sister and your..."
"Was she still your sister when she and Amatis disowned you despite knowing it was Valentine's fault that you became a werewolf? If she is with Valentine now, why don't you leave her be?"
Luke and Clary looked at her in shock at her words. Jace was the only one who wasn't shocked since he understood where his wife was coming from in a way.
"Alyssa, how can you..." Clary began to say.
"I mean, isn't that what she wanted: to rejoin Valentine and his cause? She wanted to join him so badly that she killed Magdalena, her closest friend, when she tried to stop her. She's gotten what she wanted, so why don't you leave her be?"
"Alyssa, you can't be serious." Clary said.
"I can't believe you're saying this, Lyssa. She risked herself even though she knew how dangerous Valentine could be just so we could free the angel and you want us to abandon her." Luke said, unable to believe what Lyssa was saying.
"And so you think that her one act of good outweighs what she did? You're willing to forgive her after all she did just because she helped us this time? She killed Magdalena, Dad, her closest friend and confidant since she joined the Iron Sisters and she tried to capture Clary and take her to Valentine. Then again, why am I surprised? It's in your nature to forgive so easily."
"What's the matter with you? This is your aunt we're talking about. My sister, my family, our family. I can't believe after all this time you still haven't gotten past holding so much anger towards a person who is family. Especially after what happened with Jocelyn."
Alyssa felt like the wind had been knocked out of her, hearing her father say that to her. Clary and Jace were also shocked to hear Luke say that. "That anger you held towards her, your inability to forgive her is what left you vulnerable enough for the demon to use you." Silence reigned after Luke said this and it was broken when Alyssa let out a broken bitter chuckle.
"I've been wondering when you would stop lying to me and tell me straight to my face that you blame me for Jocelyn's death." It hit Luke then what he had said to his daughter.
"Alyssa, I..."
"Guess I don't have to wait anymore." Alyssa said quietly.
"Alyssa, I didn't say that."
"You didn't have to, Dad. You may not have said it outright, but you implied it, and I guess it shouldn't surprise me. Don't know why it did." Without another word, Alyssa turned and left the restaurant.
"Alyssa! Alyssa, wait!" Luke called out, but Alyssa had already walked out of the restaurant with Jace following her.
The Institute - Ops Center
Izzy and Alec were watching a footage from the night before, of the angel going up into the sky. Though, in the video, it looked more like a ball of light flying up. Alec paused the video and pointed at the ball of light.
"There. They said that was the angel." Alec said.
"It could have been a shooting star." Izzy said.
"I'm pretty sure shooting stars fly down not up, Iz." Alyssa said, walking over to the siblings and giving them each a hug. "Plus I was there. Are you saying that you don't believe me? You calling me a liar, Lightwood?" She asked with a mock offended look.
Alec chuckled while Izzy gave them both a look and playfully shoved Alyssa who just giggled.
"I'm not saying I don't believe you, Lys. It's just that no one has seen an angel in hundreds of years." Izzy said, turning off the screen.
"Until yesterday, that is." Alyssa pointed out. Izzy rolled her eyes at her and turned to Alec.
"So did you take my advice about Magnus?" Alec didn't answer and began looking around to avoid answering.
"What advice?" Alyssa asked, confused. However, her confusion cleared her up when she saw Izzy's suggestive expression and grin and Alec's demeanor. "Oh my God, is this about taking the next step with Magnus?" She asked. Her face scrunched up into one of playful disgust when Izzy nodded and Alec blushed.
"You did, didn't you?" Izzy said to Alec. Alec blushed even more. "Okay, start talking."
"Or don't. I definitely do not want to hear what you do with Magnus behind closed doors. I don't want to be scarred for life." Alyssa said, fake-gagging.
"Oh, you mean like Magnus was, the night you and Jace decided to do same." Alec teased Alyssa, who shot him a glare then he turned to Izzy. "And there's nothing to tell."
"Wait." Izzy turned to Alyssa. "You and Jace took the next step days ago, and I'm only hearing of this now because?"
"It's been a busy few days, Izzy." Alyssa said, trying to steer the conversation away from the topic but no such luck.
"I'll bet. Now spill. Tell me everything." Izzy said while Alec smirked, pleased to have the attention off him. Alyssa's eyes darted around trying to find a distraction and luckily for her, one came along.
"Oh look, here come Maryse and Max." She said, relieved at the welcome distraction. The three turned to see the youngest Lightwood and his mother coming their way.
"Hey, guys," Max said, running up to his older siblings who looked down at him with smiles. Alyssa stood back a little to let the family reunite.
"Hey, buddy. How are you doing?" Alec asked. Izzy knelt down and hugged her little brother.
"Max, I missed you so much." Izzy cooed. Max smiled at her. "You look so handsome." Max spotted Alyssa and waved to her.
"Hey, Lyssa." Alyssa smiled at him and walked closer.
"Hey, Max. How's my partner in mischief doing?" She asked.
"I'm ok."
"That's good. So I thought you were in Idris training, what are you doing here?" Hearing the sound of heels coming over, the older Lightwood siblings looked up to see their mother walking over. Izzy's smile dropped from her face as she stood back up.
"Alec, Isabelle, Alyssa," the Lightwood matriarch said by way of greeting as she walked over. "It's good to see you three." She said, placing her hands on Max's shoulders.
"Really?" Izzy said coldly.
"Izzy..." Alec said in a warning tone, but his warning was ignored.
"Because the last time you turned your back on all of us, especially Jace." Izzy continued.
"I was following orders," Maryse said calmly, making the two older Lightwood siblings and Alyssa roll their eyes at her response.
Alyssa restrained herself from making a snippy response and barely held in a scoff. "I had no choice. Max has some big news." She said with a smile looking down at Max, in effort to change the subject. "Tell them, sweetheart."
"I passed my last trial." Max told them, his older siblings and Alyssa smiling down at him. "I'm ready for my rune ceremony."
"Congratulations." Alec said, happy for his little brother.
"So you finally perfected your roundhouse kick?" Izzy asked happily, taking a playful stance which Max copied.
"Yeah, and I knocked down two different instructors." Max said proudly.
"Nice." Alyssa said, smiling at the boy as he and his sister fist-bumped. Maryse also smiled at them then looked up at the older siblings.
"Sadly, your father won't be able to attend." She informed them, making the older siblings drop their smiles. "So Alec, as the eldest male in the family, you'll be in charge of Max's ceremonial party."
"That's my cue to leave." Alyssa said then went to walk away but Alec and Izzy stopped her.
"No." They both said.
"Stay. You're part of the family too." Izzy said. Alyssa looked at Maryse, who gave a small nod and smile.
"What do you mean, he won't be here?" Alec asked his mother, bringing them all back to the topic at hand.
"He's tied up with the Valentine taskforce in Idris." Maryse explained. Alyssa lifted an eyebrow, sensing there was more to the story. She noticed the sad look on Max's face when he heard this.
"I can't believe Dad would miss this." Izzy said, disappointed, looking down at Max and noticing the look on his face.
"He doesn't have a choice. We're all on high alert, especially after what that demon did to both you and Alyssa...and Jocelyn." Maryse said hesitantly, looking at Alyssa as she mentioned Jocelyn's name. Alyssa avoided Maryse's eyes and shifted uncomfortably.
"I was surprised not to see you at the Rite of Mourning. Dad called to see how we were." Izzy said, causing Maryse's expression to fall, and then she walked away.
"Isabelle..." Maryse called but Izzy ignored kept on walking. Maryse followed after her, leaving the boys and Alyssa. Alec looked at Alyssa.
"Hey, you okay?" Alyssa looked up at him with a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes.
"Yeah. I'm fine. Hey, I gotta go so let me know what happens with the party." She said then smiled down at Max. "Hey, I'll see you later, yeah?" Max nodded with a smile. Alyssa pulled him into a hug and walked away from the brothers.
Evening
Institute - Izzy's Room
Alyssa was sitting on Izzy's bed, fiddling with her fingers while waiting for Izzy to return. As she waited, her mind returned to the events of the previous night and tears began to gather in her eyes.
She was brought out of her thoughts when she heard the door opening. She looked up, expecting to see Izzy but instead saw Maryse enter.
"Maryse, what are you doing here?"
"I was looking for Isabelle. I thought she'd be here." Alyssa nodded and looked down, picking at her fingers again. "Alyssa, are you alright?" Alyssa didn't look up but nodded.
"Yeah." She responded tearfully, alerting Maryse to the young woman's true feelings. Maryse walked closer and sat in front of her.
"Alyssa, what is it? What's wrong?" She asked, taking the girl's hand in hers and making her look up with more tears in her eyes.
"I...uh...had a fight with my dad yesterday. And he...uh...indirectly told me that he blames me for my mom's death." Maryse was surprised, both at the fact that Luke could do that and that Alyssa was calling Jocelyn her mom.
"This is the first time you've referred to Jocelyn as your mother since I've known you." Alyssa gave a weak sad smile at that. "Alyssa, I'm sure your father didn't mean to imply such. We all know what happened wasn't your fault."
"I thought same too but I was wrong." Maryse was confused. Izzy entered the room at this moment but neither of the other women heard her enter. "I don't know how much you know of what happened yesterday but we found out that Valentine had held an angel hostage and we went to save him. When we freed him, I don't know if it was his way of thanking us or what, but he showed me something. It turns out the demon that attacked the Institute wasn't the one that made me kill Jocelyn." Maryse and Izzy were shocked.
"What?" Both Maryse and Alyssa turned to see Izzy standing there. Ignoring her mother's presence, Izzy moved and took a seat next to Alyssa. "What are you saying, Lys?"
"The demon's only reason for possessing me in the first place was to wake up the one already in me, the one that is part of me."
"Alyssa, what are you talking about? Talk to us, please." Maryse pleaded.
"Before I was born, Valentine injected my mother with demon blood which entered my system and added to the demon blood which made me a werewolf and for 20 years, that side of me has laid somewhat dormant.
The demon that attacked the institute was the catalyst that caused it to wake fully and we all know what happens to a caged animal when it's finally released. It used my anger at Jocelyn and pushed me to kill her, which explains why only I could remember what had happened after I'd been 'possessed'." Alyssa looked down and gave a bitter teary chuckle. "So basically, I killed my mother and the possession demon had no hand in it."
"Lyssa..." Alyssa could tell Izzy and Maryse were ready to protest.
"Please don't tell me it still wasn't my fault when it so clearly was. If I hadn't been stubborn and just let go of my anger..."
"No, Alyssa. After all this time convincing you that it wasn't your fault, I'm not going to let you go back to that. You had every right to be angry at Jocelyn. What happened was not your fault." Izzy said.
"Wasn't it? The possession demon may have been the one to wake up the demon in me but everything else was my doing. My dad was right. It was my anger that I held towards Jocelyn that killed her." Alyssa said, a tone of defeat and brokenness clear in her voice. "I killed her, not the demon. Nothing, either of you says, is gonna change that fact. He's right to blame me. Clary was also right to blame me. I took Jocelyn from them." Izzy and Maryse shared a sad look.
Helpless as to what to do, Maryse pulled Alyssa into her arms, causing the dam in the girl to break. She broke down and hugged on tightly to Maryse.
Izzy watched sadly and heartbroken as her best friend cried in her mother's arms. She had thought they'd finally overcome that hurdle where the Fairchild girl had kept blaming herself for her mother's death. And now it seemed that they were back at square one.
The Next Evening
Magnus - Apartment
The apartment was full of people, mostly Shadowhunters. There were waiting staff moving around with drinks, as the guests laughed and enjoyed themselves. Alyssa looked around with a smile, praising Magnus silently. She was standing with Jace on the side of the room.
"Magnus really went all out for this party." Jace said to her.
"Have you met Magnus? Parties are his life, besides he has a possible mother-in-law to impress. One that is hardly ever impressed with anything that has to do with a Downworlder." Alyssa replied. Jace tilted his head in agreement.
"Hey, so are you okay? Last night you didn't come home and I hardly saw you this morning. Actually I haven't seen you since the night we..."
"Jace, babe, I'm fine. I just spent some time with Izzy yesterday and this morning I had to help Magnus with the preparations for the party. I ran some errands for him, checking on the wait staff, the food, and some other things. I came by earlier but you and Magnus were talking and it seemed like a serious conversation so I went back to the apartment."
Jace looked at her for a moment. He knew she wasn't fine, he could feel it. But he also knew that if he pushed, she'd get angry and defensive so he just nodded at her and placed a kiss on her cheek, drawing her to him.
"Want to get a drink?"
"Yeah. I could really use a drink...or five." The two went over to the bar where the waitress was getting something for Raj.
"Can I get a beer?" Jace asked the waitress. She turned around with a glass, revealing herself to be Maia. She gave the glass to Raj and looked at Jace.
"I thought I smelled cocky." She said. Raj took his drink and walked away, leaving.
"Magnus must be really scraping the bottom of the barrel." Jace teased snarkily.
"Aw, you still bitter about getting your ass kicked by a werewolf?" Maia teased back.
"No, not really since it happens whenever I spar with my wife so I'm pretty used to getting my ass kicked by a werewolf. And in case you forgot, that it was a three-against-one fight." At the last remark, Maia rolled her eyes and sighed.
"Jace, play nice." Alyssa chastised playfully and then went behind the counter.
"Well, I'm actually happy I didn't maul you to death." Maia said.
"Why? So you can slowly annoy me to death instead?" Jace asked.
"No." Maia answered, pouring a drink. "Because I know you didn't kill Gretel." Maia noticed then that Alyssa was mixing her own drinks. "Okay, I know you used to live here and all, but I was under strict orders from Magnus not to let anyone touch the box you're mixing a drink from."
"Read the label on the box, Maia." Alyssa said, not even sparing the other girl a glance. Maia frowned at her and did as she asked. When she saw Alyssa's name on the box, she realized why Magnus had given her those instructions.
"Oh, I didn't..."
"Clearly." Finishing and topping the drinks, Alyssa placed a glass in front of Jace. "Here you go, babe. Beer is boring." She said, then took the other glass for herself.
Maia stared at her for a moment before her attention was drawn away by the sight of Clary and Simon standing together not far away, with Clary's hand wrapped around his arm and holding his hand. Jace and Alyssa saw them too.
"Didn't think he had it in him." Maia said, almost sadly.
"Guess your date didn't go so well." Jace said.
"No, it went great. I, uh, told him to make a move, and that's exactly what he did." Maia replied. Jace nodded and walked over to Clary and Simon.
"Forgive me for sounding blunt, but you were pretty stupid to let him go." Alyssa said, sipping her drink casually.
"Excuse me?" Maia said, narrowing her eyes at the other woman.
"You heard me. Then again, I can understand why you did. You can't exactly force a guy to like you, especially when he's so obsessed with his best friend that he thinks he's in love with her. I feel sorry for Simon."
"Why do you say that?" Maia asked.
"Because he's only going to get hurt. Clary's just using him as a distraction, to fill a void. She doesn't really love or care for him in that way. And Simon is just too happy to have finally gotten the girl to realize it."
"Do you have a problem with me, princess? You seem more irritated with me than usual." Maia asked. Alyssa flashed her eyes at her in irritation over the nickname.
"Call me princess again and you'll be living without the benefit of a tongue or a spine." She warned, glaring at her. She downed the rest of the contents of her glass and walked away from Maia who was still looking at her in shock.
When Alyssa had flashed her eyes at her, it hadn't been just the normal green associated with werewolves. Her sclera had turned pitch black with her glowing irises being the only other color in her eyes.
"Maia, are you okay? You look like you've seen a ghost." Maia came out of her thoughts to see Simon standing in front of her. Maia didn't answer, looking back in the direction Alyssa had walked away in.
Balcony
Jace had found Alyssa after finishing his conversation with Clary and now both of them were walking onto the balcony where Alec and Magnus stood with Max and the Lightwood matriarch. They arrived to hear Max asking rudely how much of Magnus was demon.
"Max, enough. That's not how we treat our friends. Apologize to Magnus." Jace scolded. Max looked at him, annoyed.
"You can't tell me what to do." He said.
"Hey, just because you're getting your first rune doesn't mean you can talk to your brother like that." Alec said sternly.
"Jace isn't my brother." Max said with a frown, shocking everyone present. Maryse looked to Jace, who was hurt by what Max had said.
"Max!" Alec scolded, but the younger Lightwood wasn't finished.
"Mom says you're not even part of our family." Max said, looking at Jace as he uttered these words before walking away, back inside. Jace looked at Maryse with a hurt look on his face. Alyssa gave him a sympathetic look and placed a hand on his arm. Maryse looked at Jace and reached to touch him.
"Jace, I..." Jace ignored her and walked back inside. Maryse watched him go in sadness. Magnus and Alyssa shared a look and walked back into the apartment, leaving mother and son to talk.
Alyssa and Magnus went to the bar and got a drink each. They turned to see Izzy enter the apartment. They saw Clary approach her, and after a few minutes, Izzy walked away, leaving Clary looking disappointed.
"Uh-oh. Looks like someone's not getting her attention fix." Alyssa remarked snidely, sipping at her drink. Magnus gave her a weird look. He noticed the smirk on her lips, which suggested she was somehow enjoying seeing her little sister's misery.
For the briefest of moments, he thought he saw a flash of black taking over her eyes but it was gone before he could actually process it. "Oh, she looks angry and it looks like her anger is directed at her new boyfriend."
"I'll go see what's wrong." Magnus said, giving her another weird look before walking over to Clary. Alyssa watched the two converse while sipping her drink. She also looked around and saw Izzy and Jace walking in the direction of her room. She cast a bored look around then placed her empty glass on the bar counter and walked back out onto the balcony.
With Magnus and Clary, Magnus just asked Clary to stay put then walked off. With Magnus gone, Clary turned to leave but stopped when she saw Alyssa standing on the balcony alone. Wanting someone to vent to, Clary walked out to talk to her.
"Hey." Clary said.
"Hey." Alyssa replied back without looking at her.
"Are you okay?"
"Yeah, you? You seemed distressed earlier inside."
"I don't even know anymore." Clary said, looking down. "I was actually hoping I could talk to you. Simon and I just got together and I just..."
"Clary, I only asked because it seemed polite to do so. Did it ever occur to you that maybe I really don't feel like hearing about your problems?" Clary looked at her big sister in surprise. Alyssa turned to look at her with a blank expression. "Especially when I've got my own problems to deal with. Problems that are way bigger than your little relationship with Simon. Problems that are mentally making me fall apart."
At the end of this statement, Alyssa's eyes took on a green glow while her sclera flooded pitch black. "And you want to talk about your little relationship issues?"
As she spoke every word, she stalked towards the redhead slowly who backed up just as slowly and cautiously, a fearful look in her eyes. The last time Clary had seen that look in her older sister's eyes was when she'd faced the possession demon when it took over Izzy.
"Alyssa..." Clary said fearfully. For the first time, she truly feared her sister.
"You know what your problem is Clarissa. You hate it when you're not the center of everyone's attention." As Alyssa spoke, her voice took on a deep and cold tone that truly terrified the younger Fairchild. The redhead shook her head to deny Alyssa's words, taking steps back while her sister took steps forward.
"To you, your problems are always more important than everyone else's. You'd prefer it if everyone else's problems took a backseat so that the attention can be focused on you and your problems." Hurt overtook Clary's features as she couldn't believe her sister would say something like that to her. That hurt changed to fear when Alyssa flicked out her claws and bared her fangs at her. "And you know something? I am sick and tired of it."
Alyssa lunged at Clary who let out a scream and braced herself for the attack but it never came. Clary reopened her eyes to see her sister suspended mid-air by Magnus' magic and unconscious. She turned around to see Magnus, Alec, Jace, Izzy and Maryse walking out onto the balcony.
"Clary, are you alright?" Jace asked, coming up to the redhead. She shakily nodded her head. Magnus gently lowered Alyssa onto the floor, leaning her against the wall. Jace, Izzy and Alec immediately knelt down beside the unconscious girl.
"What happened?" Maryse asked, looking concerned about the older Fairchild girl and kneeling beside her.
"It's okay. I've sedated her. She should be under until I release the spell."
"I-I-I don't know. It's like she was possessed. She started ranting and saying some hurtful words." Clary stuttered.
"Possessed?" Maryse questioned, sharing a look with Izzy.
"You know what, you stay away from her. You can't be trusted." Jace said to Maryse, glaring at her. Maryse became defensive in response to that statement.
"I can't be trusted? Now you see why I was wary of having a party at a warlock's house." Maryse said.
"Not now, mother." Alec said. Simon walked onto the roof just then and took in the scene before him.
"Wow. What's going on here?" He asked. Suddenly annoyed by his presence, Clary snapped at him.
"Oh, what do you care? Maia is at the bar."
"Yes, and your sister is on the ground." Simon replied, regarding her weirdly. "Is she ok?"
"You're all going to be okay. Everyone just stay here. I'll be right back." Magnus said, having figured out what was going on. He then walked back inside, leaving everyone else outside.
Chaos descended as everyone began to argue with each other. They didn't even notice Magnus come back to the balcony or see him saying a spell. Magnus waved his magic around and suddenly everyone fell silent. They all looked around slightly confused.
"Mom..." Jace said, looking at Maryse.
"Jace."
"You okay?"
"I'm fine," Maryse replied. Meanwhile, Clary and Simon were also having their own conversation.
"Simon... I am so sorry." Clary said. "I know you didn't kiss Maia."
"You thought I kissed Maia? What happened here?" Simon asked.
"It seems a warlock has been having a little fun at our expense," Magnus said.
"Is she okay?" Maryse asked, looking down at Alyssa.
"One way to find out." Magnus snapped his fingers, waking Alyssa. The dark-skinned girl fluttered her eyelids open. To everyone's relief, her eyes were back to their normal color. Magnus closed his spellbook with relief, but suddenly the book disappeared from his hands.
"Someone has taken my spellbook." Magnus said, alarmed. He immediately brought up his wards, which the other guests noticed.
"You're putting your wards up?" Clary asked.
"Nobody leaves until I get it back." Magnus said.
Inside - Living Room
All but one of the guests had left after being scanned by Magnus' magic for the spell book. Magnus was currently scanning Raj, who seemed less than happy.
"I was this close to lining up a three-way, and you guys let yourselves get spellbound?" He grumbled. Alyssa and Magnus rolled their eyes. Magnus finished up the scan, and Alyssa none too gently shoved Raj out of the door, closing it behind him. She returned to stand beside Magnus.
Since they'd left the balcony, she'd hardly left his side and still hadn't spoken. She also wasn't meeting the eyes of the others.
"Is he the last one?" Jace asked.
"It appears I'm the only warlock here." Magnus said, lowering his wards.
"Magnus, what happens if we don't find your spellbook?" Clary asked.
"That's not an option you wanna explore." Magnus said seriously. "That book can undo every spell I've ever cast. From the elementary to the complex. In new and old languages." A thought struck Magnus. "Champenois. It's an old French dialect." He then something in French which Alyssa understood.
"The red-haired cat?" Alyssa asked, confused. She spoke for the first time since the spell book went missing. Magnus nodded and brought his wards back up. He then made his way to Alyssa's room with everyone following after.
"Magnus, what cat?" Alec asked. Magnus signaled them to be quiet and to look around. Magnus saw a lump under the duvet on the bed. Jace noticed too and nodded to Magnus. He pulled back the duvet to reveal a red-haired cat.
The cat immediately jumped off the bed and started to run away, but Magnus hit it with his magic. The cat transformed into the warlock, Iris Rouse.
She turned around to face them and quickly cast a spell at the other occupants in the room.
"Duratus." Everyone in the room became
stationary, expect Magnus who blocked the spell and Alyssa who had quickly moved behind Magnus, knowing he'd block the spell.
"I hate party crashers." Magnus and Alyssa said at the same time before Magnus blasted Iris back into a bookshelf with his magic.
The female warlock got up and tried to leave but Magnus, following her, closed all exits with his magic then fired some blasts at her. Iris returned the fire, causing Magnus to evade then block another blast from her which forced him into a crouch.
To prevent further damage from being done, Alyssa quickly wrapped her whip around the woman, stopping her. Then Magnus also wrapped his magic around her, trapping her and lifting her up.
"You haven't changed one bit since the last time I saw you crawling from the ruins of La Bastille. Old French spells. Your favorite. Where are my counter spells?" Magnus asked, glaring at the woman.
"Valentine." Iris replied, groaning when Alyssa tugged on her whip making it wrap around the warlock more tightly. "He has Madzie too. If I don't go back, I don't know what he'll do to her."
"What does Valentine want with Magnus' counter spells?" Alyssa asked.
"I don't know." Not believing her, Magnus increased his magic, causing the woman to groan and yell out. "I don't know! All...all he said was that I had to get them for him. And I wasn't to harm Clary or Alyssa or he'd make Madzie suffer." Alyssa furrowed her eyebrows in confusion at Valentine wanting her safe.
"Well, you failed. Alyssa almost hurt Clary because of your spell." Magnus growled.
"That wasn't me. I swear, I had nothing to do with that." Iris said. "Magnus, please. I'm all Madzie has. Have mercy."
"After everything you've done?" Magnus said incredulously, then nodded towards Alyssa's room. "Release them." Iris nodded towards Alyssa's whip.
"You can still move your lower arms. That's all you need." Alyssa said, glaring at her but still loosened the whip a little so she could move her hand. Iris waved her hand and undid the spell. The others walked out into the living room, glaring at Iris.
"Clary Fairchild, you made a blood oath. Find Madzie." Iris said. After a nod from Magnus, Alyssa withdrew her whip then Magnus sent her away in a portal.
"She's the Clave's problem now." Magnus said. After some time, the group gathered to discuss the events of the night.
"Okay, what is Valentine up to anyway?" Alec asked.
"I don't know." Clary said. Alyssa resisted the urge to roll her eyes and bit back a remark. Clary looked to Jace who immediately knew what she wanted to do. He shook his head at her with wide eyes.
"It's too dangerous." He whispered. This time, Alyssa did roll her eyes.
"Jace, they're our family. They need to know." Clary said back to him.
"Know what?" Izzy asked, looking at both of them.
"Ithuriel." Alyssa spoke up, bringing the attention to her. "Valentine was going to use him to activate the Soul-Sword. He needs someone with pure angel blood to activate it."
"Well, that doesn't sound good," Simon remarked.
"It's not." Jace and Alyssa said.
"With the Soul-Sword activated, Valentine could decimate the entire Downworld," Alyssa explained.
"The angel showed us a vision of a demon who could destroy the Sword. If we found that demon, we could stop Valentine." Jace added.
"How did the three of you save the angel?" Magnus asked. Jace again shook his head at Clary, but she went ahead and spoke anyway.
"With runes the angel gave to me."
"New runes, Magnus. Ones no one has ever seen before." Jace added.
"Why did he choose you?" Izzy asked.
"I have no idea." Clary said.
"I might." All eyes went to Magnus. "Years ago, a Silent Brother told me about a special connection the original Shadowhunters had with the Angel Raziel. They could communicate from afar...through visions. Because they were created from his blood."
"Are you saying that...?" Alec trailed off.
"Clary may have a blood connection to that angel. And that must mean she has pure angel blood." Magnus said, finishing Alec's thought.
"That's why Valentine wants Clary unharmed. Clary can activate the Soul-Sword." Jace deduced. Looks of worry clouded everyone's faces. 'Things just keep getting better and better.' Alyssa thought sarcastically.
Alyssa's Apartment
Jace and Alyssa just entered the loft, hanging up their coats. Sitting down on the couch tiredly, Alyssa began to take off her shoes. Jace watched her silently for a moment, thinking about how to broach the subject.
"I can feel you staring at me, Jace. I can also feel the questions burning inside you, so spill before you explode." Alyssa said without looking at him, as she rubbed her soles of her feet.
"Why did you attack Clary tonight? What made you lose control?" Alyssa remained silent, still not looking at him for a moment before scoffing lightly.
"Why am I even surprised?" She muttered quietly enough that Jace didn't catch it. "I don't know." She said in answer to Jace's earlier question.
"You don't know? You don't know why you attacked her or you don't know what made you lose control?"
"Both," Alyssa replied, picking up her shoes and getting up.
"Alyssa, do you even realize that you could have killed her today if Magnus hadn't intervened? Do you even care that you almost killed your little sister?" Jace asked, seeming annoyed at how cavalier she was being.
"I'm sorry, are you seriously reprimanding me, right now? Are you trying to scold me for something that wasn't entirely in my control?" Alyssa asked, turning to look at Jace, disbelief clear on her face. Jace remained silent, not replying but he didn't need to. Alyssa could see the answer in his eyes.
"Wow. You're unbelievable. You know what, while you're at it, why don't you also tell me off for the part I played in Jocelyn's death just like Dad did." She said, then left to the bedroom where she immediately dropped her heels and grabbed some running clothes from her drawer, going into the bathroom to change.
Jace finally entered the room and saw her putting on her running shoes. She had her hair in a messy ponytail, was wearing a tank top and yoga pants, and didn't even acknowledge Jace's presence.
"What are you doing? Where are you going?" Jace asked.
"I'm going for a run." Alyssa replied, getting up and brushing past him into the closet to pick out a black hoodie, which she shrugged on.
"At this time of the night? Are you crazy? Valentine is still out there and you think it's a perfect time to go for a midnight run? In case you've forgotten, Valentine is after you and Clary. Not to mention, if he gets a hold of you, he'd use you to lure Clary into a trap."
"It all always comes to Clary." Alyssa muttered.
"Stop making this seem like I care about Clary more than you."
"Don't you?" Alyssa asked, turning to look at her husband when she went to grab her phone and ear pods. "Jace, when we came home, the first thing you asked was not if I was ok after what happened. No, the first question you asked was why I attacked Clary and then what caused me to lose control? You then went on to tell me off as if I had knowingly done what I did, as if I did it on purpose.
You couldn't even be bothered to ask whether I was truly fine after tonight's events or yesterday's for that matter. I mean Magnus asked, Alec asked, Izzy asked, Maryse asked. Hell, even Simon, whom I'm not even really friends with, asked, if I was okay.
But my husband didn't think my well-being, physical and otherwise, was even worth asking about, after I almost attacked Clarissa freaking Fairchild.
Even now, in your expression of worry about my going for a run at this time, the main focus was Clary." Jace was speechless, realizing she was right.
"Lys..."
"You know, I got used to being pushed aside by Jocelyn and sometimes my dad whenever Clary was in the picture, but I didn't expect you, my husband, to join that wagon." Alyssa scoffed, slight tears gathering in her eyes. "Guess I should have seen that one coming."
With that, Alyssa picked up the phone and ear pods and left, brushing past Jace, who seemed frozen in shock. He came to when he heard the front door slam shut.