Same Day
The Institute – Greenhouse
Alyssa was sitting in the greenhouse, alone. She was going over the events of the day. She knew she couldn't hold Alec and Izzy's actions against them. She understood them, especially Alec. She understood that he'd been put in a bad position and had made what he thought was the best decision. But still, that knowledge didn't make it hurt less that he thought she couldn't be trusted to understand why he didn't want to tell anyone.
Her thoughts were interrupted when she heard footsteps entering the greenhouse. She looked up to see her French-raised friend walking towards her. He sat next to her on the bench with a small smile.
"Hey. Are you okay?" He asked. He brought up his hand and wiped the tear that had fallen. "You're crying."
"Not exactly. It's just one tear. I didn't even notice."
"You're also playing with your knife. You usually do that when you're upset, cherie." True to his word, Alyssa was twirling one of her throwing knives between her fingers. "Jace told me you found out about Alec wanting us to keep the business about the Soul-Sword from you." Alyssa nodded then slipped the knife back in her thigh holster. "Are you…mad at me? At Alec, Clary?"
"No, I'm not mad." She said, shaking her head and looking at her friend with a small, brief smile. "I'm just hurt that Alec didn't think I could be trusted with that information."
"I don't think he didn't trust you, Allie. I think it's more like he didn't want to burden you with keeping such a secret from your dad and Magnus."
"We're supposed to be a team, Tony. We're supposed to share these kinds of burdens. We're co-heads of the institute. He's the one who pushed me to take the job and asked me to be his partner. Then he turns around and…" Alyssa stopped to force her tears back, looking upward. "I get why he might have done what he did, Tony, I do, but it doesn't make it hurt any less." Tony couldn't say anything. He understood what she was saying and how she was feeling.
"I'm sorry."
"There's nothing to apologize for. Besides, what's done is done. It's pointless now since the Downworld leaders already know what's going on, courtesy of the Seelie Queen."
"Yeah, Izzy told me about that."
"Mm." Just then, both their phones pinged with messages. They took them out to read them. "It's Alec. He wants us to meet him in Ops."
"Are you good?" Antonio asked as they both stood up from the bench.
"Yeah, I'm okay. I just need to think and vent out a little. Let's go." Antonio was not so sure she was as fine as she said she was, but he nodded and they both left the greenhouse.
Ops Center
Antonio and Alyssa joined the group at the table at the same time as Izzy. The ravenette had a worried expression on her face.
"Sorry, I'm late." She said. "I've been looking everywhere for Max. Has anyone seen him?"
"Have you tried the armory?" Jace asked. "He's probably sharpening his blades for his first assignment."
"I checked." She said with a sigh as she shook her head.
"We have more pressing matters." Alec said, bringing all of them into focus, though Alyssa was mostly watching Sebastian. She couldn't explain it but she felt more on edge around him than ever. "Thanks to Dot's help, we now have the Mortal Mirror."
"And you have it here at the Institute. And it's well guarded, I presume?" Sebastian asked.
"The Elite Guards..." Alec began to say, but Alyssa cut him off.
"Why don't you stick to matters and questions that are not above your pay grade, Sebastian?" Izzy and Clary were surprised by the harshness in her voice. It was more than usual. "The location of the Mortal Mirror, as well as the answer to your question, is on a strictly need-to-know basis, and you do not need to know."
"Is there a reason why you're always so rude and hostile to me, Alyssa?" Sebastian asked, an almost unnoticeable nervous tone in his voice. Barely there, but Alyssa heard it.
"Yes. I don't like you and I don't know you. You just showed up out of nowhere and suddenly expect us to trust you. No one at your previous Institute knew why you left or that you had even left."
"Antonio also just showed up at the Institute, and you seem to like and trust him just fine." Sebastian defended.
"The difference is, I already knew Antonio, and he was my friend before he moved here. Unlike you, he was transferred through the proper channels. You, on the other hand…"
"Alright, enough." Alec said loudly, interrupting them. "We've got bigger issues to worry about here than your dislike of each other."
"Jonathan went after Elliot and Dot to get the Mirror. Now that he knows we have it, he's going to come back for it." Clary said.
She was stunned by how bluntly and easily the woman she used to think was her older sister, admitted her dislike of the British Shadowhunter. Izzy was just as stunned, not understanding the woman she considered a sister's hostility towards Sebastian at all.
"Agreed. Report back with any possible scenarios by which Jonathan and Valentine could attempt a breach."
"Got it." Antonio said, eyeing Alyssa as she glared at Sebastian.
"Okay." Jace replied, then he, Antonio, Clary, and Sebastian walked away, leaving Izzy, Alec, and Alyssa behind.
"Iz, could you give us a minute? I need to talk to Alec." Alyssa said, giving the female Lightwood a small smile that the girl returned before she left them.
"Alyssa, look. I'm sorry about the whole Soul-Sword thing. I shouldn't have kept it a secret from you or anyone for that matter, and I…"
"Alec, it's okay. I understand why you did what you did. You were between a rock and a hard place."
"No, I wasn't. I made a poor judgment and took the easy way out."
"Alec. It's fine, big brother." Alyssa said, making Alec perk up at her affectionate name for him. "I forgive you and I know with time, Magnus will too."
"Thank you." He said, smiling.
"You're welcome." She said, smiling back. "But that's not why I wanted to talk to you alone." The smile was gone, replaced by a serious look.
"What is it?"
Alyssa looked around. "Come on." She gestured for him to follow her. She led him to the office, closing the door behind them. "Listen, about those possible scenarios, I have one."
"Tell me."
"I think Jonathan has already infiltrated the Institute and has been posing as one of the Shadowhunters here," Alyssa revealed.
"What? That's not possible."
"It is, Alec."
"Okay, and who do you suspect?" Alyssa gave him a look.
"I think you and I know whom I suspect."
"Sebastian?"
"Yeah. Look, I know it sounds crazy, but…"
"I believe you." This stunned Alyssa, as she was expecting him to protest and deny her thoughts.
"You do?"
"Yeah. Look, I trust you and your instincts. Since the day he arrived here, you've never liked him and he puts you on edge like no other. I mean, sure, you didn't like Lydia either when she first arrived, but after she proved herself, you two became close friends. But Sebastian, even with all he's been doing, his helpfulness, and everything, especially when he helped save Jace, it hasn't made you warm up to him. If anything, you're more suspicious than ever."
"I just… I don't know. I have this feeling in my gut that he isn't who he says he is."
"And I believe you." Alec said, making Alyssa smile. "But the problem is, you, Antonio, and I are the only ones who don't entirely trust him, and we don't have anything to use against him to prove that he's not Sebastian."
"Yeah, unfortunately, we're just going to have to bide our time. With the Mirror here, it's like Clary said, he's going to go after it. Maybe we can catch him then."
"Yeah. So does Jace know about your theory or…"
"Oh, he's been listening this whole time and he's on board. We just have to act like normal for now." Alec nodded in agreement. Just then, Alyssa scrunched up her nose, picking up the scent of blood in the room. "Hey, do you smell that?"
A confused look appeared on Alec's face. "Lyssa, your sense of smell is way keener than mine, so no. What is it, what do you smell?"
"Blood. A lot of it and it's coming from behind the desk. I don't know how I missed it before when we entered." She said, with a worried expression as she rounded the desk to find a pool of blood on the floor. Alec also rounded the desk and saw what she saw.
"What the hell?" He said softly. Alyssa looked up and saw a trail of blood leading outside the office.
"Alec, there's a trail." She took a deep breath, trying to get a lock on the owner of the blood. Her eyes snapped open when it clicked for her. "Oh my God, it's Max."
Eyes widening, Alec followed her as they ran out of the office. They followed the trail as Alyssa tracked Max's scent to Izzy's room. They were in the hallway leading there when they heard Izzy yelling for someone to get a medic. They immediately quickened their steps and entered to find Izzy kneeling next to an unconscious Max on the floor, with blood coming from his nose.
"Oh my God. Max!" Alec exclaimed as both he and Alyssa kneeled by Izzy. Alyssa checked the boy's pulse. It was there but it was slow and his breathing was shallow. She turned his head to see a nasty gash on the side.
"We need to get him to the infirmary now." She said urgently. Alec picked him up and the three rushed out of the room with the unconscious preteen.
Infirmary
Izzy and Alec were standing beside the bed Max lay in while Alyssa stood at the foot as the doctors examined him. The boy was still unconscious and had a bandage wrapped around his head.
"I tried using an iratze rune to wake him, but nothing's working." Izzy informed the doctors. They hardly paid her any mind as they continued to examine Max. Antonio and Clary rushed in just as the doctors moved from the bed.
"What happened?" Antonio asked.
"I don't know. I found him like this in my room." Izzy replied, looking down at her little brother with worry.
"Oh my God, Max," Clary said, worried for the little boy.
"We should send him to Idris. See what they can do." Alec said.
"You heard the medic, Alec. He won't be able to survive the transfer in his condition." Alyssa said, just as Jace and Sebastian entered the room. For once, she paid no attention to the blond British, more concerned for Max at that moment.
"Max." Jace looked just as worried as his adoptive siblings. "We checked the Institute's security camera footage. Whoever attacked him is somehow covering their tracks."
"Did you check the ones in the office?" Alyssa asked. "That's where the blood trail started."
"We did, we still have nothing." Jace replied, making his wife sigh.
"Has he been able to talk?" Sebastian asked.
"Not yet. He's unconscious." Izzy answered.
"As you can well see," Alyssa added sarcastically.
"I don't understand. Who would want to hurt him?" Clary said.
"I don't know, but I'm gonna find out." Alec said, determinedly, sharing a look with Alyssa which had her nodding at him.
"Hey, I'll get Robert and Maryse here. The rest of us will find out who did this." Jace said.
"Yeah, I'll stay with Max. If he regains consciousness, perhaps he can ID his attacker." Sebastian offered.
"No," Alyssa said, shaking her head. "Izzy will stay here with him. You're coming with us." Sebastian rolled his eyes at her.
"Will you just trust..."
"No, she's right, Sebastian," Alec said, cutting the blond off. "We need all hands on deck. Let's go."
All of them left the infirmary, leaving Izzy with Max. Before they could go far, Alyssa pulled Antonio back and had the others go ahead.
"Tony, I need you to do something for me." Antonio nodded. "Go to the office. See if you can tell what happened and if we can possibly ID the attacker. Alec and I found a pool of blood behind Alec's desk. The trail was what led us to Izzy's room. See what you can find and report whatever you get to me, only me. Okay?" She told him in a low voice.
"You got it, Allie." Antonio said then went to do as she asked while Alyssa went to join the rest.
Izzy's Room
Jace, Alyssa, and Clary were in the room, trying to see if they could find any clues.
"From the traces of blood outside the door, it seems that Max was attacked somewhere else." Jace said.
"He was." Alyssa said, drawing Jace and Clary's attention to her. "Alec and I were in the office talking when I smelled blood behind the desk. We found a pool of Max's blood there, then I tracked his scent here."
"He was probably looking for help." Clary said, looking around.
Jace crouched down in front of the bed, where Max had been lying earlier. Overwhelmed with emotion and unable to deal with the fact that his adoptive little brother's life was now hanging in the balance. Alyssa crouched beside him and placed a hand on his back, rubbing it up and down to comfort him. She did a double take as something under the bed caught her eye.
"Babe…" Jace looked at her and she nodded towards the bed, then reached under to pull out what she'd seen. "Clary…" It was the box that had contained Jonathan's baby items.
Ops Center
Alec and Sebastian met the three of them at a table, and Clary placed the box on it.
"What did you find?" Sebastian asked.
"The box that my mom used to keep Jonathan's things in." Clary answered.
"It was right where we found Max." Alyssa said.
"I remember Max had his eyes on it. He was so determined to prove himself. How did we miss it?" Alec said, looking at Alyssa.
"We were kinda focused on Max." She replied to him.
"It's possible that he found a way to use the box to track Jonathan." Jace suggested, but Alyssa shook her head to disagree.
"No, I already told you, since the box never actually belonged to him, it can't lead to him." She said.
Just then Antonio walked over. "Or maybe he found something in the box that he used to track the bastard." He said. "Something that we might have missed since we were only looking for the obvious visible things. The kid was very determined and smart."
"Wait, all of this would mean that Jonathan found a way to get inside the Institute without us even knowing." Sebastian said. Both Alyssa and Alec shared a discreet look.
"Well, he's Valentine's son. We were trained to do the impossible." Jace said matter of factly.
"If Jonathan attacked Max and came for the Mirror…" Clary began to say.
"He wouldn't have left here without it." Alyssa finished for her. "He's still in the building."
"Listen, we have to confirm that he's still inside." Alec said.
"Clary and Jace have already seen what the real Jonathan looks like. He'll be glamored as one of our own." Antonio pointed out.
"Hiding in plain sight," Clary added.
"That's enough for me. Alec, initiate an immediate lockdown on the Institute. No one goes in or out without our say-so." Alyssa said in a commanding tone.
"Yeah. Hey, Sebastian, I want you and any other personnel on supplemental guard duty." Alec said, then walked away with everyone else. But Sebastian called him back.
"Wait, wait. We'll need to fortify security outside as well. I can spearhead that team." He offered.
"No, Lyssa and I have that covered. If Jonathan's still in the building, he's not getting out alive." Alec said, before he walked away.
Alyssa, who had been watching the interaction, smirked internally before Alec joined her and they walked away.
They got to the hallway before she spoke. "He's panicking."
"He should be. He will pay for what he did to Max." Alec seethed. Antonio walked over to them, looking around to check if there were any eavesdroppers.
"Allie, I did what you asked. I couldn't pinpoint who it was, but I can say that the energy I felt is the same as the one that was in the cabin in Idris." He informed her.
"I thought as much."
"I'm sorry? Fill me in here? What energy are you talking about?" Alec said, looking at the two friends in confusion. Alyssa rolled her eyes in annoyance and hit Antonio on the arm, making him yelp slightly.
"You still haven't told him?" The French Shadowhunter shrugged, rubbing his arm with a pout. "Unbelievable. Antonio is sort of a clairvoyant, for lack of a better term to describe his abilities.
He can tell you what happened at a certain scene. In other words, take him to a crime scene or a place where an attack or a fight has happened, and he can tell you what happened and who or what was involved.
The only time his ability is hindered is if a demon is involved. He can feel their energy, but their identities are usually blurred from his view. He encountered such a situation when we tracked Valentine to the cabin in Idris, and now he's felt that exact energy signature he felt back there in the office where Max was attacked.
"Oh, I see."
"Yeah, also Antonio knows about me suspecting that you know who is Jonathan. Speaking of which, Tony, see if you can loop Clary in." Alyssa said, just as her phone began to ring. He nodded and walked away. Alec also did the same as Alyssa answered the call.
'Hey, Dad.'
'Hey. I need your help. One of the wolves, Russell, scratched a mundane and we've got him in Simon's container. Could you come over and help Maia and Simon, in case he turns?' Alyssa sighed sadly.
'I wish I could, Dad. But we just issued a lockdown on the Institute. Max was attacked by Jonathan, and we think he's in the Institute and after the Mirror?'
'Jonathan? Mirror?'
'I thought Clary would have looped you in. Look, I'll explain later, but until we take care of this, I can't leave the Institute. I'm sorry.'
'It's okay, baby. I understand. Do what you have to do, alright?'
'Thanks, dad. Bye.'
Infirmary
Alyssa entered the infirmary just as Sebastian was leaving. She caught a glimpse of a sly smile on his lips just before his expression changed upon seeing her. Then he walked away. 'You'll get what's coming to you, Jonathan.' She thought to herself before she entered the room.
Maryse and Robert were standing by Max's bed with Izzy. "Maryse." The woman turned and smiled, seeing the Graymark girl. Alyssa walked forward and hugged her tightly.
"Hello, Alyssa."
"Has there been any change?" Alyssa asked Izzy.
"No. Mom and Dad think that we should let the Silent Brothers attempt a special yet dangerous procedure that will reboot Max's brain since warlock magic won't help." Izzy informed her.
"Well, that last info came in late. Alec just went to get Magnus to help."
"It won't work." Robert said.
"Yeah, well, you know Alec. He'll want to exhaust every option. Magnus might be the only one who can convince him to let the Silent Brothers do what they can." Alyssa said. Maryse and Robert nodded in agreement. "Iz, why don't we get you some water or something to drink? Take a little break."
"Sebastian said the same thing," Izzy said.
"I'm sure he did." Alyssa muttered as they left the infirmary, but Izzy heard her.
"What do you have against him? He's been nothing but helpful to us." Izzy said. Alyssa said nothing, and led Izzy to the kitchen. She took a bottle of water from the fridge and gave it to the ravenette.
"Iz, do you trust me? Do you trust my judgment?"
"Yes, of course. Why do you ask that?"
"Then would you believe me if I said that I don't have a good feeling about Sebastian?" Izzy didn't reply. "Ever since you showed up with him at the Institute, he's always set me on edge. Not because he annoys me but because I seriously think there is something not right about him. I have my theories, but right now, I can't share them with you because you wouldn't believe me, not yet."
"Alyssa, I learned a long time ago to trust your instincts. It hasn't led us, me astray yet, and I doubt it would start now. I will believe whatever you tell me."
"Not yet. I don't have enough proof to back my theories. Right now, you need to focus on Max. Okay?" Izzy wanted to push, but she was right.
"Okay."
"Good, let's get back to the infirmary." Izzy nodded and they both left the kitchen.
Not long after they got there, after receiving an update from Maryse and Robert and the Silent Brother, Enoch, Izzy received a message from Clary, so she left to meet her.
"Where's Jace? We've hardly seen him since we arrived." Maryse asked Alyssa. They were all waiting outside the infirmary. Just then, Alyssa's phone buzzed with a message.
"Speak of the devil, he just texted me. He's headed to the sub-levels to help guard the Mirror in case Jonathan shows up." Alyssa said with a sigh. "I just want this nightmare to be over."
"So do I." Maryse said, hugging the girl to her side.
At that moment, Alec showed up with Magnus, just as Izzy returned. After a conversation with his parents, Magnus entered the infirmary with Brother Enoch.
Moments later, Magnus and Brother Enoch exited the infirmary. The Lightwoods and Alyssa stood up and walked over to them.
"His injuries are too severe. Max's only hope for recovery lies with Brother Enoch." Magnus informed them.
"There's got to be something. Anything." Alec said in denial.
"Brother Enoch." Maryse said, giving the Silent Brother the go-ahead to proceed. The Silent Brother was about to enter the room but Alec stopped him.
"No." Maryse walked forward and grabbed him by the arms.
"Alec, I know you're scared. We all are. But if Max is going to have any chance, we need to let Brother Enoch do this. Now." She told him, then gestured for Brother Enoch to go on.
The Silent Brother went back into the room, the door closing behind him. The family went to sit down again, or at least Izzy, Robert, and Alyssa did. Alec remained where he was, while Maryse paced. Magnus took Alec's hand to comfort him, but after a few moments, he moved to sit with Robert.
Not long after, Alyssa received two message alerts. One was from Clary, asking for her help to carry out a plan, and the other, to her confusion, was from Alec.
"Alec, where's your phone?" She asked, looking up at him.
Alec frowned, wondering why she was asking. "I have it right here," he said, looking at her. "Why?"
Alyssa just smiled at him slightly and shook her head. "Don't worry about it." She said. "I'm going to help Clary with something. You stay here. Let me know if anything changes." She walked out of the hallway, brushing past Magnus but not before placing a hand of comfort on his shoulder.
Ops Center
Sebastian had just stepped off the elevator to see the entire ops center crawling with Shadowhunters in guard uniforms.
He tried to avoid them, but then found Clary standing in an archway not too far from the entrance, testing Shadowhunters who wanted to leave. He approached her, not noticing that Alyssa was standing by the doors doing the same, giving those who'd passed Clary's test clearance.
"Has the lockdown been called off?" He asked the redhead.
"If you can prove you're not Jonathan." Clary said. Sebastian was thrown.
"Sorry, what?" He said, with a nervous chuckle. Alyssa at the entrance smirked at this.
"We figured out a way to blow his cover. Jace remembered reading in Valentine's journals that Jonathan can't tolerate electrum." Clary said conspiratorially.
"Right, because of the demon blood."
"Mhm." Clary hummed with a nod. "Valentine wrote that he'd scream in pain the second it touched his skin. It'd burn straight through to the bone. So I extracted some electrum from Izzy's whip, and we're having everyone hold it to see if they react."
"Well, I'm very impressed. Seems Jonathan has finally met his match." Sebastian said with a smile, though on the inside, he was panicking slightly.
"Don't take it personally." Clary said with a smile then took the electrum from another guard. "If you have to leave, just hold this for a few seconds." Sebastian goes to take the electrum but pulls back as he began to speak.
"I was just wondering, actually, um… if you caught Jonathan, you wouldn't kill him, would you?" He asked, an almost hopeful look on his face.
Clary seemed like she was thinking of her answer. "I used to believe that Jonathan could be saved. But after what he did to Elliot and Dot and now Max, I'll kill him with my bare hands if that's what it takes."
Near the entrance, Alyssa smiled when she saw the look in Sebastian's eyes as Clary said this. She watched him take the electrum from her and hold it with a fake smile.
After a few seconds, Sebastian returned the electrum to Clary, who closed it in her fist.
"There you are. I guess I passed the test. I'll see you later." He turned to walk towards the entrance and that's when he noticed Alyssa.
Clary, after taking the electrum, looked up at Sebastian's back, then at Alyssa, and gave her a shake of the head, telling her that Sebastian had not passed the test. Alyssa smirked slightly as the blond Briton walked over with a small smile.
"May I see your palms, please?" Alyssa asked. Sebastian looked at her, confused.
"Excuse me?"
"Your palms. Did Clary forget to mention that this is the last part of the security check? Everyone gets their palms checked before they walk out."
"Wh-why?" Sebastian was now visibly nervous.
"Don't worry, pretty boy. I'll tell you after you show me your palms." Alyssa insisted, stepping closer to him while he took a step back. Seeing his reluctance, Alyssa took his right hand herself and turned it over to reveal a nasty burn in his palm. She looked up at him with a smirk. "Gotcha."
Acting quickly, Sebastian took his hand from hers and pushed a red button on the wall. He turned back to the Graymark girl only to be stabbed in the stomach by her just as metal security doors slammed shut behind him, cutting them off from the rest of the Institute. The guards on the other side reacted too late.
Sebastian grabbed Alyssa by the throat and grabbed the hand holding the dagger and pulled it from him. He looked at her almost sadistically.
"After ten years of torture in Edom, I learned to endure pain." Alyssa looked down slightly and spotted the mirror in his jacket pocket. "In fact, I rather enjoy it." He pulled her closer and pried the dagger from her hands, letting it fall to the ground. While he was doing this, Alyssa discreetly took the mirror from his pocket.
"You've never liked me from the start. You detested me. I guess somehow, you knew, didn't you? That I wasn't who I said I was, but you just couldn't figure it out. You know, I wanted Clary…and the Mirror. But if I can't have both, I…" He was cut off when Alyssa suddenly reared her head back and head-butted him, causing him to let go of her.
"You talk too much, Jonny boy." She said, swiftly slipping the mirror underneath her thigh holster. He looked up at her with soulless black eyes, making her chuckle. "You think that's gonna scare me, Jonny?" Her eyes also shifted to a soulless black. "You're not the only part demon around here."
Jonathan growled and moved to attack her, but she evaded and instead kicked him in the stomach, then in the face. Grabbing two of her throwing knives, she stabbed them into his shoulders, then stabbed two more into his back, making him yell out in pain and stagger away from her.
She swiftly turned and drew a rune on the steel doors, which blasted one side, throwing her out into the hallway, near the arch Clary was under.
Just then, Jace and Alec rounded the corner with some guards, blades in hand. They rushed to help her get up. Behind her, Jonathan pulled the knives from his shoulders and with demonic speed, fled the Institute.
"Where's Jonathan?" Alec asked.
"Probably long gone." Alyssa said, with a slight groan from being thrown on the ground with nothing to break her fall.
"He got away somehow." Clary said, walking back to them after trying to follow Jonathan.
"Are you okay, baby?" Jace asked his wife, looking her over.
"Yeah, the security door isn't though. I had to use a blasting rune to get out since Jonathan destroyed the button." Alyssa replied, brushing herself off.
"We'll worry about that later. What matters is that you're alright." Alec said.
"Did you get the Mirror?" Clary asked.
"Yeah, I got it." Alyssa took the mirror from her thigh holster.
"Hold on, did you two plan this?" Alec asked.
"Technically it was the three of us, as in me, Jace, and Clary, but yes, we did, more or less. Once I got that text from your phone about Max, I knew the bastard was going after the Mirror, so I came to join Clary here, and we thought of something. Although the last part wasn't part of the plan. We didn't count on Jonathan activating the security doors, so I had to improvise a little."
"And now I'm going to make sure that no one is ever going to use it to destroy the Downworld." Clary said, taking the Mirror from Alyssa. She took out her stele and began drawing a rune on the Mirror.
"What are you doing?" Jace asked.
"Nullifying its powers, like I did with the Soul-Sword." Clary answered.
"No wait, Clary, don't..." Alyssa trailed off as the Mirror suddenly became dust in Clary's hand.
"What just happened?" The redhead said, eyes wide in shock, a look that was mirrored on Jace's and Alec's faces. Alyssa just closed her eyes and sighed.
The Office
Izzy was seated in a chair while Clary, Jace, Alyssa, and Alec were all standing around the office. Clary was leaning against a chest of drawers, while Jace and Alyssa were leaning against the desk. Alec was standing beside Izzy.
"Saving me from Azazel, it must have all been part of Jonathan's plan." Izzy said guiltily. "I was the one who brought him to the Institute."
"Don't." Alec said to his sister, placing his hand on her shoulder. "We're all responsible for this."
"Alyssa isn't. From the minute she met him, she never trusted him." Izzy said. "This was what you were talking about when you said you couldn't tell me yet, that I wouldn't believe you."
"Don't beat yourself up, Izzy. He had everyone fooled, even his own cousin." Alyssa said softly.
"At least now, we know that Valentine can never get the Mirror to raise the Angel." Clary said.
"Yeah, about that, don't be so sure." Alyssa said, bursting Clary's bubble. Jace nodded in agreement.
"What?"
"Look, even with our pure angel blood, doesn't it seem strange that Clary's runes would be powerful enough to destroy a Mortal Instrument? And why didn't it destroy the Sword?" Jace mused.
"That's because that wasn't the Mortal Mirror, darling." Alyssa said, causing all of them to look at her with questioning looks.
"Then why would Jocelyn give it to the warlocks for protection?" Jace asked.
"Because she thought it was. But it was nothing more than a make up mirror that was made to be a misdirect." Alyssa replied him.
"To distract people from finding the real one." Izzy realized, catching on to what the hybrid was saying.
"Exactly." Just then Antonio entered the room, holding a sketchbook. He gave it to Alyssa and went to stand by Clary. "Thanks, Tony."
"Don't know why you wanted me to get it though." Antonio said to her. Clary moved from where she was and walked towards a painting of Lake Lyn.
"Uh, the legend says that the Mirror's not meant to be easily found. That the Angels hold the key." Jace said.
"And as we've learned, angels don't always mean what they say literally, and neither do some of the legends. Most of them are metaphors." Alyssa said, flipping through the sketchbook until she came across one drawing.
"The water. It's a reflection." Clary suddenly said, turning away from the painting back to the group.
"What water? What are you talking about?" Jace asked.
"I think I know what she's talking about. Look at this." Alyssa said, giving the sketchbook to Izzy. Jace, Alec, and Antonio all gathered closer to see what she was showing Izzy. "I drew that just before Alec went into that coma trying to find Jace."
"That was months ago, and all we see here is a drawing of the Mortal Cup and the Mortal Sword above what looks like a lake that's near a forest." Alec said.
"Hold on, that's not just any lake." Antonio said, looking up at all of them. "That's Lake Lyn."
"How can you tell?" Izzy asked.
"That's Brocelind Forest." Antonio replied, pointing to the forest Alec mentioned. "I remember how the trees looked when we accidentally went there to get to the cabin. And the trees in this drawing look exactly like those I saw there."
"Uh-huh." Alyssa nodded at him. "Clary didn't destroy that Mirror." She informed them.
"She's right," Clary jumped in. "These visions I've been having, they're a message from the Angel."
"Okay, I'm getting confused. What are you trying to say?" Izzy said.
"I don't think the angels that the legend spoke of are actually angels. I think it was talking about those with pure angel blood, ergo, the three of us." Alyssa continued, gesturing to herself, Clary, and Jace. Antonio realized what she was trying to say.
"Wait, are you saying that…"
"Yes, Tony," Alyssa said. "The Mirror is Lake Lyn."