Chapter Twenty-Two
"CLARY! NO!"
Simon lunged after Clary, his hands closing on air as her red hair disappeared into the gaping chasm. The crack closed; the ground stopped shaking; the park was silent.
"No—no—" Simon gasped. He dug his nails into the ground, clawing at the grass. "CLARY!" he shouted. "CLARY!"
Isabelle dropped down beside him. "Si," she said, putting her hand over his. "Simon. Stop."
"No," he said. "I had her—I was holding her, and then..." He curled his hands into fists and slammed them into the ground. "CLARY!"
Someone seized his left arm and hauled him to his feet; he fought against it for a moment before realizing it was Alec. "What are you—?"
Alec yanked Simon's sleeve up. "Look," he said, jabbing at Simon's forearm. Simon looked down at the black Mark, dizzying relief washing over him.
Alec unzipped the top of his gear jacket and pushed it aside, revealing the identical rune on his shoulder. "They're alive," he said sharply. "But we can't help them if we all fall to pieces. So pull it together."
Simon drew in a breath, his cantering heartbeat slowing. He nodded shakily.
"What do we do?" Isabelle whispered. Simon looked at her; she was trembling, her face white as a sheet.
"I..." The energy seemed to drain out of Alec. He scrubbed a hand through his hair, looking wan. "I'm not sure," he admitted. "I think we should all split up and look around. See if we can find anything."
Isabelle nodded and walked toward the rock, while Alec split off toward the edge of the clearing. Simon knelt beside the jagged crack in the earth, which snaked thirty feet in either direction. He flattened himself onto his stomach, peering into the crevice. It was still open an inch, and if he squinted, he was certain he could see light at the very bottom, though it was fading with every moment.
"Found anything?" said Alec from above him.
Simon pushed himself up. "Kind of. I think I can see glowing at the bottom."
Alec nodded. "Clary and I saw something similar at that hotel a couple months ago."
"Did you find anything?" Simon asked. Alec shook his head as Isabelle came over.
"Nothing," she said.
"Great," Simon spat. "So back to square one."
Alec rubbed his forehead. "We should go back to the Institute," he said. "We'll call everyone. We'll figure this out."
Simon glanced back at the crevice, his stomach heavy. "Right."
"Oh my God," Jocelyn said faintly, sinking into a chair. "Oh my God. She went after him?"
Simon nodded tersely. They had just spent the last few minutes explaining to Magnus, Jocelyn, Luke, and Maryse what had happened. The library was dead silent; even Rafael and Max, playing in the corner, seemed to sense the tension in the room and went quiet.
"We'll find them," said Luke eventually. "Worse things have happened. If we can figure out where they went, we can—"
"If we can find them," Magnus interrupted, "and that's a big 'if,' we still wouldn't be able to get them back. That glow Simon saw at the bottom of the crack was probably a Portal to a demon dimension. None of us can cross dimensions, last I checked."
"Even if we went back to the park?" Isabelle said. "If whoever took them could open a Portal there, why can't we do the same?"
"I don't think it works both ways," said Magnus. "And even if it did, we'd need an incredibly powerful Portal, and the only person I know who might be strong enough to make one went down into that chasm."
There was another taut silence.
"We have to do something," said Simon, his voice cracking.
"We can try," Maryse said. "Let's try to figure out where they went, at least. Maybe there's a way we can get them back."
"Maybe," said Magnus, but he looked unconvinced. Maryse went immediately to the other side of the room and started pulling books off shelves. Jocelyn, Luke and Magnus followed, but Alec lingered behind, staring down at his phone.
"Have you seen this?" he said, holding the phone out to Simon and Isabelle.
They looked. It was a video of a newscaster; the banner beneath her read, "FREAK EARTHQUAKE IN CENTRAL PARK BAFFLES SCIENTISTS." The reporter was mid-sentence.
"—say that around seven P.M. tonight, an earthquake occurred in Central Park. Scientists confirm seismic activity at the location, but no fault lines have been discovered as of—"
"Turn that off," said Maryse sharply, "and come over here."
She had laid out a world map on the table, weighing it down on each corner with books. "How is this supposed to help?" Simon said. "We know they're not on Earth."
"But if they come back, we'll know right away," Jocelyn said. "We need something to track them with—"
"Wait," Alec said, holding up his phone. "We need to call a Conclave. They need to know what's going on. And maybe they can help."
"I'll handle it," said Maryse briskly, striding over to the desk. "Jocelyn, Luke, come with me and help make these calls. The rest of you get started on those tracking spells, and start researching demon realms." She picked up the phone and started to dial, Jocelyn and Luke following. Simon blinked, a little taken aback at her efficiency.
"I'll go get something from their room to track them with," said Isabelle, and she headed out of the library.
"I can start setting up the tracking spell," said Alec, "and Simon, you should look for books on demon dimensions."
"I can help with that," Magnus said. He moved his hands through the air, a shimmering blue glow appearing around them. Then he clapped them together. There was a loud rumbling, and a single, slim book flew from the upper level and straight into Magnus's hands.
"You've got to be kidding me," Simon said. "Was that supposed to find all the books in this library about demon realms?"
"All the ones that explicitly mention them," said Magnus. "But it's not as if humans have traveled to many demon realms. As far as I know, we're some of the only people to have ever been to one and make it back alive." He set the book down on the table, looking grave. "I did say this was going to be difficult."
"So what?" Simon snapped. "Should we just sit around and twiddle our thumbs and hope they come back?"
"I'm just trying to be realistic—"
"Well, it's bullshit," Simon spat. "If someone could get through to our side, we can go the other way. And if I didn't know better, I'd say you didn't even care!"
"Stop yelling at my husband," said Alec quietly.
Simon set his jaw, glaring at Magnus, but Magnus only looked weary. He turned away, walking toward the corner where Max and Rafael were. They looked up as he approached.
"Daddy," Simon heard Max say, "why's everyone so mad?"
Magnus smoothed his son's hair. "Don't worry about it, sweetheart."
Simon clenched his jaw hard enough to make his head throb. He snatched the book off the table and read the title: Daemonium Regna. He flipped through it; it was hardly thicker than his thumb.
Isabelle came back in, holding a small notebook and a knife. "Clary's sketchbook," she said, holding them up, "and Jace's dagger."
Alec took them and pulled out his stele. "Thanks, Izzy." He began to ink runes for the tracking spell on the corner of the sketchbook.
"What's that?" said Isabelle, nodding at the book Simon was holding.
"The only book we could find on demon dimensions," he said.
Isabelle frowned. "What about Paradise Lost? Or the Bible?"
"We could try them," Alec said, setting the sketchbook down and picking up the dagger, "but they might not be as accurate."
"Still, it's something," said Isabelle.
Alec drew a final rune onto the map. There was a small swirl of air that flipped the sketchbook open, riffling its pages; then, nothing.
Simon stared at the map. "They're really gone."
"We'll find them," said Isabelle fiercely. Simon nodded numbly, but Alec said nothing; he was looking down at the sketchbook.
"By the Angel," he said, picking it up. He flipped through a few pages; they were covered with drawings of Beelzebub, from full-length sketches of his entire body to monstrous illustrations of his face. "They're so realistic," he said, his voice somewhere between awe and disturbance.
Isabelle shivered. "Her dreams must have been awful."
"They were," said Simon shortly. Isabelle glanced at him, but he turned away, holding out a hand to Alec. "Can I see it?"
Isabelle inhaled sharply. "Simon, your hands!"
"What about them?"
She took one of them and held it up; his nails were torn, caked with dirt and blood.
"Go clean yourself up," she said. "You'll get an infection."
"I'm fine," Simon said, reaching for the sketchbook again, but she pulled him back.
"Simon, go," she said firmly. He exhaled irritably and turned on his heel, striding out of the library.
In the bathroom, he flicked on the tap with much more force than necessary, causing water to spray everywhere. Cursing, he adjusted it and began to clean his hands, digging filth out from under his broken nails. They seared with pain, and fresh blood trickled into the sink, turning the water pink. He couldn't even remember how he had torn them.
As he dried his hands and pulled his stele out of his belt, his left forearm gave a small twinge of pain. He dropped the stele, seizing his arm immediately and peering at his parabatai rune. The pain receded as quickly as it had come. Heart beating a little faster, he examined his rune for a long moment, but it remained solidly black. He exhaled, picked up his stele, and began to ink iratzes onto his hands.
When he returned to the library, Maryse was gone and Jocelyn, Luke, Izzy, and Alec were sitting at the table, each poring over their own book. "Where's Magnus?" said Simon.
Alec glanced up, his expression stony. "The kids were getting antsy, so he took them home," he said. "He's going to look through his own books and see if he finds anything."
Simon felt a small stab of guilt. "I'm sorry," he mumbled.
Alec turned back to his book. "Tell him that."
Simon went over to the table and looked down at the map again; it was still normal, the runes on the sketchbook and dagger static. Simon picked up the sketchbook and flipped through it. First there were colorful illustrations of sunsets, trees in autumn, snow on buildings; then they grew fewer and fewer, eclipsed by rust-red landscapes, bloodied figures, and Beelzebub, Beelzebub, Beelzebub...
Simon swallowed and went to close the sketchbook; it felt a little like reading Clary's diary. But as his finger brushed over one of the landscapes, he paused. His finger was coated in red powder. For a moment, he thought it was residue from the colored pencils Clary had used, but as he brought his hand closer to his face, he could smell smoke and sulfur on his fingers. He touched the drawing again, picking up more of the dust on his fingertips. Then he noticed the runes inked at the bottom of the page.
"Hey," he said suddenly. The others jumped; he hadn't realized how quiet it had gotten. "Sorry," he said hurriedly, "but look at this." He held up his hand, then the drawing of the landscape. "I think this is real," he said. "I think she drew Beelzebub's realm and made it real, like with the Mortal Cup."
Jocelyn took the sketchbook out of his hands, tracing her fingers over the image. Then she reached into the sketch, and when she withdrew her hand, her cupped palm held a small mound of powdery red dirt.
Instantly, the runes on the sketchbook and dagger flared golden, and the dust in Jocelyn's hand echoed the glow. Jocelyn dropped it in surprise, scattering dirt all over the table; the light went out as quickly as if someone had blown out a match.
"Whoa," Isabelle breathed.
"So that's where they are," Alec said. "They're in Beelzebub's realm."
"Okay," Luke exhaled. "That's a start. I think we should..."
But Simon was no longer listening. His forearm had started to prickle again with a dull pain. He rubbed it, frowning.
"What?" said Jocelyn, noticing. "What's wrong?"
"I don't know," Simon said.
"Tell me," Jocelyn demanded, her gaze piercing him.
"I don't know," said Simon sharply. "She fell through a Portal into a goddamn demon dimension, I don't know what the hell could have happened to her, all right?"
The room was silent.
"We have to find them," Simon said finally. "We have to."
It was a contraction that woke Clary; she jolted awake as her belly seized painfully, forcing a gasp out of her. She rode out the wave, whimpering as she curled in on herself. At last, the pain ebbed away. She sat up slowly, exhaling shakily. Then she opened her eyes.
Her stomach turned over.
It was as if she had fallen into one of her nightmares. The land around her was the color of rust, the ground barren and dusty. Behind her, a cliff stretched toward the sky; there were more rock formations strewn sporadically across the land, breaking up the monotony of the desert. She tasted sulfur and smoke, the air boiling hot and bone-dry. She struggled to draw breath as her muscles clenched, every part of her wanting to scream. And yet, somehow, she knew she wasn't dreaming. Her nightmares had become a reality.
She staggered to her feet, leaning against the cliff as her legs shook. "Jace," she whispered. "Jace?" She looked around—and there, a dozen feet away, was another figure, lying immobile on the ground.
She stumbled toward him, tripping over her feet in her panic. She fell to her knees beside him, turning him over; he was covered in the reddish dust, his hair thick with it. "Jace," she said, shaking him. "Jace. Wake up!"
He stirred; she sat back, relief flooding her as he cracked his eyes open. "Clary," he murmured.
"Are you okay?" she whispered.
He sat up so suddenly that she missed the movement; one moment he was on the ground, the next staring straight into her eyes. "What the hell," he said. "What the hell, Clary? What are you—why did you—" He seized her shoulders. "Are you insane?" he demanded. "Why the hell did you follow me?"
"I—" Her voice stuck in her throat. "I couldn't leave you," she whispered. "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, I wasn't thinking..."
He knotted his fingers into his hair. "God," he said. "I can't believe this. All the crap you gave me about not taking risks—"
"That's different, you would have done the same if I—"
"I'm not the one responsible for another life!" Jace exploded. "What the hell were you thinking?"
"I said already, I wasn't thinking!" Clary snapped. "I'm sorry, okay? I couldn't lose you, I just couldn't!"
"Well, well," said a smooth voice. "Isn't this exciting."
Jace moved in an instant, sliding in front of Clary and throwing his arms out to shield her. A demon had appeared behind them, leaning against the side of the cliff. He towered over them, twenty feet tall, human in everything but the black horns spiraling out of his head and his dark, sclera-less eyes. His skin was so pale it almost looked like ice, especially against his jet-black suit and close-cropped black hair. He gave them a smile that sent a shiver down Clary's spine.
"Jace Herondale," he drawled. "How I've longed to meet you. And I see you've brought someone special."
"Don't touch her," Jace spat.
"Now, why would I do that?" the demon purred. "I don't intend to hurt you. I just wanted to talk. Facilitate a little...negotiation, of sorts. You see, you have something I want."
"And what is that?" said Jace.
The demon spread his arms wide. "This," he said. "This realm. I want it."
"So take it," Jace said. "What does it have to do with me?"
"Well," said the demon, picking at his nails, "you see, this realm used to belong to a friend of mine."
"Beelzebub," Clary whispered.
The demon's gaze shot to her. "Clever girl," he said, tipping an imaginary hat to her. "Yes, Beelzebub ruled here once. But now he's gone. And he left his home here, abandoned, just yearning for someone to seize it."
"Get to the point," Jace snapped.
The demon clicked his tongue. "So impatient," he said disapprovingly. "Though I expected you to be rash, given that you killed Beelzebub without a second thought."
"How did you—"
"I know, Jace Herondale," said the demon. "We were brothers once, he and I. Some bonds never break. I knew from the moment you trapped him that his hold on this place was diminishing. I just had to wait for the right moment."
"All those demons who came looking for the Pyxis. Looking for me," said Jace, with a voice of dawning comprehension. "You sent them. You're their master."
The demon gave a little mock bow. "That I am."
"Who are you?" Jace demanded.
He straightened. "Leviathan," he said, smiling. "At your service. And now, I rather hope you'll return the courtesy." He folded his arms. "When you killed Beelzebub, you inherited his realm. All you have to do is say the word, and all of this will be yours."
"I don't want it," Jace said. "You can have it, just let us go."
Leviathan sighed. "If only it were that easy," he said. "Right now, this realm is in limbo; I am the only thing keeping it from crumbling entirely. Once you claim your power, you will gain control over it."
"And then what?" said Jace. "You just let us walk out of here?"
The demon laughed. "Then I kill you."
"Hard pass," Jace snapped.
"Oh," the demon said, looking disappointed. "I had hoped we could come to an agreement. But it seems we'll have to try another way."
Without warning, he slammed his fist into the cliff beside him. Rocks rained down on them; Clary covered her head with her arms, coughing as dust flew through the air. The ground rumbled beneath them. For a moment, Clary thought it was just from the cliff shaking, but it didn't stop. She glanced around; a cloud of dust was gathering in the distance, moving rapidly toward them. As it got closer, she could make out the forms of demons, hundreds of them stampeding across the land.
"You can stop them," Leviathan said. "All you have to do is give the command."
"Go to hell," Jace spat. "Your own, preferably."
The demon shrugged. "One way or another, I'll have this realm, Jace Herondale. You can't win this fight."
Before Jace could get in another word, Leviathan disappeared. The ground was shaking harder now as the horde of demons grew nearer. Jace hauled Clary to her feet, staggering as more rocks tumbled down around them. "Run!" he shouted at her.
She glanced around wildly, her brain struggling desperately to find a way out of this. She grasped for a memory—this was his realm, she'd been here before, there must be something—
The demons were almost upon them.
"GO!" Jace shouted, pushing her. "I'll hold them off, just go!"
Inspiration struck her. She snatched his stele out of his belt and ran to the cliff face, nearly slamming into it. She began to scrawl runes into the rock. Work, please work!
Demons screeched behind her; she looked over her shoulder as Jace drew his sword. Come on, she thought, carving lines into the rock.
"Clary!" Jace cried. "Run!"
The Portal blazed to life in front of her. She thrust her hand into it, concentrating hard. "COME ON!" she screamed at Jace.
He ran backward, swinging out with his sword as demons streamed after him. His free hand closed on her wrist as he jumped into the Portal, yanking her in after him. They tumbled into the darkness together.
Jace fell out of the Portal, staggering slightly as he tried to catch his balance. A split second later, Clary toppled out after him; he caught her and set her on her feet, taking the stele out of her hand and shoving her forward into the cave that loomed in front of them. As soon as she was inside, he knelt and began carving runes into the floor.
"You're amazing, you know that?" he said as he gouged Protection, Glamour, and Deflection runes into the rock. "I don't know how you thought of this, but you're incredible." She made an assenting noise behind him. "I don't know how long these will last," he added, tucking his stele back into his belt and examining his handiwork. "Runes faded more quickly in Edom, but I don't know if it's the same here. We'll probably have to keep checking on them. Although I don't know if we should stay here long, I think it's best to keep moving. What do you think? Clary?"
There was no response; Jace turned to see Clary leaning against the cave wall, one hand braced against the rock and the other arm wrapped around her belly. Her eyes had gone very wide.
"Clary?" said Jace uncertainly, taking a step toward her. "What's wrong?"
She opened her mouth, but nothing came out. Jace crossed the distance between them. "Are you hurt?" he said in an undertone. "Is something wrong with the baby?"
She shook her head, drawing in a shuddering breath. "My—my water broke," she whispered.
Time seemed to freeze around him. He could only stare at her; her eyes were shimmering with tears, her face white, her fingers twisted into the fabric around her belly.
"Oh," said Jace finally, his voice cracking. "Oh, fuck."
It might have been funny if the situation hadn't been so serious. Clary let out a soft sob, wrapping her arms around herself. "What are we going to do?" she whispered.
"Well," Jace said in a strangled voice. "I think we're having a baby."
"No," said Clary forcefully. "I can't—not here, not alone—" She wrapped her arms more tightly around her belly, as if she were trying to hold herself together. "Jace, I can't..."
"Okay," said Jace, trying to wrap his brain around the fact that they were trapped in a demon realm and Clary was in labor and there was nothing they could do about it. "Okay, okay, I know this is terrifying, but we just—we don't have a choice here. So we have to keep it together, okay?" Clary shook her head vehemently. "Hey. Look at me." Her eyes met his. "It's going to be okay."
"I—" Clary cut herself off with a soft gasp, curling her hands into fists against her belly. "Oh, God..."
"Contraction?" She nodded, squeezing her eyes shut. "Just breathe. It's okay."
"No, no, no, no..." She was sobbing now, tears streaming unchecked down her face. "I can't, I can't do this—oh—"
"Yes, you can," said Jace sharply, grabbing her hands. "You can do this, Clary. Breathe." She drew in a shuddering breath. "That's it. You can do it. You've got this." He squeezed her hands. "Hey. We've faced down countless dark forces. Having a baby? That's nothing."
She gave a watery chuckle, opening her eyes. "Okay," she said, exhaling slowly. In her eyes, he saw the warrior in her rise to the surface, taking charge of the most impossible situation and fighting her way through. "Okay," she said again more firmly as she looked at him. "We're having a baby."
Jace reached up and tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear. "We're having a baby," he agreed.
He brought his lips down to hers, tasting metallic fear and a spark of courage.
A/N: It's about to go down. Two chapters left.
If you enjoyed this chapter, please leave a review. Thanks so much for reading!
~4L