Drapetomania | Shadowhunters [Jace Wayland]

35; Valentine's End of the Downworld

Once the group had returned from Idris, Clary informed them about her meeting with Ithuriel, who is an angel near Lake Lyn. From Valentines cabin, Jace found a few journals that he remembered from his childhood and decided to take them to the Institute. Tris found herself right next to him at the library at their usual spot, reading through the journals and listening to Jace as he explained things written in them. The duo heard the door creak open and looked up to see Clary approaching them.

The blonde boy cleared his throat, his brows furrowed in confusion. "What's up?"

"Nothing, um...I'm just really glad you guys are okay," she paused. "Did you find anything in Valentine's books?"

Clary came closer and looked at the books. Jace bit the inside of his cheek, sharing a glance with Tris. She nodded a little, as though assuring him he could tell the redhead. It was only Clary, after all. He sighed. "These aren't books. They're journals. Valentine used to keep these on the highest shelf in the cabin. I remember trying to read one once, see what all the fuss was about. He got to me before I could even open it. That was the last time we went back to that cabin. Now I know why."

Clary squints at something in the journal he was reading. "Jonathan Christopher," she read. "These are about you."

Tris shook her head, pointing at another journal. "Morgenstern. Herondale." There were two columns on the page, one with Jonathan Christopher Morgenstern, one with Jonathan Christopher Herondale.

The redhead's eyes widened briefly. "You were...you were opposite ends of the same experiment?"

"There are hundreds of pages of notes. Years worth of research," Jace explained, closing a journal. "These...these journals are...they're all that's left of my childhood."

"But..." Clary's brows furrowed. "Wait, Jace, this was ten years ago. Jonathan died in a fire when he was an infant. How could Valentine still be studying him if he was already dead?" The crease between her brows slowly disappeared as she came to a realization.

"Ithuriel wasn't talking about you. He was talking about my brother. He's still alive."

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Clary had a box in which Jocelyn had kept a couple things of Jonathan- Clary's brother who was supposed to be dead, but is not. Jace, Tris and Clary tried to track the box, but to no avail. They were walking into Alec's office, Tris smiling at Max, who had been there for a few days for training and possibly his first mission. The young boy waved before leaving at Alec's command. The oldest Lightwood turned to the trio and rose a brow. "Any sign of Jonathan?"

Jace shook his head. "No, we tracked the box itself, but it was a dead end."

Alec looked behind Jace to find Max eavesdropping. He shot the boy a look that made him finally leave with a roll of his eye. Alec sighed. "So Valentine sent Duncan to steal a pair of baby booties?"

"Someone did," Jace replied, brows furrowed. "Someone who wanted to circumvent us from tracking Jonathan."

Clary nodded. "And now we have no leads on either of them. We've got nothing."

Alec let out a small scoff. "Actually, we have less than nothing. There's something you should know. The Clave doesn't have the Soul-Sword. They never did."

Tris frowned. "So the Clave has been lying this entire time?"

Jace deadpanned. "Wouldn't be the first time."

"The Clave is trying to prevent an uprising," Alec took in a deep breath. "If the Downworld finds out that we don't have the Soul-Sword, there'll be total chaos."

"But the Sword's been deactivated," Clary pointed out. "It can't be used on Downworlders."

"Not in the way Valentine used it before, but it's still a Mortal Instrument."

"If you combine it with the other two Mortal Instruments, the Cup and the Mirror, he could use it to raise the Angel Raziel," Jace realized, his eyes widening.

"I thought it was just a legend," Clary mumbled, worried now that she found it to be a possible outcome.

"All the legends are true," Alec responded. "The Angel will grant him one wish. Anything he wants."

"The end of the Downworld as we know it."

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The trio had begun running down the halls of the Institute as soon as they heard the news of Dot arriving here. They found themselves passing by people to reach the entrance hall of the Institute, where Dot stood with two guards behind her. Tris and Clary were filled with relief when they realized she was okay. "Dot, are you okay?" Tris questioned.

Jace looked to the guards. "Give us a minute." They nodded before leaving them to their conversation.

Dot breathed in deeply before heaving a loud sigh. "I didn't know where else to go. I didn't know who to trust, so I came straight here."

"Okay, what's wrong?" Clary asked cautiously, her brows knitting together.

"Have you heard from Elliot?" Dot inquired.

"Elliot Nourse?" The redhead clarified, earning a nod from the warlock. "No, not since he quit Mom's shop and opened his own. Dot, what is it?"

"I think something terrible's happened to him, and I'm worried I might be next," Dot shared, showing the three of them a mark on her wrist.

"Let's meet up with Alec," Tris stated, earning a nod from Jace and Clary. They made their way to his office with Dot following suit.

"After Elliot opened his own shop, we lost touch," Clary explained to the dark haired boy. "But when I was little, Elliot was one of my mom's best friends."

"He introduced me to Jocelyn," Dot added.

Alec rose a brow. "And now you're concerned he's in trouble?"

"The mark on Dot's arm is part of a protection spell," Tris showed Alec her wrist, pointing to the mark.

"It's a sigil," Dot told him. "It only transfers to another warlock if something terrible has happened."

Alec hummed quietly. "Whatever he's guarding must be pretty important."

"It's the Mortal Mirror," Clary confidently stated.

"Jocelyn had it?" Tris asked, a look of surprise slipping into her and Jace's face.

Clary nodded. "I know, it's crazy, the Mirror and the Cup. I guess my mom knew Elliot would do anything to keep it safe. As a warlock, he could protect it better than anyone, right? So she entrusted him with its location."

"And Elliot entrusted it to me," Dot continued.

"So you know the current location of the Mortal Mirror?"

"Sort of," Dot pointed to the mark on her wrist. "These lines coordinate to specific ley lines in the city. I can figure it out, but it'll take some time."

Alec nodded. "We have maps of all the ley lines. We can help you."

"And we can protect you from Jonathan and Valentine," Jace added. "With those marks on your wrist, it's only a matter of time before they come after you."

"Tris, Jace and I will go to Elliot's shop, see what happened," Clary looked to Dot. "You'll be safe here."

Dot only nodded, guilty she couldn't help. "Be careful."

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I'm really sorry for the late upload, it's been a bit difficult to write nowadays! I hope you understand c: 

ty for reading <3