Wild Warriors: A Shadowhunters Fanfic

11. The Iron Sisters

I walked down to the lobby of the Institute, hand in hand with Isabelle. We were both dressed in the mourning color of white as we prepared for the Rite of Mourning ceremony.
Both Clary and Jace lost their mother in the demon attack along with multiple other Silent Brothers that we would also be honoring.

The two of us were some of the last ones to enter the foyer. We came to stand next to Jace and Alec on the right side of the room. The Silent Brothers were across the room from us on the left. The covered bodies of the dead were paced at the front of the room, the white sheets decorated with bright red rose petals.
I turned when I heard Clary approach from behind. Her white dress made her red hair stand out even more, but her fingers were twisting nervously in the fabric.
I motioned for her to come join us and she did.

Aldertree, also dressed in white, walked to the front of the room once the ceremony was about to begin. He faced us with a sullen expression. He, too, was mourning.

"The remaining families of the dead may take their places besides them now," Aldertree said firmly. A single Silent Brother went to stand besides the body of each of the fallen Brothers.
From besides me, Clary hesitated. But she allowed Jace to take her arm and gently lead her up to the front of the room to stand next to Jocelyn's body.

"The remaining may now say the names of fallen," Aldertree said next.

Brother Micah

The Silent Brother on the far side of the room began.
"Ave atque vale," the room of Shadowhunters repeated in unison.

Brother Jeremiah

"Ave atque vale," the room said again. Isabelle moved closer to my side and slipped her hand in mine. I closed my fingers around hers. Jocelyn was next.
Clary was trembling and looked like she was about to start sobbing at any moment. Jace's face was a stone wall with no emotions whatsoever.
Clary took a deep breath and began to say her mother's name.
"Joce-" she broke off before she could finish. She glanced down at the sheet covering her mother's body and began to cry. "Mom," she whispered quietly.

I ducked my head as the tears began to fall. Jace wrapped his arms around his sister and held her as she silently cried.
"Jocelyn Fairchild," Jace said.

"Ave atque vale," we said for the final time. I wiped my tears away before anyone could see me crying. I was aware of Alec crying from next to me and I only acknowledged it by placing a soft hand on his arm.
The oldest Lightwood simply blinked and shifted on his feet.

Clary and Jace rejoined us in the middle of the room along with the other Silent Brothers.
Aldertree and two Brothers stepped forwards at this time. They each held a stele and touched it to each of the fallen's lips.
A thin stream of white light smoked up from each dead body and floated into the air like a ray from a star.
Aldertree and the two Brothers rose their hands in the air and guided the streams of light up to the ceiling of the Institute, where they gently floated out of the row of windows by the top.

We watched them go in complete silence. Clary had stopped loudly sobbing but she still had tears running down her face.
I glanced away from her and looked down at my feet. Isabelle's hand tightened around mine and that was the only form of comfort I needed.

-----

*Two days later*

Clary, Jace, and I were all in Clary's room as we tried our best to find the rune Clary had drawn on her hand the night at Iris's house.
Jace was seated on Clary's bed, flipping through a copy of the Grey Book. I was next to him, holding an older version of the Grey Book that I had taken out of my parent's room. We hoped that we could find the rune in either one of the books but so far nothing had shown up.
Clary was seated at her desk, sketching the rune from memory. We were using her artistic abilities as a guide for our search.