Eight

4.8K 112 7
By LizEG96

Eight

*~*~*~*


"Why does it look like you just saw a ghost?" I asked Isabelle when I found her standing by the elevators, Clary right by her side.

"Mom's here." She informed me. Those two words alone were enough to make me freeze where I stood, knots forming in my stomach at the mere thought of my mother.

"Is your mom always like that?" Clary raised a brow at Isabelle. "She didn't even hug you."

"Shadowhunters aren't big huggers." Isabelle chuckled, though I could see right through it as she turned back to me, concern shining in her dark eyes. "Are you okay?"

"Do you think it'd be possible for me to hide in my room until she leaves?" I wondered aloud, having no interest in facing my mother after two years of hiding and letting everyone believe that I was dead. Facing Alec and Isabelle was one thing, but our parents were a whole other matter-- One that I wasn't ready for. "Or I could leave? Find somewhere to hide out?"

"I'm sure Magnus would love to have you," Isabelle teased.

"Not the time for jokes." I shook my head as she looped her arm through my own, practically dragging me down the hall while Clary followed along on her other side. The only thing that seemed to consume me in that moment was a sense of dread. Something that only worsened when we reached the training room where Jace had been training alone. I hardly saw him though, my gaze locking onto the back of the woman watching him. Her long raven hair pulled up in a tight ponytail as she wore a knee length dark dress, giving her a professional and stern look.

Mom.

"Maryse." Jace smiled once he finished, noticing the woman for the first time as he set his dagger down and walked over to hug her. Without even glancing the redhead's way, I could practically hear the questions building up in Clary's mind about what our mother would show such affection to Jace but not to Isabelle. "Hey. It's great to see you. How's everyone in Idris? Where's, uh... where's Max?"

"No Max," Isabelle cut in as she and Clary walked over to join their conversation while I stood back, preferring to just watch. "Just Mom with her hair on fire."

"I love how Shadowhunters share," Clary chimed in. "A hidden brother, a secret country, and a private Portal."

"Mother." Alec got her attention as he stepped into the room, hugging her just as Jace had. At the simple gesture I could see a look of pain in Isabelle's eyes, silently telling me that she was bothered by the fact that our mother hugged Jace and Alec, but not her. Just another way in which some things never changed. "Welcome back. We didn't expect you."

"You should be prepared, whether you expect me or not." Mom told him, her voice hard.

"I am," Alec assured her. "We are."

"We'll talk about the Institute later. Right now, we have a bigger problem." Mom informed everyone as she began to walk around them. As she did so I could see her dark eyes flicker in my direction, but her expression gave nothing away, showing no sign of even recognizing my presence. "The Seelies have stopped communicating with the Clave and won't explain why. My guess is they're still upset we asked them to send scouts to look for Valentine, but no one in their realm will talk."

"I have Seelie friends," Isabelle reminded her.

"Yes, I know about your friends." Mom nodded with a certain level of distaste clear as day in her voice. "Isabelle, we stay separate from the Downworld for good reasons. The wrong move, the wrong word... Do you think there is such a thing as a harmless rebellion? Who knows what offends these creatures? Maybe you told him... them... something they shouldn't know. Maybe you trod on one of their ridiculous customs without knowing it."

"Wait, wait. I don't understand," Jace cut in. "You're laying all this on Izzy for having a friend in the Downworld?"

"When someone upsets the natural order, everything falls apart." Mom said. I couldn't help but frown at her words, feeling as though they held a double meaning, one that was aimed at me.

"Natural order?" Clary frowned. "What are you saying?"

"I can help," Isabelle volunteered. "I know how to talk to Seelies."

"She's right," Alec backed our sister up. "She can visit with Meliorn and see what he knows. I could go with her if you want."

"I'd rather Jace goes along this time," Mom shook her head. "Alec, you stay with the Fairchild girl and Cecile. I want them under control. They've both caused enough trouble already."

"Maybe that's because I wasn't even a Shadowhunter until a few days ago!" Clary defended herself. "And all Cici has done is help me."

"And what an exciting few days it has been." Mom pursed her lips tightly together. "The Clave counts on us Lightwoods to maintain order here."

"You don't need to tell me that," Alec insisted. "If the mission is important to the Clave, I would prefer to be the one who goes with Isabelle."

"You're all so eager to do what you would prefer." A bitter chuckle fell off Mom's lips as her dark gaze seemed to pierce through each one of us. "It's time to face the truth. Life is not about what you want to do, it's about what must be done. I have given you your assignments, now carry them out. You and you, with me, now."

"Well, that was a window into the weird." Clary spoke up again as we watched my mother lead Isabelle and Jace away. "What did you do to piss off your mom?"

"I'd guess, for a start, all the unsanctioned missions on your behalf didn't go over that big with the Clave." Alec shot her a hard look before he walked away, leaving Clary and I alone.

"Are you okay?" She asked me.

"Yeah, why wouldn't I be?" I took a deep breath.

"Well, you and your mom were just in the same room for the first time in two years." She pointed out the obvious. "Yet she didn't even talk to you or hug you. She didn't even tell you that she missed you or that she was happy that you're alive."

"Well, now you can see why I wasn't really hesitant to stay away," I shrugged.


*~*~*~*


"Is there a reason that we're here?" I asked Clary as she and I stood on the street, in front of the art school she'd been accepted to just a few days ago. After having a training session with Alec she had found me and asked for me to come with her to find a box back at the loft, one that might have a clue as to where the Cup is. It hadn't taken me long to agree, excited to get away from my mother. "I thought we were going back to the loft?"

"We are." She assured me as my phone started to buzz in my pocket, having been put on silent. "Is that Alec?"

"No," I shook my head, seeing that it was a unknown number that was calling me. I just shrugged before I answered it, bringing the phone to my ear. "Hello? Who is this?"

"Cecile. Hi. It's Magnus." I recognized that warlock's voice instantly. While I couldn't help but be surprised by his call, unsure of how he'd gotten my number, I felt a small smile fill my lips, the first one I'd given all day. "We met the other day. You know, with the demon."

"I remember." I chuckled, causing Clary to look at me, her brows furrowed together as my sudden change in attitude. "What's up?"

"I was just thinking it was really nice getting to know you." He told me, seeming to be choosing his every word very carefully. "You seem... sympathetic, interesting. Would you like to go out for a drink some time?"

"While that sounds like fun, I'm not legal." I informed him, only being twenty.

"I'm sure that's never stopped you before." He guessed, "Though, if it does bother you, you could always just have water or something."

"That sounds like fun," I admitted. "When?"

"How about right now?" He suggested.

"Right now's really not a good time for me." I shook my head, even though he couldn't see me. "I'm sort of in the middle of something. How about another time?"

"Okay, how-" He was cut off by the sound of Clary's phone ringing, causing my eyes to widen.

"Sorry, I gotta go." I told Magnus before I hung up on him, seeing people looking around, checking their own phones, thinking they were the ones ringing since they couldn't see Clary and I. "I told you to put it on silent."

"I thought I did!" She said as she dug through her bag, trying to find it.

"Why'd you run out?" Alec asked as he came up behind us, clearly annoyed by our sneaking out of the Institute. "And what's the point of an invisibility rune if you don't silence your phone? That was childish, sneaking out like that-"

"Can you cut the lecture." I cut him off as Clary finally found her phone, answering the call.

"Simon. Hey. I know I should have called you right back. I'm really sorry. Are you okay?" Clary apologized, ignoring Alec and I as she spoke to Simon on the phone. "Yeah, I totally get it. Um, can we talk later? Things are kind of insane right now... I-I kind of killed a demon and lost all my memories forever. So... I'm at the Brooklyn Academy. I'm on my way to-"

"Hang up." Alec told her. "That's it, we have to go. Right now."

"No." Clary shook her head before she returned to her conversation with Simon. "I'm on my way to the loft. There's something there that I think could help me find my mother... I'm fine. I'm with Alec and Cici... No, Simon, you've been through enough already."

"Mundanes. Look at them." Alec glanced around us, his frown only seeming to deepen as he took in our surroundings. "Running around like ants. Let's go."

"Why do you always look so miserable?" Clary asked him.

"I don't," he denied.

"You do," I disagreed.

"It must be hard being in love with Jace and he's straight and everything." Clary crossed her arms over her chest, her words making Alec's eyes widen.

"Excuse me? What?" He asked, nearly resembling a fish out of water.

"What's the big deal?" Clary chuckled as she glanced at me. "We were there when the memory came out. Busted, no?"

"We're parabatai." Alec reminded us, trying to defend what had happened the other day.

"Alec, just say it, you'll fell better." Clary tried to convince him. "You're in love with Jace."

"Forget it," Alec shook his head. "You know what? You're in love with Jace."

"Oh, okay? The middle school comeback? Nice," Clary scoffed. "Alec, we have a real problem to solve, okay? Come with us."

"This better be quick." He sighed as Clary led the way.


*~*~*~*


I stood back with Alec as we watched Clary rush down the alley where Simon was waiting for us, tackling him into a hug. I could only smile at the sight of the two best friends reuniting, even if it had only been a couple of days since they last saw each other.

"Thanks for being here." Clary thanked him as they broke apart.

"You don't need to do this alone." Simon told her.

"Uh, she's not alone." I spoke up, reminding them both that I was here, as was Alec. "Do you really think I'd let something happen to her Simon?"

"Things happen." He shrugged, causing my brows to furrow together. He didn't say anything else to me before he looked back at the redhead in front of him. "It's not who we are."

"Are you sure you're feeling up to this?" Clary asked him.

"Yeah, it's just a cold," he assured her. "Not the end of the world."

"The world's been ending for a thousand years." Alec chimed in as we walked over to them. "You get used to it. Now, we need to move."

"Yeah, my mom's loft is just across the alley." Clary told him.

"All right, well, we have to be careful." Alec reminded all of us. "There are is all over this place and everybody in the Shadow World's looking for you."

"I mean, I guarantee you, no one's gonna find this shortcut." Simon shook his head. "I used to take it back in middle school to see Clary. You might know the Shadow World, but trust me, I know Brooklyn. Come on."

"He's got a point." I flashed Alec a small smile, only making him scoff. The smile quickly slipped off my face as Simon began to lead the way through the alley, back towards the loft that had been my home for the past two years.

"Have you been doing parkour or something?" Clary asked Simon as he led the way up the fire escape, moving with far more ease than he ever had before. "You're gotten better at this."

"I was gonna say the same thing about you." Simon glanced back at her, a smile on his face.

"Climbing a fire escape excites mundanes. I'll never understand these people." Alec muttered under his breath as we reached the top. Looking at the door that led into the loft, I fond my eyes being captured by all the runes and wards that Dot had cast to protect all of us over the years.

"Whoa. I don't remember it like this." Clary eyed all of the markings as I walked over to one of them, remembering how I had watched Dot cast it when I was eighteen, how she had promised me that we would all be safe and hidden away from the Shadow World.

"These are runes and wards of protection cast by a warlock." Alec explained to her as I ran my fingers over the rough bricks, unable to keep myself from thinking about Dot at the sight of all of them.

"Dot." Clary seemed to be voicing my thoughts.

"Some of these have been here for years." Alec commented as he looked around at all of them.

"The only difference is now I can actually see them." Clary glanced over at me, curiosity shining in her eyes. "Did you..."

"Yeah." I nodded, already knowing the rest of her question. Did I know that these were here?

"Yo, Clary." Simon looked around at all the markings, seeming surprised. I frowned at him, confused about how he could see them. "What are all these tags?"

"You can see the runes?" I asked.

"Yeah," Simon nodded. "Kind of hard to miss."

"For a Shadowhunter," Alec pursed his lips slightly as he eyed the other man. "They should be invisible to most mundanes. When did you get the Sight?"

"I don't know." Simon chuckled, likely not really understanding what Alec was saying to him. "But whoever drew these should take some lessons from Clary. Their, uh, work is pretty sloppy."

"Simon." I sent him a hard look, not wanting to hear him insult all of Dot's work, the work that had kept Clary safe for so long.

"This is from when Simon and I were engaged to be married." Clary pointed out a mark by the door, one that she had done herself when she was younger.

"You were engaged?" Alec asked, giving a slight shake of his head. "I'm almost certain I don't wanna hear this story."

"We were eight years old." Simon told him, only causing Alec to roll his eyes.

"That was a whole other world ago." Clary smiled sadly at the memory, likely wishing her life were still that simple. I watched as she walked over to the door to try and open it, but it didn't budge. "There's only one flaw in your plan here, Simon."

"Here, let me try." Simon took her place at the door, pulling it open easily with only one tug, surprising me. He gave a proud smile at his actions before he looked back at Clary, gesturing to the now open door. "After you."

"Okay." Clary nodded as she headed inside, and I followed right after her, allowing the boys to follow behind us. Clary led the way towards her bedroom, but as we walked into the room I could see a look of shock fill her features. Her room that had once been filled with her artwork and pictures of all of us from over the years was now void of any sign of Clary. Everything in the room was burned, the walls stained from the smoke and flames.

"Holy crap, Clary. Who torched your loft?" Simon asked her before he looked at Alec. "Yeah, I can see this too."

"Excuse me," I pushed my way out of the room, heading down the hall to the neighboring room, my room. I walked inside to find that my room was nearly identical to Clary's. All of my belongings were burnt to a crisp, everything now black from smoke. I walked over to the tarnished dresser, looking over what I assumed were the remains of a small figurine that Luke had gotten me for my last birthday. It had been a wolf, his way of showing me that he'd always have my back. Now, though, I wasn't sure what to think about him.

I shook my head as I knelt down, pulling out the bottom right drawer of my dresser. Unlike before, my pajama bottoms were no longer inside the drawer, likely having been used by Jocelyn to fuel the flames that had devoured my room. I pushed aside the thought as I pried at the bottom of the drawer until I heard a small 'pop', signaling that the false bottom had popped out of place. I tossed it across the room before I pulled out a small wooden box that Dot had given me on my first Christmas with them. She had meant for me to use it to store jewelry, but that had never been what I used it for, preferring to use it to store other things. My thoughts were broken by a loud noise coming from the hall, causing me to tense.

"Cecile?" I heard Alec call my name.

"Yeah?" I walked out into the hall to see him stepping out of Clary's room, looking around.

"Was that you?" He asked me. I only shook my head as my grip on my box tightened. "Someone's here. Stay here. We've been here too long."

Without another word he headed towards the door, his bow in hand and arrows on his back. I glanced down at the box in my hands before I put it down on the small table in the hall, hurrying to follow my brother. As I followed him outside he sent me a hard look, but didn't voice his protest. We both hurried down the fire escape before he loaded his bow with an arrow and I pulled out my seraph blade, causing it to light up.

We could both hear the sound of something rushing around through the greenery around us, too fast for us to get a good look at. As it hurried through a small gap though, I caught a glimpse of black fur. A werewolf. As it hurried down the small alleyway, towards the street, I couldn't help but think of Luke. I saw Alec's arrow sail after it, missing and landing in a flowerpot. We both looked after the wolf, spotting something else out on the street.

Parked across the street was a small black car that men were forcing Clary and Simon into the back of. I couldn't see the faces of the men with them, but Clary appeared to know the guy pushing her into the backseat of the car, trying to talk to him. Alec and I both took off running towards the street, but we weren't quick enough as the car sped away, taking my friends with it.

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