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Chapter 24

The Institute was in chaos.

The 'vacation', so to speak, was over. Reports of demon activity had began springing up throughout the city one after another. And as if that wasn't bad enough, the Clave now knew about Alec's dissapearance. An envoy was already on the way.

From the time Magnus left the Institute, the Lightwoods have not had a moment's rest. From continuing Larkspear's and Raj's interrogation, to responding to sensors going off all around the city. Sadly, no progress has been made in either case.

Both Raj and Larkspear refused to give them anything substantial. Desperate, Alec's parents had been on the brink of doing something that they had been trying to avoid since the beginning of this whole nightmarish ordeal...

Involving the Clave.

Or more specifically, requesting the use of the Soul Sword.

The Soul Sword is one of the three Mortal Instruments given to the first shadowhunter by the Angel Raziel. Once upon a time it had been kept in the City of Bones under the watchful eyes of the Silent Brothers. However, after a deadly attack some years ago, it had since been moved to Idris where it was now, along with the other two Mortal Instruments, under the protection of the Clave.

The Soul Sword was very powerful and in the right hands, namely someone with pure angel blood, could be used to bring about the end of all demon blooded creatures. But, that was not the reason why Alec's parents wanted the sword. Other than bringing about certain death and destruction, the Soul Sword also had the ability to compel the truth from anyone who held it. It was because of this power that the sword was used in Nephillim trials as well as interrogations. Official ones anyway; as in, those sanctioned by the Clave.

Unfortunately, their current interrogation of Raj and Larkspear was not. And one couldn't simply request the use of the Soul Sword as you would any other weapon in the Clave's Armory. There were protocols. A case file would have to be filed. A representative of the Clave as well as a Silent Brother would have to be present during the sword's use. Thus, there was absolutely no way that the Lightwoods would be able to get their hands on the Soul Sword without the Clave finding out about Alec's abduction. It was simply impossible.

It was this very situation that Alec's parents had been discussing when the call came in. It was Consul Penhalllow.

Everything had finally come to a head.

The Clave were aware of Alec's abduction and was sending a representative to take charge of the situation. The Lightwoods had been ordered to seize all activities until further notice.

They didn't need to bother asking how the Clave found out. It was obvious that one of the shadowhunters had taken it upon themself to leak the information to the Clave, dispite Robert and Maryse's explicit orders to keep what was happening confined within the Institute.

Either way, informant aside, it seemed as if Larkspear and Raj would be getting their chance to hold the Soul Sword after all. It was just too bad that Alec's family couldn't be completely happy about it.

As for the demon attacks, as it turned out they weren't only unique to New York. Other Institutes around the world have been reporting a sudden uptick in demon activity as well.

Luke had still been in the Institute when he was called away to one of the crime scenes. The werewolf had been gracious enough to allow a few shadowhunters accompany him to the scene, glamored of course, and had been keeping them updated.

So far the police had chalked the murders up to the work of a serial killer. Unfortunately, they haven't been able to find anything connecting the victims. The murders have all been random. At least so it would seem. The shadowhunters were obviously carrying out their own investigations.

Fast forward, and Izzy was furiously tapping away at her cellphone. She was writing a message to certain warlock, which she then promptly sent off.

As it turned out, they'd all been fools. After talking to Magnus, Izzy had went directly to her parents. They'd then made the necessary inquiries, which confirmed everything. Not only was Jonathan not in Idris, but he hadn't been for more than a week now. And that wasn't all, the two shadowhunters who had been assigned to keep an eye on him, were also missing.

Izzy couldn't believe just how far they'd dropped the ball on this one. Jace was equally livid. They all were. Clary was beyond dismayed. She couldn't believe that her brother had actually gone that far.

"Why would he do this?" She kept asking. "He wouldn't hurt Alec, I know he wouldn't." But even as Clary spoke, it wasn't clear who she was trying to convince... Herself, or the others?

Jace, who was standing at her side, could only pull her into his arms. Despite struggling to control his own mess of emotions, he did his best to comfort his mate.

"Desperate people do desperate things," muttered the seething shadowhunter.

The four of them, Izzy, Jace, Clary and Simon were all in the Izzy's bedroom. They were in the midst of plotting their next move. With the Clave's envoy on the way, things were no doubt about to go from bad to worse. If there was one thing that they could all agree with Magnus on, it was that the Clave could not be trusted, least of all where Alec was concerned.

Izzy was not about to leave the life and future of her brother in the hands of the Clave.

"This is the perfect scenario for them," said Jace.

There was no doubt in any of their minds that when it comes down to it, if it's a choice between not doing anything and rescuing Alec, only to have him end up with Magnus, then the Clave would most definitely choose the former. They would have no issue with Jonathan mating Alec against his will. Hell, even if it turned out that by some miracle Jonathan really wasn't the one holding Alec captive and it was another shadowhunter, the Clave would still be in support of it. After all, in their eyes any shadowhunter was still better than a 'disgusting' warlock, whether he was from one of the prominent shadowhunter families or not.

"All they have to do is drag their feet with the investigation," Jace continued. "Which, with all of their usual bullshit bureaucracy, shouldn't be too difficult."

"Jonathan's pretty much done all of their dirty work for them," Izzy added. "You know they've trying to figure out a way to separate Magnus and Alec, right? No way they were just going to allow them be together and we all know it. It was only a matter of time. The Angel forbid Jonathan succeeds, they can simply wash their hands of the whole thing....chalk it up to fate. The 'will' of the Angels'," Izzy scoffed at the thought. Well, she was not going to allow that to happen to her brother.

Izzy would be the first to admit that she had her reservations about Magnus in the beginning. But after getting to know the warlock and seeing him with her brother, she has grown to care about him deeply. And even if she didn't, even she hated Magnus, that still wouldn't matter. He was still her brother's chosen....his mate. And that was the most important thing. Alec deserves to be with the man he loves and she was going to do everything within her power to make sure that happened.

"How are we sure the Clave isn't behind this?" Asked Simon.

"That's the point, we can't be sure," said Jace.

"We don't even know if Jonathan's really the one doing this," Clary stressed. "We're getting ahead of ourselves. We don't know anything right now."

"Well, we can't wait around for the Clave to show up." Jace tightened his arm around Clary's waist. Clary was right, they didn't know anything for sure right now. And making silly speculations wasn't going to do anyone any good. Jace knew that this was very hard for his mate. It was hard for all of them. Jonathan wasn't only just Clary's brother, but he was once also their friend...their brother.

Izzy didn't need to be told twice, having already pulled out her cellphone. After discussing for a bit longer, they all headed for the door.

"We don't have much time," said Izzy. "Gather whatever you need, we'll meet up in the weapons' room." They were all already dressed in their usual black combat gear. "Quickly," she urged.

The text message Izzy had just sent was to Magnus, warning the warlock to stay away from the Institute. The plan was to meet up with Magnus first, and then from there, they would figure out their next move. Sitting around on their hands while the Clave made an even bigger mess of things was not an option.

~ooOoo~

"We might not need to get into the Citadel after all," said Izzy.

"What? What do you mean?" Asked Magnus.

They were all gathered together in Magnus' apartment...in London.

After Izzy and the others snuck out of the Institute, although they were pretty sure that Maryse and Robert knew exactly what they were up, giving them that half hearted order to stay put and out of trouble, they made their way to Magnus' apartment in Brooklyn. Upon getting to the warlock's apartment, one thing was clear to all of them; with the Clave's envoy in the city, they would no doubt want to ask Magnus a 'few' questions. Probably use the opportunity to try and pin the whole thing on him, Ragnor had so solemnly joked at the time.

Hence, Magnus had portal all of them to an old apartment he had in London. The place hadn't been used in many years, it was more than a little bit dusty and in need of a proper makeover, but it was good enough for them for the time being. And besides, it wasn't like they were going to be sticking around for very long.

Izzy, who had been sitting at a large dinning table with the others, got up and began slowly pacing. The others followed her with their eyes.

"We all know that the Iron Sisters rarely leave the Citadel, except for emergencies or other important missions." Simon, Clary and Jace, all nodded in agreement. "However," Izzy continued. "We also know that they frequent Alicante's Armory a couple of times each year. Whether it's to work on new weapons or repair old ones. This is the perfect chance. Perhaps if we're lucky..." Izzy didn't need to explain any further, they all got the message loud and clear. The raw Adamas they need would be in Armory.

Something else that was also in Alicante's Armory, that Izzy and the others failed to mention, was one of the entrances to the Adament Citadel. Along with various powerful shadowhunter weaponary, in one of the inner most tunnels at the lowest level of the Armory, was a portal leading to the Adamant Citadel.

It wasn't that Izzy and the others didn't trust Magnus or Ragnor, but it was just not something that they talked about, notably with non shadowhunters present. Certain things were just better off left unsaid, especially if it didn't add anything to their cause. These were not their personal secrets to tell after all and could badly affected all shadowhunters if they got into the wrong hands. Surely Magnus of all people would understand. Nevertheless, if there comes a point when they needed to bring it up, then, they would have no problem doing just that.

Deciding to chime in, "She's right," said Clary, agreeing with Izzy. "We only need to get into the Armory. Which shouldn't be a problem." In theory at least. But who knew anything for sure with the Clave, especially with the current situation on ground. Most of the Armory was open to all shadowhunters, but could they just walk in as if it was business as usual? Was the Convoy already at the New York Institute? Had they all been deemed fugitives?

Since arriving, Clary had pretty much been avoiding Magnus. In fact, other than apologizing profusely to the warlock, this was the first time that Clary has spoken up. She was still suprised that Magnus didn't accuse her of plotting with her brother.

The moment Clary had entered Magnus' apartment back in Brooklyn, she'd rushed towards the warlock. "Magnus, you have to believe me, I had no idea about any of this," Clary had explained. "If I knew that Jonathan was going to do something like this...I... I would've...He's not well, Magnus." Clary's eyes were overflowing with tears as Jace and the others tried their best to calm her down.

The warlock had simply waved her off. He'd told her that there was no need for her to apologize, that what happened wasn't her fault and he didn't blame her.

"Let's just focus on finding Alexander," Magnus had said, lightly patting her on the shoulder. And although his temperment seemed a bit cold and detached, Clary couldn't sense any anger aimed towards her. She didn't push the subject any further. She understood that now was not the time and she didn't want to make the issue about herself...or even Jonathan for that matter. The focus should simply be on finding Alec. There would be plenty of blame to go around later.

Bringing Clary's thoughts back into the present, "A few of us should be able to sneak in," Izzy was saying. "Even if the Clave is looking for us, I doubt that they expect us to show up in Idris. But we need to act fast."

Jace, who was sitting beside his mate listening to the whole conversation, suddenly held up one of his hands. "Wait, wait. I still don't understand something here. How come we've never heard about Adamas being used for something like this before? And you still haven't told us how you suddenly know all of this?" His questions were directed at Magnus.

"Does it really matter?" Asked Magnus.

When they arrived in London, Magnus had explained about the Adamas and his theory about Jonathan hiding Alec in the Inbetweens. The warlock had of course made sure to leave the whole situation with Lilith, as well as his father, out of the picture. He wasn't sure how the shadowhunters would respond if they knew that the information about the Adamas was coming from his father...a greater demon.

"Look," Magnus sighed. "I'm sure the Clave doesn't tell you everything, right? My guess is that they probably thought it was too dangerous. How I found out about it isn't important. What's important is that we now have a way of tracking Alexander. If you're willing of course." Magnus made a hand gesture towards Jace, holding the shadowhunter's confused gaze with a challenging one of his own.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Jace frowned, not missing Magnus' implication. "Do you think I'm not willing to do everything in my power to find Alec?" Jace was obviously offended.

"I don't know," said Magnus, shrugging his shoulders slightly. "You didn't seem too excited when I mentioned the Adamas, and now..."

"Excuse me for not wanting to jump the gun..."

"This whole thing depends on you," Magnus continued as if Jace hadn't spoken at all. "If you're not up for it..."

"Let's get something straight here, Alec is my parabatai." Jace was seething as he got to his feet. "If he dies, I die. You, you can still live on. After all, it's not like the two of you have actually mated yet."

"Do you really think I would do that. That I could just...just move on." Magnus was breathing heavily, having gotten to his feet as well. "You and Clary haven't mated yet, could you just move on if your Angel forbid something happens to her."

"Is that a threat!?" Jace's voice boomed throughout the room.

"Guys! Please calm down," Izzy shouted. "What are we even fighting about here?"

Clary and Simon held onto Jace's arms whilst Ragnor held onto Magnus.

"I'm sure he didn't mean anything by it," said Clary.

"Now is not the time to pick a fight," said Ragnor.

Magnus shook Ragnor's hands off his shoulder. He really didn't know what came over him. Of course Jace wanted to find Alec as much as he did. What was wrong with him? Was this jealously? Not only was Jace connected to Alec in a way that he could only yern for, but right now their entire rescue plan depended on him as well. It all comes down to Jace. It was all out of his hands.

Magnus was frustrated. "Sorry," the warlock muttered softly, wanting to kick himself.

"It's fine," said Jace, roughly scrubbing a hand through his hair. "I'm sorry too. I shouldn't have suggested that... We're all just a little bit on edge right now," Jace sighed, releasing a heavy breath. They were getting so close to a solution, yet victory was still just out of reach.

"We have to trust each other," said Clary. "I'm sure Magnus has his reasons for keeping whatever information he's keeping to himself." Clary gave the warlock a look of support.

"We're all in this together," said Izzy. "We all want the same thing. Alec needs us to work together."

Magnus nodded in agreement, "Right."

"So... I guess this means we're going to Idris then?" Said Simon a bit too excitedly, his voice breaking the tension in the room.

Izzy was at his side in an instant. "Looks like it."

~ooOoo~

Magnus step out of the portal into a vast field of green. He really didn't know what he'd been expecting. Rainbows? Unicorns? Whatever he'd been expecting didn't really matter because as far as he could tell Idris looked pretty much like anywhere else in world; plain.

The only thing unique about the place that he could see, were the huge towers of glass in the distance; the Demon Towers. Every demon blooded creature knew about the famous glass towers that surrounded the city of Alicante, protecting the city from demons and preventing anyone with demonic blood from entering the city.

It was said that the wards generated by the towers could only be deactivated by the use of demon blood from within the city. However, since no one with demon blood can enter the city, it was the perfect protection for the shadowhunters. Magnus wasn't really sure how it all worked, and quite frankly he'd never really cared to. In the past, he had never had any intention of visiting Idris and had tried his best to avoid frolicking with shadowhunters at all cost. Now, here he was not only about to be mated to a shadowhunter, but he was also visiting their home land. He was actually standing just outside of their sacred city. The world truly worked in mysterious ways.

With Chairman Meow snuggled in his arms, Magnus followed after Ragnor and others who had exit the portal ahead of him.

"This way," said Jace, directing them towards a particular valley. "There's an old cottage that belongs to my family. We can stay there."

That night the group once again argued heavily. This time is was about who should go into Alicante...into the Armory. They all felt that since Jace was the one who would have to use the Adamas, then he should stay behind. That way even if something went wrong and they were detained for whatever reason, Jace and the others could still find another way to get the Adamas and use it to track Alec. Jace was not happy with this decision.

They also thought that since Izzy was Alec's sister and the Clave might be more focused on Alec's family members, that she should also sit this one out. In the end, it was decided that it would be best if Clary and Simon were the ones who went.

That night the two betas left under the shadow of darkness, leaving behind Magnus, Ragnor and their two very disgruntled mates.