Running in Circles- The Mortal Instruments Fanfiction

Chapter 5

There will come a time when all of us are dead. All of us. There will come a time when there are no human beings remaining to remember that anyone ever existed or that our species ever did anything. There will be no one left to remember Aristotle or Cleopatra, let alone you. Everything we did and built and wrote and thought and discovered will be forgotten and all of this will have been for naught.
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At this, even Robert got into a panic. "What happened?"

Alec explained that he woke up and it simply wasn't there. He recalled no feeling of detachment, no pain, and there wasn't even a faded scar. He pulled down his shirt to show the clear spot of skin.

"Wake up the others. We have things to discuss." Maryse said, walking toward Clary's room.

Once everyone had assembled in the library, Robert began by explaining the startling new development.

"Do we know anyone who knows a lot about runic magic?" Clary asked when Robert had finished.

"The silent brothers probably know something about it," suggested Izzy.

They resolved to meet with a silent brother in the morning.
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Jace had been awake for several hours. He couldn't quite put his finger on it, but something felt different. He felt empty, as if some vital organ had been removed from his body and he was hanging on to life by only a thread. It just felt wrong.

He looked down at himself, wondering what pile of shit he had stepped in now. Nothing physical seemed off, but of course he didn't have a great view of himself and could only see a vague silhouette.
Even though he was incredibly muscular, he still felt his ribs prodding uncomfortably out of his chest, a sign that he hadn't eaten in a very long time. He heard footsteps coming toward his prison again, and this time he stayed awake.

Judging by the sound, he had assumed his captor was a muscular man in his late 20s, and was surprised to see a young girl, maybe as old as Max. (A/N AHHH Max *sobs*) "He's awake," she hollered over her shoulder before turning to face Jace.

Looking him right in the eye, she threw a punch straight to his his gut, so hard that he would have doubled over if he could. Not even Izzy punched that well.
"What are you?" He asked.

"I don't think you're in a position to ask questions, are you?" The girl asked in a deceptively sweet voice, before hitting him across the face. He was pretty sure his nose was broken.
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The next morning, the Institute's inhabitants met in the library, the same place as last time. Brother Enoch was already there, waiting.
They explained the situation. The librarian was silent for a moment, before he spoke in their minds
"I understand that a warlock has already performed a tracking spell. I could a similar spell."

Before the Shadowhunters could say that Jace's location was warded, Brother Enoch continued.
"I can sense your feelings. You do not understand why I am offering to do something that has already been done. However, before you jump to conclusions, let me elaborate.
"A warlock's magic can only go so far- the magic is only as old as he warlock. However, the silent brothers possess ancient magic that has been passed down through generations. Warlocks existed long before humanity, and we believe that our Magic comes from the very first generation of warlocks. It is stronger that any warding and can do almost anything."

Each shadowhunter had an amazed expression on their face. It was clear that this information was not given commonly.

"I cannot perform this spell without my brothers. The details of this ancient magic is trusted only to the oldest brother. Without him, the spell cannot be cast. We must visit the Silent City."

Alec shivered. No one blamed him- as Izzy had once said, the silent city gave everyone the creeps.

Brother Enoch led them through a maze of dank tunnels. Clary was hopelessly lost, and was beginning to draw comparisons to Gringots, when they arrived at a large room.

Damp stone benches were arranged in a rough circle around a raised podium. They could almost see the magic radiating off in waves, and this was definitely not the type of place anyone would want to spend an extended period of time inside.

Several brothers were assembled, and at the head was a brother. He could only be described as formidable, powerful, even intimidating.

"I am Brother Joseph," a booming voice proclaimed. It was an octave deeper than any voice anyone had ever heard, and twice as loud. If they had been listening through headphones, their eardrums would have broken. There was no word for him but powerful.

"I know what must be done and have brothers preparing everything. You need to provide but one thing- this spell requires human sacrifice."
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Holy shit you guys. 100 reads?! Wow. I never thought that my little book would be that popular.
I'm sosososososososooooo sorry for the slow update. I have no excuse except being lazy af. Hopefully I can start updating maybe 2x a week?? Yeahhhh I'm super busy rn and I'm really really sorry.
Pretty pretty please vote, comment, and have a great day.
-Ev.