Distractions

Thirty-Eight: Don't Make It Worse

Guess who's alive? Yeah, me. This chapter was a bit of a struggle to write since I was working, had comps, and a lot of other chaotic things happening, including deciding to do NaNoWrimo (aka the death of my soul). So without further adu, here's the chapter!

Trigger Warnings: Death (off page), mentions of mutilation (off page), mentions of extreme violence (off page), mentions of addiction/withdrawl, mentions of overwhelm/repressed breakdown, drugged  characters,  injuries, anger, mentions of discrimination, kidnapping, threats of torture and death, near death, fighting, weapons, death  (on page)

Trigger Warning: Death (off page), mentions of mutilation (off page), mentions of extreme violence (off page)

Everest had just hit send on a "I'm okay and very much not dead so please don't hunt me down" text to Harper so that the girl didn't send out a search party full of her classmates and mundane friends when the alarm started blaring. She flinched violently, hands slamming up to her ears in a futile effort to block out the noise. There was a reason why everyone available answered alarm calls: it was too loud and overstimulating to ignore.

Gentle, calloused hands pushed away her hands and replaced them with earbuds. Instantly the noise lessened. She shot a smile at Izzy, who had been sitting with her in a spare office while they went through reports. She returned it and then the two of them were running to the Ops Center.

"What happened?" Everest demanded as Izzy split off from her to the medical labs so she could prepare for autopsies. She fell into step beside Alec and Jace.

"We found Rosegreen and Penmount dead in the Bowery. Runes carved out," Clary explained as she and Lindsay walked into the Institute trailed by two bloody stretchers.

"Just like Keytower," Lindsay added.

"Except Penmount's been drained by a vampire," Alec rebutted.

"And Rosegreen was lanced by a Seelie knight," Jace said.

"It's not just a lone wolf. It's multiple Downworlders," Everest said, spinning her ring from Izzy around her finger.

"Luke was right all along. These Downworlders want revenge. This could be the start of an uprising."

The conversation in the Ops Center died in an instant.

...

The worn leather of Alec's jacket settled around her shoulders like a cape, her weapons strategically placed so that they couldn't be seen unless you knew what to look for; they were a surprising but not unwelcome comfort. Her rings glinted in the glow of the screens around her, and she alternated between spinning her ring from Izzy and spinning the ring her mom got her for her tenth birthday as the Inquisitor continued to speak. Izzy and Clary were on either side of her, Alec just slightly behind them with a perfect gym bro stance and scowl to match. Jace was standing at the bottom of the stairs like a gargoyle, stone solid and blank faced as can be.

"Another Shadowhunter was found dead last night in Williamsburg," the Inquisitor announced. "This time, murdered by a Warlock. In this time of crisis, it is essential that we maintain strong leadership. That is why I am naming Jace Herondale head of the Institute, effective upon my return to Idris. Dismissed."