The Morning Star (TMI City of Lost Souls AU)

Chapter 17 - Cruel Intentions

The sword clattered on the stone as it fell from Clary's hand. Her body was frozen as she stared into the eyes of her brother. No more did she see empty blackness full of demonic pleasure. Now she saw her own eyes reflected back at her, filled with fear. No words filled the silence; she didn't even know what could be said. Here was the man who had controlled her mind, taken Jace hostage, killed Max Lightwood, and tried to burn down the world. And yet this was not him. This was an entirely different person who had been lost to the world. A person who was never given a chance because of the choices his father made.

"Johnathon?" Clary could barely choke out the one word, dragging all of the energy out of her body as she fell to her knees in front of him. Now she was eye level with him as he was still leaning forward on his hands and knees, his head turning down to face the ground again.

"Clary, I- I am so sorry," His voice was cracking as if he was holding back tears or in pain. He wouldn't look her in the eyes. She didn't know how this happened or what it even meant. Her mind was racing, filling her veins with a dizzying flurry. Jace had come over by her side and was staring silently with wide eyes.

"What is going on?" Simon spoke up from behind them, his voice trembling. He could see what was happening but couldn't wrap his head around it. None of them could.

"I- I feel... different. Lighter," Sebastian spoke with a quiet voice, as if talking to himself. Or Johnathon, she guessed. Her heart began racing when she heard a loud murmuring from behind her and turned to see black clad Nephilim at the bottom of the hill walking towards them- this was her fault. She and Jace would both be punished, as well as Johnathon. And although Sebastian deserved it, deserved to suffer for the pain he caused, did Johnathon? The boy trembling before her now may look similar, but you could see the differences. Rather than the disposition of hatred and cynicism, he looked confused and frightened. His facial features looked softer and his eyes less cold, he looked younger than the 18 or 19 year old man who had caused this destruction. Part of her knew she should let the Clave take him, that he needed to be punished regardless of what had just conspired. But another part of her saw her brother. The brother she never knew, the son Jocelyn never had, and she didn't want to lose him so quickly.

"We need to get you out of here, before the Clave sees that you're not dead," Clary had scrambled towards him, pulling his face up. His eyes were full of more confusion than anything else now.

"What? No, Clary. If you do that they won't forgive you. You'll be an enemy to the Clave, you have to go now," Johnathon was speaking more steadily now, pulling away from Clary and standing up slowly.

"Clary, he's right. We need to get you out of here," It was Alec who spoke, to her surprise, and he put his hand on her shoulder. She knew he was right. But that didn't change the fact that she wasn't going to let the Clave have him to torture either. Although they weren't evil, they were cruel. She grabbed his arm and pulled him over to the other side of a large boulder, grabbing his stele she began to draw a portal.

"Clary, no. Stop."

"I'm not coming with you, but you need to go somewhere. Somewhere far away from here. But we can't know, there is no doubt they'll use the mortal sword on us and I don't want to know where you are." The portal materialized as Johnathon looked around frantically.

"Why are you doing this?" His green eyes met hers and she smiled sympathetically.

"Because you're my brother. And anyone can be forgiven if they're deserving of it, remember? I want to give you a chance to deserve it." His green eyes sparked and he opened his mouth to say something, but Clary had already turned and began to walk away. And she didn't look back.

There was a flash of light emanating behind the boulder, then the glow disappeared altogether as Clary came back around the rock, a stele in her hand. Jace walked towards her, pulling her into a tight hug.

"Are you okay?" He whispered in her ear, his hands gently stroking her back. The voices grew louder as the handful of Nephilim from the Clave surmounted the hill and saw the group of them.

"Clarissa Fairchild and Johnathon Herondale, you are under arrest by orders of the Clave," A voice boomed. She was a woman in her thirties most likely leading the rest of the group, but Clary didn't recognize her, it wasn't Maryse or Jia. She didn't know who it was at all. Her face looked fairly youthful with the exception of the hardness of her features making it obvious that she was significantly older than they were.She had dark gear on with dark blonde hair twisted up on the back of her head, blue eyes staring icily at them and she spoke with a faint accent, although Clary could not tell from where. Jace let go of Clary and turned to face the woman with a stony expression.

"What? By who's orders?!" It was Isabelle who exclaimed, standing between the two of them and the rest of the Nephilim.

"By the Inquisitor himself." The woman stated coldly, her eyes never leaving Clary and Jace.

"The Inquisitor?!" Isabelle sounded outraged, her fists shaking at her sides. Clary's stomach dropped but Jace looked more irritated than shocked, as if he had expected this outcome. And, as usual, his annoyance came out in the form of a sarcastic comment.

"Yes, Izzy, the Inquisitor. Surely you know him- tall, dark hair, responds to 'father.'" His golden eyes never left the other woman's who was giving him an acidic look of disapproval.

"The Inquisitor has orders despite his personal relationships, Johnathon Christopher," Her voice had the condescending tone of someone scolding a child, "And working alongside Sebastian Morgenstern is an unforgiveable offense."

"It's not their fault! They were under the influence of demonic bonding runes! They had no control over what they were doing." Simon shouted, moving to stand next to Isabelle between the woman and his friends as if their human wall could keep them safe.

Her expression barely wavered as she thought out her next response, "Even so, they must go into trial. We cannot gamble the safety of the Nephilim race simply because of our personal relationships with traitors-"

"They are not traitors!" Izzy was all but screaming at the woman who did not even flinch.

"You would do well to hold your tongue, Isabelle Lightwood. Unless you would also like to be put through trial." Her eyes narrowed in anger but before Isabelle could open her mouth to say anything else, Alec stepped closer to the woman and spoke.

"We will do as you say as long as you promise to listen to their side of the story. This must be a fair trial and, as stated in the accords, a situation where one party was under the influence of dark magic, their sentencing must reflect it." Alec was the oldest of them, and was also the most knowledgeable of Clave law, so leaving him to speak was in everyone's best interest. Especially since he was actually of age to be considered an adult, what he said had more value in their eyes. The lady looked at him with slight disregard but nodded agreeably.

"Of course. The law is hard but it is the law," She bit out aggressively, "But until the trial you must also know that they must remain in our custody. And as the appointed Commander by the Clave, that means I will decide how they will be treated until then. In my eyes they are traitors of the Clave and will be treated as such." An arrogant smiled spread across the sharp features of her face. With a flick of her finger, four other Nephilim walked towards Jace and Clary and seized them harshly by the arms, Alec having to hold Isabelle back from pulling them away. Clary tried to squirm out of their grasp but they simply grabbed a hold of her tighter. With a sigh of defeat she let them lead her to a portal created by the Clave, the shimmering radiance swallowing them into Idris. Alec, Isabelle and Simon stood staring at the woman whose smile had faded back into a serious disposition, "Now. I expect to see you at the trial tomorrow evening," She beckoned them to follow her through the portal as she made her way towards it but, before stepping through, she turned, "And don't take me for a fool. If none of you tell me where Sebastian has run off to- because I know you know- Well let's just say having your marks stripped is a light punishment in comparison to what I have in mind." And with that, she disappeared into the blurry image of Alicante.