The Morning Star (TMI City of Lost Souls AU)

Chapter 25 - Road to Redemption

They arrived to the gates of Alicante in the late morning, people starting to float freely around the city streets. The Lightwoods' house was bright under the light of the sun, standing tall off the side of the road. Jace and Clary made their way up the stone path to the front door, not bothering to knock before walking in. No one was present in the foyer, nor the library off to the side. The two made their way upstairs toward Alec's room to find Izzy perched in a chair beside the stairway.

"Clary? Jace? What are you two doing here? I thought you were staying outside the city?" She sat up straight and looked to them for an answer.

"We were. We really need to talk to you and Alec in private. And where is Simon?" Clary asked without taking a breath.

"What is going on, you're worrying me. And he was with Jocelyn I believe." She was standing now, her long dark hair in a sleek ponytail whipping behind her as she walked towards them. It was an odd state to see Isabelle in, no shoes and dark pants with a plain red tank top.

"We will explain, but we need to go somewhere private. If the wrong person hears us, we could be in a lot of trouble."

"And by that, she means dead," Jace cut in, "And we would very much like to stay alive."

The three of them went upstairs to Alec's room, Clary pulling out her phone to dial Simon's number while Alec pestered them about what was going on, but getting no asnwers. He picked up on the third ring.

"Hellooo?" He answered cheerily.

"Simon! Where are you? I need you to meet us at the Lightwood's house now." Clary said, trying to keep her voice even and calm.

"Wait, you're there?"

"No, I just wanted to make you walk across Alicante. YES I'm here," She chided sarcastically, slightly agitated.

"Alright, alright. I'll be there soon." And then the phone clicked.

Simon showed up at the Lightwoods and began hopping up the stairs only to be grabbed by the arm and dragged back down by Jace as he, Clary, Alec, and Izzy walked to the bottom of the steps.

"Oh, okay so I'm glad I came all the way here seeing as though we're leaving. Or did you really just want to see me?" Simon said as he pulled his arm away from Jace, shooting a bit of an angry look towards him. A devilish smile creeped across Jace's face as he opened his mouth to respond with a witty comment, but Clary cut him off before he could say anything.

"Simon! This is important, just come with us, okay? And please keep your mouth shut." She never usually talked to Simon like this, but her mind was so full of the problems Johnathon had told them about and she couldn't focus with his rambling. Still, she could see Jace smile out of the corner of her eye.

"I'm sorry, sometimes it physically hurts me to hold back my sarcastic remarks." Simon muttered as he followed the rest of them to the main street where they stopped and convened.

"Alright, where can we go where we won't be heard?" Izzy said abruptly, placing her hands on her hips impatiently. She hated being out of the loop and knew that the faster they got to somewhere secret, the quicker she would know what was going on. The group of them stood together throwing out ideas, but quickly shutting them down. They couldn't go outside Alicante or it would be too suspicious that they all left the city; they couldn't stay at the Lightwoods since Robert was the Inquisitor; they couldn't talk on the streets.

"I just had a thought!" Simon chimed in excitedly.

"Your mother would be proud." Jace mumbled, earning an annoyed look from Simon, a chuckle from Alec, and a playful punch on the shoulder from Clary. He put his hands up defensively and tried to hide his smile.

"What is it Simon?" Clary asked.

"Jocelyn was staying at Amatis' old house but she went back to New York today. They think the house is empty and it's on the outskirts of the city anyways, far away from the Hall of Accords." When no one protested, they made their way there, not walking too close to each other and blending into the crowd as to not raise suspicion. Clary stepped sideways to walk beside Simon.

"Why is my mom back in New York?" She asked.

"She went to find Magnus," He saw Clary's eyes widen and continued quickly, "But don't worry, she is fine. She'll be back tomorrow, she just wants to see if he can do anything to help. Although, I'm not sure what."

"I can't imagine him being able to help. Within the laws of the Clave, that is." Her stomach began to churn as she remembered the trial they were in the midst of. She still didn't know how or if Magnus could help but she did know that there was a very good chance no one could.

They arrived at Amatis' house and slid in silently, locking the door and closing the blinds around the house. They made their way to the reading room in the back. As soon as Clary pulled the last of them shut, Isabelle was directly behind her.

"Alright, tell us what is going on." Her dark eyes were wide with worry, Clary itched to tell her not to worry, but she knew that would be a lie. Simon was in the corner playing with a glass figurine that he found on a table while Alec was still securing the perimeter.

She tried to think of the best way to tell them, but "Johnathon is back," was what she blurted out. Simon dropped the figurine as it bounced on the couch cushions and Isabelle's mouth dropped open, Alec stopping what he was doing and looking directly at Clary. Immediately regretting how tactlessly she said it, she took a deep breath and continued, "He came to the Herondale manor this morning. We tried to tell him to leave but he said that he wouldn't have come if it wasn't really important," They all looked at her earnestly, speechless, "While the demon blood may not be part of Johnathon anymore, the Greater Demon Lilith harbored the energies and binded it to a demonic being. He's in Edom now, preparing himself and the Endarkened for war against Idris."

Having finished, everyone stared blankly at her, no one able to say anything except Jace, "We need to do something, but we can't tell the Clave who told us. If they know we spoke to Johnathon, they'll accuse us of lying and we'll be considered traitors of the Clave." Finally, it was Simon who spoke.

"Do you believe him?" He asked reluctantly.

She pondered it for a moment, it was a thought that had crossed her mind the entire walk to Alicante, but never actually came up with a final decision, "I don't know why he would lie about it," She finally said, "And the risk is too high if we ignore it."

"Well," Alec spoke up, "Then I guess we don't have a choice."

"We always have a choice," Simon said irritably, "Especially when the person we're trusting has betrayed us more times than Jace has insulted me." Jace had to suppress a chuckle.

"Well what do you think we should do?" Clary scanned the room at all of her friends. Simon with his messy hair falling just above his glasses, Isabelle's long eyelashes shielding her eyes as she looked down, Alec running his hands through his dark hair and Jace wearing a stony expression. Suddenly a voice chimed in from the doorway, a voice Clary knew she had not heard moments ago. A voice that immediately sent ice down her spine.

"I think," They all spun on their heels to see the pale blonde woman standing in the hallway. The Commander clad in black shadowhunting gear with her hands on her hips, "We need to go find Johnathon."