Nevermore 》 Shadowhunters

Thirteen

"Toto, we're not in Kansas anymore."  Clary said as we walked through the Seelie Glade.  It looked like a forest, all nice and quiet.

I gave her a confused look, "What's a Toto?"

"Toto's a little dog."

I gestured to all of us, "Clary, there's no dogs here."

"I know that.  It's just a...never mind.  Simon can explain it to you."

"Clary, she's messing with you."  Jace stated.  I laughed at her 'oh' expression.

Meliorn chuckled in amusement, "Welcome to the Seelie Glade, Clary Fairchild.  The remotest edges of it."

"How did we get here?"  She asked.

"There are entrances all through the mundane world."  Jace said.

"You just have to know where to look."  Meliorn added.

"Why did we have to come here to find my father?"  She asked.

Meliorn pointed at Clary's neck, "Because of your necklace.  It's a Portal shard."

"Tell us something we don't know."  I mumbled.

"How does it work?"

"When I touch the crystal and I think of someone, I can see where they are."  Clary explained as she held the necklace in her hand.

"I'm curious, Shadowhunter, who knows so much about portals, did you never wonder why this Portal shard doesn't behave the way normal Portals do."

Clary didn't understand where Meliorn was getting at so Jace clarified for her, "Normal portals can only take you to places you've been.  I guess I never really thought about it."

"I see Isabelle is the smart one in the family." 

"She more than just beauty, I'll tell you that."  I said amusingly, causing Meliorn to chuckle.

"Your Portal shard works the way it does because it's a piece of a Portal from another dimension." 

"Another dimension?"  Clary and I asked the same time.  Then I continued, "So, you're saying that there's another dimension, whose Portals can take us to anyone if we just think of them?"

He nodded, "If you can find the only Portal still standing in that dimension...it will take you to your father."  Then we began walking again.  I took the scene in front of me.  Trees full of green, sun glistening high up in the sky, petals flowing freely around us.  "These trees are where the alternate dimension intersect the Seelie realm."

"How is it possible that the Clave doesn't know about your dimensional doorways?"  Jace asked.

"They are our most guarded secret.  We are their protectors.  Only Seelies know of their existence."

"Yet, you're showing them to us."  I couldn't help but point out.

"I owe Clary a life debt and I don't like being indebted to anyone."

We stopped in front of two huge trees.  Their leaves were hanging low as their trunks were slightly bent to create this circle in the middle.  "What would happen if -"  Clary started to wonder.

Meliorn cut her off, "If the Seelie Queen finds out I shared this with you?  I could be executed."

"Well, we'll be extra careful then."  Jace said.

"There is no 'we' in this scenario.  Only Clary goes in to find the Portal.  My debt is to her."

"You've given us no reason to trust you, Seelie."