I Am Ruined (TDA Lord of Shadows Sequel)

[ II ] Back to Square One

Los Angeles sunshine had been one of the things Emma missed the most. As soon as the portal opened, sending them back to the Los Angeles Institute, Emma closed her eyes and basked in the warm glow. Her slow, even breaths grounding her as the rest of the group followed through behind her. They had been in London for so long she had almost forget what home was, but being back with the salt spray of the ocean and the desert heat quickly reminded her that this was home. She thought about her travel year going to Mexico with Cristina. Part of her was thrilled to be able to travel with her best friend, but another part resented being torn from her home once again. Not only Los Angeles, but Julian. As if on cue, she felt his hand touch her elbow gently and lead her forward.

Her eyes snapped open and she saw him smirking as he joked half-heartedly, "You would think you haven't seen the sun in months."

"Well with the weather in London, there very well may not have been a sun. I wouldn't know." She scoffed with a grin, making her way up the stairs to the Institute. The large modern doors opened under her hands with a familiar creak. They expected it to be empty, but standing in the foyer were two familiar figures. One gold and one red.

"Emma, Julian-" Clary sounded anguished as she walked forward and pulled them both into a hug, tears pricking the corners of her eyes. They both embraced her back and Emma could see Julian's hand tighten on her shoulder. She pulled back and wiped her eyes furiously, "We came as soon as we heard, there was no way to contact us on our mission. I am so sorry." Jace came over more solemnly and placed an arm around Julian's shoulder. He leaned into it subtly and it reminded her of the way Ty leaned into Julian's arm, an older brother's comfort.

"It's alright, thank you for being here." Emma moved aside as the rest of them came in behind her, Helen giving Clary a quick hug in front of her. She forgot they knew each other before the Dark War and wondered if they were friends.

"So, what is this about a Dearborn claiming to be a greater Shadowhunter than me? I already told you Emma, you're the only one who gets to try and claim that title." Jace smirked, coming to stand in front of Emma.

Ty was the one who scoffed, "Zara Dearborn. She's a liar, she's under investigation by the Clave now."

"Although I don't know how well that is going to work now that the Mortal Sword is broken." Kit added, standing so close to Ty that they were practically leaning against each other. Clary and Jace both started at the news.

"The Mortal Sword is broken?!" Clary exclaimed, her green eyes burning with questions.

Kieran rolled his eyes as he leaned against the wall of the foyer. She imagined they hadn't even known he had come in. Emma herself was surprised he had come in the Institute at all. "You Nephilim and your obsession with one instrument of war. Maybe if your pretenses were more honest there would be no need for such a device."

"More honest like the Faeries?" Jace interceded, "We all know how true and good they can be."

Kieran's hair grew darker as he met Jace's gaze, "Spoken like a true Shadowhunter, why show respect for the downworld when your race is so superior. Especially faeries."

To her surprise, Jace didn't respond with a snide comment, but rather almost a compliment. "I would hardly call us superior when the Clave and a Shadowhunter are the reason for the chaos going on now. There are faeries like you and faeries like Meliorn. Shadowhunters like me and Shadowhunters like Sebastian. Those who care about the greater good and those who care only about their own selfish ends. We are not so different." Or at least as close to a compliment as you could get from Jace.

Kieran's hard gaze softened and the strands of his hair lightened. Mark took the moment of tension to speak, "We must do something, we cannot simply sit here while the King carries out his plans. I know no one wants to say it, but he has Annabel. And that means he has the Black Volume." The room fell silent at that. It wasn't that they didn't know it, but it was a fact that they were afraid to acknowledge. Mainly because they had no idea what to do about it. All the careful planning of the past weeks was for nothing now that the book was already in the King's hands.

"Magnus said that I couldn't just take the Black Volume from Annabel. That it was bound to her and she had to give it to me willingly, so if she refuses to give it to the King, we have a chancen." Julian spoke up, posting up against the staircase. "It buys us time, but that's it. I'm sure he'll try and find a way around it."

With a deep breath Clary said, "Well, first things first-" All eyes went to her, "Fill us in on what is going on."

***

Julian, Emma, Mark and Cristina were standing in the foyer, going though the past month events. Everything with the Centurions, Malcolm's return, his raising of Annabel, his death once again, the Unseelie King, the Council Meeting, and everything in between. Even the bargain with the Seelie Queen, hoping that Jace and Clary of all people would understand. Ty had nudged Kit in the shoulder at one point and they quietly slid away, heading upstairs.

"What is it?" Kit asked, watching the boy with the grey eyes striding with purpose through the hallways but he kept silent, focusing only on where he was going and the fact that Kit followed behind him anyways. Finally they ended in the library where he pulled Kit in and shut the door behind him. "Ty is everything alright?"

His grey eyes were focused intently on his face and Kit knew that look, it meant he knew something others didn't. "I found this in Dru's room in London." He rummaged through a bookshelf, shoving books aside and pulling out a small object. He held up a black sock and Kit couldn't hide his reaction.

"Yes, Ty, girls wear socks too. Including your sister." Ty cocked his head and was about to respond until he realized he was being sarcastic. Maybe hanging around him was good for Ty, Kit thought. He needed to learn the ways of sarcasm. Maybe he could have him using sarcastic quips himself one day.

"It's not the sock, Kit. It's what's in the sock." He opened the top and dumped out what looked like a small gold rock on the table. Not really gold, but it was incandescent, glowing faintly in the room like a muted version of the sun.

"What is it?" His blue eyes were wide now, taking in the sight of the glowing piece of metal, or glass? Porcelain? He couldn't tell. He reached to feel it and find out but Ty grabbed his hand in midair.

"Don't touch it. I've seen this in some of the books on Faeries I read after the Cold Peace was instated, it transports you somewhere-"

"Where?"

Ty shook his head, "I don't know, but now is not the time to find out. We need to ask Dru and find out where she got it."

"And why she has it in the first place." Kit furrowed his eyebrows as Ty picked it back up in the sock and hid it back in the shelf, cleverly disguised by books no one would bother reading. Ty was fiddling with a small pebble in his pocket, his anxiety noticeably building. "Hey, Ty." Kit placed his hands firmly on his shoulders and for the first time since he had known him, Ty met his gaze. He always avoided eye contact, it unnerved him, but right now he was staring back at Kit and seemed unfazed by it. He didn't know if Ty knew it was an unusual thing but Kit noticed. He also noticed that he was about to say something and Ty was now looking at him with upraised eyebrows, waiting for him to continue. "We're going to solve the mystery. Just like Livvy would have wanted."