ᴜɴʀᴀᴠᴇʟᴇᴅ |ᴀ.ʟ| ꜱʜᴀᴅᴏᴡʜᴜɴᴛᴇʀꜱ ꜰᴀɴꜰɪᴄᴛɪᴏɴ {ᴛʜᴇ ᴄᴀᴍɪʟʟᴇ ꜰᴀɪʀᴄʜɪʟᴅ ᴛʀɪʟᴏɢʏ #2}

{𝕬𝖓 𝖀𝖓𝖜𝖊𝖑𝖈𝖔𝖒𝖊 𝕽𝖊𝖛𝖊𝖑𝖆𝖙𝖎𝖔𝖓}

The momentary shock of the golden waters surrounding me only lasts a second and not long after, I promptly stride over to my shocked sister, her arm still wrapped around Izzy's waist, supporting her in the water that just tried to kill her.

"What the hell happened?" I demand, ignoring the disapproving looks I grant from saying the word 'hell' in such a heavenly place

"The water does not lie" Magdalena replies, shooting a glance at Izzy, "But perhaps you do."

"I don't know what you're talking about" Izzy exclaims, a not of desperation in her voice.

Not only had she insulted one of her best friends and almost drowned, she was also now facing a reprimanding from someone she most highly admired.

Ouch.

"You are tainted with demonic impurities" Magdalena says matter-of-factly, as though she should know this.

Demonic impurities?

"I'm sorry, Isabelle" Cleophas apologises, "We can't let you inside the Citadel."

Strike 3.

My sister, ever the soft-hearted, immediately jumps to Izzy's defence, "No, this has to be a mistake! She had a demon wound...maybe that's what the water reacted to but...she's fine now, she's healed."

Remarkably quickly, I might add.

A little too quickly.

The thought dawns on me rapidly and I repress a gasp, instead widening my eyes only slightly. I had a very bad hunch that I knew what had 'aided' Izzy's healing from that demon wound and, though I hope very much I'm wrong...I can't explain it any other way.

"You are free to leave, if that is what you desire" Magdalena gestures to the sword-ladden gates, clearly unconvinced by my sister's plea's

"No" Izzy pants, looking over her shoulder at the two of us, "You guys go ahead. We need answers."

Clary and I nod solemnly and I allow myself to drift back as she ascends the stairs. As I pass Izzy, I grip her arm tightly and her head swivels to me, shocked by my harsh grip.

"What are you doing?!" I scold

"What?" Izzy whimpers, confused and dejected

"Are you using yin fen?"

"How-How do you know that?" Izzy gapes.

Great.

"I just do" I hiss, "What are you doing with it? Vampire venom is incredibly harmful and addictive, Iz, and you have no business using it!"

"Vampire venom?" Izzy gasps and I roll my eyes

"Nice try" I scoff, "I don't believe you don't know what it is. You need to watch yourself, Izzy, stop using that stuff before it kills you."

With that, I wade through the water, ascending the three steel stairs and setting off after Clary and Cleophas.

How could Izzy be so stupid?

***

"Sister Cleophas, we don't want to scare you but...we're worried" I sigh. Now dressed and mostly dry, we'd entered the Citadel and, for once, weren't surrounded by Sisters. So, I took the opportunity to question Cleophas about her brother...about Luke, "It's Luke."

"Lucien?"

"He's the closest thing we've ever had to a father." Clary chimes in, "But since our mother died-"

"Jocelyn"

As Cleophas says the name, she looks pointedly at me and I immediately shrink. Clary had surprisingly gotten quickly accustomed to our mother's death and had since been able to speak her name without crying. Me, however...anytime she was mentioned, even indirectly, that black cloud swings itself over me, darkening whatever mood I was in.

Maybe I'm depressed.

"I'm so sorry for your loss" Still, those brown eyes held mine, as if she was saying the words only to me. The look of pity made she gave made me even angrier.

"Since then...Luke has gone missing" Clary continues, oblivious to my dark mood. Love her though I do, she could be very unobservant, "He's not returning calls. He's not showing up to work. No one has seen or heard from him."

"He did love her" Cleophas ponders and again, that same flare of anger and pain flits through me, "Lucien always had a strong sense of loyalty. Almost to his detriment. Sweet girls, I fear you're right. My brother is in danger, but not for the reason you think."

"What kind of danger?" I finally speak. Whether it was my old cursed nature kicking in or just concern for Luke that spurred my voice, who knew.

Cleophas takes he stele out, lowering herself to the ground and it is then that I realise she's brought us into a room almost like a theatre. It was bare, wooden-floored and surrounded by ancient looking candelabras. The most modern thing I could spot was the large emblem on the floor of what looked like a cursive M with a sword through it.

Cleophas touches her stele to the emblem and it immediately glows bold and bright, illuminating the domed ceiling above us, one with a painting of angels encompassing two other angels, ones of importance it seemed. As the light hits the painting, an even more bizarre thing happens...

The paintings move.

Not a lot, just the angels surrounding the ethereal beings in a slow circle but still...weird.

"Long ago, the Angel Raziel bestowed the Mortal Instruments to the first Shadowhunter" Cleophas narrates. I knew this story well, a testament only to my weird all-knowing brain that had basically downloaded all Shadowhunter history when I'd turned from a mundani but instead of interrupting, I stay silent.

No need to draw attention to my very unusual nature.

"Among them, the Soul Sword. It's primary purpose is to compel the truth, but it has a secondary purpose. If ever the day came where Shadowhunters failed in their holy mission, and demons overtook the world..."

The paintings had now changed again. The angels were gone and in their place was a battlefield. Angels and demons fighting each other, fire breathing from the mouths of the unholy whilst the angels reached skyward, faces pained...they were losing.

"As a last resort, the Sword could be activated with angelic energy, releasing heavenly light that will destroy demon-blooded creatures in it's path."

"Oh, my God" Clary gasps but I was past the point of surprise.

I knew what Valentine was planning.

"Demon-blooded creatures." I whisper, "Downworlders."

"Yes, Downworlders" Cleophas agrees, mistaking my whispered shock for a question, "Is there something wrong?"

"Yes" I nod fervently, "I think I know what Valentine's plan is."

******
Fuck it!

Here's a third update cause I'm feeling generous...and to celebrate my imagines book hitting almost 950k already!

It's so crazy to think but I'm starting to realise I'll probably have a whopping 1 MILLION reads on that book by the end of this month! That is crazy!

I know I say it a lot but honestly thank ya'll so much! To have my work appreciated and shared and vitally liked is a massive thing for me so thank you! And I hope you're support will continue for as long as I can post here (which will hopefully be a while!)

Happy Reading!!!