Distractions

Twenty-Eight: Drip, Drip, Smack

"Clary, I—oh my God," Everest gasped, hands gripping her upper arms in a death grip.

Clary held up a hand, lips pursed and face set. Everest's heart skipped a beat. She knew that look. Clary blamed her, possibly hated her. Granted, Everest blamed herself too and didn't blame Clary for blaming her. But that didn't make the look of hatred any less painful.

"I have a demon to kill," her sister snarled and stalked off, Everest a few paces behind her.

Trigger warning over

...

Trigger warning: injury, fighting, weapons, mentions of death, anger, hate

"What happened?" Alec demanded, seeing the tear streaked faces of the twins. He fell into step with them as they entered the training room.

"Our mother is dead," Clary spat. "The demon possessed Everest and now she's dead."

Alec inhaled sharply and Everest determinedly avoided looking in Alec's direction. She wasn't sure she could handle two people hating her at once.

The sound of click-clacking high heels echoed in the room and Everest looked up to see Izzy walking towards them, expression full of angry disgust. Did she know what Everest did?

"Izzy!" Alec called out. "We need your help. Jocelyn's—"

"Dead," Izzy cut him off. "All because you couldn't watch out for your girlfriend."

Izzy lunged at Alec, but he dodged. Shit. She was possessed.

"It's inside her," Clary said.

"It's still Izzy. Careful where you aim."

Alec knocked an arrow and Everest grabbed a seraph blade from the wall, but Clary wasn't fast enough. Izzy threw her aside like a ragdoll and growled. She ran at Everest, who tried to dodge, but Izzy kicked the blade away from her and she was thrown into a table.

Izzy disarmed Alec with some sort of freaky contortionist twist, but Alec managed to grab her.

"Izzy, please! Stop!"

Everest scrambled to her feet as Izzy tore herself out of her brother's grip and knocked him to the ground. Izzy leaned over him like the dinosaur from Jurassic Park.

"Always the favorite child. I'm done living in your shadow," she spat, stroking his cheek in a condescending way.

"Izzy, if you're in there, please listen to me," Alec begged.

From Everest's angle, Izzy's smile was creepier than it had any right to be. It stretched slowly over her face and her eyes gained a sadistic gleam. "Nice try."

In her peripheral vision, she saw Clary hold out her hand to Everest, indicating she needed a weapon tossed to her since she was in the one area of the room without weapons nearby. Everest tossed the blade, hoping all the years she spent playing dodgeball would help. It did. Clary caught the blade easily and ran towards Izzy and Alec. Everest crossed her fingers.

'This had better work,' she thought.

Just as Izzy was about to start the agonizing process of ripping her brother's heart out, Clary stabbed her in the shoulder. Izzy grabbed Clary's arm and tried to fight her off, but Clary was stronger than any of the Shadowhunters knew. (Years of football with the guys at school, carrying boxes of art supplies around, moving furniture, and helping their mom in the antique shop had given both of them an edge in the strength department, but especially Clary.)