City of Shadows

The Son of Lilith I

3 days after Chapter 19: How Art Thou Fallen

Howls drifted across the Plains of Idris. It was not wind, and it only grew in volume as Jaakobah broke through the thick line of trees of Brocelind Forest. He inhaled deeply, breathing in the fresh, clean air of the place that would soon again be his home. Darkness was lifting, and the sky was beginning to lighten in color from darkest black to a bruise-like deep violet and blue-black, indicating that the sun would rise in a matter of hours. He made a strange, short gesture, and behind him, infernal creatures of every kind appeared, endless in quantity. Their howling quieted to low hissing as they followed in his footsteps, halting only when he did. A woman was at the front of them all, standing beside Jaakobah.

"It's all yours for the taking." He felt one of her claws rake down his cheek as she spoke. "As I have promised."

"Mother." He looked down at himself. He was dressed in a different type of gear, thick and a red color so dark it almost seemed black. "This is a dream."

"It is more than that. This shall be your reality, or rather, only a glimpse of one." She smiled and cast her snake eyes towards Alicante. There was a darker line along the city's walls—Shadowhunters. The gleam of adamas swords singled them out, one by one. They marched out onto the Plains. He could make out the leaders at the front—one golden head gleaming in the moonlight, four dark, one red as fire. He didn't care about those. His eyes were glued to the two in the middle, silver and black, side by side.

"They will all fall," Lilith reassured him. "This is but a weak attempt to defend this wretched city."

"It's not much of an army," he agreed. "It's honestly insulting."

"I remember a time when there were legions of Nephilim." Without warning, Lilith laughed. It was a sound that made his blood freeze. "Oh, how the mighty have fallen." 

She turned her eyes to the city in front once again, and the image in front of them warped and changed. The sky turned to the color of blood, and the smell of fire, smoke, and death pervaded the air. Bodies littered the Plain by the hundreds, all dressed in the black gear of the Nephilim. The scorched ground was slick with their blood, gleaming crimson in the firelight. Only a few remained fighting still, but he ignored them. It wouldn't be long before they too, fell. The walls of the city had crumbled, consumed by the fire. Echoing screams came from the city as his army wreaked havoc inside.

Lilith shifted beside him. Her eyes were trained on something—someone. Jaakobah followed her line of vision to see a silver head near the center of the battleground, fighting off another Shadowhunter, and he resisted the urge to snort. Shadowhunter against Shadowhunter—the irony was too delicious. Still, he strained his eyes to look closer.

He was protecting something, and as his vision narrowed in, he saw a scorch mark directly in the center of the Plains, and in the middle of it was a barely-moving figure on the ground. His heart skipped a beat, immediately recognizing the small figure, and a grin spread across his lips.

"She's burned the city. We've won."

"In this battle, yes, but not willingly as you had hoped. You must be careful," she warned him, still looking at Jonathan with what could only be described as yearning, and a flicker of something unpleasant twinged in his chest. "The future is not set in stone."

His surroundings changed yet again with a wave of Lilith's hand. He found himself alone and standing atop a large rock overlooking the Plains. The group defending Alicante was alive and fighting, and they were no longer alone. Wolves tore across the terrain, tearing apart members of his army with strong swipes of their heavy, clawed paws. The vampires took others, nothing but blurs streaking across the battlefield. They ripped out chunks out of demons with sharp fangs and a combination of deadly speed and precision. Large blasts of energy exploded in different areas as warlocks joined the fray, and combined with them all, side by side with them, fought the Nephilim.