Eᴘɪsᴏᴅᴇ 5 ~ Dᴜsᴛ ᴀɴᴅ Sʜᴀᴅᴏᴡs
★ ★ ★
During Izzy's conversation with Aldertree, Alec and Clary somehow managed to get out of the institute with their weapons without raising suspicion. They now stand outside the warlock Iris Rouse's house. Alec looks at Clary and she nods so he knocks on the door. A pregnant woman opens the door and peeks her head out.
"Are you here to see Dr. Rouse?" She asks quietly.
"Yes. Um... I, I think she's expecting me. My name's Clary." Clary says and Iris, seeing Clary from further down the hall, smiles.
"I was indeed expecting you. I only wondered when. And I see you brought a guest." She looks at Alec. "Your boyfriend?" They both cringe and Alec quickly shakes his head.
"No." They both say together.
"Well, whatever you are, leave your weapon outside." Alec looks at Iris confused and she lets out a small laugh. "Any warlock worth a damn can see through Shadowhunter glamour with ease. Oh, don't worry. It'll be safe in the alcove." Alec's bow and arrows appear and they go into the house. Alec puts his weapon by the door. Iris turns to Clary. "Did you bring your mother's..."
"Uh, her hair. Yes." Clary says, pulling out Jocelyn's lock of hair which is secured by a small ribbon.
"Perfect." Iris smiles and then gestures the woman from before. "Nurse Leigh will help you with the paperwork."
"Uh, paperwork?" Alec tunes in, looking at the warlock.
"Yeah, just a simple pin prick to draw blood for the oath. For the favor we talked about." Iris smiles kindly.
"Well, I– I don't know about any favor." He says looking at Clary.
"Oh, that was the deal we made." Iris assures and Clary looks at Alec.
"It's fine, Alec. I wanna do this." She says and Iris's smile grows wider.
"Delightful. Follow me. Your friend can wait here for you in the waiting room." Alec shakes his head immediately.
"No, I'm not leaving her side." Alec states, suddenly feeling protective.
"Oh, then I can't do this." Iris turns to Clary. "His energy is too turbulent. I need calm, and he is not calm."
"Okay, I'm gonna need to see some credentials. Show me your warlock mark." Alec states bitterly.
"Dear, if a lady has concealed her mark, assume it's for good reason." She comments.
"Alec, it's okay. I'll be fine. Really." She says and follows Iris upstairs much to the dark haired shadowhunters dismay. Alec sits down, looking around the house. He then notices a young girl standing by the stairs.
"Hello." He says softly after he notices her staring.
On the third floor of Iris Rouse's house, Clary is seated in a seat, sipping a cup of tea. Iris looks at the shadowhunter with a warm smile. She then looks at the table placed in front of them, blocking the two from each other.
"Place your mother's lock of hair on the table, please." Iris commands and Clary quickly obeys, wanting to see her mother as soon as possible. "Now, I need you to focus as intensely as you can on a cherished memory of your mother. Can you do that?"
"Yeah." Clary nods as she watches the warlock.
"That will help repel any demons that dare come near her soul." Clary nods again and closes her eyes, concentrating on a memory of her and her mother talking.
"There you go, Clary. Good girl. Now, let the process begin." Iris begins to use her magic, focusing on Jocelyn's hair that lays on the table in front of the two women.
Alisha walks out of her bathroom whilst drying her hair. Makeup runs down her face as she forgot to take it off before her shower. The hybrid looks at a framed photo on her nightstand. It's a selfie of her, her brothers, Clary, Luke and Jocelyn. A single tear rolls down her face as she looks at her past self smiling, not a single worry in the world. Jason, Isaac and Luke stand at the back of the frame, massive smiles on their faces. Jason stands between Isaac and Luke, his arm around his younger brothers shoulder. Jocelyn, Alisha and Clary stand in front of the boys, all of them been smaller than them, with their arms around each other. Clary stands between her mother and adopted sister. Izzy steps into the room and notices Alishas gaze focused on the photo. She sighs and walks towards her. The shadowhunter wraps her arms around the hybrids shoulder and pulls her into a much needed hug.
"Clary's right." Alisha mumbles into Izzy's shoulder. The Lightwood becomes more and more infuriated. Clary was in the wrong, she was wrong, not Alisha. Izzy thinks over and over again.
"She's just as much your mother as she is Clary's. Don't listen to her, she's wrong." Izzy rubs the Lotova's shoulder as they now sit beside each other on the side of Alishas bed. The hybrid sniffles as she cries silently.
"I killed my mom, Iz. How can you comfort me?" Alisha croaks out and Isabelle grows more angry at a certain Fairchild.
"No you didn't." Izzy tries but the hybrid shakes her head vigorously.
"Yes I di—" The Lightwood quickly cuts her off.
"No you didn't! Valentine is responsible for your mother's death, not you, not your brothers. Valentine. Do you hear me?" Izzy states sternly and Alisha nods slightly after a while. "Good, now let's get your mind off of this alright?" Ah Reyna the woman's arm.
"Can... can we talk about becoming parabatai's?" Alisha asks quickly making Izzy smile.
"Of course." She says and the two begin talking and planning about their ceremony. The pair had talked about the date, after party, who'd be there and represent them. The perfect ceremony was planned out.
In Iris's house, Clary sits opposite the warlock as she continues to think about her mother. Iris is still chanting in Latin and continues even when a tapping occurs on the window. Clary, however, opens her eyes and sees a crow pecking and cawing.
"Oh, my God. That bird!" Clary shouts, clearly startled.
"Focus on your mother, Clary." Iris states, still concentrating on the lock of hair on the glass table. Suddenly, the crow flies through the window and continues flying through the room. Clary flinches when it gets to close but after a few times, Iris picks it out of the air and snaps its neck. Clary gasps in shock as she watches the crow fall to the floor, dead. Iris then continues chanting in Latin as if nothing happened.
"No. Stop!" Clary shouts and she grabs the lock of hair, effectively stopping Iris from continuing with her magic.
Downstairs, Alec is talking to the young warlock he met after Clary went upstairs with Iris Rouse. The shadowhunter looks around the house as the little warlock stares at him, clearly intrigued.
"It's a nice place." Alec comments as he looks around. "Where are all your toys?" The little girl points up, leaving her neck exposed. Alec notices some gills on her neck which were previosuly hidden by her scarf. He recognises it as her warlock mark, something every warlock has, each one unique.
"Cool gills." He comments as he watches a small smile etch onto the girls face. All of a sudden, a baby cries in the distance and the little girl rushes up the stairs leaving Alec quite confused.
Back on the third floor, Clary watches Iris's movements carefully, trying to calculate her next action. The shadowhunter stands up and placed herself into a defensive position.
"Just because one bird came back badly doesn't mean–" Iris tries but Clary quickly cuts her off.
"Well, I'm not willing to take the chance. I'm sorry I wasted your time." She apologises and goes to leave.
"You didn't waste my time. You still owe me a favor." The warlock quickly stops her.
"The deal's off." Clary states sternly.
"No, it's not." Iris shakes her head with a smile. "You took a blood oath."
"Fine. Call me when you need me." Clary turns to leave again but Iris successfully stops her.
"I need you now."
On the floor beneath them, Alec is walking up the stairs and towards the baby who is still crying. He walks carefully, not knowing what's lurking around the corner.
"You are going to host one of my finest creations." Iris says to Clary back on the third floor.
"'Host'?" Clary repeats, utterly confused. "What are you talking about?"
"I'm talking about having a baby, Clary. A baby warlock." Iris says simply, like it was no big deal. Clary states at the warlock in shock. She acts quickly and goes to run out of the room but suddenly there are invisible walls of magic around her, stopping her from doing so.
The woman from before, Leigh, comes out of the room with a baby. Alec watches as the eyes of the baby turn to black for a second. He stares in shock, not truly believing his eyes.