Nineteen
*~*~*~*
"Cici," Alec called my name as I walked down the hall, towards the control room. At the sound of my name I turned around, finding him hurrying to catch up with me, looking more relaxed than I'd ever seen him since I had come back. "Where's Magnus?"
"He had to make a few calls." I told him.
"Have you seen Lydia?" He asked me.
"Not since the wedding that didn't happen." I shook my head. "I was actually looking for Joseph. I wanted to thank him again."
"No one's seen either of them." A frown pulled at the corner of his lips as he pulled me alongside him. When I saw where he was heading though, I could feel my eyes widening, a sense of dread filling my stomach. He was leading me towards the monitor our mother was standing in front of.
"Alec," I whispered, trying to take my arm from his, but he only pulled me closer to his side, not letting me go. I looked at him, finding him already looking down at me, a look of reassurance shining brightly in his eyes.
"Have you spoken with Lydia or Joseph?" Alec asked our mother once we reached her. "No one's seen either of them since the wedding."
"Mom," I frowned as she continued to ignore Alec and I, focusing only on the monitor, "Come on."
"Maryse." Dad sighed as he joined us, noticing the trouble we were having with Mom.
"Mom, I understand you're upset, but this is..." I began.
"Calling off the wedding would've been one thing... but kissing that warlock in front of the entire Institute?" She cut me off with a shake of her head, finally looking at me. "You've embarrassed all of us."
"Why?" I narrowed my eyes at her. "Because you didn't get to pick who I decide to be with?"
"No. The fact that I didn't pick him, as you say, is the least of my worries." She locked her jaw.
"Then what's the problem?" Alec questioned her. "Cecile's happy, isn't that what's important?"
"It's that you chose Magnus Bane." She finally admitted. "His reputation precedes him. And even for a warlock, he's a bit of a lothario."
"Cecile, there's so much that you don't know about him." Dad agreed with her.
"Well, then I plan to get to know him. And if you have a problem with that, then I suggest you deal with it." I told them, refusing to back down. "Now, I have to go find Joseph and Lydia."
"She's probably packing for Idris in your father's office." Mom suggested. "What he did..."
"Saved my life." I finished for her. "So I should go thank him."
With that said I walked away from my parents, leaving Alec alone to deal with them. I made my way through the halls, but as I turned the corner that led to the hall that held my dad's office, I found Magnus standing there, waiting for me.
"On a scale of one to ten... how unpleasant was it?" He asked me.
"Off the charts." I sighed. "Yeah, I've never seen them so angry."
"Just give them some time." He told me.
"You're immortal. Time is on your side." I shook my head. "After what I did... I don't think they'll ever forgive me."
"Don't underestimate a parent's love." He gave me a soft smile. "You don't regret it, do you?"
"Everything happened so fast. I didn't have time to think." I struggled to find the right words. While I was happy to be with Magnus now, I couldn't help but worry about Alec, wondering if our parents would now try to force him into a marriage, the exact thing I'd been trying to prevent. "I just wanna make sure Joseph's okay. Now I owe him so much."
"We owe him." Magnus corrected me. "What he did was nothing short of heroic. Hey, look, maybe we can slow things down? Why don't we start with that date you owe me?"
"Yeah, let's do that." I smiled at the idea.
"I know this great Ethiopian place on 44th..." Magnus began as we reached my dad's office.
"Joseph! Lydia!" My eyes went wide as we walked into the office, finding both of the blondes laying on the ground, furniture destroyed. Magnus and I rushed into the room, Magnus going to Lydia while I knelt down beside Joseph. I pressed my fingers to his neck instantly, feeling relief flood me as I felt his pulse. I looked over at Magnus to see him give me a small nod, assuring me that Lydia was alive too. "Go get help."
"I'll be back." Magnus promised as he hurried out of the room to get help. Once he was gone I looked back down at Joseph. I saw his eyes flutter slightly. "You're gonna be okay."
"Hodge..." He whispered weakly.
*~*~*~*
"How're Lydia and Joseph?" Clary asked me as I joined her and the others at the monitors.
"Better. Magnus is doing what he can to help her, but it's bad." I told them. "And the Cup is definitely missing."
"So is Hodge." Alec added.
"Maybe he was attacked, too." Isabelle suggested.
"Maybe he's the one who attacked her." Clary glanced around at all of us.
"Hodge? No way. We've known him our entire lives. He would never do that to us." Isabelle shot the idea down instantly as she pulled up camera footage on the computer. I pressed my lips into a thin line as I watched the screen. Sure enough, the footage showed Hodge attacking Lydia and Joseph, taking the cup from them.
"I led him right to the Cup." Jace practically hissed.
"We treated him like family." Alec frowned at the betrayal as we continued to watch the footage. "How could he do this to us?"
"That's how." I pointed at the screen as we watched Hodge slip something onto his finger, seeming to be talking to someone as he stood over Jocelyn's unconscious body.
"What is that ring?" Alec frowned.
"Looks like he's talking to someone." Clary observed.
"And I can bet who it is." Jace glared at the screen. "Valentine."
"Well, that explains how he deactivated the Punishment rune, but it doesn't explain where he got the ring." Alec said.
"You think someone smuggled it past the wards?" Clary suggested.
"Maybe." Jace crossed his arms over his chest, glancing over at my siblings and I. "Hodge wasn't the only ex-Circle member around here."
"Look, I know I don't always see eye to eye with my parents, but I know they're not traitors." Isabelle defended our parents.
"Really? Isn't that what you just said about Hodge?" Jace reminded her. "It'd have to be someone we trusted, but if there was an intruder inside the Institute, we would have found them by now."
"Hey, I'm probably as against my parents as someone can get, but I have to agree with Isabelle." I shook my head, not able to picture my parents helping Hodge get the Cup to Valentine. "Our parents used to be part of the Circle, but they're not anymore. They wouldn't help Hodge like this."
"What about the Forsaken attack?" Clary cut in.
"No. We killed that thing, and I didn't see a ring." Alec shook his head.
"He didn't have one during the autopsy, but... maybe there's something in the footage." Isabelle brought up the footage of the attack, showing Hodge and Alec fighting the Forsaken.
"Go to the other camera." Alec told our sister, not having a good view of the Forsaken. We watched as she switched the other camera, giving us a better view as Hodge knelt down beside the dead Forsaken.
"There." Jace froze the footage at the sight of Hodge slipping a ring off the Forsaken's finger. "So, it wasn't a random attack. He was just the delivery boy."
"If he gives that Cup to Valentine, he'll create an army of Shadowhunters." Clary stated the obvious.
"With that kind of power behind him, he'll kill thousands." Jace frowned.
"He'll kill thousands just creating the army." Isabelle said. "Most mundanes won't survive that."
"We won't let that happen. I'm gonna make sure of it." Jace swore.
*~*~*~*
"For Shadowhunters, you don't seem to do a lot of Shadowhunting." Raphael commented as he stood in front of Clary, Isabelle, Simon, and I at Hotel DuMort, having come to try and convince him to let us see Camille.
"There is more to the job than killing demons." Isabelle scoffed.
"We need to talk to Camille." Clary got right to the point. "We know you have her here."
"We tracked her to the DuMort." I added, not giving him the chance to try and lie to us.
"It's true, but I'm afraid she's a bit tied up at the moment." He told us. "Is there something I can help you with?"
"Just a second." Simon sighed as he led Raphael a few feet away. Despite the added distance between the vampires and myself, I could still hear them. "Look, I know this sounds crazy, but we have to let them talk to Camille. She has a spell book that could wake up Jocelyn Fairchild. Valentine might have the Cup. The entire Downworld's in danger."
"She's far too dangerous." Raphael shot my friend's idea down. "Or did you already forget what happened last time you "talked" to her?"
"It's not like she can kill me again." Simon pointed out.
"You said it yourself... if Valentine has the Cup, the entire Downworld is at risk. Camille will only make things worse." Raphael shook his head before he turned back to the rest us, giving us a fake smile. "I'll bring you what's left of Camille's things, but speaking to her is out of the question."
"Her things?" Clary scoffed at the idea. "This isn't the kind of book she would've just left sitting around."
"I'm sorry... but that's the best I can do." Raphael shook his head.
"We're supposed to be allies." Clary reminded him.
"And we are. But Shadowhunters have no business interfering with the Night Children's affairs." Raphael assured us. "You may look to the Clave for justice, but the vampires look to me. Camille stays where she is."
"You're making a huge mistake." Clary warned him.
"Clary," I gave my friend a warning look before I turned back to Raphael. "We'll respect your decision, Raphael, but Clary is right. This is a mistake, we all know it."
"I'll deliver the items to the Institute myself." Raphael promised us, ignoring my warning. Knowing we wouldn't get anything else out of him, we headed towards the door to leave, feeling their eyes on our backs as we went.
*~*~*~*
"So these are all of Camille's things?" Isabelle asked Raphael as she and I looked over the small table of items that Raphael had brought us. It was our job to try and keep him here as long as possible, giving Clary and Simon the chance to break into Hotel DuMort to talk to Camille.
"All I could find." Raphael nodded. "But she has hideouts all over the city."
"Of course she does," I muttered under my breath, not caring that Raphael could hear me. I had heard plenty about Camille throughout my life, even more so as of late, mainly regarding her past relationship with Magnus. It was easy to say that I wasn't a fan of the vampire that had broken the warlock's heart.
"Interesting." Isabelle nodded as she picked up a small vase that Raphael had brought.
"I thought you were looking for a spell book." Raphael recalled what we had told him back at the hotel.
"We are." I assured him.
""We"? Where are your friends?" He narrowed his eyes at us. Isabelle and I only shared a silent look, giving him all the answer that he needed, knowing that he'd been tricked. "Did you really think this stall tactic was going to work?"
"No..." I shook my head.
"But I thought this would." Isabelle snapped her whip in Raphael's direction, but the vampire quickly sped out of the way. I spun around on my heel at the sound of his laughter, finding him standing by the door, seeming to be amused by us.
"Typical Shadowhunters... always underestimating a vampire." He shook his head before he disappeared from sight, no doubt rushing back to Hotel DuMort to try and stop Clary and Simon before they managed to get to Camille.
"Well, that went well." My voice dripped with sarcasm. "Think they had enough time to talk to her?"
"Let's find out." She grinned.
*~*~*~*
Isabelle and I smirked after we had broken down the wall of Hotel DuMort, allowing a ray of sunshine to flood the darkened room. I noticed that our joining our friends had come at a perfect time, the ray of sunlight coming right between them and Raphael with his people, their fangs bared at us Shadowhunters, as well as Simon and Camille.
"Typical vampire," my sister sighed as she and I stood before Raphael, just the thin ray of sunlight separating us as she used his own words against him, "Always underestimating a Shadowhunter."
"Adios." I gave a hissing Raphael a small wave before we turned away, leading the others towards the exit. None of us spoke as we hurried to the tunnels, eager to get out of the hotel before Raphael and his men came after us. Clary and Simon led the group while Isabelle and I pulled up the rear, Camille sandwiched between us.
"I think I'd have been better off just staying in the coffin." Camille commented.
"But you didn't. We got you out." Clay reminded the old vampire.
"Technically, we got you out." Isabelle corrected the red head.
"Noted." Clary nodded before focusing on the issue at hand. "Now, tell us where the book is."
"Patience, my dear-" Camille began.
"Enough!" Clary snapped as she stopped, turning her glare upon the vampire. "Just because we got you out doesn't mean I won't kill you right here."
"I'd have no problem helping." I crossed my arms over my chest as I glared at the elder of the two vampires, still angry with what she had done to Simon.
"There's still one more thing I require of, um..." Camille turned her attention to Simon, seeming at a loss for his name.
"Simon." My friend rolled his eyes.
"A Writ of Transmutation." Camille smirked.
"What the hell is that?" Simon asked, both him and Clary clueless as to what Camille was asking for.
"A document stating you asked her to turn you into a vampire." I informed them, glaring daggers into the back of the century old woman's head. "Basically a get out of jail free card."
"Signed and sealed in your blood, of course." Camille added.
"Haven't you had enough of my blood?" Simon asked.
"Never." She grinned at him. "And I definitely don't want the Clave to falsely accuse me of killing mundanes."
"You want Simon to pardon you?" Clary looked at her as though she were crazy, something I was questioning myself. "No way. You killed Simon. The least we could do is return the favor."
"And yet, the second I go up in smoke, so does any hope of you finding your precious book." Camille reminded all of us as Clary held her seraph blade to her neck.
"It's okay." Simon grabbed the red head's shoulder, stopping her from doing anything she'd regret.
"So where do we get this document, huh?" Clary asked, giving in. "I can't imagine you have many friends left."
"I know a guy." Camille shrugged.