I was staring blankly at the wall with my arms crossed. I tried to talk to Maryse, but she gave me the cold shoulder. She hates me. The woman who raised me as her own hates me. Part of me doesn't blame her, yet there's this other part that's pissed.
She's mad at Alec for following his heart because it won't restore the Lightwood. She despises me because I'm not the proper Shadowhunter for him. I have a good reputation as a warrior, but not as someone who could uphold the Lightwood name. This coming from the hypocrite that use to be a Circle member.
God, Valentine and Jocelyn are my parents. I mean, my real parents. My whole life is a lie. I was raised by Valentine. When he admitted being my father, I wanted to go with him. He trained me to be a soldier and use my brain, not to be some weak useless Shadowhunter. That got me even angrier.
"Something troubling you, dear?" Magnus asked.
"I'm fine." I said.
"Come on, you're finally with the man you love. Surely, there must be a smile somewhere."
I finally cracked a smile. That's the only thing that went right. Alec and me. After many years of just being friends, we're finally together. I still can't believe it.
"I am happy about that. It's just...." I trailed off.
"Maryse doesn't approve of you." He finished.
I nodded, "She wouldn't even look at me. She's treating me like I'm some Downworlder."
"Trust me, Samantha, she will come around." Alec came up to us with a defeated look on his face. "On a scale of one to ten...how unpleasant was it?"
"Off the charts. Yeah, I've never seen them so angry." Alec said.
I sighed, "They hate me, don't they?" Alec wrapped his arms around me.
"Just give them some time." Magnus tried to reassure me.
I poked my head out of Alec's embrace, "You don't get it, Magnus. Once Maryse and Robert have their opinion on something, there's nothing changing their mind. So, time isn't really on our side."
Alec pulled away, grabbed my hand, and we began walking towards Robert's office, "After what I did, I don't think they'll ever forgive me."
"Don't underestimate a parent's love." We stopped. Magnus glanced at us. "You don't regret it, do you?"
Alec sighed, "Everything happened so fast. I didn't have time to think. I just wanna make sure Lydia's okay. Now, I owe her so much."
I wrapped my arm around Alec's, "We owe her. She didn't have to do what she did. But, she did anyways. And I need to thank her for what she did for Izzy, and apologize for being a bitch towards her."
"You weren't a -" Alec stopped with the look I gave him. "Ok, maybe just a tad bit."
"And as soon as that's done, why don't we go on that date you owe me?" I smiled at him.
Alec smiled back, "Yeah, let's do that." He proceeded in kissing my cheek.
Magnus decided to be our date planner, "Perfect! I know this great Ethiopian place on 44th, you guys -"
Alec cut him off as we went inside Robert's office, "Lydia!" Oh, god. Lydia is knocked out on the broken table.
I knelt down next to her and checked her pulse. It's there, but just barely. I turned to Magnus, "Get help."
He ran out of the room as Alec began drawing on her healing rune, "You're gonna be okay."
"Hodge..." Lydia trailed off weakly.
What about Hodge?
》》》》
Hodge couldn't be the one who attacked Lydia and stole the Cup. He wouldn't do that, we loved him. We treated him like family...he couldn't do this. Izzy also agreed with me. Jace thought otherwise. Him and the Cup are gone.
I shook my head as we looked at the security tapes, "No way is it Hodge. We've known him our entire lives. He wouldn't do that...he wouldn't." I refuse to believe that the man I've considered as a father would betray us like this.
Izzy went back to the scene where Lydia grabbed the Cup. There was a man in front of her. My eyes widen in shocked, my mouth flew open, as the footage of Hodge was being played. He bitch slapped Lydia to the ground and grabbed the Cup.
"I led him right to the Cup." Jace mumbled.
"We treated him like family. How could he do this to us?" Alec asked no one in particular.
I didn't say anything. My mouth closed as I glared at the screen. I gripped the back of Izzy's chair so tight, my knuckles started to turn white. He goes to the room Jocelyn's in and puts the ring on. We could see him talking to someone. And I can bet you $100 I know who it is...Valentine.
"Well, that explains how he deactivated the Punishment rune, but it doesn't explain where he got the ring." Alec points out. I wasn't paying attention. All I'm seeing is red as my breathing comes out more harsh.
"You think someone smuggled it past the wards?" Clary asked.
"Maybe. Hodge wasn't the only ex-Circle member around here." Jace said.
Izzy turned from her chair, "Look, I know I don't always see eye to eye with my parents, but I know they're not traitors."
"Really? Isn't that what you and Sam just said about Hodge?"
I gripped the seat even tighter, I'm sure it would have break by now if I put any more pressure. I tuned the rest out as Izzy played the video of Hodge fighting the Forsaken. When the thing died, Hodge got the ring off its finger. It wasn't an attack, it was a delivery.
"If he gives that Cup to Valentine, he'll create an army of Shadowhunters. With that kind of power behind him, he'll kill thousands." Alec said.
"He'll kill thousands just creating the army. Most mundanes won't survive that." Izzy said.
"We won't let that happen. I'll make sure of it." I sneered.
My grip on the chair became too tight that the top half of the back rest broke off. Izzy jumped out of the chair as I held on to it. I panted as my eyes locked on the screen. I felt a hand on my shoulder and I turned to see Jace giving me a hard nod.
We're going to kill Valentine if it's the last thing we do.
》》》》
Jace, Alec, and I changed back to our regular clothes and looked at our weapons. We need to find Hodge before he gets to Valentine. Clary tried to talk Jace out of it, but he's not having it. Neither am I. I don't care if Hodge is dangerous - as she puts it - he's going to pay. There's three of us versus one of him. He's outnumbered.
I was sharpening my stars when Alec placed his hand over mine, making me stop. "You ok? You barley said a word since -"
"Since I found out that Hodge is nothing but a traitorous bastard? The man I thought was a father to me betrayed us? This is what happens when I let someone in. I let my guard down and they do something like this. Valentine's right. I'm weak. But, I won't be when Jace and I kill him." I snapped before going back to my stars.
"You can't let Valentine get inside your head like that."
"He's my father."
"He's not."
I shook my head at him, "You don't get it." I moved from him and walked next to Jace. "How are we gonna find Hodge? He didn't leave anything we can track."
Alec walked down to us, "I might be able to ask Magnus for help."
All of us began walking out. "You need to stop thinking with your stele, Alec." Jace took his phone out. "There's more than one way to track."
》》》》
Jace got Luke to help. He send his pack to sniff out Hodge and promised to howl when he's near. Alec, Jace, and I decided to split up to cover more ground. I checked around the crates and one of the wolves shook their head at me. It lifted its head up and turned to the left. It started to run and I had no choice but to follow.
The wolf led me to an abandoned skate park. I heard the sound of some clanking and picked up my pace. I spotted Hodge and Jace fighting. Jace swung his seraph at Hodge, which he blocked with his weapon. They began swinging their weapons together before Jace kicked him in the chest. Hodge tried to attack, but Jace elbowed him before sending another punch. He jumped up and slammed the butt of his blade on top of Hodge's head.
I took my star out as Jace sneered, "This is for Sam."
I threw my star before Jace could get the chance to swing. My star flew straight and sliced off Hodge's hand that had the weapon. He began screaming in pain.
My voice was laced with venom, "Karma's a bitch."
Hodge groaned as he held on to his bleeding arm. I glared at him as I grabbed the collar of his jacket and send a punch to his jaw. It felt good. He deserves this.
I let go and kicked him. He rolled a few feet way as I grabbed my seraph out. I panted as I grabbed the collar of his shirt with one hand and held my blade high up. "Sammy, don't!" Alec yelled. I stopped, but didn't lower the blade.
"Come on, Sam!" Jace shouted.
"It's over!"
I took shaky breathes as angry tears began forming in my eyes, "It's not over. He's a traitor. After everything that we...after everything that I've....he deserves this."
"You nearly killed him!"
My eyes snapped towards Alec, "Maybe I should've killed him! He sided with Valentine, Alec." My eyes turned back at Hodge sharply. "We treated him like family. I looked up to him. And after all of that, he treats it like it's nothing. I'm going to kill him. The Clave couldn't do it. They let him go and look where that got us."
Alec took a step closer to me, "What are you gonna do? You're gonna kill every ex-Circle member, even our parents?"
"Robert and Maryse aren't my parents. I'm nothing to them."
"Sammy, you know that's not true." He looked at Jace before looking back at me. "You guys said it yourself. They raised you. They are your parents!" Alec was finally close enough to release my grip on my blade. "Just calm down."
He released my grip on Hodge and pulled me into him. He wrapped his arms around me tight and that's when I let it all out. I buried my head into Alec's chest and started crying. Alec kissed the top of my head and kept mumbling, "You're ok. Everything's ok."
I turned my head to see Jace picking up the ring from Hodge's severed hand. The same ring that he used to call Valentine. He met my gaze and I nodded in agreement. He gestured his head for me to follow him. As much as I hate it, I let go of Alec. He gave me one last smile before checking on Hodge.
I wiped my tears away as I followed Jace. We gave each other a determined look before he puts on the ring. I glared at Valentine when his hologram appeared in front of us. "It's good to see you, Jonathan, Sara. I've been expecting you." He noticed the screaming Hodge from behind us. "I figured one of you'd find Starkweather. I've trained you well."
Jace shook his head, "You don't know us."
"I raised you." Valentine had a proud smile. "We're not so different, you and I."
I kept my face blank, "Hodge had it coming. You kill innocent people. We'll never do that."
Valentine tried to convince us, "Not yet. But it's all a matter of time. The Clave has failed us. They've failed all of humanity, but you two knew that as well as I did. Every day, the demons get stronger, and soon...there won't be enough Shadowhunters to fight back. The Cup can change that."
"The Cup destroys more than it creates. Our job is to protect the mundanes, not to kill them." Jace said.
"Well, losses are acceptable when the alternative is extinction. But come with me. Together, we can use the Mortal Cup to save the world."
I let out a fake chuckle, "Oh, we're coming for you. We have unfinished business."
Jace pulled the ring, disconnecting us from Valentine. He glanced back at Alec and Luke - who are distracted - before looking back at me, "Let's go find him."
"And where exactly are we going to look? We don't know the pinpoint of his location, may I remind you?"
"We don't." He glared at Hodge. "But, he does."
I nodded before getting my blade out. I walked up to Hodge and covered his mouth as I held my seraph near his neck, "Make one wrong move and I'll slice your throat faster than you can say Shadowhunter."
I hauled him up, grabbed his arm, before following Jace out.
》》》》
Jace and I got a few good minutes until Alec discovered we were missing. He's been blowing up my phone for the past ten minutes. Jace told me to ignore it, but when it rang again he groaned in annoyance. I shot him a look before I decided to answer.
"Where the hell are you guys?" Alec asked.
I sighed before putting my phone on speaker, "We're going after Valentine. You need to go help Clary."
"You're acting crazy. All right? Whatever Valentine's telling you, it's not true."
"That's just it, Alec. It is true. He's our father. He taught us how to fight. Not to be weak." Jace said.
"You can't let him control you like this. This isn't you!"
"That's just it, Alec. It is me. It is us. It's always been us. He raised us to be a killer." I glanced at Jace - who gave me a determined nod. "And we're gonna make him regret it."
"Now, go help Clary. She needs you." Jace added.
"No, no, no, no. You don't have to do this. All right?" Alec started to stutter. "You're not a -"
Jace grabbed my phone before hanging up. He gave it back to me, "Any second doubts?"
We began walking over to Hodge, "No. After everything he did, he's going to pay." I glared at the trembling Hodge. "Like this one."
"Where's Valentine?" Jace asked.
Hodge clutched on to his arm, "Why don't you ask him yourself? I saw you take the ring."
Not good of an answer. I raised my fist up and slammed it against his jaw. Then I gripped his collar and sneered, "You wanna try that again? Where the hell is Valentine?"
Hodge chuckles softly. He thinks we're playing. With my free hand, I grabbed Hodge's wound and applied a lot of pressure to it. He began screaming in pain as I held onto it tighter.
"Better tell us what we need to know. Sam's in a bit of a revenge mood on you and I won't stop her if she takes it to far. But, you should know that by now since you helped raise her." Jace said.
"Either tell us or you're gonna lose the other hand one finger at a time." I added as I pushed Hodge to the ground.
"You two are just like your father." Hodge panted.
"Then you know how slow your death will be if you don't answer our questions." Hodge began shuddering as Jace knelt down. "Where's Valentine?"
》》》》
Hodge let us to the docks. I hauled his ass all the way over here and whenever he would talk, I'd punch him. "Enough Sam." Jace said.
"Come on, Jace. You know out of all people he deserves this." I sneered again.
"What any good would he be if he's dead? We need to find Valentine first."
My grip on Hodge's jacket tightens, "Fine." I glared at Hodge as my voice was laced with venom. "But the moment we do fine him. You're dead." When we rounded the corner, the boat was missing. "Where is he?"
"He was here." Hodge panted.
"Where is he?!" Jace yelled.
"I don't know, he was here!"
I let out a breath before slamming Hodge to the nearest crate. He dropped down when I went to Jace, who's putting on the ring.
Then here comes Valentine - looking more smug than ever, "Ah, Jonathan, Sara. To what do I owe this surprise?"
"We've reconsidered your offer." Jace lied.
Valentine saw right through it, "First you want to kill me, then you want to join me. Seems a bit convenient, don't you think?"
"Do you want to meet us or not?" I snapped.
"Yes. But on my terms, not yours. 'Cause I've taught you better than this. Always strike where your opponent is vulnerable. See, fighting you directly could prove...difficult. But your friends...Well, your friends are a different matter." Valentine removed his ring, then disappeared.
I grabbed Jace's arm as I looked at him with wide eyes, "Clary."
He groaned as he got his phone out and left. I glared back at Hodge as he looked up at me. "Goldilocks." He panted.
"No. You don't get to speak to me." I said.
"Sam -"
I took my seraph out and held it close to his neck, "Shut up! Just shut up!"
"You're not going to kill me."
I moved the blade closer, "Wanna bet."
"I know you're not going to kill me. I've seen you grow up the moment the Lightwoods took you in. I may have helped Valentine with the Cup, I may have betrayed the Clave, but I never lied to you."
"Shut up."
He kept going, "I have always seen you as my daughter. The moment you called me 'Dad' was the moment I felt like you were my own. We might not be blood, but you are my daughter. You've made me proud. Each time I see you coming back from a mission, I couldn't be any more prouder."
"Shut up."
"You became a great warrior. A great friend. I love you for that."
I had enough, "I said shut up!" I hit the side of his head with the end of the blade and knocked him out cold.
I kept panting. He's lying. It's just another distraction so I can't kill him. I raised my blade up and was about to ram it through him, but Jace grabbed my wrist.
"Leave him, we gotta go." Jace said. I didn't remove my gaze from Hodge. "Sam, Valentine is on his way. He's going after Clary and he'll kill anyone who crosses his path. Clary, Simon, Magnus, Izzy...Alec."
I finally looked at him, "He'll kill them without a second glance."
"We'll deal with Hodge later. We need to go, now."
I looked at Hodge one last time before putting my blade back, "Let's go."
》》》》
We didn't know where Clary and the guys were. Jace called her continuously for the past few minutes. Nothing.
We were walking aimlessly until his phone rang. Jace answered it in a heartbeat, "Where are you?...You're in danger....Valentine's probably already on the way. You need to leave, now....Clary, you need to leave!...You need to leave, now...Clary. Clary!" Jace looked at his phone. "Damn it." He looked at me. "Come on."
And we began sprinting.
》》》》
Jace and I got out our weapons the moment we entered Camille's apartment. He slashed one Circle member as I threw my star at the next. We heard some commotion coming from one of the rooms. Clary's voice was heard as we picked up our pace.
"Stop!" Jace yelled as we held our weapons up. "This time you're not getting away."
The remaining Circle members grabbed Izzy and Simon and held their blades close to them. "Finally ready to kill your own father?" Valentine asked.
"You abandoned us." I said ice cold.
"I was protecting you. You weren't ready then, but you've grown. You've become the warrior I've trained you to be."
"You trained us well."
"And yet, I still have so much to teach you. I brought you here for a reason. Look, fight me, and watch your friends die."
A few more Circle members came into the room holding Alec and Magnus with blades towards their neck. "Alec!" I yelled.
Valentine looked between me and Alec before chuckling, "See, you are strong, but they make you weak."
"Let us go. You can have the book. We won't be able to stop you without it." Clary said.
"Ah, Clarissa." Valentine clicks his tongue. "So like your mother. Willing to do anything for those that you love. I'm touched, but...the book was never part of my plan. I want you to wake up your mother. I know that you'll both join me eventually." Clary held on to the book tighter. "It's fated." Valentine looked back at Jace and me. "You ready?"
I looked at Clary, then at Simon. I glanced at Izzy, who as shaking her head at me. I looked at Magnus, then my gaze fell on Alec. If I don't go with Valentine, then he's going to kill everyone I love.
Jace's voice snapped me out of my thoughts, "If I go with you...promise me you won't hurt them."
"I'll give you my word, if young Sara joins us. I've been separated from my twins for far too long."
I let out a shaky breath as I glanced at Alec, "I'll go. Just...let me say goodbye."
"Make it quick."
He nodded at the member holding Alec and he pushed him forward. I put my star away and I ran towards him. Alec opened his arms and pulled me tight against him. "Don't go." He mumbled. "We'll find another way."
I pulled away, "What if we can't? What if this is the only way?"
"Sammy, you're nothing like Valentine."
"You don't know that."
"I know you're not. You can't go with him."
"I'm sorry, Alec." I took my bracelet off and placed it in his hand before closing it. "I will always love you, remember that."
Alec couldn't find the words, so he placed his lips on mine. We don't know when we'll see each other again. So, we're putting everything we have into it. He pulled away, "I'll find you and I'll bring you back, I promise."
I smiled at him before looking at Magnus, who was out of the member's hold, "Look after him for me."
He gave me a nod. "Come on, Sara. We must be going." Valentine said.
I turned around to see Jace holding his arms up at Clary, Simon, and Izzy. Valentine came over and grabbed my arm before walking us to the Portal. He grabbed Jace's arm as we got closer. I looked back to see Alec grabbing Clary while she yelled for Jace and me. We met each others gaze and didn't break it. I gave him a sad look before the Portal engulfed me away.
》》》》
Valentine held the Cup up high. He looked all high and mighty as he glanced at his Shadowhunters. "Join me and my children! Pledge me your loyalty! Together...we can preserve our race, and rid the world of the demons who plague it. You are the chosen ones. The new breed of Shadowhunters!"
I glanced around the boat as the newly formed Shadowhunters began cheering. I felt someone grab my hand. I turned to Jace and see him giving me a little nod. I couldn't do anything but nod back.
If we're going to do this at least we have each other.
》》》》
A/N: Nevermore's done. Thank you to everyone who's reading it and I hope you enjoy What Happened To Perfect, which is coming soon.