chapter forty-two. . .
amongst the people
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AN URGENT BRIEFING had been called in the Ops Centre which had caused Malia to meet her friends around the table that Alec leant on as he had gathered his friends. Alec had been thinking of what they were to do as they had the Mortal Mirror within their possession and it was due time when Valentine, Veronica and probably Jonathan would come for it. His thoughts had been spinning around in his mind as he wondered what would be for the best for one of the three Mortal Instruments and the Downworlders.
Isabelle had marched over in a hurry towards her friends as a sigh had escaped her lips before an apology. "Sorry I'm late." Malia donated the raven haired a smile who had been searching high and low for her little brother, Max. Isabelle had looked in the key places where she would've guessed the freckled boy would be but his lack of presence had brought her to concern. "I've been looking everywhere for Max. Has anyone seen him?
Ben's arms crossed over his chest as he studied Isabelle. "Have you tried the armory?" He suggested as he knew of the boy's interest just the same. "He's probably sharpening his blades for his assignment."
Another sigh helplessly left Isabelle's lips. "I checked."
"We have more pressing matters." Alec's silence had broken and attention had narrowed on him. "Thanks to Dot's help, we now have the Mortal Mirror."
"And you have it at the Institute." Sebastian spoke as he slowly nodded whilst listening. "And it's well guarded, I presume?"
"The Elite Guards are the only ones who know its location." Alec stated as his eyes narrowed on the Englishman, who Malia had chosen to keep her distance from giving the kiss he had planted on her. "It's safest that way."
"Jonathan went after Elliot and Dot to get the Mirror." Clary said causing Malia's eyes to peel away from Alec to her sister. "Now he knows we have it, he's going to come back for it."
"Agreed." Alec nodded. "Report back with any possible scenarios by which Jonathan, Valentine and Veronica could attempt a breach." He ordered causing Malia to nod in understanding before she begun to step away from the table as everyone had been missed. "Malia," Alec called after the banshee. "any feelings? Anything that could help us be one step ahead?" A frown played on her lips as her head shook lightly. "Whenever you do, let me know."
"Of course." Malia's attention narrowed on the other Lightwood. "Izzy, I'll help you look for Max." She told before turning away to help with the search through the Institute for the youngest Lightwood.
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MALIA CLENCHED ONTO her phone as she walked through the living quarters of the Institute still trying to find Max who seemed to have disappeared into thin air. She had looked everywhere. The brunette's phone vibrated within her hold causing her eyes to flicker down to the screen where she met Isabelle's name brightening across her screen as she had rung her. Malia rested her phone to her ear after answering the call as she had hope that Isabelle had found the freckled boy and that he was all right, his absence was worrying.
"Please tell me you found him." Isabelle pleaded.
The Bellerose's walk had slowed as she pinched the bridge of her nose. She had hope that Isabelle had found him and that's why she called. "Nothing. But I'm still looking through the living quarters."
"I swear to God, Malia, if he's gone out on a mission on his own I am going to whip his ass." Isabelle threatened causing Malia to chuckle lightly as she had slowed to a stop with the wave of whispers that flooded her hearing and down out the Lightwood on the other end of the phone.
Malia's brows knitted together as she pulled her phone slowly away from her ear as Isabelle called for her attention. The banshee had taken interest where she had stood, outside of Isabelle's room as a trail of blood led towards the door that sat ajar. Malia's head rested against the wood which she slowly begun to push open before her eyes had widened and her phone had slipped from her hand at the sight of Max Lightwood.
"Max?" Malia breathed out before she had run over to him. "Max?" She tucked her loose strands of hair behind her ear as she fell to her knees. The boy had blood dropped from his nose to down the side of his cheek as blood stained the carpet beneath him as his head had been badly wounded. "Max? Max?" Malia cupped the side of his face lightly as her thumb brushed against his cheek. "Max, can you hear me? No..."
"Jonathan. Jonathan."
Malia's eyes tightly shut as she fought the tears from escaping her eyes before her attention turned to the door for help. "Medic!" She screeched for attention. "I need a medic! Someone get a medic!" Malia cried as she fumbled for her stele to run over the iratze rune with hope it would do something with his healing process.
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MALIA CHEWED ON the nail of her thumb as Isabelle never parted from Max's side as the doctors tried to do their best with making sure he was going to be fine and that he was going to wake up. A white bandage had been wrapped around his head and which Malia had eventually pulled her eyes away from as she remembered what she had done whilst by the boy's side awaiting for a medic. "I-I tried using an iratze rune to wake him up," Malia informed as her eyes trailed to the doctors. "but...but nothing worked."
"What happened?" Alec had pushed his way into the surgery room as Clary and Ben followed as they all had heard the news whilst together and it had brought them to a hurried sprint to see if Max was okay.
"I don't know." Isabelle replied as she was filled with heavy panic of what would happen to her brother. "Malia found him like this in my room."
"Oh, my God, Max." Ben's breath had caught in his throat. Never had he seen Max get hurt, and he worried it may have had been worse. Max was so young, he had a life ahead of him, seeing him limp and quiet had made him fill with panic as he begun to think of a solution. "Maybe we should transfer him to Idris." Ben suggested. "You know, see that they can do."
Isabelle's head shook. "The medic said that in his condition, he won't be able to survive the transfer." She informed.
"Max!" Malia's eyes peeled away from the child to Jace sprinting into the room as Sebastian followed at a slower pace behind him. "We, uh, checked the Institute's security camera footage." Jace informed as he steadied himself beside Malia at the foot of Max's bed. "Whoever attacked him is somehow covering their tracks."
"Has he been able to talk?" Sebastian asked.
"Not yet. He's unconscious."
"I don't understand." Clary was in utter disbelief. "Who would wanna hurt him?"
"I don't know." Alec's jaw clenched. His was annoyed at himself for ignoring Isabelle's concern of their brother. He just wanted to make sure who caused Max damage was going to pay for what they had done. "But I'm gonna find out."
"Hey." Ben had blocked Alec's movement. "Hey." His voice had hardened for Alec to look at him. "I'll get Robert and Maryse here. The rest of us...we'll find out who did this."
"Yeah, I'll stay with Max." Sebastian told causing Malia's eyes to shift towards the Verlac. "If he regains consciousness, perhaps he can ID his attacker."
"Jonathan. Jonathan."
"God." Malia cursed underneath her breath as all she had wished were for the voices to stop. She felt consumed by them and she hated it.
Jace's attention flickered towards the brunette who massaged the side of her forehead. "Malia? What is it?"
"The...the voices." Malia told.
Sebastian's brows furrowed in confusion. "V-Voices? What voices?"
Jace cupped the side of Malia's face to pull her gaze up to him causing her eyes to narrow on him. "I need to go back where I found Max. I need to know who did this to him. I need to know."
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"FROM THE TRACES of blood outside the door, it seems Max was attacked somewhere else and then he came here." Jace identified as he and Malia had slowed as they had reached back to Isabelle's room with hope of trying to solve who had been capable of harming an innocent child who was just excited for his first mission. Malia could hear the pain in Jace's voice as she wandered into Isabelle's bedroom with hope of finding something that led them to the person behind the crime.
"He was probably looking for help." Malia spoke as her hands rested on her hips whilst her eyes scanned around the room before noticing the stain of blood on the rug by the roof of Isabelle's bed that had caused Jace to crown down beside. A frown helplessly wormed its way onto Malia's lips as she crouched down behind Jace where her chin rested on his shoulder for comfort as her hand stroked his back.
Jace's head turned to look down at the banshee as his lips rested against her forehead before her eyes had narrowed to what hit underneath the bed. The Herondale's brows furrowed as Malia had fallen onto her knees as she crawled to reach the box sitting there and which she had pulled out before her fingers brushed against Jonathan's initials. "This is gonna sound so stupid, Jace. But I think it was Jonathan. I think he's in the Institute."
Finding Jonathan's box that was once filled with his rattle and his baby booties they had belief even from Malia's word that Jonathan had been capable of hurting Max. He had been the one to do it. Isabelle remained by the side of her brother, too afraid to leave his side cold as she wanted to be there when he was to wake up. The discovery in which Malia and Jace had, brought their friends together in the Ops Centre, Clary, Ben, Alec and Sebastian as they were all willing to find the person who hurt Max as badly as they had.
Sebastian's eyes lingered on the box which Malia had settled onto the table and which had caused his brows to furrow. "What did you find?" He asked.
"The box Jocelyn used to keep Jonathan's things in." Malia stated as she pushed it into he centre of the table.
"It was right where Malia found Max." Jace added.
"I remember Max had his eyes on it." Alec informed causing Malia's eyes to flicker up towards the older Lightwood. "He was so determined to prove himself." The Bellerose donated a faint smile towards Alec before her hand rested on his arm for comfort.
"It's possible he found a way to use the box to track Jonathan." Jace guessed. "And Malia has a strong feeling that it was Jonathan."
"Wait," Sebastian had broken into ponder. "all of this would mean that Jonathan found a way to get inside the Institute with us even knowing."
Ben's fist connected into the table in rage. It had to be true. "Valentine's god damn son." He cursed.
"We were trained to do the impossible." Jace reminded as he hadn't been surprised if Jonathan had somehow found it capable.
"If Jonathan attacked Max and came for the Mirror..." Clary spoke.
"He wouldn't leave without it." Malia realised before a soft chuckle had escaped her lips. "Alec, he could still be in the building."
Alec's eyes widened slightly as he thought of the chances and which had made him think of what he do to be of help. "Listen, we have to confirm he's still inside."
"We saw what the real Jonathan looks like." Ben remembered and he remembered the burned flesh that made his skin crawl. "He will be glamoured as one of our own."
"Hiding in plain sight."
Alec turned to Sebastian with hope of having his help. "Hey, Sebastian, I want you and any other personnel on supplemental guard duty. Effective immediately the Institute's on lockdown."
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BEN KNOCKED LIGHTLY on the doorframe of Malia's room as him pacing up and down the corridor to the surgery room wasn't doing any good and was rather making Maryse, Robert, Alec and Magnus rather antsy. The Rivers had noticed how concentrated Jace had become in making sure that Jonathan nor Valentine and Veronica would get their hands on the Mortal Mirror, and he knew he was capable of putting up a good fight against the demon blooded monster. Ben had figured someone had to be with Malia especially when she could be of help to them with use of her banshee skills.
Malia's eyes pulled up the pieces of paper she had torn from her sketchpad that had been filled with smudges and scribbles and which she had been trying to piece together like a puzzle. She kneeled on the floor of her bedroom and hadn't been so welcoming with Ben as he had interrupted her as she scanned through papers.
"What are you doing?" Ben questioned.
"Putting together a puzzle." Malia quipped as she forced a smile towards the Rivers. "What else does it look like?" She questioned as she had rested another piece of paper in the correct space. "I remember when we were helping Dot, trying to figure out the sigil, I was looking in the sketchpad and I saw the smudges and scribbles. They had to have meant something or else I wouldn't have drawn them."
"Is this what the voices are telling you to do?" Ben wondered as he had fallen to his knees beside the brunette.
"Kind of."
"I can help." Ben offered.
Malia's eyes flickered up towards the Rivers and nodded. "Please."
"It's clearly going to be a face." Ben pointed out as he tilted his head to the side to give him a better look of all the smudges and the scribbles. "Maybe Jonathan's glamour?" He guessed.
The brunette sighed heavily. "You and Jace were right." Ben's brows helplessly knitted together in confusion. "He can't be saved as much as Clary and I want him to be. We have to stop him."
Ben's lips pursed as he had returned to his feet. "You're almost..." His voice trailed off. From the higher view he had been able to recognise the face and which had caused his sudden silence as Malia kept placing the papers together. "Malia. Stand up." Ben demanded.
Malia rested one of the three pieces of paper left to put together as part of the puzzle before pushing herself to her feet with wonder of what the Rivers had meant. Her scribbles and smudges had meant something and which had caused her breath to hitch in her throat as she took a slow step back. "It's Sebastian." Before Ben had the change of saying anything, Malia had turned quickly and sharply on her feet and away from the Rivers as she knew that she needed to find him before he had left the Institute, probably with the Mortal Mirror.
The Bellerose had made sure she had avoided bumping into those whom she had passed and who had questioned her sudden hurry. Ben had followed behind her, not realising how fast she was capable of running, but given that Jonathan was hidden beneath a face that they had trusted and who they had been lied to, she was angry and upset that she had fallen for it but most of all she was disgusted. Sebastian kissed her.
Malia had slowed to a stop as soon as she reached the stairs that led down to the Ops Centre. Her eyes narrowed with her surroundings, trying to spot Sebastian through the crowd of people who seemed to have had been following a new protocol where holding a piece of electrum and not feeling pain would be people's escape route of living the Institute. "Malia," Ben warned. "what are you going to do?" He questioned.
The brunette ignored the Rivers who watched as she sped down the steps as she managed to have had spotted Sebastian as he stood in front of Clary whilst handing back the electrum that had been placed in the palm of his hand. Malia had broken out into a full sprint towards the Verlac before she had jumped forward to tackle him to the ground.
"Oh, my God!" Ben breathed out. He was not expecting that.
Sebastian wanted his escape so he had gripped onto Malia's whilst they had rolled towards the doors that helped with his exist. Malia groaned as she had slammed his back into the ground before gripping him by his wrist, to not only hold him down but to show the burned flesh that had been caused from the piece of electrum he had held.
Sebastian's eyes had darkened before he had kicked Malia off of him, for her back to smack against the wall before he had jumped to his feet where his hand slapped into the red button to the side of the wall that had closed the doors, it had stopped the Shadowhunters from getting to Malia and Sebastian.
The Bellerose pushed herself to her feet as Sebastian had stalked forward before she had swiftly pulled out her blade for him to fall into causing a gasp to escape his lips as his hand secured around her throat, that begun to cut off the way she breathed. Sebastian glared at Malia from the pinch of pain he had felt from the way her blade her impaled into his abdomen.
Malia's eyes widened as she clawed at Sebastian's hand as she felt like she was being suffocated. "After ten years of torture in Edom, I learned to endure pain." He snarled. "In fact, I rather enjoy it." The teen had gasped for air as her eyes had flickered down to his pocket, noticing which shined there, and which she had guessed was the Mortal Mirror. Sebastian had not only a grip around her throat but on her wrist which held onto her blade and which she clumsy dropped from the way she had begun to feel lightheaded as the air was taken out of her. His bottom lip begun to tremble as admired his hold he had on Malia whilst his face drew closer to her, to rest their forehead's against each other. "I wanted you...and the Mirror. But if I can't have both."
Malia's head quickly shook as she had realised the grip that had loosened around her throat and as Sebastian was ready to kill her she had reached into his pocket to throw the Mortal Mirror to the side. Sebastian's eyes widened and with thought of reaching it, Malia had burst out a scream which was deafening, causing him to groan as the lights around them sparked and the glass doors had shattered to where pieces of glass and fallen to the floor. The Verlac seemed betrayed by his sister but Malia knew she just wanted the bad to stop happening.
"I'm gonna kill you." Jonathan threatened.
Jace sprinted towards where he heard the commotion and seeing Malia within the hands of the demonic son, he ha panicked. "Malia?!" He called after her as Jonathan had gripped tighter onto her throat to drown out her scream which had turned into a rasped gasp for air. Jace had hoped to get to the brunette who turned back to meet her friends who had all fallen in concern for her as Jonathan had vanished with a blur and had taken Malia with him. "Malia!"