Chapter Eight- Deadly Secrets.
It had been five hours since they had rescued the mundane and seven hours since Olivia had gotten kidnapped by a warlock. And Jace Wayland couldn't have felt more guilter.
In fact, he felt as if he had failed in his duty to protect the girl.
Sighing loudly and re-opening his eyes, he continued to pace outside the training room. The sketch that Clary had managed to draw from Alec's description of the warlock was held loosely in his hand, and he found himself, for the millionth time, glancing at it.
What, Jace wondered, would this warlock want Olivia for?
He had no idea. But he knew someone that could (more than likely) have the answers to his questions.
''Hodge,'' Jace called out once he saw his teacher coming out of the training room. Stoping his pacing, and walking over to the older male, he added, ''Hey, uh, can I have a second?''
''Sure.'' Hodge smiled and then frowned as he noticed the worried look on the boy's face. ''What happened?''
''Olivia. Hodge, a warlock kidnapped her.''
The teacher's face went slack and his breath suddenly hitched at the back of his throat. ''What-How?''
Jace opened his mouth to answer but then realized that he wouldn't be able to explain what had happened without giving away the previous night's events. So, he simply shut his mouth and emitted a long sigh. ''It's complicated.''
''Jace.'' Hodge spoke firmly, not thinking that the boy knew the amount of danger Olivia could be in, ''Olivia's been kidnapped, now is not the time to say that 'it's complicated'. ''
''Look,'' Jace began, sighing sharply and running his hand through his hair, ''It is complicated, okay? It's a very long story and requires a lot of explanation and we probably don't have that much time.''
The older male narrowed his eyes but didn't say anything else, indirectly letting the younger male know that he was listening. ''This,'' he (Jace) handed the paper that held Clary's drawing of the warlock to Hodge. ''..is the warlock that kidnapped Olivia. I wanted to ask whether you know anything about him.''
One look at the drawing and Hodge inhaled sharply, instantly recognizing the face that was notoriously well known in the shadow world. ''Magnus Bane.''
''Magnus Bane? As in the high warlock of Brooklyn Magnus Bane?'' Jace raised his eyebrows in surprise and then narrowed them in a frown as he suddenly remembered Clary telling him about having repetitive fragments of dreams that consisted of her mother telling Magnus to remove her memories (which he did, by the way).
''The very same,'' Hodge confirmed, making the younger boy's frown deepen with confusion. He could understand the fact that Magnus had removed Clary's memories, but what he couldn't understand was that why would Magnus Bane kidnap Olivia? What did he need from her?
Jace didn't have the answer to that question. But he had a feeling that all of it was, somehow, connected to something that none of them were aware of.
''We should probably send a team at Magnus's loft to get Olivia back. In fact, you know what? You should head that team and-''
''-Hodge,'' Jace cut in, sucking in a breath sharply and running his hand through his hair again. ''What is really going on over here? What is so different about Olivia? Why-why did you tell me to look after her? Why did Magnus kidnap her?'' he asked, looking at his teacher in an extremely frustrated way. He was tired, tired of not having any answers, of being clueless about the truth.
Hodge sighed. He could understand the younger boy's frustration, and it was justified. And as much as he wanted to tell Jace the truth, he couldn't. He was tied, restrained by a particularly regrettable action that he had committed in his past.
When Jace noticed that his teacher wasn't saying anything, he gritted his teeth together in annoyance. ''Hodge, come on,'' he began, hoping that the older male would give him the answers that he needed, ''You gotta tell me somethin'. ''
''I can't.'' Hodge spoke, and before Jace could open his mouth to again interrupt him, he further added, ''But there is something you need to know.''
''What?''
''Everything that has happened to Olivia, everything that is happening to her, and everything that will happen to her is because of him.''
Jace frowned. ''Because of who?''
''Valentine.''
~*~*~*~*~
Olivia was walking in a seemingly unending cycle of darkness. Every turn that she took, every direction that she looked in, everything that she touched, was covered in pitch-black darkness.
After a few minutes of walking in circles, and not seeing any signs of an exit, she was getting surer and surer that she was in some sort of cave that, by the way, lacked any and all forms of light. However, within a few seconds, a bright light suddenly flashed before her, causing the brunette to flinch and, for the second time, put out her hands in front of her as a shield.
Once the light's intensity reduced, she moved her hands away from her face and frowned in confusion when she noticed the scenery in front of her. The darkness that had surrounded her a few minutes ago had evaporated, giving way to a different view altogether.
No longer was Olivia standing in a cave, but in a park, that had lands of greenery and trees running in every direction possible. The sun was shining down brightly, but surprisingly, the warmth of its rays never reached Olivia.
In fact, she was feeling unusually cold. Very, very cold.
It was weird, to say the least.
The sudden giggling of a child made Olivia spin around on her heels, and she saw a boy of about ten or nine years old, with light red hair and bright green eyes, standing behind her. Weirdly enough, Olivia felt like she was somehow connected to the boy. She felt as if the little boy was someone she should have been familiar with.
''Who are you?'' she asked him warily, ''And what is this place?''
''A dream,'' he replied, plucking a flower from a nearby bush and handing it to the older girl with a smile decorating his innocent face. Olivia looked at the boy for a few minutes, noticing that he didn't appear to be frightened at all, if anything, he seemed relaxed and satisfied.
''And who are you?'' she asked again, but this time, in a more gentle voice.
The boy laughed softly and opened his mouth to speak, but instead of words, a loud, ear-piercing scream emitted from his lips, making Olivia flinch and drop the flowed that she was holding. Covering her ears with her hands, she looked at the boy to see that he was no longer a little boy, but rather a teenaged form of him, who, by the way, a horrible burn mark running up and down his left cheek.
''Help me,'' he begged, walking forward and gripping the brunette by her shoulders, ''Please,'' he sobbed, ''Help me.''
Olivia tried to get out of the boy's grip, but soon figured out that she couldn't. ''What are you talking about?'' she asked, getting frightened by the boy's disheveled appearance and mad-ish behavior, ''Help you with what?''
''She's gonna hurt me again.'' he sobbed, his lower lip trembling with fear and his eyes brimming with unshed tears. ''She's gonna burn me. I don't wanna be burnt again.''
The brunette frowned. She knew that all of this was just a dream, but in this moment, this boy's pain was the most realistic thing. And it was powerful enough to drive her to tears as well. ''Okay, okay, stop crying,'' she spoke in a gentle manner, trying to calm the teenaged boy down.
The boy, however, didn't stop crying. If anything, he sobbed even louder. ''She's gonna hurt me, she's gonna hurt me.''
''Whose gonna hurt you?'' Olivia asked him, but he didn't answer her, instead, he removed his hands from her shoulders and took a few steps back. Gasping loudly and shaking his head repeatedly in fear, he continued his little rant. ''She's gonna hurt me, she's gonna hurt me.''
Realizing that he was getting deeply wrapped up in his fear, Olivia moved towards the teen and tried to grab him by his shoulders. But before her skin could come in contact with his, the boy suddenly looked up at her and snarled from between his teeth, making the brunette jump back in shock and fear.
'' Help me.'' the boy again spoke. But this time, his voice didn't sound weak and pleading, it sounded demanding and....sinister. ''You have to help me.'' he hissed, taking a step forward and causing Olivia to take a step backward.
''HELP ME!'' he shouted and lunged towards her. Olivia dodged his attack, but due to courtesy of her bad luck, ended up tripping on a stone and falling to the ground.
As soon as her face touched the cold and hard ground, her vision started to darken and her eyes started to drop.
''You'll have to help me,'' she heard the boy say, '' We are connected in ways you couldn't even possibly being to imagine,''
Olivia woke up, breathing hard. The dream felt real, more real than anything else she had ever felt. Calm down, she told herself, it was just a bad dream. It wasn't real. None of it, the boy included, was real.
Once she had calmed herself down, she realized that she was laying in a bed (a very comfortable bed, to be exact) with a blanket draped over her. With a small grunt escaping her lips, Olivia slowly sat up and frowned, rubbing her throbbing temples and looking around her.
What had happened? Where was she? The last thing Olivia could remember was that she and the rest had been looking for weapons in a graveyard, and then she and Alec had been leaving for the Institute, and then she had gotten kidnapped by a warlock.
Continuing to rub her temples, the girl looked around her surroundings and realized that this area wasn't the Institute or any other place that she was familiarized with.
The only thing that Olivia could say with surety, after further studying her surroundings, was that she was in a room. A room that was-- with its light purple colored walls and way too much furniture-- making it easy for the brunette to cringe and wish that she had never woken up from her sleep.
Her eyes then drifted off to the nightstand, where she saw her stele and her sword laying side by side. Huffing loudly, Olivia moved the blanket off of herself and swung her legs over the side of the bed, taking a few seconds to adjust to the position and then moving towards the nightstand to collect her things.
Olivia didn't know why the warlock had kidnapped her, all she knew was that she needed to get out of there, and go back to the Institute.
I hope they managed to rescue Simon, she mentally prayed, and I also hope that Clary won't be freaking out right now.
She quickly tugged the steele back inside her pocket, and picked the sword up in her hand, watching without surprise as a dull glow lit the sword's blade up. Exhaling sharply and turning around, the brunette hurriedly walked out of the door and immediately collided into a hard chest.
Peering up, Olivia noticed that the person she bumped into was the same warlock that had kidnapped her. ''You.''
He grinned. ''Me.''
The brunette opened her mouth to bombard him with questions, but before she could even speak a word, the warlock, much to her annoyance, grabbed her arm and ushered her back inside the room. Closing the door quickly behind himself and spinning on his heels to face the young shadowhunter, he spoke, ''We haven't officially met. I'm Magnus Bane.''
Olivia tightened her grip on the sword and raised it in front of her in what she hoped was a threatening manner. ''I don't care who you are. Just let me go.''
Magnus raised his brows and then narrowed his eyes as he noticed something that was of particular interest to him. ''The seraph blade isn't glowing as brightly as it should,'' he noted, pointing a heavily jeweled and manicured finger towards the sword that Olivia was holding. ''Ever wondered why?''
''That's none of your business.'' Olivia retorted, holding the sword, that she now knew was called a seraph blade, even more tightly. ''Just like it wasn't your business to kidnap me.''
The warlock huffed softly and walked around Olivia in order to reach the chair that was by the bed's edge. ''Oh, cupcake, '' he began, sitting down rather comfortably in the chair and looking at the girl with narrowed eyes, ''Saving someone shouldn't be counted as kidnapping them, should it?''
''Saving me?'' she repeated, lowering her blade and frowning in bafflement at the words that were coming out of his mouth. ''What are you talking about? Saving me from what?''
''Why from your father of course,'' Magnus replied, placing one leg over the other and snapping his middle finger and thumb together. ''I feel the need to add that Valentine is not a very good father, is he?''
''How do you know that Valentine's my father?'' she asked warily, raising her blade back up in front of her.
He shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly, not bothered by the blade that the girl was holding. ''I know a lot of things. You, on the other hand, don't. For instance, you, chocolate pie, have no idea what Valentine will do if he ever gets his hands on you.''
Olivia's frown deepened. She had no idea why her father so interested in her, but judging from the fact that he was a maniac (and from Magnus's tone), she understood that whatever reason he had for needing her, it sure as hell wasn't for global peace.
But there was something she still couldn't understand. ''Why? Why does he need me?'' she asked Magnus, who simply gave her a look that basically screamed 'isn't it obvious?' ''Haven't you figured it out by yet? C'mon, honey pie, you look smart enough to put two and two together.'' When all Olivia did was give him a blank look, Magnus sighed and further added, ''Think, think, biscuit.'' he pressed, ''What makes you so different from others? What is that one thing that separates you from your sister and the other shadowhunters?''
The brunette opened her mouth to ask how did he know about her having a sister, but then stopped and closed her mouth as she finally understood what the warlock had been hinting at.
Her weird-moon condition.
''I-'' Olivia began, but froze mid-sentence as her mind went into a flashback of all the not normal things that had been happening to her since her childhood: her short temper on full moon days, her believing that the moon was holding her as its slave, her tendency to stare at the moon for hours......
A few days ago, she would have never been able to connect the dots. But now, since she was more aware of the supernatural world around her, Olivia could, very easily, join the dots and finally understand the truth. And the truth, as bitter as it was, was that there was only one species of creatures that exhibited the same signs as she did.
Werewolves.
''No.'' she breathed out, half in shock and half in wonder. ''No, that's not possible, I'm-I'm a shadowhunter.'' she looked up at Magnus, whose eyes were soft with sympathy. ''What?'' the brunette asked, noticing the look that the warlock was giving her, ''Are you gonna say anything or not?!'' she snapped, ''How can I be a werewolf?! And how do you know all of this?!''
''Calm down, biscuit,'' Magnus spoke softly, getting up from the chair and walking towards the girl with his hand raised in the air. ''As I said before, I know a lot of things. And as for your question as to how can you be a werewolf, you need to understand that-''
His words were interrupted by the shaking of the building, as a result of which, objects started falling and sliding across the room. ''What is happening?'' Olivia asked, gripping the edge of the bed in order to stop herself from falling onto the ground.
Magnus cursed under his breath and quickly opened the door, revealing a mass of people, that Olivia knew were all warlocks, running across the loft and screaming on top of their lungs.
''Valentine found us.''
Olivia's eyes widened at the information and her head snapped in Magnus's direction at a seemingly inhumane speed. ''What? How?''
''No time for questions, pumpkin.'' the warlock turned towards her, and before she could understand what was happening, he suddenly wrapped his fingers around her necklace and yanked it off her neck, making the girl gasp in surprise. ''Hey, give it back.''
''Trust me,'' Magnus began, placing the necklace in his pocket and sparing the girl a glance, ''I'm doing you a favor.''
She frowned, ''What-''
''No questions, '' he cut her off, ''Just listen to me okay? You are a half-wolf, Olivia. You have abilities that normal shadowhunters don't. You have more speed than them, your ears are sharper than theirs, and if properly directed, you can easily defeat them.''
''W-'' she started, but again got cut off by the warlock. ''I'll hold them off as long as I can, but if they still get to you, just trust your instincts and focus on your surroundings.'' Magnus patted her arm and then rushed out of the room, more than likely to stop the men.
Olivia sighed deeply and clutched the seraph blade tightly in her hand. Every part of her body was suddenly very much aware of every little thing that was happening outside the room. She could hear the whooshing of magic, the sound of footsteps creaking against the floorboard, the irregular intakes of breath, and even the rapid beating of someone's heart against their chest.
Magnus was right. She was a mixture. Half wolf and half shadowhunter, and those two things completed her, made her whole. She had to accept both of her sides, she had to learn to live with them and to use them.
''Come on, Liv.'' she muttered, ''Let's see how long you can avoid getting yourself killed.'' Gripping the seraph blade tightly in her hand and desperately praying that she'd live to see another day, Olivia stepped out of the room, and was immediately greeted by the sound of footsteps creaking against the floor, the rapid beating of a heart, and a weird metallic ringing noise following soon after.
Someone was coming towards her.
Quickly hiding behind a wall, Olivia gripped her blade tightly and waited for the person to reach the end of the hallway
Come on, she mentally cheered for the person as their rapid heartbeat and light footsteps got nearer and nearer. Just a little more distance, I promise you won't regret it.
Once the sound of the person's heartbeat and footsteps got near enough, Olivia stepped out of her hiding spot and was about to attack the person with her blade when a hand suddenly grabbed her wrist, pushed her backward into a wall, and placed a seraph blade against her throat.
Widening her eyes and inhaling sharply, Olivia peered up and noticed a pair of brown eyes, one of which had a bit of blue in it, staring at her in shock and relief. ''Olivia,'' the boy breathed out, moving his blade away and looking at the girl with a soft smile. ''I could kiss you right now.''
''Please don't.'' she said and absentmindedly massaged her throat before frowning at the unexpected surprise that she had just received. ''What are you doing here anyway?'' she asked, and upon noticing the change in his clothes, further added, ''And why are you wearing clothes that people usually wear at parties?''
Jace opened his mouth to reply, but then realized that explaining all of the events would take too much time. So, he simply summarized all of the things that had happened in one short sentence, ''Magnus Bane is the warlock that stole Clary's memories and blocked yours. But he can't give Clary her memories back because he gave them to a demon for safekeeping and he can't unlock your memories either because, well, it's, uh, a permanent block. ''
''Well, that's a shocker.'' the brunette murmured in disappointment, and then narrowed her eyes as she realized something of extreme importance. '' Wait a second, Magnus knows about me having a sister and Valentine being my father because of all of this, doesn't he?''
''Yes.''
''That actually makes a lot of sense.''
''Yeah, well, there is a lot that doesn't make sense and for that, we have to find Mangus and the rest before the Circle members do,'' he said and then started walking in the direction that he had previously come from.
''Wait,'' Olivia began as she picked up her blade-- that had fallen to the ground when Jace had pinned her to the wall-- and then practically ran in order to catch up to his pace. ''Did you come alone?''
''No.'' he answered and shot her an amused glance before looking back towards the front and raising his blade higher up in the air. ''You really think I'd come alone? The whole team is here. And even if I wanted to come alone, it's not like Clary would let me....'' he continued to speak, but Olivia wasn't paying heed to Jace's rambling because her attention had suddenly drifted off to the sound of footsteps that were coming from their left.
They were fast and light, and had the brunette been a normal shadowhunter, she probably wouldn't have heard them until it was too late. But she wasn't a normal shadowhunter, if anything, she was probably becoming the definition of abnormal.
''Jace! Look out!'' Olivia exclaimed and pulled Jace behind herself just as a circle member suddenly emerged from their left side and lunged for them.
Jace instantly pushed Olivia out of the way and got himself pinned to the wall by the circle member.
''Jace!''
''Stay back,'' Jace grunted and struggled against the Circle member's grip, ''Stay back, Olivia, everything will be fine,''
''No,'' the man sneered, ''Nothing will be fine for you, golden boy,''
''I didn't know Circle members could predict the future ,'' Jace said, his eyes gleaming with amusement.
Olivia rolled her eyes. They were in the middle of a life or death situation and he still had the time to make sarcastic comments.
''I always use to think your only job was to be lap dogs of Valentine.''
The man roared in anger and started to bring his blade down towards Jace, but the blond boy was quick, quicker than anyone would have expected him to be. He headbutted the man, making him stagger on his feet, then picked up his blade from the ground, and then, without wasting any more time, quickly pierced his weapon through the man's chest, killing him for once and for all.
Seeing dead bodies wasn't something that Olivia did regularly. So, it was natural for her to freeze and breathe out shakily. Get used to it, she told herself, you are probably gonna see a lot more dead bodies in real life than you have ever seen on TV.
Jace turned his attention onto the girl and frowned in confusion. How had she heard the Circle member coming towards them, even though he hadn't, was a mystery to him. A mystery that he intended to uncover. Especially now that he had Hodge's small, yet undeniable, hint, Jace was even more determined to find out what was so different about Olivia; and how did Valentine fit in the whole situation.
''We should move,'' Olivia stated, pulling the boy out of his thoughts and making him again glance around the area. ''Yeah, we probably should.''
The two gripped their blades tightly, sighed deeply, and then very cautiously moved towards the living room--which had been destroyed to its very core and was covered with injured warlocks in every corner.
''Oh my god,'' the brunette murmured, horrified at the state of the room and the people that were in it. ''Did the Circle members cause all of this?''
''Believe me,'' Jace began, looking around the room and exhaling sharply, ''They are capable of much more.'' he spared the girl a glance, tucked his blade away, and then walked over to where a few injured warlocks were sitting against a wall in a state of half-consciousness and half unconsciousness. Kneeling in front of them, he started to, or well tried to, heal them.
''There you are,'' a voice suddenly spoke up from behind Olivia and she turned around to see Izzy standing behind her in a shimmery silver dress that somehow perfectly defined her body.
Why, she wondered, was everyone wearing fancy clothes?
''When Jace said he was gonna look for you, I didn't think he'd find you for about like half an hour.''
''Well,'' Olivia shrugged, tucking her blade away and giving the younger brunette a soft smile, '' People are full of surprises.''
Izzy smiled brightly and gave the older girl a quick hug. ''Oh, I'm so glad you are okay,'' she spoke once she pulled away from her (Olivia). ''When Alec told us that you had gotten kidnapped....'' she paused mid-sentence, suddenly remembering the way Jace had almost bitten off Alec's head when he had told them about Olivia's kidnapping. ''...well, let's just say, it wasn't, uh, a pleasant scene.''
''Why?'' the older brunette frowned, ''What had happened?''
''Nothing that bad,'' Izzy replied. Her eyes went to Jace--who was still trying to heal the injured warlocks--and a smile made its way onto her lips. You might not see it yet, Jace, she thought, but Olivia affects you.
Olivia again frowned, not understanding the meaning of Izzy's words but not pushing her for a further explanation either.
Magnus suddenly entered the living room, and upon seeing the condition of the warlocks, sighed deeply.
''Magnus,'' Olivia called out once she became aware of his presence in the room. Walking up to him, she further added, ''You still haven't explained things to me.''
''Ah, yes,'' he replied, watching as Clary entered the room with a young warlock girl, who, upon seeing him, ran towards him and quickly hugged him around his waist before jogging off to where the rest of that warlocks were. ''I haven't, have I?''
''Things?'' Clary questioned as she, Izzy, Jace, and Alec started to gather around the two. ''What things?''
Olivia inhaled sharply and nervously glanced around the four shadowhunters, not knowing how they were going to react to the truth. Pull yourself together, Liv, she scolded herself, now's not the time to chicken out.
''I am a werewolf.'' she blurted out, and then quickly looked to the ground, expecting a lot of questions to be thrown at her. But when all she received was dead silence, Olivia slowly peered up and noticed that all of them (excluding Magnus, of course) were staring at her with open mouths and frowned eyebrows.
''What?'' Jace asked, breaking the silence and looking at Olivia with disbelief written all over his face. ''How's that even possible?''
He knew that Olivia was different, but he hadn't expected her to be a werewolf. And to say that it was shocking would be an understatement.
''It's not.'' Izzy spoke, ''It can't be possible. She's a shadowhunter.''
''Yes,'' Magnus agreed, moving around them in a circle and waving his hands in the air in a very dramatic manner. ''Yes, she indeed is a shadowhunter, there's no denying that. But,'' he stopped walking and turned to look at them. Raising a finger in the air, he again spoke, '' She's only half a shadowhunter.''
''Half shadowhunter?'' Clary frowned, getting very confused at the warlock's words, ''Is that even a thing?''
''No,'' Alec replied and glanced at the older brunette warily. ''It's not a thing. You can't be half a shadowhunter.''
''It is a thing.'' Izzy retorted, ''But it's very rare.''
''Very, very rare,'' Jace added, putting emphasis on the last two words.
''Well, then my situation seems to be a rare one,'' Olivia muttered under her breath and turned her attention towards the only warlock present in the room. ''But how did I become a werewolf? I couldn't have been born as one, both my parents are shadowhunters.''
''You're right.'' the warlock said, exhaling sharply and looking at the girl with soft eyes, he further added, '' You weren't born as a werewolf. It was injected into your bloodstream. You were your father's very first experiment, the Hybrid, the child who was still in her mother's womb when she had been, secretly, experiment on with demonic blood, werewolf blood, to be more specific. ''
Olivia's heart sank and she suddenly found it very difficult to breathe or stand without staggering. Upon hearing sharp intakes of breaths, she looked up to see that Clary, Jace, Izzy, and Alec's faces were covered in anger and disgust at the thought of Valentine experimenting on an unborn child.
Why did this happen to me? she inwardly asked herself, why did I have to get a father that saw me as nothing more than a mere experiment? What did I do to deserve this?
''Why,'' she asked in a low voice, ''Are my powers only showing up now?''
''Because of this,'' Magnus replied, pulling out the pendant that he had taken from her a few minutes ago and waving it in the air. ''....this pendant is a magical prison. For all your life, it has been the only thing that has kept you from transforming into a wolf.''
''Mom told you to make it, didn't she?''
''Oli-''
''A simple yes or no would suffice, Magnus.''
''Yes.'' he sighed, ''Yes, she did.''
That answer was, somehow, enough for Olivia's emotions to all go haywire. So much so that she was suddenly starting to feel overwhelmed by them.
Shaking her head and inhaling sharply, the brunette ran out of the room and went up the staircase that led to God knows where.
Once she reached the top of the staircase, Olivia saw a locked wooden door in front of her, and after a few seconds of staring at it, she realized that it (more than likely) led to the rooftop of the loft. Without wasting any more time, she quickly grabbed the knob, opened the door, and ran outside, letting the cold and crisp wind dry the tears that had started to fall down her cheeks.
She was tangled up in a web of emotions. Anger, disgust, confusion, but most of all, the brunette was hurt, very, very, deeply. Hurt by the fact that her father had experimented on her when she hadn't even been born, and by her mother's decision of restraining her wolf side.
What kind of father experiments on his own daughter? Olivia questioned herself, And what kind of a mother makes her own daughter go through a repeated cycle of fear?
Gripping the parapet tightly and ignoring the slight sting of pain that erupted in her palms, Olivia looked up at the sky and wondered whether Jocelyn had ever loved her or not. Did she hate me? Was she disgusted by the fact that my blood was half demonic? Was that why she blocked my wolf side?
''I'm beginning to realize that rooftops are your safe place.'' a voice said from behind her, but since the girl already knew whose voice it was, she didn't turn around and simply watched out of the corner of her eye as Jace stood next to her. ''Well, at least the view's good from here.''
''If you are here to talk to me about what happened downstairs, then you're going to find yourself getting disappointed.''
Jace shrugged his shoulders, not really surprised at the brunette's words. ''I wasn't expecting you to.'' he said and spared her a soft smile.
Olivia smiled--grateful that he understood her-- and again looked at the sky, noticing that it was starless and that only thing that was giving light was the moon.
The moon.
She clenched her jaw and balled her hands into fists.
She had always loved the moon, but now, now she hated it. She hated it because it represented Valentine's horrible deeds and Jocelyn's lies. She hated it because it was a constant reminder of the fact that her entire life had been nothing but a big betrayal.
''Why did mom do this? '' she uttered, breaking the peaceful and comfortable silence that had been surrounding them. ''Why did she restrain my werewolf side? Was she--was she afraid of it? Was she afraid of me?''
''No,'' Jace spoke softly , ''I don't think she ever feared you, Olivia.''
Olivia looked at him, ''How do you know that? You don't even know her. ''
''I don't ,'' he agreed, ''But I do know that she's a mother and that she raised you and Clary with love and care. What she did was wrong, there's no denying that, but she was scared, Olivia. She was scared for you and Clary. She was scared that she would rob you of your simple and safe lives by telling you two the truth.''
The girl ran her finger on the parapet--thinking about Jace's words--and sighed. He was right, but that didn't mean that she was going to forgive Jocelyn for her lies and betrayals so easily.
Mom kept us in the dark, she reminded herself, because of her we got thrown into this world without any preparations.
''You understand my mother better than I ever will.''
Jace shrugged, ''Nah. She's your mother, no one can understand her better than you.''
She gnawed at her cheek and bit her lip. ''You did.''
''That's because I am not as angry with her as you are.'' he said. ''Once your anger for her melts away, I'm sure you will see her point of view too.''
Olivia clenched her jaw and looked away. Her anger for Jocelyn wasn't going to go away, not that easily at least. ''No, I don't think I ever will understand her point of view.'' she uttered.
Jace's heart ached for her. She was extremely angry at Jocelyn-- he could see it in the tightness of her jaw and in the scowl of her brows-- but behind all that anger, he could see pain, pain that was caused by Jocelyn's lies and Valentine's experiments.
I wish I could do something to comfort you, Olivia, he thought, I wish I could help you.
''I don't think I will ever forgive her.'' Olivia breathed out. She knew she sounded horrible, but she, for once, didn't care. She was angry and hurt and wanted to take all of it out of her system in some way.
''Don't be too sure,'' Jace said and gave her a soft smile before adding, '' Our emotions and feelings change.''
My won't, my anger towards mom will never change, she wanted to say--but didn't. Instead, she blinked and moved her hair away from her face before looking at Jace with a teasing smile, ''Just like your feelings changed for Clary, right?''
Jace stiffened, his heart suddenly beat very loudly. ''I don't know what you are talking about,'' he lied.
Olivia chuckled, amused at the flustered expression that was on his face. ''Of course you do. You like Clary--''
''I do not.''
''You do.''
''Do not.''
''You do.''
Jace narrowed his eyes, ''I do not like Clary in any way--''
''Liar.''
''Am not!''
Olivia grinned, forgetting all about the things that happened in the last few minutes, ''Are too.''
He pulled his lips in a pout, ''I do not--''
''Oh come on blondie. Stop lying to yourself.''
''I am not lying to myself--''
''Liar, liar, liar.''
''Stop-''
''Come on, Jace,'' Olivia chuckled wholeheartedly and playfully bumped her shoulder into his, ''You like Clary, there's nothing wrong with admitting that.''
Jace exhaled sharply, tapping his fingers against the parapet and letting his mind wander off to the red-haired girl they were talking about. It was true, he did care about Clary, but he didn't want to feel whatever he was feeling for the younger girl. He couldn't let his guard down and let her in. He couldn't let her make him vulnerable.
Why, he groaned, did things have to be so difficult?
His eyes drifted off to Olivia-- who was humming a tune under her breath and gazing off into the distance-- and a smile again found its way onto his lips. Her mood appeared to have lightened up considerably and it seemed to the blonde boy as if she had forgotten about the things that had happened downstairs.
What I feel for Clary, he thought, is so much different from what I feel for Olivia. With Clary, it's tangled up and messy and I want to be near her yet I want to stay away from her. But with Olivia, it's less complicated. In fact, it's not complicated at all. It's easy to relax around her, but maybe that's because I don't have any romantic feelings for her.
'' She's not the only person I care about.'' Jace admitted, snapping the brunette out of her thoughts and making her turn her head towards him. ''I care about other people too.'' he added, ''I care about Izzy, my brothers, Maryse, Hodge, Robert, and...you.''
Olivia raised her brows. Jace was changing the topic,she knew that, but didn't comment on it--knowing that he wasn't comfortable talking about it. Instead, she smiled and huffed playfully before saying, ''Only because I am Clary's sister.''
''No.'' he replied,'' That's not the only reason.''
''So, you genuinely care about me?''
''Kind of, yeah,''
It was the truth. He had thought that he had originally started to care about Olivia because of Hodge's warning, but now, he knew he had always cared about her (ever since he had first seen her) and not just because of his teacher's words.
Olivia looked at him for a few seconds, smiled brightly, and then went back to looking at the starless sky. ''You know,'' she began after a few moments of silence, ''I think you might be good for Clary. She deserves to have someone who'll always stick by her, especially now, since she has had everything taken away from her. ''
''So did you.'' Jace pointed out.
The brunette softly scoffed. She was getting used to having everything snatched away from her. After all, she had lost her identity, what more could anyone take away from her?
It was Clary, however, for whom she was worried the most. The girl was still young, and not very capable of handling her emotions in tough situations.
She needed someone who could help her adjust to this new shadow world. Someone who could guide her, train her, become her support bank. And honestly, Olivia couldn't see anyone fitting in that role except Jace.
''I'm gonna be fine. Clary, on the other hand, won't,'' she stated and then turned her head towards the door of the rooftop as her newly sensitive ears picked up the clicking of heels coming up the staircase. ''Someone's coming.'' she declared, and before she or Jace could even blink, the door was suddenly flung open loudly, making both of them cringe.
Rubbing her ears, Olivia looked up and saw Izzy standing in the doorway with a grin plastered across her face. ''I'm sorry to ruin your heart to heart conversation, but Magnus is about to shift the lair, and unless you two wanna be stuck here, I suggest you hurry back down,'' she said, and grinned at the two one last time before turning around and then walking down the stairs.
''Come on,'' Jace said as he started to move towards the door, ''I have a feeling that Magnus will leave us here if we don't hurry up.''
''I hope he doesn't.'' the brunette murmured under her breath as she followed after the boy.
~*~*~*~*~
Once Jace and Olivia joined the rest in the living room, Magnus quickly moved the lair to a safer location--and after fastening a silver chain that contained a beautiful ruby pendant around Izzy's neck-- he (Magnus) took Clary--who was way too determined to save Jocelyn-- into another room. Leaving the rest four shadowhunters alone.
What are they doing? Olivia wondered, would it be wrong if I listen to their conversation?
After a few minutes of having a continuous internal battle within herself and tapping her feet anxiously against the wooden floorboard, Olivia finally decided to listen to the conversation that Magnus and Clary were having in the adjacent room.
''These chalks are beautiful.'' she heard Clary comment, ''What are they for?''
''If a person wants their memories returned, they must draw the pentagon to summon the demon,'' Magnus replied, and then Olivia heard rustling of paper, making her aware that Magnus was showing the drawing of the pentagon to Clary.
''You are not listening in to their conversation, are you?'' Izzy asked once she saw the look of pure focus on the older girl's face. ''What?'' she blinked, turning her attention onto the younger girl and pulling her lower lip out in a pout. ''No, of course not.''
Izzy nodded-- still not convinced-- and watched as the older girl settled down on the couch. ''You know that it doesn't matter to us that you have demonic blood, right? You're still the same person.''
Olivia looked at the girl and beamed, feeling grateful that they were still seeing her as one of them and not looking down on her because of her demon blood.
Magnus returned to the living room and motioned for Jace to follow after him. The blonde sighed deeply, and after glancing at Olivia and nodding his head at Izzy, who understood his hint, he left the living room; more than likely to go the room in which Clary was.
''Olivia,'' Izzy sighed deeply as she pulled out her steel and lowered the older girl's jacket before pressing her stele to her (Olivia's) upper arm. ''I have to draw a rune on you.'' she informed and then again opened her mouth to add, ''This might hurt.''
Olivia frowned in confusion at the girl's words, and then that frown changed into an audible gasp when she felt the stele's extreme heat burning away her skin. The girl had experienced the stele's heat before, but this time, it was unbearable, and she couldn't help but let out a little shriek.
What kind of a rune is that? she wondered, and then winced as Izzy continued to burn the rune in her skin.
It was a few torturous minutes before Olivia felt the heat of the stele disappear from her arm. Breathing out in relief and turning her head, she saw that her skin had turned an ugly shade of red. ''What in the world,'' she began, looking up at Izzy and rubbing her sore arm, ''...was that?''
''A Greater demon rune.'' the girl replied, and upon seeing the look of confusion on Olivia's face, she further explained, ''A greater demon is a demon that is more powerful than a normal demon. That's why we need this rune,'' Izzy pointed at the rune that she had burned into the older girl's skin, '' because it is more powerful than an average rune and helps us to defeat the greater demon.''
The older brunette slowly nodded her head, ''Is that why it is more painful too?''
Izzy chuckled and shrugged her shoulders. ''Basically.''
''Alright sunshines,'' Magnus began as he entered the room for the third time, ''Clary's almost done with drawing the pentagon. So if you all,'' he waved his hand towards the three occupants of the room, ''...would be kind enough to join me, Clary, and your blonde friend...'' he trailed off, indirectly telling the three to leave the living room and move towards the adjacent room.
Olivia sighed, and after pulling her jacket back up, got up from the couch and fell in line behind the three as they exited from the living room and walked towards the room where Clary and Jace were.
Once the group of three shadowhunters--one was a half-werewolf, to be more specific--and the warlock reached the adjacent room, they saw Jace standing by the doorway and Clary bent by the ground, finishing--like Magnus had said--her drawing of a magnificent pentagram.
''Jocelyn was right,'' the warlock commented and eyed the drawing that covered his stone floor as he and the group of four shadowhunters entered the room. ''Your artistry is beyond compare.''
Clary dusted off her hands and stood back up on her feet. Looking down at her work, she spoke, ''I don't know about that.''
''Oh, the only other person I've known who could draw as well was Michelangelo.'' Magnus put in, looking around the group, more specifically Alec, who was refraining himself from glancing at the warlock at all. ''Who was excellent in bed, I might add.''
Izzy and Olivia immediately understood the meaning behind the warlock's words. However, their response to his comment greatly varied. Izzy chuckled, getting amused at Magnus's words, while Olivia cringed, not wanting to hear about the warlock's excellent time in bed with Michelangelo.
The rest three, on the other hand, didn't understand Magnus's words and simply frowned in confusion.
''Okay, we're ready.'' the warlock declared as he walked around the drawing and stood at one head of the star. ''Everyone take your rightful place on the pentagram, and oh,'' he paused mid-sentence and blinked rapidly as he looked down at the pentagram and realized something that he hadn't realized before.
''There are only five places, so one of you has to sit this one out,'' he informed the five shadowhunters, and shifted his eyes from one person to another, waiting for someone to volunteer. But when no one stepped away, Olivia sighed and murmured a quick, ''I'll step away.'' and then walked towards the wall. Leaning against it and crossing her arms over her chest, she watched as the rest continued with the 'demon summoning' process.
''We must innate a bond,'' Magnus began explaining, ''Once this bond is sealed, it cannot be broken until the demon retreats.No matter what happens, we must not let go of each other's hands.'' he finished, giving the shadowhunters a serious look and extending his hand towards Alec. The boy hesitantly placed his hand in the warlock's hand and instantly felt a shock flow throughout his body.
Moving his eyes away from Magnus, Alec extended his hand towards Jace, who looked at him intently for a few seconds before taking his hand in his own.
The way Alec is becoming so flustered, Olivia thought, makes me wonder whether he has feelings for Jace.
That's none of your business, her inner voice spoke up, chastising her like a mother chastises her child.
She sighed, shook her head to get rid of her thoughts, and looked back towards the group, watching with interest as the hand grabbing process continued around the circle until it reached Izzy, who scoffed and rolled her eyes. ''You people are pathetic.'' she commented, grabbing both Clary and Magnus's hands.
''I will lead the ceremony, and you all must do exactly as I say,'' Magnus spoke in a stern manner, locking eyes with Clary before looking around the rest of the group. ''The demon's name is Valak, and at some point, he'll ask for payment in exchange for Clary's memories.''
Olivia frowned, not getting good vibes from the word 'payment'. ''What kind of payment?'' she asked, making all five of them instantly turn their heads in her direction. They looked funny doing that, she thought. Turning their heads around and still holding each other's hands made them look like kids who desperately wanted to play ring'a ring'o roses.
''We'll see,'' Magnus replied. Turning his attention back towards the group, he added, ''Let us begin.''
He then started chanting in a language that was both weird and unfamiliar to the others-- but they understood that the reason behind it ( his chanting)was to summon the demon. ''The necklace,'' Izzy exclaimed, looking down at the jewelry that was around her neck and noticing the bright red light that was emitting from it. ''It's pulsing.''
Olivia's brand new sensitive ears suddenly picked up a noise that was inaudible to the rest. It started as the whooshing of wind and then transformed into a sound that Olivia would have perceived as the roaring of a lion had she not known better.
The demon was here.
She cursed under her breath, pushed herself off the wall, and was about to tell the others about the demon's arrival when a black cloud of wind suddenly started swarming around the room and swiftly made it's way to the pentagram, which, by the way, was in the center of the group.
'' Valak is among us.'' Magnus informed, watching the black cloud of air with wary eyes. ''Do not break the bond.''
''Hold on!'' Jace shouted over to Clary when he felt her hand slipping out of his own hand.
''I'm trying!'' she shouted back.
The older brunette took a few steps towards the group and watched with an anxiety-ridden heart as the demon continued to roar and growl. Its fiery red eyes shifted from one person to another, making all of them nervous and panicked.
''It is time!'' Magnus yelled over the roaring of the demon. ''The demon demands payment.''
''What does it want?" Alec asked as he tightened his grip on both Jace's and Magnus's hands.
''We must each relinquish a beloved memory of the one we love the most.''
That's a weird demand, Olivia thought but didn't say it out loud. After all, she had been a part of the shadow world only for a week, and therefore, didn't really know much about demons and the kind of demands they made.
The demon took a memory from Izzy first. A picture of a smiling Alec appeared on the black tornado for a few seconds and then disappeared. Clary was next with an image of Jocelyn and Olivia appearing quickly on the tornado and then disappearing just as quickly.
After Izzy and Clary, it was Alec's turn. From him, an image of Jace( a smiling Jace, to be more specific) was taken. It didn't really shock anyone except Jace, who quickly glanced at the older boy with a questioning look in his eyes.
''No,'' Alec denied, shaking his head and feeling more embarrassed than ever. ''That's not true! The demon deceived me!'' he protested just as the memory started to disappear forever.
''Do not break the bond,'' Magnus warned, looking at Alec with worry filled eyes.
''Alec, it's okay!''
''Alec, calm down!''
Izzy and Olivia yelled over the roaring, hoping that Alec would listen to them and not do something that would prove to be dangerous.
Alec, however, was not in the best state of his mind, and therefore, didn't pay any heed to their words. ''No!'' he shouted, and without thinking twice about it, quickly released Magnus and Jace's hands.
''Alec!''
''NO!''
Jace hastily tried to grab the older boy's hand, but it was too late. The bond had already been broken, and the demon, well, it was angry and in its anger, it threw all of them back into the walls and then angrily swirled itself around the room, causing harsh blasts of wind to blow in every direction.
''I cannot contain the demon much longer!'' Magnus spoke in a strained voice as he used his magic to try to restrain the demon. Unfortunately, the demon was more stronger than the warlock and it broke through his magic just enough to attempt to grab the person that was the nearest to it. And that person, again unfortunately, happened to be Olivia.
The brunette had gotten back up on her feet, but was unaware of the demon moving towards her because her attention had drifted off to picking up her steele( that had somehow fallen out of her pocket) from the ground.
She didn't see the demon coming towards her, but someone else did.
''Olivia!'' Jace shouted and quickly stood up on his feet before running towards where Olivia was. Reaching her, he grabbed her by her shoulders, pushed her out of the way, and then screamed in pain as the demon seized him up into the air.
Alec and Izzy immediately ran forwards, grabbing Jace's arms and trying desperately to pull him out of the demon's grip while Olivia remained on the ground, breathing out shakily and thinking hard about the events that had happened in the last few seconds.
He saved me, she realized after a few minutes, the demon was coming for me, but Jace saved me. Exhaling loudly, she looked up at the boy who was suffering from the fate that she would have suffered from had he not saved her and cursed him under her breath.
She was feeling both grateful and annoyed. Grateful at the fact that Jace had saved her and annoyed at the boy's timing of deciding to become a hero.
Grunting loudly , she stood back up on her feet and placed her steele back inside her pocket before running towards the center of the room; where Alec and Izzy were still trying to free Jace from the demon's grip.
''You idiot,'' Olivia hissed through clenched teeth as she grabbed Jace-- who was continuously slipping in and out of consciousness,-- by his hand while Alec and Izzy continued to tug at his arms. '' Why couldn't you just let the demon take me? Why did you have to come in between?'' she asked, tightening her grip around the boy's hand and trying her hardest to pull him out of the demon's very tight clutch.
He chuckled softly, trying hard to fight the weakness that was taking over him. ''It's a habit.''
''The demon is growing stronger!'' Magnus shouted over to them as he felt himself getting weaker and weaker due to the overuse of magic.
''He's slipping!'' Alec bellowed as he, for the millionth time, attempted to pull Jace out. But like his other failed efforts, his this effort failed as well. ''I swear to god, blondie,'' Olivia spoke and gritted her teeth together as she continued her attempts at freeing Jace.
It was of no use-- that much became clear to her after a few minutes of extreme hard work and not getting the result that she wanted-- but Olivia couldn't give up, because she knew that if she gave up now, then she'd be drowned in guilt for the rest of her life.
After all, she was the one who was responsible for Jace's current state. And now, it was her responsibility to pull him out of it.
''Clary!'' Izzy called out, turning her head around to look at the girl, who was standing in a corner of the room with shock and horror written all over her face. ''Help us!''
The red-haired girl stood frozen for a few seconds before pulling out her seraph blade and looking towards the demon with determination flickering in her green eyes. Gripping the blade tightly in her hand, Clary started walking forwards but stopped when Magnus spoke his next words. ''Clary! If you kill the demon , your memories will be lost forever!''
Clary frowned and looked between her sword and Jace's exhausted face. The girl was in a dilemma, that much became clear to the rest of them when they saw that she ( Clary) was fixed on her spot and didn't seem to have any plans of ever moving from there.
''Clary, come on!'' Olivia shouted, ''Are you memories really so important that you'd let Jace die?''
Those words seemed to pull Clary out of her dilemma and she , with a sharp intake of breath, tightened her grip on her blade and moved forward before spinning herself around and stabbing the demon through its chest, causing it to burst into flames and Jace to be dropped onto the ground in a state of unconsciousness.
''Oh my god, Jace,''
''Jace....''
All of them (except Magnus)dropped to their knees and turned Jace over on his front. ''Jace,'' Olivia placed her hand on the boy's cheek and gasped when she felt the extreme amount of heat escaping his skin. He was burning up.
And it was all because of her.
The others continued to try to wake Jace up while the older brunette sat back on the ground and pulled her legs up to wrap her arms around her knees.
She was feeling guilty, very, very guilty for the blonde male's current condition.
In fact, she felt as if the guilt had turned into a dagger whose tip was constantly stabbing at her heart. Why did he have to be such a hero? she wondered, looking towards the unconscious boy and cursing his tendency of always saving others.
''Is he gonna be alright?'' Clary asked, looking up towards Magnus, who was busy rolling his sleeves down. ''I don't know,'' he replied sarcastically, ''Does he normally just lay like that without moving?''
The red-haired girl gave him a look and would have probably said something back had Jace not suddenly gotten up, rolled over on his side, and started coughing loudly. ''Jace.'' Clary breathed out in worry.
Clutching his stomach tightly, the boy continued to cough for a few more seconds before looking up at the concerned faces that surrounded him. ''I'm alright, I'm alright.''
Olivia had two very different reactions to Jace's coming back to consciousness. The first one was sighing in relief and the second reaction was to clench her jaw in annoyance. The boy had put himself in danger because of her, and as much as she was grateful to him for saving her, she was also angry at him for risking his own life.
Removing her arms from her legs, she moved closer to the blonde and smiled sweetly at him before raising her hand and smacking him on his shoulder. ''Ow!'' he yelled, rubbing his shoulder and sending the brunette a questioning glance.
''Stop being a hero all the time,'' she said, making Izzy and Clary chuckle, while Alec, who had sneakily walked over to the doorway, simply gazed at the group with an embarrassed look on his face.
Magnus saw the older boy standing near the doorway, and after sharing a glance with Izzy, he quickly walked towards him.
''Duly noted.'' Jace murmured. Olivia flashed him a smile, feeling satisfied with his answer, and then stood up from the ground before walking out of the room, leaving the boy to stare at her retreating back with a soft smile on his lips.
She is something.
Sorry that this chapter took me so long to write.