Distractions - Chapter 58: Chapter 58
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"Girls, we can't panic," Jace said as Everest started making violent, meaningless gestures.
"He's a psychopath. He's capable of anything. Simon is innocent in all of this. Valentine only took him because we care about him," Clary said frantically.
"Why'd he have to be so brave and reckless and so Simon-ish?" Everest exclaimed, hands going to her hair in a sharp motion.
Everest turned towards the approaching Luke with her hair clenched in her hands and posture tense enough to hurt.
"Hey. All the prisoners are either dead or gone," he said. "No sign of Cleophas."
Everest's exhale was sharper than the last. She had forgotten they were also there for Luke's sister.
"Hey, it's going to be okay," Jace said gently.
Everest only heard him distantly, her mind only focusing on the sharp pain in her head from tugging her hair and the dull throbbing in her shoulders from her posture being too tense and closed off. She felt someone's arms wrap around her and lifted her head slightly to see Luke's familiar brown leather jacket.
"Deep breaths for me, okay? In and out. In and out. Match my breathing Kiddo." His voice was quiet, gentle, familiar.
One arm was removed from her back to gently untangle her hands from her hair but she didn't resist. She let him set her hands at her sides as she matched his breathing. Slowly, her breathing and heartbeat slowed down to a reasonable pace and her panic attack was postponed, if not mostly stopped.
A high-pitched ringing had her whirling in Luke's arms and looking at Clary. She held up her phone for them to see. It was a FaceTime from Simon. Clary hadn't set specific songs to her contacts like Everest did—well, beyond a chaotic tone she had set for Everest that changed every month or so. Everest moved to stand beside Clary, leaving the familiar comfort of her uncle.
"Answer it Clary," Luke insisted.
Clary answered it, holding the phone so that they could all see.
Simon was struggling, tied to a couch that looked too familiar for Everest's liking. His mouth was duct taped shut.
"No," Clary gasped out.
Valentine entered the frame. Everest did her best not to cry. "Hello Clarissa, Everest. I wish we were chatting under more civilized circumstances, but I'm afraid I've run out of options."
"Let Simon go," Clary said firmly. It was the voice she used when Everest or Simon was about to do something completely stupid. Like punch the most wanted man in the ShadowWorld while backup was unavailable.
"Absolutely." Everest's eyes narrowed. It wouldn't be that easy. It was never that easy. Especially not with Valentine. "Just as soon as you come back to the Institute. I need you to activate the Soul Sword for me."
"Not happening," Everest snapped.
"Oh, but I think it will." Valentine smirked. "Because if you and Clarissa don't show up within the hour, your sister's vampire boyfriend here is going to die a death I wouldn't wish upon anyone."
With that, he actually had the audacity to hang up.
Everest's hands slammed up to her face and Clary charged forward. Everest followed. What else could she do? Simon was being held captive by her murderously rampaging father and it was all because Everest let him get too close to the ShadowWorld instead of insisting he go home while Everest tracked Clary. If she had just insisted on him going home when this whole situation started, then he wouldn't have been introduced to the ShadowWorld and he would have never have been kidnapped and turned into a vampire. She had to get him back, she had to make sure he got to safety. She couldn't just sit here waiting for Jace to call Alec, or for her to call Izzy. She had to go now. She had to. She couldn't lose Simon. She couldn't. She wasn't sure she'd survive that.
"Clary. Everest," Luke said in his 'I'm your uncle so you're going to listen to me before I take the internet away' voice.
"What are we waiting for? Let's go," Clary said.
"That's what Valentine wants. You know that if you touch that sword, the entire Downworld dies, including Simon."
"No. I can't lose him, Luke," Everest all but shouted. "We have to save Simon. Valentine needs an energy source, right? He needs lighting."
"He's got it. Every Institute is powered by an angelic power core," Luke explained.
Everest supposed that explained the constant power and extraordinary WiFi without being on the grid at all. (She had checked a few days into being at the Institute.)
"Alec's not picking up. Let's move," Jace said, approaching them. When had he gone to call Alec?
"Valentine's gonna wish he never laid a hand on Simon. I'll make sure of it," Clary snarled, bouncing viciously in her determination to leave.
Luke caught Clary's arms and held her in place. Jace grabbed Everest's shoulders and she gave him an affronted look.
"Just in case," he muttered.
She stuck her tongue out at him.
"Woah, woah. You two aren't going anywhere near that Institute. We're taking you to Magnus's. He can protect you."
"So now I need to be protected?" Everest scoffed. "I can take care of myself, Luke. You know that. You trained me. Two police captains and countless officers trained me. I have two fully loaded guns, extra bullets, a seraph blade, and at least half a dozen knives. I'll be fine. Simon might not. We have to go save him."
"The Downworld knows you and your sister are the key to activating that sword. They want you two dead," Luke said sternly.
"So what?" Everest exclaimed. "It won't be the first time someone wanted me dead, or the first time I've almost died. What's the difference? At least this time it would be because I'm doing something to help someone."
All three of them immediately shifted awkwardly at the careless mention of her almost dying. She didn't fully know why. All of them had almost died several times. Why was it so different when it was her?
"I can save Simon," Jace told them, his grip on Everest's shoulders tightening.
"Doesn't work that way," Clary said. "If we're not the ones who show up, Valentine is gonna kill him."
Luke and Jace shared a look that Everest had no clue how to interpret.
And then, faintly, as if it were a memory rather than real life, someone called out, "Wait!"
Luke, Jace, Clary, and Everest ran towards the voice. Everest hoped it was someone who wasn't out for her and Clary's blood and would help them.
There, huddled in the back of a red cage, even paler than Simon was someone Everest never thought she'd see again.
"Dot?"
"There's another way to destroy the sword," the woman said in that impossibly powerful voice of hers that apparently not even Valentine could take away.
...
Everest was standing in the middle of Magnus's living room beside Jace and Clary. Luke was standing by the window, Dot was lying on the couch, and Magnus was standing up from where he had kneeled down to give Dot some sort of medicine.
"There. You'll start feeling better in no time," he told Dot.
"Thank you."
"Dot, tell us everything you know," Clary said.
"I heard Valentine briefing his men. If Jace touches the sword, his grip would destroy it," the woman said.
Everest frowned. That didn't seem right. As much as she hated to admit it, Valentine was smarter than that, better than that. He wouldn't brief his men in front of a prisoner he'd left alive. Not without some sort of ulterior motive. Then again, it was Valentine and he always had an ulterior motive. Maybe he knew Dot would tell them about Jace being able to destroy it and thought they wouldn't trust her after she lied to Clary in order to take her to Valentine? Maybe he was hoping they wouldn't trust her and wouldn't have Jace grab the sword, thus leaving it intact and usable? Maybe it was some sort of twisted reverse psychology thing?
"Me?" Jace sounded just as unconvinced as Everest.
"Why should we believe a word she says? It's probably just another trap," Luke said, walking over.
"Luke, Clary, Everest." Dot gave them a pleading look. "You know me."
"You also lied to us several times and lured Clary onto a death ship—which Jace and I were potentially about to set on fire at any moment—so excuse us if we don't automatically believe you," Everest said, a light sneer on her face.
She wasn't in the mood for this. She just wanted Simon back. She wanted to hug Izzy for hours and figure out when they would become Parabatai. She wanted to go on a date with her boyfriends, a real one. She wanted to have a movie night with her siblings. She wanted to have dinner with the Karters. She wanted to have a sleepover with Gino and Roslyn, after she found Roslyn that is, and one with Raphael. She didn't want the lying and a father that wanted to murder the entire Downworld, which just so happened to include a good portion of her friends and one of her boyfriends. She was really not in the mood for Dot to be lying, again.
"Because of the injections," Dot insisted. "But now that he had the warlock girl, he's cast me aside. I'm myself again."
"Good story, but I've heard better," Luke said.
"Wait." They all looked at Jace. "In the vision from Ithuriel, the demon that destroyed the sword had a clawed hand."
Clary shook her head. "Exactly. It has nothing to do with you."
"Maybe I can lend some insight. Show me the vision," Magnus requested.
Everest frowned. She hadn't actually gotten the vision, just the pain from it.
Magnus put one hand against Clary's head, the other against Jace's. "Hold Everest's hands so she can see it too."
Everest gave him a grateful half smile, it was all she could manage just then, and he nodded in return. She closed her eyes as Magnus started chanting in Latin. Her vision flashed white for a moment and then she saw the vision.
A charred, clawed hand with talon-like nails slowly wrapped around the ornate handle of the Soul Sword. Then the perspective zoomed out to reveal the figure attached to the hand. It was entirely cloaked, the only skin revealed was the hand and a face charred beyond any recognition. The figure and the sword disintegrated into ash without any warning.
Then Everest was back in Magnus's living room.
"The star in the sky," Magnus said, realization flooding across his face.
"Yeah, I remember," Clary said.
"Angles are higher beings. They communicate through metaphors." Great. The thing Everest, a writer, was supposed to be great at but really wasn't. "Morgenstern means 'Morning Star', as in 'How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning'. The vision seems to be speaking of a demonic Morgenstern."
Maybe Everest should brush up on her Latin and name meanings.
They all looked at Jace.
"Me. That's why Valentine wanted me under his control. I can derail his plan. I could destroy the Soul Sword."
"And destroy yourself in the process," Magnus reminded him gravely.
"No," Everest burst out.
"That's a suicide mission, no way," Clary tacked on.
Jace scoffed and gave them a disbelieving look. "Oh, says the girls who were willing to die for the Downworld, what, yesterday?"
"They're right, Jace. It's too dangerous," Luke said, using his 'I'm your uncle whether you accept it or not so you'll listen to me or regret it' look to its highest degree. He used the look a lot on Roslyn and Gino.
"Look, I'm not gonna touch the Sword." Everest didn't believe him. Not one bit. His inability to not help people if he could do something would kick in and he would grab it immediately. "I'll just get to it before it's activated, and bring the Mortal Instrument back to the Clave, where it belongs."
"Fuck you," Everest muttered to Jace without any real harshness in her words, only resigned reluctance.
...
Magnus was leaning against the stone balcony when Everest walked outside. She set a hand on his elbow and leaned her head on his shoulder. He rested his head on top of hers.
"I'm not used to feeling so...powerless," he said quietly. The look on his face broke her heart. She couldn't stand to see a man she loved so much look so defeated.
"I know, mon rayon de paillettes," she whispered back, easily translating the pet name into French. It sounded better, sweeter in French. Magnus smiled ever so faintly at the pet name and Everest wondered if he knew French beyond what was needed for certain spells. "I know."
Clary rushed out onto the balcony, her phone ringing. It was another FaceTime from Simon's phone. She answered it as she stopped beside them.
"Oh, my God. Simon, are you okay?" Clary asked frantically as Magnus and Everest stood on either side of her.
Simon was chained to a chair now, duck tape no longer covering his mouth. Valentine was kneeling next to him.
"Simon's fine," Valentine said with a wicked smile. "We've just been having a nice talk. You know, he told me your greatest wish was to get to know your old man. Which is funny, because it's always been my wish to get to know my daughters." Magnus gripped Everest's hand behind Clary's back. Everest set a hand on Clary's back. "And so, I'm here, and I'm waiting for you two. And frankly, well girls, I'm losing my patience."
Trigger Warning: Major injury
Valentine stood up suddenly, pulling a blade from his pocket. He held it against Simon's neck, then, with his smile never faltering, he sliced Simon's neck wide open. Simon's head fell back limply and Clary and Everest gasped. Magnus looked away briefly, looking as if he was going to be sick.
Valentine kneeled down in front of the camera. "The vampire has half an hour, maybe forty minutes, before he turns to dust. Come quick girls. He needs blood to survive."
Major injury trigger warning over.
Trigger Warning Continued: Mentions of death and weapons/guns
Valentine hung up once again.
"Portal us to the Institute," Clary said, walking back into the apartment.
"Clary, we can't," Magnus said.
"Now!" Clary exclaimed, eyes glistening.
Five minutes later, the three of them stepped out of a Portal in a park across from the Institute.
"Well, here we are," Magnus said.
"Magnus, I want you to know that I'm not going anywhere near that sword," Clary said firmly.
"I'm staying as far away from it as I can," Everest assured him.
"I don't care what happens to me," Magnus said with a sort of truth in his eyes that made Everest's stomach knot.
"Alec's gonna be okay," Everest told him, taking his hands in hers and looking into his eyes. He swallowed audibly. She squeezed his hands tighter. "Simon's gonna be okay. You're gonna be okay. I'm gonna be okay. We're gonna be okay. And maybe you don't care what happens to you, but I do. Alec does too. And I'm not going to let you get hurt, much less die. I promise. We can do this. You and me and Clary. We got this."
Suddenly, Raphael appeared in front of them and two vampires were tearing Magnus away from Everest and holding his hands stiff and away from each other. Another held Everest's hands behind her back, but it was a surprisingly light, gentle grip. Only Clary was left untouched, which Everest thought was odd considering Raphael didn't have the greatest opinion of her.
"Let go of my hands," Magnus grunted.
"So you can use your magic against us? I'm sorry, Magnus. None of us wanted it to come to this," Raphael said, and Everest could see the genuineness in his face. But she was still incredibly angry.
"What the hell?" she exclaimed. "We're literally only here to save Simon! We're not gonna go near the stupid death sword."
"No, you're not." Raphael grabbed Clary's wrists tightly.
"Stop this! Stop this now!" Magnus shouted, struggling against the vampires.
"Raphael, you don't have to do this," Clary begged.
"Phae stop it!" Everest yelled, eyes stinging and knees buckling.
"It'll be quick and painless," Raphael said, leaning in towards Clary's neck.
But before he could, Jace shoved him away from Clary, pointing a blade at his chest. "This ends now."
Luke pulled the vampires off of Magnus in one quick, fluid motion. Luke made towards Everest but Raphael made a sharp gesture with his hand and Everest was released from the loose grip before Luke got to her.
"Listen up!" Luke shouted.
"You better be right about this, Luke," Maia said tensely as she approached.
So Maia was there and apparently didn't want to kill Clary and Everest anymore. Okay then.
"The twins may be able to activate the Soul Sword, but I can destroy it," Jace announced. "The angel Ithuriel confirmed it in a vision."
Raphael scoffed. "Angel? Impossible."
"I saw it too. He's telling the truth," Clary said.
Raphael turned his head to look at Everest, even as Jace's blade got closer to his chest. "Escritora? What about you? Do you believe them?"
Everest nodded. "I do. I saw the vision too."
"You kill the girls, Valentine still has the damn sword," Luke said in the voice he always used on the twins and Simon when they weren't listening. It was the 'listen or lose internet, art, and writing privileges' voice. "Over time, no doubt he'll find a way to activate it. Now is our only chance to destroy it for good. Why not let Jace try?"
"Why would a Shadowhunter risk his life for us?" Maia demanded.
"Because you and Raphael are going to tell your Downworld buddies not to lay a hand on Clary or Everest. That's the deal."
Raphael raised his eyebrows. "And they'll listen to me?"
"Maybe." Jace lowered his blade and stood chest to chest with Raphael and made direct eye contact, even though he was taller than him by several inches. "You're the leader of the most powerful vampire clan in all of New York. They respect you."
Raphael looked back at Maia, who shrugged, then at Everest, who raised her eyebrows at him. He looked back at Jace with a sigh.
"What exactly is your plan?"
Once everyone was debriefed and the vampires were sent out with messages to deliver, Raphael pulled Everest aside. She gave Clary and Magnus a thumbs up before putting her hands on her hips and giving Raphael an incredibly disappointed and angry look.
"Escritora—"
"No. My turn to talk," she snapped. "You just tried to bite my sister, Raphael! That's not like disappearing for four years because some stupid lady threatened you. This is different. You could have actually killed her. You know how much she means to me. You know how much it destroyed me when I found out she was the one who found me that night when I was fourteen, how much it destroyed me when I thought she hated me. You know how much it would kill me, maybe literally, for her to die. And you still went and did that! You still tried to bite her. You still threatened her life in a way that there was no telling if you had complete control over the situation."
He looked offended but she plowed on. "You can control yourself, I know you can. I've seen it time and time again. But I don't know that for sure about the people you brought with you. What if one of us had been hurt earlier and was bleeding? Huh? What then? What if they couldn't control themselves? Someone would have gotten hurt and it would have ended so incredibly badly for all of us. What if they had reacted to something and startled you into actually biting Clary? Huh? What then? What fucking then?"
"I was never going to actually hurt her," Raphael said softly, mindful of Clary and Magnus, who were unashamedly listening in and had been since Everest's voice rose. "I had complete control of the situation. I brought vampires who have impeccable control and I was much further from her neck than it appeared. I knew Jace was coming, I could hear and smell him. I knew he'd get here in time. She was in no real danger, I promise you."
Everest searched his expression and body language for every display of honesty she knew he had. She found them all. She found the creases around his eyes, the way his nose was pushed downward, the way his elbows were tucked into his sides, the hyperextension of his right knee. Finally, she sighed.
"Fine. I believe you. But we will be having a serious discussion about boundaries and healthy conversations."
He smiled faintly and pulled her into a hug. "I had a feeling we would." Everest smiled softly into his shoulder but it fell at his next words. "We need to talk about Isabelle as well. There have been things happening that I don't think you are aware of that you should know about."
She drew back harshly and her brows furrowed. "You'll actually tell me what's happening?"
He nodded. "I will once this is taken care of. But for now we need to deal with Valentine."
She gave him a stern look. "I'm going to hold you to this, I swear."
He nodded. "I wouldn't expect anything less."
She gave him one last small smile before walking back to Magnus and Clary.
"What was that about?" Magnus asked.
Everest shook her head. "Just me chewing out Raphael and us agreeing to actually talk once this is over." She looked between the two with a serious expression. "Because this is going to end, one way or another."
Clary nodded with a fierce expression. Magnus rolled his shoulders back and smirked.
"One way or another," he repeated.
"Let's end this tonight," Clary said.
The three shared another determined look and then started walking towards the Institute. They could do this. They had to.
Everest crept through the halls of the Institute beside Clary and Magnus. Clary had a seraph blade out and Everest had her gun. She was more comfortable with her gun than a sword and she was going to use her gun damnit, noise and stealth be damned. Magnus's fingers curled around nothing, but Everest knew him and his magic well enough to know that a spell was forming on his tongue and ready to be used at a moment's notice. The Institute was eerily quiet, more so than when Everest snuck out in the middle of the night. At least then there were still people milling around, usually those who couldn't sleep or had night shifts. Now there were no people milling around, no Shadowhunters who didn't care who she was or why she was up at three in the morning and only cared that she had coffee refills for all of them. It was silent and empty. Every step she took seemed louder than when she ran. Her footsteps echoed in the hall and she dreaded to find out what it would sound like if she had to use her gun.
"On the video call, Simon was in Aldertree's office. This way," Clary whispered.
"Careful, Circle members could be anywhere," Magnus whispered back, eyes scanning the halls.
Everest froze as the sconces on the wall flickered for a moment. She looked around the corner to see one of the people she never wanted to see in what was likely to become a warzone: Madzie.
"It's Madzie," Everest said quietly. Her words rang out in the too still halls and all she could do was hope that no one else was around to hear her. She turned to Magnus. "Go get her. We'll find Simon."
He looked at her, brows furrowed and eyes full of hesitation. "Are you sure?"
"She's being used, Magnus," Clary said. "None of this is her fault, but she needs to be stopped."
Everest's kid-o-meter, as Simon and Clary jokingly called it, rang loudly in her head and she rolled her shoulders back. "She's just a kid who lost her only source of comfort and family. She's just a kid being manipulated by a man who, for all intents and purposes, raised a child and knows how to talk to children. He's too good at manipulating her for anyone's good. You need to go get her and help her realize what Valentine is doing."
Magnus's gaze softened slightly. "I'll meet you in Aldertree's office."
Clary nodded and began to walk away, but Everest hesitated.
"Magnus."
He turned back to her and raised an eyebrow. "Yes, Cupcake?"
She took a deep breath, went up on her tiptoes, and whispered something she had been wanting to say for a long time. "I love you." Then she pressed a kiss to his lips and, with a smile and a wink, followed after her sister.
Clary shot her a smirk and wiggled her eyebrows in a horrifically suggestive way that shouldn't have been possible, and for a moment Everest could almost forget that at any point in the next few hours she and any of her loved ones might die. Almost.
The sound of fighting echoed in the halls and Everest and Clary snapped back to reality. They shared a glance.
Clary nodded. "Go save the day, Ev. I've got Simon."
Everest nodded, knocked Clary's shoulder softly, and followed the sounds. She reached the end of the hall of small meeting rooms without encountering anyone, likely because they were all busy fighting a small figure dressed head to toe in dark navy clothes, some sort of fabric covering their lower face so that only their eyes were visible. The mysterious person wasn't doing too badly in the fight, it was clear they were well trained, but they were already going against three Circle members and two more were closing in. Everest had to help. She couldn't just leave, even if the person might not actually end up needing her help.
Trigger Warning: Fighting/battle
Everest put away her gun, instead drawing a seraph blade and a smaller dagger. Maybe she did need to be a little stealthier and not alert every Circle member in the building that she was there. After all, Valentine was more than aware of her preference for using a gun over blades and had more than likely told his minions as such too.
She joined the fight without much grace, too much adrenaline flowing for her entrance to be all that smooth. She intercepted the two Circle members trying to sneak up on the figure, blocking a swipe at her face with the seraph blade. She kicked her foot out at the man's hand, a move she had used on Jace a while back in training, and knocked his blade across the room. She used her momentum to continue the turn and take a swipe at his knees, hoping to use his stocky build to her advantage. Like she hoped, he had stumbled back. Unluckily, he landed near his sword just as his companion charged at her.
She wasn't entirely sure what the Circle member expected to happen when he charged at her like a bull in a fighting ring with his arms up, but she was able to grab the hand his sword was in and twist it hard enough that the blade clattered to the ground. She kneaded him in the groin and then in the face as he crumpled in pain. Her dagger sliced through his clothes easily enough and when he twisted in an effort to get away from her, it embedded itself in his abdomen. She winced as she pulled the dagger out and he dropped to the floor. She wasn't sure that the whole 'attacking real people' would ever get easier, even if they were trying to kill her and her loved ones.
The other Circle member was more thoughtful in his attack. Rather than charge directly at her, he circled her, forcing her to mimic his actions so she wasn't attacked from behind. Then, without warning, he raised his sword and swung down at her. She sidestepped it hastily, and then their seraph blades met in a loud, echoing clash of glowing metal. The noise rang in her ears and she shifted her right foot so that she was in a more stable pose, using the action to feel the floor beneath her feet and ground herself. She could do this.
She wasn't sure how long she and the Circle member fought, locked in a deadly pattern of strike, dodge, lunge, turn, repeat. All she knew was that her arms ached and her eyes burned from not blinking for so long. Then she saw her opening. The Circle member raised his sword once more, leaving his chest wide open. Everest struck out with her blade and the next thing she knew, the man was dropping dead on the ground and she was whirling towards the mysterious figure who was still fighting one of the Circle members.
The figure spun towards the Circle member, a dangerous medley of metal and a fighting style too familiar for Everest's liking. She just couldn't place it.
Everest joined in, her blade meeting the Circle member's torso at the same time the figure's did. The man crumbled sideways, the blades preventing him from falling forwards or backwards, landing in a pool of his own blood.
Trigger warning for fighting/battle over.
Trigger Warning continued: mentions of death, weapons/guns
She closed her eyes briefly and when she opened them again, the figure was staring directly at her. She blinked rapidly a few times.
"Hi," she said in an incredibly awkward tone. "I'm Everest."
The figure just nodded and turned away.
"Wait!" The figure stopped. "Probably a stupid question, but, you're on our side right? The side that wants to stop Valentine?"
The figure's head turned and Everest saw a lock of caramel colored hair slip from beneath the hood the figure wore as they nodded. She couldn't help the sigh of relief.
The figure walked away silently and all Everest could do was watch them walk away with an odd sort of deja vu rushing over her. She shook it away. She could figure out why the badass with cool clothes was familiar to her later. For now she needed to find someone, anyone, on her side and figure out what the hell was going on.
She raced through the Institute towards the Ops Center, the direction that Clary had been going earlier, when a pain like no other she had ever felt before had her crumpling to the floor. It stung and burned and throbbed and stabbed at every nerve in her body. A scream tore its way past her lips as she tried to curl into a ball to make the pain go away. It hurt so bad. She couldn't make her body move, couldn't make her fingers curl or her legs twitch. She couldn't even make her eyes close as her vision went white.
The bright white light faded after what felt like several hours and Everest's vision returned slowly. But the pain, while it lessened, stayed. She could move her limbs now, but it made the pain return with full force. Her throat burned and even swallowing hurt. Her eyes stung and she couldn't stop the tears from falling. She tried to force her body to stay still so that it hurt less, but it didn't work. Her stomach burned with the effort to not move so much.
Everest clutched her hand to her stomach and cried out when an even sharper pain radiated throughout her entire abdomen at the action. Fuck, was she actually injured and not just a bit beat up?
She groaned loudly when her hand landed on the ground too hard. At least her hands looking beat up could be explained by her fighting for so long. Her stomach, not so much. Not when it felt as swollen and hurt as much as it did. Especially that everything she could feel from her stomach pointed to internal bleeding, which was incredibly unhelpful especially considering how Everest was pretty sure she hadn't been hit in the stomach that hard.
"Everest?" a voice called out. Everest knew that voice. Why did she know that voice? "Everest where are you?"
She groaned loudly again in hopes of getting the person's attention. A sharp gasp echoed in the once more quiet Institute and loud footsteps vibrated through the floor to Everest and she winced at the extra thudding sensation. She both heard and felt the thud as the person dropped to their knees beside Everest and gently picked up her head to place it in their lap.
She forced her eyes to focus on the person's face. Long dark hair was disheveled around their face and their makeup was smeared, but Everest would know that eyeliner anywhere.
"Izzy?" she croaked out.
Her friend let out a watery laugh. "Yeah, Sunny, it's me. Angel, don't you ever do that to me again. I don't think I could handle losing you." Everest hissed in pain as Izzy shakily lifted her shirt slightly to look at Everest's stomach, which she had started clutching again. "Fuck, what happened to you?"
"Life and probably near death," Everest muttered bitterly, each word grating on her raw throat. "Probably Valentine being stupid too."
Izzy cursed violently for several moments while she activated Everest's Iratze. The sharp pain in her stomach eased. Then again. And again.
"Why three?" Everest asked.
"Nothing happened the first time." Everest frowned. Her stomach had stopped hurting as much. "It worked the second time and the last was for good measure."
"But it did work the first time. My stomach stopped hurting as much."
Izzy cursed again, this time cursing Valentine directly. "Only you. It was probably internal bleeding." Everest's face screwed up. "Pretty much."
It was quiet for a moment before Izzy asked, "Can you walk?"
Everest made an uncertain noise in the back of her throat but let Izzy help her sit up anyway. With ample help from Izzy, she managed to stand up and slowly stumble towards one the side doors of the Institute. Even though Everest and Izzy weren't that far from the doors, what normally would have taken only a few minutes ended up taking what had to have been at least ten minutes. Both of them were stumbling, and while Everest was in worse condition, Izzy was clearly injured as well. Her hands were shaking and her skin was paler than Everest had ever seen. All she wanted to do was demand answers but she knew Izzy wasn't in the headspace for those questions. She would be soon, but not now. Everest wasn't sure if she herself was in the right headspace for those questions either.
Everest's foot caught on the edge of a rug and neither of them could catch themselves before they hit the ground. Everest didn't know why she and Izzy started laughing. Maybe it was the absurdity of the situation, or maybe it was the way they were tangled up like children at a sleepover, or maybe it was the fact that the two of them, both very strong and independent individuals, had just been beat by a rug. No matter the reason, it earned them the attention of two of the night shift Shadowhunters.
"Latte Girl? What happened to you?" Noah demanded as he and Mia, another night shift Shadowhunter that Everest brought coffee refills to occasionally, crouched in front of her and Isabelle. The two's laughter slowly faded.
"Take a guess," she said as the two of them pulled out their steles and traced her and Izzy's Iratzes as well as their strength and stamina runes.
"Valentine," Mia said, frowning. "But that doesn't explain why you look like you died."
"Thought I did," she muttered. Izzy's hand squeezed hers with more strength than she thought it would have. "But nope. You're still stuck with me showing up at three in the morning with coffee and questions to keep you awake."
Noah chuckled as Everest and Izzy were hauled upright by him and Mia. "I'm not complaining."
Everest smiled faintly at him. "Good. I'll see you later then."
"I'll hold you to that."
Everest and Izzy slowly made their way out of the side doors and towards the courtyard with their arms wrapped tightly around each other, not so much that they couldn't fall—they knew how that had ended up—but so that if one fell both fell. Hopefully it would be less crowded there than in the front.
"Maybe we should have gone to the front," Izzy said in Everest's ear as they were shoved aside by a team of Shadowhunters marching into the Institute. Everest just nodded distractedly.
Her gaze was caught by Alec and Magnus frantically searching the courtyard for something or someone. Magnus's suit was rumpled and his hands were curled at his sides. Alec's hair was in complete disarray and he kept rolling his shoulders back as his head whipped around. Her chest tightened and she let out a breathy, relief filled laugh as she leaned her head against Izzy's, her gaze never leaving her boyfriends. They were alive. They were both really alive.
"Go to them," Izzy urged, gently pushing Everest. She gave her a suspicious look. "I'll be alright, I swear. Now go."
Everest gave her a grateful smile as she hurried down the steps and across the courtyard as fast as she could. Her body still ached and her throat was still raw, but it didn't matter anymore. All that mattered was getting to Alec and Magnus and making sure they were alright.
"Alec! Magnus!" Her voice cracked but she was still loud enough for both of them to whip around and see her immediately. She looked like a complete mess, she was sure, but it was fine. It didn't matter. They did.
"Everest!"
Before she knew it, she was being surrounded by warm arms and burying her face in someone's chest. Her arms wrapped around them tightly and someone, likely Alec judging by the lack of rings, ran his hand through her hair.
She looked up at them, the two loves of her life, and gave them a watery smile that they returned immediately.
"I thought..." She trailed off. She swallowed painfully. "I thought you two were dead. I was so scared."
"So was I," Magnus said, eyes glossy.
"I've never been that scared in my life," Alec said, breathing heavily. "Not knowing if you were alive or dead, it—it terrified me."
Everest's fists clenched in the back of their jackets as her eyes watered once again. "I'm alive, I'm here. We're here. We're okay." A tear rolled down her face, tracing her nose and catching on her lips. She looked between Alec and Magnus, a small smile forming. "I love you both so much that I can't put enough words together to explain it. But I do. I love you, Alec. I love you, Magnus. So, so much."
Alec's heavy breathing hitched and for a moment she worried she'd said it too soon. She had never been as stingy about saying 'I love you' as others, whether it be to friends, family, or partners. But she knew that most weren't like that and held a certain power in those words. She just hoped that neither of them were upset that she said that.
"I love you too," Alec said, a smile forming on his face.
He leaned down and kissed her slowly, passionately. She could feel him smiling into the kiss and she couldn't help but smile too. At least she hadn't scared him off.
"You didn't let me respond earlier, what with your savior stunt and all," Magnus said with a grin when they parted, "so you didn't get to hear me tell you that I love you too, Cupcake."
She hadn't thought that her smile could get any wider, but she was proven wrong as Magnus captured her lips in a passionate kiss.
When she pulled away, it was to hug them both as tightly as she could, hands fisted in their jackets. They were all breathing shakily and both Everest and Alec were shaking while Magnus's hands were tangled in their hair. Alec rubbed circles onto their backs as they stood there, basking in the comfort of all three of them being safe and together. Everest knew she should tell them about her collapsing when the bright light appeared, but she didn't want to ruin the shaky peace. I'll tell them later, she vowed.
"Alec, Everest." Everest looked up to see Jace standing hesitantly a few feet away from them. A bright smile lit up her face when she saw that her brother was okay. "Could I talk to you two alone?"
She hesitated. She didn't want to leave Magnus, not again. She shared a look with Alec, who was frowning again. Magnus chuckled softly.
"Go do your jobs," he said. His smile was soft and genuine and it took a significant amount of effort for Everest not to kiss him again then and there.
"Are you sure?" Alec asked quietly, hand still lingering on Magnus's arm.
"I'm alright," Magnus assured them.
Everest let her hand slowly let go of Magnus's jacket—which would probably need to be ironed later—and she and Alec followed Jace inside the Institute. Everest leaned on Alec, her arm around his waist, and did her best not to stumble.
"Are you okay?" Alec whispered.
She nodded. "I just hurt still. I got in a fight with a few Circle members, had to show off the training a load of police officers gave me, and then got knocked to the ground by some sort of white light. I activated my Iratze, don't worry. I don't think I'm injured anymore, just sore."
"Tell me immediately if that changes, okay?"
Everest smiled up at Alec in answer. And despite worry still lining his face, he smiled back.
Jace stopped in a clean hallway and leaned against the wall. Alec leaned on the corner of a wall and Everest leaned back on a sturdy looking hallway table. Jace began talking then, speaking in a quiet, grief filled voice that made Everest's heart ache. As he kept talking, explaining what Valentine had said and done, her eyes got wider and wider and her breathing got slower and slower as she tried not to freak out.
"How do you know he was telling the truth?" Alec asked slowly, calmly.
"He had the Soul Sword in his hands," Jace said, staring blankly at the wall.
"So you're not related to Clary and me?" Everest asked, not bothering to try to hide the disbelief and confusion in her voice.
Jace shook his head and looked at her. "No, I never was."
Everest took a deep breath, pushed off the table, and pulled Jace into a hug. He stiffened at first, but relaxed after a moment. "You're still basically my brother, Dye Blonde. Blood doesn't change that." She smiled into his shoulder. "But I'm glad you're not related to Clary and I, politely of course."
His chest shook with silent laughter. "Me too, Purple. Me too. Politely."
"What are you gonna do?" Alec asked as Everest went back to leaning on the table.
Jace sighed. "I'm gonna tell her. Clary I mean."
They stood there for another minute or two processing the new information and then went their separate ways. As Alec and Everest made their way back to Magnus, Everest's phone rang. She dug it out of her pocket, glad it hadn't been smashed in the fight. She didn't recognize the number.
"One second," she told Alec with a smile. "I'll catch up in a minute."
He nodded and she watched as he walked away towards Magnus, who smiled brightly upon seeing him. Everest answered the phone, leaning against the outside wall of the Institute.
"Hello?"
"Hey Everest. How've you been?"
A gasp escaped her lips and her phone slipped from her hand, hitting the soft grass below.
"He's a psychopath. He's capable of anything. Simon is innocent in all of this. Valentine only took him because we care about him," Clary said frantically.
"Why'd he have to be so brave and reckless and so Simon-ish?" Everest exclaimed, hands going to her hair in a sharp motion.
Everest turned towards the approaching Luke with her hair clenched in her hands and posture tense enough to hurt.
"Hey. All the prisoners are either dead or gone," he said. "No sign of Cleophas."
Everest's exhale was sharper than the last. She had forgotten they were also there for Luke's sister.
"Hey, it's going to be okay," Jace said gently.
Everest only heard him distantly, her mind only focusing on the sharp pain in her head from tugging her hair and the dull throbbing in her shoulders from her posture being too tense and closed off. She felt someone's arms wrap around her and lifted her head slightly to see Luke's familiar brown leather jacket.
"Deep breaths for me, okay? In and out. In and out. Match my breathing Kiddo." His voice was quiet, gentle, familiar.
One arm was removed from her back to gently untangle her hands from her hair but she didn't resist. She let him set her hands at her sides as she matched his breathing. Slowly, her breathing and heartbeat slowed down to a reasonable pace and her panic attack was postponed, if not mostly stopped.
A high-pitched ringing had her whirling in Luke's arms and looking at Clary. She held up her phone for them to see. It was a FaceTime from Simon. Clary hadn't set specific songs to her contacts like Everest did—well, beyond a chaotic tone she had set for Everest that changed every month or so. Everest moved to stand beside Clary, leaving the familiar comfort of her uncle.
"Answer it Clary," Luke insisted.
Clary answered it, holding the phone so that they could all see.
Simon was struggling, tied to a couch that looked too familiar for Everest's liking. His mouth was duct taped shut.
"No," Clary gasped out.
Valentine entered the frame. Everest did her best not to cry. "Hello Clarissa, Everest. I wish we were chatting under more civilized circumstances, but I'm afraid I've run out of options."
"Let Simon go," Clary said firmly. It was the voice she used when Everest or Simon was about to do something completely stupid. Like punch the most wanted man in the ShadowWorld while backup was unavailable.
"Absolutely." Everest's eyes narrowed. It wouldn't be that easy. It was never that easy. Especially not with Valentine. "Just as soon as you come back to the Institute. I need you to activate the Soul Sword for me."
"Not happening," Everest snapped.
"Oh, but I think it will." Valentine smirked. "Because if you and Clarissa don't show up within the hour, your sister's vampire boyfriend here is going to die a death I wouldn't wish upon anyone."
With that, he actually had the audacity to hang up.
Everest's hands slammed up to her face and Clary charged forward. Everest followed. What else could she do? Simon was being held captive by her murderously rampaging father and it was all because Everest let him get too close to the ShadowWorld instead of insisting he go home while Everest tracked Clary. If she had just insisted on him going home when this whole situation started, then he wouldn't have been introduced to the ShadowWorld and he would have never have been kidnapped and turned into a vampire. She had to get him back, she had to make sure he got to safety. She couldn't just sit here waiting for Jace to call Alec, or for her to call Izzy. She had to go now. She had to. She couldn't lose Simon. She couldn't. She wasn't sure she'd survive that.
"Clary. Everest," Luke said in his 'I'm your uncle so you're going to listen to me before I take the internet away' voice.
"What are we waiting for? Let's go," Clary said.
"That's what Valentine wants. You know that if you touch that sword, the entire Downworld dies, including Simon."
"No. I can't lose him, Luke," Everest all but shouted. "We have to save Simon. Valentine needs an energy source, right? He needs lighting."
"He's got it. Every Institute is powered by an angelic power core," Luke explained.
Everest supposed that explained the constant power and extraordinary WiFi without being on the grid at all. (She had checked a few days into being at the Institute.)
"Alec's not picking up. Let's move," Jace said, approaching them. When had he gone to call Alec?
"Valentine's gonna wish he never laid a hand on Simon. I'll make sure of it," Clary snarled, bouncing viciously in her determination to leave.
Luke caught Clary's arms and held her in place. Jace grabbed Everest's shoulders and she gave him an affronted look.
"Just in case," he muttered.
She stuck her tongue out at him.
"Woah, woah. You two aren't going anywhere near that Institute. We're taking you to Magnus's. He can protect you."
"So now I need to be protected?" Everest scoffed. "I can take care of myself, Luke. You know that. You trained me. Two police captains and countless officers trained me. I have two fully loaded guns, extra bullets, a seraph blade, and at least half a dozen knives. I'll be fine. Simon might not. We have to go save him."
"The Downworld knows you and your sister are the key to activating that sword. They want you two dead," Luke said sternly.
"So what?" Everest exclaimed. "It won't be the first time someone wanted me dead, or the first time I've almost died. What's the difference? At least this time it would be because I'm doing something to help someone."
All three of them immediately shifted awkwardly at the careless mention of her almost dying. She didn't fully know why. All of them had almost died several times. Why was it so different when it was her?
"I can save Simon," Jace told them, his grip on Everest's shoulders tightening.
"Doesn't work that way," Clary said. "If we're not the ones who show up, Valentine is gonna kill him."
Luke and Jace shared a look that Everest had no clue how to interpret.
And then, faintly, as if it were a memory rather than real life, someone called out, "Wait!"
Luke, Jace, Clary, and Everest ran towards the voice. Everest hoped it was someone who wasn't out for her and Clary's blood and would help them.
There, huddled in the back of a red cage, even paler than Simon was someone Everest never thought she'd see again.
"Dot?"
"There's another way to destroy the sword," the woman said in that impossibly powerful voice of hers that apparently not even Valentine could take away.
...
Everest was standing in the middle of Magnus's living room beside Jace and Clary. Luke was standing by the window, Dot was lying on the couch, and Magnus was standing up from where he had kneeled down to give Dot some sort of medicine.
"There. You'll start feeling better in no time," he told Dot.
"Thank you."
"Dot, tell us everything you know," Clary said.
"I heard Valentine briefing his men. If Jace touches the sword, his grip would destroy it," the woman said.
Everest frowned. That didn't seem right. As much as she hated to admit it, Valentine was smarter than that, better than that. He wouldn't brief his men in front of a prisoner he'd left alive. Not without some sort of ulterior motive. Then again, it was Valentine and he always had an ulterior motive. Maybe he knew Dot would tell them about Jace being able to destroy it and thought they wouldn't trust her after she lied to Clary in order to take her to Valentine? Maybe he was hoping they wouldn't trust her and wouldn't have Jace grab the sword, thus leaving it intact and usable? Maybe it was some sort of twisted reverse psychology thing?
"Me?" Jace sounded just as unconvinced as Everest.
"Why should we believe a word she says? It's probably just another trap," Luke said, walking over.
"Luke, Clary, Everest." Dot gave them a pleading look. "You know me."
"You also lied to us several times and lured Clary onto a death ship—which Jace and I were potentially about to set on fire at any moment—so excuse us if we don't automatically believe you," Everest said, a light sneer on her face.
She wasn't in the mood for this. She just wanted Simon back. She wanted to hug Izzy for hours and figure out when they would become Parabatai. She wanted to go on a date with her boyfriends, a real one. She wanted to have a movie night with her siblings. She wanted to have dinner with the Karters. She wanted to have a sleepover with Gino and Roslyn, after she found Roslyn that is, and one with Raphael. She didn't want the lying and a father that wanted to murder the entire Downworld, which just so happened to include a good portion of her friends and one of her boyfriends. She was really not in the mood for Dot to be lying, again.
"Because of the injections," Dot insisted. "But now that he had the warlock girl, he's cast me aside. I'm myself again."
"Good story, but I've heard better," Luke said.
"Wait." They all looked at Jace. "In the vision from Ithuriel, the demon that destroyed the sword had a clawed hand."
Clary shook her head. "Exactly. It has nothing to do with you."
"Maybe I can lend some insight. Show me the vision," Magnus requested.
Everest frowned. She hadn't actually gotten the vision, just the pain from it.
Magnus put one hand against Clary's head, the other against Jace's. "Hold Everest's hands so she can see it too."
Everest gave him a grateful half smile, it was all she could manage just then, and he nodded in return. She closed her eyes as Magnus started chanting in Latin. Her vision flashed white for a moment and then she saw the vision.
A charred, clawed hand with talon-like nails slowly wrapped around the ornate handle of the Soul Sword. Then the perspective zoomed out to reveal the figure attached to the hand. It was entirely cloaked, the only skin revealed was the hand and a face charred beyond any recognition. The figure and the sword disintegrated into ash without any warning.
Then Everest was back in Magnus's living room.
"The star in the sky," Magnus said, realization flooding across his face.
"Yeah, I remember," Clary said.
"Angles are higher beings. They communicate through metaphors." Great. The thing Everest, a writer, was supposed to be great at but really wasn't. "Morgenstern means 'Morning Star', as in 'How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning'. The vision seems to be speaking of a demonic Morgenstern."
Maybe Everest should brush up on her Latin and name meanings.
They all looked at Jace.
"Me. That's why Valentine wanted me under his control. I can derail his plan. I could destroy the Soul Sword."
"And destroy yourself in the process," Magnus reminded him gravely.
"No," Everest burst out.
"That's a suicide mission, no way," Clary tacked on.
Jace scoffed and gave them a disbelieving look. "Oh, says the girls who were willing to die for the Downworld, what, yesterday?"
"They're right, Jace. It's too dangerous," Luke said, using his 'I'm your uncle whether you accept it or not so you'll listen to me or regret it' look to its highest degree. He used the look a lot on Roslyn and Gino.
"Look, I'm not gonna touch the Sword." Everest didn't believe him. Not one bit. His inability to not help people if he could do something would kick in and he would grab it immediately. "I'll just get to it before it's activated, and bring the Mortal Instrument back to the Clave, where it belongs."
"Fuck you," Everest muttered to Jace without any real harshness in her words, only resigned reluctance.
...
Magnus was leaning against the stone balcony when Everest walked outside. She set a hand on his elbow and leaned her head on his shoulder. He rested his head on top of hers.
"I'm not used to feeling so...powerless," he said quietly. The look on his face broke her heart. She couldn't stand to see a man she loved so much look so defeated.
"I know, mon rayon de paillettes," she whispered back, easily translating the pet name into French. It sounded better, sweeter in French. Magnus smiled ever so faintly at the pet name and Everest wondered if he knew French beyond what was needed for certain spells. "I know."
Clary rushed out onto the balcony, her phone ringing. It was another FaceTime from Simon's phone. She answered it as she stopped beside them.
"Oh, my God. Simon, are you okay?" Clary asked frantically as Magnus and Everest stood on either side of her.
Simon was chained to a chair now, duck tape no longer covering his mouth. Valentine was kneeling next to him.
"Simon's fine," Valentine said with a wicked smile. "We've just been having a nice talk. You know, he told me your greatest wish was to get to know your old man. Which is funny, because it's always been my wish to get to know my daughters." Magnus gripped Everest's hand behind Clary's back. Everest set a hand on Clary's back. "And so, I'm here, and I'm waiting for you two. And frankly, well girls, I'm losing my patience."
Trigger Warning: Major injury
Valentine stood up suddenly, pulling a blade from his pocket. He held it against Simon's neck, then, with his smile never faltering, he sliced Simon's neck wide open. Simon's head fell back limply and Clary and Everest gasped. Magnus looked away briefly, looking as if he was going to be sick.
Valentine kneeled down in front of the camera. "The vampire has half an hour, maybe forty minutes, before he turns to dust. Come quick girls. He needs blood to survive."
Major injury trigger warning over.
Trigger Warning Continued: Mentions of death and weapons/guns
Valentine hung up once again.
"Portal us to the Institute," Clary said, walking back into the apartment.
"Clary, we can't," Magnus said.
"Now!" Clary exclaimed, eyes glistening.
Five minutes later, the three of them stepped out of a Portal in a park across from the Institute.
"Well, here we are," Magnus said.
"Magnus, I want you to know that I'm not going anywhere near that sword," Clary said firmly.
"I'm staying as far away from it as I can," Everest assured him.
"I don't care what happens to me," Magnus said with a sort of truth in his eyes that made Everest's stomach knot.
"Alec's gonna be okay," Everest told him, taking his hands in hers and looking into his eyes. He swallowed audibly. She squeezed his hands tighter. "Simon's gonna be okay. You're gonna be okay. I'm gonna be okay. We're gonna be okay. And maybe you don't care what happens to you, but I do. Alec does too. And I'm not going to let you get hurt, much less die. I promise. We can do this. You and me and Clary. We got this."
Suddenly, Raphael appeared in front of them and two vampires were tearing Magnus away from Everest and holding his hands stiff and away from each other. Another held Everest's hands behind her back, but it was a surprisingly light, gentle grip. Only Clary was left untouched, which Everest thought was odd considering Raphael didn't have the greatest opinion of her.
"Let go of my hands," Magnus grunted.
"So you can use your magic against us? I'm sorry, Magnus. None of us wanted it to come to this," Raphael said, and Everest could see the genuineness in his face. But she was still incredibly angry.
"What the hell?" she exclaimed. "We're literally only here to save Simon! We're not gonna go near the stupid death sword."
"No, you're not." Raphael grabbed Clary's wrists tightly.
"Stop this! Stop this now!" Magnus shouted, struggling against the vampires.
"Raphael, you don't have to do this," Clary begged.
"Phae stop it!" Everest yelled, eyes stinging and knees buckling.
"It'll be quick and painless," Raphael said, leaning in towards Clary's neck.
But before he could, Jace shoved him away from Clary, pointing a blade at his chest. "This ends now."
Luke pulled the vampires off of Magnus in one quick, fluid motion. Luke made towards Everest but Raphael made a sharp gesture with his hand and Everest was released from the loose grip before Luke got to her.
"Listen up!" Luke shouted.
"You better be right about this, Luke," Maia said tensely as she approached.
So Maia was there and apparently didn't want to kill Clary and Everest anymore. Okay then.
"The twins may be able to activate the Soul Sword, but I can destroy it," Jace announced. "The angel Ithuriel confirmed it in a vision."
Raphael scoffed. "Angel? Impossible."
"I saw it too. He's telling the truth," Clary said.
Raphael turned his head to look at Everest, even as Jace's blade got closer to his chest. "Escritora? What about you? Do you believe them?"
Everest nodded. "I do. I saw the vision too."
"You kill the girls, Valentine still has the damn sword," Luke said in the voice he always used on the twins and Simon when they weren't listening. It was the 'listen or lose internet, art, and writing privileges' voice. "Over time, no doubt he'll find a way to activate it. Now is our only chance to destroy it for good. Why not let Jace try?"
"Why would a Shadowhunter risk his life for us?" Maia demanded.
"Because you and Raphael are going to tell your Downworld buddies not to lay a hand on Clary or Everest. That's the deal."
Raphael raised his eyebrows. "And they'll listen to me?"
"Maybe." Jace lowered his blade and stood chest to chest with Raphael and made direct eye contact, even though he was taller than him by several inches. "You're the leader of the most powerful vampire clan in all of New York. They respect you."
Raphael looked back at Maia, who shrugged, then at Everest, who raised her eyebrows at him. He looked back at Jace with a sigh.
"What exactly is your plan?"
Once everyone was debriefed and the vampires were sent out with messages to deliver, Raphael pulled Everest aside. She gave Clary and Magnus a thumbs up before putting her hands on her hips and giving Raphael an incredibly disappointed and angry look.
"Escritora—"
"No. My turn to talk," she snapped. "You just tried to bite my sister, Raphael! That's not like disappearing for four years because some stupid lady threatened you. This is different. You could have actually killed her. You know how much she means to me. You know how much it destroyed me when I found out she was the one who found me that night when I was fourteen, how much it destroyed me when I thought she hated me. You know how much it would kill me, maybe literally, for her to die. And you still went and did that! You still tried to bite her. You still threatened her life in a way that there was no telling if you had complete control over the situation."
He looked offended but she plowed on. "You can control yourself, I know you can. I've seen it time and time again. But I don't know that for sure about the people you brought with you. What if one of us had been hurt earlier and was bleeding? Huh? What then? What if they couldn't control themselves? Someone would have gotten hurt and it would have ended so incredibly badly for all of us. What if they had reacted to something and startled you into actually biting Clary? Huh? What then? What fucking then?"
"I was never going to actually hurt her," Raphael said softly, mindful of Clary and Magnus, who were unashamedly listening in and had been since Everest's voice rose. "I had complete control of the situation. I brought vampires who have impeccable control and I was much further from her neck than it appeared. I knew Jace was coming, I could hear and smell him. I knew he'd get here in time. She was in no real danger, I promise you."
Everest searched his expression and body language for every display of honesty she knew he had. She found them all. She found the creases around his eyes, the way his nose was pushed downward, the way his elbows were tucked into his sides, the hyperextension of his right knee. Finally, she sighed.
"Fine. I believe you. But we will be having a serious discussion about boundaries and healthy conversations."
He smiled faintly and pulled her into a hug. "I had a feeling we would." Everest smiled softly into his shoulder but it fell at his next words. "We need to talk about Isabelle as well. There have been things happening that I don't think you are aware of that you should know about."
She drew back harshly and her brows furrowed. "You'll actually tell me what's happening?"
He nodded. "I will once this is taken care of. But for now we need to deal with Valentine."
She gave him a stern look. "I'm going to hold you to this, I swear."
He nodded. "I wouldn't expect anything less."
She gave him one last small smile before walking back to Magnus and Clary.
"What was that about?" Magnus asked.
Everest shook her head. "Just me chewing out Raphael and us agreeing to actually talk once this is over." She looked between the two with a serious expression. "Because this is going to end, one way or another."
Clary nodded with a fierce expression. Magnus rolled his shoulders back and smirked.
"One way or another," he repeated.
"Let's end this tonight," Clary said.
The three shared another determined look and then started walking towards the Institute. They could do this. They had to.
Everest crept through the halls of the Institute beside Clary and Magnus. Clary had a seraph blade out and Everest had her gun. She was more comfortable with her gun than a sword and she was going to use her gun damnit, noise and stealth be damned. Magnus's fingers curled around nothing, but Everest knew him and his magic well enough to know that a spell was forming on his tongue and ready to be used at a moment's notice. The Institute was eerily quiet, more so than when Everest snuck out in the middle of the night. At least then there were still people milling around, usually those who couldn't sleep or had night shifts. Now there were no people milling around, no Shadowhunters who didn't care who she was or why she was up at three in the morning and only cared that she had coffee refills for all of them. It was silent and empty. Every step she took seemed louder than when she ran. Her footsteps echoed in the hall and she dreaded to find out what it would sound like if she had to use her gun.
"On the video call, Simon was in Aldertree's office. This way," Clary whispered.
"Careful, Circle members could be anywhere," Magnus whispered back, eyes scanning the halls.
Everest froze as the sconces on the wall flickered for a moment. She looked around the corner to see one of the people she never wanted to see in what was likely to become a warzone: Madzie.
"It's Madzie," Everest said quietly. Her words rang out in the too still halls and all she could do was hope that no one else was around to hear her. She turned to Magnus. "Go get her. We'll find Simon."
He looked at her, brows furrowed and eyes full of hesitation. "Are you sure?"
"She's being used, Magnus," Clary said. "None of this is her fault, but she needs to be stopped."
Everest's kid-o-meter, as Simon and Clary jokingly called it, rang loudly in her head and she rolled her shoulders back. "She's just a kid who lost her only source of comfort and family. She's just a kid being manipulated by a man who, for all intents and purposes, raised a child and knows how to talk to children. He's too good at manipulating her for anyone's good. You need to go get her and help her realize what Valentine is doing."
Magnus's gaze softened slightly. "I'll meet you in Aldertree's office."
Clary nodded and began to walk away, but Everest hesitated.
"Magnus."
He turned back to her and raised an eyebrow. "Yes, Cupcake?"
She took a deep breath, went up on her tiptoes, and whispered something she had been wanting to say for a long time. "I love you." Then she pressed a kiss to his lips and, with a smile and a wink, followed after her sister.
Clary shot her a smirk and wiggled her eyebrows in a horrifically suggestive way that shouldn't have been possible, and for a moment Everest could almost forget that at any point in the next few hours she and any of her loved ones might die. Almost.
The sound of fighting echoed in the halls and Everest and Clary snapped back to reality. They shared a glance.
Clary nodded. "Go save the day, Ev. I've got Simon."
Everest nodded, knocked Clary's shoulder softly, and followed the sounds. She reached the end of the hall of small meeting rooms without encountering anyone, likely because they were all busy fighting a small figure dressed head to toe in dark navy clothes, some sort of fabric covering their lower face so that only their eyes were visible. The mysterious person wasn't doing too badly in the fight, it was clear they were well trained, but they were already going against three Circle members and two more were closing in. Everest had to help. She couldn't just leave, even if the person might not actually end up needing her help.
Trigger Warning: Fighting/battle
Everest put away her gun, instead drawing a seraph blade and a smaller dagger. Maybe she did need to be a little stealthier and not alert every Circle member in the building that she was there. After all, Valentine was more than aware of her preference for using a gun over blades and had more than likely told his minions as such too.
She joined the fight without much grace, too much adrenaline flowing for her entrance to be all that smooth. She intercepted the two Circle members trying to sneak up on the figure, blocking a swipe at her face with the seraph blade. She kicked her foot out at the man's hand, a move she had used on Jace a while back in training, and knocked his blade across the room. She used her momentum to continue the turn and take a swipe at his knees, hoping to use his stocky build to her advantage. Like she hoped, he had stumbled back. Unluckily, he landed near his sword just as his companion charged at her.
She wasn't entirely sure what the Circle member expected to happen when he charged at her like a bull in a fighting ring with his arms up, but she was able to grab the hand his sword was in and twist it hard enough that the blade clattered to the ground. She kneaded him in the groin and then in the face as he crumpled in pain. Her dagger sliced through his clothes easily enough and when he twisted in an effort to get away from her, it embedded itself in his abdomen. She winced as she pulled the dagger out and he dropped to the floor. She wasn't sure that the whole 'attacking real people' would ever get easier, even if they were trying to kill her and her loved ones.
The other Circle member was more thoughtful in his attack. Rather than charge directly at her, he circled her, forcing her to mimic his actions so she wasn't attacked from behind. Then, without warning, he raised his sword and swung down at her. She sidestepped it hastily, and then their seraph blades met in a loud, echoing clash of glowing metal. The noise rang in her ears and she shifted her right foot so that she was in a more stable pose, using the action to feel the floor beneath her feet and ground herself. She could do this.
She wasn't sure how long she and the Circle member fought, locked in a deadly pattern of strike, dodge, lunge, turn, repeat. All she knew was that her arms ached and her eyes burned from not blinking for so long. Then she saw her opening. The Circle member raised his sword once more, leaving his chest wide open. Everest struck out with her blade and the next thing she knew, the man was dropping dead on the ground and she was whirling towards the mysterious figure who was still fighting one of the Circle members.
The figure spun towards the Circle member, a dangerous medley of metal and a fighting style too familiar for Everest's liking. She just couldn't place it.
Everest joined in, her blade meeting the Circle member's torso at the same time the figure's did. The man crumbled sideways, the blades preventing him from falling forwards or backwards, landing in a pool of his own blood.
Trigger warning for fighting/battle over.
Trigger Warning continued: mentions of death, weapons/guns
She closed her eyes briefly and when she opened them again, the figure was staring directly at her. She blinked rapidly a few times.
"Hi," she said in an incredibly awkward tone. "I'm Everest."
The figure just nodded and turned away.
"Wait!" The figure stopped. "Probably a stupid question, but, you're on our side right? The side that wants to stop Valentine?"
The figure's head turned and Everest saw a lock of caramel colored hair slip from beneath the hood the figure wore as they nodded. She couldn't help the sigh of relief.
The figure walked away silently and all Everest could do was watch them walk away with an odd sort of deja vu rushing over her. She shook it away. She could figure out why the badass with cool clothes was familiar to her later. For now she needed to find someone, anyone, on her side and figure out what the hell was going on.
She raced through the Institute towards the Ops Center, the direction that Clary had been going earlier, when a pain like no other she had ever felt before had her crumpling to the floor. It stung and burned and throbbed and stabbed at every nerve in her body. A scream tore its way past her lips as she tried to curl into a ball to make the pain go away. It hurt so bad. She couldn't make her body move, couldn't make her fingers curl or her legs twitch. She couldn't even make her eyes close as her vision went white.
The bright white light faded after what felt like several hours and Everest's vision returned slowly. But the pain, while it lessened, stayed. She could move her limbs now, but it made the pain return with full force. Her throat burned and even swallowing hurt. Her eyes stung and she couldn't stop the tears from falling. She tried to force her body to stay still so that it hurt less, but it didn't work. Her stomach burned with the effort to not move so much.
Everest clutched her hand to her stomach and cried out when an even sharper pain radiated throughout her entire abdomen at the action. Fuck, was she actually injured and not just a bit beat up?
She groaned loudly when her hand landed on the ground too hard. At least her hands looking beat up could be explained by her fighting for so long. Her stomach, not so much. Not when it felt as swollen and hurt as much as it did. Especially that everything she could feel from her stomach pointed to internal bleeding, which was incredibly unhelpful especially considering how Everest was pretty sure she hadn't been hit in the stomach that hard.
"Everest?" a voice called out. Everest knew that voice. Why did she know that voice? "Everest where are you?"
She groaned loudly again in hopes of getting the person's attention. A sharp gasp echoed in the once more quiet Institute and loud footsteps vibrated through the floor to Everest and she winced at the extra thudding sensation. She both heard and felt the thud as the person dropped to their knees beside Everest and gently picked up her head to place it in their lap.
She forced her eyes to focus on the person's face. Long dark hair was disheveled around their face and their makeup was smeared, but Everest would know that eyeliner anywhere.
"Izzy?" she croaked out.
Her friend let out a watery laugh. "Yeah, Sunny, it's me. Angel, don't you ever do that to me again. I don't think I could handle losing you." Everest hissed in pain as Izzy shakily lifted her shirt slightly to look at Everest's stomach, which she had started clutching again. "Fuck, what happened to you?"
"Life and probably near death," Everest muttered bitterly, each word grating on her raw throat. "Probably Valentine being stupid too."
Izzy cursed violently for several moments while she activated Everest's Iratze. The sharp pain in her stomach eased. Then again. And again.
"Why three?" Everest asked.
"Nothing happened the first time." Everest frowned. Her stomach had stopped hurting as much. "It worked the second time and the last was for good measure."
"But it did work the first time. My stomach stopped hurting as much."
Izzy cursed again, this time cursing Valentine directly. "Only you. It was probably internal bleeding." Everest's face screwed up. "Pretty much."
It was quiet for a moment before Izzy asked, "Can you walk?"
Everest made an uncertain noise in the back of her throat but let Izzy help her sit up anyway. With ample help from Izzy, she managed to stand up and slowly stumble towards one the side doors of the Institute. Even though Everest and Izzy weren't that far from the doors, what normally would have taken only a few minutes ended up taking what had to have been at least ten minutes. Both of them were stumbling, and while Everest was in worse condition, Izzy was clearly injured as well. Her hands were shaking and her skin was paler than Everest had ever seen. All she wanted to do was demand answers but she knew Izzy wasn't in the headspace for those questions. She would be soon, but not now. Everest wasn't sure if she herself was in the right headspace for those questions either.
Everest's foot caught on the edge of a rug and neither of them could catch themselves before they hit the ground. Everest didn't know why she and Izzy started laughing. Maybe it was the absurdity of the situation, or maybe it was the way they were tangled up like children at a sleepover, or maybe it was the fact that the two of them, both very strong and independent individuals, had just been beat by a rug. No matter the reason, it earned them the attention of two of the night shift Shadowhunters.
"Latte Girl? What happened to you?" Noah demanded as he and Mia, another night shift Shadowhunter that Everest brought coffee refills to occasionally, crouched in front of her and Isabelle. The two's laughter slowly faded.
"Take a guess," she said as the two of them pulled out their steles and traced her and Izzy's Iratzes as well as their strength and stamina runes.
"Valentine," Mia said, frowning. "But that doesn't explain why you look like you died."
"Thought I did," she muttered. Izzy's hand squeezed hers with more strength than she thought it would have. "But nope. You're still stuck with me showing up at three in the morning with coffee and questions to keep you awake."
Noah chuckled as Everest and Izzy were hauled upright by him and Mia. "I'm not complaining."
Everest smiled faintly at him. "Good. I'll see you later then."
"I'll hold you to that."
Everest and Izzy slowly made their way out of the side doors and towards the courtyard with their arms wrapped tightly around each other, not so much that they couldn't fall—they knew how that had ended up—but so that if one fell both fell. Hopefully it would be less crowded there than in the front.
"Maybe we should have gone to the front," Izzy said in Everest's ear as they were shoved aside by a team of Shadowhunters marching into the Institute. Everest just nodded distractedly.
Her gaze was caught by Alec and Magnus frantically searching the courtyard for something or someone. Magnus's suit was rumpled and his hands were curled at his sides. Alec's hair was in complete disarray and he kept rolling his shoulders back as his head whipped around. Her chest tightened and she let out a breathy, relief filled laugh as she leaned her head against Izzy's, her gaze never leaving her boyfriends. They were alive. They were both really alive.
"Go to them," Izzy urged, gently pushing Everest. She gave her a suspicious look. "I'll be alright, I swear. Now go."
Everest gave her a grateful smile as she hurried down the steps and across the courtyard as fast as she could. Her body still ached and her throat was still raw, but it didn't matter anymore. All that mattered was getting to Alec and Magnus and making sure they were alright.
"Alec! Magnus!" Her voice cracked but she was still loud enough for both of them to whip around and see her immediately. She looked like a complete mess, she was sure, but it was fine. It didn't matter. They did.
"Everest!"
Before she knew it, she was being surrounded by warm arms and burying her face in someone's chest. Her arms wrapped around them tightly and someone, likely Alec judging by the lack of rings, ran his hand through her hair.
She looked up at them, the two loves of her life, and gave them a watery smile that they returned immediately.
"I thought..." She trailed off. She swallowed painfully. "I thought you two were dead. I was so scared."
"So was I," Magnus said, eyes glossy.
"I've never been that scared in my life," Alec said, breathing heavily. "Not knowing if you were alive or dead, it—it terrified me."
Everest's fists clenched in the back of their jackets as her eyes watered once again. "I'm alive, I'm here. We're here. We're okay." A tear rolled down her face, tracing her nose and catching on her lips. She looked between Alec and Magnus, a small smile forming. "I love you both so much that I can't put enough words together to explain it. But I do. I love you, Alec. I love you, Magnus. So, so much."
Alec's heavy breathing hitched and for a moment she worried she'd said it too soon. She had never been as stingy about saying 'I love you' as others, whether it be to friends, family, or partners. But she knew that most weren't like that and held a certain power in those words. She just hoped that neither of them were upset that she said that.
"I love you too," Alec said, a smile forming on his face.
He leaned down and kissed her slowly, passionately. She could feel him smiling into the kiss and she couldn't help but smile too. At least she hadn't scared him off.
"You didn't let me respond earlier, what with your savior stunt and all," Magnus said with a grin when they parted, "so you didn't get to hear me tell you that I love you too, Cupcake."
She hadn't thought that her smile could get any wider, but she was proven wrong as Magnus captured her lips in a passionate kiss.
When she pulled away, it was to hug them both as tightly as she could, hands fisted in their jackets. They were all breathing shakily and both Everest and Alec were shaking while Magnus's hands were tangled in their hair. Alec rubbed circles onto their backs as they stood there, basking in the comfort of all three of them being safe and together. Everest knew she should tell them about her collapsing when the bright light appeared, but she didn't want to ruin the shaky peace. I'll tell them later, she vowed.
"Alec, Everest." Everest looked up to see Jace standing hesitantly a few feet away from them. A bright smile lit up her face when she saw that her brother was okay. "Could I talk to you two alone?"
She hesitated. She didn't want to leave Magnus, not again. She shared a look with Alec, who was frowning again. Magnus chuckled softly.
"Go do your jobs," he said. His smile was soft and genuine and it took a significant amount of effort for Everest not to kiss him again then and there.
"Are you sure?" Alec asked quietly, hand still lingering on Magnus's arm.
"I'm alright," Magnus assured them.
Everest let her hand slowly let go of Magnus's jacket—which would probably need to be ironed later—and she and Alec followed Jace inside the Institute. Everest leaned on Alec, her arm around his waist, and did her best not to stumble.
"Are you okay?" Alec whispered.
She nodded. "I just hurt still. I got in a fight with a few Circle members, had to show off the training a load of police officers gave me, and then got knocked to the ground by some sort of white light. I activated my Iratze, don't worry. I don't think I'm injured anymore, just sore."
"Tell me immediately if that changes, okay?"
Everest smiled up at Alec in answer. And despite worry still lining his face, he smiled back.
Jace stopped in a clean hallway and leaned against the wall. Alec leaned on the corner of a wall and Everest leaned back on a sturdy looking hallway table. Jace began talking then, speaking in a quiet, grief filled voice that made Everest's heart ache. As he kept talking, explaining what Valentine had said and done, her eyes got wider and wider and her breathing got slower and slower as she tried not to freak out.
"How do you know he was telling the truth?" Alec asked slowly, calmly.
"He had the Soul Sword in his hands," Jace said, staring blankly at the wall.
"So you're not related to Clary and me?" Everest asked, not bothering to try to hide the disbelief and confusion in her voice.
Jace shook his head and looked at her. "No, I never was."
Everest took a deep breath, pushed off the table, and pulled Jace into a hug. He stiffened at first, but relaxed after a moment. "You're still basically my brother, Dye Blonde. Blood doesn't change that." She smiled into his shoulder. "But I'm glad you're not related to Clary and I, politely of course."
His chest shook with silent laughter. "Me too, Purple. Me too. Politely."
"What are you gonna do?" Alec asked as Everest went back to leaning on the table.
Jace sighed. "I'm gonna tell her. Clary I mean."
They stood there for another minute or two processing the new information and then went their separate ways. As Alec and Everest made their way back to Magnus, Everest's phone rang. She dug it out of her pocket, glad it hadn't been smashed in the fight. She didn't recognize the number.
"One second," she told Alec with a smile. "I'll catch up in a minute."
He nodded and she watched as he walked away towards Magnus, who smiled brightly upon seeing him. Everest answered the phone, leaning against the outside wall of the Institute.
"Hello?"
"Hey Everest. How've you been?"
A gasp escaped her lips and her phone slipped from her hand, hitting the soft grass below.
End of Distractions Chapter 58. Continue reading Chapter 59 or return to Distractions book page.