Distractions - Chapter 69: Chapter 69

"Anything new?" Izzy asked as Clary and Jace came back from another tracking attempt.
"We tried tracking him together like we did with Jonathan, but for some reason, it didn't work," Clary said.
"Magnus's wards are up. Valentine must still be in the city," Jace said.
"Thank the Angel for Magnus and the Warlocks," Izzy said.
"Well, they didn't do it for us," said Alec, only a little bitter.
Everest hummed in agreement.
"Teams are out doing block-by-block sweeps throughout the city. We'll find him."
Izzy, Alec, and Everest moved to the far end of the table and Everest sighed, her nails grazing her upper arms.
"You okay?" Alec asked, leaning down slightly. Izzy pulled her hands away from her arms gently.
She shrugged. "I just feel funky. Like, I thought I'd be more relieved that Jonathan's dead but I just feel weird. Like, he was my brother, but not really and I just don't know what to feel or think."
Two sets of hands rubbed her back soothingly. She leaned into the touch.
"You don't have to have it all figured out right now. He just died. You don't have to have it all figured out ever, even," Izzy said quietly.
"Izzy's right. There's no timeline for feelings," Alec whispered.
Before Everest could respond, the alarms started blaring.
"Aerial sensors."
They ran towards the aerial view of the city.
"Is it Valentine?" Everest asked. She really hoped not.
"No," Izzy said. "Could be some kind of wraith demon."
"Well shit."
...
They ran through the streets of New York, following the giant dragon-like demon. All of them had their weapons drawn, even though Alec and Everest were the only ones whose weapons would be helpful with the demon flying.
"Where is it?" Jace asked, not even slightly out of breath.
"It should be right on top of us."
"Alec!"
Alec raised his bow as the demon banked between buildings. It disappeared again.
"I've never seen a demon like that."
"It looks like the dragon demons from Edom," Jace mused.
"I thought those were extinct?" Everest asked.
"Almost extinct."
"Almost extinct is not extinct enough," Alec grumbled.
"On your six!"
Alex shot an arrow, but missed.
"Can you see it?"
"What the hell is it waiting for?"
"It's coming around for another pass."
She fired but missed as the demon came right at them. "Alec!" Everest shouted.
"Relax, I got this," Alec said, at ease with his weapon.
He fired, hit the demon dead center, and it splattered on the ground in puddles of ichor.
"Nice," Izzy said proudly.
Without warning, the puddles shifted into more demons, which scuttled away in all different directions.
"I think the fuck not," Everest said.
"Over there!" Alec called. They were too late. The demon disappeared into the subway.
"They're splitting up," Clary said.
They just stood there, at an utter loss of what to do.
...
The five walked through the streets of New York, glamoured and weapons away. Clary was on the phone with Luke.
"There's at least four demons still unaccounted for," Alec said, leading their small group.
Clary hung up with a sigh.
"What is it? What's wrong?" Jace asked immediately.
They stopped walking to listen to Clary. "That was Luke. Valentine's on his way to Idris."
"What?"
"How?"
"The fuck he is."
"He made a deal with the Seelie Queen. Luke's already warned all the other Downworld leaders."
Everest felt an irrational pang of hurt echo through her. She shook her head. There was no reason for her to feel hurt. Nettie was her own person, someone who had an entire realm to look out for. There was probably a good reason for the deal.
"Damn Valentine," Jace muttered.
"Fucking Nettie," Everest muttered in turn. She brushed off the odd looks from everyone but Izzy.
"If Valentine gets to that lake—" Izzy started.
"He won't. Malachi's army is armed and waiting for him," Alec assured them all.
"We need to warn them," Clary said. "Who knows how many Circle members will be there?"
"If we lower the wards, the demons could get out, spread beyond the city," Izzy said.
Everest made eye contact with Clary. "Maybe we don't have to lower them," she said.
"Maybe my Portal rune can pierce the wards," Clary suggested.
"We can't all go. The demons need to be dealt with," Alec protested.
"Clary and I will go," Jace said, not sounding overly enthused. "You three stay here, slay the beasts."
The three of them nodded, none of them happy about splitting up.
"Fine," Alec said. "Be careful."
"Likewise." Jace turned back towards them with his nose scrunched up. "And when am I ever not careful?"
Alec made a face at his Parabatai as Clary and Jace successfully Portaled out of the city.
...
"There's over fifty of them now, with numbers increasing," Izzy said when Alec finished his other conversation.
"They haven't attacked once. What are they doing?" he asked.
"I don't know, but demons aren't the sightseeing type. We need to find whatever rift they're coming through and close it," Everest said, rubbing the blank spot on her wrist.
"We'll need a warlock for that."
"Not just any warlock. The most powerful one in New York."
Alec shook his head. "Magnus is not interested in helping Shadowhunters. He said so himself."
"He also still thinks Nettie is on their side," Everest said, fully prepared to go to Magnus's and beg for his help if Alec wouldn't. "He needs to know about the deal she made with Valentine."
"Well, not from me. Magnus wants nothing to do with me."
"Alec, don't make this personal," Izzy said in a warning tone.
"I'm not."
He was.
"Fine." Izzy grabbed her and Everest's jackets. "If you won't go, we will."
Everest was going either way, whether or not her boyfriends wanted her there.
Alec said nothing.
...
Izzy ended up staying at the end of the hallway while Everest knocked.
Magnus opened the door immediately.
"Hey," she said, hesitant. Would Magnus turn her away like he would probably turn away Alec?
"What is it, Everest? Is it about the demons?" he asked tiredly.
"Do you know about Nettie—about the Seelie Queen?"
Magnus's interest was piqued. "Nettie? Who's that?"
"The Seelie Queen. She gave me permission to call her Nettie since that's what I knew her as when we dated." Everest waved away the information like it was nothing. "She made a deal with Valentine to get him to Idris."
Magnus did a visible double take, stuttered both audibly and visibly, and then audibly swallowed. "We will be talking about this later," he warned. "But I already knew about the deal. What's this got to do with the demons?"
"We think Valentine somehow summoned the demons. Izzy's located the rift the demons are coming from. Would you be willing and able to seal it?"
Magnus was silent for a long moment before he sighed. "Only because it'll save lives. And because you asked, not Alec."
"We will be talking through what Alec did once this is over," she said warningly.
He just nodded.
...
"I just spoke with Imogen. Despite her request, there have been no troop movements in and out of Alicante since. When she went to Malachi to see what the holdup was, she was told he'd left suddenly," Izzy said as she, Alec, Everest, and Magnus entered the Ops Center. Alec and Magnus stood on opposite sides of the table.
"Wait, so she thinks Consul Malachi is actually a spy for Valentine?" Magnus asked.
"There's no other explanation," Izzy said.
"Jace and Clary are in Lake Lyn with Valentine, who knows how many Circle members, and no military support," Alec said, frustrated.
"We have to go help them," Everest said, leaning on the table.
"We can't leave with the city under siege."
"Well, what have you got?" Magnus asked.
"We've identified the demons as a rare subspecies of Adomei," Izzy said, zooming in on an image of the demons.
"Adomei?"
"Familiar with them?" Alec asked.
"They're from Edom. Tenacious little devils."
Everest scoffed. "We've noticed."
"And remarkably intelligent, capable of creating carnage in any number of ways," Magnus finished.
"Yet, they haven't attacked once," Alec said. "What are they waiting for?"
"They work in hoards. Perhaps they're increasing their numbers to reach a critical mass."
"All the more reason to close the rift as soon as possible," Everest said.
Izzy zoomed in to a point on the map. "Their entry point seems to be near here, Croton Point."
"How long will this take?" Alec asked. "Jace and Clary are alone in enemy territory."
"Not long," Magnus assured him.
...
They jumped out of the Portal, weapons already drawn.
"This is definitely the right place," Alec said as they approached a giant gaping hole in the sand.
"What is that?" Everest asked, kneeling. She pointed to a red smear in the sand.
"Blood," Izzy said. Everest stood up quickly. "Where did all the demons go?"
"I'm not sure," Magnus said. "They don't just normally fly off into the sunset."
"Well let's not stick around until they make an appearance," Alec said.
Magnus made a mocking expression. "The amount of energy required to seal a rift from Edom is substantial. It's not just a flick of the wrist."
"You gonna be okay?" Everest asked, genuinely concerned.
Magnus grinned at her. "I'm the High Warlock of Brooklyn."
Everest laughed a little as Magnus began to work his magic on the rift. A demon flew out of the hole seconds later. Alec and Everest dove out of the way, but its wing clipped Izzy on the way out.
"Izzy!" both Alec and Everest cried.
"Go! I'm alright!" she said, already getting up.
"Cover me," Magnus said, a little too calmly for Everest's liking.
Everest nodded and then she and Alec were racing after the demon. Alec fired his bow but missed, making the demon turn back around and dive toward them. Everest ignored Alec running back towards Magnus and fired twice. Both shots landed true, the second on leaving the demon nothing more than shifting piles of ichor.
Together the three of them killed all the demons, only slightly out of breath as they paused. Everest's gaze naturally turned to Magnus to see how he was doing, only to see him collapse.
"Magnus!"
"Magnus no!"
Alec and Everest ran for their boyfriend and helped him hold himself up.
"You can't get rid of me that easily," Magnus panted.
Everest couldn't help but grin.
...
"Strange, the aerial sensors show no demonic activity," Izzy said, walking hand in hand with Everest.
Everest was glad to see Alec and Magnus on the same side of the table again.
"Yeah, there's nothing on the ground either," Alec said. "It's like the Adomei completely vanished."
"I've never heard of that," Magnus said, frowning. "Once demons pass through the rift, they're here to stay until they're properly banished."
"Then where the hell are they?" Everest asked.
No one had an answer.
Alec started grunting loudly. Everyone turned from the table towards him. His knuckles were white from how tight he was holding onto the table.
"Alexander?" Magnus asked, worried.
"Love?"
"Alec?"
Alec didn't answer. He slowly pulled up his shirt, revealing a fading Parabatai rune.
"His Parabatai rune," Izzy gasped. Her grip on Everest's hand tightened.
"It's...Jace," Alec grunted.
Before anyone could say or do anything else, Alec collapsed, gasping for air. Panic clawed at Everest's chest as she knelt beside her boyfriend, a biting scream filling the Ops Center. The other Shadowhunters were starting to notice now. No one had any idea what to do. No one knew what would help or what would hurt. Everyone was frozen except for Alec, who writhed in pain on the ground.
"I can't feel him anymore," he gasped out, going still. "He's dead."
Everest brushed away the stray tears that fell. Now was not the time.
Alec struggled to his feet before anyone could stop him, his hand pressed to where his Parabatai rune used to sit. "We have to go find them."
"Alec—"
"No. We have to go find them now. Even if it's just to collect—collect him."
"Okay."
"Let's go, then," Everest whispered, clutching Izzy's hand like the lifeline it was.
Magus led their small group to the front of the Institute so that he could Portal them to Lake Lyn.
"Ready?" he asked.
"As we'll ever be," Everest said.
"Good enough for me."
They walked through the Portal as one and were immediately greeted by a flash of white light filling a forest.
"We're too late," Everest gasped.
"He's raised the Angel," Magnus breathed out.
"Magnus, we need to get you to safety," Alec said urgently.
"We need to find Jace and Clary," Magnus said, with no room for argument in his tone.
They took off running towards the light, despite every instinct in Everest saying to run the other way.
They ran for what felt like ten minutes before they stumbled upon a sight that would be burned into Everest's memory for a long time. Valentine laid on the ground, bloody and dead as can be. Clary and Jace—who was somehow alive—were kissing over the corpse.
"They're okay!" Alec exclaimed, breaking apart the couple.
"Actually, they're more than okay," Izzy said, somewhat teasing.
"Jace, I...I thought you were dead. The rune, it disappeared."
"Look at it now."
The rune was back.
Everest's hand searched for Izzy's, and once she found it, held it tight in a silent promise to never worry her like Jace had worried Alec.
"How?"
"I don't know."
Slowly, everyone's gaze fell on Valentine's broken body.
"It's over," Alec whispered. The words echoed in the silent woods.
"Yeah," Jace muttered, embracing his Parabatai.
Everest let go of Izzy's hand to pull her sister into a hug.
"You really freaked me out, Ritz," she whispered into her wild red hair.
"I'm sorry, Ev."
"You better not do that again, or I swear I will murder you myself."
"I won't."
...
The Hunter's Moon was full of both Shadowhunters and Downworlders. It was as if Valentine's death was all that was needed to unite the ShadowWorld. Everest stood leaning against Magnus as they both sipped their drinks, though Everest was only on her second compared to Magnus's fourth.
"Hey," Alec said, approaching them somewhat nervously.
"Hey," they said together.
"You look like you got your energy back."
"Hmm, my go to home remedy after a major magical depletion: a boiling hot bath, an eight ounce steak—medium rare—and...a lot of these." Everest giggled and Magnus smiled fondly at her. "Any signs of demons?"
"None. Sensor maps are completely clear of Wraith demons. It's the strangest thing. It's like they disappeared into thin air."
"Well then. We can take this moment to celebrate."
Magnus held up his drink to cheers, and Alec and Everest followed suit. She took a pleasant sip of her drink, which Maia had aptly named Pansexual Panic.
Alec hesitated, and didn't take a sip of his drink. "Can we talk?"
"Yeah..."
Everest downed her drink before following her boyfriends outside.
"Magnus, Everest, I'm sorry."
"Don't apologize," Magnus said.
"I should have told you two about the Soul Sword—"
"It's in the past," Everest said, having had this conversation with Magnus before Alec arrived.
There was a pause.
"Ever since our...fights...I—I can't think straight."
"Well, I can't do anything without thinking of you."
"I can't function knowing that we're fighting."
There was another pause.
"I...I don't think I can live without you two," Alec said softly, stepping closer to where Everest and Magnus stood.
"Same," Everest said, smiling softly.
"I thought I had to choose between you two and the Downworld," Magnus admitted. "But I don't. A wise man once told me relationships take effort."
They all chuckled.
"Understatement of the century," Everest mused.
"You know what's not an understatement?"
Everest giggled lightly at the not-so-subtle teasing remark. She was quickly quieted when her boyfriends kissed her in quick succession.
When they separated, Magnus said, "I'm all into parties, but what do you say we get out of here?"
"Yes."
"Absolutely."
As they left, Everest couldn't help but grin. The corpses were gone.