City of Demons (The Mortal Instruments fan-fiction)

15. Trust Issues

Isabelle fell to the floor; her hands shot out. The demon behind her made disgusting noises as Jace and Clary threw daggers and books. It barely delayed the creature, which roared in fury. Alec stood a few feet away, shooting arrows at it. The demon took hold of Isabelle's leg, just as she was about to get back up.

"Izzy!" Alec screamed. Without warning, the demon collapsed. And as it fell, Simon stood with a dagger in one hand. The other was lodged deeply into the demon's neck. Though it still wasn't dead. Alec unsheathed his seraph blade and handed it to Isabelle. She took it without words. In quicker than a flash, the demon was gone.

Isabelle ran to Simon, who stood with outstretched arms. "You're back." His words were barely out before her lips met his. He held Isabelle tightly, forgetting the demon, the Shadowhunters and everything else. All he wanted was to hold onto Isabelle. "I missed you, so much."

She smiled against his lips. "I'm back, and I'm not going anywhere."

"Good." He leant down and pulled her close once more.

Clary found herself crouching by the counter, where a huge book was left wide open. It was a grimoire. Jace and Alec came up beside her and took a few seconds to process the information. "This is bad."

"Sebastian's practising demonic magic, yes we know that. But how we find him is our biggest issue." Alec pursed his lips. "He still has Evie."

Something fell to the floor a few feet away, quickly gaining the attention of Jace. Unsheathing his blade, Isabelle and Clary followed his footsteps as Alec and Simon reloaded their crossbows.

Hiding in the shadows was a severed demon arm. And beside it, written in ichor, was a message.

Evie is safe. I will not harm her.

Clary closed her eyes.

•••

It had been several hours since Evie had fainted. She rubbed her eyes wearily and checked her surroundings; she was slightly overwhelmed by the strong scent of spices. Sebastian's room. Once again, she laid sprawled out on his bed, the duvet inviting her to rest for a little longer.

"How's your head?" Sebastian sat on a metal chair, a couple metres away. Immediately, her hand came up to touch her temple, despite feeling perfectly fine. But after a few moments, Evie pursed her lips and dared him to look straight at her. He did.

"Where were you?" Her voice came out weaker than expected. Clearing her throat, she carried on to glare at him, never minding the glint of levity in his eyes.

"I don't know what you're-"

"I woke up and you weren't there. I looked around the house and was attacked." Evie wiped her palms, which were damp with sweat. She prayed he couldn't see how nervous she was. "You're hiding something. You want me to trust you, but you definitely don't trust me."

"Of course I trust you." He said with finality.

"Then tell me where you were!" She sat up and crossed her arms.

"This conversation is over."

"What conversation? It's barely even started." Rolling her eyes, she muttered under her breath.

"Evelyn, please." He walked over, knelt by his bed and tried to reach for her cheek, only she ducked his touch. "I've changed, okay? You've changed me."

"Changed you? You're Sebastian-fucking-Morgenstern! You've killed children, sided with demons and tried to rape your own sister!" Evie pushed the duvet off the bed and bent over to pick up her shoes. Tears were forming in her eyes as anger flooded her.

"I know I'm a monster!" He growled in frustration. "But there's something inside me that isn't corrupted. This part of me is what's keeping me from hurting you. I care about you!"

That's where she drew the line. "How dare you!" She whipped her head around, never minding the tears that flowed uncontrollably. "You are hurting me. Not physically, but if you really cared, you'd let me go home."

Their eyes were locked in both a battle and a gaze. Eventually, Sebastian lowered his eyes to the floor. "I can't do that."

"Then it's clear that you don't care." As soon as she got her trainers on, she bolted for the door. One of her hands grasped the knob, ready to pulled it back, only she was the one who was pulled. Her back met the door with a loud SLAM. Sebastian had both of her hands locked in an icy grip. "Let go of me!"

"You're not listening to me," He struggled to keep his voice calm.

"No, you're the one who is not listening to me!" She cried. "I'm so confused. I keep going around in circles, trying to find answers but coming up with none. And you know what? I'm tired of it. I'm so tired."

"Fine, you want the truth? Is that it?!" He took her face into his hands. "Look at me straight in the eyes when I tell you this. I'm falling for you. And I don't know what to do. Because I had a plan with the faeries and now it's all screwed up."

"Sebastian we can't-"

He released her and punch the door; it smashed into several pieces. She was crouched against the wall, speechless. She looked up at him, watching silently as he cursed freely. Despite her vexation, Evie couldn't help but take his bloody hand into hers, pulling him down to sit beside her. He shook his head. "You think I don't know that we can't be together? The pain has been eating me from the inside ever since I first laid eyes on you."

She didn't know what to say. "If it makes you feel any better, I thought you were very charming when we first met."

"I don't get you." He sighed. "Two seconds ago you were screaming at me, now you want to cheer me up?"

"Please don't." She held his hand gingerly, carefully picking out the splinters.

They sat there for a few moments before Sebastian pulled her into his arms. "We're a bit more alike than you may think."

•••

Magnus was sitting by a candle, The Book of White on his lap. He flicked through the delicate pages, searching for the spell. After Giselle had given him the vial of amaranth, Magnus was sure he needed only to collect a couple more items in order to cast the spell. An ancient tracking spell, written in Chthonian, known to break through even the strongest of glamours.

His eyes widened as he read from the book. The spell only required three items. And Magnus already had all of them.

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Look at the READS! Look at the VOTES!! By the Angel, I've also gained followers!
And now, I feel so bad because I haven't updated in ages. *mega slap to self*
Please forgive me, I'm always complaining about how bad I am at updating, but I can't seem to push myself to publish my work sooner. This chapter was very difficult to write (mainly because the scene between Evie & Seb is very similar to one of my previous chapters).
Anyway, now I have to prepare for my Spanish assessment (it's tomorrow and I've done nothing) as well as complete tons of homework. Oh, teenage life.

¡Gracias y adiós, mis amigos!