Shadowhunters: City of Possibilities

Chapter Eight

We spiral, whirling past pigments of color faster and faster, red, yellow, blue, then finally green. I brace myself, rolling sideways just as the wall of the portal tears open and reveals the dancing hue of forest green. Seeing the sea of grass heralding us in below, I stretch out trying to reach Max but he's too far away. My arm tingles as the wind whooshes around us, I strain to reach him, inching closer and closer but not close enough, "Max!" I scream. The little warlock doesn't even hear me, he has his eyes squeezed shut and his hands over his small ears. I lose sight of him just as I prepare to brace my legs for the impact of my boots meeting the grass, letting them give so I can deftly roll to the side, landing in a crouched pose like in one of Simon's movies. I immediately get to my feet, frantically searching the landscape for Max. My eyes take in a few scattered stones and a massive tree nestled in a valley of what was once untouched grass, but no Max. Where could he be? He was just right there, a few inches away. Then I see it, the first trace of blue I have seen dotted within this emerald landscape. His crumpled form is nestled by the base of the tree, I take off in his direction reaching him in no time. I drop to my knees, gently rolling the boy to face me, red oozes from a gash on his forehead. Slowly I reach up and push the hair from his eyes, I gasp as I realize that one of his horns splintered from the impact of the fall, "Oh Max, this is all my fault!" I cry. Suddenly, a sound echoes off in the distance, pulling me away from my tears as I realize we're in danger sitting out in the open in a strange place like this. I clutch the boy closer to my body protectively as a creature emerges from the treeline, it smelled the blood from Max, and its red eyes are hungry. Instinctively, I let my whip unravel from its place upon my arm, I gingerly place Max back upon the ground standing up promptly to face the creature. I crack my whip once as a warning, the creature's eyes narrow, long tongue snaking out to lick the drool that had begun to drip down its mouth. I crack it again, this time in the direction of the beast, this time it lunges forward, clawed hand extended towards me. I duck out of the way as its claw sings in the place my head was just moments before. Deftly, I crack my whip to the left, it meets the gnarled mitts of the beast, searing through its flesh as soon as the metal comes in contact with it. Its hand now lays still on the foliage, which has dawned the red color of fresh blood. "That's not possible," I mutter as the creature snarls, lunging forward in a mad fury finally connecting with the flesh it had missed earlier. I fly backward, slamming into the base of the tree. My vision blurs slightly, my chest heaving as the wind got knocked out of me from the impact. Slowly, I take a shaky breath letting my lungs fall in sync once more as I take in the serene landscape that is painted before me despite the image of the angry creature that is hovering just a few feet away from Max. Poor Max, how could I have let this happen to him? I can't let anything happen to him, I won't. I stagger to my feet, grabbing hold of my stele, burning an iratze and a strength rune before I brandish the cold steel of my whip again. My vision returns as the pain begins to vanish, I stare at the creature boring holes through his cold dead eyes, "You won't take him from me, not again!" I hiss making a mad dash to end this grotesque creature's life. But before I can even reach it, the creature stops moving, letting out a shrill cry as it clutches at a place in its chest cavity that now houses an emblazoned seraph blade. It squirms, flails, then falls over in a silent heap. I stare into the golden eyes of my brother Jace, he menacingly pulls the blade from the beast and runs towards me, "Izzy are you okay?" he says placing an arm around me. Tears well up in my eyes as I pull him toward Max who still isn't moving, "I tried Jace! I tried to keep him safe but-but", I wail. "Izzy it's going to be okay. We're here now, you're safe," he says soothingly as I fall apart in his steady arms. I sniffle, "You didn't come alone?" I say as I wipe the tears from my eyes. Before he can even respond Clary, Alec, Magnus, Rafe, and Simon rip through the trees. The worried dads make a beeline for their son, "Oh my little bluebird," Magnus soothes gingerly as he presses his magic to Max's temple, repairing his delicate blue skin in a flash, his horn, however, is still in pieces. Max stirs, finally making his first noise since our arrival here. I look at Alec's face, his worried expression fading into one made entirely of blind rage. He whips around, "How could you Izzy!" he shouts. I draw back from the tone of his voice, "Alec I..." I begin but he cuts in sharply, "I trusted you to keep my boys safe but instead you let Max use his magic, and now look at him!" he says pointing a finger to his son who still lies half weary in Magnus' lap. I feel the tears rushing forward, he's right. I did put Max in danger, this is all my fault. I begin to walk toward Alec but he puts his hand out to stop me, "Please Izzy just go before you make things worse." At his remark, Magnus gasps, "Alexander!" he says warningly. Hearing all the allegations Alec has thrust upon me and how every word has cut like a knife, Simon steps forward and wraps his arms around me protectively. I sink into the feeling of the security his embrace offers but I still feel more exposed than ever before. "Izzy was just trying to help Alec. If she hadn't been here Max could have been...," Simon begins, "Don't even go there, Lewis. And just maybe you should stay in your own lane and worry more about your lacking shadowhunter abilities," Alec spits. Simon is just as dumbfounded as I am, what is eating away at my brother and why is he so angry with me? I expected Simon to back down but he doesn't, "Maybe I will Lightwood, but not when you have my fiancee's name on your lips tearing into her just because she was trying to help. So why don't you just tell us what this is really about, huh?" Simon says raising his chin in defiance. Alec stares at us coldly, "You want to know, do you? Well, how about this she's already killed one Max she doesn't need to go and kill another." Everybody gasps but I don't stick around to hear what they have to say next, I break away from Simon's touch and descend into the cold dark woods without a care of what dangers lie ahead. Numb to the world, I race with the wind as Max's name echoes within the walls of my unforgiving brain.