Chasing Death (TMI FanFiction) // UNEDITED

Chapter Twenty-Three

Jonathan spent the rest of the day being moved from place to place by both Charlie and Beth. The pair of them found the situation hilarious, Jonathan did not. He felt humiliated. Never had been carried around like a child in front of so many people before. It became worse once he remembered that many of them still saw him as the evil dictator from a few years ago and how he was being carried like a baby. It was so embarrassing that he wished he was back in Edom, away from everyone and able to collect his thoughts about the whole situation. 

He knew defeating Lilith was going to be tough. It was going to the hardest thing he had ever faced, even Valentine was easier to beat than Lilith. He was a power-hungry maniac, not a Greater demon with other smaller ranked demons at their every command. If he was honest, he didn't think he would be able to do it nor did he believe the book was right. 

The book had been the one thing he believed in. The answer to every problem he was faced with in Edom and now every problem he would be faced with on Earth. But he wasn't sure on whether it could be trusted. Of course, it had worked in the past. It helped destroy all the demons outside the Insititute and bring him out of Edom. But they were only minor things. The book had been in Lilth's hands before and,therefore, she was aware of the true power it held. She knew it had the ability to banish her so there was every chance she had edited the book in order to make her more powerful then to banish her completely. 

As the possibility of the book not working to its full capacity passed through Jonathan's mind, he began thinking of new ways to defeat her but it was impossible. Many had tried and many had failed. There seemed to be no logical way to kill her which made him question whether or not they were doing the right thing. Of course, it meant the end to the Rogues and to the sudden influx of Shadowhunter deaths, but it was also very dangerous. Either of them could end up dead and Jonathan didn't fancy being sent back to Edom. 

Deciding it would be better to have a clear plan formed, he grabbed the book from under the pillow and began to flick through to the page he needed. Having read it through several times before, he could almost recite the text in his sleep, but he knew that he had to have a better gauge on the main plan. Jonathan also wanted to check the book to see if it had been tampered with and that the instructions they were following were the right ones. 

He examined the page closely. Looking for any small indents on the page to indicate a change to the main body of text, or to the diagrams. Lucky for him, there were no marks to prove his theory on the tampering of the information, but there was something he didn't expect. Upon turning the page to see what else was in the book, he discovered a small tear in the centre, a clear indicator of a page being ripped out. He ran his fingers along the tear and tried to piece together what it could mean. He had assumed that the last page had contained all the information he needed, but he was mistaken. 

Having found nothing in the book to indicate what the page could mean, Jonathan slipped the book back under his pillow and decided to sleep on the matter. After the day he had he knew he wasn't going to solve any mysteries being half asleep. Slipping between the sheets, Jonathan tried to silence his mind and only focus on the mystery of the missing page and in doing so, he quickly fell asleep.

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Taking a step back, Jonathan observed his now clear surroundings. The darkness had faded and he was now left standing in a wasteland. There was nothing but red dust and rocks piled high as far as his eyes could see. Edom, he thought. He'd recognise it anywhere. The question was, how did he get there and why was he there. He had been informed on Beth's continuous trips in her dreams down to Edom, after all, he'd started them, but Jonathan hadn't had a dream since returning to Earth. There was no way this dream was his down doing, someone wanted him to see what was going on and could only do so once he was fully asleep.