More Than Starlight (Lady Midnight Julian + Emma)

Chapter 12 - Realization

Clary was sitting with her hands folded under her chin as she sat across from Emma behind the desk of her office. While the outside of the New York Institute was an old church, the inside often ornate and dark, this room was brighter with oak and powder blue walls. Emma noticed that this institute had a substantially less number of windows than the Los Angeles one, and Emma found herself missing the constant views of outside. Of the desert or the ocean, any bit of sky would be better than the slits of windows that only let in bits of light that decorated the rooms here. This room was her favorite that she had seen so far, though, because the back wall had a large window overlooking the city and you could even see the green of Central Park. She wondered what it would be like to wander the park in the middle of the large city, if it felt like a part of nature or simply of bubble of falsity within the concrete and steel that encompassed you here. She snapped her mind away from her rambling thought process and focused back on why they were here. Emma had relayed all of the information they had gathered about what was going on in Los Angeles to Clary; of the new set of murders and the letters left behind as well as the Belladonna plant again. She did, however, leave out the part of her getting hurt from it and healed by an iratze from Julian. She showed Clary the pictures of all the victims and they tried to piece together any connection of the people or places. Clary looked so much older as she sat behind the desk and wrote down notes as Emma talked. She couldn't help but let her eyes wander to the Herondale family ring on her left hand as she wrote. She wondered if she would ever get to wear the family ring of someone else, but she cut the thought off, knowing it was impossible for her. The only family ring she would want would be Julian's with the circlet of thorns etched into the metal and that could never happen. Clary finally she set down her pen and looked up, opening her mouth to speak and break the silence when Jace and Julian walked in.

"Have no fear, we have arrived," Jace strode in confidently and took a seat behind the desk next to Clary, propping his feet up on the desk with his hands folded behind his head, "So what did we miss?"

"Emma just explained to me what has been going on. It doesn't sound good. But we haven't seen any flares of dark magic flickering on the map Magnus has. There is something odd about these murders that may be tying it together to the ones Malcolm made. They have been leaving letters in blood at each side and the victims so far have no connection to one another," Clary pushed the paper to Jace who grew serious and sat up straight to read it.

"B-C-T-N-L-K? And those are the only letters you've gotten so far? It must mean something." Jace was scanning the page intently.

"Yes, we only get more revealed when we discover a dead body, but we can't sit around like certified idiots and wait for more people to turn up dead." Julian cut in but there was no bitterness in his voice.

"No, no we cannot. Do-" Jace cut off when Emma's phone rang. She pulled it out to see that it was a picture message from Cristina, hesitantly she opened it.

"We may have to move quicker than this then..." Emma's face paled and she turned her phone for them to see; a picture of another dead body, this one a dark haired girl of about 10 covered in blood as well and two more letters scrawled across the pavement, "H-A." Julian stood up and took the phone from her hand, dropping it on the desk and scrawling out the jumble of letter on a piece of paper, his hands fumbling quickly. His mind was hurtling toward a realization that he didn't share with anyone, but Clary seemed to follow as well, "Julian, what is it?" Emma questioned. He didn't respond at first, frustratedly running his hands through his hair, "JULIAN?!"

"There's something about these victims, they're not random. It's supposed to allude to the message," He turned away and mumbled to himself, "We need to get back to the Institute."

"Julian, what is going on?!" Emma was furious with herself for not seeing what he so obviously noticing. She tried to piece all the pieces together as quickly as possible, only further infuriating herself for not coming up with any answers.

"Emma, think about the victims," Clary was the one who spoke up, her voice shaky, "Not about what they were, but what they look like. Who they look like." She thought back, back to every scene and all the victims. A sick feeling rose in her stomach, even at the first murder she had an odd sense of recognition when she looked at the mundanes even though she didn't know who they were. She leaned forward and gripped the table until her knuckles turned white. The first two; a boy and girl of about the same age with dark hair. The next a boy about 17 with dark hair and blue eyes. And now a 10 year old with the same dark hair and blue eyes. They weren't random, they were meant to resemble someone. Ty, Livvy, Julian, Dru.

"Blackthorn," Emma whispered with her face downturned, she looked up with wide eyes, "B-C-T-N-L-K-H-A. The message is Blackthorn Blood." She looked to Julian who matched the terror in her eyes.

"It's a threat. To us. But- But Malcolm is dead. Isn't he?" You could see his mind racing, trying to find an explanation, a way out of this. Whenever his family was in danger was when you truly saw Julian at his most exasperated.

"He may be dead, but maybe someone else isn't," She shook her head almost involuntarily in disbelief, "He was practicing Necromancy to raise someone. Maybe he succeeded? What if we didn't stop it."

"We're coming with you." Clary stood up from the table and walked out into the hallways, "Besides, you'll need a portal."

"Who is going to watch the Institute if you're both gone?" Emma followed her out into the corridor, grabbing hold of Clary's arm gently.

"I'll call Alec, he can come quickly and watch over it while we're gone." Jace responded, putting his hands on Emma's shoulders as he had done when she was a child. She simply nodded, her mouth in a tight line, "Babe, will you do the honors?" He turned his head to Clary, handing her his stele. She took it graciously and began drawing a portal in the corridor of the Institute, the form of the Los Angeles Institute slowly taking shape in front of them, shimmering like the surface of water. Jace was now standing up straight and whispering something to Clary. She simply nodded and they turned to look at them. Julian was standing close enough behind Emma now that she could feel his heart beating on the back of her shoulder.

"Alright. We need to be cautious, we still do not know exactly what is going to transpire and we cannot act to hastily without informing the Clave." Clary looked as if she hated saying it, but being the head of an institute required more attention to the law.

"We understand." Julian spoke from behind Emma, his voice steady and strong. With that the four of them walked forward into the portal to be transported back home, awaiting whatever revelations may be there. Emma was terrified of what they had discovered, wondering if it could even be true. And then she let her mind travel back to a week ago, sitting on the roof in Los Angeles and watching the waves lap up on the shore. A lady with hair as black as Midnight pacing the sand.