Shadow Demon- Shadowhunters

Ex-Circle

Echo stood behind Isabelle as she looked at the surveillance camera videos and sighed, "I knew I felt something."

Isabelle turned to look at the Shadowhunter still dressed in white, "What?"

Echo shook her head, "I thought I felt someone afraid. Now I know it was Lydia."

Isabelle turned back to the monitor, "Don't get so caught up in it. She's going to be fine."

Echo shook her head but didn't say anything as Jace and Clary joined them. Soon Alec walked into the room.
"How's Lydia doing?"

Alec gave a nod, "Better. Magnus is doing what he can to help her, but it's bad. And the Cup is definitely missing."

Echo sighed, "So is Hodge."

"Maybe he was attacked, too."

Clary leaned over Isabelle's chair, "Maybe he's the one who attacked her."

"Hodge?" Isabelle shook her head, "No, way. We've known him our entire lives. He wouldn't never do that to us."

Isabelle was fast-forwarding the video of Lydia in the office. After another minute, they finally saw Hodge in the video. They all watched as he backhanded Lydia and she fell onto the table, breaking it. Hodge picked up the cup from the floor and left the room.

"I lead him right to the cup." Jace couldn't believe what he had saw.

Alec was angry; "We treated him like family. How could he do this to us?"

Isabelle kept her eyes on the monitor as she fast-forwarded the video again, "That's how."

The team looked at the monitor again.
Clary folded her arms, "What's that ring?"

"Looks like he's talking to someone."

In the video, Hodge held up the cup as he spoke.

"And I can bet who it is." The anger was radiating off of Jace.

Clary bit her lip, "Valentine."

Alec sighed, "Well that explains how he deactivated the Punishment rune, but it doesn't explain where he go the ring."

Echo shook her head; "You think someone smuggled it past the wards?"

Jace was still angry, "Maybe. Hodge wasn't the only ex-Circle member around here."

Echo pulled in a breath as she felt the blame go around.

"Look, I know I don't always see eye to eye with my parents, but I know they're not traitors."

"Really? Isn't that what you just said about Hodge? It'd have to be someone we trusted, but if there was an intruder inside the Institute, we would have found them by now."

Sudden realization flowered in Clary, "What about the Forsaken attack?"

Echo swallowed and put her hand up to the scars on her neck as Alec spoke.

"No, we killed that thing, and I didn't see a ring."

Isabelle kept her eyes on the screen, "He didn't have one during the autopsy, but maybe there's something in the footage." Isabelle manipulated the video again. In the video, Echo saw herself being thrown away from the Forsaken and she had to swallow away the memory of the pain.

"Go to the other camera."

Isabelle switched the camera and it was clear that Hodge was taking something from the forsaken.

Jace pointed, "There."

Echo swallowed, "So it wasn't a random attack."

Alec kept his posture tight, "If he gives that cup to Valentine, he'll create an army of Shadowhunters. With that kind of power behind him, he'll kill thousands."

Isabelle shook her head, "He'll kill thousands just creating the army. Most Mundanes won't survive that."

"We won't let that happen, I'm going to make sure of it."

Jace walked away with anger following him. 

**

Echo walked into the control room, from after seeing her mother, and saw Alec and Jace dressed in Shadowhunter wear, caring weapons.

Echo hurried to her brother and husband, "Whoa, where are you two going?"

"We have to go find Hodge."

Echo shook her head, "That's dangerous. At least let me come with you."

Both Jace and Alec shook their heads, but Alec spoke, "Absolutely not."

Echo raised her hands, "What? Why?"

Alec sighed, "Because if you get to close to that cup, I might lose you."

Echo pulled in a breath as she realized what he was saying, "Alec, I'm not going to succumb to that."

"You don't know that."

"Alec, please."

Alec set a hand on his wife's shoulder, "Just stay with Clary and find the book of the White, okay?"

As Alec retreated, Echo pulled on his arm, "Alec." Echo's voice was so tight that when Alec turned to her, he wasn't surprised to see her green eyes glowing. Jace also turned at the tone but didn't say anything. Alec turned and gave Jace a look before the twin turned and walked from the church.

"Go get dressed."

Echo's eyes faded back into an opaque green and she straightened up, "Thank you."

Echo, finally dressed in black with her hair up in a ponytail, followed Alec and Jace. Alec and Echo walked next to each other with bladed hands. Echo noticed that the blade in her hand did not have a glow at all; while Alec's shined brightly in the night.

Echo looked behind her expecting to see Jace, but it was just the two of them.

"Uh, where's Jace?"

Alec quickly looked back then swore, "Damn it. He went off by himself."

Both of the Shadowhunters broke out into a run and when they found Jace, they had just enough time to see the angered Shadowhunter slice off the hand of Hodge Starkweather.

Both Alec and Echo came to a full stop in shock. But when Jace towered over Hodge with the seraph black above his head, Alec hurried and tackled Jace to the ground.

"It's over!"

"It's not over! He's a traitor, he deserves to pay!"

Alec had his whole body over Jace's to keep him on the ground. Echo didn't dare take a step into the anger.

"You nearly killed him!"

"Maybe I should've killed him! He sided with Valentine, Alec!" Jace nearly spit his words, "The Clave let him go once before and look where that got us."

"What are you going to do?"

Echo finally found the space to hurry up to Hodge and Luke as she watch the exchange of her new family.

"You're gonna kill every ex-circle member, even our parents?"

Echo looked up at the pair.

"Robert and Maryse aren't my parents."

"You said it yourself, they raised you. They are your parents." Alec let go of Jace and Echo could feel the anger weaning off, "Just calm down."

Alec pushed himself off of Jace and walked over to Hodge. The Shadowhunter pulled out his stele and started marking Hodge with a new healing ruin.

The shouts of pain made Echo back away. She sat back on her heels and saw Jace stand and walk a few steps forward before looking around again. Then suddenly, to Echo's disbelief, Valentine appeared in front of Jace.