My Beautiful One

33. Living in purgatory

"Today?!" We all gasped, expressions identical to Maryse's when she'd seen the letter on everybody's face but hers. She was now grimly determined, her mouth set in a hard line and her dark eyebrows furrowed over solemn eyes as she pulled on her coat and gathered things to bring to Idris.

"Yes." She said, pocketing a stele before striding quickly off out of the kitchen and in the direction of her office.

We all followed, bombarding her with 'why's and 'where's and 'when's and 'who's as we thundered up the stairs after her, the sound of our boots echoing off the marble pillars of the Institute. In barely any time at all, we were in her office, and as Maryse stuffed papers and weapons into a leather briefcase, she answered our questions.

"Who: every trained Shadowhunter we can get, when: seven forty-five pm, why: because there's an evil psychopath out to destroy the world, and where: the Forbidden City, Beijing, China."

"Do they mean to attack the Institute?" Asked Jocelyn. Maryse nodded, and Clary's mother immediately started gathering things of her own, grabbing a spare coat off the coat stand and a dagger off the table. The way she jumped into this without even asking Maryse reminded me of Clary, and I now saw where she got her spontaneous bravery from.

"Yes." The leader of the Institute replied. "The Beijing Shadowhunters are some of the best in the world, but they're be no match for Jonathan Morgenstern's demon army on their own. We need to notify the Clave to get as many Enclave Nephilim as possible there before the hoards arrive. There's little chance of beating them, but it would probably scare them away for at least a short time."

"So you're not going to get the Conclave involved?" Isabelle asked. "Surely if you-"

"Isabelle, we can't get the Conclave involved in this because if Jonathan is anything like Valentine, this is not going to be his only attack." Jocelyn told her. "We need to preserve as much of the army as we can for the next time because... well, there are likely to be casualties."

"I'm coming too." Alec declared. His mother opened her mouth to protest, but he cut her off by saying that he was an adult, and this was entirely his choice to make.

Naturally, that meant Jace and Isabelle had to step in as well.

"Alec is my parabatai and I have a permanent rune burned into my shoulder that says I can't let him have his ass kicked without me there to do some ass-kicking in return." Jace said, crossing his rune-covered arms.

Isabelle didn't go as far as Jace into the realms of persuasion. She just said, "If my brothers are going, then so am I."

Maryse sighed as she looked at her three children, and for the second time since I'd met her, her tough exterior cracked and I saw real expression on her face. The first time had been when she read that scroll, and now it was a kind of wistful sadness.

She's thinking about Max. I thought, and my heart plummeted within me as I remembered that it was Sebastian who had killed him.

"Regardless of what I say, you'll find a way to fight." She said eventually. "You're brave in that way, though some may argue that you are stupid."

Discussion carried on, about how they would get to Idris on such short notice, how many Shadowhunters that would be needed for the battle, whether Jonathan Morgenstern was likely to be there or not...

I didn't take part in these discussions at all because I was starting to feel slightly sick, like my inner turmoil was actually beginning to affect my body.

Maybe I should go. I thought. I want to help, I really do, but seeing Sebastian so soon and being expected to go against him...

Then I looked at Jocelyn, who was in tense conference with Maryse about getting a warlock that wasn't Magnus to make them a portal.