City of Heavenly Fire

Into the Dark

Boy, that took a while to post. I'm having a dry spell and I know the next book of this is going to be out soon anyway, so I'm under pressure. But ta-da. Next chapter.

Rain pelted Clary's head, dousing her clothing as she tried to see into the bookstore's windows, hoping to not disturb anything. Every item seemed exactly as she remembered it, each placement permanently imprinted upon the thousands of times she'd come and gone from this place. It was like a second home to her, but for the first time, she did not feel welcomed.

"I don't see anything," she said, mentally cursing the rain as she scoped the area for creatures, specifically hybrids. "Doesn't seem like anyone's there, though."

"Is there another door?" Isabelle asked, glaring in the same direction.

Clary nodded. "It opens in the back, by the one to the basement."

"All right, let's go." Isabelle unsheathed a small dagger, the sound of water plunking off its metallic surface.

Clary struggled to her feet. "Wait, shouldn't we come up with a plan? Rather than busting in there without even knowing what we're up against?"

But Isabelle wasn't paying attention. She glanced once down the side of the road before crossing the street, whip curled expectantly at her side. "What? Should we camp out here and wait until something happens like one of those lame cop shows? No, I'm done waiting."

"Don't be stupid," Clary hissed, hurrying up beside her.

"I wouldn't assume you'd be one to wait, since they might be killing Luke off right now."

Clary tried to ignore the jab, but she still felt the impact of it. "Or maybe we'll be giving Sebastian a reason to do it faster."

"Fine, you go get the volvo and sit out here with your binoculars."

Clary gritted her teeth, wiping the rain that dripped into her eyes as her friend fled the rest of the way. Reluctantly, she followed after. The both moved as quietly as they could, towards the back door before easing it open, just a crack. They listened, waiting to hear something inside, but everything remained eerily silent.

"They'd be in the basement, if they came here," Clary whispered, eyes skimming the area inside. Isabelle opened the door, leaving it slightly ajar as she sneaked through. Clary did the same, keeping one of her blades aloft and ready.

Unlike the tinted lights in the front of the store, the room they now stood in was dark, except  for a small glow filtering beneath the door to the basement offering a small bit of direction. The sight of it stilled Clary's breath.

Isabelle rested her ear against the door, holding a finger up. She lifted her other hand to the knob.

Clary shook her head, stepping around Isabelle until she stood next to her. "Let me do it," she murmured, as quietly as she could. Isabelle gave her a surprised loo, followed by suspicion.

Clary hurried on. "He won't kill me," she said. "He expects it to be me."

After a moment, her friend nodded, grimacing as Clary placed her own hand on the knob,wrapping her fingers firmly around it. She motioned for Isabelle to stand away in case she was seen and very slowly cracked open the door. Below them, everything stayed quiet.

Cautioned, Clary stepped down, glancing over the rail to the floor below, the dangling light bulbs overhead filling the room with dull shadows. Stacks of boxes littered the corners alone with some cluttered rows of books, the ground beneath stained with a variety of colors Clary did not wish to know the origin of.

She continued to creep down the flight, raising her weapon higher as she reached the base and glanced around the corner.

Nothing. Nothing except for the open-doored jail room Luke had built himself, the walls of it slashed, some plastered bars bleeding drywall. Clary sucked in her breath at the sight of smeared red, but it wasn't enough to indicate a serious injury. Nor, did she notice, was it fresh.

She checked the area once more before insuring that it was empty.

Luke wasn't here, and judging from the stillness of this place, hadn't been here for awhile.

She  turned back to the flight of stairs and  called for Isabelle in a hushed voice. But when she heard no reply, something inside Clary instantly stood alert, a small sense of uneasiness settling over her.

Everything seemed almost too quiet, as if the night itself was afraid. Clary strained her hearing, wondering if she was just paranoid, when  the sound of breaking glass appeared from overhead. 

On instinct, she ducked behind a a deep impression Luke had made once from one of his "accidents" that Clary had used for hide-and-seek when she was little. For a second, she was surprised she still fit. But then her attention narrowed back to the break in, her awareness making her head spin.

For a moment, there was nothing. As if it had never happened. That maybe she imagined it. But the opening of the basement door instantly squashed that thought and Clary held her breath.

"Oh, now this is homey," she heard a very familiar voice say, one that held the power to make her blood roar in her ears and her heart pound in her throat.

Sebastian sighed. "You know, irony is really a beautiful thing; that you should die in the one place you felt secure. For all those years."

Clary clenched her hands. She swiveled her gaze to the staircase, watching in horror as Sebastian led Luke down, his entire body bloodied, clothes torn. Behind them hovered a massive shadow, one that could only belong to one of his hybrids. Clary momentarily closed her eyes, cursing herself for coming in here so poorly prepared. 

Sebastian puckered his lips, whistling as he hit the bottom of the stairs. "Tsk, tsk, tsk. It's unfortunate that you shall have to be here alone. It looks as if your loved ones had bigger plans to attend to."

"They'll come after you," Luke rasped, his eyes glazed and he glared up at the man. "Whether I live to see that or not, I know they will."

Sebastian smiled, kneeling in front of Luke. "You naive little wolf. You know nothing, still caught up in the Shadowhunter tales that good will always prevail in the end. Well, this is the end and I see nothing good for you about it."

Then Sebastian stepped around him, eyes scanning the farside wall. He raised his fingers, tapping the stones in front until the surface of something rippled to life before him. He took a step back and watched as the Portal appeared, opalescent and glowing.

Suddenly, the hybrid let out a low growl from the top of the staircase, breaking Sebastian's focus. He met the eyes of his hybrid. "What's this?" he asked, walking up the flight and peering outside. "Ah, ah, ah. Someone's been snooping around in here." He folded his arms behind his back. "Interesting. Well, maybe if we play this right, they'll come out."

Sebastian lurched forward then, slamming his fist into the side of Luke's head. Clary let out a gasp, covering her hands over her mouth as she watched, helpless, knowing if she tried to stop it, she wouldn't be able to.

Clary glanced around, trying to locate Isabelle. To her shock, she found Isabelle resting behind another stack of books, whip unwrapped as she glanced around, as if she were planning to step out. In front of them hovered the Hybrid, its nose raised to the ground, pointed in the direction of Isabelle. Clary saw her raise her whip just a fraction, eyes trailed on the silhouette of the beast. In just a moment, Isabelle would attack and her odds of coming out alive were not looking good.

Before Clary knew what she was doing, she emerged from the crevice and stood, raising her weapon.