A Shadowed Romance

Chapter 5: Meeting New York

Chelsea:

When I finally make it back to Chicago, I see Theo on the roof waiting and sharpening a blade. I land the bike and embrace my parabatai. He runes me and I draw the runes quickly on James and retrace Theo's before we all race inside. I replenish the supply cabinet and leave the note for replenishing the chapel on Vanessa's desk. I have Michael drawn and had Theo retrace the rune placed by the brothers.

"What happened in the three hours James and I were gone?"

"You remember what happened in New York?" He asks me.

"The demon that possessed the shadowhunters causing Alexander Lightwood to kill Jocelyn Fairchild-Morgenstern."

"Yeah."

"You're kidding."

"Only instead of it being one lesser demon it's a greater, and there's at least two, and instead of killing the people they torment them with lies and deceit making our hunters turn on each other."

"We got a distress call." A few very well known shadowhunters walk through the door.

"Yeah, we've got greater demons that are doing what happened in New York. Possessing Shadowhunters to kill by deception rather than sword."

"How do you know it's a greater demon." Alec asks sounding rather unconvinced.

"Because of this." I draw a rune on my skin and it vanishes completely. "The silent brothers told me that the only time the runes won't work on my skin is when there's a greater demon nearby."

"But how do they know." Jace asks.

"Feel free to ask one." Harrison answers pointing out two brothers fighting alongside Olivia and Sasha.

I grip onto Theo's shoulder as I try to catch my breath. He wraps his arm around me immediately.

"How sweet." Bethany's voice comes from behind. "Too bad you're parabatai, and you can't date or fall in love." Theo sets me down so I'm sitting against a wall. He's standing between Bethany and myself.

"You don't know what you're talking about Bethany." I tell her trying to draw a strength rune on me Michael grasped firmly in my hand it finally takes. I push myself up. I hold my blade tight in my hand drawing from the strength of the runes, my parabatai next to me, and the blade.

"Don't I?" She asks innocently as the rest of the group surrounds her. Her single double-edged sword in hand. "The only way you could get him to love you was through a rune."

"No offense, but you hardly know us well enough to make that kind of call. Theo and I have been best friends for our whole lives, he's my big brother." I tell her taking a shaky step toward her. "Considering that fact and there's the whole, I find dating Theodore completely repulsive, no offense Theo," I tell him, he shrugs and smiles back, "What makes you think I'm in love with him?"

I watch as Alec and Jace both slowly make their way to from behind Bethany. Harrison's worry evident in his eyes. Bethany goes quiet. "Why else would you attempt to cover your feelings by dating everyone else?"

"I didn't date to cover feelings, I dated because I didn't have any of those kinds of feelings, it wasn't really dating either, except Andrew, I actually do care for him, which is what scared me. Theo's been my brother from the get go. He always has been, he always will be. We already fight side by side, why not have a rune to prove it; am I right Theo?" He quirks a smile and nods. Clary starts drawing on her hand and then steps in front of me Alec and Jace both stop and she shows her runed hand to Bethany who recoils before dropping to the ground the demon appears and Theo puts himself between the demon and myself. He's drawing runes on me as fast as he can, but none of them take. Clary continues to hold the rune out to the demon as Jace and Alec attack it. Isabelle joins them a moment later. Eventually it's sent back to the void.