Fallen Angel

xxv

"So what exactly is the plan?" Isabelle asked.

"We go to Edom and kill Sebastian." Jace said.

"And how do we do that? Clary's our only weapon. Do we hit him over the head with her until he passes out?" Zoe asked.

"Well she's small, it wouldn't be hard." Alec said quietly.

"Haha, I heard that." Clary said. Jace laughed and kissed her temple.

"If I can channel enough fire into my hands, then I can channel it into a sword and we can kill him." Clary said.

"So if your hands get hot enough?" Evan asked.

"If my hands get hot enough, the heat spreads to the blade. If the blade is hot enough, it'll kill him." Clary said.

"That's pretty intense." Evan said.

"And there's no other way?" Isabelle asked.

"No. The only way to kill my brother is using the heavenly fire. I'm the only source." Clary said. Alec let out a low whistle.

"So we literally have one shot at this?" Isabelle asked. Clary nodded.

"Yup. One shot. If I don't get him the first time, you all die and Jace and I are held captive for the rest of our lives." Clary said.

"Sounds like a very festive time." Zoe said.

"That's one way to put it." Jace said.

"Sebastian's weird obsession with Clary is pretty much the only reason he'd keep Jace alive. He knows that if he were to kill Jace, then Clary would hate him." Alec said.

"Just to be clear, if he killed any of you I'd hate him. It's not just Jace. I'm going to make sure he knows that if he hurts any of you, that I'm not going to be happy." Clary said. Zoe nodded.

"So how do we get to Edom?" She asked.

Everyone was silent.

"Well that plan was good while it lasted." Zoe said.

"There has to be a way though. If Sebastian can take his entire army to and from, there has to be a way." Isabelle said.

"There is." Evan said softly. Everyone looked at him and Zoe grabbed his hand, nodding subtly.

"There's a path through the Seelie realm. I read about it. There's the three paths. One leads you back to the mundane world, one leads you deeper into faerie, and the other goes to Edom." Evan said.

"Isn't that just a children's story?" Alec asked.

"No. It's real. All we need to do is have the Seelie Queen give us permission." Evan said. Clary sighed.

"She won't do that. Not unless we have something useful for her." Jace said.

"We could just show up and demand for her to let us through?" Isabelle asked.

"No. Too risky." Jace said.

"This entire trip is risky. This might be a risk we have to take." Clary said softly.

The room was silent and Jace sighed.

"Clary's right." He said.

"So we just Portal to the Seelie Court and see how long it takes to convince the Queen to let us through?" Zoe asked. Jace nodded.

"Seems easy enough." She said.

"Wait, is there a way back?" Isabelle asked.

"Not that we know of." Jace said.

"So we're going in blind?" Zoe asked. No one said anything.

"Yup. We're going in blind. Are you in or out?" Clary asked. Zoe grabbed her hand across the table.

"You know I'm in."

+++

"Is this stupid?" Clary asked. She looked at the wall and Jace touched her shoulder.

"Maybe. But we can do it. Are you ready to go?" Jace asked, turning to the people behind him. Isabelle shouldered her duffle and nodded.

"Let's do this. Jonathan's not gonna turn himself in. Might as well go and get that son of a bitch." Isabelle said. Clary smiled and turned to them.

"Okay, who's going through first?" Clary asked.

"I'll go." Alec said. He put the backpack on and walked through the Portal.

"Okay, who's next?" Clary asked. The Portal swirled behind her and Isabelle started walking towards it.

As Isabelle disappeared, Evan followed her. Zoe turned to Clary and hugged her.

"We're gonna get you through this one. We've got you." Zoe said. Clary smiled and Zoe walked through the Portal. Jace kissed her forehead and smiled.

"We're gonna get him. Don't worry." Clary smiled and grabbed his hand.

"Let's go." She whispered before walking through the shimmering Portal.