Shadowhunters Season 4

|24|

Chapter 24, The silent truth

"I don't like this one bit, Izzy."

Clary and Isabelle were now both standing in front of the entrance of the City of Bones. Clary still felt the shivers rake up her spine when she looked at the entrance. It surely brought memories to the surface from when she was there for the first time. How Jace had confidentially grabbed her hand and lead her through the dark tunnels. It seemed like ages ago, which in a sense, it was. 

That place always gave the Fairchild mixed feelings. Jace had been tortured there, but she also got answers to whom her father was. Something she had wondered about her whole life. 

"Let's go." Isabelle reassuringly placed a hand on Clary's shoulder before they entered. 

Goosebumps immediately found its way onto Clary's skin when the massive, stone door slid shut with a dull sound. Hands clasped into each other, the two Shadowhunters found their way into the Silent City. As they descended on the cold, stone stairs, a voice echoed through their minds.

"Isabelle Lightwood and Clarissa Fairchild, to what do we owe the honor of having you entering the Silent City?"

"We have discovered that something, or someone, is breaching my mind," Clary answered to the Silent Brother that appeared in front of them.

The powerful Shadowhunter, as always, was dressed in a grey gown, mouth sewn shut, his eyes having the same fate. 

His appearance still unnerved Clary.

"We can help you, Clarissa Fairchild, but I must warn you. To be under the Mortal Sword is not for the weak." 

The Silent Brother walked away, the two Shadowhunters trailing behind.

-

Isda was looking impatiently at Raziel, a scowl decorating her features. Raziel was sitting on the ground, meditating. He was sitting there, unmoving, for almost a day. He had warned her -with a rather unpleasant threat- that she could not disturb him in any way, saying that it needed all of his power and concentration. 

"Would you stop staring at me?" Raziel peeked one eye open and glanced at Isda. She just rolled her eyes and turned around, scoffing at Raziel. 

"Should I get the bloodsuckers?" She asked with a sickly sweet smile. 

Raziel nodded at her and continued prodding in Clarissa Fairchild's mind, breaking her mental barrier piece by piece.

-

"You must remain under the sword no matter what happens." The silent brother instructs before gesturing that Clary should go stand under the Mortal Sword. 

Clarissa inhaled a very sharp breath and walked forward until she was standing right under the Sword. The Silent Brothers present in the room began chanting, their voices echoing through Clary's mind. 

She saw the spirals on the walls light up a bright gold, leading to the incredibly sharp point of the Sword. The ball of golden light disappeared at the point and a millisecond later Clary's eyes rolled into the back of her head and she stood as straight as a board.

She sucked in a very strangled breath before venturing into her own mind. She saw the imaginary wall that keeps her mind safe. Instead of looking perfectly fine, it looked like someone had been smashing at it with a hammer. A very, very big hammer. 

She stepped closer to the damaged wall and peeked through a hole that was on the surface. A gasp escaped her pink lips at what she saw. Raziel was sitting in a rather dark room, meditating. 

She also saw something else. A beautiful woman, dressed in a silver gown that reached her ankles. The mystery woman was dragging vampires to the place that Raziel was sitting. Then, Raziel embedded his 1 inch long claws into the vampire's neck, black blood spurting everywhere. He inhaled slowly as if he inhaled the vampire's spirit. Suddenly, his veins lit up with a silver glow, trailing to his neck where the glow disappeared. 

A strangled breath left Clary at seeing the horrifying sight and she fell backward in what seemed like water. She tried to swim back to the surface, but there seemed to be none. Clary began screaming for help, bubbles with precious oxygen leaving her mouth. And then, she blacked out.

Isabelle rushed to her parabatai the second Clary fell to the floor, breathing heavily. 

"What happened? Did you see who's infiltrating your mind?" Izzy bombarded Clary with questions.

"Clarissa did see who is intruding her mind, however, we have discovered something unsettling. It seems that the one who is trying to take over her mind is attempting to transform Clarissa into a Spiritfoot. We have tried to stop the transformation, but we could only manage to slow it down. She is expected to transform in 5 days. We give you our condolences, Isabelle Lightwood. A loss of a parabatai is never easy."

Izzy looked wide-eyed at the Silent Brother who uttered the words, finally recognizing him as Brother Zachariah. Tears formed in her eyes and rage consumed her whole being.

"No! I am not letting my parabatai transform into that creature!"

"We are going to need to ask you to leave the Silent City. We cannot help you further." Zachariah actually spoke these words.

Isabelle helped a stumbling Clary to stand upright and the two women exited the City of Bones, hoping to never return to it.