Crowns ~ Alec Lightwood

Jade Wolf

"Tell me where Johnathon is. I'm gonna kill that son of a bitch with my bare hands."

Everyone's smiles dropped, including Clary's.

"You can't," Jace stated, "None of us can."

"Why?" Simon asked.

Clary pulled down her collar to reveal a scar on her shoulder, "Lilith carved this rune into me, right before your mark blasted her back to hell."

"The rune ties Clary's life force to Johnathon's," Rory continued, "If you hurt one of them, you hurt the other in the exact same way."

"Which is why we sent an alert out to the other institutes: Johnathon must be captured alive," Alec informed.

"He was looking for a sword when he was in Paris...the Morning Star," Clary said, "If we can find it first, maybe we can track down Johnathon."

Simon huffed, "Another magic sword?"

"He said it was some sort of family heirloom."

"I'll reach out to all the weapons masters to get intel," Izzy offered.

"I'll draw the ley line junctions in the city," Magnus added, "If Johnathon moved the apartment, we'll find him."

The redhead sighed, "Thank you...all of you. I honestly don't know what I would do without you."

"That's what family's for, Fray."

Rory smiled, "Alright, let's get to work."

They dispersed and Rory tried to walk back to her room. She took off her jacket and changed her bandages. Alec quietly walked in a few minutes later and shut the door behind him.

"Need help?"

She shrugged and handed him the supplies. He dabbed some disinfectant onto her cut. She winced lightly and he apologized.

"Is Jack coming back anytime soon?" he asked.

"I think he'll stay a little longer," she sighed, "He missed his home and Eddie was quite insistent that he catch up."

He smiled and finished wrapping her arm. She grimaced as she pulled her jacket back on. As she fixed the collar, she noticed that Alec gazed out in thought.

"I'm guessing you didn't come in here just to help me?" she smirked. He sighed and waited until she was still to explain.

"Izzy and I are going to meet a sentry from the Gard tonight," he informed, "You're flying solo until I get back."

She nodded and stood up. He intertwined their hands as he led them back out to the entrance where Izzy waited for them.

"Call me if you find out anything about Johnathon or the sword."

"I will."

They kissed each other lightly before the siblings left. As soon as the door shut, Izzy smiled at her brother, "You two are adorable."

-

Rory was walking through the halls when her phone rang. She saw an unknown number and answered, "Who is this?"

"It's Maia! There's been an attack and I need your help!"

Rory's eyes widened, "Where are you?"

"The Jade Wolf! Heidi is here with a few of her vamp friends and they're killing the everyone!" she shouted.

Crashes and hisses could be heard from the other side of the call. Rory immediately began jogging out to the entrance, "Who's Heidi?"

"She's a psychotic vampire that Simon sired. I'll explain later but I need your help now."

"I'm on my way."

She opened a portal and landed in the kitchen of the Jade Wolf. Maia turned to her in fear, a bleeding man in her arms.

Rory pointed to the back exit, "Get out of here. I'll handle this."

"How are you gonna take them all?" she asked fearfully.

"Don't worry about it," Rory assured, "If you don't hear from me, call the institute. Okay?"

Maia nodded and ran to the back with the man. Rory took a deep breath and pushed the doors open. Blood immediately splattered across her clothes, spewing from the body of a fallen wolf.

Rory willed herself to stay in control. She saw vampires and wolves dying left and right. The center vampire charged at her, baring his teeth.

She stopped his movements by using her magic to tie him down. She flicked her wrist and flung him against the wall. She spotted another brawl in the corner and shot out tendrils of energy to pull them apart.

Her magic ended when her side was tackled. She shouted as a vampire pinned her arms down. She pulled against the hold but the vamp quickly bit down on her neck.

She screamed as the blood drained from her body. The lack of blood made her weak, therefore making her unable to conjure her magic.

More wolves fell to the ground, their own blood dripping from the walls. Rory's eyes rolled back, feeling herself start to slip unconscious. The sharp fangs that bit into her neck kept her awake. She used the last of her strength to push the man off her.

He hissed as he rolled off. He hovered over her, going in for another bite but she uncurled her hands. Her guttural screams were heard by every vampire that was left.

She expelled magic from every pore of her body. The energy she held radiated as bright and hot as the sun. The vamps hissed and ran away, feeling the burn hit their skin.

When they were all out of the restaurant, she let her light die. She let out a last exhale before she fell unconscious.

Maia was in the far storage room, barricaded in by the vampires. She heard the deathly silence take over the restaurant and banged on the door.

"Rory!"

She began to get claustrophobic and she hit the door harder. Jordan attempted to calm her down but she kept panicking. She pulled out her phone and tried to call the Institute.

"There's no service in here!" she yelled, throwing her phone down in frustration. She turned back to the door and banged her fists against the cool metal,

"Rory!"

-

"Who else knows about this?" Maryse asked.

"No one except us."

"The wound was caused by a seraph blade," Alec stated, "But all of our people were accounted for at the time of the murder."

"We think it was a Clave hit."

Maryse inhaled sharply and massaged her temple in frustration.

Izzy glanced at Alec before she revealed another fact, "He said something before he died. We thought you might recognize it...Caelstis Ignis. Latin for heavenly fire."

The mother scoffed, "It's the name of an off the books Clave program. There were whispers but no details. My clearance wasn't high enough."

Maryse saw the look of determination on the kids' face and she shook her head adamantly, "No! One man already died so Heavenly Fire could stay hidden."

"They killed one of their own. They've tortured downworlders because of this," Izzy said furiously, "And you want us to turn a blind eye?"

"You did raise us like that," Alec agreed.

"I raised you to survive," she argued, "Promise me you'll stay away from this."

The two glanced at each other and bowed their heads, both of them understanding where their thoughts were at.

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