Queen of Air and Darkness
Page 112

“It is terrible to believe that there can be such darkness so close to our own world,” Mark said in a low voice. “That we evaded this future by such a thin margin.”
“It wasn’t just chance, Mark,” said Helen. “It was because we had Clary, because we had Jace, because we had good people working together to make things right.”
“We have good people now,” Magnus said. “I have seen good people fall and fail in the past.”
“Magnus, you and Alec came here because you thought you might learn how to cure yourself,” Helen began.
“Because Catarina told us to,” Magnus corrected. “Believe me, I don’t just pop out to California for my health under normal circumstances.”
“There’s nothing normal about any of this,” said Emma.
“Please,” Helen said. “I know this was an awful story, and we’re all upset, but we have to focus.”
“Wait a second,” Magnus said. “Does this mean Max is turning into a tiny little demon? Do you know how many preschool waiting lists he’s on? He’ll never get into the Little Red School House now.”
Aline threw a lamp. No one was expecting it, and the result was quite spectacular: It shattered against one of the dormer windows, and pieces of ceramic flew everywhere.
She stood up, dusting off her hands. “Everyone, BE QUIET AND LISTEN TO MY WIFE,” she said. “Magnus, I know you make jokes when you’re scared. I remember Rome.” She gave him a surprisingly sweet smile. “But we have to focus.” She turned to Helen. “Go on, honey. You’re doing great.”
She sat back down and folded her hands.
“She definitely has a temper,” Emma whispered to Cristina. “I like it.”
“Remind me to tell you about the frittata,” Cristina whispered back.
“The important thing here,” said Helen, “is the blight. We didn’t realize how important it was—that the blighted areas will become doorways for demons. That our warlocks”—she looked at Magnus—“will turn into demons. We have to close up these doorways and destroy the blight, and we can’t expect any help from Idris.”
“Why?” said Julian. “What’s going on? What about Jia?”
“She’s under house arrest in Idris,” Aline said quietly. “Horace is claiming he caught her meeting with faeries in Brocelind. She and Diana were arrested together, but Diana escaped.”
“We heard about some of this from Diana,” said Clary. “After she escaped from Idris, Gwyn brought her here and she filled us in on what happened to her in Alicante.”
“Why isn’t she still here?” asked Emma. “Why did she leave?”
“Look at this.” Mark pushed a piece of paper across the table; Julian and Emma leaned in to read it together.
It was a message from the Clave. It said that Diana Wrayburn was missing, believed to be under the influence of faeries. All Institutes should be on the lookout for her, for her own good, and alert the Inquisitor as soon as she was spotted.
“It’s all nonsense,” said Aline. “My father says they’re afraid of Diana’s influence and didn’t want to just name her as a traitor. They’re even lying about what happened to the Inquisitor. They’re claiming he lost his arm in a battle with Downworlders when they were clearing them out of Idris.”
“His arm?” echoed Emma, bewildered.
“Diana cut the Inquisitor’s arm off,” said Jace.
Emma upset her glass of water. “She did what?”
“He was threatening her,” said Clary grimly. “If Gwyn hadn’t been around to get her out of Alicante, I don’t know what would have happened.”
“It was badass,” said Jace.
“Well, good for her,” said Emma. “That definitely calls for a large tapestry one of these days.”
“Fifty bucks says the Inquisitor develops a high-tech robot arm that shoots laser beams,” said Kit. Everyone looked at him. “It always happens in movies,” he explained.
“We’re Shadowhunters,” said Julian. “We’re not high-tech.”
He sat back in his chair. Emma could see the bandages under his sleeve when he moved.
YOU ARE IN THE CAGE.
She shivered.
“We wanted Diana to stay here with us, but she thought that would make us a target,” said Helen. “She went to hide out with Gwyn, though she’s meant to check back in a few days.”
Emma privately hoped Diana and Gwyn were having a fabulous romantic time in a treetop or something. Diana deserved it.
“It’s awful all over,” said Alec. “The Downworlder registry is almost complete—with, of course, some notable exceptions.” He indicated Helen and Aline with a nod.
“Quite a few Downworlders have managed to escape the Registry, moi included,” said Magnus. “Alec threatened to kill me if I even considered putting my name on some sinister list of the Cohort’s undesirables.”
“There was no actual threatening,” said Alec, in case anyone was wondering.
“Well, all Downworlders have been removed from Idris, including the ones who were teachers at Shadowhunter Academy,” Mark said.
“Rumors are running wild among Downworlders of sneak attacks by Shadowhunters. It’s like the bad old days before the Accords,” Magnus said.
“The Iron Sisters have cut off communication with the Cohort,” said Aline. “The Silent Brothers haven’t said anything yet, but there was a statement from the Iron Sisters that they didn’t accept Horace’s authority. Horace is furious and keeps hounding them, especially because they have the shards of the Mortal Sword.”
“There’s more,” said Cristina. “Diego, Divya, and Rayan have been arrested, along with many others.” Her voice was strained.
“They’re throwing everyone in prison who disagrees with them,” said Aline.
In a small voice, Dru said, “Jaime went to try to save his brother, but he wound up in prison too. We heard about it from Patrick Penhallow.”
Emma looked at Cristina, who was biting her lip unhappily.
“Since we have no help from the Clave, and perhaps active opposition, what do we do?” Julian said.
“We do what Tessa told you to do in Thule,” said Magnus. “I trust Tessa; I always have. Just as you trusted Livvy when you found her in Thule. They might not be exact copies of us, these alternate selves, but they are not so different, either.”
“So we pour some of the water of Lake Lyn on the blighted areas, and save some to cure the warlocks,” said Helen. “The big problem being how we get to Lake Lyn past the Cohort guards who are all over Idris. And then how we get back out—”
“I will do it,” Magnus said, sitting up. The blanket fell loosely around him. “I will—”
“No!” Alec said sharply. “You are not risking yourself, Magnus, not in your condition.”
Magnus opened his mouth to object. Clary leaned across the table, her eyes entreating. “Please, Magnus. You’ve helped us so many times. Let us help you.”
“How?” Magnus said gruffly.
Jace rose to his feet. “We’ll go to Idris.”
Clary stood up too; she only reached to Jace’s bicep, but her determination was clear. “I can create Portals. We can’t get into Alicante, but we don’t need to—just into Idris. We’ll go to Lake Lyn, then Brocelind, and get back as fast as we can. We’ll go as many times as we need to so we can get enough water.”
“There are guards patrolling all over Idris,” said Helen. “You’ll need to be armed and prepared.”
“Then we’ll start getting armed now.” Jace winked at Magnus. “Prepare to be helped, warlock, whether you like it or not.”
“Not,” Magnus grumbled, subsiding into his blanket, but he was smiling. And the look Alec gave Jace and Clary was more eloquent than any speech.
“Wait.” Aline held up a hand. She was shuffling through a pile of papers on the table. “I’ve got the schedules of the patrols here. They’re sweeping different locations in Idris to make sure they’re ‘clear’ of Downworlders.” She spoke the words with distaste. “They’re doing Lake Lyn today and tonight.” She looked up. “You can’t go now.”