Chapter 33

Faith's POV

Alec, Jace, Clary, and I are looking at a holographic map of the city in the Ops Center in the Institute, trying to figure out Izzy's location.

"Azazel's attacks go as far south as the Meatpacking District, and then the trail runs cold," Alec explained.

Jace shook his head next to me, "It's no use just tracking dead bodies. With his ability to dematerialize he could be anywhere."

Alec closes the map and suddenly Izzy walks up to us with a man behind him, "Maybe we can help."

"Izzy!" Claire and I said in unison before we both hugged her.

"We've been so worried about you," I said.

"Where have you been?" Clary asked as we release Izzy.

Izzy and Alec make eye contact before Izzy speaks, "Looking for Azazel. This is Sebastian Verlac, from the London Institute. When the demon came after me, Sebastian saved my life."

We all looked at Sebastian who shrugged and smiled nervously, "Oh, I simply lent a hand."

"Sebastian's an expert on all things Azazel," Izzy smiled.

"When I studied abroad at the Paris Institute, I specialized in Greater Demons," Sabastian explained.

Alec let out a sigh before holding out his hand to Sabastian, "Thanks for saving my sister. I'm Alec." They shakes hands.

Jace held out his hand next, "Hey. Yeah, thank you. I'm Jace." They shake hands as Sabastian smiled, "The great warrior in the flesh. Your reputation precedes you."

Sebastian turned to Clary, "As does yours. You must be Clary, Valentine's daughter." Clary and he shook hands as Clary said, "Yeah. Don't hold it against me."

"Well, we don't choose our parents."

I spoke up next, holding out my hand, "I'm Faith."

Sebastian eyes me, nodding with a smile, "Your Clary's half-sister, and connected to Jace, correct?"

"The one and only," I nodded.

Once all the introductions were done, Jace spoke up, getting to business, "So tell us about Azazel. How do we take him down?"

"The only way to banish him is to puncture his demonic core. In corporeal form, it's between the T8 and T9 vertebrae. But it's not that simple. The core is about the size of a pea."

"So the entry point's right below his sternum?" Jace asked, causing Sebastian to nod. "If I can get close enough, I can kill him," Jace says.

"You wouldn't have enough velocity, and even if you did, the defeat's only temporary. The nasty buggers always find a way to break out of their realm and come back."

Alec spoke up, grabbing our attention, "Thank you for the intel, but we'll take it from here."

"We could use all the help we can get, Alec. And he clearly knows more about Azazel than we do," I said, making Alec glance at me before sighing.

"Fine."

Sebastian nodded before continuing, "Now, as far as tracking is concerned, we should really think-"

Alec spoke up, cutting the man off, "We have a very capable warlock for that. You do what you want. I'm gonna work with Magnus." With that, Alec turned and left, leaving us to let out a sigh.

Well, Alec clearly doesn't like Sebastian.

One of Imogen's guards approached the small group, "Jace, Clary, and Faith, Imogen has asked to see you in her office." The three of us glanced at each other before nervously following the guard.

As we entered the office, we found Imogen sitting at her desk, writing something down before looking up at us.

"You wanted to see us," Jace said as we entered.

"Yes. I want to discuss what's next for all of you."

"You can do whatever you want with me, but leave Faith and Clary out of this," Jace quickly said.

Imogen sighed, glancing at her desk, "Well, that's not possible. The Clave wants to have you all tested, to get a greater understanding of your unique angel blood abilities and connection."

Confusion sat on my face, "We were already tested."

"But not by me," Imogen answered plainly.

Jace quickly spoke up, shaking his head, "No. We'll pass on being lab rats."

Clary put her hand on Jace's arm to stop him, "No, Jace. I wanna do this. I haven't been able to use my runes since we summoned Azazel. I wanna understand why."

"Thank you, miss Morgenstern. Your willingness to put your own comfort aside for the greater good is to be commended." Imogen turned to Jace and I, "You would do well to follow her example."

I wanted to scuff, to slap her silly, but I also didn't want to be kicked out or worst.

"I'm not a follower," Jace answered.

"I'll do it," I answered, causing Jace to look at me confused which caused me to give him a small smile. "At least we get to spend some time together."

Jace let out a sigh, seeing my point before looking at Imogen and shrugging. "I guess it's your lucky day."

The three of us left to change into some training clothes before meeting with Imogen and some guards in the courtyard. The courtyard both freaked me out and inspired me. It was dark as much as it was beautiful.

Clary took a seat on a bench while Jace and I were handed swords. We begin to practice fighting like we would in the training room, seeming to predict each other's moves.

Jace paused, turning back and looking at Imogen before facing me with a smile, "Think if she ever smiled, her face would crack?"

I chuckled, "Possible. That, or she'd melt." We continued to fight for another minute before I spoke up again. "From what Luke said, she was a very warm person before her son died."

"Oh, I have no doubt," Jace said, clearly not believing it. He suddenly kicked my sword out of my hand and into the sky to which I ran and jumped off a stone to catch it. As I turn, I feel my ruin glow on my arms and my eyes turn gold, watching as Jace's does the same even through his shirt.

We both smirk before Jace does and insane jump and lands right in front of me. I can feel his breath on me as we both smile at each other. We begin to fight again, matching each other's fighting skills and able to jump, dodge, and kick each other away.

"Enough!" Imogen yelled, causing Jace and I to stop and look at her, trying to catch our breath as we come down from our high. She nodded for us to step to the side to which we grabbed a rag and whipped our foreheads off before sitting on a bench.

Imogen approached Clary next, causing her to stand. "Sun rune. Try again." She hands her a stele before stepping to the side. Clary draws the rune on her palm before pointing it forward at a wall. Nothing happens.

"So you've created new runes in the past, and now suddenly they don't work anymore," Imogen said, pacing slightly.

I squinted my eyes at Imogen, standing up, "What are you saying? She's lying?"

"She is Valentine's daughter."

"And I'm a werewolf's daughter. It means nothing," I said, anger in my voice. I grabbed my blade from the bench and glared at Imogen, "We're done for today. All of us," I said before walking away with Jace to follow.

Jace and I are walking through the Institute, heading back to our rooms in silence before Alec stepped off the elevator.

"Hey."

"Hey," Jace said, causing us all to stop.

"We need to talk."

Jace smiled, "Yeah. Heard you banished Azazel. Congratulations."

Alec sighed, "Yeah. Um, this is gonna sound crazy. I was just with Valentine, and he says that he's Magnus, that Azazel switched them with some kind of a demonic curse."

My faced formed a confused look, "What?"

Alec nodded in agreement at my reaction, "I know. It's hard to believe. But it's just, he knew things that only Magnus could know. Like, intimate details."

"Are you sure he didn't steal your memories or something?" I asked?

"No, no, that's not possible. I would have noticed."

Jace nodded, "Okay, well... Just remember that this is Valentine. He's always ten steps ahead of us. He's always planning his next move. Alec, just trust me. You don't wanna fall for his lies." He put his hand on Alec's shoulder and gave it a small squeeze before him and I walked away.

Jace went to use is old bathroom while I used mine. I grabbed a pair of clothes before taking a nice long shower. The feeling of the warm water calmed my bones and my fingers massaged my skelp. Eventually, I got out, changing into my clothes before drying my hair.

Mid dry, my body suddenly stopped and I felt a little dizzy. I looked at myself in the mirror and it felt like my eyes zoomed into each other. Flashes of Valentine in pain fill my mind and sight, but the picture changes to Magnus in Valentine's place.

My sight zooms back out and I gasp a little bit as the vision throws me back a bit.

"Oh my God," I whispered, realizing that everything Alec said was right.

Quickly, I rush out of the bathroom and out of my room, tripping over my own feet as I ran. My eyes look around to each person before I take the elevator down, my body shaking.

I burst through the elevator doors when the open to find Alec standing outside of Valentine's cell. Imogen is inside, hurting him and causing him to scream out in agony.

Alec turned around as I rushed towards him, "What are you doing down here?"

Trying to catch my breath, I said, "That's not Valentine, it's Magnus. They must have switched bodies when we summoned Azazel."

"I knew it," Alec said before rushing into the cell. I followed behind as Alec stops Imogen. "Stop! It's not Valentine. It's Magnus."

Imogen looked at Alec confused, "What did you say?"

"He's telling the truth. I saw it," I said grabbing her attention as well.

"Smart girl," I heard a voice say and turned to see a holograph or Magnus, or should Valentine in Magnus' body. Jace was next to him, cuffed and chained to the ground.

"Jace," I whispered.

Quickly, I fast walked out of the cell, Alec and Imogen to follow and I spoke with venom in my voice. "I swear to God if you hurt him-" Imogen grabbed my arm, cutting me off and stopping me from getting any closer.

Magnus smirked at me before looking to Imogen. "You remember the fire message you sent to me the night Stephen died. The good news is, in exchange for my freedom, you can save your pure angel-blooded warrior, and connection."

"I don't make deals with the devil," Imogen spoke calmly/

Jace chuckled slightly, "You chose the wrong bait. For all she cares, you could slaughter me right now."

"But Faith won't let that happen. And I don't think Imogen would dare slaughter her grandson."

Jace, Imogen, and I looked confused before Jace spoke, "After all your lies, you expect me to believe I'm a Herondale?"

"Stephen Herondale was your father, and his wife Céline was your mother. You ever think about poor Céline? Nine months pregnant when she took her own life. Her dead body ravaged by werewolves, her unborn son eaten alive. Or was he?"

Imogen's mouth parted in shock, "You didn't..."

Magnus smirked, "The Clave took so much from me. So I took something in return. But I'm sure you want further proof." Magnus held up a ring to which Imogen gasped.

"My family ring. Where did you get that?"

"Off Céline's very hand. You have one hour to meet my demands, or your grandson dies." With that they vanish, causing me to take a step forward as I yelled out, "Jace!"

I quickly turn to Alec, "We have to get him."

Alec out his hands on my shoulder and nodded, "We will. Come on." With that, we left the basement and headed up to main room. We grabbed Clary and Sabastian, who practically begged to come, before heading to Magnus' apartment.

Just as we turned down Magnus' hallway, the door to his room closed. Clary and I go to open the door when Alec stopped me and Sebastian stopped Clary. "Whoa, whoa, whoa. Wards are up."

"I thought you said Valentine wouldn't have this kind of warlock power," I said.

Sebastian sighed, "Yeah, as always, he defies expectations. Look, we're gonna need you," He said, turning to Clary.

Clary pauses, realizing what he meant and took out her stele. She draws a ruin on the wards but it does nothing. She continues to try but still, nothing happens.

"I can't do it," Clary sighs.

"Yes, you can," Sebastian said, causing her to turn and look at him as he looks at her intensely. "Tell me what it feels like to have your entire family ripped away from you."

"What?" Clary asked, confused and hurt.

I stepped forward, "That's enough,"

Sebastian quickly turned and looked at me, "Trust me on this, okay?" He turns back to Clary, "Look, your mother, she's never coming back. Jace is not your brother. Faith has Jace and who do you have? No one."

"That's not true," I said, getting slightly angry.

"Stop it," Clary said, sadness in her eyes.

"No, feel it, Clary. Feel it. Your mother is never coming back. Your father will never love you. The only reason he wanted you was to use you."

"Stop it!" Clary yelled.

"I can't stop it, Clary. That empty feeling that eats away at your soul, that makes you feel like you want to die? Day, after day, after day. It never stops." Sebastian holds up Clary's hand with the Stele, "Now, take the pain and use it."

Clary turns as we all watch her draw the rune on the ward. It sticks successfully this time and the ward breaks. The four of us quickly storm in to find Magus over Valentine.

"Alexander!" Valentine yelled.

Clary runs to Magnus and grabs him, leaping into a portal that closes afterwards. Alec runs to Valentine, or Magnus.

"Jace!" I yell, looking around for him.

"In here!" I hear his voice and run to a set of locked doors. I unlock them and swing them open to find Jace on the ground, his hands chained. I run to him, breaking his chains with my stele before hugging him tightly.

Jace pulled away, "Valentine-"

"Clary took care of him."

And she did. Valentine and Magnus were transferred back to their own bodies and Valentine was locked up tightly. Alec was with Magnus and Clary was with Simon, probable filling him in on the crazy day we just had.

Jace and I found ourselves in the weapons room, putting our weapons away from the previous night.

"Well, that was a day," I said, sitting on one of the tables.

"Yeah, tell me about it. At least we have Magnus back, and Sebastian seems like a good ally to have."

"Yeah," I agreed, but paused. "I don't know, though. I just have a funny feeling about him."

Suddenly, Imogen approached Jace and I with two guards. Jace pushes himself off the table and takes a step forward.

Imogen sighed, "Now I know where that bold defiance of yours comes from. You're just like your father." She smiled and held up the ring Magnus Valentine had but this time it was on a necklace. "I retrieved this from Magnus' apartment. It belongs to you now. You've had a lot taken away from you, Jace. But that's all over now. You come from a line of great and powerful Shadowhunters. From a family that has been revered by generations, and feared... by those who oppose all that is good and just. This ring signifies that. This is your birthright."

Jace, pauses starring at it before he glances at me. I smile and nod before Jace turns back and takes the necklace, putting it on.

Imogen puts one of her hands on Jace's cheek, smiling. "Now, my boy... you are about to find out what it means to be a Herondale." She turns and looks at me, making me stand and approach her. She put her other hand on my cheek as well, smiling, "You both will."

Jace turned to me, both of us looking at each other with smiles on out faces as Jace grips the ring in his hand.