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Blood Calls To Blood

ARYA WASN'T SURE WHAT HAPPENED BETWEEN PASSING OUT AND WAKING UP. When she dropped to the floor at the old building she expected to wake up a few moments later and still be there. She had no idea that she would in fact be waking up a few hours later in the Jade Wolf.

✧

"All I know is, we gotta get you out of here. Alright, who do we know in Idris?" Alec stressed as he paced back and forth before Isabel who had been arrested for high treason only a few hours before. If Arya had been there also, she wouldn't have been convicted alone. But considering Arya was in a complete other undisclosed location—that wasn't possible.

"The only people who care are Mom and Dad. But they're under suspicion themselves." She sighed. It seemed hopeless. She was for the first time—glad that they had no clue where Arya was—both of them were.

"Uh, what about Lydia?" Alec suggested but Isabel already had a scoff at the tip of her tongue.

"Lydia?

"Yeah."

"Why do you keep going there? She is prosecuting me and Arya—if she was here. You said she has no choice." She denied it immediately.

"She doesn't."

"Everyone has a choice, Alec. I made mine, Arya made hers. Let me just get through this without losing my self-respect." She muttered, turning away from her brother to look out the window, wondering how everything had gone to shit so fast.

"Look, I know you don't want to believe this, but Lydia said she would help if we can give her a way to do it. Maybe I can get her to delay the trial, at least until Arya comes back," he suggested.

Isabel scoffed. "Why? So she can go ahead and arrest Arya too. If I was her, I wouldn't even come back. Otherwise, she'll end up like me—sitting here playing computer solitaire while they find something else to blame me for. I'm just a scapegoat to the Clave. They want to cup." She said sternly.

"So let me buy some time to find it." Alec tried to persuade his sister. He internally prayed that Arya stayed away for as long as possible, he didn't know what he would do if the pair of them were under trial. "Hey, Arya, Jace and Clary—"

"Disappeared through a door to god knows where. You said they're lost forever. And so is the cup." She recalled. Alec didn't know why she was so helpless and she really didn't want to tell him why. But she could feel it within herself.

"What if I was wrong. I can't find Jace because I weakened our bond, but that doesn't mean he can't be found. What if you tried to use your bond to find Arya." He suggested, even if he didn't want to.

"You're grasping at straws now." She tried to brush it off. She knew she couldn't. She could feel it.

"It's possible." He encouraged.

"No, Alec, it's not." She sighed and looked down at the ground with glassy eyes. "I cant track a bond that's almost gone." She said, a tear escaping down
her cheek. Alec frowned and Isabel turned around to show Alec the Parabatai rune on her upper back. It was fading. It was almost gone. That's what she could feel, she could feel the bond within her slipping away. She could feel Arya slipping away.

"Oh, my god," Alec muttered, running a hand down his face in stress and everything else he was feeling.

"I can feel it, Alec. It's excruciating. She's slipping away from me." Isabel cried out and Alec didn't know what to do.

He grabbed his phone with a shaky hand from his back pocket and dialled Jace's number. "Jace, please answer your phone. If you're not answering your phone because you hiding something from me, I know what it is. Isabel's Parabatai rune is almost gone. So please, please just let me know she isn't dead. Please." He begged desperately, sparing a short glance at his sister before storming out of the room.

✧

Arya shot up with a groggy gasp. Her whole
body felt like it had a really bad headache. It felt like her blood was glue trying to slip between sandpaper veins. She could feel a hand running through her hair but didn't have the strength to turn and see who it was. She cursed herself. If she hadn't hurt herself then they could have spent more time searching for Valentine. It was all her fault.

✧

"The message said, 'Have everything ready. The trial will begin immediately." Lydia warned Alec. "She's on her way." The blonde woman was stressed and Alec would have also been stressing if he hadn't already got too many things on his mind to

"Yeah, but that doesn't make any sense. Why rush this? Arya hasn't even returned yet? Isn't she part of this? And Clary and Jace are still out there too." He pointed out, trying to scramble for more time.

"Clary and Jace aren't on trial for high treason. Although I expect they will be found soon enough with all the people searching for Arya." She explained and Alec wanted to scream. They probably would find her. But whether she would
be alive when they did so—was a question he didn't want to hear the answer to.

"Yeah, well they probably aren't going to find her." Alec sighed, running a hand through his already tousled hair.

"What do you mean? Do you know something?"
She questioned desperately.

"No. Yes. Look, Isabel's Parabatai rune is fading. She could feel Arya slipping away. I don't think they're going to find her. Not alive at least." He stressed. It hurt him to say it aloud. They had been arguing and now she was dying.

"We're just—" Lydia started, her sentence cutting short when the doors to the institute opened and in came a group of guards, accompanied by one of the high inquisitors of the Clave.

The dark-haired woman walked straight between the two, their guards now surrounding one of the silent brothers behind Alec and Lydia. "Guards at ease." She called and the group relaxed their stance. "Excuse us." The woman said coldly towards Alec, her attention turning to Lydia once he left. "I understand you've cooked up some kind of a marriage with..." She began, gesturing towards Alec at the end. "I can't imagine what's in your mind." She judged moderately.

"It's a suitable marriage for both of us," Lydia assured.

"Well, I won't dispute that right now. As long as it doesn't interfere with your case against his sister and her Parabatai." She cautioned.

"You have my assurance."

"I need your word, Branwell, not flaccid reassurance. What we are seeing is the same pattern Valentine showed before the uprising. Bending of the law, wanton defiance of Clave order." She demanded.

"Ma'am, I honestly don't believe Valentine was involved in the Seelie escape." She tried to convince the older woman who paid no attention to her opinion.

"Spare me your honest belief. Everything's out of control. We were fools to believe Valentine was dead. Now his daughter has the cup, and he's out there somewhere. I won't have it." She continued to complain.

"I'm sorry, inquisitor."

"Why are you sorry? You didn't steal the cup. Just do your job. Be efficient, be competent, be useful to the clave. We'll begin this evening." She declared and the silent brother nodded while the rest of the institute stood in silence. It was all too real for everyone now.

✧

Once Arya awoke again, the blood transfusion seemed to work and Jace had explained to her that Raphael had given Clary blood from the vampire lair to help them. She appreciated his help although she didn't doubt that it came with a price and that more than likely involved Simon.

She could finally use her Seraph blade on her wound when she awoke and is healed relatively fast.

"Feeling better?" Jace asked once he came back to check on her now she was better. She nodded and leant her head against the back of the sofa. Her skin had regained its complexion and she looked normal again.

"Much better." She assured. "Vamps must be onto something." She joked with a grin, tearing the piece of wool off of her arm and sitting up to talk to him. "You look stressed." She noticed, grabbing a cookie that Luke had given her off the place beside her and taking a bite to soothe the dizzy feeling in her head.

"Yeah, well you did just almost die on me. Gotta give me some credit." He grinned, sitting beside her with his legs crossed on opposite sides of the sofa. It reminded her of when she was younger and they would do the same thing but with a game of Uno between them. Isabel and Arya would gang up on the boys and overload them with plus fours, Jace would throw a strop and accuse them
all of cheating and Alec would secretly help Arya.

"Sorry about that. Rather me than you." She shrugged and Jace chuckled.

"Thank you." He smiled sincerely.

"It's fine, I would much rather not have to carry you
around." She grumbled and Jace rolled his eyes at her.

"So, I um—I got a voice message from Alec," Jace explained and Arya froze for a moment, wiping a few crumbs off her lips.

"What did he say?" She asked wearily.

"He thinks that you're dead, Arya." He sighed, rubbing his eyes. "Isabel's Parabatai rune almost disappeared. They both thought you were dead." He explain and Arya felt guilty. She had no clue what was going on back at the institute but she didn't want to scare either of them.

"Oh."

"Mhm." Jace hummed. "Also...we found my dad. I don't know if you remember cause you were pretty out of it. But..." He smiled softly and Arya was happy for him.

"Finally some good news." She sighed and the blonde chuckled at her slightly.

✧

"But why would Valentine tell a prisoner what he was planning to do?" Clary asked Micheal Wayland while she, Arya, Jace, Luke and him crammed into a booth at the Chinese restaurant.

"He didn't. Well, not directly. But he gave me a way to learn all about his plans." Jace's dad started to explain.

"How do you mean?" Jace questioned.

"He injected me with downworlder blood." He told them and the father and son cringed at the idea. "The pain was excruciating. Sometimes I was sick for days. But it's not often you got a Shadow hunter to experiment on. So I guess that's why he always stopped short of killing me. But little, by little I, developed enhanced heating and vision." He explained. Telling them a short snippet of conversation he overheard about them setting up a new camp in a place called 'Renwicks'.

"Who's Renwick's?" Clary asked.

"It's not a who. It's a where." Luke interjected. "It's a deserted smallpox hospital on one of the islands of the East River." He located. It was handily having a wolf on their side.

"Under our noses is right." Arya sighed. "And we can't track over water." She also pointed out.

"He left me to die in that cage." Micheal sighed.

"Valentine never wasted time on compassion." Luke agreed.

"He won't get any from me when the time comes," Jace assured, furiously standing up from the booth.

"Before it does, you need a strategy. Waiting a day could mean the difference between failure and success." The man warned.

"Okay, Jace, Clary and I will scout Renwick's tonight. The girl suggested. The faster they found Valentine and handed him over to the Clave, the better. The faster she could return home and assure Izzy she wasn't dead.

"Arya, no. Your runes are still weak. Jace and I can go. Just take some extra time to rest and—" She tried to convince the brunette.

"I'll be fine." She dismissed quickly.

"Please." The girl hoped.

"I said, I'm fine Clary." The girl insisted while Jace remained quiet. He knew better than to try and convince the girl of something he knew she wouldn't listen to. Her mind was made up.

✧

As it turned out, it resulted in it being Arya, Clary and Luke who went on the lookout that night. Jace stayed at home with his father while the three went in search of anything Valentine may have left behind as a clue.

"What Jace's father said about you turning into a wear-wolf? You told me that's what Valentine said when it happened." Clary began but Arya had no clue what they were talking about and assumed that the conversation had occurred while she was unconscious and thus separated herself from the pair to search further around the outskirts.

It was night and from the edge of the property, you could barely see the inside of the building, only the stonework on the outside. But from between the trees and the overgrown greenery around the building, she could see a shadow in the window.

The girl manoeuvred around the edge of the hospital and moved from one area to another. When her eyes met the windows of the hospital again, she could now see the dozens of blue shining eyes in the darkness of the night. She took a few steps back and could still hear the growling which was coming from the inside. Valentine had definitely been there.

✧

"Will I die if I touch it?" Magnus questioned as he stood in court before the high inquisitor, in front of one of the silent brothers, his hand hovering over a sword between the two. Alec had bargained with him to be Isabel's defence attorney as per her wishes and thus he was stood in the centre of a trial for high treason.

"Not if you tell the truth." The woman on the throne at the front decreed and Magnus looked hesitant but never the less placed both his hands on the handle.

"By the power of this sword, do you swear to defend your client with integrity and honesty?" The silent brothers asked, his creepy voice echoing off the walls of the room.

"No argument from me on that," Magnus said, slightly intimidated by the brother before him. Once agreed he removed his hands from the handle and the jewel in the centre stopped glowing and the silent brother moved to stand aside.

"Make your case, Warlock." The woman insisted so Magnus narrowed his eyes at her in distaste.

"My case is simple. Isabel Lightwood indeed acted against orders of the Clave by trying to free the Seelie Meliorn, but she did not act against the interests of the Clave. Preventing the forced questioning and possible death of a Seelie may have saved the Accords." He suggested strongly.

"We're not here to speculate what might have happened if the defendant hadn't interfered." The woman interjected.

"You mean what might have happened if she hadn't stopped the Silent brothers from torturing a Seelie?" He asked, deriving guilt into the people responsible.

"I await a valid argument. Do you have one?" The woman dismissed.

"What you want is the Mortal Cup. My client doesn't have it. Since this whole proceeding isn't about what it's really about, I move to have this case dismissed." Magnus persuaded.

"You're out of order." The woman denied it.

"No. This whole thing is out of order. It's not Isabel's fault. It's the Cup! Put the Cup on trial! He argued before calmly taking his place back in the chair beside the Raven haired girl.

✧

"We couldn't even count the demons." Arya worried as they recalled what they had seen to the father and son back at the Jade Wolf. On the way back, Clary and Arya had both relayed what they had seen to one another and both were increasingly more worried now than they were before.

"Yeah, but we still gotta get Jocelyn out of there." Luke insisted.

"That would be a suicide mission." Jace dismissed.

"Doesn't have to be. I have the Cup. Demons have to obey me." She pointed out.

"That's what Valentine wants. He knows you'll do anything to save your mother. He wants you to take out the Cup and use it." He warned the redhead.

"And if I do?"

"He'll take it. And he'll kill us too." Micheal said bluntly.

"Let him try." Arya scoffed. The girl was sick of this man destroying everything. She wanted him gone. She wanted everything back to how it was before. If she had to destroy Valentine to get there. That was a necessary action.

✧

It was Lydia Branwell's turn to speak now. She slowly rose from her seat and turned back to Isabel who was now sat in a chair at the front of the room beside the inquisitor—ready to be questioned.

"You have lead us to believe that you alone carried out this operation. But Arya Legacy was seen by the City of Bones that night." Lydia inquired. She knew that if Arya was here right now. She would be in the same position.

"Maybe she was out for a walk." The girl defended.

"And you expect us to believe that you distracted the guards, and escaped with the prisoner on your own?" She asked unconvinced.

"Pretty slick, right?" She smirked, turning to the woman on the throne beside her.

"I suggest you think about how slick it would be when Valentine uses the Mortal Cup to raise an army of rogue Shadow hunters." She taunted as if it was what Isabel wanted to happen.

"I don't want Valentine to succeed."

"Well, that's the first sane thing I've heard from you."

"You know what's insane? Thinking we have the right to treat a Downworlders life as worthless." She declared.

"Isabel, I should warn you that everything you say here will be considered in the verdict," Lydia informed her.

"Good. Consider this." The Lightwood girl said firmly. "Valentine didn't come out of nowhere. We use our angel blood to justify everything we do, just like him. Like him, we forget that we are not only angels. We are part Mundane. We can be afraid. And fear makes us cruel. And we turn our fear to Downworlders just as Valentine did. And just as he did. We will end up turning on each other." She said truthfully and proudly while Lydia paced in a circle, considering her words.

"You think we're doing that to you?" The inquisitor questioned.

"You'll have to answer that for yourself, madame inquisitor." Isabel scoffed, sitting down Calmly.

✧

Luke, Micheal and Jace were the first to approach the building that night. They were ambushed by the group of Valentine's residual followers as they moved to enter but fort them off while Clary and Arya snuck inside the building in search of her mother.

They ran through the halls and doors and Clary froze in her spot, dropping her sword when she spotted her mother coated in a green casing. Moments later Jace and his father emerged inside, locking the doors.

"Where's Luke?" Clary asked worriedly.

"We left him behind fighting Greyback," Jace explained but the girl was adamant she would help Luke and only stopped when Arya held her back.

"We will find him. I promise. But you have to help us first. We will all die if you don't." Arya pleaded and Clary nodded. There must have been hundreds of Demons hammering on the doors. It appeared to be an impossible mission. But they had won those before.

✧

"I would like to call Lydia Branwell to the stand." Was Magnus' next request. The woman looked utterly shocked and wary about going up, as did the inquisitor.

" I don't see the relevance." The woman snapped at the crowd.

"Well, that makes two of us." Magnus snapped back. "I don't see the relevance of this whole trial. Miss Branwell? If you'll take the stand?" He insisted and the woman rose from her chair, taking the opposing one