「#Solo —; Maellartach.」by; @EnigmaticEgo.
The ground was cool upon my back as I lay upon the stone covered surface just staring into the darkness that was the City of Bones confinement. My body ached in ways I didn’t know a body - could - ache. I never found my Stele and the Inquisitor wasn’t about to hand me a new one to heal - or use to break out of my cell - so my wounds remained but this ache wasn’t an outward kind of pain. Something inside me, deep within my soul - or the gaping hole where my soul used to be - sat open. Like a sucking black hole of despair.
I’d given up, I supposed. I had nothing left to lose at this point. I did what I had to, I saved Alec and now with me locked up in this cell I could no longer hurt him or anyone else I cared about. After all, their lives were a lot easier before I came into them. Maybe Valentine was right, I was doomed to live out my life as a constant burden to my friends and family; at this point being rid of me might very well be what’s best for them.
There was a sound, a loud shattering echo that reverberated off the stone walls of the prison and then soon there was grunting and the sounds of fists coming into contact with flesh and the clanging of what I could only assume was metal on metal. The raucous went on like that for what felt like an eternity until soon one of the Silent Brother’s came into view. He was impossibly tall and despite his lack of eyes he seemed to see it all perfectly as he pressed a key into the lock of my cell.
The door swung open but the minute it did the large, lanky - and almost nightmarish man - stopped moving. His face, void of sight, his mouth sewn shut, appeared blank and dead as his form collapsed in a heap at my feet, causing me to scramble up and against the wall. The corridor that had been lit by several flamed sconces was now pitch black. I could only see by the single sliver of silver light that shone through one of the far walls.
The light pierced the darkness and landed in one single spot just outside of the bars of the cell and soon the face of my father filled the space there. The light giving his features a sinister glow. “Jonathan?” His voice broke through the now silent crypt. “What did you do?” I asked in an accusing tone as I dare not glance at the Silent Brother’s corpse.
“You needn’t worry about that.” My father’s form shifted causing the tiny flicker of light to catch on something he held in his hand. A glint off the hilt of a large ornate blade. “Is that…?”
“The Mortal Sword?” Valentine interjected, finishing my question. “Yes, Maellartach.” He confirmed. “Gifted by Raziel himself to Jonathan.” My name on his lips put a sour taste in my mouth. “The great Shadowhunter you were named after.” He went on to explain. “But why?” I asked, more in question to the dead body than the sword though I wasn’t entirely sure I understood what he would want with it.
“All will make sense soon enough, my son, for now… We should go.” I shrunk back, my back against the cold stone wall. “I’m not going anywhere with you.” I said, with an amount of conviction I hadn’t realized I had. “You rather stay here, imprisoned by the Clave? No son of mine would just sit back and watch such an injustice unfold.”
“Then I guess I’m no son of yours.” I spat out, venom dripping from each syllable. “You will soon see that I am the only person you can trust, Jonathan, and when you do I will be there with open arms.” With that my father’s form vanished from the light, only to flee soundlessly down the corridor. It wasn’t long until I saw a light at the end of the long dark tunnel. Like a tiny beacon of hope in the midst of the night.
“Jace?” A familiar voice came echoing through the corridor. “Alec?” I called out. Finally, the warm glow of the torch in my Parabatai’s fist lit the whole room. Causing me to flinch away from the body. “What happened?” He asked. “I’ll explain everything just…” My eyes met the dead gaze of the Silent Brother and I realized I recognized him, “Zachariah.” I said. “Let’s get you out of here.” Alec said, moving around the body to grip my arm and drag me out of the cell and down the corridor, only to come across more dead bodies, both of the brothers and a few I didn’t recognize.
Once we made it outside I met the faces of Isabelle and Clary. A gut wrenching shot of pain roiled in my stomach at the sight of my - sister - a pain that soon turned sour until I expelled the little contents my stomach possessed. Vaguely, I felt Alec’s hands, one clutching my shoulder to hold me steady while the other lay flat on back. Eventually, the heaving subsided and I stood, wobbly and I knew if Alec hadn’t been holding me up I’d have collapsed.
“Jace, what happened?” Isabelle finally spoke as I struggled to focus on her face. “That’s just what I would like to know.” Another voice shot out in the dark as the Inquisitor herself seemed to appear out of nowhere with Maryse and several others in tow but before I could answer my vision blurred before finally going black all together.
