Chapter Twenty One - Archangel.
The ground was still smouldering with the burnt remains of Demons as the Portal spat Jace, Alec, Isabelle and Clary out into the courtyard of the London Institute. "What in the Angel's name happened here?" Alec whispered, nudging a spider Demon's carcass with the toe of his boot. Jace, his golden eyes glinting as he stared at the surrounding destruction, turned his face to the others. "Sebastian." He breathed, his left hand clenching tightly around the hilt of his Seraph blade. "Come on!" He snapped beckoning them towards the front door, which was stood wide open. "Funny," Alec toned, "anyone would think they were expecting someone other than us."
"Don't make jokes Gideon, it really doesn't suit you." Jace retorted.
"Then don't call me by my middle name." Alec replied, swinging his bow down off his shoulder hurriedly hooking an arrow onto the string. Jace pulled his Seraph blade free from his belt and hurriedly named it as Isabelle unwound her whip and Clary drew a thin dagger from a sheath on her thigh.

"Let's go." Jace said, darting up the stone steps.
"Jace!" Alec hissed, attempting to call his Parabatai back.
"We need a plan!" Isabelle added, her eyes darting around the eerily silent courtyard.
"Find Sebastian, kill Demons, save fellow Shadowhunters. What's not to get?"
"Jace! We need an actual pl-" Alec's voice was cut off as a loud ear piercing scream echoed through the silence, Alec ran up the stairs and through the door followed by Clary and Isabelle. "You were saying?" Jace sighed irritated as he ran after his friends, they had stopped in the entrance hall, Alec had his hands braced on his knees as he choked on the strong stench of Demons. Jace patted him hurriedly on the back covering the lower half of his face with his jacket's sleeve until he grew used to the smell. The tiled flooring was slick with all types of blood, Shadowhunter and Demon, pools of it splashed underfoot as they trod through the hall. "We need to figure out where that scream came from." Jace whispered, glancing around the room. "Alec you're with Izzy, take the library and the rest of the first floor. Clary with me, we will take the second floor and the training room. Go!" The four of them headed off in their different directions, Jace glanced once at Alec and nodded in what he hoped had seemed reassuring to his Parabatai, Alec nodded back.

*****

Cortana screamed as the spider Demon came scuttling towards her, raising her Seraph blade she lashed out at it taking out three of its eight legs. She swung her arm down again cutting deep into its thick hide causing it to immediately start folding in on itself. She glanced over at Elijah who was fighting a Ravener and Gabriel who was fighting an Iblis Demon. "We need to get out of here and find the others!" Elijah yelled over his shoulders as he discarded the Ravener Demon. "Duh! What do you think we're trying to do!" Gabriel sniped back, kicking out at the Iblis Demon. Cortana began to move towards Gabriel but let out a scream as her feet were pulled out from underneath her, she twisted around awkwardly to find a Raum Demon with its tentacles wrapped around her legs, she writhed in pain as the venom began to attack her system, twisting her shoulder she threw her blade down at the Demon where it stuck fast, piercing its skull.

"Cortana!" Elijah yelled, killing another spider Demon before running to her side.
"I'm... fine!" She ground out through her grit teeth as her eyes watered with pain, red sucker marks lining all the way around her ankles and up the pale skin on her legs. "Get Gabriel out! I'll be right behind!" She snapped, pushing herself into a sitting position. "Go!" She snapped when Elijah showed no sign of moving. He glanced at her with concern before grabbing his brother and pulling him from the room, he stood in the doorframe but was forced to pull it shut as four Hellhounds ran towards it. He tried to turn the handle to reopen the door but something was holding it shut, "Cortana!!!" He screamed, pounding his fists on the door. "Cortana no!!!"

*****

Jace and Clary reached the training room, the floor outside was also slicked with blood from both sides of the battle. Jace shivered as he held his hand up to a bloody handprint on the wall, long deep gauges were torn into the walls and floor. The crumbling corpses of Demons and dull weapons lay on the floor soaked with blood. "What happened? Are we too late?" Clary whispered, her voice barely audible over the rush of blood pounding in Jace's ears. He shook his head, his eyes wary, darting all over. A flicker of movement at the end of the corridor caught his attention and he raced after it, Clary hot on his heels. He tightened his grip on his blade as he slid on the blood soaked floor. The shrieks of Demons and the clash of metal was beginning to grow more audible as they got nearer.

Demons. More Demons than Jace had ever set his eyes on in the same place. 'This is definitely the work of Sebastian.' He figured as he raced towards the fray. It wasn't long before he reached his first adversary, a Raum Demon already reaching out for him with its tentacles. Jace rolled across the floor, dodging them as he tried to get a clear vantage point of the Demon. Behind him, Clary was already fighting against a Hellhound while the two other Shadowhunters - one blonde and the other brunette - fought off a hydra Demon. Jace threw a knife once he'd found his vantage point, smiling grimly as it hit its target with a squelch. The Raum Demon roared and collapsed in on itself. He wasted no time in scooping his knife back up and running back into the fray once more, smirking as two other Shadowhunters - younger than the others - joined them.

*****

Cortana was alone in the library, Demons surrounded her every available escape route. Not that she could have escaped even if she had wanted to, her legs were swollen and blue-purple in colour from the venom of the Raum Demon. If she didn't get help soon... well, she didn't even want to imagine that possibility. She could still hear Elijah and Gabriel on the other side of the door banging on the wood and screaming her name, each scream cut into her like a knife. The words of her mother entered her head as she glanced around at her situation, 'You must trust yourself Cortana, know in your heart of hearts that you are strong. You will control.' But Cortana didn't want to control, she just wanted to be a normal Shadowhunter. Not have abilities she would wish away at the drop of a hat, but now she had to make a decision whether to use them or not.

Using her abilities meant turning her back on her sister. Cortana had read the book, when she was younger. She'd been warned against reading it, knew the dangers it had brought but she'd gone against her parents' wishes. She'd felt compelled to read whatever lay within those pages. She'd seen the runes, dark powerful runes of control, pain, agony, torture, even death. Her heart rate began to race, reading the book had resulted in a terrible price. She couldn't tell Evangeline what had happened and she certainly couldn't let anyone see the runes should she draw them on her skin. But now, she had no choice. She drew her Stele from her pocket and began to scrawl on her bare arm under her Gear. She winced as the power of the runes flowed through her and her heart rate quickened. Runes of control, power, strength and banishment were scrawled on her arm. When she was certain they were complete she turned them to face the Demons.

Almost immediately they began to burn on her skin and for a sudden fleeting moment her mind screamed, 'What have I done?! Was this supposed to happen?!' The runes began to glow first a blinding white, then a hot red, next to a cooling blue and then to normal thick black coils. Cortana shut her eyes tightly, the room was spinning and her head pounded like she had just been clubbed around the back of her head. She barely even noticed the blood dripping from her lip as she had bitten it. "Stop! Please just let it stop! STOP!!!" She screamed, her whole body was trembling and she felt like she was being set on fire. Angels and Demons flashed before her closed eyelids before she fell down into the blissful darkness of unconsciousness...

*****

Alec and Isabelle stalked silently along the corridor, weapons raised and muscles tightened. Their whole body on high alert ready for attack. "Maybe there's nothing here?" Isabelle questioned, loosening her muscles slightly, they were beginning to ache from being tensed up for so long. "That's probably what it wants you to think." Alec grumbled, his fingers white on the string of his bow. The sound of yelling caught their attention and they sent each other a quick glance before following the sound. They rounded the corner to find two boys pounding on the wooden doors to what Alec guessed would be the Institute library. He gestured for Isabelle to find out what was wrong while he kept watch, he didn't have to wait long before a Demon slithered out of the shadows making the two boys behind him scream. Isabelle whirled on her heel, placing the two boys behind her.
"Marbas." Alec toned, with a grimace. "And spider demons." He added as two spider Demons scuttled around the corner, one on the floor while the other clung to the wall.

"We're outnumbered." Isabelle whispered to Alec, still trying to keep the boys protected behind her as the Demons drew closer. "Yes. I can see that Isabelle!" Alec snapped, trying to keep himself from trembling at the sight of the spider Demons. He hated spiders! "What if we take the spiders?" A tiny voice said from behind them. "We're sixteen. We've had training and runes!" Alec glanced over at Isabelle who shrugged, "Have you ever fought a Demon before?" Alec questioned, keeping an eye on the nearing Demons.
"Of course! Only small ones like those spider Demons however!" The other boy retorted indignantly.
'I wouldn't exactly say they were little!' Alec thought but kept his comment to himself.
Isabelle shrugged, "We can't take them alone."
Alec sighed, "Okay fine. But leave Marbas to us." He ordered, the two boys high-fived and ran towards the spider Demons calling their names: Gabriel and Elijah. Alec shrugged, he was happy enough not to deal with the spiders himself but he'd rather not of had to leave it to two sixteen year old boys.

Alec ran towards Marbas, he hated not having the two boys in his sight, in case they needed help, but there was nothing he could do about it. "Dodge the spines Iz. They're poisonous. As are the talons." He instructed firing an arrow before slinging his bow over his shoulder in place for a Seraph blade. "Thanks Alec. Because I didn't already know that!" Isabelle snapped back, lashing out at Marbas's arm with her whip. Alec ran up a few stairs and threw himself over the banister attempting to slice down into Marbas's neck to finish the job quickly but the Demon seemed to know exactly what he had planned as it whipped the back of his hand in Alec's direction sending him flying off course. "Alec!" Isabelle screamed, glancing over to where her brother had slumped against the wall. "What in the Angel's name possessed you to do that?!" She snarled with a glare as Alec started to climb to his feet. He shrugged. "Jace does it all the time."
"Yes because Jace is an idiot!" Isabelle snapped, slashing out with her whip again, causing sore red welts to appear on Marbas's arm, "Now get over here and help me!"

Alec nodded once, the back of his head was throbbing painfully and one of his shoulders was slightly lower then other meaning it was possibly dislocated, fortunately it wasn't his right arm which was somehow still clutching his glowing Seraph blade. Blood was pouring from a cut on his eyebrow and his left forearm was also cut, by talons or just cut he didn't know. He winced as the room tilted at an odd angle and he staggered across the room towards Isabelle, the boy - Elijah - was helping the other fight off the last remaining spider Demon. Alec shook his head trying to clear his blurred vision but it was no use, his hearing seemed muffled and the world looked distorted he barely even heard Isabelle as she screamed, "ALEC! LOOK OUT! THE TAIL!!!" He spun barely managing to stay on his feet, weakly raising his right arm to block the attack but was knocked off his feet as the tail crashed into his body, spines piercing through his right arm. He glanced down his eyes wide in shock as the spikes pierced all the way through his arm before his eyes rolled back into his head and he fell to the floor. Somewhere in the distance he could hear Isabelle screaming his name and the roar of Marbas as the Demon collapsed in on itself a shinning sword piercing it's back. His mind fought against the darkness weighing him down but it was no use and he fell screaming and writhing in agony...