"No- no, no!" I was trembling in my sleep, stuck in a nightmare of myself being back at Lake Lyn, but this time drowning, a shriek leaving my lips.

"Hey, hey, hey!" Jace's voice pulled me out of me, his hands jerking my body awake, "It's okay- wake up- it was just a bad dream."

"Jace-" I felt immediate relief wash over me when I saw him, breathing out slowly, noticing him shirtless, his hair a mess, my room dark, "Hi-"

"Hey-" Jace shot me a small look in amusement, "I, uh, heard you screaming- are you all right?"

"Yeah." I slowly sat up, rubbing the back of my neck, "I- uh, I was back at Lake Lyn- and underwater, and drowning-"

I sigh quietly, "I don't know- ever since we got back- everything that happened back at the lake, I- I can't get it out of my head."

Jace remarks, sitting down on my back, "It's not exactly top on my vacation list, either."

"My brother's alive." I breathe out lightly, looking down at my hands, "And- I mean- he's my actual- full sibling- and someone out there, he exists- and I never knew."

"I know." Jace inhales, "It's a lot to process."

I huff, "He was a child-"

"With demon blood." Jace reminds me, staring at me, "Don't forget that."

"And no one but Valentine to teach him the difference between right and wrong." I reminded him, "If he's out there, I want to find him- I want him to know that he has someone."

Jace nods lightly, "We will."

"We haven't had any leads-" I rubbed the back of my neck, then my eyes widen a little, "Wait-"

Jace looks at me, "What?-"

I got up and went to the closet, pulling out the box filled with Jonathan's keepsakes, "Remember this?"

"Yeah-" Jace got up, knowing where I was going with it, "We can use what's inside to track him-"

I opened the box, only for it to be completely empty, "Looks like somebody beat us to it-"

-

"Any sign of Jonathan?" Alec asked Jace and I when we walked into his office that day.

I shook my head, "No- we tried to track the box itself, but, it was a dead end."

"So- Valentine sent Duncan to steal a pair of baby booties?" Alec remarked, looking between us.

"Someone did." Jace pointed out, "Someone who wanted to circumvent us from tracking Jonathan."

"And now we have no leads on either of them." I said, "We've got nothing."

"Actually, we have less than nothing." Alec admits, "There's something you should know-"

"The Clave doesn't have the Soul Sword." He said to us, "They never did."

"The Clave keeping secrets." I nodded slowly, "That's- not shocking at all."

Alec looks at me, "The Clave is trying to prevent an uprising- if the Downworld finds out that we don't have the Soul Sword, there would be total chaos."

"If Valentine has the Sword and the Cup-" I began, "If he gets his hands on the Mirror- he could summon the Angel Raziel."

"The Angel will grant him one wish." Alec nodded on confirmation, "Anything he wants."

I exhale, "The end of the Downworld as we know it."

-

"After Elliot opened his own shop, we lost touch." Clary said, Dot at her side as she lead Alec, Jace and I into Alec's office, "But- when I was little, Elliot was one of my mom's best friends."

"He introduced me to Jocelyn." Dot softly smiles.

"Okay, and now you're concerned he's in trouble?" I questioned, looking between them, "Explain?"

Clary gestured, "The mark on Dot's arm is part of a protection spell."

"It's a sigil." Dot said, "It only transfers to another warlock if something terrible has happened."

Alec stares, "Whatever he's guarding must be pretty important."

"It's the Mortal Mirror." Clary admits.

Jace blinks, "Jocelyn had it?"

"I know it's crazy- the Mirror and the Cup." She sighs, "I guess my mom knew Elliot would do anything to keep it safe- as a warlock, he could protect it better than anyone, right? So, she entrusted him with its location."

Dot adds in, "And Elliot entrusted it to me."

Alec looks at her, "So- you know the current location of the Mortal Mirror?"

"Sort of." Dot showed us the mark on her wrist, "These lines coordinate to specific Ley lines in the city- I can figure it out, but, it'll take some time."

"We have maps of all the Ley lines." Alec mentions, "We can help you."

"And we can protect you from Jonathan and Valentine." Jace said, "With those marks on your wrist, it's only a matter of time before they come after you."

"Jace and I will go to Elliot's shop." I suggested, "Look for clues- see what happened."

Clary looks at Dot, "You'll be safe here."

-

"Oh, god-" I grimace lightly when Jace and I arrived at Elliot's shop, his dead body on the ground, "He looks- terrible-"

"You see these marks?" Jace points out, "A demon was here- he was tortured."

"But- it's not murder." I crouched, gesturing to his face, "He killed himself- the blood from his eyes, I've seen it before- it's a warlock incantation."

Jace and I both spun back to face the sound of crinkling glass, Sebastian walking in, "Hi-"

"Sebastian-" I let my guard down when I see him, "What are you doing here?"

"I, uh- I saw the alert at the Institute." Sebastian said, "Is everything under control?"

"We're still not percent sure what happened." Jace told him, "There was a demon presence here, but- something doesn't add up."

That was when I spotted the blackened flowers, my eyes slightly widen, "Oh no-"

Jace notices my change in tone, "What?"

"This was Jonathan." I slowly looked at him.

Jace asks, "How do you know that?"

"The flowers-" I pointed out, "My mom shared a memory from when Jonathan was a baby when Jocelyn tried to kill you- thinking you were him- he'd done the exact same thing."

"And that grey demon ichor, that's how Valentine described the aftermath of Jonathan's childhood killings-" I continued, "This was all him-"

Sebastian cuts in, "Sorry, who's, uh- who's Jonathan?"

I inhale sharply, "Uhm- my brother."

"He must be after the Mortal Mirror." Jace mentioned, "If he comes after it again, I'm gonna have to deal with him."

I look at him, "That means?"

Jace looks down at me, "It means I'm gonna do anything in my power to protect the mirror."

"You'll kill him?" I ask.

"If that's what it takes?" Jace replies, "Yeah."

"Jace, we don't even know the full story." I blink, "You don't even know if Jonathan's doing this on his own- he could be under Valentine's influence."

"Yeah, Zee's got a point." Sebastian sided with me, "I mean, what if Valentine's forcing him to do his bidding?"

"Yeah- okay, look-" Jace interjects, "I know exactly what it's like to be manipulated by Valentine- probably better than anyone, you know, Zee, you read those journals. Jonathan Morgenstern is a demon-blooded monster who is responsible for the death of an innocent warlock-"

I took a step closer to him, my voice lowering, "Remember what Valentine made you do?"

"I don't have demon blood." Jace shot at me.

"I did." I mentioned, my voice remaining low, "Demon blood- and Valentine Morgenstern aren't a very good combination and I understand that more than anyone."

"Just think about it, Jace- Valentine has manipulated you and I both." I said to him, "What if Jonathan is just his latest victim?"

"Until we can prove he's sided with Valentine willingly- no one will be getting killed." I say, "Understood?"

-

"Uh, hi-" Sebastian greets me when I swung open the door, my eyes slightly wide to see him.

"Hey-" I walked away and grabbed my jacket, putting it on, "I'm sorry, I don't have much time- I'm about to head out on mission."

"Oh, sure- uhm," Sebastian steppes in, "I actually- I just wanted to make sure you were okay."

I shrug lightly, "I'm fine."

"Look, I saw how upset you were today." Sebastian sigh quietly, "With the whole Jonathan situation-"

"Obviously, I am-" I look at him, "It affects me on a personal level- god, even deeper because I've gone through what he's going through- yet, Jace thinks that Jonathan's a lost cause."

Sebastian questions, "What do you think?"

"I think that I know what demon blood does to a person- I may have been lucky and gotten free of it, but- he wasn't." I stopped in front of Sebastian, "He has to live with what Valentine did to him- and no matter what he's capable of- he never got the chance to know anything but him."

"God, I don't know." I sigh quietly, looking up at the ceiling for a moment, "I mean- if there's any humanity left in him, shouldn't we at least try to save him?"

"I think so." Sebastian nodded lightly, going quiet for a few moments, before grabbing my face and pressing his lips into mine.

"Sebastian!" I pushed him away, taking a few steps back, "I-"

"I'm sorry-" He immediately apologized without a doubt, "That was stupid-"

I stammer, "It's- just- I'm not-"

"No, no, look, I- I get it." Sebastian stopped me, "I just want you to know that I will always be there for you, Zee- whatever you need."

-

"You know, Zee, what I said- earlier, about Jonathan." Jace walked alongside me, Dot ahead of us when we had portalled into the park Clary had assured us where the Mortal Mirror would be.

I look at him, "You don't have to apologize."

"I'm not apologizing." Jace stops and looks at me.

"Jace." I shot him a look, stopping as well, "Come on- really? He's the only real family I have left."

"You may not consider me family, but- I care about you." Jace's words warmed my heart, "Look, if you're ever in any danger, I'm gonna do whatever it takes to keep you safe- if that means Jonathan has to die, so be it."

I opened my mouth to speak but nothing came out, Dot calling out to us, "Zee! The Ley Line intersection's close."

Jace and I followed her up the steps, as I question, "Do you see something?"

Dot doesn't reply, starting to recite a spell, before reaching into a pocket in the air, pulling out a small Mirror, "Is that it?-"

Dot turned and nodded toward me, as Jace nods once, "Okay, let's go-"

He cut himself off when he was flung back by a demon, hitting the ground, groaning.

"Zee-" Dot pushes the Mirror into my hand, before she was flung to the side, grunting as she hit the ground.

The demon took a step towards me, but when he heard Jace's shout to me to run and get to safety, he quickly grabbed the blade and puts it to Jace's neck.

"No!" I cried out into the night, jumping off the steps and onto the ground, "Stop!"

"Jonathan, right?" I already could tell by the way his skin was burnt, "You're- Jonathan."

"You're my brother-" I slowly inched closer when his eyes were on me, "You don't want to hurt me- right? If you hurt Jace, that's exactly what you'll be doing."

He doesn't reply, his black eyes going normal.

"This is what you came for, isn't it?" I held up the Mirror, "You can take this and go."

"Or- you can come with us." I suggested, stopping, "Jonathan, I know after all you've suffered, it might not seem like you have anyone but Valentine right now, but- you have me. I'm here- and- and, I want to help you-"

"I know somewhere deep down there's some good in you." I said to him, "Let me help you find it."

Dot suddenly blasts him back, catching me off guard, as she opened up a portal behind me, "Take the mirror and go, Zee!-"

"Wait-" I stammered.

"It's the only way to protect the mirror." She quickly said, "Go!"

"Come on!" Jace pulled me through anyway.

-

"I don't know how I feel leaving Dot back there." I sigh quietly, stood in the Institute with Jace, "I mean- what if Jonathan hurts her? Who knows what he's capable of right now-"

"Look, it's not your fault." Jace put a hand on my shoulder, "And- think of it this way, because of her, Valentine can't raise the Angel- we are finally one step ahead of him."

"I guess you're right." I quietly said, before opening the mirror, my eyes slightly widening when what I expected to be my reflection, but was a vision of my nightmare, but this time, two swords were coming for me, making me gasp and shut it.

Jace notices, "Hey, are you okay?"

"I- just-" I stammered, looking at him, "When I looked into the mirror, it was like my dream- I was back at the lake, drowning, but, there were these two swords coming at me-"

"Jace, I don't think these are dreams- they're visions." I said, "I think it's some kind of message."

authors note:

jonathan is obsessive on another level, i-

but, ahhhh zace moments in the next few chapters will be immaculate

and thank you for 24k !!

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