Chapter 45

Faith

Not Intended for readers under the age of 18

WARNING - THIS CHAPTER IS NOT INTENDED FOR READERS UNDER THE AGE OF 18 - I AM NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR READERS UNDER THE AGE OF 18 WHO READ THIS!!!

"Um...hi." Luke said, unable to think of anything better.

"That again?" Sarah asked, but this time she was amused. He had that look he'd sometimes get when he was nervous or didn't know what to say. It didn't happen often; he almost always had the right words be it in a personal or professional situation. So, on the rare occasion that they were just out of his reach it was more than a little endearing. And because it was, she couldn't help but smile. Oh, how she'd missed him. She'd missed him so much there'd been nothing but pain. He wasn't just her boss. He wasn't just her friend. He was family. And now, by what felt like a miracle here he was, and the heart that had broken when they'd thought they'd lost him was whole again.

"Yeah...well..it's um...been a minute." He said, struggling to find the right words. There was so much to say, and he had no idea how to get it all out. Or where to start.

"It's been a bit more than a minute, son." Stanley said from the chair Sarah and Emily had settled him into. They'd wanted him to lay down, to rest until Luke got here. But he'd refused. He was so tired he knew that he'd be out in minutes if he didn't stay in some way upright, and he needed answers before he'd truly be able to rest. And since his back wasn't throbbing for the first time in weeks, he knew that when the time came that he'd crash and crash hard.

"I know." He said as he closed the door. "And I'm sorry. We would have come for you sooner if we could have. If we had, maybe you wouldn't have that brand. And why aren't you in bed? There's a perfectly good bed right beside you."

"He wanted answers first." Emily said from her perch against the wall.

"I know you have a lot of questions. And we'll answer them." He said.

"Good. Let's start with where are we?" She asked.

"Straight into it then." He said, but he wasn't surprised. Those who didn't truly know the oh so sweet and gentle Emily thought that she was a softie and a pushover. But she was neither. When she wanted to be she could be both firm and fierce. And firm and fierce is what he was facing. "Okay. Well, here's the thing. Some of your questions I'll be able to answer now. Others will have to wait until we can all sit down together. It's easier that way. There's also someone else who has a lot of the same questions that you do and needs the same answers. So, it's best if we go through the bulk of it all at once.

Getting you guys out of the Institute wasn't the only mission that took place in New York today. While Robert, Clary, Jace, and I were at the Institute, there was another mission team at Cinema Village rescuing Samantha Carlight. She's going to present as an omega tomorrow.

Alec had a rescue mission planned for her then, but the Clave's making a move and if we didn't get her out of New York tonight, we wouldn't have been able to save her."

"How is Alec?" Stanley asked. "Robert said you were checking on him. And you mentioned needing to before we left New York."

"He's doing okay. He's asleep." He said. "As usual, I had to dose him."

"Is he hurt?" Emily asked, her compassionate nature instantly coming to the surface as she stood up straight.

"No." He said. "But he's had a hard day. You'll understand once you know everything."

"You said that the Clave was making a move." Stanley said. "What move?"

"I'm assuming that you're all aware that the Clave was going to make an announcement this evening." He said.

"How do you know that?" Sarah asked. Word had gone out just hours ago that a Clave announcement was due to be broadcasted to all Institutes that evening. But no one knew what it was about, only that all Shadowhunters were mandated to watch it.

"That's one for Alec to answer." He said. "Under normal circumstances we'd all already be over at the OP's center going over all of your questions and giving you a lot of information. Some of it will be really hard to hear and some of it will astound you. Some of it in good ways. Clary, for instance. You all saw today that she has a way with runes. Well, what you saw is only a fraction of what she can do. And she's not the only one with gifts. But some of it will also astound you in some not so good incredibly horrific ways."

"So, why aren't we all over at the OP's center going over everything?" Stanley asked.

Luke sighed. He knew then that he was going to have to tell them more than he'd initially planned.

"Because Alec currently can't lead the meeting." He said. "You all trust me, right?"

"Of course, we do." Emily said.

"Sarah?" He asked. He needed to hear it from each of them.

"You know we do." Sarah said.

"Don't insult me by asking. You already know the answer." Stanley said. "If I didn't, I wouldn't have told you to get Sarah and Emily to safety."

Luke nodded yes. Stanley was right. He wouldn't have insisted that they take Em and Sarah with them if he didn't trust him. If he didn't trust all of them. Half of the mission team had been declared murdering fugitives with Kill on Sight orders on them after all.

"Okay. Here goes." He said. "There's a lot that you're going to learn about Alec. A lot. But what's most pertinent right now to answer at least a few of your questions is that he has The Sight of The Angel. That's how we know who's going to present as an omega and where they're going to be. The Angel shows him. But that's not all The Angel shows him. He has other visions too and he had one this morning of the Clave in a meeting.

The announcement that the Clave's making is them issuing a decree that no underage Shadowhunters are to leave their Institutes on their presentation day until after they've presented for their own safety. It's they're way of protecting any who present as omegas from us.

Those who present as alphas and betas will continue on as normal. Those who present as omegas, however, will then be sequestered to their Institutes until the Clave decides basically when, where, and how they're going to kill them. The omega race didn't die out. It was killed off. And now that it's resurfacing for lack of a better word, the Clave is trying to figure out how to kill it off again. Isn't that right, Stanley?"

"Yes." Stanley said, relieved that he'd actually been able to say the word. His mind had been reeling at Luke's revelation about Alec, but it's the only thing that made sense. Most thought that The Sight of The Angel was a myth. It was understandable that they'd think so, there was no record of anyone allegedly having it in centuries. But it wasn't. It was just an incredibly rare angelic gift. "Counsil Herondale asked me to join them. I apparently have ancestors that served in what she said was an elite unit that answered directly to the Clave however many generations back and she wanted me to pick up the mantle of those noble ancestors. When I said no, well, we all know now what happened there."

"Go on, Boss." Emily said softly, trying to process everything she was hearing. They'd heard that Alec and the kids had said that the Clave wanted omegas dead. And in her heart, she'd already known it was true. But if there'd been any doubt before, even a sliver of it hiding somewhere, it would be gone because Stanley and Boss both had just confirmed that what they'd already heard was true. And Stanley had heard it straight from the Clave.

"Alec's visions, they generally come with a price. More often than not an incredibly painful one." Luke said. "There's almost always a fallout. But today was different. After the actual vision before he regained consciousness Belle was somehow able to reach him. She did something to push back the usual horrific headache that comes with his more intense visions so he could plan out the two rush missions we executed.

We refer to Belle as The Angel's Messenger. She visits Alec from time to time and helps him when he needs help. And as you saw today, she also helps others when they need it too. Today was the second time I've seen her. It was a first for Robert. She usually only shows herself to Alec. I can only assume that she showed herself to us today because he wasn't there."

"Who is she?" Sarah asked.

"That's a long and complicated story." He said. "But I'll tell you what I know. Belle is Alec's great, great grandmother. Her name was Arabella Lightwood. She was one of three daughters born to the last male omega Lightwood. His name was Gideon, and he was murdered by the Clave along with Belle's two sisters and other father. I'm going to assume that the actual act was committed by members of the elite unit Stanley mentioned.

It's believed that the Lightwood bloodline died out more than a century ago. You know that. Growing up there were some who liked to tease Alec and Isabelle that they weren't real Lightwood's. Historically, Gideon was the last true Lightwood. But like a great many other things that's not true. Obviously, it's never been made public that he had children or that he was murdered. But having children is why he was.

After he presented, the Clave issued a decree that he could live out his life away from The Shadowhunter World on the condition that he never mated or reproduced. He did both. And once the Clave back then found out, well, assassins were sent in the night to execute him and his family.

Belle, she escaped into the forest while her fathers held them off. We can only assume that no one on that mission wanted to report back that they let one of their targets get away. We're also assuming that they thought she'd die in the forest. She was only five years old and alone. But she didn't. She made it pretty far into the forest before she finally collapsed from exhaustion. Miles into it actually. Luckily, she was found and saved by a warlock who lived in a cabin not far from where she collapsed at the time.

Not long after she was taken in and raised by Magnus Bane believe it or not. He kept her hidden and safe. She lived a good life, a happy life until she died in her early twenties during childbirth. Like Gideon, she was an omega and was pregnant with multiples. But there were some complications during her delivery and only one of her three babies survived. Bella Lightwood."

"I thought that Bella Lightwood was adopted." Stanley said, remembering the stories he'd heard of Bella Lightwood during his younger years. Much like today's Lightwood's, Robert included, she was a bit of a legend in her day.

"Legally, she was." He said. "But in all actuality, she was a Lightwood by blood. Robert Lightwood, her adoptive father and our Robert's namesake carried the Lightwood name by family marriage and adoption himself. But he was also Belle's mate and Bella's biological father. And when Belle died, he couldn't bring himself leave his only child. So, with Magnus' help they made up a story about him finding an abandoned baby by a stream while out hunting. A baby he later adopted. She may have carried the Lightwood name legally by adoption, but it was Lightwood blood that ran through her veins."

"Wait, if Belle was taken in and raised while being hidden by The High Warlock of Brooklyn..." Emily started.

"Robert and Belle's meeting is a whole other story." He said, cutting her off. "And obviously, their union was a secret. And because it was their marriage and Bella's conception were too.

Also, Izabella Lightwood, Bella's daughter and our Robert's sister isn't actually his sister. And she isn't dead. She's alive and well. She's been here since shortly after she faked her death after presenting as an omega."

"What?" Emily asked, more than a little shocked. Izabella Lightwood is alive? And she isn't Mr. Lightwood's sister?

"If she's not his sister..." Sarah started.

"Izabella is Robert's mother." Luke said, cutting her off. "She gave birth to him and his twin, also a Gideon, here almost forty years ago. They are not the late in life children of Bella Lightwood and Michael Greywolf as the Clave believes. They are the children of Izabella Lightwood and Jason Youngblood. Yes, another secret union. But as Robert and Gideon were born here the Clave has no clue to their true parentage. It was easy enough for them to be passed off as Bella's children when the time came.

And before you ask, it was because Izabella didn't want her boys to spend the bulk of their lives living in the shadows the way she has. She wanted them to have a chance at a life outside of here. And if she hadn't made that sacrifice, if she hadn't sent her boys into The Shadowhunter World, we wouldn't have Alec and Isabelle.

It makes one wonder where we would we be without them. Would Valentine have won the war had Alec not been there to take that shot? Would there still be a downworld? Who would be saving these young omegas if not Alec and the kids?

And before I forget, Gideon, he's not dead either. He's here too. He faked his death and came home. He didn't die in the field like The Shadowhunter World believes. The why he did it is a bit unclear to me. There's more than one school of though on that. One noble, one not so much. But I'm thinking that there's a bit of truth in both. Fair warning though, he's an ass.

But to sum up, as I said, Belle is Alec's great, great grandmother. What she is exactly, we don't know. We just know that she helps when he needs help. And back to your earlier question, Em, we are currently in Haven. It's a safe place, a place well hidden behind a lot of heavy wards that's been here for a very long time. You're safe here. Sarah and Stanley are safe here just as all omegas are safe here. And those of mixed species. Also, another story.

There is just so much you don't know. There's so much that you're going to learn. I can't give you all of it. I've barely given you a bite of it and that bite was huge. It took me weeks to learn it all and stop being surprised."

Emily nodded yes. After hearing what she just had, and she didn't doubt a word of it because she had full faith and trust in him, she knew that the rest of their questions really did need to wait.

"No kidding. But back to Alec for a minute. You said he had a vision but that he's okay." She said.

"Yes." He said. "He is. What Belle did this morning was a band aid on the fallout of his vision and we knew it. By the time we got back whatever she had done was already wearing off and the expected aftereffects were creeping in. And of course, Alec being Alec, he wouldn't rest until he knew that both mission teams had made it back safe. So, as I said, I had to dose him."

"Boss, I get that the rest of our questions need to wait because that was a lot and more's coming. But I have to know. We have to know." Sarah said looking at both Stanley and Emily who nodded yes. "Why did you leave?"

"That's another complicated story." He said as a knock sounded at the door. "One sec." He said, turning to open it. Rebecca stood on the other side, The Gray Book in hand. "Is she still here?" He asked, barely more than a whisper. But he knew those behind him heard him just fine. They were Shadowhunters after all.

"Yeah. Do you want me to get her?" Rebecca asked.

"Please. But she needs to bring..." He started.

"I'll tell her." She said, cutting him off as she handed him the book. She'd thought this might happen. So had Dot which is why she'd hung around.

"Thank you." He said, closing the door again as she walked away. "Um...I just need a few minutes before answering that question. It's better to show you, I think, than to just tell you. Can you give me that?"

"Of course, we can." Stanley said.

"I hope you'll understand. And that you won't hate me." He said.

"We could never hate you, Boss." Emily said. "Why would you think we could?"

"Robert lived in The Shadowhunter World for most of his life with a lot of big secrets. You know that now." He said. "Well, he wasn't the only one with secrets."

"Hey, we love you." Sarah said, gently cupping his cheek. "Whatever it is, whatever your secrets are we just need to know so we can understand. And we'll understand because we love you."

Luke nodded yes.

"Um...in the meantime then, I have The Gray Book." He said. "Are you all familiar with it?"

"The Clave's book of runes." Stanley said. "How did you get it?"

"Robert smuggled it out of Alicante. It holds all of the Clave's runes and a few more." He said as he opened the book to the marked page. He should have known that Clary would have marked it for him. "We'll get to those later, but I wanted to look at what it said about the traitor's mark.

Belle, she said that it's a mark reserved for the dead. That using it on the living is a perversion of sacred magic and that to the living it's poisonous. That's why it's making you sick. That's why we have to get it off of you and everyone else they've marked as soon as possible." He said as he quickly read what was written. And it was written very clearly. The mark is meant 'For those deemed to be traitors upon their deaths' and that it's 'Strictly forbidden by angelic law to be used on those whose hearts still beat. It brings suffering and death to living a soul.' "How long have you had it?"

"Three weeks." Stanley said. "But Hodge. I don't know. I couldn't ask him. I couldn't even type the words in an email. I just couldn't do it."

"That must have been the obedience rune." He said. "We assumed that it hadn't been activated because you were able to answer Clary's yes-no questions. What did they say to you exactly?"

"Um..." Stanley started as he thought. "You will speak of this to no one. You will tell no one. You will ask no questions."

"So, you couldn't type a message to Hodge because that would have been asking questions." Sarah said. "Even if it wasn't verbally."

"We have to assume that he said no too. If he hadn't, he would have reached out to you." Emily said to Stanley. She didn't know if hearing that his big brother had said no too would be a comfort or just cause more worry. If Hodge had said no, then he also bore the traitor's mark and was suffering. But if he didn't, it meant that he'd sided with the Clave. "He would have said 'join us' or something. Surely, they would have had him try to get you to change your mind. Right?"

"Maybe. Unless he just considers me a traitor too." Stanley said.

"Stop that." Luke snapped, closing the book. "You know your brother and he is a good man just like you. He'd never say yes to what they asked of you, and you know it. And he'd never consider you a traitor for anything much less telling them to fuck off when they asked you to kill children for them.

Em's right. We have to assume that they approached him too and that he said no. And that he's marked just like you are. We're going to get that mark off you. Alec can do it. It's just a matter of time. He needs to recharge after today. But tomorrow, once he's up and moving we're going to start working on how to find each and every person this has been done to so we can get it off of them too. That includes Hodge. Got it?" He asked, using the firm no nonsense tone he reserved for just such occasions. His normally strong and confident second in command was tired. He was mentally, emotionally, and physically exhausted from the mark that had been branded on him and the sickness it was causing. But he couldn't be allowed to give in. All that would do is cause doubt where there was already worry and he'd endured enough as it was without taking on more.

"Got it." Stanley said, grateful for the verbal slap. And it had been a slap. He could count the number of times he'd heard Luke use the word 'fuck' over the last twenty years on both hands. But he'd needed it. Despair had been creeping in at the edges more and more for days, and he'd needed to be snapped out of it. But he supposed that's what the Clave wanted. To break him down. For him to give in or 'come to his senses' in the words of Counsil Herondale.

'Close your mouth.' Sarah mouthed to Emily, who's mouth had dropped open into an O in shock. She'd never heard anything fouler than 'shit' come out of Luke's mouth in the twelve years she'd known him.

Luke took a deep calming breath in at the small knock on the closed door. His temper isn't what he wanted his Sunshine to walk in on. She'd only seen it a handful of times in her short life, and it always scared her. He supposed that was partially because he rarely got riled enough for his temper to surface. It was a side of him she wasn't used to seeing. The other part he was sure was because it was just plain scary when you were small, and an adult who was much bigger was angry for reasons you didn't know or understand. It made you think it was somehow your fault.

He knew that feeling all too well from his own childhood. One or both of his parents had always been angry and yelling usually at him. It hadn't mattered if he'd done anything or not. His mere existence seemed to anger them. And he'd always been made to feel as if he'd done something wrong, that he was somehow to blame even when his only transgression had been simply being there. He knew now that his parents had wanted him to fear them. And he had for a long time. But he'd sworn long before his baby girl had been born that she would never fear him.

"There are a couple of people I want you all to meet. Once you do, I hope you'll understand why I left." He said. Taking another deep breath, this one for courage, he turned to the closed door and opened it. He smiled at what he found on the other side. His Sunshine in her Shadowhunter Black, excitement shining in her soft green eyes and her smile beaming. And his beautiful Dorthea holding their daughter's hand.

Crouching down to his baby girl's level he brushed a whisp of hair out of her eyes.

"Are you ready to meet new friends?" He asked.

Ziva nodded yes. She'd thought she would have to wait until tomorrow to meet her daddy's special friends. He'd said that the Clave had hurt Dr. Stanley and that he had to take care of him. But she was glad that she didn't have to wait.

Luke looked up into his wife's eyes, asking the same but silent question. He'd told her so much about the people she was about to meet over the years, and she'd hoped this day would come. But he hadn't needed her small nod yes. He'd known the answer. She was ready. And in that moment, seeing their smiles, he realized that all of his fears of how the Shadowhunters behind him would react had evaporated. He knew in his heart that Robert was right. They wouldn't be angry. And he was ready for them to meet his girls.

"Okay." He said, reaching for his Sunshine's hand. He stood as she took it and led her into the room, his warlock right behind them.

Emily's mouth dropped open in another O when her eyes landed on the beautiful little girl holding Luke's hand. The little Shadowhunter Black outfit and tiny combat boots she was wearing was precious. But it wasn't what she was wearing that had her captivated. It was her soft green eyes and smile. She'd seen those same soft green eyes and smile almost every day for more than a decade. 'It can't be.' She thought.

"Close your mouth, Em." Luke said softly, trying to hide his smile. It was hard to shock Emily, and he'd managed it twice now in less than ten minutes. That had to be a record.

Neither Sarah, Emily, nor Stanley knew what to think of the utterly adorable little girl holding Luke's hand. Their minds were reeling. And not just about her. While none of them really knew the woman at Luke's side, they knew who and what she was. A warlock.

"And who is this?" Stanley asked having finally found his voice. But unbeknownst to him, he'd had the same thought as Emily. As had Sarah. 'It can't be.'

Luke bit his cheek as he pulled his precious Dorthea close. He loved this part. But she hadn't seen it yet and he thought that she would enjoy it just as much as he did. It didn't seem to matter how many times he saw it, it only got cuter and cuter. And that was something that he didn't think was ever going to change.

"Ziva Anne Greymark." Ziva said with her head held high as she held out her hand. She giggled at the look he was giving her. She didn't know why, but it was funny. "Aren't you going to shake my hand, Dr. Stanley?" She asked, waiting for him to shake her hand.

"I am." Stanley said. Regaining his wits, he took and shook her little hand. Apparently, it could be. "It's nice to meet you, Ziva Anne Greymark." He said. 'He has a daughter.' He thought, happiness filling him. For weeks, he'd felt nothing but misery. Learning that he had ancestors that had been murderers had been hard. Turning the Clave down had been easy. But after the Silent Brothers had runed and branded him with what he now knew was the traitor's mark, there'd been nothing but misery. Physical, mental, and emotional. Now, for the first time in what felt like forever, he felt true happiness and it was for one of his dearest friend's.

In that moment, he understood why Luke had left New York. While there were big things going on, things that they didn't know the extent of or understand yet, he finally knew the reason why one so dedicated to what they did had so suddenly disappeared. She was looking at him with the same soft green eyes and smile he'd seen countless times over the last twenty years.

"Daddy said that the Clave hurt you." She said.

"Yeah. They did." He said, surprised that Luke would have shared such a thing with his little girl.

"It'll be okay. Daddy will make you feel better." She said. "He's good at that."

"I know he is." He said. "I'm sure I'll feel better very soon."

Ziva nodded yes before turning to Sarah.

"Hello, Ms. Sarah." She said, holding her hand out for Sarah to shake.

"Hello, sweetie." Sarah said, all smiles as she took and shook Ziva's little hand. She was looking at his daughter. At Boss's daughter. And she was a beautiful little thing.

She'd spent so much time wondering why he'd left, but now she knew and understood. Had she been in his place, as much as she loved him, she would have left too. "It's nice to meet you, Ms. Ziva. But how did you know my name?"

"Daddy told me 'bout you." She said.

"Did he now?" Sarah asked, unable to tear her eyes away from the little Greymark.

"Mm-hmm." She said. "He said that you had long gold hair like Goldie Locks. And that you like pink." She said, tugging on Sarah's pink scrubs shirt. "He also said that you're super nice and one of the bestess nurses ever."

"Awe." Sarah said, her heart full of love. Love for Luke and this little angel.

Emily couldn't wait for her turn. She wished Sarah would hurry up. She wanted to meet the little Greymark. She'd racked her brain for weeks after they'd learned that Luke was still alive trying to think of why he'd leave the way he had. She never would have guessed his reason would be anything like this. But now she knew and understood.

"Hi, Ziva." She said when Ziva turned to her.

"Hello, Ms. Emily." Ziva said, shaking Emily's hand. "It's nice to meet you."

"It's wonderful to meet you." She said, happiness for her boss coursing through her. For years they'd wondered why he wasn't married with children. He was so good with them. And why he hadn't seemed the least bit interested in dating any of the scores of women that threw themselves at his feet. Now they knew why. He'd obviously found someone, and they had a child.

"Daddy told me 'bout you too." Ziva said.

"Is that so?" She asked.

"Mm-hmm." Ziva said, nodding yes. "He said that you're the sweetest person he's ever known. That you're super nice to everybody and that you're the other bestess nurse ever."

"Alright, Ziva. That's enough." Luke said. "Sarah. Emily. Stanley. I'd also like you to meet my mate and wife, Dorthea Greymark. You may already know her as the warlock Dot Rollins."

"Did you say wife?" Emily asked, taking in the gorgeous woman he was holding close. She'd never formally met her. But she knew who and what she was. Another piece of the puzzle clicked into place. She didn't know much about warlocks, but she did know that they only had fated mates. Boss hadn't just fallen in love with a downworlder. They were fated to be together. Like Mr. Lightwood, he had been keeping secrets. Big ones. But she didn't give a damn that his wife's a warlock. She thought the whole Shadowhunter/downworlder law was stupid. Love was love. And she could clearly see it in his soft green eyes as he looked at Mrs. Greymark. He was head over heels in love with her. There was no denying that.

And a few of his earlier words sank a little further in. That this place was a safe place for those of mixed species. His little girl was a mixed species child. The precious little angel that is his daughter is half nephilim/half warlock.

"Yep." He said. "Obviously, I couldn't tell you."

"You mean I could have planned not only a baby shower but a wedding and a bridal shower?" Sarah asked. "You're a dead man."

Dot laughed. She knew then that she was going to like Sarah. She'd skipped right over the 'I couldn't tell you' and went straight to 'I'm going to kick your ass.' Her Shadowhunter had told her that Sarah was a spitfire and from the look of it he hadn't been kidding. 'We're going to have so much fun together.' She thought.

"It's nice to finally meet you all. And please, call me Dot." She said. Finally, she was meeting the people she'd heard so much about, the people who meant so much to her Luke. And he hadn't been kidding when he'd told her about how the girls liked to introduce themselves to new additions in their Shadowhunter Black either. He'd said it was cute. But cute wasn't a strong enough word for it. Not in her mind. What she'd just seen and heard was both precious and priceless.

The strength, courage, and confidence she'd seen in her baby girl when she'd introduced herself had astounded her.

"It's been a true pleasure meeting you as well. Both of you." Stanley said, still trying to process it. Luke had a wife and child, a warlock wife and mixed species child to be exact. But he didn't care about that part. All that mattered was the love he saw in his dear friend's eyes. And in seeing it, in seeing the little Greymark family, so much now made sense.

He'd wondered countless times where Luke would sneak off to on his days off. There were only so many museums to visit and movies to see. Now he knew. He'd been going to see his little family, the family he'd had to keep a secret from those closest to him because it was a secret punishable by death.

But he knew Luke Greymark well enough to know that he hadn't kept this from them because he hadn't trusted them with his secret. He'd kept it from them to protect them just as he'd been protecting his wife and child. None of them would have told. Not willingly. But having so recently been subjected to The Soul Sword, something that could have happened at any time, had they known this the Clave would know it now too. The sword would have pulled it out of them. And not reporting such a crime, well, was a crime. And they'd be facing some serious consequences themselves right now had they known.

"Ziva and I are looking forward to getting to know you all." She said. "But right now, she has a sleepover to finish getting ready for. And I know you all have more to discuss."

"You're leaving?" Sarah asked. She wasn't ready for them to go. But Mrs. Greymark was right. They did have more to discuss. And Stanley still needed tending to.

"We'll stop back by and say goodnight before we head home. Right, baby?" She asked as Ziva slid her small hand into hers.

"Right." Ziva said, nodding yes.

Luke opened the door for his girls and closed it behind them as they left.

"So." He said.

"You're certainly having trouble with your words today, Daddy Greymark." Sarah said.

"So, they're why you left." Emily said.

"Yes." He said simply. "They came for me when they did because Alec had had a vision that I'd been arrested and sentenced to death. In his vision the Clave had somehow found out my secret. But my girls, they'd disappeared when the rest of the downworld did. When Magnus had issued a go to ground order because of another vision Alec had had. We'll get into all that later. But I had to leave. And I needed my girls. I'd been going out of my mind not knowing where they were or if they were okay.

As I said before, I couldn't tell you about them. I wanted to. At times, I wanted to so much it hurt. It felt wrong keeping it from you. I hated it. But I had to. I had to protect them. And you. I also hated lying to you. And I had to do that too. I knew that you'd never tell. Not if you could help it. But if you'd been subjected to The Soul Sword..." He started.

"We get it, Luke." Stanley said, cutting him off. "You don't have to explain any more. Not to me at least." He said, looking at Sarah and Emily. He knew that the friend they'd missed so much needed to hear the same thing from them too.

"You really did have big secrets." Sarah said, gently cupping Luke's cheek again. "Wonderful, beautiful, amazing secrets." She said, pressing a soft sisterly kiss to his other cheek. "I don't know why you thought we'd be angry. Or how we could ever hate you for protecting your little family. We know how the Clave is. And we know the law. It's a stupid law. But we know it."

"You're my family too." Luke said softly.

"We know. And you're ours." She said. "But knowing now why you left, I'm glad you did. I'm glad that they got you to safety and that you were reunited with your girls. Now I'm just looking forward to finally getting to be Auntie Sarah."

"And Auntie Em." Emily said. "Without The Wizard of Oz jokes if you don't mind."

"I'll send out a memo." Luke said.

"If they get to be Auntie Sarah and Auntie Em, I get to be Uncle Stanley." Stanley said.

"Ziva will love that." He said. But he was relieved. They understood. Robert really had been right. "On a different note, do you think you can rest now? Because I'd really like to start sorting out what that mark's done to you."

Stanley sighed, but he nodded yes. He didn't like being a patient any more than the rest of them did. They hadn't gotten all of the answers they needed, not by a long shot. But they'd gotten enough for now. And they'd gotten the answer to their most important question. So, yes. He'd be able to rest.

"I think you're going to have to help me up." He said, realizing that he didn't have the strength to get himself out of the chair that was surprisingly comfortable.

"Not a problem." Luke said. "Em, in that cabinet there you'll find everything you'll need to start a line." He said, nodding towards the bedside cabinet as he helped his dear friend from the chair, taking the bulk of his weight. If it wouldn't have embarrassed him, he'd have just picked him up. But it would have, so he didn't. Still, he'd get him onto the bed. "Sarah, in that back cabinet on the wall you'll find fluids. Lactated ringers."

Neither Emily nor Sarah hesitated. They'd been waiting for this moment, for when Stanley would relent and let them tend to him. They quickly found the supplies they were looking for. They hadn't needed Boss's directions. They'd snooped while they'd been waiting for him to arrive. They just hoped that whatever the brand the Clave had put on Stanley hadn't done anything too serious. But if there was anyone who could fix it, it was Luke. And by what they were sure was The Angel's grace, he was there to do it.

____________________

Clary watched silently as the heavy bag busted on the next vicious punch. She'd been watching as Jace took out his anger with blow after blow. She knew what had him so angry. She didn't have to ask. His grandmother, Counsil Imogen Herondale, had once again soiled the Herondale name in yet another horrific way. She'd ordered the branding of innocent Shadowhunters with a mark that was slowly killing them because they'd had the courage to say no when she'd asked them to become murderers.

He'd known that his father's mother was evil for some time, just as evil as her own father had been. So, she understood what he was feeling. She'd felt the same way he did now every time she'd learned of some new atrocity Valentine had committed. And just as she was watching him, he'd watched her vent her anger and pain at the betrayals. But it was time he stopped before he truly hurt himself. She was sure he'd already broken most of if not all of his fingers.

"Babe." She said softly. But she knew he'd heard her. Just as she knew he'd known she was there.

"How?" Jace asked softly, his forehead resting against the deflating heavy bag. "How could she?"

"I don't know." She said, walking towards him and wrapping her arms around his waist.

"It's not as if she doesn't know what she's doing. The Gray Book says it straight out." He said. "And even if it didn't, the Silent Brothers would know."

"I know." She said, resting her cheek against his back in the hope that the contact would give him at least some comfort. "But we know about it now. And we can fix it. Once we know who all has been marked..." She started.

"How?" He asked, cutting her off. "We don't know how to find them, Clary. Let alone how long finding them is going to take or how we're going to get to them once we do. How many are going to die while we figure all that out?

We don't even know how long this has been going on. For all we know, some have died already."

"Belle would have told Alec..." She started.

"Belle told him that Luke's team wasn't in imminent danger just this morning." He said, finally lifting his head from the heavy bag and turning in her arms. "In my mind, having that mark on him has put Dr. Starkweather in imminent danger.

So, I'm asking myself did she not tell him because she didn't know? Or was it because she wasn't allowed to tell him? Or because The Angel didn't tell her? Or did The Angel not know?"

"I wish I knew the answers to all of that." She said.

"How could he not know though, Clary?" He asked. "And if he hadn't known, why would he have sent her?"

"Maybe he saw it when I did." She said. "It wasn't until after I looked at it that she arrived. But I really don't think she knew when she talked to Alec this morning. I don't.

I felt her today, Jace. I felt both the peace everyone who's felt her describes and even with that peace I still felt her fury. It reminded me of Alec's fury, of when he gets so angry that his eyes turn to blue ice. I'm sure that if I could have seen her, that's what I would have seen. And I'd like to think that The Angel was just as furious.

I have to believe that The Angel somehow didn't know. I have to. And Alec will find out one way or the other. Just like I think he'll find out who's been marked and how we're going to help them."

"I hope you're right. And I want to believe it too. That The Angel somehow didn't know. But if he did and didn't let us know..." He started, unable to finish the sentence. He couldn't say the words that were on the tip of his tongue. Thinking them was bad enough.

"You have to have faith, Jace." She said. "Isn't that what Alec keeps saying? That we have to have faith in The Angel. That's what he's doing. With so many really big and hard things. If he can do it, we can too."

Jace nodded yes.

"Do we know how bad Dr. Starkweather is yet?" He asked.

"No. Last I heard, Luke was still with him. But maybe we can find something out when he looks at these." She said, gently taking his bruised and bleeding hands in her own. "If Mom see's this, she's going to flip her shit."

"She didn't when Alec busted up his hands on a few heavy bags before his wedding." He said, comforted when she pressed a tender kiss to what he knew was a broken knuckle.

"She wasn't really Mom yet then." She said. "Assuming these aren't too badly broken Luke can set them and heal them with an iratze hopefully without her ever knowing."

"And if he tells her?" He asked.

"If he tells her, I think she'll understand. She won't be happy about it. You know how she gets about these things." She said. "But she'll understand."

He nodded yes. It felt so good having a mom again. There was no replacing the mother he'd lost so many years ago, the mother whose face was fading from his memory a little more every day. But the love he'd had for her and had felt from her, that hadn't faded at all. And he didn't think it ever would. Still, it was nice having a mom to love and be loved by again. And he couldn't help but think that Sarah Herondale would be pleased that he had a woman as wonderful as Catarina Loss to love and watch over him the way she would have if she had lived.

"Is she still at the house with Alec?" He asked.

"Last I knew, she was there with Dad. Magnus is there, of course. He won't be going anywhere anytime soon. Not until Alec wakes up at least. And Grandma's there." She said. "I think she's trying to comfort Samantha. Leaving her parents was hard on her. I don't think the whole omega thing has even sunk in yet."

"It will soon enough." He said. "I'm just glad Sam was able to get her to come."

"Me too. Come on. Let's go see Luke and get these tended to." She said. "Then we can head over to the house and see what's what."

He nodded yes again. He was still angry at his grandmother. So very, very angry. But he'd vented it as much as he could. And if there was anything that would wash away the filth he felt at sharing her name, it would be spending time with his real family. His mom and dad. His brother and sister. And the grandma of his heart. They were the ones that mattered. Not Imogen Herondale. Would his father be ashamed of his mother and the things she'd done and was doing? Yes. He'd been a good man. An honorable man. And somehow, someday he'd restore honor to the Herondale name.

___________________

Magnus dropped a second olive into his very, very dry martini. Why use more than a drop of vermouth when what you really needed was the vodka? And after today, he needed the vodka. He was sure that it had taken at least a century off his life when Danny had knocked on the door and told him that his Shadowhunter had been hit with a vision. It always scared him when his precious Alexander had visions, but the fear he'd felt that day had been multiplied because of the little lives in his young love's womb.

He was grateful that his angel had been at the clinic when the vision had hit. It's where he'd needed to be to be properly tended to despite how much he hated being there. And he was grateful that his love had been close enough to Luke that the good doctor had been able to catch him before he'd hit the floor. The last thing his husband needed was another head injury. He'd already taken two nasty ones in his short life and didn't need a third.

He wondered if it was a coincidence that his Shadowhunter's favorite doctor had been there to catch him when he'd given out for a second time or if The Angel Raziel had waited until what was essentially the right moment. As if there was such a thing. But still, to date his precious Alexander hadn't been in what one would consider a dangerous situation when he'd had a vision. So, he couldn't help but wonder if The Angel was looking before he leapt with the visions so to speak to ensure his love's safety as much as possible. The damage the visions could do and have done was bad enough. So, why risk doing additional harm with bad timing?

He was also grateful that The Angel had remained true to his word and had showed his love only what he'd had to see, and that Belle had been sent to tell her great, great grandson the rest of what they'd needed to know. Added to that, she'd pushed back the horrific headache that would usually come with such an intense vision.

She'd done it so that his angel would be able to plan the two rush missions they'd successfully executed that day. But they'd gotten lucky to a degree. They'd all made it safely back before whatever it was she'd done had fully worn off and the headache had hit.

Yes, his precious Alexander had been miserable all day. Yes, he'd been exhausted and in pain. From what he'd been told, his husband had been experiencing aches and pains just about everywhere. And towards the end he'd become light and sound sensitive. So much so that the sound of the wards when they'd portaled back in had ruptured his eardrums. But they'd avoided the headache, and for that, despite how miserable the rest of it had to have been for his young love, he was grateful.

There was no denying that it had been a long and difficult day for his angel, but he'd come through it as had their babies. And it was that that he was most grateful for. Still, even being grateful, knowing what his one true love had endured that day would be reason enough for him to need such a dry martini. But there was more to it than just that. So much more.

He'd returned to Haven to learn of more than a few incredibly distressing things. The first had been the scroll that had been waiting for him from Asmodeus. He knew that he had no choice but to respond to the summons. And that's exactly what it was. A summons. If he didn't go see his sire in Edom by midnight tomorrow, Asmodeus would come to Haven, and he couldn't let that happen. That would put Edom's reigning Prince way too close to those he loved, especially his Shadowhunter.

He could only speculate as to what his father wanted after so long. There'd been nothing but silence between them for four years after all, not since the night he'd learned of the deal that Asmodeus had made with Valentine and the part he'd unwittingly played in the war that had cost so many lives.

It was entirely possible that the power of the unborn Lightwood-Bane's his love was carrying was already strong enough to be sensed in the demon realm and therefore by its Prince. He hadn't thought of that possibility before receiving the scroll, but looking back, he knew that he should have. If he had he could have cast a shield around his angel and their unborn children. But while he knew that he could hide their babies' magic, he wasn't entirely sure that he could cast a shield strong enough to hide his husband's. It was unlike anything he'd ever felt before and a lot stronger than he'd anticipated. He'd never imagined that his love's magic would be this strong so soon.

It was also entirely possible that Catarina was right and that it was his Shadowhunter's magic, not the babies in his womb, that Asmodeus was sensing. She'd been right that there'd been a massive power shift after his mate's claiming.

The claiming. That could be what Asmodeus wanted to discuss too. He'd married, mated, and claimed his fated mate. Most parents would think that their child finding the love they'd waited centuries for would be a wonderful thing. And he was sure that Asmodeus would be thrilled for him if his mate was a downworlder. A mate meant heirs. But fate had given him a nephilim mate, a Shadowhunter mate that he wouldn't trade for anything in all the worlds. He just wasn't sure that good 'ole Asmodeus would be too pleased by his precious Alexander's species.

Did he give a damn what the old man thought? No. But whether he gave a damn or not didn't mean Asmodeus' reaction to the news would be pretty. He knew that it wouldn't do any good dwelling on the summons he had to answer anymore tonight. So, he forced thoughts of it and the trip he'd soon be making from his mind as he sat beside his sleeping angel. He looked so peaceful and innocent in sleep. He hoped that if his love wasn't sleeping too deeply for dreams that any he had were sweet. He'd more than earned that after all he'd endured that day.

They'd have a lot to talk about when his Shadowhunter woke up. And he thought on it all as he sipped his martini. The missions would have to be debriefed before the difficult conversation was had with those they'd rescued. It would be hard on young Samantha hearing it all mere hours before her presentation. But they thought that it would be easier on her hearing it before she presented than it would be after, before the surge of omega hormones sent her already heightened and strained emotions careening out of control. He was thankful that Sam would be there with her. He was glad that she had such a good friend to hold her hand, one who understood what she'd be going through. And that she had taken so well to Izabella. Quickly at that.

But Izabella had that effect on people. The kindness and compassion that were an innate part of her nature could easily draw a person in. And it had drawn Samantha in. It didn't surprise him that once again Izabella had offered to open her home. After Samantha is released from the clinic, she'll be staying with Izabella in Gideon's old room for a bit just as Lydia had until her hormones are settled and she can move into her own cottage. Samantha would have another woman to talk to who'd not only listen and understand, but who would offer comfort the way only a mother could. Even if Samantha couldn't have her own mother with her during what was undoubtably going to be a difficult time, she'd have Haven's favorite mother looking after and watching over her. And he thought the young Shadowhunter would need that. Leaving her parents behind had been hard on her. Very hard. The girl's only real consolation was that she'd been able to send them a message letting them know that she's okay and explaining why she'd left.

But there was another that they'd rescued from New York that he didn't think the conversation would be any easier on. Dr. Stanley Starkweather. They hadn't known when they'd executed the Institute mission that one of the people they were attempting to rescue is a descendant. They hadn't come across the Starkweather name in either the Lightwood or Penhallow books. And to his surprise, Belle hadn't mentioned it during the conversation she'd had with her great, great grandson just that morning. It had him wondering why. Had she not known? Or had she known, but known that he wasn't a threat? That he wasn't like Nicholas Whitepine and Mark Ravenwolf.

It had him wondering what else she may or may not have known. From what he'd heard from Biscuit, Belle had been furious about the mark that the Silent Brothers had branded on Stanley at Imogen Herondale's orders for his refusal to join them. He didn't know much about the traitor's mark. But he'd known what Biscuit had been told. That it's meant for the dead and that it's deadly to the living. And to his knowledge, it was something that hadn't been used this way before. Not during The Purge or The Great Purge. He knew a great deal about the horrific acts committed by Claves of the past and their elite team. But this was new.

He couldn't help but think over what his Shadowhunter had told him of the conversation he'd had with Belle before he'd regained consciousness. She'd told him that Luke's team wasn't in imminent danger. But he agreed with Jace. He felt that having been branded the way Stanley had been had put him in imminent danger. So, he was wondering if The Angel hadn't known about it until Biscuit had seen it too. Surely, if The Angel had known that this was happening, they'd have been made aware before now.

But his thoughts drifted back to Stanley. The Clave had approached him and asked that he 'take up the mantle' of his 'noble ancestors'. It had him wondering what exactly he'd been told about his noble ancestors and about what had been asked of him. But they'd know soon enough. It's the first question he'd ask during their sit down the next day. He had a feeling that Stanley hadn't been told a faction of what he would learn during that conversation.

He worried that with this new development that a great many more visions were on the horizon for his Shadowhunter. They'd known after that morning's vision that the plans they'd made for the soon to present omegas were off the table. The Clave had finally made a move in issuing their decree. They'd been waiting for the Clave to act. And they had. But unlike with the traitor's mark this was a move he'd seen them make before. This wouldn't be the first time that they took omegas prisoner. And he'd be damned if they let what happened to those of the past happen to those of today.

They'd known that there'd be more visions when Belle had said that should an opportunity to reach these omegas arise that his angel would be made aware either by a vision or a visit from her. But now they needed to know more than just who was going to present as an omega and where they were going to be. Now they needed to know which of the descendants out there had been branded with the traitor's mark and were suffering the way Stanley had been suffering. That to him said even more visions, something he didn't like but didn't think was avoidable. His love had been given The Sight of The Angel for a reason, and saving people, he believed, was the reason. It's what his Shadowhunter did best after all.

It had taken him a little time to accept that it didn't matter that it was descendants they needed to help. Not long. But still. At first, he'd hated them all and had seen them all as bad just as he'd once hated all Shadowhunters and seen them as the enemy. But then Luke had reminded him that not all apples are bad. Biscuit is a prime example of that. She's the daughter of a monster. But she's so good, so pure that The Angel Raziel gifted her with an unheard-of ability. The ability to create new runes. Then there's Jace. He's a descendent who's been with them all along.

So, Luke was right. Stanley is a victim. And there are more out there, more descendants that were slowly dying because they'd had the courage to tell the Clave no. And while he wanted to help them, he was afraid that they'd learn who those people were and how they'll be able to help them when it came to his precious Alexander in the form of visions. He just had to hope and pray, to have faith in The Angel that those visions wouldn't hurt his husband or their unborn children.

And how they were going to help them was where his thoughts went next. Belle had ventured to New York that day and used what he assumed was some form of angelic magic to conceal and contain the magic in the mark the Silent Brothers had branded on Stanley. She'd not only stopped the spread of the poison the magic in the mark was acting as, but she'd also hidden it even to those who'd wielded that magic. Sure, Biscuit had broken the runes they'd used to hide the mark. But even her breaking rune wasn't enough to remove the traitor's mark. From what she'd said, her rune wasn't enough because the brand isn't a rune. The Gray Book said it outright. The traitor's mark can only be applied by the Silent Brothers using ritual magic and it can only be removed the same way. But his beautiful Belle had said that there is another way. And that way is his very own warlock, his precious Alexander.

Biscuit had been told that the brand was placed using ritual magic by those with angelic blood and that only one with both magic and angelic blood can remove it. And his Shadowhunter had both. But he had the same worry that he was sure Luke had. While his angel's magic is strong, he hadn't used it yet. Not really. He hadn't had much time to work with using or controlling it. What little he'd done with it; he'd done on instinct and without thought. And while a large part of using one's magic is instinctual, control isn't. That takes time and practice. But according to The Angel's messenger, when the time comes for him to remove Stanley's mark his husband will 'know what he needs to know'.

He hadn't gotten a look at the mark yet. He hadn't wanted to leave his young love. And he'd wanted to give Luke time to do what he could to settle in and help his friend. But he'd be getting a look at it very soon. And at what his daughter had done. He didn't dare mess with it for fear of damaging the concealment she'd put on the mark. If that was damaged, the Silent Brothers could possibly be able to find Stanley. And if they found Stanley, they'd all be found.

He just hoped that once he did get a look at it that he'd have some idea of what his angel would need to do to remove it. Belle had told Luke that he had to have faith in his favorite patient. And that his precious Alexander had to have faith in himself. But if there was anything he could do or offer that would help his husband do something that to his knowledge had never been done before, he'd do it.

He feared, however, that all he'd be able to do is have the same faith Luke had been told to have and offer support and encouragement to his angel that he'd be able to do this. Because if his love couldn't do it for Stanley, he wouldn't be able to do it for any of the other branded descendants. And he knew his Shadowhunter well enough to know that he'd never forgive himself for the lives that would be lost if he didn't find a way to do what only he could do.

He debated pouring another martini as he swallowed the last potent sip of the first but set his glass aside and climbed to his feet when he heard scratching at the bedroom door. He'd wondered when his love's little fur monster would try again. Much to Chairman Meow's dismay, they'd been keeping him out. First, it had been to keep him off his Shadowhunter's maps and blueprints. Then it had been to keep him out of the way while they'd tended to him. But he couldn't see a reason why the little furball should continue to be banished when all it wanted was to snuggle with its person and protect the babies.

The little white ball of fur flew into the room at a full sprint when he opened the door, but immediately slowed when it landed on the bed. Magnus watched his love's cat as he quietly closed the door, as Chairman moved slowly and what he could only describe as carefully, as if to not jar or disturb his sleeping person, until he found a spot to lay down. He couldn't help but smile. The cat had settled with its small head resting on his precious Alexander's belly.

Having decided against another drink, he followed Chairman's lead and climbed carefully into bed beside his Shadowhunter. He was far too wired to sleep. He just wanted to be close to his one true love. While it was unlikely that he would disturb his angel as he settled himself beside him, he moved carefully. But he couldn't resist the urge to rest his hand on his husband's belly beside Chairman's head. He wondered if the cat that was so in tune with its person could feel the same thrum of magic that he did. For some reason that he couldn't explain, he thought that his love's fur monster could in fact feel their babies' magic. That it had been part of how the cat had known that something was different before the rest of them had.

As he lay beside his sleeping husband, he found himself relaxing more and more, the knots he'd been in slowly untangling with each breath he took in of his favorite scent. Fresh peaches, strawberries, and cream. His angel's mouthwatering scent was doing far more than his mostly vodka martini had. Nothing soothed him the way his Shadowhunter's scent did.

While there was still so much more to do before he could call the day done, he'd spend just a little time right here with the one he loved so much. He'd lay with him while he slept for a bit before he pulled himself away to wrap up the day. And it had been a very, very long day.

____________________

Luke cursed Imogen Herondale's to the darkest and most demon infested corners of Edom as he read over Stanley's lab results. He'd known that it was going to be bad. He'd known it after taking a hard look at his second in command while they'd still been at the Institute. The physical exam he'd done after settling Stanley into bed had just confirmed what he'd already known. But this, what he was looking at in these results, he hadn't expected. This was leaps and bounds beyond bad. And it was going to take swift action and hardcore treatments to reverse it.

Belle had said that Stanley would need 'tending to'. Tending to was an understatement in his opinion. As it stood his dear friend was in both liver and kidney failure. He wasn't far from needing dialysis. His white cell count was also way too high, and both his red cell count and platelet count were way too low.

Infection was definitely an issue. And at least some of that infection was in Stanley's lungs. He'd heard the fluid moving through his stethoscope. But he was afraid that it wasn't just fluid he'd heard. His gut was telling him what these results couldn't, and they were telling him plenty. But his gut, it was telling him that Stanley's lungs had been filling with blood too when Belle had intervened.

He just couldn't fathom how The Angel had let this happen. Or why they hadn't been made aware of the fact that it was happening. And he couldn't help but wonder how many others were suffering the way Stanley was suffering. How many others, kids at that, were slowly dying because they'd been branded as traitors for having the honor that their ancestors hadn't had?

Stanley, he could help. He would do whatever it took to undo the damage the brand had done. But the others, they couldn't get help. Not yet anyway. While it was true that Stanley had been trying to hide the fact that he was sick from Sarah and Emily so they wouldn't worry, they'd known. No, they hadn't known how bad it was. But what else was Stanley to do? He couldn't tell them he was sick. He couldn't tell anyone. He couldn't tell them because he couldn't tell them why. He couldn't tell them what had been done to him. And because he couldn't, he couldn't seek out help.

No, he hadn't known about the traitor's mark that had been hidden beneath layers of other runes. But he had known that it was after he'd been runed that he'd started getting sick. And he couldn't tell anyone that. The Clave had made sure of it with their silencing rune. That meant that if Stanley couldn't seek out help, neither could any of the others. And they needed it. Badly.

They'd only learned about the runes and the traitor's mark when they had because Clary had asked a simple question that Stanley had been able to nod an answer to. 'Did they put new runes or marks on you afterwards?'

He just hoped that Belle was right, and that Alec would be able to remove the mark. Because if he couldn't, if he couldn't remove it from Stanley, he wouldn't be able to remove it from anyone else. And there's no telling how many others there are, others who would die from it. And if they did, his favorite patient would never forgive himself for their deaths. Not once he learned that he's the only one with the power to save them.

Faith. Belle had said that he had to have faith. And that Alec would only further doubt himself if he doubted him. He didn't want to doubt him. He wanted to have as much faith in his favorite patient with this as he did with everything else. But for the first time, having it was hard. It was hard because magic was still new to Alec. Regardless, if having faith is what it took, he'd find a way to have it.

But that wasn't a worry for the moment. There wasn't anything his favorite patient could do tonight. Not because he wouldn't be willing to try, but because he couldn't. He was getting the rest he so desperately needed after an incredibly difficult and exhausting day. So, he wouldn't worry about it anymore tonight. What he'd do is focus on what could be done now.

He'd already decided on which antibiotics he wanted to start and on what electrolytes he'd administer. The electrolytes would help a lot of things including the low red blood cell count. But a blood transfusion to treat it wasn't out of the question. Not with Emily here. She and Stanley had the same blood type.

But he didn't want to go there yet. Not when there were meds he could try. But he wondered if the replenishing potion might work faster. He'd have to ask Cat her thoughts. If it could help both the red blood cell count and the low platelet count it could be the better way to go. There wasn't a doubt in his mind that Emily would give a little blood, but in this condition Stanley would more than likely need a platelet transfusion too. Would Emily give both without hesitation? Yes. But he wouldn't do it. He wouldn't hurt one friend by taking too much to help another. And Stanley would never forgive him if he did. So, he'd start with the meds and ask about the potion before mentioning either transfusion.

"Babe." Dot said from the open doorway. She'd been watching him flip through what she assumed were Stanley's lab results for the past five minutes. He was obviously engrossed in either them or his thoughts on them and she hadn't wanted to break his concentration. But he needed to eat. And she needed him to get Sarah and Emily to eat.

From what she could tell, neither of them had left Stanley's side. And she didn't blame them. It was obvious that he was incredibly sick. And they loved him. He wasn't just a colleague or one of their bosses. He was family just like her Luke was. But they had to take care of themselves, or they'd end up sick too. And that was both pointless and unnecessary.

She was now up to speed on what all had happened at the Institute. She'd already known that Stanley is a descendant and about what the Clave had done to him when he'd turned them down. And about Belle's appearance and what she had done. But Robert had filled her in on the rest.

She understood Sarah and Emily's worry. She did. But her Luke would take care of Stanley. And Alec would take care of the brand. She knew he would. He had the power. So much power. How much of it was his alone and how much of it was the babies', she didn't know. But he had more than enough of his own to do what needed to be done. She was sure of it. Just as she was sure he'd have whatever else he needed to get the brand off of Stanley and anyone else who had it when the time came.

Luke was pulled out of his thoughts at the sound of his wife's voice. Looking up, he saw her standing in the open doorway. He couldn't help but smile. Just seeing her lifted his mood.

"Hey. What are you doing here? I thought you were running herd on a sleepover." He said as he sat the horrid results aside. She'd already brought his Sunshine by for goodnight kisses in case he didn't get home before she fell asleep. Being only five years old, even the excitement of a sleepover could only keep her awake for so long. And when she and Madzie played, they played hard. Therefore, they crashed hard.

"The girls and I brought dinner. I know it's well past dinnertime, but they wanted to make something special for you and your special friends. You need to eat. And so do Sarah and Emily." She said as she crossed to him, wrapping her arms around his neck as she climbed on his lap. "Were those Stanley's lab results?"

"Yeah." He said, wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling her close. Having her in his arms was going a long way in lifting his mood too. "They're not good."

"You didn't think they would be." She said. "I take it they're worse than you were expecting?"

"Much." He said. "But it's all treatable."

"Then what has you so wound up?" She asked. She could feel the tension radiating off him.

"He's here and I can help him." He said. "But I can't help but wonder how many others are out there right now suffering the way he's been suffering. How many kids are just as sick as he is that can't get help. Kids that can't get it because they can't ask for it."

"Babe, listen to me." She said. "I know you're worried, and I understand why. I do. But you can't focus on what you can't do right now. You have to focus on what you can do and that's help Stanley.

I know this whole brand thing was a shock and that everybody's wondering why. Why The Angel hadn't let Alec know it was happening and why he'd let it. And that's just to start. There are so many other why's here and how's that we don't have answers for. And I know that not having those answers is hard. But those answers will come. Just like learning who else we need to help now and how, that will come too."

"You really think so?" He asked, sighing. She was right. Part of what was making this so hard is the not knowing the why's and how's. And the who's.

"I do." She said. "I don't know why, but I think that somehow your Angel didn't know this was happening. But he does now. I think Belle's made sure of that. And now that he does know, I don't think it will be long before Alec knows who else this was done to and how to help them. Just like I think he'll know whatever it is he needs to know to remove that brand just like Belle said.

Robert said that she told you that you had to have faith that Alec can do what needs to be done otherwise he'll just doubt himself. And I know that for the first time having that faith is hard. Not because you doubt Alec. It's not him you doubt. It's his ability to use his magic for something really big when he has next to no experience using it.

But Alec, he's not like anyone else I've ever known. There are things that he can do that should be impossible. Things that are impossible for everyone else. You know that. And his ability to do those things, it's just in him. And he just does them. He doesn't have to think. It's just there. It's instinctual. And magic, a lot of its instinctual. So, as hard as it is, try to forget that he doesn't have experience using his magic and remember him. Remember who he is and what he's done. And believe that there's more than he can and will do. If you can't have faith in his magic yet that's fine. You just have to have faith in him."

He nodded yes. She was right. There was so much that his favorite patient could do that he shouldn't be able to do. And there was a lot that he could do on what seemed like pure instinct. There was also a lot that he just knew.

"Can I give you a little food for thought?" She asked. She'd thought on this herself and it was part of why she was so sure that Alec would be able to do what Stanley and so many others needed him to do.

"Of course." He said, his curiosity peaked. She only ever offered him food for thought when she had something really interesting for him to ponder on.

"Alec is Magnus' fated mate." She said.

"I'm aware." He said, wondering where this was going.

"But unlike with you and me, Magnus was able to claim Alec." She said. "He was meant to. And because he was Magnus was meant to not just give Alec immortality, but magic too.

It was decided long before Alec was born that he would have magic. It was fated. It was only a matter of time before it happened. So, I can't help but think that because it was that Alec's more capable of using his magic than anyone realizes.

No, he hasn't had his magic long. And he hasn't used it. But once he stops thinking about that, once everyone stops thinking about that, and he just lets what's in him come to the surface I really believe that like with so many other things that his instincts will kick in and he'll be able to do what he needs to do. They'll tell him what he needs to know."

"You think that once he stops worrying about how much magic he has and whether or not he can use it that it'll just come." He said. She was right. It definitely was food for thought. Good food.

"I do." She said. "It's in him, babe. And it was always meant to be. That makes me think that somewhere deep inside there are instincts that haven't come to the surface yet. Instincts he hasn't explored. And he hasn't explored them because he didn't have what he needed to explore them with. But he does now. He just has to get out of his own way."

"You think his doubts are an obstacle that's holding him back?" He asked.

"Yes. His and everyone else's." She said. "I think that's why Belle said that you have to have faith. We all do. Because if we can't stop doubting him on this, he's not going to be able to stop doubting himself. And he has to.

Luke, he is so, so powerful. I feel it. All of us warlocks do. We can feel it in the air around him and it's unlike anything we've ever felt before. And because it is we think he'll be able to do things that no one else has ever done.

I can't really explain it. But his magic, it's different than ours. It's even different than Magnus'. I guess it's because of his nephilim blood. And that's what Belle said was needed to remove that brand, right? Someone with both magic and nephilim blood."

"Right." He said. "Well, she said angelic blood. She said that the brand was placed using ritual magic by those with angelic blood and that only one with both magic and angelic blood can remove it."

"Well, that's Alec." She said. "He can do it, babe. I know he can. But he's going to need to know that you know it too."

"Well, you definitely made some interesting points." He said, pressing a soft kiss to her forehead. "And I think you're right." He said, realizing that he truly believed she was. Alec was fated to have magic. It was a piece of him that he was meant to have that he'd been born without. But during his claiming, he'd finally been given that missing piece. It was a part of him now. He just had to accept and embrace it, not doubt it or fear it or shy away from it because it was so new. Not when it was always meant to be there. And because it was always meant to be there, the instincts that he'd need for it had always been there ready and waiting. "I'll talk to Robert and share your thoughts. Have you told this to Cat or Magnus?"

"No." She said. "But I can."

"I think that would help." He said. "If we're all on the same page with this when we tell Alec about the brand and about what Belle said it might ease his mind some. He needs to know that we have the same faith that she does, that The Angel does."

"Robert also said that Belle could only hide the brand for about forty-eight hours. Do you think he'll be recovered enough from today in time?" She asked.

"I think so." He said. "He had a hard day. A long and miserable one. But he came through it unscathed. He just needs some good rest to recharge."

"He's not the only one who needs rest so they can recharge." She said. "From what I could see, everyone who went on those missions today looks pretty exhausted. Including you. No, there was no fighting or anything like that. But the worry from this morning after the vision hit and the stress while scrambling to put the missions together, then the actual executions. And poor Sam looked ready to drop when Izabella finally sent him home. He wanted to stay with Samantha a little while longer, but Izabella was afraid he was overdoing it. I think Andy was too."

"I'll have to look in on him." He said. "He did a lot more today than he was meant to so soon after his presentation. And I'd say that you're right that everyone else is pretty tired too. It was both a busy and stressful day."

"Well, you can look in on him and Alec both after you've eaten." She said. "And talked Sarah and Emily into eating."

"I'll talk to them." He said. "And I'll eat with them. I just have to get some antibiotics and electrolytes going for Stanley first. I also need to talk to Cat. I need her thoughts on using the replenishing potion on Stanley."

"Okay. I'll take the girls and we'll get Cat while you start on what you need to do." She said.

"Thank you." He said, pressing a kiss to her lips. He'd tend to Stanley while she hunted down Cat. He knew that she wouldn't have gone far, not from the clinic or her son. Then when they got back, he'd let Haven's other angel baby introduce herself. Meeting Madzie would be yet another shock to Emily and Sarah, but it would be a good one that hopefully brightened their moods. They were just as worried about Stanley as he was. But they did need to eat. And once the introduction was made, he'd tell them that the girls had brought them a special dinner that they helped make. They wouldn't refuse it once they knew that the girls had a hand in it. They wouldn't want to hurt their feelings.

But once he'd done everything he needed to do here and talked to Cat he'd look in on Alec before doing a couple of other quick house calls. He needed to check on Samantha at Izabella's and on Sam then Jaxon and Danny. They'd settled the Blackwell brothers into their cottage that afternoon, but he hadn't been able to look in on them as frequently as he'd wanted to. With the missions, there just hadn't been time. But once he'd seen everyone he needed to see, he'd swing by home for another goodnight kiss from his girls before settling in here for the night. Being here he'd be close to Stanley and only a stone's throw away from Alec should his favorite patient need him.

___________________

Luke took the short flight of stairs up to Izabella's front porch. He knew that someone was still up despite the late hour as her lights were still on. He'd already been to see Sam and Andy as well as Danny and Jaxon. Izabella had been right to send Sam home. He had in fact overdone it. The exertion of the day had brought out some soreness from his presentation and the distress of seeing such a dear friend so distressed had only added additional strain. Both had left him in every way exhausted. But to ensure that he got good rest he'd left another dose of pain meds for him to take after he ate, something Andy had ensured him that he'd get Sam to do before tucking him into bed for the night.

Danny and Jaxon seemed much more at ease than they had when they'd first been taken to their new home and seemed to be settling in fairly quickly. The two-bedroom cottage they'd put them in would allow the brothers to stay together but still have their own space once Danny stopped hovering around his little brother. But that was understandable. The Blackwell brothers have always been incredibly close, and Jaxon was going through a lot. Jaxon still needed his big brother's emotional support and would without question need it until his hormones settled. Physically, however, he couldn't be more pleased with Jaxon's progress. He'd left the clinic that morning with only mild soreness. And while that had fluctuated throughout the day, in following the rest and pain management protocol he'd left Danny in charge of Jaxon had only experience short periods of minor discomfort.

He'd been unsure about letting Jaxon leave the clinic so soon. But after hearing what his favorite patient had to say about their conversation and his opinion that Jaxon needed peace, quiet, and space in lieu of the crowding in Village Square after his vision and the stress surrounding both it and the mission planning and preparations, he'd agreed that getting Jaxon away from the hustle and bustle would in fact be a good thing. It also helped that their cottage was near their other resident Shadowhunters.

Yes, Aline and Jia had checked in on them both before and after the missions. But Lydia had stayed close to home which had given the brothers a much-needed sense of security. While they knew that Shadowhunters were the minority in Haven, they weren't alone and her company when she'd checked in on them had reminded them of that. As had Izabella's. Despite being incredibly busy that day herself with the angel babies, she'd still found time to make the trip a few times to see them. She'd provided them with good company. And with the girls in tow wearing their Shadowhunter Black it had from what she'd said made the brothers smile. And the girls' antics had even made them laugh which was a good thing. She'd also ensured they'd eaten by providing homecooked Shadowhunter friendly meals. And of course, one of her famous apple cobblers.

He'd also made a stop by his own small cottage and gotten the second goodnight kiss he'd been wanting from his wife and daughter. He'd been there a little longer than he'd planned as his beautiful Dorthea had been more than a little frazzled as the girls had been pretty hyped up, more so than usual. And because his pregnant warlock had been getting distressed by how wound up the girls were, a first, he'd had to do what he could to help.

It hadn't taken much coaxing though to get them to settle down. Not when they were settling into a quickly erected makeshift blanket fort to watch The Little Mermaid. He'd tossed in a small mountain of pillows for them to stretch out on and half a dozen soft blankets for them to snuggle up under. Once they'd stopped moving it hadn't taken them long to crash. And once they had, he'd settled his wife in on the couch with a soft blanket of her own and her feet up to read one of her cheesy romance novels for a bit before she called it a night herself.

Seeing how distressed she'd been when he'd arrived made him think that perhaps this should be the last sleepover she oversaw on her own for a while. Well, until after Baby was born. Their new omegas weren't the only ones battling hormonal changes, changes that can cause one to become distressed easier and faster than they normally would.

His wonderful warlock was battling hormonal changes too, changes Alec would soon be battling in addition to everything else he already had on his plate. And to help his favorite patient through it they'd just have to find ways to make things easier for him wherever they could.

But before heading out to check on Sam and Jaxon he'd stopped by Alec's and looked in on him. He'd been pleased with what he'd found. His favorite patient's vitals had remained stable, and he'd still been sleeping soundly. He hoped that he was having sweet dreams. While he'd been a bit surprised to see that Alec wasn't sleeping deeper than what he was, it had been obvious that he was in REM sleep, dreaming was important for physical, mental, and emotional health. So, until he saw something that made him think that his favorite patient was having a vision and not simply dreaming, he'd see it as a good thing. Even if his dreams weren't of pretty babies and happy times, even if they were just simple mundane dreams that he wouldn't remember, dreaming in and of itself was vital. And if it turned out that it wasn't normal dreaming and that it was in fact another vision, he'd be back at the clinic once he finished here.

But he'd stopped by the house first for a reason. In addition to checking on Alec, it had given him a chance to talk to both Cat and Magnus about the replenishing potion. To ensure that Cat would know what they were looking at he'd taken Stanley's labs with him for her to look over.

After reviewing them, as shocked as she'd been by the seriousness of his condition, she'd felt that the potion would in fact be helpful. She'd also felt that he'd benefit from a blood transfusion first since a transfusion was possible with Emily here. She thought that the potion would be more effective if there was already an increase in his red blood cells, and the fasted way to increase red blood cells was through a transfusion. So, that would be something that he'd be talking to Emily about when he got back to the clinic. Making a mental note to thank her again for watching over both Stanley and the clinic while he was doing these rounds, he knocked on Izabella's door.

"Hey, honey. Come on in." Izabella said as she pulled the door open. She'd been expecting him. She'd known he'd want to check on Samantha and see for himself how she was doing.

"Thanks. Sorry it's so late." He said as he stepped into her small kitchen. He'd hoped to see and talk to Samantha sooner, but he'd been incredibly busy. Unlike in the infirmary, his patients were spread out. So spread out that he'd been through three portals in less than an hour. But using his iratze had helped with the nausea effect that came with moving through so many portals in such a short period of time.

"It's fine. Samantha and I have just been having girl talk." She said as she closed the door behind him. "Isn't that right, Samantha?"

Looking Samantha over at Izabella's small table Luke could see that she was having a hard time. Her eyes were red and puffy from crying, and she was obviously exhausted. Unfortunately, it would be a while before that got better. While he'd brought something to help her sleep, a good night's rest would only do so much with their sit down and her presentation tomorrow. Once she presented, the surge of omega hormones would hit her hard and she'd already be in a delicate state when they did. It made him all the more thankful that she'd have Sam by her side and that she had additional friends here to help her through it. And Izabella.

"Right." Samantha said softly, giving him a small smile. She'd been hoping to see him. While she really liked Izabella and had been glad that Sam had been with her for as long as he was, she'd needed to see that he was as okay as everyone had said he was. And she needed to hear from him what to expect when she presented. Aline had told her that with his help she wouldn't have any pain. Did she like Aline and trust her? Yes. But she trusted Dr. Greymark more.

Luke pulled out a chair at the table and sat. He was sure that Samantha had questions, and he'd do his best to answer the ones he could. But at the same time, he had to assess her mental and emotional state. He knew her parents and how tightknit the Carlight family was firsthand, so he knew that leaving them the way she had would have been incredibly hard on her.

"She didn't eat much." Izabella said. "Maybe you can get her to eat a little more."

"Do you like apple cobbler, Samantha?" He asked. "Izabella makes the best apple cobbler. I was skeptical at first, but I promise you that it really is wonderful and well worth the carbs."

"I've never had it before." Samantha said, shrugging. Most Shadowhunters didn't eat such foods. Too many carbs was hard on the stomach.

"Would you like to try it while we talk?" He asked, knowing that Izabella would have a freshly baked cobbler stashed away somewhere. She seemed to bake at least a few every day. From what he'd come to learn they were a common pregnancy craving here. And with more than a hundred omegas currently residing in Haven, there was always someone pregnant. So, she did her best to keep it on hand.

"I guess." She said, shrugging again.

"Well, lucky for you two I happen to have one left." Izabella said, pulling a covered cobbler from the oven. "I had to hide it from Robert, of course. I always do now that he's home."

"It's weird. Mr. Lightwood." She started. "Robert." She said, correcting herself. "He's so different."

"You'll learn the full story of why he was the way he was in New York when we all sit down tomorrow." Luke said. "But Robert had to be a different person when he was running the Institute. Not to mention that he was an authority figure and was expected to behave in a certain way.

I know that he could be really imposing and intimidating at times. And sometimes he still is. But the side of him you've seen today, I'd seen before a few times back in New York. It wasn't a side he showed often, but it was always in there.

I'm not going to lie to you, Samantha. Tomorrow is going to be hard in a lot of ways. I know you have a lot of questions that haven't been answered yet that we normally would have already answered. But for reasons I can't get into, answering most of those questions have to wait a little while longer."

"Because of Alec. Because he had a vision." She said. "Sam said that Alec has The Sight of The Angel. Please don't be mad at him for telling me. I just needed to know something so I could try to understand."

"Alec's visions aren't a secret. So, no one's going to be mad at Sam for telling you." He said as Izabella sat plates with cobbler slices in front of them. But he'd already known that Sam had told her. Sam had told him that he'd told her. And the few other things he'd already shared to try and ease her mind. "They're just usually something we tell people about during our sit down. But today hasn't been a typical day as far as how our meetings go."

Samantha nodded yes as she picked up her fork. But she wasn't sure that she'd be able to eat the cobbler that had just been placed in front of her. It smelled amazing, but her stomach was in knots.

"I know we studied The Sight of The Angel briefly in our ED classes." She said. "But I didn't really believe that it was an actual thing."

"Do you believe it now?" Luke asked as he took a bite of his cobbler. He wasn't the least bit hungry; the girls had fixed a big special dinner for him and his special friends. But he could always find room for Izabella's cobbler. And he hoped that if Samantha saw him eating, that she would too.

"It's the only thing that makes sense." She said. "Everybody's been asking how he knows the things he knows. How he knows who's going to present as an omega and where they're going to be. I guess visions from The Angel is a logical answer. Sam also told me that I'd hear a lot of other things too. He wouldn't tell me what."

"You will hear a lot of other things." He said. "And some of it will be really hard to hear. A lot of what we have to tell you will shock and astound you. While some of it will be in good ways some of it will be in some not so good ways. It's the not so good that's going to play a part in how hard tomorrow is. It won't just be your presentation."

Samantha nodded yes. She'd figured as much.

"Izabella said that after the meeting you'll take me over to the clinic. And that I'll present there." She said.

"That's right." Luke said. "We have what we call presentation rooms there. Once we get there, we'll get you tucked into bed. To make your presentation painless I'll have to give you some really strong meds, so it'll be important that you're settled in and comfortable. And once your presentation's over, those meds will make you sleepy. You'll get a good nap after. But if you want to see it first, I can take you over in the morning before the meeting."

"I'd like that. Sam, he said he could be there with me." She said, forcing herself to take a small bite of Izabella's cobbler. She almost sighed in pleasure when the flavors exploded in her mouth.

"If that's what you want, he can be there." He said, trying not to smile. He'd seen the flicker of pleasure in her eyes at that first taste of cobbler and knew that this at least she would eat.

"Can Izabella be there too?" She asked, looking up at Izabella as she took a seat at the table with a slice of cobbler of her own. She'd already asked Izabella, and she'd agreed. But she wanted to make sure that it was really okay.

"Again, if that's what you want." He said. But he wasn't surprised by Samantha's request. He'd been expecting it.

"See, honey." Izabella said, squeezing Samantha's free hand on the table. "I told you it would be okay."

Samantha nodded yes again, taking a bigger bite of cobbler. It was delicious. And she thought it would be well worth the carbs.

"Izabella explained to me what would happen during my presentation." She said. "The mechanics. She said that my uterus would expand rapidly. That it's to accommodate more children. And that's why without help it's so painful. Well, in women at least. Sam said that for the boys it's worse because they don't have a uterus to expand."

"He's right. It is worse for male omegas. That's not to say that it's easy for women." He said, not wanting to discount Izabella's experience. Or Lydia's. Or that of any of the other women who'd presented as omegas without help. They'd all suffered through incredibly painful presentations. Thankfully, that was a thing of the past. At least for those they knew would present as omegas. Or could. Gay men stood a fifty-fifty chance. "But yours will be painless. I promise. Did she tell you anything about after?"

"Just that my hormones will be all over the place for a while." She said before taking another bite of cobbler.

"For a few days. And you'll have some soreness and fatigue. I'll make sure you have everything you need on hand for that. But that's why I'm glad that Izabella has asked you to stay here with her. She knows what it's like to present as an omega and she's pretty good at looking after people when they need a little looking after." He said, giving Izabella a wink. "I know that you wish your parents could be with you. But I can promise you, Izabella will take good care of you once you leave the clinic. And I'll also be coming around to look in on you.

While it might be hard for a while try not to forget that you have friends here. Sam and Andy, you've already spent time with. And Aline. Lydia will be coming around, I'm sure. But there's also Alec and Isabelle. Jace and Clary. Simon too, of course. It'll probably be a few days before you see Danny and Jaxon. Jaxon just presented yesterday so he's still dealing with the hormonal aspect and a little soreness himself.

And if you don't mind the company of us old fogies from time to time, I'm not the only one here. Robert's also here as you know. As is Jia. And just today three others joined us from New York. You'll be seeing them in the morning. When we all sit down, we'll also be sitting down with Dr. Starkweather, Ms. Sarah, and Ms. Emily."

"Really?" She asked, shocked. Sam had told her that a second rescue mission had taken place in New York, but he hadn't told her any details.

"Really." He said, pleased when she unconsciously ate the last bite of cobbler on her plate. "Obviously, none of them are going to present as omegas. But there's a reason why we went for them. We'll get into the details of that tomorrow too."

Samantha nodded yes yet again, licking her lips. She was sure that what she'd just eaten had to be the best thing she'd ever tasted. She understood now why Robert loved his mother's cobbler so much.

"But as I said, there'll be a few of us old fogies around." Luke said, smiling when Izabella slid her untouched plate in front of Samantha.

"There you go, honey." Izabella said. She hadn't actually wanted the piece of cobbler she'd sliced and put on her plate. She'd hoped the girl would eat the first piece she'd given her and had decided she'd to have a second one ready and waiting just in case she wanted more.

"But that's yours." Samantha protested.

"There's plenty more where it came from, so you go on ahead and enjoy." She said.

Samantha chewed her lip for a moment. She hadn't been the least bit hungry when she'd taken that first wonderful bite, her stomach had been too tied up in knots. But it only took a second for her to realize that she wanted more.

"Thank you." She said, forking up a bite. "Is Sam okay? He didn't look very good when he left."

"He'll be fine." Luke said, pleased that she was eating a second piece. He was struggling to finish the piece on his own plate. Izabella sliced her cobblers generously. But he'd finish it because it was too good to waste. "He did a lot today, a lot more than was initially planned. As you know, he didn't have help through his presentation. So it's taking him a little longer to recover than it will you. He's almost there, but today did leave him a little sore and more than a little drained. I'd say he's probably asleep by now. I left him something to ease the pain and help him sleep."

"I'm glad he has Andy with him." She said. "I don't know how I didn't see it before. I should have. I mean, I've known them both for years. But seeing them today, I don't know how they hid their feelings. You can see how much they love each other just in how they look at one another."

"You can." He said. "But they felt they had no choice but to hide it. I'm sure it wasn't easy. Hiding something as big as love from people you really care about, it's hard. But in the world you just left, sometimes it's necessary."

Izabella couldn't help but think that Luke wasn't just thinking of Sam and Andy when he'd said those words. He'd had to hide love too. But he'd had to hide more than just a truly forbidden love, he'd had to hide a forbidden family. So, if anyone understood how hard it had been for Sam and Andy to hide their feelings from even their closest friends it was Luke.

"I just wish they'd felt like they could have told me." Samantha said. "Sam's always been a really good friend. But I get it. Being gay's a really taboo thing. I would have understood. And I wouldn't have told. I guess they just didn't want to risk it. Especially after seeing how things changed for Alec after he presented. Still, I wish I'd known. I feel like I should have known. That I should have seen it, you know? Because they're my friends. And because I didn't in a way I feel like I let them down."

"You didn't." Luke said. "They did everything they could think of to make sure that no one suspected. Not even their friends. So, don't take that on. They wouldn't want that."

"I know." She said, pushing her plate away. There were a few bites left, but she was full. And thinking of how she'd failed her friends by not seeing what was right in front of her and knotted her stomach up again. She knew that Dr. Greymark was right but knowing it and feeling it were two different things.

"Do you have any other questions you want to ask me?" He asked, hoping that she didn't. They'd covered everything they could tonight, and it was late. She'd had a hard and emotional day and needed to get some rest. And now that she had something on her stomach, he could give her the meds he'd brought her.

"I think I have about a million more questions. But I think they're all questions for tomorrow." She said.

"You're probably right." He said. "It's getting pretty late, and you've had a hard day. You should get some rest."

"I don't think I can sleep." She said. She had so much on her mind, and she didn't think she'd be able to shut it off.

"I brought something that will help." He said, pulling a foil packet from his pocket and sliding it across the table to her.

Samantha nodded yes, lifting the packet from the table. While she wasn't sure it would work, she was willing to give it a try. Today had been hard. Leaving her parents the way she had was the hardest thing she'd ever done. She knew that they had to be going out of their minds with worry despite the letter she'd sent assuring them that she was okay. And she knew that they wouldn't stop worrying. Not until they could hold her in their arms again. And she ached to be in them. The ache was so deep it was almost painful. But maybe if she could escape into sleep, it would ease that ache and the guilt she felt for hurting them.

Pushing the pill from the packet she popped it in her mouth and swallowed it with a sip of water from her glass.

"How long will it take?" She asked.

"Not long." Luke said. "The sooner you settle in the better."

"Come on, honey. Everything's ready for you in Gideon's old room." Izabella said as she climbed from her seat. "Cat brought you some clothes based on the sizes you gave her. Let's go find you something comfortable to sleep in and get you tucked into bed."

"Okay." She said, climbing from her seat. She really was tired. But her mind, it was still working a mile a minute. She hoped that whatever it was she'd just taken would shut it off for a while. "Thank you for coming to see me. Everyone had said that you were okay. But I'd still needed to see it for myself."

"Well, now you've seen it." Luke said. "Sleep well. I'll see you in the morning."

Samantha nodded yes as Izabella led her from the small kitchen into an adjoining room.

Luke watched as Izabella closed the door behind her. He knew that she'd settle Samantha into Gideon's childhood bed and sit with her until she fell asleep. And once she was, she'd send word. Climbing from his seat he carried the plates to the small sink. The least he could do is clean up before he left. So, that's what he'd do.

____________________

Calm, relaxed, and at ease. That's what Alec felt as he gazed out at the sparkling water of the pond. The sun beating down was warm, not hot. And the soft breeze coming off the water was cool, not cold. It was perfect. A perfect day.

For the first time in longer than he could remember, his mind was blissfully blank. He was at peace. But he knew that it wouldn't last. He knew that this wasn't real. He wasn't really at the pond. He didn't know how he knew that it was just a dream. He just knew that it was. And that this time he was waiting for her.

He didn't know how long he'd been there. Time seemed inconsequential as he gazed out at the still water. But he supposed that it was in dreams.

"I've been waiting for you." He said when he caught sight of her out of his peripheral.

"I know." Belle said as she sat down beside him on the soft green grass. "I was going to come to you, but somehow you summoned me."

"How's that possible?" He asked, turning to look at her. She was older this time. If he had to guess, he'd say around sixteen. And like always, she looked so much like his baby sister had at that age.

"I don't know." She said, her brows furrowed as she thought.

"I am dreaming, right?" He asked.

"You are." She said.

"But you're really here. Like when you came to me last time, you're actually here." He said. "Or am I just dreaming that you are?"

"Of course, you're dreaming that I am, silly. Because you are dreaming." She said. "But that doesn't make my being here any less real. Well, as real as it can be being that I'm dead.

I suppose my being here is like the visions that come to you in dreams of things that are actively happening. As you know, just because it comes to you in a dream it doesn't make what you see any less real. Jia being alive and well is proof of that."

Alec nodded yes.

"You said that I summoned you. Do you know why?" He asked.

"Don't you?" She countered.

"No. I just knew that I was waiting for you." He said.

"Well, perhaps why will come to you while we talk." She said. "I'm actually glad that you somehow managed to summon me and that I didn't have to seek you out. As it was you who pulled me in, I didn't have to push into your resting mind to reach you. So, you won't wake in pain."

"I think I know why I wanted to talk to you." He said as memories of the day flashed before his eyes. "Something's happened. I don't know what. I just know it's bad. My gut..."

"Is telling you that something's wrong." She said, cutting him off. "Yes. You've always been able to sense when there's trouble or danger. We're not sure how."

"I don't understand. It's not part of my gift? It's not from having The Sight of The Angel?" He asked.

"It is a gift, most definitely." She said. "But it has nothing to do with you having The Sight of The Angel. You've always had incredibly strong instincts, Alec. And you've always been very in-tune with both the people and the world around you. But what your gut tells you, oftentimes that's something more. I suppose you could call it an enhanced knowing. And at times, a kind of foresight. Take your ability to sense and locate demons at a distance for instance. You just know what and where they are. And that started long before The Angel bestowed The Sight on you. In truth, those particular gifts are more attributed to prophets than those with The Sight of The Angel."

"So, you're telling me I'm a prophet now?" He asked, arching his brow.

"No. But you certainly are an enigma. An incredibly gifted one at that." She said. "No one understands the full scope of what you can do, Alec. Not even The Angel. The only thing we're certain of is that you'll do more. So much more than you ever have before. And that you'll do things that have never been done. That's part of what I'm here to tell you.

Now that you've taken the next step in your destiny by gaining magic, instincts that have lain dormant since your birth are awakening. You were always meant to have magic. And being Papa's fated mate, it was only a matter of time before you got it. Now that you have it, you must use it."

"I don't know how." He said, trying to process everything she'd said. It was a lot to take in.

"You know more than you think you do." She said. "As I said, new instincts are awakening. And as more time passes, more will awaken. Is there a great deal about magic that Papa will teach you? Yes. But there are some things that you're just going to know. I don't know why you doubt that." She said when she saw the skepticism in his eyes. "It's no different than any of the other things that you've always just known. And what you can already do with your magic, it's no different than any of the other things that you've just been able to do."

"But I can't do anything with my magic." He said.

"Can't and haven't are two different things." She said. "Just because you haven't done anything with your magic yet doesn't mean that you can't. Can you do everything you'll one day be able to do? No. Of course not. You'll have to study and learn and train like any other warlock. But there are some things that you can do now. You just have to do them."

"By following my newly awoken instincts?" He asked.

"Yes." She said. "You told me when I arrived that your gut is telling you that something has happened. Something bad. That knowledge comes from your instincts. Even in sleep, you're sensing trouble. And not for the first time, I might add.

As of yet no one has told you about the missions or what was discovered today. You were in no condition for it once everyone had returned. While you may not like it, Luke did what was necessary by forcing you into sleep. But the distress of those around you, the worry and fear and anger they're trying to keep contained, you're picking up on it.

As I said, you've always been very in-tune with the people and the world around you. You're even more so, I think, with those you care about. And it's because you are that even now, even in Luke's drug induced sleep you can feel that something is amiss."

"Okay." He said, sighing. "So, what's wrong and what does my magic and new instincts have to do with it?"

"Before we get into that, there's something I wish to say plainly for you need to hear it and accept it." She said. "I'm well aware that you have doubts about your magic. About how much you have and if it will be of any help in this war. I'm also aware that Papa has tried to tell you, that he's tried to assure you that you did gain magic during your claiming. But despite his efforts, you still have doubts. You cannot continue to doubt this, Alec. You cannot continue to doubt yourself and what's inside you. All you're doing in doing so is holding yourself back. That must stop.

You did gain magic. A great deal of it. If you hadn't, you wouldn't be able to feel your babies the way you can. And as for this war, using what you have will play a vital part in saving a lot of lives.

As for today, first, it was discovered that Dr. Starkweather is a descendant."

"What?" He asked, shocked. "No."

"Every tree bears rotten fruit, Alec." She said. "But not all fruit on even the rottenest trees is bad. You know this. Clarissa and Jace are proof of that. As are you and your sister. You are more than just Lightwood's. You're also the fruit of Mayrse's womb and she's as rotten as Imogen Herondale is. I think we can agree that the mother of your birth is what you would call a descendant."

He nodded yes. He knew that she was right. It was something he tried hard not to think about, and never talked about. But just like his Clare-Bear and little brother, he and his Izzy-Diz are descendants too. He just hadn't expected Dr. Starkweather to be one. Why, he couldn't say. Maybe because outside of his team all of the descendants they'd been able to identify were all on what he called Team Evil. Well, there was one that he wasn't sure about. Jake Brookwater, a distant cousin on Mayrse's side. But he supposed they'd find out soon enough where Jake stood in this.

"You said something when it first occurred to you that you could use the Lightwood and Penhallow books to identify descendants." She said. "You said that you weren't looking for a bad apple. You were looking for bushels. You weren't looking for names that were written once or twice. You were looking for names that were written again and again."

"I remember." He said. He remembered that day and its miseries all to well.

"The Clave, unfortunately, isn't looking at their records the same way." She said. "They don't care if a name in their archives was written once or a hundred times. Yes, they approached those whose family names appeared multiple times first. But now that they've mostly worked through those, they're looking at the others. And they're not happy with the results they're getting.

They don't see things the way we do, Alec. You know that. What we see as rotten, they see as fresh and ripe. In their eyes, it's the ones that shy away from them that are rotten. They see the acts perpetrated in the past as good works done by noble and honorable Shadowhunters. They see no horror in what was done or in what they're doing because they are rotten."

"What are they doing, Belle?" He asked, a ball of dread settling solidly in his belly. His gut had been right. Something really was wrong, and of course, the Clave was behind it.

Belle sighed.

"I don't think I have to tell you that Dr. Starkweather is a good and honorable man." She said.

"No, you don't." He said. "I've known him all my life and I know the kind of man he is. They did something to him, didn't they? They hurt him."

"Yes." She said. "They did to him what they're doing to everyone who turns them down."

"What did they do?" He asked, knowing that he wasn't going to like the answer.

"You must know, The Angel wasn't aware of what was happening. The Silent Brothers were taking great care to hide what they were doing. That would lead one to believe that they know that what they're doing is wrong, so they've been taking measures to conceal it." She said. "That said, it wasn't until today when Clarissa saw it that The Angel became aware. Please know that he's working to identify who else this was done to."

"Who what was done to?" He asked. He was running out of patience. "Please, just spit it out."

"Those like Dr. Starkweather, those who've said no are being branded as traitors with the traitor's mark." She said. "They just don't know it. All they know is that The Silent Brothers are applying new runes after their refusals. Runes that keep them from talking and that force them to follow the Clave's instructions.

Clarissa broke three runes on Dr. Starkweather before she got to the traitor's mark. It was hidden beneath a tracking rune much more powerful than any that has been used in centuries. The silencing rune. And the obedience rune. The silencing rune is keeping those they've branded quiet. The obedience rune, while it's helping with the silencing, if it's not removed it can be used for so much more. It can be used to force these Shadowhunters to do the very things they've refused to do."

"So, it doesn't matter that they've said no." He said. "The Clave can make them do whatever they want anyway."

"Yes." She said. "From what The Angel has seen, they haven't used it to force those they've runed to harm anyone. Thus far, it's simply being used alongside the silencing rune to keep them quiet. But the runes aren't the problem. Not yet. It's what's beneath them that is. How familiar are you with the traitor's mark?"

"I've heard of it." He said. "I know that Shadowhunters that have been deemed traitors are marked with it after their deaths. And that Clary was present when it was put on Valentine before his burial."

"And that is why she recognized it as quickly as she did despite her familiarity with The Gray Book." She said. "Now I'm going to tell you what I told your father and Luke."

"Wait, you saw my dad and Luke?" He asked.

"In New York, yes." She said. "When The Angel saw the traitor's mark on Dr. Starkweather, he sent me to help. You seem surprised. I'm not sure why. I've been to your Institute many times over the years.

You couldn't see me. Not then. But I was there when you and your sister were born. Your father wasn't alone when he sat at your sides. I was also there when you were sick as a boy and after your fall. Just as I was there after the war and both during and after your presentation. I know that there were times when you felt completely and utterly alone, but you weren't. More often than not, I was there."

He nodded yes. He didn't know what to say to that. So, he'd focus on what was important right now.

"The traitor's mark." He said.

"The traitor's mark is meant for the dead and the dead alone." She said. "It's deadly to the living. If the marks aren't removed, everyone who has it will die. It's a slow death. And a painful one."

"And this is on Dr. Starkweather." He said, taking a deep breath in.

"Yes." She said. "This mark being branded on the living, it's a perversion of sacred magic, Alec. Of angelic magic."

"How do we remove it?" He asked.

"We don't." She said. "It's you who must remove it. These marks are being applied during a ritual using angelic magic and only someone with both angelic blood and magic can remove them. That's you.

As for Dr. Starkweather, I was able to conceal the mark and the magic within it for a time so that they could get him out of the Institute. I also contained the magic in the mark itself to keep it from spreading further and causing more harm. The mark, it acts much like poison. Luke is tending to him, but it's not good. Dr. Starkweather has borne the mark for weeks, and it's done a great deal of damage."

"And I'm supposed to remove it?" He asked.

"You're the only one who can." She said. "And you have most of what you need to do it."

"What am I missing?" He asked.

Crooking her finger, she beckoned him closer.

Alec leaned in, listening to her whispered words.

"Now you have all you need." She said when she leaned back.

Alec nodded yes as the words swirled around and around in his head, as he committed them to memory. He knew they were Enochian, a dead language. But he knew enough of it to understand them.

"Remember. Follow your instincts." She said. "If you do, and you use what I've just given you, you'll be able to remove the mark from Dr. Starkweather."

"And the others?" He asked. "You said that this was being done to everyone who's turned the Clave down."

"As I said, The Angel is working to identify everyone who's been marked." She said. "While he can't see the future, he can look to the past. In doing so he's already identified ten others that have been marked. You'll have their names and know their Institutes before you wake. As more are discovered, you'll be made aware.

I don't know how you're going to help them, Alec. I truly don't. But you have to. You have to find a way. If you don't more innocent people will die."

"I'll find a way. I promise." He said.

Belle smiled. She didn't doubt that he'd do everything possible to save as many people as he possibly could during this war. He wouldn't limit his efforts to omegas, their mates, and families. Or to those of mixed species like little Ziva. And the fact that he wouldn't was one of the many reasons why he'd been chosen by The Angel to lead this effort and hopefully put an end to a war that has waged for far too long.

"Dr. Starkweather. Will Luke be able to help him? Can he save him with the damage that's been done?" He asked.

"Yes." She said. "Though I feel that I owe you an apology. You asked me just this morning if Luke's team was in danger and I told you that they weren't. I was wrong. I'm sorry."

"It's not your fault. If The Angel didn't know, there's no way that you could have. But The Silent Brothers, are they still doing this?" He asked. He'd do whatever he could to undo what The Silent Brothers had already done for as many people as he could. How he was going to do that, he had no idea. Not yet anyway. But this had to stop. The Silent Brothers had to be stopped.

"Leave The Silent Brothers to The Angel." She said. "In looking to the past, he's seen which of them have had a hand in this and they'll pay for their crimes. And the price will be a steep one. In doing the Clave's bidding, they've broken sacred laws that have been in place for centuries. In truth, in following the Clave's orders they themselves have become traitors. The oath they swear when they enter the brotherhood isn't to serve the Clave. Their oath is sworn to the Shadowhunter World as a whole. It is the Shadowhunters of the world they're meant to serve."

"I didn't know that." He said. "I thought they answered to the Clave."

"As does most everyone else. Perhaps the Brothers that have done the Clave's bidding believe that too." She said. "But they don't answer to the Clave. They answer to The Angel. And he's angry.

I'll admit, this pains me greatly. The Silent Brothers, they're supposed to be keepers of knowledge, educators, and to a degree healers. But with this, if you don't remove those marks, some will become killers."

"So, no pressure." He said.

"I have faith that you can do what needs to be done." She said. "As does The Angel. You just have to have it in yourself."

"That's easier said than done." He said.

"Not really." She said. "Trust your instincts. They may be new when it comes to your magic, but they're strong. They won't fail you if you follow them."

He nodded yes.

"Out of those that The Angel has identified, do you know if one of them is Jake Brookwater?" He asked, thinking again of his cousin.

"I don't know the identities of anyone The Angel has identified." She said. "But if your cousin is amongst them, you'll know when you open your eyes."

"You know he's my cousin?" He asked, mildly surprised.

"Of course, I do." She said. "He may not be a Lightwood, but he's your kin. And what's yours is mine just as what's mine is yours."

He nodded yes again

"I wish I could stay, but I must leave you now." She said.

"But I have more questions." He said, reaching for her arm before she could stand. It surprised him that he could touch her. But he supposed that it shouldn't. This was his dream after all.

"You always do." She said. "But I've given you all the answers that I have."

"Your other father's name." He said. "You have to know it. Or are you're not allowed to tell me?"

Belle sighed

"There's a time and place for everything, Alec, and it's not time for his name to be known yet. You were right that it was intentionally kept out of Da's journal. My father's identity, it was and has been a carefully guarded secret. So much so that Uncle Ragnor used his memory potion on Nana Cat."

"Why?" He asked. "Why was keeping it a secret so important?"

"My Da and father lived during a time when the Clave in power didn't just kill omegas, their mates, and children." She said. "In many cases, their families were also eradicated. And because of that everything that could be done to ensure that my father's family remained untouched was done. His family line could not be allowed to die out.

I know that learning his identity is important to you and why. You want him acknowledged. I can't tell you how much that means to me. But if I tell you, you will have to keep his identity to yourself. You won't be able to tell anyone. Not even Papa. That won't be easy. In all honesty, it will be incredibly hard.

All knowing his name now will do is force you to keep yet another secret and lay more weight on your already heavily weighed down shoulders. But I'll leave the choice to you. I can tell you if you give your word that you will tell no one. Or I can keep it to myself, and it can come to light when it's meant to. And it is meant to."

He was torn. He wanted to know who Gideon's mate was. He needed to know who it was he saw die at Gideon's side that night. But he didn't want to keep anymore secrets than he already had to. And if she said that keeping it would be hard, he believed her.

"I don't even know what to call him, Belle." He said, defeated. "I watched him die fighting to save his children. And I watched him fall at Gideon's side. He's my family. He's our blood. And I..." He started, unsure how to finish.

"Nate." She said. "You can call him Nate."

"Nate. Do I have to keep that to myself? Or is it something I can share?" He asked.

"That you can share." She said.

"Thank you." He said.

"You're welcome. But I really must go now. You'll wake soon and you still have to see." She said.

"So, I'm going to wake up in pain after all." He said.

"No. Not this time." She said, brushing a lock of soft raven hair out of his eyes. "Now, close your eyes."

Taking a deep breath in, he closed his eyes. There was a split second of darkness before a barrage of faces and places flashed before his eyes. Ten faces, ten places. As the last face faded away, he found himself standing in the vault. On the pedestal in front of him stood The Book of the Red. Unlike when he'd seen it before, no blood was running down the gleaming mahogany the book sat on to puddle on the floor. But it sat open. Stepping towards it he saw a familiar handwriting. Not knowing how much time he had he read the page quickly.

Loyalists

Mayrse Brookwater Lightwood (Alpha) Alicante

Malachi Dieudonné (Alpha) Alicante

Victor Aldertree (Beta) Alicante

Erik Aldertree (Beta) Idris

Kevin Aldertree (Beta) Idris

Damian Aldertree - Idris

Derrick Ravenwolf (Alpha) Idris

Melinda Ravenwolf (Beta) Idris

Mark Ravenwolf (Alpha) Idris

Charles Whitepine (Beta) New York

Nicholas Whitepine (Beta) New York

Mary Rosewood (Beta) New York

Steven Rosewood (Alpha) New York

Brock Rockford (Alpha) New York

Thomas Rockford (Beta) New York

Charles Underhill (Beta) Mumbai

Melissa Underhill (Beta) Mumbai

Colin Underhill - Mumbai

Brandy Nighthawk (Beta) Los Angeles

Elijah Greentree (Beta) Iceland

Mariah Greentree (Beta) Iceland

Kevin Whitepine – Peru

For months they'd been working to identify descendants who were working for the Clave using the Lightwood and Penhallow books. But The Angel was showing him the Clave's list of loyalists, Shadowhunters who'd been approached that had said yes when asked to become murders. Was he sure this list would grow as the Clave approached others? Yes. But now he didn't just have the names and faces of the ten descendants who'd turned the Clave down, he had a list of those who were active threats.

Before he could reach out to turn the page, to see what else he could learn, the room spun and faded away.

____________________

Chocolate, vanilla, coffee, and musk. That's what Alec smelled as he drifted towards the surface of sleep. He smiled when he heard it, his warlock's soft little snores. He hadn't told his husband that he snored. He just took the lighthearted teasing he got for his own snoring. But his alpha's was cute too.

His smiled widened when his still heavy eyes opened. He was almost nose to nose with his warlock, their heads resting on the same pillow. At some point, they must have turned in towards each other. Looking down he found a poor Chairman wedged between them. But he wasn't worried that they were squishing him. Chairman was snoring away too.

He almost sighed when he looked at his wrist and found his watch gone. He was sure that it was Luke who'd taken in. His favorite doctor had a thing about his patients watching the time. He didn't want them worrying about it. That's why there were no clocks in the infirmary and why watches along with anything else that told time were taken when patients were stripped out of their gear and clothes. It was a measure meant to reduce stress. But it didn't always work. For him it just made his time in the infirmary feel endless.

Moving as carefully as he could to not wake his sleeping husband, he rolled to look at the beside clock. 3:22 am. It was early, very early, but he needed to get up. He remembered his dream perfectly. It was as clear as if the encounter had actually happened which he supposed it had in a way. No, the pond hadn't been real. But Belle being there and their conversation had been very real. He also remembered what he'd seen afterward. Ten faces and ten places. Some of the people he'd been shown he knew while some were strangers. Regardless, he knew the names of everyone he'd seen and their Institutes. Somehow the information was just there.

But his dream and what he'd been shown after wasn't all he'd seen. He also remembered every name he'd seen written in The Book of The Red. He could still see the open book in his mind's eyes and smell the wet ink. That made him think that seeing it was a last-minute addition to what The Angel had wanted to show him. For the ink to still be wet, Imogen had to have just added a name or names to the page.

Sitting up slowly, he was relieved when neither his alpha or Chairman stirred. His husband looked exhausted, and there was no need to wake him. Not yet. Pushing the duvet back, he climbed carefully out of bed. It was a relief that he didn't feel weak or unsteady. Moving quietly towards the door he eased it open before slipping out and pulling it shut behind him.

____________________

Flipping the lights on, Alec stepped into his OP's center. Moving quickly to the whiteboard, he grabbed a marker and added the names he'd seen in The Book of The Red to the list of descendants they'd already started. Once finished, he started a new list. He wrote out the ten names of those The Angel knew had already been branded with the traitor's mark by the Clave.

Bradley Branwell

Raj Greentree

Elizabeth Greentree

Hannah Brookwater

Jake Brookwater

Melissa Merrygold

Adam Merrygold

Hodge Starkweather

Viktoria Ravenwolf

Alan Nighthawk

He thought for a moment of what he knew about these people. Bradley Branwell was Lydia's father. He'd met him a few times and found him nice enough. But Lydia had said that he hadn't been very accepting of him presenting as an omega. And because he hadn't been she'd feared that he wouldn't accept her now that she'd presented as one. But it would seem that his attitude towards omegas had changed. At least in the sense that he wasn't willing to kill them for the Clave. But in seeing his name, he realized that there was yet another descendant amongst them. The Branwell's were descendants too.

It made him wonder just how many of the Shadowhunters out there today had ancestors who'd been cold blooded killers. As for the Branwell's, he'd have to ask Lydia how many others there are because if there are more and he hadn't been given their names it meant that they'd either said yes to the Clave or that they hadn't been approached yet.

He wasn't sure why, but he was surprised to see that both Raj and Elizabeth Greentree had said no. Well, he was more surprised by Raj than Elizabeth. He supposed it was because Raj had tried to kill him once already. But that was a long time ago and they'd been kids. So, it was time to let that go. Raj and Elizabeth needed them, and they couldn't let what happened then dictate how they handled the now. Would it be easy for his family to let it go? Especially his dad? No. But they had to.

Chewing his lip, he put a star beside their names. While Raj and Elizabeth had said no, their parents hadn't. Elijah and Mariah Greentree were already on the first list he'd made, the list of loyalists. 'A family divided.' He thought, remembering what he'd said to Dot on the last day of his honeymoon. This war will divide families. It will divide loyalties. And he'd been right. The Shadowhunter World didn't even know they were at war yet, but it would seem that the divisions had already started.

And it wasn't just the Greentree's that had names on both lists. Mayrse Lightwood had been born Mayrse Brookwater. Her cousin, Hannah Brookwater was Jake's mother. While he didn't know much about the Brookwater line, he knew that Hannah and Jake weren't all that were left. That meant that just like with the Branwell's there were others who'd either said yes or hadn't been approached yet. But there was also another possibility. There could be people from any of these families that had been approached that had said no that they just didn't know about yet. The Angel was still looking to the past for everyone who'd been branded with the traitor's mark and his gut was telling him that there'd be at least a few more people from these families that The Angel would discover had been marked.

His gut was also telling him that the list he'd seen of loyalists didn't have the names of everyone who'd agreed to become killers for the Clave. It was telling him that there were others. He'd only seen the one page in The Book of The Red. He hadn't been able to turn it before he'd woken up. If he could have, he thought he might have seen more. But what he had seen was enough for now. It told him not just some of who'd agreed to pick up the mantle of their ancestors but also that they'd have to find a way to reach two soon to present omegas a lot sooner than they'd originally planned.

Elizabeth Greentree and Viktoria Ravenwolf would both be presenting as omegas in less than two weeks. But they didn't have two weeks to figure out how to save them. Not with them both having been branded with the traitor's mark. So, they'd have to get to them soon. Very soon. But he put a star beside Viktoria's name too. She was Mark Ravenwolf's little sister. 'Another family divided.' He thought.

He'd have to ask his dad about the Merrygold line. Or Jia. Possibly Luke. One of them had to know if Melissa, Adam's mother, and Adam were the last of that line. But he didn't think that they were.

He wasn't the least bit surprised that Hodge had said no. While he hadn't seen him in eight years, he'd gotten to know Hodge well when he'd been a trainer at the Institute. It had been Hodge that had started his training in secret when he'd been a little boy and he remembered him fondly. Could Hodge be harsh and strict during training at times? Yes. But sometimes it had been necessary. As for the Clave, he wouldn't be surprised if Hodge had said more than no. The man he'd known would have told them where they could stick it.

The last name he knew that he'd have to ask Luke about. Alan Nighthawk. Dr. Alan Nighthawk. He didn't know much about Dr. Nighthawk. Only that he's a great doctor, an anesthesiologist to be exact, and that he was one of his favorite doctor's mentors. Well, that and that they're both from the Chicago Institute.

He couldn't help but wonder about Dr. Nighthawk. For him to have been one of Luke's mentors when he'd started his extended Med ED more than twenty years ago, he'd be old enough to know that omegas had existed in the Shadowhunter World a mere forty years ago. Not over two hundred as Shadowhunters had been taught for at least two generations.

He wished he knew how long it had been since each of these people had been branded with the traitor's mark. He may not know much about it, but he knew that the longer they bore it the more damage it would do. He needed to talk to Luke. He had to find out not just how long Dr. Starkweather has had the mark and how sick he is but about the kind of damage it was doing. He needed to know what the people he'd been shown were going through.

Grabbing a pad of paper and a pen off the round table he quickly wrote down the ten names. While it was still early, he was sure that he'd find Luke awake and over at the clinic watching over Dr. Starkweather. So, he'd leave a note for his warlock letting him know where he was going, and he'd go see his favorite doctor. They didn't have time to waste. For those who'd been branded, time wasn't on their side.

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