Disclaimer: SOME of the dialogue in this chapter, all characters (but Grace and Philip), the main story line and settings belong to the amazing Cassandra Clare. Grace, Philip and my own story plot belong to me. The Infernal Devices do not belong to me.
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'Got fist of pure emotion
Got a head of shattered dreams
Gotta leave it, gotta leave it all behind now

Whatever I said, whatever I did,
I didn't mean it
I just want you back for good.'

-Back For Good, Take That

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-*-*-*-*- Grace -*-*-*-*-

"What are you doing in here?" Grace asked as she entered the training room, dressed in her usual gear. Her voice echoed around the rafters that she would usually practise her flips and jumps from.

Her question was directed at the dark haired girl who was standing in the middle of the room, attempting to throw knives at on of the targets painted on the wall. Cecily blew some of her hair out of her face. It has been a few weeks since she had made her surprise appearance at the Institute, and saying that Will was not happy was an understatement. Grace had found out later that night what Tessa had said to him beforehand. Having that kind of rejection and then his sister turning up was almost too much for him. She couldn't even begin to imagine what Will was going through.

"Practising," Cecily replied curtly, not even turning to look at Grace. Grace smirked to herself and lent on the nearby wall.

"Then you won't mind me watching," she said. Cecily gave her one of Will's deadly looks but didn't say anything. She turned back to the target and threw her knife. It hit the wall and clattered to the floor.

"Don't laugh," Cecily barked at Grace as she stalked to the target and swept up the knife from the floor. "I don't have your years of training. And since no one is offering to train me to defend myself, I'm trying to make do on my own."

"I'm not going to laugh," Grace said, pushing off the wall and going towards Cecily. "And don't worry, I'm not going to give you Will's trademark cold shoulder either."

"Then what are you doing here?" Cecily asked, somewhat dubious.

"Well, Will is brooding in the library so I can't go there," she said. "Jem is currently with Mr Lightwood, and you will know by now that Gideon isn't one for conversation. And Tessa is looking at wedding cakes with Charlotte, which is pure torture if you ask me. So, I have come to the conclusion that, as nobody is around, I can train you without getting killed by your brother."

"So you think you can waltz in here and- wait, did you say you'll train me?" Cecily was so shocked that Grace could help but laugh.

"Yes, no need to act all surprised," she said. Cecily shoved the knife she was holding into Grace's hands.

"Show me how to throw knives," she said rapidly. Then she looked around, her eyes wide. "Or how to use a sword. No, no, no, teach me how to shoot a crossbow." Grace laughed and shook her head at the other girl's questions.

"You are not getting any weapons training yet," she told Cecily. "Not until you learn a little more about Shadowhunter history and culture." Cecily crossed her arms and gave Grace a look which she just shrugged at.

"Look, you need to understand that we are not the monsters your mother told you about," Grace said then smiled a little at Cecily's expression. "Yes, Will told me about that.'

"Will seems to tell you a lot," she muttered.

"He's my best friend," Grace replied. "Of course he'll tell me everything. But if you're jealous of me, I'm nothing compared to Jem." Cecily pouted when she understood what Grace was alluding to.

Will was never going to go home if it meant leaving Jem.

"So, what was this Shadowhunter culture you were going to tell me about?" Cecily said to break the silence. Grace smirked.

"Come with me," she said. "And I'll show you." She turned and walked out of the training room, not bothering to see if Cecily was following. After a moment, she heard her pattering footsteps behind. Cecily followed her through the halls of the Institute until they finally at a stop at the Grand Entrance, just on top of the stairs.

"All right then," Grace said. "Turn around." Cecily did as instructed, her back to the banister. On the wall in front of her, was a huge tapestry. Grace smiled as Cecily looked in wonder at the bright colours in the picture.

"What is it?" she asked.

"That," Grace said, pointing to the figure in the middle of the tapestry, "Is the Angel Raziel. He's the angel who was summoned by Johnathan Shadowhunter, the first of our kind. Johnathan was part of a war against demons that started hundreds of years ago. But the Earth was losing. Mundanes weren't strong enough to defeat the demons."

"So what did he do?" Clearing her throat, Grace continued.

"Well, as I said, he summoned an angel," Grace explained. "When you summon an angel, you have the power to ask of him one thing, and the Angel has to grant it. Johnathan asked for a way to make men stronger to fight demons. The answer was Shadowhunters. A race that is faster, stronger and smarter than regular mundanes, who's mandate would be to fight demons and clear them from this Earth. A mandate that might never be seen through..."

"What's Raziel holding?" Cecily asked.

"Those are the Mortal Instruments," Grace answered. "The Mortal Cup is what held Raziel's and Johnathan's blood so others could drink it and become Shadowhunters. We can use it today to create more but it is dangerous. You have to be the right candidate, otherwise you could turn forsaken."

"I've read about the Mortal Sword," Cecily said. "It makes Shadowhunters tell the truth, doesn't it?"

"Yes, very good," Grace said. "We use it during trials and Council meetings. The third Instrument is the Mortal Glass, or the Mortal Mirror. No one knows where it is. It was lost through time."

"Oh, but surely it would be in the tapestry, wouldn't it?" Cecily asked.

"You can try to find it," Grace laughed. "But you'll be there for a very long time." Cecily stepped back, leaning on the banister of the staircase.

"So why are you telling me this?" Cecily asked, a knowing smirk on her face. "There's a reason, isn't there?"

"In order for me to train you, you need to know about who we really are and why we do this," Grace explained. "You've grown up hearing tales of how cruel us Shadowhunters are, forcing people to fight demons. But you have to understand, Shadowhunters live for battle. We are not cruel, we fight to save mundanes, Downworlders and every living thing on this Earth. I was hoping to help you understand that."

Grace watched Cecily's face carefully. She could see the conflict within her. She wanted to take her brother home and live with her parents without any worry that someone would come and take them away. But deeper down, Grace could tell she was thrilled by the ongoing battle between Shadowhunters and demons. She wanted to be part of it.

"We'll continue tomorrow," Grace said, turning away to walk back into the Institute.

"Thank you, Grace," Cecily said, making Grace freeze. "For doing this for me. I know you could get in a lot of trouble." Grace turned and grinned at her.

"Trouble is my middle name," she said.

***

Weeks later, Grace was watching Cecily and Will train in the training room. Will had grudgingly agreed to train Cecily after Grace reminded him that now she knew of the Shadow world, demons were going to come for her. It didn't hurt for her to have some self defence training.

"Just one letter, Will," Cecily was begging her brother. "Please, just let them know why you left them." Will grunted and didn't answer, just lightly kicked Cecily's ankle.

"Get your feet into position," he ordered. Cecily sighed and moved. Grace knew full well that Cecily knew how to throw a knife. She had been training her herself. She was just trying to vex Will.

"How about a wager, Will?" Cecily asked sweetly. Grace smiled to herself. Cecily obviously knew her brother very well, even though she hadn't seen him for almost six years. "If I can throw three knives and hit the centre of the target, you have to write a letter to mam and dad."

"I wouldn't take it, Will," Grace said as she examined her nails. Cecily shot her a glare. Even though Grace had been spending a lot of time with Cecily, it didn't mean she agreed that Will should go home. In fact, every time Cecily brought up the subject, Grace shut her down rapidly.

"You won't do it," Will said, stepping to stand by the target. Cecily drew a knife from her belt. She stood with her feet in the correct stance, just as Grace had taught her and threw the first knife.

"One," Grace said, glancing at Will who's jaw was set. She was starting to regret teaching Cecily how to throw a knife. Cecily drew another knife and threw it again.

"Two," Grace sighed as the knife hit dead centre once again. When Cecily's last throw hit the target exactly where her last two had hit, she started cheering and dancing.

"There! I win, I win!" she cried. "You have to write the letter now." Will shot a glare at Grace.

"I assume you taught her to do that," he muttered. Grace just shrugged.

"It may have slipped out," she said. Will rolled his eyes and sighed. He wasn't angry, Grace could tell that. Deep down, he knew Cecily had to learn to defend himself.

"I will write that letter, Cecily," he said, a slow grin spreading across his face. "But I have no intention of sending it."

"You tricked me!" Cecily shrieked. Grace stood from her seat and slowly backed away. She had no intention of sitting there while the Herondale siblings fought. 

"All yours, William," she said before retreated from the room. As she walked back down the corridorstowards her room, she heard the summoning bell ring loudly, echoing throughout the Institute. Grace sighed and made her way to the Great Entrance.

She sat on the banister at the top of the stairs and slid down it to the front door, landing nimbly on her feet. She tugged the heavy door open and almost yelped in surprise.

"Gabriel?" she said, her voice, even though not masking any surprise, was very cold when she spoke to him. She and Gabriel had a long history, and she could safely say he was second on the list only to Mortmain for worst enemies.

"What are you doing here?" That was when she noticed the blood that covered him. "Where did all this blood come from?" she asked quietly. He looked at her desperately, so she opened the door and let him inside.

Before she could get a word out of him, he slid down the nearest wall and put his head in his hands, trying to stop the tears from falling. Clearly something had frightened him beyond belief. Grace crouched down in front of him but was careful to keep her distance.

"Gabriel," she said as gently as she could. He look up at her, his eyes wild. "What happened?"

"I- I need my b- brother," he stammered. "Please, w-where is my brother?" There was a clattering sound as someone came running down the stairs. Grace looked up as Gabriel looked down again.

"Grace," Jem said as he came towards her. He looked between her and Gabriel, clear concern in his eyes. "I heard the summoning bell. What's going on? Why is Gabriel covered in blood?"

"I don't know," Grace replied, standing up. She took Jem by the arm and guided him to the base of the stairs. "Can you do me a favour?" she said. Jem nodded, his eyes flicking back to Gabriel on the floor.

"Of course," he said.

"Go get the others," she said. "Get everyone down here. I have a bad feeling about this." Jem nodded again and dashed up the stairs again, disappearing into the Institute.

***

Once everyone was down stairs, Gabriel started talking, although mostly to his brother. Grace took a step back and stood next to Will, who was not looking directly at Tessa but clearly was watching her from the corner of his eye.

Will had told Grace what had happened in the drawing room that dreaded night. It was Grace who found him in his room, tearing everything apart. He was punching the walls until his knuckles were bloody. He was throwing books everywhere. He was smashing furniture against the floor. It had taken all of Grace's strength to wrap her arms around him to keep him still, so he couldn't hurt himself anymore.

They sunk to the floor, ignoring the mess around them, and Will had sobbed into Grace's shoulder, his whole body shaking. She had never seen Will break down like that before, and it shocked her. She couldn't imagine what Will had been through over the last years, and to have it all end that way was almost unbearable. Later that night, after Grace had put Will to bed, she had had her own tantrum, for it was her fault that Will had to suffer this in the first place.

"Father is a worm," Gabriel said tonelessly, breaking Grace from her thoughts. Will suddenly laughed beside Grace.

"It's good to see you've come round to our view of things, Gabriel, but this is an unusual way of announcing it," he chuckled. Grace punched him in the arm as Gideon shot Will a reproachful look.

"What do you mean, Gabriel?" He asked. "What did Father do?"

"He's a worm."

"I know," Gideon continued. "He has brought shame on the name of Lightwood, and lied to both of us. He shamed and destroyed our mother. But we need not be like him."

"You're not listening to me!" Gabriel shouted. "Father is a bloody great serpent like worm! He's been getting worse since Mortmain stopped sending the medicine. The sores were getting worse. H-his hands, his neck, h-his f-face."

"That's the pox then," Will said. "Definitely demon pox."

"What is demon pox?" Cecily asked Will, her face turning up to him. Will blushed faintly and Grace nudged Cecily's arm. Considering how one got demon pox, Grace doubted that anyone would want to explain that to Will's fifteen year old sister.

"Nothing you need to know about," she muttered to Cecily. As she turned back to Gabriel, she spotted him taking in Cecily. Suddenly feeling protective, Grace sent him a glare with a very clear warning.

Back. Off.

 "Is father dead?" Gideon demanded. "Has the pox killed him?"

"No," Gabriel said, dragging his gaze back to his brother and away from Cecily. "It's changed him. A few days ago, he locked himself in his study at Chiswick. This morning, the door had been ripped off its hinges and a slime trail leading out into the garden. The servants had been torn apart. It was after I found their remains when the worm found me. I-I ran to the stables and managed to get through the gates."

"Ah," Henry said. "I perhaps thought it was a small worm. This one might be too big to be stepped on." Grace rolled her eyes. Trust Henry to come up with an observation like that.

"We have to go," Grace said. "My apologies, Gideon, Gabriel, but we have to stop your father before he hurts someone else." The whole room burst into action as Shadowhunters drew runes and put on gear.

"I want to go too," Cecily announced as Grace drew an agility rune onto Will's arm. She felt her hand jerked as Will yanked away, staring at his sister.

"Absolutely not!" he said, his voice going up half a pitch.

"She does have a right," Henry muttered before ducking his head at Will's menacing gaze.

"She's a little girl!" Will said.

"But we were doing the same at fifteen," Jem said quietly. Will whipped around to face him. For a moment, everything just stood still as the two boys held each other's gazes. Jem was calm and collected under Will's fierce and firey gaze. Inly Jem could be this cool when Will was angry. Grace stepped in between them, holding out her hands as if she could ward the two boys apart.

"She'll be protected, Will," Grace said. "I won't leave her side, if that's what you wish." His eyes flicked to hers.

"We'd better go then," he said eventually. "Even I wouldn't want to keep a worm with a temper such as Lightwood's waiting."

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Hi guys!

So, I hope you enjoyed this one. It's just a filler chapter really so I can set things up for the next chapter where the excitement happens.

Vote and comment as always! Anything it appreciated!

Love y'all!