XIII

A/N: So obviously I left the last chapter in quite a cliffhanger lol...

This one's not edited by the way!

Hope you enjoy this one!

********************************************************************************************
-*-*-*-*- Will -*-*-*-*-

"For the last time, Will Herondale," someone shouted. "Wake up!" Will shot bolt right up, coughing and gasping violently. He tumbled off the table, stumbling around the room in shock. His eyesight was blurry, his head pounding as he tried to figure out where he was.

"Will," a voice said, the sound echoing in his skull. A smudged figure appeared in front of him, their hands out as if trying to help him. "Will, you need to calm down."

His vision slowly cleared and Magnus came into focus in front of him. "Magnus?" He gasped. "What...where...how long was I out for?"

"About a day," Magnus replied.

"A day?" He asked in disbelief. "What do you mean a day? I thought you could bring us back!"

"There were....complications," Magnus muttered. Will raised an eyebrow.

"Complications?" He repeated. "What kind of complications?" Magnus gave him a look.

"Just stay calm," he said, gripping Will's shoulders. "But your memories are being oppressed by a demon...a demon that's in your head."

"What!?" Will shrieked but Magnus clicked his fingers, blue sparks flying and sealing Will's mouth shut.

"I told you to stay calm," Magnus said sternly. Will gave him a look that said: when you've got a demon in your head, I'd liked to see you stay calm!

"Are you going to be quiet now and let me talk?" Magnus asked. Will nodded and so Magnus clicked his fingers again.

"Where's Jem?" Will demanded as soon as he could speak again, ignoring Magnus' instructions. "Does he know about this?" The warlock gave him a pained look, running a hand through his hair.

"Will, I came home an hour ago to find that Jem wasn't here," he said. "But I found this outside, and so I have a pretty good idea to where he's gone or, more accurately, who took him." He held up another iron wolf mask and Will suddenly understood.

"They took him," he whispered. "By the Angel, they've got Jem..." He suddenly felt sick and reached out for the chair, gripping it tightly. His parabatai's absence made him feel completely empty inside, void of any life at all.

"I'm afraid that's not the worst of it," Magnus murmured.

"How the help could this get any worse!?" Will exclaimed.

"I sent a message to the Institute as soon as I realised Jem was missing," the warlock exclaimed. "Charlotte wrote back with some disturbing news. It seems that Tessa, Cecily, Gabriel and Gideon have also gone missing...and I think you know who took them."

"Lupus," Will growled, digging his nails into the back of the chair. "He's taking everyone I care about just so he can have a book which I don't even know what or where it is."

"Well then, you're going to have to remember three things," Magnus said. "What the book is, where it is, and where you were taken during the month you were missing. I believe that Lupus would have taken everyone else to that location as well." Will rubbed his eyes with the palms of his hand, groaning in frustration and panic.

"How am I meant to known these things if I can't remember them?!" he cried out, punching the chair. "My sister, my parabatai and the girl that I'm in love with have all been taken, not to mention Gideon who is an extremely honourable Shadowhunter!"

"What about Gabriel?" Magnus asked raising an eyebrow.

"Gabriel Lupus can keep," Will muttered. "Let the Lightworm talk him to death for all I care."

"Will!" Magnus exclaimed.

"All right, all right!" he yelled. "I'm sorry, I'm just really stressed out at the moment!" He took a deep breath, leaning on the back of the chair to keep himself upright. God, what was he going to do? He racked his brains, trying to think of what he had to do to rescue them all. But at that moment, there was only one thing he was sure about.

Ever since he had woken up in the infirmary that day, Jem and Tessa had been there from the start. No matter how desperate he got or how helpless he was, they never gave up on him. Even when Jem became ill, he still went above and beyond to help him. That was something Will was sure he would never repay. But for him, there was only thing that mattered now.

"I have to rescue them," he said to Magnus, turning to face the warlock. "No matter how long it takes or what the cost is, I have to rescue them. I don't can if I die while doing it. As long as they get to live." Magnus looked grave but nodded. He dug into his pocket and pulled out a small vile filled with blue liquid.

"Let's get that demon out of you head then."

-*-*-*-*- Jem -*-*-*-*-

When Jem opened his eyes, the first thing he noticed was the burning sensation that shot up his wrists and arms. He groaned, lifting his hands only to realise that they had been shackled together by thick, black chains that were fixed to a hook in the floor. Bars rose up around him menacingly and Jem suddenly knew where he was.

Will's cell.

"I see you are awake," a voice said. Jem jerked his head up and scrambled to his feet, facing the masked man that stood outside the bars. He wore exactly what he had been wearing in Will's memory with the same jewel encrusted cane in his hands.

"I presume that you are Mr Lupus," Jem said as calmly as he could. "Will has told me a bit about you."

"Not a lot, I believe, considering his slight memory problem," Lupus replied, shifting the bronze wolf mask slightly. There was a slight tint of humour in his voice but Jem knew how his demeanour now could easily shift into rage at any moment. "But I don't want to talk about Mr Herondale. I want to talk about you, Mr Carstairs."

"Me?" Jem asked. "Why on Earth would you want to talk about me? I'm nothing special." Lupus chuckled a little.

"You see, I have to disagree with you there," he said. "Forgive me if I sound too enthusiastic, but I am a distant admire of yours, Mr Carstairs. Your story interests me greatly." Jem eyed him carefully, watching as Lupus paced around the square cell as he talked.

"What interests you so much about my story?" he asked slowly.

"Just the nature of it," Lupus returned. "The boy who was cursed with an illness at such a young age, bound to a life of suffering and pain. Anyone else would have given up years ago, and yet here you stand in front of me with no trace of surrender in your eyes." He paused for a moment.

"Tell me, Mr Carstairs," he murmured. "What makes you so unbreakable? Many people would say that out of you and Mr Herondale, you are the weaker one, but I beg to differ. Not many could survive yin fen as long as you have. So my question to you is, how have you managed it?"

"Because the people around me are people that I care about," Jem answered. "They are people that will stick with me to the end. That is something that can't be bought." Lupus looked thoughtful but nodded.

"Spoken like one surrounded by love," he said with a laugh. "I must confess, I hoped for more." The burning in Jem's wrists suddenly increased and he cried out, dropping to one knee.

"What do you want?" he forced out. "I know you want a book, and I know that Will is the only one who knows of its location, so what do you want with me?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Lupus asked. "Once Will realises that you and the others are missing, he'll have to remember. He will bring the book to me in exchange for your lives."

"The others?" Jem asked, feeling the panic rising in his voice. "What have you done?"

"Only brought you a few friends, including your fiancé, to keep you company," he said. "That is much more than Will had. But once he gets here, I'll beat him to an inch of his life right in front of you. I'll torture the rest of his sanity from him until you are left with only an empty shell."

"Don't you dare hurt him!" Jem shouted.

"You really can't stop me, Mr Carstairs," he grinned. "Perhaps I won't hurt Mr Herondale. Perhaps the best way to get him to do what I want is to threaten you." Jem swallowed hard but he refused to show fear.

"Who are you?!" He yelled. Lupus laughed again before reaching up and removing his mask. Jem gasped, feeling complete shock overwhelm him. It wasn't possible. No one had seen or even heard from him in years. It just couldn't be.

"You?!"

-*-*-*-*- Gideon -*-*-*-*-

"Just hold still," Gideon said to his brother as he examined the arrowhead in Gabriel's arm. "The more you squirm, the more it will hurt."

They were sat in a cell in a huge warehouse chamber. Gideon didn't know how long he had been here, but all he remembered was getting jumped by five guys in iron wolf masks on his way home. They had chucked him in here and left without a word, despite Gideon screaming at them to tell him where they were.

He had waited for what must have been hours until they came back, throwing Gabriel in here with him.

"I'd like to see you stay still when you've got a burning arrow head in your arm!" Gabriel said through gritted teeth. Gideon gave him a sharp look but went back to trying to gently pull the arrow out.

"I'm sorry," Gabriel said after a moment. "I shouldn't have snapped at you." Gideon sighed, shaking his head.

"It's fine," he said. "Don't worry about it."

"But I do worry about it," Gabriel said softly. "I haven't been the brother I should have been recently. And look where it's got us."

"This isn't your fault," Gideon said. "I think there's something going on here that's bigger than all of us."

"It started with Herondale," Gabriel said. "And now us. It involves all Shadowhunters. I think maybe-" Gideon cut Gabriel off as he yanked the arrow from his arm. Gabriel screamed, grinding his teeth together and squeezing his eyes shut.

"Perhaps a little warning next time," he gasped. Gideon tore off the bottom of his shirt and wrapped the material around the wound, binding it tight.

"That should hold until we get you to a stele," he said. Gabriel nodded, grimacing as he looked at the blood-covered arrowhead.

"What is that thing?" He asked. "It's no normal arrow...it burns." Gideon picked it up, turning it over in his hands. Gabriel was right, he knew that. There was something odd about the arrow and by the way Gabriel's wound was steaming...well, he knew it couldn't be good. There was one idea he had, but it couldn't be possible.

"I don't know," he answered. "Nothing good for us."

"Could we use it to pick the lock?" Gabriel suggested. Gideon stood and trudged over to the gate. He placed one hand on it before snatching it back, gasping as it burnt his skin.

"What the hell...?" He muttered, staring at the gate again.

"It's the bars," Gabriel said. "There's something wrong with them." Gideon only shook his head, holding his burnt hand.

"Well, I guess we can't pick the lock without it burning us," he said. "But we can use the arrowhead as a weapon in case anyone comes in."

"We'd better prepare then," Gabriel said, trying to push himself up. The moment he was on his feet, he turned pale, swaying until his knees buckled. Gideon rushed forwards and caught him before he hit the floor.

"Stay down," he told his brother worriedly. "I think the arrow may have been poisoned." Gabriel only nodded numbly but closed his eyes. Gideon bit his lip.

This was not good.

********************************************************************************************
And you all thought that I was going to tell you who Lupus was hehehe....really you should know that I'm evil by now hehehe.

So what are your thoughts on this one? Don't forget to comment and vote!

Love y'all!

Bạn đang đọc truyện trên: AzTruyen.Top