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Aliisa

Evas lay flat on his back, staring at the underside of the table. There were dark circles under his eyes and his skin seemed more pale than usual. The past few months he had went to his doctor several times, and every time he was given a new description of sleeping pills, but none of them seemed to really work. No matter how heavy he drugged himself at night, he kept dreaming about bodies being torn apart or dead friends being found, and he kept waking up every hour wondering where Aliisa was and if they would ever find her. After that thought has slipped in his mind, it was hard to fall back asleep. The guilt kept him awake. He had let Damien take her away. If he had done something different, Aliisa wouldn't be away.
'Evas?'
He turned his head to the side and saw Kayleigh as she sat down, looking at him with a concerned frown on her forehead. 'You can't go on like this forever. You know that, right?' she asked him and she leaned forward. Evas turned his head back towards the table again. 'You think I do this on purpose?' he asked her, but felt too tired to make it sound like he felt insulted. 'No,' Kayleigh sighed. 'But I do think you blame yourself too much,' she added. 'There wasn't anything else you could've done. Damien was too strong. He had taken her anyway, but if we would've tried to stop him he would've just killed us,' she said. Evas frowned and sat up straight, although he had to bent his head to keep from bumping into the table. 'How do you know that for sure?' he asked her, now sounding a little more annoyed. 'How do you know he would've killed us instead of going away and trying to get Aliisa another time? How do you know if he would've taken her if we hadn't come?'
'"If" won't help us find her, Evas,' Kayleigh responded, sounding just as annoyed. '"If" will only make you more tired and less useful. "If" won't get us anywhere, so please just stop.'
Kayleigh pursed her lips and looked as if she tried to keep more words in. When Evas didn't say anything, she breathed out. 'You're not the only one who liked her, Evas,' she said finally, and left the library after that. Evas stared at his hands as he thought about her words. It had been two years since Aliisa was taken by Damien, and he'd never really talked about it with Kayleigh. Somehow he had forgotten to ask her about how she felt.
He crawled from under the table and brushed off his pants. He suddenly realised how selfish he had been in his grief.


Evas had finally been able to fall asleep for a while, when someone banged on his bedroom door. He groaned and mumbled something, trying to rub the sleep from his eyes. He had just enough time to pull his blankets up when Wounded came storming into his room. He tried to grab his shirt from the ground while holding the bed sheets up to his shoulders as she started talking. 'I've found something,' she said. 'I think it might lead us to where Aliisa is,' she added, which caused Evas to stop dead in his attempts to get his shirt. 'What?' he asked her, feeling a bit lightheaded. 'How? Where?' he added. 'I'll explain when everyone is there to hear it,' she told him. 'Just- come to the library as quick as possible,' she said, before she left his room just as sudden as she had come. He waited until she was out of sight and pushed his door closed. Evas grabbed his shirt and pulled it over his head while he jumped out of his bed. He had a big scar running over his chest and he'd never liked for people to see it.
 
 

Aliisa

When Evas had put his clothes on he jogged towards the library, wondering what on earth Wounded could have found that might show them where to find Aliisa. As he entered the room, Wounded smacked down what looked like a photograph. Kayleigh, Clemence and some other shadowhunters who were currently staying in the Institute surrounded her and all looked down at the photograph.

'Didn't she have red hair?' Ava asked. She had been living at the Institute for half a year now, and in that short time Clemence had explained to her what had happened those two years ago. She had seem thrilled at the idea of having to look for Aliisa, saying it was like playing in a detective series. Evas didn't like the way she seemed to look at it like it was a game, but apart from that she was nice enough. Besides, she was a good hunter. 

'What are you guys talking about?' Evas asked as he made his way to the table. He fell silent as he saw the photograph. On it was a woman with long, wavy white hair. She looked very different from the last time he had seen her, but it was Aliisa nonetheless. 'Where did you get this?' he asked, feeling confused. 'Where is Damian?' he added, looking at the photograph again. Now he looked closer he saw another woman in the corner of the picture, mostly hidden by shadows. 'I hired someone,' Wounded said vaguely. 'That's another thing I found out. They say Damian is dead,' she said, and something in her face seemed to change, but she covered it up quickly. Evas looked up. 'Dead?' he repeated. 'But- if he- if he isn't keeping her, than why-,' he started, but feeling too confused to find the words to finish his question. 'They say Aliisa killed him,' Wounded said, but Evas shook his head. 'No,' he said stubbornly. 'No, no, she wouldn't- she was- she said-'

He felt like everyone was looking at him with pity in their eyes and he felt the rage he had known so well as a kid trying to surface. Evas I don't want any other dying for me. He could hear her voice clear as crystal. I can get away after I get my power back and I know enough.

If she really did kill Damian, than how come she wasn't back yet? Why did she look like the stereotype angry witch from the movies? Don't trust that woman, I have a bad feeling about this. His eyes shot to Wounded. 'You're lying!' he suddenly yelled. Everyone in the room, including Wounded, seemed surprised by his outburst. 'You're lying! She wouldn't! You're lying,' he made his hand into a fist and punched it against the table. 'Evas, I don't think she's lying,' Kayleigh said, but he didn't want to listen to her. He grabbed the picture and shoved it into his pocket. 'She's lying and I will prove it to you,' he hissed under his breath, before he stormed out of the room. He didn't think; he didn't give himself the time to. Instead he walked straight towards the weapon room and collected a few daggers and seraph blades. One in his boot, one in the waistband of his pants, one in the sleeve of his shirt. He didn't waste any time; he knew it wouldn't take Kayleigh too long before she realised what he planned on doing. He walked out of the Institute, drawing runes on his forearms as he walked to the suburbs of London. The photograph hadn't been too clear, but he thought he had recognised something. The picture had been taken from outside, showing a small part of the wall next to the window pane. Before Kayleigh, he had spent a lot of his time in the darker parts of London. He had slept in forgotten alleyways and had found consolation in the empty suburbs. It was only luck that had caused him to recognise the strange pattern of bricks in the photograph. Now he would go there, find the house Aliisa was in, fight Damian, and take Aliisa with him to show everyone Wounded had indeed been lying. 
It didn't take long before he entered the right suburbs. All the houses were built with the same pattern. He took the picture out of his pocket to make sure he was right. He didn't know any other part in London where the houses were built this way. He just hoped he was right.
Somewhere in the back of his head he knew he was being stupid. If Damian was still alive, there would be no way he was able to fight him on his own. He had failed last time, and that had been with three other shadowhunters on his side. As he walked further into the neighbourhood, something dark pressed on his shoulders. WIthout having to think about it, he slid the dagger out of his sleeve and held it in his hand, ready to strike if necessary. He refused to believe Aliisa was free without having let them know. In an act of foolish bravery, he twirled the dagger in his hand and looked around. 'Damian!' he yelled. He rolled up the sleeves of his shirt, exposing the runes he had drawn there.

Aliisa

Aliisa

He hadn't known her for that long, but still he could see the drastic change she had gone through. While he wound himself up about how she could have went on with her life without a single word to them, all she seemed to be was- bored. It didn't help his temper. When he finished, she put a hand to her head as if it had been a draining experience for her to listen to him. 'Thank god you stopped before my head exploded,' she said. 'Yeah, thank god,' he muttered under his breath, with the sarcasm dripping from his voice. 

'Look, you are completety overreacting,' she said, which almost caused him to drop his jaw. She couldn't be serious, could she? 'Yes, I know I have white hair now, spells do that kind of stuff when one performs it wrongly, but come on I don't look that hideous,' she said. It seemed to Evas spells gone wrong didn't just change the colour of one's hair. He couldn't think of any other explanation for the change of her heart. This wasn't the Aliisa he had grown to know, at all. 
'And yes, I did say that she was not to be trusted and I was right. She was connected to Damian and that died when he did, simple as that,' she told him. Evas thought of all the times he had shouted at Wounded, or the times when he had almost punched her. All because Aliisa had warned him about her and he had blamed her, in a way, for the fact they couldn't find Aliisa.
And now she told him it hadn't even been her fault, that she had been trustworthy for what probably had been a long time already.
'I cannot tell you why you spent two years caring about what happened to me, I am no mind reader or anything like that,' she said. In a fit of rage he threw his dagger, letting it fly towards the doorframe next to her head. 'You don't have to be a mind reader to know why!' he shouted at her. 'It just means I cared for you. It means we all cared for you while all those years you were nothing more but a heartless bitch!'
'Also I have nothing to explain to you really, but because of our past friendship I will,' she said and took a small step forward, closing the door behind her. Evas ran a hand through his hair, trying to stop it from shaking. 'Oh, please, you're too kind,' he sneered.

'When I got here, he locked me up in a room without doors or windows or any light for five weeks, while I cried my eyeballs out because I was afraid of the dark,' she started, and despite of his sarcastic comment Evas stayed silent and listened. 'After that he started to teach me how to use my magic. He also took me to places where I could be with people who are like me and, well... let's say that very interesting things are said when one has a few drinks too many. So I figured out that you perfect shadowhunters actually hunt my kind when you think they perform wrong magic.'
His face fell and he let out a surprisingly deep, tired sigh. He should've known she would find out. He couldn't deny her words: even though he himself didn't agree with the hunting of witches, few shadowhunters cared to listen to the words of someone who had only just become an adult shadowhunter. That, and the fact that he was too different for the liking of most of them.
'I also found out that I could not be any different than I was the day you found me, because then I was helpless, unable to control or do anything. So I learned control from him, sent him to another realm where he died a very painful death and then I thought; why not try and do something about this wretched system that we now live under. And so I started this little minor campaign against your people and that is when things got interesting. The more of you I met the more I started to hate your kind for acting the way you do. If I ever had any doubts whatsoever about returning to you, those left me the moment I saw your kind slaughter a couple of other witches and their children,' she said.
'So you see, I have no idea why you act the way you do and I don't really care. I think I am going to go play now with my Demon, right? Like you said.' She opened the door again, turning away from him. 'O, yes, before I forget. Don't try to enter my house or you will die a very painful death. Bye Evas, give my regards to Kayleigh and the others.'
Evas felt like she had just ripped his heart out. Worse, like she ripped it out and then grinded it into powder before his own eyes. He breathed in a shaky breath before he took a step forwards. He refused for her to go away so quickly. 'Wait, just to get things clear,' he said with a low voice. 'You found out about the wrongdoing of some shadowhunters- some, because I can assure we aren't just all clones of eachother - and decided that it was - what? - convenient to forget about the ones that had helped you? Have you ever wondered what happened to Léon?' He asked her. 
'Probably not, since you don't even seem to fully remember me. Let me give you a small hint: he was the one fighting of five demons on his own so we could concentrate on saving you. 
We found him, about a week later. If it wasn't for the tuft of blond hair left on his head, we wouldn't have recognised him. He died for you. They even took his eyes. But no, you're right, it's not important. He was filth anyway, all shadowhunters are, right?' He spit the words at her. 'Do you want to hear something funny?' He asked her. 'You sound just like them- the few shadowhunters that hunt your kind.'

Aliisa

She seemed surprised when he refused to just go away when she told him to. It made him wonder how well they had actually known eachother. Surely, if she had payed attentiont just a little, she would know he could be stubborn. She had turned around to look at him again. 'Maybe,' she responded. 'I don't think so. I find myself more relentless.' He saw the darkening of her eyes and couldn't help but lay his hand on the dagger in his waistband. It was more of an instinct than anything else- he wasn't sure if he could even attack Aliisa if it came to it. 'Don't you think I have not tried,' she hissed. 'I would have done anything to get back. You would never understand what I have been through, you would never have survived yourself,' she said, and despite of the violent tone of her voice, his face softened a bit. 'I'm not saying I do,' he said. 'I don't understand at all. We did nothing else but help you, and yet you still didn't feel like coming back.'
'I have become what my grandmother never wanted for me but all I can do is use what I have got to protect the ones I think need my protection,' she told him. 'Like the demon living in your house,' he said dryly. He had noticed the dark atmosphere and vague scent of sulfur that came with the stronger demons as soon as he had walked into this street. He guessed the creature hiding in the building was the same as the woman he had seen lurking in the shadows of the photograph. 'Now, turn around. Don't come back or I swear you will find demons from several realms around your precious Institute this very night or the next,' she warned him. He swallowed the lump in his throat and frowned at her. 'You'd really do that?' he asked her. 'You'd really kill the shadowhunters that have helped you?' He took a step backwards and shoved his hands in the pockets of his pants. Before he could say anything more she had already slammed the door shut behind her, leaving Evas alone on the streets. He looked up at the higher windows, wondering if the demon he could still smell stood there. 'If you keep working with demons by your side, you'll find yourself stabbed in the back in a matter of months!' he warned her. He looked at the closed door again, but there was nothing more he could do: she had already told him about the barrier. He may be a bit reckless, but he wasn't stupid.
So even though it felt like the most wrong thing he could do, he turned around and walked away.

It seemed to take him hours before he finally reached the Institute. His head hurt from all the discoveries he had made and his feet were heavy as bricks. All he really wanted was to walk up to his room and drop his head on the soft pillow that was waiting there, but he needed to do something else first. 
He didn't even have time to open the doors to the main hall before Kayleigh came flying towards him, throwing her arms around his neck. 'You goddamn fool,' she cursed, shoving a fist into his side before she locked him in an embrace. 'Kayleigh,' he breathed, returning her hug with a little uneasiness- making physical contact wasn't his greatest talent. 'I'm sorry for- I'm sorry,' he choked on the words and it was only when Kayleigh looked up at him in wonder when he realised he was crying. 'She was right, Kayleigh. Wounded was- she just stood there. She's fine,' he stuttered, feeling disbelief creeping up again. 'I know,' Kayleigh replied before pulling him in closer.

He had told Kayleigh everything that had happened, and she had reacted just as angry and incredulous as he had. After that he had apologised to Wounded, although it had cost him some effort. Now he finally lay in his bed, and the silence of his own room allowed the thoughts to run freely through his mind. This time, though, they felt less tiring. He was still angry, but now he lay in his bed the anger was something distant. Instead he wondered what on earth could have happened to Aliisa thad had made her so bitter. 

Aliisa

Somehow the short meeting with Aliisa had helped him. He still felt a confusing mix of anger and grief when he thought of her, but he had found his way back to nights full of sleep and dreams. That meant he had spent more time in bed than out of it for the first week, but after that he fell back into a more natural rythm. While he and Kayleigh had slowly grown apart for the last two years, they now got closer with every day. It seemed everything was going back to normal-
except for the fact that Aliisa was still back in the suburbs, doing whatever she had been doing those two years. Evas spent most of his time in the library - though that was nothing out of the ordinary - looking up more and more information about warlocks and their spells, hoping he'd find something that would explain what was going on with Aliisa. 
When he realised he wouldn't find what he was searching for in the library of shadowhunters, he had even contacted one of the warlocks that had often worked together with the Institute of London. Though he had been wary of Evas' sudden interest in spells, he had helped him nonetheless. 
The warlock, Pascal, had been the first one to notice the small movement in his kind. He talked about how other wizards grew stronger feelings of hatred towards the shadowhunters. He said he didn't feel the same way about them - why else would he have helped the shadowhunters all those times before - but warned them that he wouldn't fight his own kind. 

Evas hadn't found anything about spells gone wrong that could help him with figuring out Aliisa, and the wizards Pascal had been talking about weren't happy with a small movement anymore. So now, only a few months later, Evas stood next to Kayleigh, surrounded by all the shadowhunters that had been nearby enough to come to help, all in fighting gear. His body was tense with worry and anticipation that always came when a fight was close. 'Well,' Kayleigh said, and he recognised the same tension he was feeling in her voice. 'Here goes nothing, right?' They hadn't discussed the fact that it was possible Aliisa was behind all this; they both couldn't face that possible truth. 

Aliisa

He had felt slightly guilty before. He knew some shadowhunters went after witches and warlocks without any other reason but the fact they were different. He had always known, and he had done nothing to change it. Not that he could've; apart from Clemence and the shadowhunters living at the Institute no one really listened to him. 
But still, he should've tried and he was aware of the fact that he hadn't.
Now, however, he couldn't possibly think why he ever pitied the warlocks. The light around them seemed to disappear completely, leaving the shadowhunters in utter darkness. 
'Evas!' he recognised Kayleigh's voice, slightly panicking. 'I'm here,' he responded, quickly touching her shoulder with his hand. He took the stele out of the inside of his jacket and quickly jotted down a rune on his forearm to heighten his senses. Just in time, because immediately after putting away his stele he heard something approaching his left side. He slid a seraph blade out of his sleeve, yelling the name of the angel. As he thrusted the blade forward, he saw a pale yellow demon baring its teeth at him, just before he disappeared as the blade cut through the flesh of its chest. Kayleigh, still standing next to him, followed his example and used the light of her seraph blade to notice the attacking demons before they had a chance to cut her throat. 
Apart from showing demons, the light also provided them the image of their kind being slaughtered. 
No, he felt no pity at all right now, not for the wizards that killed them so ruthlessly right now.
He and Kayleigh found their way back to the light, and he needed to blink a few times to let his eyes adjust. No he could use all of his senses again, it took him no effort whatsoever to fight of the other demons. There had always been something extremely satisfying in the fighting, especially when he was fighting next to Kayleigh. They didn't need to talk about what they were going to do, or which prey they were going to attack. They fought without words, slaying demons and even warlocks. Maybe later he would feel remorse about how easily he killed them, but not now. Now all he could think of were the screams of the other shadowhunters still trapped in the dark, or the grunts of those being killed by demons too strong to fight off. 
Kayleigh grabbed the bow that was tied to her back and shot an arrow at another witch just before she could kill a shadowhunter. 'Nice,' Evas smiled, just before he killed another one himself with his dagger. 
The fight took less longer than expected. Slowly the warlocks all disappeared, and when demons were killed there were none left to replace them. Evas turned around just in time to recognise the white hair of Aliisa flowing in the wind. It felt like a punch in the chest, and he could hear the small voice in is head whisper I told you so. He didn't have time to approach her even if he had wanted to, because as soon as he saw her she disappeared. He turned around, but seeing Kayleigh's face he knew that she had already seen her. Around them the last demons were slayed, and the wounded were being collected. 'We should've known,' Kayleigh said hoarsely. 'I won't forgive her for this,' she added and Evas looked away. Evas was afraid he had to agree with that, as he looked at the bodies around them. A lot of them were wizards, but still, they had lost people as well. He couldn't help it; he began walking across the ragged line of bodies, looking at the faces. He didn't recognise anyone, and that eased the pain just the tiniest bit. As he kept walking, he caught something moving in the corner of his eye. 
He turned around and his eye caught at a young man lying there, fighting for breath. Evas walked closer, recognising his clothes as not the traditional fighting gear all the shadowhunters wore. A warlock, then, he realised. As he stopped next to the man, he looked up at him with eyes wide of fear. ' P-please-,' he managed to say, and Evas' face contorted. 'I think we'll keep you,' he said more coldly than he really felt. 'Who knows what information you can provide us with.' He kneeled down, just as Kayleigh came running towards him. She didn't ask; she already seemed to know his intent, because she just gave him some rope she had in her pocket. 

It hadn't taken Clemence too long before she had found Evas, carrying the body of the then unconscious warlock. They had all agreed he was most useful when still alive, so they had taken him to the Institute. 
Evas sat in the chair placed in the corner of the small hospital room, a book in his hand. They had done their best to treat the wounds of the warlock, who now lay fast asleep in his bed, his left hand bound to the steel frame in case he thought of getting away. He had only waken up once, and then he was so groggy from the effect of the medicines he hadn't been much of a use really. Evas hadn't left him once, secretly hoping he would be able to tell them more about Aliisa. 

Aliisa

Evas finally had been able to concentrate on the book he was reading, losing himself on the sentences that were written down on the paper, when he heard the frantic moving of the warlock. 'Where am I?' he asked, and as Evas looked up he saw the young man taking in his environment with something of fear in his eyes. He felt a pang of guilt for taking the guy with him. Even though he often made the impression of being heartless and arrogant, he wasn't the type to torture someone. 'You're in the Institute of London,' he said as calm as he could, trying to make the warlock feel a little bit more at ease. 'What are you going to do with me?' he asked. Evas closed his book after putting a piece of paper between the pages and rose from his chair. 'Easy now, let's not go too fast,' he said. 'I don't even know your name yet,' he noted and walked towards the bed. When he saw how the man pushed himself against the wall, as far away from Evas as he could get, he stopped in his tracks. 'I'm sorry, I don't mean to frighten you,' he said and ran a hand through his hair. 'I don't want to hurt you,' he said, though he didn't say he wouldn't. The man seemed to notice the same, since the fear didn't fade from his expression. He kept still, though. 'Now, what's your name?' Evas asked, keeping every bit of guilt and compassion he felt locked deep inside. 'M-Mark,' the warlock answered, and Evas nodded slowly. 'Nice to meet you, Mark. My name is Evas, and you might have noticed-,' he said, and gestured towards the fighting gear he was still wearing, '- that I am a shadowhunter. You probably don't want to hear this, but I don't mean to kill or hurt any warlock - or other creature for that matter - without a good reason,' he said. Mark's face contorted into something uglier, and he even spit onto the ground. 'You're lying!' He yelled at Evas, who took a surprised step backwards. 'Your kind murdered my parents,' he hissed. 'They didn't do anything wrong, and still they just came storming in with that aura of arrogance all of you wear.'
Evas breathed in sharply and sat down on the bed next to Mark. 'I'm sorry to hear that,' he said, not sure how to handle this news. He should've known the warlock wouldn't be too fond of shadowhunters, otherwise he would've stayed neutral like Pascal. 'But you need to know we're not all like that,' he added. Mark scoffed and looked away from him, so Evas took a step forwards again. 'We're not,' he insisted. 'Aliisa, you know her,' he started, and when Mark opened his mouth to disagree, he added: 'I've seen her on the battlefield, there's no use in denying this.' Mark closed his mouth again and sighed. 'She probably didn't tell you that two of my friends died while trying to protect her, did she?' He asked him. Mark seemed surprised by this news, just like Evas expected. 'I'm not saying we are perfect- in fact we are far from it, but we're no coldblooded monsters either,' he said. 'Why else would we have treated your wounds?' he added, and Mark looked down at his chest, which had been bandaged by Kayleigh. 
'That's what I don't understand,' Mark said. 'Why have you brought me here in the first place? Wouldn't it've been easier to just let me die?' Evas smirked and leaned against the pillows behind him, giving the warlock the idea he was completely at ease. He didn't want to let him know he was in fact tense with nerves, wondering if he would be able to force answers out of the man if he wouldn't give them voluntarily. 'What do you think? We want to know more about what you have planned and we think you can give us that information,' he said. 

Mark pursed his lips, as if already deciding he wouldn't give anything away. Evas bit the inside of his cheek and forced himself to stay calm. 'Let's start with the demon whose siding with Aliisa,' he said. 'What do you know about it?' Mark seemed to be surprised by this question, because a frown appeared on his forehead. 'Why do you want to know more about her?' he asked him. Evas threw him an angry look. 'I'm sorry, does that matter? I should remind you of the fact that you're a prisoner here,' he said, more angry than he meant to. He wasn't sure either if it mattered who the demon was- he just felt worried about Aliisa, even though he didn't want to admit that out loud. She seemed to be fine on her own, there was no reason for him to worry about her. Especially not after she had led what seemed to be the beginning of a war. 'Tell me,' he repeated, looking at the warlock with narrowed eyes. He seemed to impress the man at least a little bit, because he looked away and shuffled a little further away from him. 'I don't know that much about her,' he said, staring at the bed sheets. 'She calls herself Cherie. I believe she's quite high up in the ranks down there, because she always summons smaller demons for Aliisa,' he told Evas, who grew a little more pale. A powerful demon never meant too much good, he knew. 'She's never far away from Aliisa,' he added. 
Evas stood up from the bed and started pacing up and down the small room. After a few minutes he stood still and turned to Mark. 'You need to get back there,' he decided out loud. 'What?' Mark asked, not being able to hide his surprise. 'You're not going to ask me about the plans? About our numbers?' he asked him. Evas waved his words away, shaking his head. 'You probably don't know that much, otherwise they would've made sure you were dead or safe,' he said. 'They probably even told you false information, if they have the slightest amount of common sense,' he added, which caused Mark to draw his eyebrows together. Evas took a step closer and then started to loosen the knots of the rope that bound him to the bed. 'Listen, you need to go to Aliisa and get her away from that Cherie. Tell her she isn't to be trusted,' he said with an urgent tone in his voice. 'Goddammnit, she's a fool to let her get so close,' he muttered under his breath. 'We kill demons for a reason, Mark. They are not like humans, they are pure evil and they will only help you if there's something in it for themselves. She's probably already planning on overthrowing Aliisa,' he told him. As soon as Mark was free from the rope he stood up from his bed. 'Why do you even care?' he asked, too confused to run or floor Evas. 'I-,' Evas started, standing utterly still for a moment. 'It doesn't matter,' he hissed eventually, and grabbed Mark by the shoulder to lead him out of the hospital room. 'Just go quickly before I have to explain all this too anyone else,' he said, now pushing him toward the great doors. Still dazzled, Mark followed him outside and even turned back towards Evas. 'So you're- you're just going to let me go?' he asked. Evas sighed a very deep sigh. 'Yes, didn't I make that clear already? Go and tell her she needs to get rid of the demon,' he repeated. Mark stood still for a few more seconds, before turning around and running away. Evas watched him turn around the corner. When he turned around to walk back inside the building, he almost crashed into Ava. 
'What on earth do you think you're doing?'

Aliisa

Ava had been furious with him. After she told Clemence, Clemence had been furious with him as well. It didn't take long for the fire to spread through the whole Institute, and for the other shadowhunters to drag him to the dinner room, where there was enough room for every shadowhunter currently at the Institute. Even Kayleigh seemed angry with him. Evas sat at the head of the table, observing the surface of the piece of furniture in an attempt to avoid the furious stares aimed at him. He didn't know what he was supposed to say- he still stood behind his own actions. There had been no reason to keep the warlock hostage any longer; if he truly had been that important to their enemy they would have come after him already.
'What were you thinking?' Clemence asked him, breaking the silence of the room. Evas quickly looked up, only to assure everyone was indeed staring at him, and none of them looked happy. 'What possibly made you believe that you could just make a decision that affects us all, on your own?' She didn't sit on the chair that was placed there for her. Instead she stood on the other end of the long table, her fists on the surface. 'He didn't know anything,' Evas said, but his voice sounded weak. 'How would you know for sure?' Clemence asked, the size of her anger only growing bigger. 'Surely it wasn't your knowledge of people,' she added sourly. Evas flinched at that. He didn't look up to see how the other shadowhunters reacted, he didn't have to. He was well aware of the fact that most of them seemed to either pity him or loathe him. He knew that part of it was his own fault; his asocial attitude towards everyone but Kayleigh didn't help improve his reputation.
'He was the only thing we got that could help us, Evas,' she said, letting out a sigh. 'I just need to know why you let him go.'
Evas didn't answer. The only answer he got was that he had known in his gut the man wasn't of any use, and that he had found the safety of Aliisa - who was now their enemy - more important than the few bits of useless information they could get out of the warlock. Obviously, it wasn't an answer he could share. 
'He didn't know anything,' he therefore repeated, this time with a little more force behind his words. 'Sure, we could've tortured him until he would've told us things he made up just to make us stop, but that would only be more prove to them about what monsters we are,' he said, forcing himself to look up and eye the crowd of shadowhunters standing before him in the room. 'What else would you have done with him? They fight us because they think of us as beings misusing our power by killing everyone and everything we like. Killing another warlock surely wouldn't help, now would it?' 

Clemence didn't seem to like the tone of sarcasm he used, because she pursed her lips and straightened her shoulders. 'Fine, Evas. You've made your point, but now let me make mine,' she said. 'From now on you won't be allowed to join the meetings concerning this war, nor will you be allowed to go on any mission whatsoever without a supervisor I will provide,' she said. Evas could feel his shoulders slump, but he kept his face straight. 'You will be treated as a minor until I say otherwise,' she concluded. 'You are dismissed,' she added after a few seconds of silence. Evas clenched his fists under the table and bit the inside of his cheek until he could taste his own blood. It took him a few moments before he could rise up from his chair without shaking. He wouldn't show them how much this had meant to him. Of course, Clemence knew what she had done to him, and Kayleigh surely would understand. That was enough for him to feel a mix of shame and anger burning inside of his chest. 
As he walked into the hall, the doors leading to the main hall flew open, and one of the children that hadn't been allowed inside the dinner room supported another shadowhunter. Before he could say anything, other shadowhunters came rushing forward. From the words that were yelled to eachother he understood two shadowhunters had just returned from Aliisa. Just as he took a step forward, wanting to find out more, he felt a strong hand on his shoulder. 'You'd better go to your room, Evas,' Clemence said coldly. Evas had to look away to hide his face from her and he violently shook his shoulder free before stumping towards his room. It wasn't fair. He had done what he had believed to be right and now he was punished for it. The worst thing was that he suspected Clemence would eventually had let the warlock free anyway, and he knew that he was only punished for the fact he had acted on his own at a time he shouldn't've.

He slammed the door from his room shut and finally allowed himself to let out his anger. He threw his fist against his desk, causing the books and papers to stumble to the floor, and let out an angry scream. 

Aliisa

Of course the shouting hadn't helped ease his anger. In fact, he even felt more furious than he had before. He sat down on his bed and rubbed his face, concentrating on his breathing. He already knew he couldn't just stay here in his room- he had to do something. He had to know what was happening. 
He was only able to sit still for so long, and soon he was pacing the room. Althoug it probably only had been half an hour at the most, it felt like ages until someone knocked on his door. He pulled it open, expecting another preach from Clemence, but was surprised to find Kayleigh standing in his door opening. She motioned for him to step aside and shut the door behind her. 'The warlock- Mark? - he returned,' she said in a hushed voice. Evas frowned and sat down on his bed again. 'What? Why would he do that? I expected him to be at least not that stupid,' he muttered, but shut his mouth when Kayleigh gave him an annoyed look. 'Just let me finish, okay?' she said and Evas muttered an apology. 'He says he has been sent back by Aliisa,' she explained and sat down next to him. 'I think Clemence knew I would come to you as soon as she saw the guy walk in, so she made sure to keep me at a distance,' she said, sounding a bit annoyed at that. 'She didn't know, however, that I still had this rune drawn on my collarbone,' she said with a small smile, showing Evas the small rune right under her collarbone that heightened her senses. He couldn't help but crack a grin when seeing that. 'I heard him say she had asked him to sent back a message in return,' Kayleigh told, giving Evas a sharp look. 'I expect you sent the first one, am I right?' 
Evas didn't answer, but he didn't need to. 
'He said something about not to worry, that she already had gotten rid of the demon.' Evas let out a small sigh of relief. 'Well, that's something,' he muttered under his breath and lay back, resting his head on the pillow.
'I would want to say I don't understand why you worry so much about her, but I'm afraid I do,' Kayleigh said and sat opposite of him, her back resting at the frame of the foot end of the bed. 'What are they going to do with the warlock now?' Evas asked, mostly to change the subject. Kayleigh shrugged. 'I don't know, I couldn't make out anymore,' she said. 

Both Kayleigh and Evas startled as the bedroom door suddenly opened. 'They're keeping him in for interrogation I heard,' Ava said, carrying a plate with three mugs in her hands. 'I'm sorry, I didn't mean to startle you,' she added, closing the door behind her. Evas suddenly wondered what made everyone think it was a perfectly okay thing to just enter his bedroom without asking. Ava looked at Evas and gave him a hesitant smile. 'I felt a little bad for not siding with you before,' she explained. 'And I figured, what's a better apology than hot chocolate?' She put the plate down on his desk, which was free of books for once - those lay on the ground. Even though Evas didn't know how a mug of chocolate milk could help him with his punishment, he smiled a little. Ava handed one cup over to Kayleigh, after which she took the other two and sat down next to her on the bed. Evas noticed how close they sat together- Ava's knee against Kayleigh's thigh, their shoulders touching- but he didn't have much time to think about it. When Ava handed the cup over to him, something went wrong and the contents of the mug spilled over his shirt and he jumped up, startled by the sudden heat of it. Ava immediately stuttered an apology, already making an attempt at drying his shirt with the end of her sleeve, but Evas gently pushed her away. 'It's fine, really,' he said. 'I'll just grab another shirt. This one was dirty anyway,' he said, walking to his closet. As he changed shirts, he tried his best to keep the scar on his chest out of sight, but he knew he had failed as soon as he heard Kayleigh gasp. 'Evas,' she said, sounding shocked. Before he could pull the clean shirt over his head, she pulled it out of his hands, frowning at his chest. Although he knew there was no way Ava would've missed it now, he still tried to hide it by crossing his arms. 'You didn't tell me it was getting worse,' Kayleigh said in an accusing tone of voice. Evas avoided her gaze by staring at his closet. 'Well, I didn't need to, did I? It was already plain as day it wasn't going to stay the same,' he muttered under his breath. 
'What are you talking about? What is it?' Ava asked, looking at both of them with a confused expression on her face. When Evas stayed silent, Kayleigh decided to tell it herself. 'He's been attacked by a demon as a child, when he was too young for runes,' she said. Evas grabbed his chance and quickly put on his shirt, feeling a little better now his scar was hidden from sight again. 'His sister-,' she cleared her throat and quickly glanced at Evas, but when gave a small nod she continued. There was no use in keeping it from Ava now. 'His sister was with him. She managed to kill the demon, but Evas was badly wounded. Somehow she thought of covering the cut on his chest with the skin of the demon she'd slain, probably to stoop the flow of blood pouring out,' she explained, which caused a look of even more confusion on Ava's face. Evas turned away from her, suddenly very interested in the grain of the wooden closet. 'Yeah, no one's sure why she did it, she- she died, so she couldn't explain. It worked however, Evas survived,' she said. 'Later it turned out the skin seemed to- I don't know, live on its own? It's slowly growing larger.' At those words she turned to Evas again, and threw him another accusing look. 'He never mentioned it was growing this fast however.' Evas breathed in sharply and closed the door of his closet. 'I'm sorry,' he mumbled. 

Aliisa

It had taken ages before Ava finally stopped asking questions, and after that Kayleigh had started with her worried remarks. He didn't know why, it certainly wouldn't change anything about the situation. 
At first, Kayleigh had insisted on sleeping in the same room, but after some persuasion he had gotten his room to himself, finally. 
The next morning he woke up early, and the silence coming from the rest of the building felt like a relief. Since the first battlefield, a lot more shadowhunters stayed at the Institute than was normal, and it showed in the way the halls were never really clean and the rooms never silent. 
He took a shower to clear his mind, and after that changed into some comfortable clothes. He would use the early hour for a walk in the now silent city, he decided. As soon as the fresh air hit his face he felt more at ease, and he started a quick pace towards one of the various parks nearby. He was sure to take his time, not really wanting to return in fear of Kayleigh waking up and asking him more questions. He loved her like he would never be able to love someone else - they were parabatai after all - but still, she could be really annoying when she wanted to. That was the downside of knowing eachother as well as they did: she knew exactly what to say to him so he would feel obliged to answer all of her questions. It was exactly what she had done last night, so he had had to tell her everything about how sometimes his chest hurt when he held a seraph blade in his hand, or how he woke up some nights short of breath. He had planned on keeping all that from her, because he knew she would worry to much about it. He had already searched for answers himself for years on end, but he had accepted there was nothing more to be done about it than to just enduring it.
He sat down on a bench in the park, watching a squirrel sittin at the base of a tree for some time, untill a dog chased it away. He noticed the day was getting lighter, and decided it was time to go back anyway.

Just as he walked towards the entrance, he saw a man knocking on the door. Ava opened it, but he couldn't hear what was being said. It was clear to him however, that the man was no shadowhunter. When he walked inside, he decided there was only one way to find out what the man was doing here, and he'd better find it out quickly, before Clemence stopped him. He hurried down the way to the doors and slid inside just when Ava ran up the stairs. She was going to get Clemence, he guessed, which meant he was too late. He closed the doors behind him and turned to the man with narrowed eyes. 'Who are you and what are you doing here?' He asked him.

Aliisa

Evas was sure the man wouldn't have said anything at all to him if he hadn't spoken first. Instead of answering his question, however, he said something totally different. 'So, you are Evas.' Evas opened his mouth in surprise, but didn't know what to say. He should've expected it after noticing the man was a warlock. 'Not at all like I had expected but well enough.' Evas frowned, not sure how to feel about his words. 'Well enough for what?' he asked the man, sounding more rude than he had intended to.
'My name is Uthred,' he said, finally answering Evas' question. '- and we have a friend in common. Or at least you know my daughter,' he told him. 'Your-,' Evas started, and then eyed the man with a little more attention. 'You're talking about Aliisa,' he said after a short silence, now seeing the small similarities between the man and Aliisa. The man glanced at the stairs, at the same moment Evas did. 'If you want to get away from Clemence you have to go now. She will be there in a few seconds now,' he warned him. Evas pursed his lips, still not sure how to feel about this man. He didn't like the fact that he knew so much. 'I know,' he therefore responded, but didn't walk away just yet. Clemence would probably guess he had talked to the man anyway, no use in hiding it.
'Well, Uthred, it has been a long time.' Evas looked up again when he heard the voice of Clemence, and he frowned. They knew eachother already? 'Come, we will talk in my office,' she added, and he could feel the quick look she gave Evas. He bit his lip, but didn't make eye contact. Instead he listened to the sound of her footsteps going upstairs again. The man, Uthred, started to walk as well, but suddenly stopped. 'It is not her fault, you know,' he said, and he didn't need to mention a name for Evas to understand he was talking about Aliisa now. 'I know,' he mumbled, stuffing his hands inside the pockets of his jeans. 'Besides, you should really do something about that demontissue on your breast. It will not stay like that for long,' the man added. With that, Evas' head jerked up. 'Wha-,' he started, but figured asking him wouldn't make it clearer how he knew. He muttered something under his breath about nitwit warlocks and walked back to his bedroom. He considered going to Kayleigh for a moment, but then decided not to. He didn't want to be remembered about his probable death closing in on him again. It'd be nice to ignore it for a while.
So he grabbed his bag, stuffed some books in it, put on his coat and went back outside. A longer walk wouldn't hurt.

Aliisa