Chapter 18: CHAPTER: THE GATHERING STORM
Renwick's Ruin
Renwick's Ruin stood like a corpse against the night, its skeletal remains of stone and rusted iron reaching toward the storm-dark sky. Once a hospital, now a haunted husk, the island reeked of decay and old magic. The air was thick, but not just with the presence of demons. Something deeper, older, pulsed through the ruins—a force that made even the bravest warriors hesitate.
Beyond the cliffs, the Clave's forces assembled. Their armor gleamed under the pale moonlight, weapons drawn and ready. Luke's pack prowled along the outskirts, golden eyes burning with the hunger for vengeance. They had all come for the same reason.
To end this.
At the heart of the war party, Clary stood with Alec, Isabelle, and Simon. The weight of her dagger felt heavier than usual, her fingers curled tight around the hilt. Orion should have been here. His absence burned like a fresh wound, but it only hardened her resolve.
Her mother was waiting.
And they were bringing her home.
---
The First Strike
The first howl shattered the silence.
Luke's pack surged forward, their forms twisting mid-stride, bones shifting and stretching as they became powerful wolves. Their paws barely made a sound as they raced across the damp ground, moving like living shadows. Behind them, the Clave warriors advanced, their seraph blades igniting with radiant light.
Then the gates of Renwick's Ruin exploded outward.
Demons poured into the night like a living tide, their glowing eyes and twisted limbs a grotesque mockery of life. Smoke and sulfur filled the air as their shrieks rose in a terrible chorus.
Alec loosed the first arrow, and it soared like a comet, piercing the skull of a shadow-beast. The creature crumbled into ash before it even hit the ground.
Isabelle's whip cracked through the air, slicing through demon flesh, leaving glowing wounds that hissed with divine fire.
Clary and Simon fought side by side, her dagger flashing in the dark while Simon, using his inhuman strength, crushed a vampire's skull with the hilt of his sword.
Steel and fire clashed against claws and fangs. But something was wrong.
The demons weren't fighting to kill.
They were stalling.
Clary knew it, and so did Alec. His gaze met hers across the battlefield. "Where is the real threat?"
And then the ground trembled.
---
The Avatar of Satan
The very earth groaned, a deep, primal sound that sent a shudder through the air. The demons hesitated mid-battle, tilting their heads as if listening to an unseen call. Their eyes flickered—not with rage, but with fear.
Then, it emerged.
From the ruined halls of Renwick's Ruin, a figure strode forward, wreathed in swirling darkness. The air around it twisted and warped, bending reality itself. Its eyes burned like molten coals, crimson and ancient, filled with something far beyond demonic malice.
It raised one hand.
Lightning cracked across the sky. Black fire spiraled from its fingers, lashing down upon the battlefield. The shockwave sent warriors flying.
Alec barely had time to roll away before the ground where he stood erupted into flames.
Isabelle lashed her whip—but the golden light flickered and died before it could touch the creature's flesh.
Even the demons cowered.
This was no ordinary monster.
This was an Avatar of Satan.
Kael's voice rang through the battlefield. "Fall back to the keep!" He barely sounded human—his voice was raw, filled with something close to desperation. His eyes met Clary's. "This is what we came for."
And then the battle changed.
---
The Avatar's Wrath
With a flick of its wrist, the Avatar of Satan unleashed a wave of darkness.
The black flames rolled across the battlefield, devouring everything in their path. Simon barely managed to shove Clary aside before the spot where she stood was incinerated.
Luke's wolves howled in agony as the fire burned them—not just physically, but something deeper. Their wounds didn't heal.
Clave warriors fell like cut grass, their bodies disintegrating before they even had a chance to scream.
Alec fired arrows in rapid succession, but each one vanished into the void before it could strike.
"We can't beat this thing!" he shouted.
Clary turned to him, her pulse a war drum in her ears.
"Then we trap it."
Isabelle's eyes flickered with understanding. "Runes. We need to seal it."
Clary's fingers trembled as she reached for the fragments of her mother's teachings—runes locked away by Magnus's spell. She didn't think. She just drew.
Symbols burned white-hot against the battlefield. The ground trembled beneath their power.
The Avatar hesitated.
For the first time, it stepped back.
---
Breaking the Chains
Simon let out a ragged breath. "It's working."
Alec didn't hesitate. He fired another arrow—this one glowing with heavenly fire, infused by the runes Clary had just drawn.
It struck the Avatar's chest.
The creature roared, its voice shattering the night, its form flickering, its power unraveling. But it wasn't done.
Its burning gaze locked onto Clary.
It raised a hand—one final attack.
But before it could strike—
The sky split open.
A spear of pure lightning crashed down, striking the Avatar through its blackened heart.
The creature staggered.
Its form splintered apart.
And then—
It was gone.
---
The Fall of Renwick's Ruin
With the Avatar destroyed, the remaining demons shrieked in terror.
Without their master, they were leaderless.
The Clave struck hard and fast. Alec's arrows cut down the fleeing horde. Isabelle's whip lashed through the remaining abominations. Luke's wolves tore apart the stragglers.
Within minutes, it was over.
All that remained was the reason they had come.
Jocelyn.
---
The Awakening
They found her in a hidden chamber, suspended in a coffin of glass. Her face was peaceful, untouched by time.
Luke's breath hitched. He pressed his hand against the cold surface.
"She's here," Clary whispered.
Her fingers trembled as she drew a rune on the glass—one her mother had taught her long ago.
The surface cracked.
Jocelyn's body collapsed forward. Luke caught her before she could hit the ground.
Clary's breath hitched.
Her mother was alive.
She was home.