Forever Fallen is the tenth and final short story in Ghosts of the Shadow Market, co-written by Cassandra Clare with Sarah Rees Brennan.
Unlike the first eight stories, this and The Lost World were not released as e-books and were only available in the print edition of Ghosts of the Shadow Market that was released on June 4, 2019.
Description[]
The Jace Herondale who crossed into our world from Thule is torn between his feeling of responsibility to Ash, who is ever-increasing in power, and his desire to take back the life he lost from the Jace of our world, by force if necessary. Meanwhile, in the peaceful countryside of England, Kit Herondale struggles to adjust to a new life and a new family, and to forget Ty.[1]
Plot[]
New York, 2013
Jem Carstairs and Kit Herondale are visiting the New York Shadow Market. Jem is pleased to see that he is welcome there, and assures Kit the same; the latter was reluctant to accompany Jem due to past mishaps. They look around the stalls, until Jem inquires about a faerie woman selling potions and illusions. He states that he is a friend of the warlock, Shade. While he is collecting the potion he requires, he spots someone with a close resemblance to Jace Herondale. Before he can approach him, Jem finds Kit staring at a boy with headphones, and when he notices that it is not Ty Blackthorn, Jem prompts him to leave.
Meanwhile, the man whom Jem had mistaken for Jace is his counterpart from Thule, Janus. He is visiting the Shadow Market for a secret mission. Most people make the same mistake and believe he is Jace; Janus does nothing to discourage them. He uses a potion to create a temporary illusion of his girlfriend and grieves her death once more when she disappears.
Once they return home, Kit locks himself in his room while Tessa, Jem and Mina have some pleasant family time. At the Shadow Market, Janus comes across Lily Chen who instantly catches his bluff. Janus offers to make a deal with her; that he will bring the Raphael from Thule to their world so she could meet him, and in return she will fulfill one condition of his when the time arises. Lily agrees.
The next morning Jem wakes up to a crying Mina but when he goes to comfort her, he finds that Kit is already cuddling her and helps her sleep. Jem is pleased as he naps for some more time.
Janus feels weird to think about Alec Lightwood as the Consul and spies on him, while the latter is visiting a fair with his family. A lot of Downworlders greet him amiably. Janus seeks the help of a few werewolves to accomplish a task. When a pair of them try to betray him, he murders them and continues following the Lightwood-Bane family.
Once Mina and Jem are awake they visit a nearby store to buy pastries for Tessa and Kit. Once they return, all four of them have a friendly banter over breakfast and Kit is pleased to be among them.
Janus keeps following Alec and notes several changes in his demeanor; the Alec in Thule was extremely different from the Alec of this world. While Janus is lost in thought about the Alec Lightwood of his world, Max catches him and mistaking him for Jace, asks if he is playing a game of hide-and-seek. Janus draws out his dagger but is unable to hurt the young warlock as he is called back by Alec.
Janus returns to his house, which was given to him by the Seelie Queen, where he stays with Ash Morgenstern. While talking to Ash, he recalls the events of his past and everything that had happened in Thule; Sebastian's cruel behavior towards Ash. Initially Sebastian had been pleased to see his son, but gradually he turned more ruthless towards him, and began to cruelly torture him. Janus did his best to protect Ash and intervened when Sebastian was about to whip him. Janus then began training Ash, and some time later, Sebastian decided to test Ash's powers. He threw the latter into a pit full of demons; instead of succumbing, Ash grows mysterious, black colored wings and emerges victorious. Sebastian then reveals Ash's biggest secret: Due to the demonic, Nephilim and faerie blood in his veins, everyone would be compelled to follow Ash's orders and remain loyal to him.
Janus goes to Magnus's apartment in the hopes of seeing Clary once, and meets Simon halfway. He follows the latter to the New York Institute and watches Jace, Clary, Izzy and the others having a good time. He yearns to be with Clary and gets an opportunity when she briefly steps out to attend a phone call with Maia. A party among the Downworlders had turned chaotic and Simon and Clary are sought for. Clary, believing Janus to be Jace due to their striking similarities, kisses him, and departs, though she does feel him behaving weirdly. Janus feels wretched after his encounter, severely missing her and returns to the Seelie Queen. There, they hatch a plan to win back Clary, and Janus decides to continue being Ash's guardian and train him.
Meanwhile, Jem and his family are sitting in the living room and reading Mina some stories, when Tessa tells Kit about how she had once transformed into Rosemary Herondale. She also sings him the song that Rosemary sang for him during his childhood. Some time later, Jem is resting in the garden and Tessa is laying Mina to sleep. Kit returns from his training and has a conversation with Jem. The latter comforts him when Kit says that he is "not worth enough". Jem tells him of how his parabatai, Will too had given him a reason to live. He then assures Kit that he doesn't need to act like anybody; Tessa and Jem love him the way he is.
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Trivia[]
- The title of the story is taken from the line "Awake, arise, or be forever fallen!" in John Milton's poem Paradise Lost, with the specific line referring to "Lucifer and his angels having just fallen from heaven."[2][3]
- Like the other Ghosts story Son of the Dawn, both installments have titles referencing Lucifer and both feature Jace as a prominent character.[3]
- This story is told from two points of view, Jem and Janus.
References[]
- ↑ Cassandra Clare's January 2019 newsletter
- ↑ q&a: ghosts of the shadow market — Cassandra Clare on Tumblr
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 "Can you tell us anything about Forever Fallen?" Cassandra Clare Q&A on Tumblr