Yayy! I finally got the sequel up! Sorry to all of you guys who've been waiting. Soo I'm really excited about this story and I enjoyed writing this first chapter so I hope you guys like it too! Also, if you haven't read the first story, Eve of the End, you need to do that before reading this or you will be super confused.

Disclaimer: The Mortal Instruments Series belongs to Cassandra Clare


The boy anxiously paced back and forth across the room. He was in what most mundanes would call a family room, but considering the fact that the boy was not a mundane and the room was never used for the family to gather and spend quality time together, the room was simply that: a room. Impatient, the teenager walked over to a tall shelf and slammed his fist against it. The motion caused a crystal bowl, which was on the edge of the shelf, to fall to the ground and shatter. The boy cursed under his breath and bent down to pick up the pieces. However, he abandoned the effort when a sliver cut a shallow gash across his palm. Instead of pulling out a stele and healing the injury, the boy simply stared at it for a moment before going back to pacing the room. The Nephilim was about to leave and figure out why this was taking so damn long when an older man walked into the room. He looked very pristine with his nice suit and white-blond hair combed back into place.

"Well?"

The man noticed the broken bowl and raised his eyebrows. He did not comment on it though, saying only, "It's done."

The young shadowhunter ran his hands through his hair. "What about-"

The man cut him off. "Your brother is still there. He will be staying to make sure that everything goes according to plan."

The boy nodded. "What do we do now?"

"Now," the man walked over and placed his hand on the boy's shoulder. "Now we wait."


CPOV:

The past couple of days in the Institute had been hectic. Maryse and Robert had portaled back as soon as the news of Max's return had reached them. They kept a close eye on him and hardly let him go anywhere by himself. Not that they needed to worry about that. Isabelle didn't let the boy out of her sight. She followed him everywhere he went. Clary suspected that she was acting like this because she still felt guilty and was trying to make up for what happened to Max in Idris. While all the adults were trying to figure out where Valentine was hiding out, Clary, the Lightwood children, excluding Max, Simon, and Magnus were researching ways to help Jace. Clary, Isabelle, and Alec were looking in every book in the Institute library, which was extremely time-consuming, and Magnus and Simon were studying the Book of White and other spell books, looking for any spell that might be of use.

Clary reached the end of yet another book and sighed in frustration. There was nothing that even hinted at what Jonathon had done to Jace. Clary almost growled when she thought her brother's name. Jonathon was a horrible person, a demon. He needed to go to hell, and Clary decided that she would make sure that happened. Tears pricked at her eyes and Clary angrily wiped them away. She needed to be strong if she was ever going to have a chance of taking down Jonathon and Valentine.

Izzy walked over to where Clary was sitting and gently pried the book from her fingers. "C'mon honey, you've been sitting here for hours. You need a break."

Clary looked up at the beautiful girl in front of her. "Jace wouldn't take a break for me. He would never give up."

"But you're not Jace. Please just take a tiny break. Let's go to Taki's and get some comfort food."

Clary was about to protest that she wasn't hungry, but her stomach turned traitor and rumbled loudly. Knowing that there was no point in arguing, Clary pushed away from the table and stretched her legs, which had fallen asleep.

"That's my girl." Isabelle smiled at her.

At Taki's, Clary was looking at the menu, but her mind was elsewhere. She kept trying to figure out how to solve everything that had gone wrong so quickly, but she kept drawing a blank. Although Clary was hungry, she didn't have an appetite, and she certainly wasn't in the mood for eating, so she just ordered the first thing on the back of the menu.

Clary was stabbing her food with her fork, not really eating, and looking out the window when she saw it. On the other side of the street, Clary saw a flash of golden-blonde hair that quickly disappeared around the corner. Clary dropped her fork and jumped up.

"Clary? What's wrong?" Clary ignored Izzy's confused question and dashed out of the restaurant. She didn't stop, but darted across the road, not noticing the beeps that several angry drivers directed at her. She ran around the corner and paused. She saw another flash of gold and was off again.

"Jace!" She cried. Everyone was staring at her as she frantically ran along the sidewalk, but she wasn't paying them any attention. All she cared about was catching up to Jace. "Jace!" she called once again. The boy turned and glanced back. Clary's breath caught. It was Jace. His piercing golden eyes were looking right at her. His mouth parted in surprise. He quickly stuck his arm out and hailed a cab. Clary raced over, trying to get to him, but halfway to her destination, Jace climbed in the back of a taxi and it drove off.

Clary held back a sob and bent forward, resting her hands on her knees. She was out of breath and her whole body ached. Jace had seen her and he left anyways. Clary was still trying to recompose herself when Izzy and Alec jogged up to her.

"There you are." Alec said. It was obvious that he was annoyed. "What the hell was that?"

"I saw Jace."

Izzy shot her a look of pity. "Clary. You must have seen someone else-"

"No!" Clary interrupted. "It was Jace. He looked right at me. But then he jumped in a cab and left." Alec and Isabelle exchanged a look. "You don't believe me!" Clary scowled. Why didn't they believe her? She saw Jace. She wasn't hallucinating.

"Clary why don't we go back to the Institute?" Alec said with doubt in his voice.

Clary made an angry noise in the back of her throat and stomped off.

After taking a hot shower, Clary made her way to the library and was about to enter when she stopped. She heard people talking. Clary pushed her ear against the door to hear better.

"And you can't just trace him?" Alec.

"No," someone sighed. "I've already tried that." Clary realized that it was Magnus who was talking. "Jace has figured out a way to block us. There's no way to track him."

"She thought she saw him earlier." Isabelle said. The tone she said it in made blood rise to Clary's face. They still didn't believe her. They thought she was crazy. Someone sighed.

"She's going through a lot." Magnus said. "Just make her take a break for a couple of days. Let her get some real sleep."

Clary heard someone walking towards the door, and before she could make a move to leave, it swung open. Isabelle looked surprised. "Clary!"

Clary spun around and ran in a dead sprint back to her room. When she made it in, she slammed the door closed and locked it. Then she yanked her stele out of her pocket and drew a locking rune on the door for good measure. Clary leaned against the door and breathed in deep gasps. Clary's head snapped up when she heard footsteps slapping against the ground. She backed away from the door and waited. A moment later there was a loud pounding against her door. "Clary?"

"Go away!" Clary screeched. The room started to bounce up and down and it was then that Clary realized she was shaking in rage.

Clary heard the handle turn but then the person realized the door was locked and Izzy's agitated voice called out "Clary unlock the door!"

In response, Clary grabbed the closest thing to her, which happened to be a tennis shoe, and chucked it at the door as hard as she could. "Clary!" Izzy called again. "Who you saw wasn't Jace! He's hiding out wherever Valentine and Jonathon are. He's not randomly walking the streets!"

"Yes he is! I know what I saw! Now leave me alone!" Clary screamed so loudly, she was afraid she would lose her voice. Why was it so hard to believe that she saw Jace? It wasn't like he was dead.

"Clary." Alec said. She knew he was trying to sound patient but she could hear the strain underneath. "Be reasonable. Please just open the door."

"I'm doing what Magnus said to do. Give me some space."

"By the angel Clary." Izzy sounded exasperated. "Stop acting like a child. You need to learn to grow up."

"Isabelle." Magnus warned.

Clary blew up. "Do you even miss Jace? Let me answer that for you: no. You don't care about Jace at all! Ever since I brought Max back, he's all you've been worrying about! Jace doesn't even matter to you!"

Isabelle's voice was dangerously quiet. "You know that's not true."

"Do I? Just go. Go spend time with your real brothers."

Isabelle let out a wordless shriek of fury and stormed off. Footsteps retreated after her rapidly. There was a second of silence and then Magnus' soft voice carried through the door. "Clary? It's me Magnus. I'm alone. Can I come in?"

Clary looked around and saw her reflection in the mirror. Her face was as red as her hair, her eyes bright and angry, and she was still shaking. "I just need some time alone."

"Of course." Clary waited, expecting to hear Magnus walk away, but there was nothing. She looked at her door and realized that anybody could just draw a rune and barge into her room. She glanced around her room and stopped at her tall dresser. It was about as tall as the door. She pushed against it, and after ten minutes of struggling, managed to slide it up against the door. Then she flung herself onto her bed, flipped her sketchbook open to a blank page, and began to draw. Periodically, Isabelle, Alec, and even Jocelyn would beat against the door and tell Clary that she needed to come out. She ignored them all, focusing on her sketch. She was drawing Jace, but she was having a hard time. For some reason, something about his features seemed off.

Halfway through her drawing, Clary heard another knock on her door. The fact that this knock wasn't loud or insistent like the others caused her to pause. "Clary?" Clary put her pencil down. It was Luke. This was the first time he had come to see her.

"Are you going to tell me that I need to stop acting so immature and come out already?" Clary sounded cynical, making her flinch. She wasn't trying to be mean to Luke.

"No." Luke responded simply. He made a small grunting noise, and Clary guessed that he was sliding down the wall to sit down outside her door.

"Are you going to call me crazy like the others?"

"They called you crazy?"

"Not directly, but I saw the way they looked at me and heard the way they talked about me."

"I'm not here to do any of that. I just thought you'd like someone to talk to."

Clary sighed. Luke wasn't here to push her, he was here to support her. "I know that I saw Jace."

"I believe you."

"You do?"

"Of course. You know without a doubt that you saw him. I have no reason not to trust your judgment."

"No one else does." Clary sounded resentful. She had good reason to be.

"Are you okay baby?"

Tears fell from Clary's eyes. She threw her sketchbook across the room. It hit the wall and fell to ground, opening to a random page. "I need to be strong, but it's hard. He saw me. He looked into my eyes and he still left. I thought he loved me." Clary's voice cracked and she wiped away the tears that were streaking down her face. "And I know I'm probably overreacting, but with everything that's happened recently, I just can't handle it."

"I know that you're going through a lot." That was exactly what Magnus had said. "But I want you to know something. You are one of the strongest people I know. You'll be able to get through this. I know you will. You're the only person here capable of beating this. Just believe in yourself Clary." Clary stayed silent. She didn't know how to respond. She heard Luke get up and leave. Exhausted, Clary fell into bed and was asleep within five seconds of her head hitting the pillow. While she slept, Clary dreamt of Jace, and when she woke up she began, for the first time, to doubt her sanity.


Bam. First chapter's up. Hope you liked it. Please please please review!