1. Vacations End
Clary lay under the soft purple sheets of her bed, Isabelle tucked up to her right side sound asleep. She had taken to waking up periodically in an attempt to avoid the nightmares that persisted her and though it hadn't stopped the nightmares so far, she felt better sleeping knowing they couldn't last long. She allowed her hand to caress the warm skin of Isabelle's back, her arm pinned beneath the brunette's lightly snoring head. Clary took a moment to admire her partner, whose long brown hair splayed out over the pillow behind her, enjoying the peace that took over her girlfriends' face in her fitful sleep.
The next morning, only hours away would mark the end of their week of respite and signal the revival of their lives as shadowhunters from the temporary hiatus following their last encounter with Valentine. Though they had been told by Luke to rest, he had also demanded Clary attend mandatory training sessions daily with him, using them as an opportunity to also counsel her on her mental state. He had brought up her anxiety in the first session, explaining how he too had suffered from anxiety in his early days but managed to overcome it with guidance. He deliberately left out the part about her father being the one that helped him, which Clary had been grateful for and she was able to work through a lot of her feelings with him, even learning a few tricks to try and prevent the attacks from happening in the first place.
Despite all of this, she still felt insecure about the mark that marred the flesh of her throat. She had tried for the first few days to cover it in an attempt to ignore the runes existence, though after observing it come up in conversation several times she decided not to bother, allowing the black lines to shine free. It didn't stop her from hating that it still marked her flash, she knew that it would always faintly mark her skin anyway, the fading lines of the other runes she used so frequently still had faint outlines when she wasn't using them, but it was different with this rune. It was different because Valentine had placed it on her, that fact alone had her longing for the mark to disappear and the longer it stayed perfectly intact the more it troubled the red-haired girl.
A gentle knocking on her door released Clary from her thoughts and with a from she slid out from beneath Isabelle, stopping to cover the girl with the duvet and put on some clothes before making her way over to the door. She was pleasantly surprised to find the wide-awake golden eyes of Jace peering at her through the crack in the door when she opened it and with a final tender look at her partner, still sound asleep beneath the covers, she slipped from the room closing the door quietly behind her.
"Couldn't sleep?" She asked, one brow arched inquisitively.
"Yeah, something like that." He responded with a lopsided grin, a calloused hand ruffling the blonde hair at the back of his head sheepishly. He turned to the side, gesturing with his head towards the sitting room and set off quietly down the hall. The lights were off when they entered, their family still sleeping in their beds trying to catch the last few hours of soft light before the sun broke over the horizon waking the city completely. "Want a coffee?" Her companion asked, making his way over to the oak door that joined the kitchen to the sitting room. She nodded with a tired smile in response, plopping herself down on the comfy cushions of the two-seater couch that occupied the space across from the television. She grabbed the small black remote from the table, switching the tv on and turning the volume down before flicking through the channels in search of something mildly entertaining to watch.
She settled on some reruns of one of the many adult-themed cartoons, her ears prickling at the increasing sounds of the coffee percolator to her left. A few moments later Jace backed through the door, which swung closed behind him. He placed a grey coffee mug in front of her on the table, making sure to set it on one of the circular coasters before setting his own drink down.
"Did you remember to put sugar in mine?" Clary questioned, reaching forward to pick up her hot mug and cradle it in her hands.
"Yes, I did. you weirdo. You can only really appreciate the flavour of coffee if you refrain from adding loads of unnecessary things to it." Jace joked, a teasing smile forming on his lips. Clary rolled her eyes in response, a smile creeping onto her face to spite her.
"So, what did you want to talk about, dear brother, I know you didn't knock on my door for no reason at this hour." Clary probed, surveying her companion with a questioning look. Jace gave her an exasperated look, instinctively reaching for his coffee in an effort to buy himself time. "It's alright if you need a few minutes to find the words," Clary added, echoing something Luke had said to her at the start of her training sessions. It had helped her feel more comfortable on several occasions and she hoped it offered him some as well.
"Thanks, it's just I haven't even talked to Alec about this yet. Also how come you're still calling me brother? I mean, we're not really." He placed his cup down after taking a sip, his golden eyes searching for something else to fix his attention on.
"Well, why are you coming to me before Alec? It doesn't matter to me whether or not you're biologically my brother Jace, I still feel connected to you on a more personal level than you just being my friend. Besides, you've been more of a brother to me than my biological brother so why can't I just adopt you as my sibling instead?" Clary gushed, hoping to convey to her blonde-haired companion just how strongly she felt about the subject. She took a long drink of her coffee, green eyes watching as Jace's smile grew into a shy grin.
"That actually means a lot to me." He commented, his eyes finally meeting hers. He appeared troubled over something and Clary placed her mug back down on its coaster in an attempt to look more serious. "I might've found out who my parents are," Jace said quietly "Inquisitor Herondale approached me a couple of days ago. She told me Stephen's wife was pregnant when he passed away serving Valentine, she speculated that Valentine assisted in her suicide and then stole the child to raise himself."
Clary's eyes widened, her mouth falling open into a wide 'o'.
"Does she have anything to back it up?" Clary asked, grabbing her coffee once more and taking a long drink before turning back to the boy, her red eyebrow raised in questioning.
"Luke seemed to believe it's likely and Imogen is intent on welcoming me to her family as a Herondale." He returned, giving Clary the notion that he might not want what Imogen did.
"What do you want?" Clary reached out and placed her pale hand over Jace's darkened one, her voice gentle.
"I don't know, I wanted to ask you because I know you have several possible last names as well." He chuckled bitterly, sadness flashing in his golden eyes. Clary could see how lost he felt but she wasn't entirely sure she could relate. Clary had opted to just allow people to choose between Fray and Fairchild, though she was still partial to the name of her childhood. In truth, it only bothered her when someone addressed her as a Morgenstern, which she did not consider herself in the slightest.
"Honestly Jace you should stick with the last name you feel most comfortable with. I know that Robert and Maryse took you in and helped raise you, provided a home for you and will always be there for you. They both consider you part of their family. Alec, Izzy and Max do as well, so if you're looking for a family name to call your own, I'd say you wouldn't need to look very hard." Clary yawned, flicking the television over to the news as a more obnoxious show came on the channel they had been watching.
"I know that I don't really want anything else. I feel good as a Lightwood." He paused for a moment, a serious look crossing his features before his face broke out into a smile. "Thanks, Clary. I'll talk to Imogen and politely decline her offer, having my last name as Lightwood is just another thing that connects me to them and I don't want to change that."
"Well good, I'm happy I could help you resolve your conflict over the matter." Clary beamed, feeling warmed and happy to have helped her brother.
"So you and Isabelle, I'm happy for you. I hope you know I really am sorry for how I reacted before, seeing how much you smile and how happy you look around each other makes me inexplicably happy, so thank you as well. Thank you for making Isabelle happier than I've seen her." He regarded her with a reserved smile, flicking his hair back out of his eyes.
It made Clary realise just how far he had actually come in such a short time and filled with a wealth of warm fuzzy emotions Clary reached over and hugged him tightly. She loved how his eyes lit up as they parted, a wide smile on his face.
"I'm proud of you, Jace." A gorgeous sleep filled voice noted from the doorway. Clary turned to face Isabelle, her smiling growing.
"Good morning sleeping beauty." Clary giggled, sliding her arms around the dark-haired girl as she came and sat on Clary's lap. She'd put on a loose t-shirt and a black pair of joggers though her feet were still bare.
"Morning, what are you two doing up at half five in the morning?" Isabelle rubbed her eyes as if to emphasise her tiredness over how early it was. She promptly circled her arms around Clary's neck after, leaning her head against her shoulder.
"I just needed some advice, you can take her back to bed if you want," Jace answered, winking jokingly at the brunette.
"That sounds great only I just got a text from Luke, the pack have picked up what Luke described as 'a bad smell'. He thinks there might be a group of Dahak demons in the area doing surveillance and he wants us to check it out, I already woke up Alec. We're supposed to meet him at the Jade Wolf at half six sharp, so we better get ready." Clary's body jumped in excitement at the news, the week of rest had been nice but a run of the mill mission sounded like a great way to draw their vacation to a conclusion.
"Alright then, let's go." Isabelle hopped off of her lap, extending her slender fingers towards Clary in an open invitation. She gave Jace a quick glance, blushing at his cocked eyebrow and cheeky smirk.
"I need to shower and get dressed, I guess we'll meet up in here once we're all ready." Jace nodded in response to her and feeling as if the conversation had sufficiently ended, Clary allowed Isabelle to lead her out of the sitting room and down the hall, heading into the bedroom to prepare.
Luke was already standing outside the front door of the Jade Wolf and greeted them with a wave as they approached. They had assembled in the lounge rather quickly and having no other option had taken the long walk over to the Chinese restaurant.
"I caught the scent as I pulled up, had to confirm it with the pack first though, to be sure. I caught the scent of at least six, there could be more though." His eyes passed over them, his face drained. "I think they've taken residence in a school structure, that's why I wanted you here so early. It's not a school day but there is always the possibility that teachers will occupy the building during the day, so it's best we take care of this now." He unlocked his truck, jumping in the driver's side and started it up, waiting for the group to jump in.
The four filed into the bed of the truck, sitting up against the two sides separated by gender. They took off soon after, each of them gripping the cool metal sides of the truck in an effort to stay steady on take-off. Then, with the perfect opportunity presenting itself they each began drawing helpful runes on one another in their pairs. Clary enjoyed being the one to trace the inky swirling and complicated patterns onto her partner. They shared soft touches and tender looks as they did so, soothing the burn that accompanied the applying of runes.
The journey from the Jade Wolf to the school, which turned out to be a downtown elementary school, was short. It came to an abrupt end with Luke slamming on the breaks and leaping from the car, tearing across the freshly mown patch of grass and down the side of the main building. The group exchanged an alarmed look and leapt from the car, chasing after their supervisor with haste.
The brick main building and the wall that ran beside it only two or three meters away were comprised of a dull red brick. A wrought iron fence with spiked tips two meters tall ran along the length of the top of the wall and as they ran down the thin dirt pathway, dust and debris kicking up behind them as they traversed, Clary imagined being a child and feeling trapped by the tall walls, deterred from escaping by the dangerous points at the top of the fence.
She allowed her eyes to return ahead of her, the brown of the pathway and the supple greens and yellows of the grass blurring significantly as she ran. Beside her, Jace skidded to a halt almost falling over and kicking up a large cloud of dust as he did so.
"Blood, not fresh though." He muttered and they moved on, sprinting around the corner of the building to find Luke engaged in battle with several demons. They circled around him, each set of six thin legs making a skittering sound as they moved in unison. Clary grasped the hilt of her sword, unsheathing it as quietly as she could. The Dahak demons had thick, scaley looking skin that was an odd green-brown colour. Accompanied by their bulbous heads, venomous dripping fangs, faceted black eyes and wildly waving tentacles they looked like hideous aliens. They clicked and squeaked in an insectoid manner as they circled Luke, they didn't appear to notice the advancing shadowhunters.
Luke fended them off expertly, not particularly making any significant damage to them but effectively keeping them all occupied as the four fanned out and crept in closer. Once in place, they shared a look, Clary caught Luke's eyes for a moment, nodding slightly at him to indicate they were ready. In a flash, Luke transformed, leaping over the confused Dahak demons in one motion, his varying brown fur ruffling around him as he soared through the air. Ocean blue orbs connected with Clary's green and a moment later the four moved in on their stunned prey.
Clary swung her sword to the side, slicing three dry crispy feeling legs from the Dahak nearest her, she shuddered at the feeling and leapt to the left to avoid the dripping fangs that homed in on her. Rolling to the side, she readied her sword again and lunged, this time severing several tentacles as they extended out towards her.
"These things are disgusting." She commented, her face scrunching up as she embedded her sword in the creatures head all the way to the hilt. She ripped it free, showering the grass beneath them with splats of thick oozing ichor, the creature clicking wildly before disintegrating into a pile of black dust. She heard a growl of agreeance come from Luke behind her, him being too preoccupied with mauling a Dahak to return to his human form and reply.
Satisfied with her work, Clary moved over to join Jace as he battled three of the beasts with only Alec's cover fire to aid him. She jumped in, separating the Dahak closest to her from its friends. It lumbered towards her, clicking angrily as it did so and Clary jumped a couple of paces back to give Jace some space before engaging the creature. She immobilised it, detaching each of it's skittering legs before swiping violently to the side and slicing the top half of the creatures head off. Ichor sprayed outwards, coating her leather armour and the Dahak exploded into a shower of black dust.
By the time she finished, Jace and Alec had taken care of the other two. She waited for them to pass her, falling into step alongside them as they made their way over to Isabelle and Luke, who were both casually leaning against the hard red brick wall.
"We were just discussing what they might have been doing here," Isabelle noted as they joined up and made their way around to the truck.
"Well it hardly matters now, they're dead." Alec deadpanned, his blue eyes shining in the light of the morning sun.
"I suppose that's true, let's grab some breakfast, I'm buying." Luke jumped into the truck, invitation open. He chuckled at the chorus of stomach grumbles that followed and motioned toward the bed of the truck, starting the engine as the four shadowhunters hopped in. "What're you guys feeling?"
