Chapter 01 : The encounter
One encounter can change your life forever. One choice can make it either better or worse.
It all started the day of my eighteenth birthday, when a series of strange things kept happening without me realizing what the universe was trying to tell me. I was sitting at a table with my best friend Simon at our favorite café.
"Well played, well played" Simon congratulated me about getting accepted in Brooklyn Academy of Art, my dream school. No matter how happy I was about that, I had this feeling of uneasiness about how it all happened.
"Thank you" I say with a big smile before confessing the source of my discomfort "You know, it's weird, they didn't like my assigned work but they flipped out about the drawings of our graphic novel" I gestured to the sketch book filled with gothic symbols and sci-fi characters we invented.
Simon smiles proudly "You're welcome"
"This will stay in the history of the greatest eighteenth birthday I've ever had" I state jokingly. I mean let's face it, my life as an eighteen year old has started the best it can, hopefully good news will keep coming my way.
The waitress arrives with our orders which she sets on the table
"This is why we're celebrating tonight, with Maureen after our show" he refers to the beautiful girl that plays in his band.
"Absolutely" I agree "So, what's the deal with you and Maureen" I know she's got a crush on him, but Simon seems oblivious to it and won't take the initiative. That's too bad, because she really sounds like a good match for him.
"What deal! There's no deal" he lifts his cup back to his lips and takes a sip before continuing "We sing together"
"It seems you don't know she's been crushing on you this whole time"
Simon looks at me like I've just grown two heads "What? No…no" he adjusts his glasses to concentrate on something else, clearly uncomfortable with the turn the conversation is taking
"Simon, how can someone as smart and as perceptive as you not realize that the person sitting right there is in love with you?" Poor Maureen, I feel sorry for her. This whole time she's been sending him all the right signals and he hasn't noticed her.
My best friend stares at me for few seconds looking almost hurt by my words, then finally he speaks "Getting to you, I'm not the only smart and perceptive person to make that mistake"
I'm not sure who or what he's referring to, but the anger I see in his eyes is almost palpable. I decide to drop the subject and drink my latté instead, but once I go for my biscuit, all I see is a drawing of a similar biscotti on the table but mine is nowhere to be seen, Simon teases me about having eaten it, but I could swear I didn't.
Little did I know, that was only the beginning
Later on, when I got home my mom took me to the living room and gave me a rectangular box, saying that the content was my birthday gift. As I opened it, I discovered a long slender twig with inscriptions on it, it seemed to be made of metal but I wasn't sure, weirdly, I felt overwhelmed as I held it…it was probably because it was a gift from my mom…
"It's called a stele" my mom said
I twirled in my hands, wondering what this beautiful object could possibly be "What is it? like a paper whip?"
My mom shakes her head with a smile "No, it's more than that, it's very ancient, I want you to have it…it's a family heirloom"
Her choice of wording makes me laugh "The Frays have heirlooms?"
She hesitates a moment before answering, a glimmer in her eyes "A few"
As I checked the symbols on the Stele, I noticed that some of them looked really familiar; it's really strange because I don't recall having seen them elsewhere, but who knows…
"You know it's weird, but I doodled something like this, this morning" I point one of the symbols. My mom looks at me in utter shock "Must have seen that somewhere" I add
"Honey, I need to…" my mom starts but my phone interrupts our discussion.
It's Simon
"We need to talk" my mom insists as I get up from the couch
"I can't right now, I need to change, I'm going out with my friends tonight" but as I start to head to my bedroom, my mom grabs my arm
"Honey, it's your eighteenth birthday now, everything is going to change for you now" She really seems worried and for good reason. Sadly, I'm not paying enough attention to her words
"We already had this talk, mom, I'm good" I try to leave again but in vain
My mom's serious face tells me it's something important, but I'm really in a hurry, it can probably wait "We need to have a much different and more important talk"
"We will" I say reassuringly "But can it be over breakfast? Alright?" I give her a quick kiss on the forehead and run to my bedroom "Thank you for the heirloom, I love you" I shout from the hallway, too excited about tonight
After rummaging through my closet, I finally opt for the sexy black top Dorothea, my mom's assistant in the Antiques shop, offered me, with a pair of jeans and my green hoodie to cover the see-through shirt. I let my long auburn hair fall to my back and wear black eyeliner that makes my green eyes stand out.
As I go back to the living room, I find my mom's best friend Luke checking my drawings "Hey Luke, what's up?"
"Hey" he greets me back "Incredible drawings" he gives me a pack of spray paints "Here you go, if I find any of these on city walls I'll arrest you" he adds jokingly…or so I'd like to believe, the guy is a badass cop.
"I'm going to use them on Simon's Van" he wants me to draw on it to make his van more artistic. As Luke starts to mention my being eighteen changing everything, Simon barges in, interrupting a conversation that's becoming annoying and repetitive. When I start to leave though, my mom hugs me tighter than usual and makes me promise to be careful and talk to her the next day during breakfast.
A very bad feeling is nagging at me, but I decide to ignore it. It's probably due to my mom overacting. I read somewhere that it's very scary for parents to see their teenage kids growing into new adults; it must be my mother's case as well. I mean, what would possibly have her worry this much, right? I spend all my days in art studios, my life couldn't be more…mundane and other than my mom, I have no other relatives.
That night, right before Simon's band gig, Maureen said something very weird as I proceeded to tell her that it was just me and my mom against the world "You guys don't think this is suspicious? You don't know anything about your family" she pauses for more effect "Your mom might be hiding some big dark secret"
I fight the urge to laugh. My mom? Hiding something from me? "Maureen, that's impossible, my mother isn't capable of hiding anything from me"
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Simon and Maureen did great tonight, I'm beyond proud of my best friend. They're cover of Forever Young was amazing and the audience loved it. After we left the club, I felt so inspired, I instantly took my paint spray and painted the name of Simon's band on his van. It was like my hand had a mind of its own, I was in a daze and when I finally looked at the result, I was shocked to see symbols I hadn't even meant to draw.
"You know there are confirmed cases of people that woke up speaking French although they never studied it" Maureen shrugs, her eyes glued to the van
I can't take my eyes from it either "Do you think that's some kind of language?"
"Sanskrit maybe" she answers while going back to Simon's side in the back side of the vehicle
I'm still admiring what I have just drawn, trying desperately to decipher the symbols when someone bumps into me and keeps walking. People these days are so rude and I'm really not in the mood to stand it "Hey, can you watch where you're going?"
The man turns around to come in front of me and I'm surprised to see he looks about my age, he's got a beautiful figure, very fair skin and deep blue eyes. His black outfit is the perfect contrast of his fair blond hair.
He approaches me, deepening the crease between his eyebrows "You can see me?" up close, he's even more attractive.
"Kind of the point" I take the opportunity to check him out openly "But, obviously you didn't see me" why does it sound like flirting? Am I flirting? Well, he's cute, it certainly won't hurt
"You have the sight" his statement takes me out of my reverie. Okay, so the first guy I think of as cute in forever has to be nuts, lucky me. No wonder I'm an eternal single, I guess.
"Wait, the what?
He shakes his head, seeming really frustrated "How can I not know who you are?"
Wow, he's flirting back. Cheesy, true, but who cares "Has that line seriously ever worked for you? Even once?"
A male voice calls what I assume is his name and he immediately leaves, once he's out of sight I join my friends, eager to share this weird encounter with them, but to my utter astonishment, both of them assure me there was nobody with me. That's insane, I didn't imagine things, did I?
Both my friends stare at me like I'm a rare species and it raises my irritation even more. I know what I saw was real, I'm not crazy. I remove my hoodie and start to walk in the direction the blond guy took, just to prove them I'm right….and maybe to prove it to myself too.
"Clary, your fake ID sucks" I hear Simon shout behind me, but it's late, I already made my decision and unlike his claiming, the bulky guy at the door didn't even blink when he let the three of us in. Once inside PANDEMONION, the club I saw the guy go into, I part ways with Simon and Maureen, my attention exclusively on the blond guy. He looks like he's in a mission and I'm curious to know what it is. He goes inside a private part of the club and I follow inside, only to discover he's about to plant a sword in a woman's heart, but when I try to save her, she transforms in a sort of monster. The scene before me becomes a battle field. Blond guy stabs the female monster that evaporates in dust. The gorgeous brunette in a white mini skirt and a shirt that barely covered her boobs, produces a whip in her hand and grips a man with it while kicking a second one. Blondy comes to help me stand up, but before he has the chance to, someone punches him hard. Everything happens so quickly, I barely have time to process it and that's when I notice a third guy helping Blondy and the girl in white. He fights with Jace in perfect harmony, it's like they've rehearsed this a million times, but it's not what captivates me most.
He is…beautiful.
I really can't think of another word to describe him, his features could only belong to angels, or so I would imagine an angel. His tanned sin, his dark hair, his hazel eyes, his straight nose, everything in him is perfect. Nothing is too much or not enough. It's like he had been sculpted, rather than born.
It's only when I see him plant his sword in the chest of a man that I come to my senses. I shouldn't be here. I need to run as far away from these people as possible. I hurry out the private room and run into the crowd of clubbers, swaying to the electronic music the DJ is playing, in my race I bump into someone, but when I lift my eyes, the man standing before me looks awfully familiar. He's got Asian features and golden eyes, he's another beautiful specimen, I think to myself. As I look again into his whiskey eyes, a memory makes its way in my brain.
Than man, sending a blast of golden energy in my head
But, that's impossible. I've never seen him before. I run out the club and away from that sickening feeling that's building inside of me. I think I'm losing my mind. The instant I get home, I tell my mom about my crazy night, needing to spill it all to the one person who loves me most and hoping she won't send me to an asylum or think that I'm doing drugs.
Surprisingly, when she finally speaks, it's to ask me about more details "What did the tattoos of the blond boy you met look like?"
"Who cares, mom, are you even listening to me?" I almost yell at her
She glares at me "Clary" she takes a Stele and passes it on her forearm "Did they look like this?" and there I see the symbols that covered the blond's body. I start to back away, shocked by the sight before me. Which dimension was that?
My mom walks to me "Clary, everything you saw tonight has an explanation and I was dreading having this conversation with you since the day you were born"
Am I going crazy?
My mom proceeds to tell me more when Dorothea barges in, saying something about a certain Magnus who warned my mom that "they" found her. I had no idea what that meant, but the moment my mom heard her, she ran to check out the window.
"Clary, you need to listen to me. You can't stay near me, I made a very powerful person angry…I stole something from him"
She places quickly a necklace around my neck and asks me to think of her when I wear it. This was becoming crazier by the second "Everything I've done, every mistake I made, it was because I love you more that words"
She pushes me toward a purple portal "Mom what are you doing?"
"Luke will explain to you, he'll hide you from the circle, he's the only one you can trust, trust nobody else" she pushes me through the portal and the next thing I know, I'm in the police station. As I go find Luke, I surprise him having a conversation about my mom and I.
"Kill them if you want" Luke tells them "They mean nothing to me" I'm devastated by his words. So I gather what little sanity I still have and go back home, but to my greatest pain, the place is upside down and my mother is nowhere to be seen.
"They took Jocelyn" I spin around to see Dot
"Who took her?" I ask
She walks toward me "Rogue shadow hunters, they were searching for the mortal cup" what is she talking about? I have no idea what she means
She keeps walking towards me and asking me about this mortal cup and before I have time to answer she becomes a monster and attacks me, luckily the blond guy from earlier appears from nowhere and kills it. He tells me that thing that attacked me was a demon, or more precisely a shape shifter, but I think I'm going to faint.
When I open my eyes again, I'm in a room I have never seen before and the gorgeous girl from tonight is right in front of me "I've never seen Jace curious about a mundane or distracted" she states happily
"Who's Jace?"
"You really don't know much, do you?" she stares at me with sympathy
What am I supposed to know, really? Some psycho took my mother, attacked me and tried to kill me, so I'd say, No, I don't know much.
"Mundane shouldn't be here" a deep male voice stirs me from my thoughts. It's him, that angelic specimen.
"And where is here exactly" I snarl, irritated by his coldness and trying desperately not to gaze at him. His figure is so distracting, it's like he stepped out a GQ cover.
He ignores me, while the guy called Jace defends me "She's not a mundane, Alec"
Ok, guys, I'm right here
"How do you know that?" the guy I can only assume is Alec counters
"Because the serif lighted up when she touched it" he gestures to me "Isobel, can you?" the girl stands up and he takes her place "I'm Jace Wayland and you are Clary Fray, we know who you are"
"Why don't you find this unusual?" Alec's deep velvety voice is almost lyrical, no matter how cold he's being "We need to report this to the Clave"
"You know what, dial down a notch" Jace sounds pissed
"My brother doesn't have a dial" Isobel looks at Alec "I love you, Alec, but you have a switch that's always on"
He glares at his sister, no emotion crosses his face as he speaks, arms still folded on his chest "Love you too, but this…"
Jace cuts him off before he finishes what he has to say and I can feel the anger irradiating from him. I can tell he's not used to being talked to this way and it's taking him a huge amount of restraint not to react, rather violently. Alright, so he doesn't want me here and now that Jace is defending me, I suppose it's only going to make him want me out even more…great. My first day as an eighteen year old sucks.
"You're healed" Jace says once Isobel and Alec leave
The wound I had earlier is no more, how is that possible? "So what now, I'm miraculously healed and all of you…" I think of Alec, Isobel and him "Stunning people have magical powers?"
He smiles at my comment and tells me about warlocks, shapeshifters, werewolves and all kinds of insanity and all I can think about is my mom. I don't care about anything other than finding her.
"Please, help me find her" I beg, tears pooling in my eyes
"I'm the best chance you've got"
Simon's call puts an end to our conversation, he explains that the GPS on my phone says I'm in an abandoned church in Deiton and he's waiting for me outside. Given that my clothes had demon venom on them, Isobel lands me some of her own…or so she calls them, for me it's just a piece of leather that barely covers my body…
As I check my reflection in the mirror, I discover a tattoo on my neck, but Jace says it's called a rune and it's what saved me from a possible death. Jace proceeds to tell me more about the power of the runes as we step outside to join Simon.
Mom was right, on my eighteenth birthday, everything changed for me and these people who call themselves shadowhunters are my only chance to find her.
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A/N: Would you like to read Alec POV? I'm still hesitating whether to include it or not