I don't own Shadowhunters. Title from "Memories" by Within Temptation.

Sorry, but all the characters I like less than Jocelyn Fairchild are villains.

Late summer sunlight pounded down on the city street, baking anyone unlucky enough to be caught outside. Luke's truck sat by the side of the road, overheated. Luke was trying to fix it while Jocelyn paced back and forth on the sidewalk talking agitatedly to someone on her phone. She and Luke were steadfastly ignoring each other. They were mad about something, but neither of them was willing to use their words and talk about it, so they just kept ignoring each other and hoping the other would relent.

Clary was angry at her mother and Luke too, but at least they knew why she was angry. Simon's mom was taking him and Becky to Coney Island today. They'd invited Clary along, but Jocelyn had said no.

"You won't like it," she'd said. "It's busy and touristy. It's not safe. You can invite Simon over next weekend."

"I don't care if it's busy, and how it will be safe," Clary had argued. "We'll be with Mrs. Lewis! It's not like she's going to just drop us off and leave!"

"You're not going," Jocelyn said. "I forbid it. Besides, we have an important meeting that we cannot miss."

So that was how Clary had ended up squished between Jocelyn and Luke in Luke's old truck driving off to who-knows-where, while Simon had fun. To make matters worse, when the truck broke down Jocelyn was so twitchy that she almost hadn't let Clary get out of the truck even though it was hotter in there than it was outside.

Clary scuffed her sneaker along the sidewalk and lamented her poor luck. Simon's mom could be protective, but it was normal, sane protective and not anything like Jocelyn was. Simon had once joked that Jocelyn would lock Clary up inside wrapped in bubble wrap forever if she could and right now Clary was inclined to believe him. Clary was one year from being thirteen, she couldn't imagine having a fun teenage life if her mother wasn't even going to let her stand on an unfamiliar sidewalk without an argument.

Jocelyn hung up the phone and strode over to Luke who was frowning miserably down into the engine of his truck. "We don't have much time," she said. "Magnus has another appointment at one."

Luke shook his head. "I don't think this is something I can fix," he said. "I'm going to need to call someone and have it towed."

"We need to get to Magnus's," Jocelyn said sharply. "This needs to happen today."

"Does it really, though?" Luke said. "How long does it take to wear off? Maybe you've got a couple days."

"I should have taken her last week when we were at your farm," Jocelyn snapped. "It's probably completely worn off by now. She could see something!"

"Would that really be so terrible?" Luke asked. "All sorts of mundanes have the Sight. If she realizes the Shadow world exists she's not going to immediately make the jump to thinking that she's a-"

"I'm calling a cab," Jocelyn said, lifting her phone again. "We don't have time to waste."

Luke heaved a sigh.

Clary leaned back against the wall and stared up at the cloudless sky, feeling sweat dripping down her back. It was so hot, but she was sure that it would be manageable if she was having fun with Simon.

Something fell over in the alley next to her and she heard someone cry out. With barely thought she was ducking around the corner and into the dim, cooler alley. The alley was empty save for a woman in her twenties and an older man who were both bizarrely staring up the side of a building looking frustrated.

"Well, that went well," the woman said. She was wearing a heavy black coat studded with weapons and a number of strange tattoos were visible on her hands and neck. She looked pretty badass. "I'm going to have to call the Lightwoods and let them know about this," she said.

The man nodded. "I guess, but make sure they realize what's actually going on. She's just a cub and probably doesn't know what happened to her. She needs help, not to be locked up like a monster."

"Well, she hasn't bitten anyone yet," the woman said. "As long as we catch her before that happens, it'll all be fine."

"If anything happens to her, I'll be holding you responsible, Shadowhunter," the man growled.

"What's a Shadowhunter?" Clary asked.

Both people jumped and turned to face her. "Where did you come from?" the woman asked.

"She's got the Sight," the man said. "That's the only reason she can see you while you're glamoured." He inhaled through his nose like he was smelling something. "She's not a werewolf or a vampire."

"I can tell," the woman said. "Are you a warlock or a Sighted mundane, girl?"

Clary was not sure what these people were talking about. She was pretty sure that if her mother was here, Jocelyn would be grumblingly asking, "What are these people on?" They didn't seem high to Clary, though, they just seemed surprised to see her.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Clary said.

The woman and man looked at each other. "Mundane," they said together.

"Excuse me?" Clary said. "Are you insulting me? What did I ever do to you?"

"Have you never seen anything like us before, child?" the man asked.

"She must have," the woman said. "No one develops the Sight that old."

Clary wished they would stop talking about her like she wasn't there. She opened her mouth to argue but then she heard the absolute last voice she wanted to hear. Her mother. "Clary? Clary, where are you?"

The woman and the man stiffened as Jocelyn came around the corner. She saw the two people Clary was talking to and her face went pale as death. She lunged to Clary's side with a speed that seemed out of character. "Leave her alone!" she shrieked.

The two people flinched back. "Two Sighted mundanes," the man said.

"Get away from us, werewolf!" Jocelyn snapped.

"How can you tell he's a werewolf?" the woman asked.

"A what?" Clary asked. Werewolves didn't exist; they were myths, everyone knew that.

"Stay away from us," Jocelyn said, beginning to drag Clary down the alley back to the street. "If you or any of your kind come anywhere near me or my daughter ever again, you won't like what happens to you!" Jocelyn was saying. She seemed completely obvious to the fact that the two people were just staring at her like she'd lost her mind.

Jocelyn had hauled Clary out onto the street again before either of the strange people in the alley had the chance to figure out what to say. A taxi sat on the street and Luke was standing by his truck. Jocelyn snarled something to him as she dragged Clary past him. Luke just looked on in surprise but he also had no time to speak before Jocelyn shoved Clary into the taxi, climbed in and closed the door. She gave an address to the driver and told them to get there as quickly as possible.

Clary craned her neck to look back as they drove away. All she could see was Luke standing confused on the sidewalk. "Mom, what just happened?" she asked.

"We'll talk about it later, Clary," Jocelyn said. She was visibly shaking. Clary wondered what had her so freaked out. Nothing had happened. The strange people hadn't done anything but stare at her in confusion.

"But, Mom-"

"No, Clary!" Jocelyn burst out. "We'll talk about it later!" She leaned forward in her seat. "Can you drive any faster?" she asked the driver.

Twenty minutes later they pulled up outside a vaguely familiar apartment building. Jocelyn hustled Clary up the stairs and into the apartment of a glittery young man who inexplicably had cat's eyes. When Clary asked him why his eyes were like that, he looked extremely sad for a minute before Jocelyn pulled him aside for a quick conversation, leaving Clary to study his foyer and try to figure out exactly how to make sure her mother wasn't able to avoid the conversation Clary wanted to have when they got home.

Footsteps sounded on the carpeting. She turned back to see her mother and the young man coming back. The man knelt down on the floor next to the couch where she was sitting on, and looked up at her. "Are you ready?" he asked.

"Ready for what?" Clary asked.

A sad smile crossed his face, like he knew something she didn't. "I'm so sorry about this, Sweetie."

Clary and her mother were back in the taxi. Clary felt strange, her head light and dizzy and empty. Something was missing. She felt like she'd forgotten something but she couldn't remember what it was. She stared vaguely out the window while she tried to figure out what she was missing.

"You said we were going to talk about something later," she finally said. "Do you remember?"

"I don't," Jocelyn said after a long pause. "What were we going to talk about?"

Clary thought about it long and hard, scraping at the inside of her brains as she tried to remember what had been so important. She vaguely remembered that something weird had happened after Luke's truck had broken down, but the actual incident escaped her. "I can't remember," she said turning back to her mother.

Jocelyn smiled, for some reason the expression looked a little relieved. "Then it mustn't have been that important," she said.