"Why are we going to New York, again?" Clary asked, looking up from her sketchbook and turning towards her mother. She was just finishing a drawing of a Shadowhunter in battle, slashing a seraph blade across the body of a slithering demon.
"So that we can meet up with some old friends. We haven't seen them in years," Jocelyn said as she finished placing the last of her clothes in her suitcase. She zipped it up quickly and flipped it off the bed and onto the floor. "You'll like them. They have four kids, too. Right around your age, I think."
Clary didn't respond. Instead, she shoved her sketchbook back in her bag and shrugged it over her shoulders. Her suitcase was already packed, waiting near the portal, and she was anxious to get going. The sooner they left, the sooner the trip would be over. "I'm going to miss training, you know," Clary said after a while. Clary had never missed a day of training in her life, albeit when she was poisoned by a Greater Demon one time.
"You can train there. They have a marvelous training facility," Jocelyn countered, smiling. Clary rolled her eyes, but she was smiling too. "Valentine? Jonathan? Are you almost ready?" she called upstairs, rolling her suitcase to the library, where the portal was hidden.
"We're right here," Jonathan said from behind her, scaring Jocelyn slightly. They were already waiting in the library. Valentine was kneeling down, setting up the portal for the correct destination. Jonathan was leaning against the wall, a book propped open on his knee. He continued to read as he talked. "We're staying with the Lightwoods, right?"
"Yes," Jocelyn said, leaning over and kissing Valentine gently on the head. "They're some of our good friends from a while ago. We've visited them a few times without you, but we thought you'd like to come this time.
"Like to?" Jonathan raised an eyebrow, making Clary laugh. She felt the same.
"Okay, we thought you should come. They would love to meet you," Jocelyn laughed. "Now, let's go! We're supposed to be there by six for dinner." Everybody hustled their things together and lined up in front of the portal. Valentine headed in first, followed by Clary, Jonathan and finally Jocelyn.
Clary tumbled out of the portal and landed on her hands and knees in an unfamiliar apartment. Her family was all there, luckily, and Clary looked around questioningly. "This is an Institute?" she wondered, slightly confused.
"Of course not, Clarissa. This is our friend Dorothea's house. She's one of the few in New York with a portal," Valentine explained, wrapping an arm around his daughter. Clary looked around for the woman, but the house was empty. She must be out. "Come on, let's get going. The Institute is only a few blocks away."
Valentine pulled his daughter outside the door and she leaned against him gratefully. Jonathan and Jocelyn followed, carrying their bags as they walked down the busy New York streets. Clary looked around in excitement at the city. Sure, she hadn't really wanted to leave Idris for a stupid, mundane city. But now that she was here, it seemed pretty cool. Bright lights flashed everywhere; buildings towered up to the sky.
They passed a diner that was glamoured and Clary caught a glimpse of some Downworlders inside: a tall vampire drinking a glass of blood, a blue warlock talking with a petite faerie, some werewolves laughing over mugs of root-beer. She was too busy looking in the window that she bumped into a mundane boy. He had messy brown hair, glasses, and a lame T-shirt that read "Made in Brooklyn." Clary almost laughed at the sight of him. "Sorry," he muttered, staring at her. She cursed when she realized she wasn't glamoured and awkwardly smiled at the boy.
He was looking at her with wide eyes, completely in awe. She was wearing her gear, skintight black leather that clung to her fit form. Her fiery hair was braided to the side and her cheeks were flushed. "It's my fault," she apologized. She should have been paying attention.
She quickly brushed past the mundie and caught up with her family, who were walking up the steps of what looked like a church. But Clary knew better. She ripped away the glamour and saw a standard Institute before her. On the steps, opening the door, was a young boy, maybe eight, with dark hair and glasses too big for his face. "Hey, Max!" Jocelyn smiled, running up to greet the boy. He smiled as she ruffled his hair, bending down to his level. "How are you?"
"Pretty good. My parents are finally letting me train!" he exclaimed. Usually Shadowhunters didn't start training till they were a bit older, so the boy was overjoyed.
"That's awesome!" Jocelyn grinned, standing up. "May we come in?"
"Yeah," the boy said, opening the door wider. The family piled in, and followed Max in and out of the elevator. "MOM! DAD! THE MORGENSTERNS ARE HERE!" He yelled. A tall woman with long black hair and sharp features appeared out of a doorway, covering her ears.
"Max, I told you not to yell in the house," she scolded and the boy shrugged. The woman just laughed and walked over to greet the Morgensterns. "Jocelyn, Valentine, it's so good to see you!" she smiled, hugging each of them.
"Same to you, Maryse " Valentine replied, kissing her cheek. "How many years has it been?"
"Too many," said Maryse, smiling at them. "I'm so glad you could join us for the weekend. Robert's finishing up some work. He'll be down shortly."
"No problem," Valentine smiled. "Clary, Jonathan, this is Maryse Lightwood. She runs the Institute here in New York."
"Nice to meet you," Clary said, holding out her hand. Jonathan did the same and the two awkwardly stepped away to let the adults talk. They chattered for a while, catching up on the latest events. Clary was about to take out her sketchbook to pass the time as Jonathan already had his book out, but the little boy walked back in again. "Um, do you guys want to pick out your rooms?" he asked.
"Sure," Clary agreed, snatching her bag up and following the boy. "I'm Clary, by the way. This is my brother, Jonathan." He nodded towards the boy in acknowledgement.
"Max," the boy said, leading them down the hall. They were loads of empty bedrooms, none of which seemed to have every been occupied. "Just pick any of them. Except those," he said, gesturing to four bedrooms, each one with the door slammed shut.
"Cool, thanks," Clary said, dropping her bag in the entrance of the third room on the left.
"Do you want to meet my brothers?" the kid said randomly. Clary looked towards her brother and he shrugged. Why not? The siblings followed him down another hall and through a big doorway. Behind it was the largest training room Clary had ever seen, aside from the one at her school. It was decked out with different blades and weapons, ropes and beams, everything you could imagine. And standing in the middle of the room, fighting hand-to-hand were two older boys. One looked exactly like Max, but much older and with a stronger, more muscular build. His eyes were bright and blue and he seemed to be losing the fight.
The other was tall and lean, his muscles sticking out under his gear. His hair was golden, matching his fiery eyes, and Clary imagined he looked like a lion. He was winning easily, extending his arms and legs in swift, skilled motions. After just a minute of watching, the dark-haired boy collapsed to the floor in defeat. "And that's why I'm the best Shadowhunter here," the blonde one smirked, helping his friend up.
"Yeah, and you're also the biggest jerk," he laughed. They both put away their weapons before finally noticing the crowd they hand. The older version of Max looked at Clary and Jonathan curiously before addressing Max. "Hey, Max, who's this?"
"This is Clary and Jonathan Morgenstern. Some of Mom and Dad's friends. They're staying with us for a few days," Max explained.
"Oh," he said, looking up to meet them. "I'm Alec, by the way. Do you live in Idris?" he asked.
"Yeah," Clary sighed. She wasn't really focused on him. She was still watching the other guy, who was watching them from the back of the training room. Clary squinted, trying to get a better look at him. She noticed the parabatai rune snaking up his arm and quickly glanced over to see a matching one on Alec's arm. Clary looked down at her own parabatai rune, the one she shared with her brother, and smiled. Hopefully they'd get a chance to train together while here. "Is that your brother? What's his name?" Clary asked of him. Alec turned around to follow her gaze. He was watching him almost yearningly, pain in his eyes. Clary raised her eyebrows at this but didn't mention it, as Alec quickly faced her again.
"Yeah," Alec grinned as the golden-haired boy inspected a seraph blade, his eyes on Clary. "That's Jace. Jace Herondale."