Jace lay on his back, his hands behind his head and his eyes staring circles at ceiling. He'd just woken up and the dream he'd had was going around in his head. It'd been a good dream, centering on Clary. All dreams, he mused, are good if they've got Clary Fray in them. Jace grinned. Rolling over to look at the alarm clock on his bedside table, he noticed someone standing in his doorway. Familiar.

"Isabelle?"

"The one and only," Izzy retorted. Jace sat up and leant forward. She was wearing standard Shadowhunter gear, which was all black, and her hair was done up in a messy pony tail. Her whip was coiled around her wrist and she had several seraph blades attached to her belt. Her eyes were bright but still held a remote sadness; Max's death was still raw for everyone. "Mom wanted me to come and get you. There are demons."

"There's always demons, Iz. That's what we do. You guys are trained well enough. Why does Maryse want me?"

"Clary wants to come." Izzy shrugged and rolled her eyes, as though it wasn't a big deal. In reality it wasn't; Clary was a Shadowhunter and they hunted demons. But it was Clary, and he wasn't surprised. "Mom doesn't want her to go and she figured you to be the best person to persuade her not to."

"Okay, fine, let me get changed. I'll meet you by the elevator." Jace waved his hand at her, a dismissing gesture Isabelle did not appreciate. She left with sigh, muttering under her breath that he smelt.

Jace slipped out of bed and made his way over to his closet. The closet was rickety, balancing only on three legs. He'd had it since he'd first come to the Institute and wasn't game enough to get a new one. Who knows what Maryse would do?

Jace grinned, opening it. He ransacked the messy contents before locating a clean pair of Shadowhunter clothes. He threw the gear on with ease before making his way around his room, collecting his belt, the seraph blades beside it and his witch light, just in case.

Jace Lightwood could get dressed in these clothes half-asleep if he tried.

Sitting down on his bed, he tied his boots up and double-knotted them; slipping a dagger down the side of one once he'd finished. He stood and did a quick few trial steps, trying to manoeuvre the knife around so it wasn't sticking into his foot. Succeeding, he threw himself a quick look in the floor-length mirror he had and his grin widened.

As he wandered his way towards the elevator, his shoes making soft clicking sounds as he did so, he attached the several seraph blades to the belt.

"By the Angel, Jace, you take as long as I do." Jace heard Isabelle before he saw her, which was as normal as you could get really. He turned the corner and found her leaning against the wall beside the elevator, inspecting her fingernails.

"Probably." He shrugged. "It takes that long to look this good."

Isabelle snorted. "I don't need to do anything to look this good." She gestured to herself with a sly smile. "How are you going to stop Clary from coming?" she added in a serious tone.

"I don't know." He shrugged again as he stepped into the elevator, Izzy close behind him. "It'll be pointless, though. She won't listen to me."

"Yes, she will," Izzy said firmly. "She has to."

"She's stubborn, like her mother," Jace said. "And there's also pride involved." He sighed and ran a hand through his already tousled blond hair. "She thinks because she was born a Shadowhunter, she has to be one immediately. She doesn't get that she needs to be trained properly first."

Isabelle nodded. "I understand where she's coming from, though, Jace. I can't imagine what it's like for her when she sees us in action. I couldn't live without being a Shadowhunter. It's not just my job, it's my life as well."

"Bit deep and meaningful, Iz," Jace said, grinning.

Isabelle grinned back as the elevator shuddered to a stop. "Yes, and if you tell anyone that I said this I'll kill you." She danced away from him and began to wander towards the door.

"Won't that be a pleasure," he retorted, following his sister, his grin widening.

Isabelle reached the door and threw it open.

Outside, you could see Maryse and Alec talking amongst themselves. Clary stood off to the side, a scowl etched onto her face. Izzy and Alec's father, Robert Lightwood, was still in Idris, organizing all sorts of business with the Clave and other Downworlders.

Jace stifled a laugh at the sight of Clary. He stepped through the doorway of the Institute and walked his way over to his girlfriend. She was wearing all black, indicating to Jace that she really was serious about going with them.

Clary turned towards the Institute, her eyes falling on Jace. She instantly brightened up. "Jace!" she exclaimed, throwing her arms around him tightly.

When she finally let go, Jace leaned in and pecked her mouth. "Clary," he said mildly, his face taking on a serious tone.

The smile fell off Clary's face. "Maryse sent Isabelle up to persuade you to persuade me not to come, didn't she?"

"Of course not, Clary. Maryse, and the others, are just worried about your safety."

"So, she did," she said accusingly.

Jace sighed. "You're not trained properly for this kind of stuff, okay? We don't want you to get hurt, Clary."

"No, you don't want me to get in the way."

"Clary, you know it's not that. Please, you-"

Alec cut him off. "Jace!" he called, stepping away from his mother for a moment. Jace looked at him. "We have to go now, or we'll never find it." He turned back to Maryse.

Jace knew his parabatai was right. He shook his head, looking at the ground. "I'm sorry, Clary."

Clary's shoulders dropped, her face set like stone. "Fine. I'll see you later." Turning on her heel, she marched away from him and Institute with no idea where she was going. Jace kicked the ground, the dust and rubble that surrounded his home flying in every direction.

Alec made his way to Jace when he saw that their conversation was over. "Tough break, bro," he murmured, squeezing Jaces' shoulder.

Jace shrugged the hand off roughly and sighed. "Whatever. I'll deal with it later. Let's go."

The Lightwood boy nodded. "Mom and Izzy are in the van already," he told Jace. "And I need to warn you. Mom's letting Izzy drive, so you'd better hold on."

Maryse occasionally let her drive, even though Isabelle was only 16, definitely not old enough to drive yet, and they'd be glamoured anyway.

Despite the situation he was in with Clary, Jace grinned. "Oh, I'll definitely hold on."

Izzy couldn't drive that well at all. Sure, she was an amazing Shadowhunter but she could not drive to save her life.

As Jace and Alec stepped out of the vehicle, (Jace rubbing at his arm where it had been knocked into the side of the car and Alec walking at a slight limp that would dissipate soon but would still be a pain to kill a demon with), Maryse followed suit, muttering under her breath that it was definitely the last time she'd let her daughter drive until she could get lessons.

Isabelle, on the other hand, couldn't have been happier. Her mouth was stretched into a huge smile as she skipped happily around the side of the car to join her family. The four of them stood side by side, examining the building that was situated in front of them.

Jace pulled out his Sensor from his pocket, which was going wild. "Definitely the right place."

"We ready to go?" Isabelle asked; too chipper for Jace to handle. He bit back a normal-for-him retort, stepping forward instead, and then spinning around to face his family. He looked at their faces, studying them. They still looked the same as always, before everything had happened with Clary, Valentine, Valentine's army and the battle on Brocelind Plain.

Curious looks on each of their faces brought Jace back from his reverie. Instead of answering the non-existent question, all he said was, "When are we not ready?" and headed into the building, his smug smile shining on his face.