"I still don't understand why we're here." Jace complained as they stood in line outside of the crowded all ages club.
"Because," Clary sighed, feeling like she'd explained this eighty times already, "this is where everything began. This is where I first saw the three of you fighting that demon. This is where-"
"Where she became obsessed with Jace and our friendship began to deteriorate." Simon interrupted, smoothing his bangs over his forehead. Isabelle slapped his hands away and fixed it herself. When he reached up to do it again she grabbed his hand and held it at his side.
"Hardly. This is where I started to learn about who I really am." Clary finished, looking at the group.
"This is where that demon ruined my favorite boots." Isabelle added.
"Yes well, we can hardly take a trip down memory lane when we're stuck outside of the club." Alec pointed out. They were about ten people from the front of the line and it looked like the bouncer outside wasn't in any hurry to let anyone else in. Jace walked out of line and headed up to the bouncer, talking to him. The large man just gave him an unimpressed look and pointed back into the line.
"Well look at that, we finally found someone who can resist the power of Jace's overwhelming personality." Simon said.
"What if we offer him that snappy jacket of yours?" Alec asked, looking Simon up and down. There really was no pleasing them. Pre-Isabelle Make Over he didn't dress nice enough, Post-Isabelle Make Over he apparently looked like Stuart Townsend in Queen of the Damned. Jace walked back over with a scowl.
"What'd he say?" Clary asked.
"The club it to capacity and no one else is getting in there." He said, looking back at the man. He was about to suggest going home when a group of people walked by. There were three of them and heading the mini parade was a girl, she wore leather leggings and a black cowl neck mini dress, the neck came down so low that she wore a bikini top underneath. On her feet she wore a pair of black heeled boots. Behind her were two guys. One looked older and the other looked younger they were dressed alike, black shirts, dark blue jeans. On the younger's wrist was a metal band. They were all rather attractive and everyone in the group of shadow hunters paused to look at them. The girl looked back at them and quirked an eyebrow before turning back to face forward, walking in past the bouncer.
"Oh hell no." Jace said. "That's it, we're cheating, come on Day walker."
"Daylighter actually and where are we going?" Simon asked.
"You're getting us into the club." He led Simon forward and the others followed.
"I'm not doing that Jace." Simon sighed as they walked towards the bouncer. He hated to charm people. It made him feel like he was one step away from dictatorship. Jace nodded at the bouncer.
"Do it for Clary." Simon glared at him but gave in.
"You're going to let us into the club." He said, his voice going an octave lower than usual, soothing, warm. It didn't take much to convince the guy, who moved to let them in, ignoring the protests of everyone else that was left outside.
"I hate it when you do that." Clary informed him.
"I hate it too." Simon agreed, walking away from her and into the club, letting the pounding music push any other thoughts out of his head. This was the first time he'd been in such a crowded place since becoming a vampire and he'd made sure to fill up on blood before leaving his and Jordan's apartment.
"The bouncer was being a jerk. He didn't let us in but he let them in." Jace shrugged. Alec poked him then pointed to the stage where the three were setting up instruments.
"He let them in because they're the band." He said, walking past him and into the crowd. Jace frowned and then shrugged, he didn't care. He was tired of waiting outside. He looked up at the stage, the girl was standing on the edge, looking around the room. Her eyes were a warm brown color and were narrowed slightly as she took in the crowd of people. She frowned and picked up a guitar, pulling the strap over her head. They didn't introduce themselves, just started playing.
Their music was a mix of Evanescence and Nightwish. When the girl opened her mouth her voice was smooth and clear, the older boy joined in with her and it came together just right. Jace watched the girl, her eyes were scanning the room, but not in the 'trying to connect with the crowd' way that most singers did. She was looking for someone. He could see that much. He also knew when she found what she was looking for. He followed her line of vision and frowned, he was staring at the top of a demon's head.
Minnie Blackhart's dark brown eyes scanned the crowd as she played. It had been Theodore's idea for them to masquerade as a band to get to a good vantage point. She leaned toward the mic to sing her part and then leaned back. She smirked as she found what she was looking for. He had blue skin, it was translucent, so the veins beneath the skin were visible, even from this far away. Of course with the glamor he was an attractive young man, shaggy black hair, bright blue eyes, pale skin. She wondered for a moment if everyone saw something different when they looked at him because he looked a little bit like- She pushed that from her head. She had to keep her mind on the task at hand. She kept up the eye contact, sure he was assuming that she was looking at him because she wanted him. He wasn't entirely wrong.
Finally the set ended and Minnie took off her guitar, leaving her friends to pack it all up as she hopped off stage and headed in the direction she'd seen him jerk his head, indicating that they should meet up. She found him, leaning against the back wall, he shook his bangs out of his eyes and smirked at her. She didn't say a word, just took his hand and led him into the back hall.
"I'm Nicolai." He said. His voice was husky, not quite human to her ears, but she was sure that it would sound normal to a mundane.
"I'm Minnie." She smirked and leaned against the wall. His eyes ran over her face and down to the plunging neckline of her top then back up to her face. He placed his hands on either side of her.
"Well Minnie, didn't your mother ever teach you not to go down dark hallways with strange men?" he asked, his eyes glowing a sinister red.
"No, Didn't yours ever teach you not to trust a pretty girl wearing boots?" He looked confused for a moment and in that moment Minnie reached into her boot and pulled out her knife, turning so that he was the one against the wall, the blade to his throat. He dropped the glamor and hissed at her, his teeth were pointy and black.
"Shadow hunter." He growled as she let down her own glamor, revealing the swirling black tattoos over her skin.
"Not exactly." She smirked "Now, tell me where I can find the chest."
"Rot in hell." He snapped, his hand shot out and his claws raked down her exposed chest, she gasped in surprise and he shoved her away, slipping into the storage room. She cursed and ran in after him. The room was dark but that didn't matter, she tapped into her night vision rune and walked around slowly, the rubbery soles on her boots making no sound.
"Here Nicky, Nicky, Nicky, Nicky." She sing-songed as she walked around the storage room looking for him. She heard a creak from above her head and she dove out of the way just as the demon jumped from a box. She chased after him as he ran, weaving through boxes and piles of junk. Finally she dove at him and caught him around the waist. The two struggled for a while and she pulled her knife back out.
Jace had seen the two walk off and he cursed under his breath. He found Alec and Isabel, telling them what was going on and the four of them, Clary included, headed for the back hall. Jace kicked the door open and ran into the room, looking for the two of them. He heard a crash and ran towards it. The demon had the girl on the floor. He got out his blade and threw it, the demon disintegrating into dust. The girl looked up at them, anger in her eyes.
"You ruined it!" She snapped.