CHAPTER 1:

It was quiet in The Institute. It had been peaceful in The Institute for quite a long while now. And it's placid silence was something Alec Lightwood and his lover, Magnus Bane, enjoyed. Their time, however, was cut short when all of a sudden, a door slammed shut, shattering whatever tiny bubble it was they were both in. Magnus playfully threatened to jinx the source of the noise when it was suddenly followed by the telltale sound of angel blades being picked up.

"Uncle Alec!" a voice called not too far from the drawing room where he and Magnus was cozily snuggled, "Max and I'll go out for a bit!"

Alec shook his head with a small smile on his face and called back, "Be sure to tell your father!"

Magnus chuckled, gently pulling him back on the couch. Alec turned on him and his glitter-lined eyes with a questioning stare.

The warlock shrugged. "You know he likes to do as he pleases and there's nothing we can do to change his mind," he pulled Alec closer to him with a smile, "Besides, they're both old enough to be on their own,"

"Izzy will be so mad," Alec said but relaxed against Magnus, anyway.

"Why will I be so mad?"

Isabelle was standing in the doorway behind them, her hand on her hip and her brow lifted up. She was in her black gear with her long, black hair in a high ponytail, her whip possibly hidden somewhere in her outfit. She looked deceptively young but her voice remained mother-like, nevertheless.

"What is it, Alec?" Izzy repeated.

Alec and Magnus turned to look at her. Then, it was Alec who first stood up, facing her properly. "They're already old enough, anyway." he said, borrowing Magnus' words earlier, "And it's not like there's more trouble in the city than before-"

His sister's eyes widened in realization. "Did you let Van take Maddox again?"

"Well," Magnus draped his arm over the backrest of the couch to see Isabelle easier, "Technically, they didn't ask for permission. So, Alec didn't actually let them," he reasoned.

But Isabelle was already gone. She marched down the training room with a foul expression on her face. Before she got back to The Institute, she was with Lily, the Head of the New York Vampire Clan. The things there that she attended to were not very pretty. She didn't need even more things to worry about right now.

Metals clashed and forceful grunts echoed outside the training room's door. There was possibly some sort of practice going on but it did not stop her from barging in.

Simon and Jace were in the middle of a sword fight when she entered, making Simon turn to her and lose his focus. Jace took it as an opportunity and slid his leg under Simon, making him fall on his butt. He pointed the tip of his sword at Simon's chin and smirked.

"What?" Jace asked, barely out of breath.

Isabelle noticed Clary seated on the window sill, a sketchbook in hand, possibly drawing another scenery from Idris. She'd been missing Jocelyn lately but work in The Institute didn't give her the chance to visit.

Jace reached down to help Simon up. "What happened?" Simon asked.

His wife looked away from Clary and turned to Jace but not before stepping beside Simon.

"Your son-"

Clary immediately stood up, cleared the wistful state she was in and turned to Isabelle. "What happened to Van?"

"He and Maddox went out,"

Jace sheathed his sword, raising a brow. "I don't see a problem with that,"

"Well, I do!" Isabelle snapped, "Van loves to get in trouble too much - even more than you. And I'm not in the business of letting my son get in trouble because of him,"

Jace laughed incredulously, like what she was saying made no sense at all. "Please, Maddox hardly does anything. Literally."

Clary crossed the room and joined the mini circle, her brows etched in a frown. She knew Isabelle meant well but it did not make the sting any less painful. Van was definitely - if not more than - like Jace when he was his age. His self-confidence was borderline arrogance and he usually did whatever it was that he wanted but it did not mean he was not a good kid.

"Besides, I doubt there's much to do out there," Jace added, being his usual cocky self.

Isabelle looked like she was ready to snap his neck when Simon suddenly cleared his throat. Everybody in the room turned to him.

"What?" he awkwardly asked.

With an annoyed sigh, Isabelle turned to her husband, positively thinking why the heck did she marry that guy. "Well, don't you have anything to say?"

An even more awkward silence followed as everyone stared at Simon and waited for his answer.

"Uhh...OW!" Simon yelped after Isabelle swatted his arm. "What was that for?"

"Why aren't you saying anything?"

Simon looked slightly indignant. "I really had nothing left to say! Jace is right. The boys need to go out once in a while,"

Isabelle's face flushed red but she said nothing. Simon was about to reach out for her but then, she suddenly stormed off.


Alix thought it was so cliché that the sign outside the Pandemonium looked like it was spelling DEMON out. It was like tempting shadowhunters and demons both. But the thing was, after the Dark War, the club was closed down for a few years and then was bought by a mundane from the original owner and was ressurected. Now it was just a normal night club like every club there was in New York. There were no secret clubs for demons anymore. Not for them, not for downworlders. There was no exclusive place for them anymore.

In Pandemonium, however, she was a VIP and there, she got exclusive treatment from the staff.

With a small wave at the bouncer in front, she was able to come inside right away. Deafening music blasted her face. The lazer lights flashed. There were bodies grinding, bouncing, sweating, clinging. It was a little cold now, but then, she would probably feel the heat later.

Alix flipped her hair away from her leather jacket. She was wearing her red hair in a hairstyle that mundanes called mermaid braid and as soon as she stepped inside the club, girls had been asking her about it.

Mundanes. She condescendingly thought. They always copy every pretty thing they see.

She went up the stairs and to her usual spot in the second floor, looking down on the mundanes dancing away their lives. A little earlier that month, she knew she must've spotted two shadowhunters - both males - on the dance floor. But instead of seeing them in their usual weapon-clad get up, they were in their - what Alix assumed - normal club clothes.

Now, she was hoping to see them again. And probably talk to them, too.

"I take it you're alone?"

Alix turned to the sound of the voice, surprised that someone even had the guts to come near her.

She came face to face with a strikingly handsome young man, possibly around her age. The club lights danced around his fair hair as he leaned closer to her, waiting for an answer.

The boy looked strangely familiar, yet she couldn't put her mind on it. So, she tentatively smiled. "Yes,"

A bright smile reflected hers as he gestured for her to come down. She looked down on the dance floor. The crowd had suddenly doubled up and their movements became wilder, more fun. Then, she looked back at the boy in front of her. Her eyes widened in surprise, only then did she realize why he looked familiar.


"How did the meeting go?" Jocelyn asked Luke while she set the table.

There had been an emergency Clave meeting earlier that day. Although, nobody knew what was talked about there other than the people who were actually called to the meeting. Something felt off with all that. And after the Dark War, even two and a half decades later, Alicante was still in its toes for possible trouble.

Luke ran his fingers through his hair, as if weighing what to tell his wife. "We received a report that Meliorn was spotted in the forests near Lake Lyn,"

Jocelyn frowned. "But Meliorn is long-"

"Dead?" Luke offered. "Yes, that, he is. It could be anyone who just looked like him. The strange thing is that the witnesses swore they saw him wielding a faerie weapon."

It was long ago since the fairfolk had been stripped of their army and weaponry. The shadowhunters, grieved by their loss in the war, made sure their armories were sweeped clean. And all confiscated weapons were thrown into a hearth. Nobody gambled making any more weapons for fear of being killed. So, pressumably, it was impossible to find any faerie weapon in the present.

"Although, it is also possible that they only got confused. They were in the forest, after all," Luke said.

Jocelyn moved to him, reading his mind. "But you're still sending someone to the Seelie Court to investigate?"

He nodded.

"And that's who?"

Luke bit his lip.

"They wanted it to be Clary,"


AUTHOR'S NOTE:

This is still in experimental status. If you guys like it, I'll carry on. If not, then, I'll still carry on. Haha. Lemme know what you think.

Anyway, I'm taking one-shot requests! Just PM me :)

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With all the love for writing,

Lace Ashdown