Clide wasn't sure what to make of it, any of it. In a matter of seconds his entire life became a lie. Energy buzzed through Clide as he stood in Pandemonium, the music blaring in his ears. His best friend, Sam, stood beside him, looking uncomfortable. She pushed her glasses up her nose and fidgeted with her long black hair. Clide knew she didn't like it here, that she went only for him. He couldn't help but feel the slightest bit guilty for it, he didn't even dance or talk to anyone other than Sam. There was just something that drew him to this place that he couldn't explain. Bodies were packed together around him, but he stayed close to her. A brilliant flash of blue caught his eye. It was a girl, her vivid colored hair streaming behind her. She wore a mischievous smirk with her slender features. The sight of her made Clide's stomach churn. He watched as she attracted the attention of a boy with jet black hair and clothes that covered up most of his body. Clide was transfixed by the scene. The strange girl lured the boy into a back room. It was a common scene—a girl getting a boy alone—and normally Clide wouldn't have bothered with it, except that no sooner had the two slipped out of sight two dark figures went in after them, one flashing a blade. "Clide!" Sam snapped her fingers in front of his face, "You in there?" He shoved her hand away, and started walking towards the door. "Clide!" She protested, trying to follow. He stopped her.
"Wait here, I'll be right back." She tried to argue again, but he was already gone, lost in the crowd. She sighed, finally catching sight of him as he disappeared behind the same door.
Isaac Lightwood stood beside his sister, Alex. He clasped the pulsating ruby red pendant that was usually hidden underneath his shirt. Together, he and his sister watched Jacelyn Wayland tower over the demon they had caught. They were oblivious to the lean boy with vibrant fiery hair and wide green eyes watching them in the shadows. "Get it on with, Jacie." Isaac yawned, obviously getting bored with the whole affair.
"But I know where she is, I swear!" The demon protested vigilantly. Jacelyn twirled one of her golden curls, pretending to appear as bored as Isaac.
"Funny how you lot always seem to have information on the location of Valentine. Especially since she's dead."
"But she isn't!"
Jacelyn snorted, "Yeah, I'll believe it when I see it."
Clide watched the encounter, unable to comprehend what was going on. He looked at the boy he had seen earlier, now with a crimson jewel hanging from his neck and alongside a girl with the same jet black hair. He then followed their gaze to another girl, this one with paled skin decorated with a swirling matrix of marks and a head of golden curls. To Clide, towering over the blue-haired girl, the golden girl was something of an avenging angel delivering punishment to the damned. But that wasn't possible, he reminded himself, those things don't exist. Jacie—the golden haired girl—raised an object in her hand; it was sharp and glinted in the dim light. Clide was frozen to the spot until the moment she was poised to kill. He felt his legs carry him forward, felt himself open his mouth to shout the word, "No!"
Jacie paused, glancing over at Clide. Alex was open-mouthed, but Isaac looked disinterested. The blue haired girl slumped back against the pole which she was chained to. She exhaled in relief. "He can see us," Jacie mused.
"Well of course I can, I'm not blind!" She just laughed, causing him to scowl.
"You're blinder than you think."
"What are you talking about?"
"Well—"
"Jacie, no," Isaac interrupted. "I'm sorry; you'll have to forgive her."
"Nobody needs to forgive me when I haven't done anything wrong."
"Yes you have," Clide interjected, "or you were about to." She tilted her head slightly, gesturing to the blue-haired girl who paled at her mentioning.
"I'm guessing you're talking about this?" Clide nodded and Jacie continued, yanking the girl by her hair. "This isn't a human, sweetheart." To make her point, she drew her blade across the other girl's cheek. Black substance oozed from the wound. The girl curled her lip and snarled at Jacie, each of her teeth sharpened to sickening points. Clide did a double take and Jacie grinned.
"That's not possible."
"Better believe it," she dropped her grip on the girl. "Demons are nasty things."
"Is this Sam trying to pull something over on me? I swear if it is—"
Jacie walked over to him, amusement flickering in her strange gold eyes. "Listen here, sweetheart, these things exist, suck it up. Now, if you don't mind, I have a thing to kill."
He stood his ground, crossing his arms in front of his chest and setting his jaw. "It's wrong, what's you're doing. That's murder."
She cocked her head slightly, "It's far from murder, if it's a monster."
"Who says she's a monster?" He argued.
"Sweetheart, that's not a she, it's an it. An Eidolon to be exact, and if it weren't for you, I would have done my job by now. So get out of here so I can do what I need to do and go home." She snapped, becoming frustrated with this strange mundane boy, unable to hide it.
"No."
She crossed her arms. "Excuse me?"
"I said no. I want to know—"
"Look mundane, she's already said more than she was supposed to." Alex shot a glare at Jacie, fed up with her little quarrel. "And you're not supposed to be here, so leave." The other two were nearing them, allowing Clide to get a clear view of both. They were definitely related, carrying the same generous features and pale skin. Alex's crystal blue eyes were scrutinizing, full of harsh judgment. Isaac held a golden whip that snaked all the way down to the concrete floor. They both had the same marks as Jacie, though the only ones visible on Isaac were peeking out of his collar.
For the first time in all of this, Clide's courage faltered. He couldn't take on one of them, let alone three."Fine, but have fun killing something that isn't there." He let his words sink in, watching the others turn around to see that their captive had escaped. They then turned on Clide and he backed up a step. He searched for an escape, any escape. There was none. Then a streak of blue shot out from the darkness, tackling Jacie to the ground. The demon and Jacie struggled for the upper hand, nothing but a blur to Clide's untrained eyes. Eventually, Jacie had the demon pinned. She whipped out her blade, shouting out before sinking the weapon into the demon's chest. She hopped off to avoid the acidic black blood, catching Clide's attention. He stumbled back, stopped by Isaac and Alex. Jacie stood triumphantly.
"You could have gotten Jacie killed!" Alex spat, "Mundanes."
"Looks to me that she doesn't need any help with that," Clide muttered.
Jacie rolled her eyes. And just when he thought it couldn't get any worse, the door to the back room opened. In came a slender figure with thick black hair and glasses that hung low on her nose. Her eyes went wide at the sight of Clide, seemingly alone. "Sam." He whispered. Alex and Isaac let him through. He walked over to her and put his arms around her.
"Clide?" She asked, worried. "What are you doing in here?"
He looked over at the others, "She can't see you?"
"Of course not." Jacie stride forward, ignoring the others' protests. "You're mundanes."
"Then how come I can see you?" Jacie shrugged and Sam spoke up.
"Clide, who on earth are you talking to?"
"I'll explain later, alright?"
"No, now." The room was silent; he wasn't sure how to explain anything without sounding crazy. He wasn't sure there was a way.
"Listen, you can't see them but there are other people in here. They hunt things-"
"Demons." Jacie corrected.
"Demons," he continued, noticing that the demon's body had disappeared entirely. "You can't see them, but I can. They're there."
There was a long pause and then, "Fine, don't tell me." Sam turned and walked out of the room. Jacie shrugged, amused.
"Told you." Clide groaned, tired of this strange girl with her smart-ass attitude. He shook his head and left, wanting nothing more to shove all thoughts of that group of arrogant demon hunters out of his mind. "Good riddance," Jacie muttered. She turned back to face Isaac and Alex, a nagging suspicion at her own words tugging at the back of her mind.