01
The music was loud and erratic, the air humid and hot. Everywhere people moved back and forth, against and away from each other, sweat glistening on their faces. Everyone looked so absorbed in the moment, too absorbed with each other, and distantly Eleanor wondered if any of them were to ever notice what was going to happen – if glamour didn't play a part in it, of course.
She fixed the sleeve of her dress, felt the beads on the back bounce against her skin. It was a shame Isabelle had been unavailable to come tonight, she told herself, because she was more than certain she'd be able to confidently lure the demon with Jace and Alec at her heels. It wasn't as though Eleanor doubted herself, no – she knew she was pretty enough to fool a monster into thinking it could devour her; it was just the fact that she'd never hunted with Alec or Jace before, and had even had to plead to allow Rose to join for the sake of familiarity.
Her eyes skirted over the crowd, suddenly hyperaware of the makeup covering her parabatai rune. The toner felt heavy on her collarbone, matched perfectly to her skin thanks to Isabelle's application skills, and beneath she could feel the Mark burning to be seen, disliking being covered. It was sort of like the one who had applied it – Rose herself, who disliked being hidden away from the world and demanded everyone know she was someone who existed.
Eleanor dared a glance to her parabatai, who stood just across the room, right next to Alec and Jace. The trio were situated at one of the tables off to the side, surface lined with drinks that dancers have left unfinished and abandoned for the night. Clad in gear, unlike her, they were waiting eagerly for her to lure their prey; kick the night off and get them familiar with each other. It had been only a week since the Australian girls had made themselves at home in New York, but Hodge had felt that one week was more than enough to get used to the environmental change.
She carefully patted her hair, kept tied nicely in a loose side bun, and did her best to look like she was scanning the crowd and making eye contact with strangers who didn't know better. Her gaze flitted between couples and individuals, faeries and warlocks. So many Downworlders littered amongst mundanes. All she needed was a demon.
It took only moments of searching, fiddling with the buckle of her belt – the two bags on either hip, attached snugly to the leather, loosely fastened for a quick retrieval. Moments of appearing disinterested and bored, crimson lips pursed in distaste; finally she saw it. Or rather, it saw her.
Disguised as a mere blue-haired partygoer, the Eidolon was more than clearly sizing her up; estimating how easily she'd become his victim, no doubt. Eleanor pretended to only just notice his stare, pale blue eyes narrowing in amusement. She shifted on her feet, crossed her arms over her chest and smirked almost invitingly. The Eidolon's interest was piqued, it seemed, and soon it began to make its move.
"Wonder how much longer we've got to wait for it to show up." She fiddled with her plait absently as she thought aloud, glancing between the boys and Eleanor. Jace shrugged as he drummed his fingers against the table's surface. Alec merely grunted disinterestedly. All three were getting tired of waiting and waiting, and they were more than certain that Eleanor was bored out of her whits.
"Probably a few more minutes," Jace announced. He had to raise his voice somewhat to be heard over the music, which seemed to have impossibly risen in volume. "She looks like something it'd go after."
Rose looked to him with mock-offense, as did Alec – although his own expression was not that of humorous response. "That is my cousin," he growled. Jace shrugged.
"I meant it as a compliment, of course." Alec wasn't entirely convinced. Nor did he see how it could've been considered a compliment. "I mean that she's prettied herself up enough for everyone to go after. I'm not ashamed to admit that I find her rather stunning tonight."
Alec was quick to remind him once more that Eleanor was his cousin, and then tacked on the additional message that not even his parabatai would be able to go near her with perverted intentions under his watch. Rose agreed wholeheartedly, held a hand up to high-five Alec.
The gesture was not returned.
Silence settled over them again, their eyes watching separate areas all at once – Alec keeping watch over his cousin, Rose staring decisively at the entrance, and Jace glancing between dancers. His gaze lingered on a redheaded girl whose eyes wandered over to a peculiar blue-haired boy, the brunette next to her trying desperately to gain her attention.
Rose nudged his arm, lolled her head back and winked. A confirmation. He in turn passed the nudge on to Alec, who nodded in response. They watched as Eleanor shifted on her feet, gaze glued to Blue Hair, and waited with bated breaths as the demon approached her. It was armed, they noted; no doubt it'd disguised the knife as something harmless in front of the bouncer.
They waited and watched, the Eidolon's eyes still sizing the tall girl up. It didn't seem entirely interested, almost as though it'd passed someone more deserving of its attention on its way to her. Rose's eyebrow twitched and she fiddled with her hair once again, this time pulling at the ribbon that held the ginger waves in place. The hair came loose as Jace asked what her plan was. She merely settled the locks over her shoulder and asked the boys to politely wait in the crowd, wait for her and Eleanor to get it somewhere quiet. The boys complied, albeit reluctantly, and weeded into the crowd of dancers almost effortlessly.
Rose thanked her gut for the fact that her gear, without the jacket, closely resembled regular partygoer attire, and carefully picked up one of the abandoned glasses of alcohol. She feigned a sip, met Eleanor's eye, and nodded in greeting.
The Eidolon followed her line of sight, spotting Rose on her own on the other side of the crowd. From how she was swaying, as well as the glass of liquor in her hand, Eleanor could only deduce that she was either faking drunkenness or legitimately drinking. The absence of Jace and Alec didn't go unnoticed to the raven-haired girl, and deep down she both scolded and applauded Rose for the quick thinking.
"Friend of yours?" the Eidolon inquired. She nodded, waved daintily at Rose, and invited her over with the incline of her head.
"I hope you don't mind the extra number," she told it. "We're a bit shy on our own, you see, but together…"
She allowed the sentence to trail off, leaving it hanging with a wink. It was the first thing she'd said to it, her accent most likely further gaining its attention. If it didn't seem interested before, it certainly was now. "Tourist?" it asked lightly. She shrugged and nodded. There was a certain glint in its antifreeze eyes, a plot rising in its depths. She had it in her grasp.
As soon as she'd answered, Rose had arrived by their sides, jacket tucked under her arm and a certain unstable sway to her posture. She didn't smell of alcohol, Eleanor noted as the smaller girl leaned towards her cheekily, which meant she was putting on a rather well-thought act. She gave the ginger girl a mental kudos, and soon resumed their objective.
"Right now we're just looking for some fun," Eleanor told the Eidolon. There was that glint again, she thought. It was excited at the prospect of two victims – one drunk, no less! Eleanor glanced around, smirked, and nodded to her left. All the way on the other side of the room was a wall; branching this side and the next, a door that proclaimed NO ADMITTANCE. "Shall we?"
The Eidolon smiled easily. "After you," it cooed. Rose was the first to stumble towards the door, giggling excitedly as she weaved through the crowd. Eleanor followed, felt the demon's gaze on her back as she walked, and felt nervousness rise in her chest. She hoped that Jace and Alec would arrive quick enough to provide backup if they needed it, possibly help with restraining the Eidolon in order to interrogate it. One could never be too careful around hell spawn, she reminded herself.
Rose had finally made it to the door and was sneaking inside as Eleanor glanced back. She locked her gaze with the Eidolon, the demon looking even more excited than before. That was good, she thought; this one wasn't going to back out early out of suspicion. It was entirely convinced that it was going to get lucky and snag a kill this time.
Eleanor slunk into the room, shut the door behind her, and met Rose's gaze just as the Eidolon walked in a second later. A short silence settled over them, when suddenly the Eidolon asked, "So, what might your names be?"
Her parabatai was quick to answer. "I'm Rose!" she slurred, lazily saluting. Eleanor chuckled, allowed her to continue their introduction. "And that there is Eleanor!"
The Eidolon smirked playfully. "Such lovely names," it said, almost in praise. Rose nodded enthusiastically, turned around to admire the storage room. Eleanor sauntered back to the door, threw a wink at the Eidolon, and opened the door just a tad.
"I'll keep watch," she announced. Rose giggled once more.
The Eidolon hummed in agreement, turned to Rose while Eleanor watched the crowd for any sign of Jace or Alec.
Hands crept up Rose's arms, lightly tracing her sleeves. Eleanor's fingers twitched towards her belt, silently unfastening the bags on either hip. It wasn't until the Eidolon faltered, noticing the edges of a tattoo hidden under the collar of her shirt, that Rose giggled again and took action. She nodded her head forward, breathing out silently, and threw it back with as much force as possible; its nose cracked and bent under the force of the blow, and it took a few steps back as its hand flew to its face. It screeched and swore as it stumbled away from the ginger girl.
Rapidly responding, Eleanor turned away from the door and opened the covers of her bags; she dipped a hand in each, grasping for her stash, and immediately pulled them back out with the hilts of her hook swords in her hands. Good God, she loved these bags – small enough on the outside to look harmless and purely for accessory, big enough on the inside to store her own person armoury. Eleanor retrieved her hook swords from the bags' depths and set her sights on the Eidolon's ankles; as quick as a whip, Eleanor swung the swords low and snagged its left leg, pulling it toward her and successfully knocking it off its feet. Its front collided with the floor just as Jace and Alec burst in, and Rose was quick to throw them some stray wire to bind the demon with. Within moments, the creature was being shoved against a pillar and set on display before the four Nephilim.
The girls high-fived each other while the boys watched it with a mixture of predatory glee and heroic caution.
It was Jace who stepped forward after a moment, raising the first question. "So," he began. "Are there any more of you?"
First order of business, Eleanor thought. Determine whether the demon has allies. Second, how many.
It was quick to play innocent. "Any other what?" the Eidolon demanded. Rose giggled once again as Jace lifted his arms with a smirk, letting the sleeves fall to reveal his runes.
"Come on, mate. There's no denying you know what we are." She sounded so sure of herself as Jace gleefully displayed each Mark with pride, and clear frustration was evident on its face as those ever so green eyes scanned each and every rune on Jace's arms and hands.
Finally, an answer they wanted; a hiss of, "Shadowhunter."
Rose smirked and leaned against Eleanor for a moment, watched as Jace announced, "Got you," while Alec kept a close eye on the Eidolon's binds. Once the real interrogation began, Eleanor was quick to reach into one of her bags and pull out a small dagger for Rose, who took it with a silent thanks.
"You still haven't told me if there are any other of your kind with you." Jace was now pacing, arms crossed in front of him, as he waited for the demon to respond.
Again, it played innocent. "I don't know what you're talking about."
Alec announced that Jace had meant demons, and then went on to ask if the Eidolon knew what a demon even was. The Eidolon turned its head away from the foursome. Jace saw that as a signal to carry on from Alec's statement.
"Demons," he said airily. He traced the word in the air with his finger as he explained, "Religiously defined as–"
"Please don't."
The interruption hadn't come from his parabatai, to his surprise, but from the ginger girl to his right. Jace turned to send her a shocked glare, which Rose returned with a scoff. "I have things I have to do tonight," she explained quickly, "and I don't want to wait any longer to do them because of your tendency to ramble."
"What could possibly be more important than explaining what a demon is to a demon, Rosalind?" Jace pointed out. Rose rolled her hazel eyes; she reminded him that it was just Rose and then went on to elaborate her own argument.
"I was going to announce it when we got home, but I suppose now – while we're in the storage room of a well-known Downworlder and demonic night club, with a demon tied to a pillar and waiting for us to get on with our job – is as good a time as any." She sighed, leaned away from Eleanor. "I have a pen pal in Paris and I would very much like to respond to his last letter before the pain of time zones kick in."
Four sets of eyes landed on her, each one wondering exactly how this piece of information was important to them. Rose frowned, nudged her foot against Eleanor's in dismay, and told Jace to continue. Before the blonde could even begin to mock the demon once more, Alec said, "Just skip past the explanation, anyway."
"But–"
"Nobody here needs a lesson in semantics – or demonology." Alec spared a glance at Rose, who nodded in thanks, and watched as Eleanor stepped forward.
She leaned down in front of the demon, squatting beside Jace and resting her arms on her knees. "You talk too much, Jace. Now please," she added, this time addressing the demon, "tell us what we want to know."
It was quick to answer, although not with what they wanted. "I could give you information," it said frantically. "I know where Valentine is."
"Valentine?" Eleanor echoed dubiously. It wasn't a name she was unfamiliar with – there were stories that reached even Canberra of the infamous Valentine Morgenstern, whose ambition to defy the Clave had led to an untimely and just death. Outside of stories to set children straight, Valentine was a name often echoed in the halls, heard only when Barbara Redhood thought no one was listening. Please, Valentine, Eleanor would hear her chant in the library, curled in on herself, forgive me for straying.
She was more than certain Rose was thinking the same thing, although the ginger didn't seem to give any indication that this was true.
Alec shrugged when Jace looked back to him, and Eleanor did the same when the blonde looked to her for confirmation. "Valentine's in the ground," he decided, turning his attention back to the demon. "The thing's just toying with us."
"So do we just kill it?" The question came from Eleanor; she was unsure if this was the only information the demon had, and a deeply rooted curiosity over why the head of the Canberra Institute's wife would chant such a name that demons knew something about.
Rose shrugged and made her way over to Alec, hoping to get a better look. "Might as well," she said. "It's pretty much just mocking us, now."
She recognised the name, then, Eleanor decided. Why else would she use the word "mocking" to describe the mention of the name?
Jace reached for his belt, fingers wrapped around the hilt of a seraph blade, and he raised it high above his head in preparation to strike. The demon gasped in panic; it thrashed about in its binds, insisted, "Valentine is back! All the Infernal Worlds know it – I know it – I can tell you where he is–"
With a hint of rage in his eyes, Jace sighed and waved his hands about in frustration. "By the Angel!" he groaned. "Every time we catch one of you bastards, you claim you know where Valentine is." Rose shifted closer to Alec, mumbled a question as to whether they'd been hearing the name a lot lately, to which he replied just as quietly that it was a regular occurrence as of recent. "We know where he is, too. He's in hell. And you–" Jace raised the blade once more, intent on bringing it down on the demon's flesh. "You can join him there."
None of them were honestly quite prepared for the interruption that followed. Rose nor Alec had spotted the small redheaded girl prior to her interruption, and Eleanor and Jace had been too focused on the demon to even notice her eyes on them during their exchange. She emerged seemingly out of nowhere, announced that they couldn't do this, and watched with stressed green eyes as they all processed what had just happened. Each one had a different reaction – Rose and Eleanor had rather drastic, but still reasonable reactions, turning to the girl and wielding their weapons with a jump; Rose was poised to throw the dagger while Eleanor readied her hook swords for an extended attack. Jace had whirled around just as he'd brought the blade down, and it flew from his grasp and along the floor loudly. He held a deer-in-the-headlights expression on his face, mimicked almost perfectly by Alec. The demon simply remained silent, mouth agape as it struggled less and less.
Only a second of silence remained between them, the four Shadowhunters sizing the redhead up in regards to threat levels. She was a tiny thing, shorter than Rose by leagues, and looked like an ordinary mundane – no signs of demonic giveaways, no hints to suggest being of Lilith's Children. She didn't hold the same air a vampire would hold about them, and from the looks of things she didn't quite appear to be a faerie either. That only left the possibility of being a werewolf, but even newly-changed lycanthropes were smart enough to know when Shadowhunters were doing their job.
The only rational option was that this petite, redheaded girl whose face was littered with freckles was nothing more than a mundie.
"What's this?" Alec demanded. He glanced between each of his Nephilim companions as though hoping one of them held the answer as to why this mundane was in the storage room with them. Why she could see them.
Jace was quick to recover his composure, just as the girls had lowered their weapons somewhat. "It's a girl," he said. "Surely you've seen girls before, Alec. Your sister and cousin are girls." Jace paused, seeming to consider his next sentence. "I can't quite say the same for Rose, however."
Quick to respond, Rose lowered her weapon entirely and looked to Jace in disgust, throwing her hands up in a questioning gesture as Alec rolled his eyes and Eleanor kicked Jace lightly on the heel.
"She's a mundie girl," Eleanor specified. "And she can see us." She didn't want to admit it out loud, but she was excited beyond comprehension. How long had it been since the last mundane recorded with Sight had been found? Ages, Eleanor thought! So long that perhaps she'd have to look up the person and compare them with this spritely little redhead before them.
"Of course I can see you," the mundie responded. "I'm not blind, you know."
As he moved to pick up his blade, Jace responded, "Oh, but you are. You just don't know it."
"You'd best leave," Eleanor added. "If you know what's good for you, that is."
The response was not one they were hoping for, but still one they were all somewhat expecting.
"I'm not going anywhere." The mundie stood her ground and pointed to the demon, defiant. "If I do, you'll kill him."
Jace nodded and confirmed that they would, in fact, kill the demon, and then went on to ask why it mattered to her. The mundane struggled to answer the question, most likely shocked at how morally easy the question was to answer to begin with. Because it's wrong to kill in the first place. She answered as steadily as possible, told Jace that he couldn't go around killing people.
The blonde took amusement in the response.
"You're quite right," he said. "You can't go around killing people." He pointed lazily back at the demon, who had stilled entirely and appeared to be in waiting. Its eyes were nearly closed, almost as though it were feigning unconsciousness to earn the mundane's pity. "That's not a person, little girl. It may look like a person and talk like a person and maybe even bleed like a person. But it's a monster."
"Tick-tick," Rose muttered, reminding the blonde to keep a reign on his speeches. Before he could respond in annoyance, the mundane interrupted.
"You're crazy," she gasped, backing away from the group. "I've called the police, you know. They'll be here any second."
The first word out of Eleanor's mouth had been a stunned, and somewhat annoyed, "What," that went unnoticed when Alec tried to call the redhead's bluff. He seemed doubtful, unsure if she was lying, and looked to Jace for any sign to believe that she was wrong. Before he could even finish asking Jace his question, a high cry came from behind them. The Eidolon, Eleanor panicked! They'd forgotten about the Eidolon!
It tackled Jace, free from its bonds, and the two rolled around on the floor of the storage room. The mundie stumbled back and tried to run, only to trip on the wires scattered along the floor. The Eidolon bared its claws, slashed at Jace ferociously; the Eidolon remained seated on Jace's chest, blood drawn from the Nephilim boy as the demon continued to slash at him. Rose and Alec were quick to move, but Eleanor was quicker – once again she brandished her hook swords, this time catching the monster's arm as it raised the limb for another blow. The tip of her swords dug into its flesh, tore along its jacket and skin as she ripped it away from Jace. Rose sprinted forward as Eleanor withdrew her swords; the Redhood girl twirled on her heel, foot raised and pointed, and brought it down on the back of the demon's neck. Once again the demon was knocked to the floor, a crack resonating throughout the storage room. Jace was upon it in seconds, his seraph blade in hand; he moved to drive the blade through its back, pierce its heart from behind, but the demon rolled and scrambled to its feet. Jace was quick to strike once more, slashing at the Eidolon – a deep cut ran across its chest, some of its blood landing on Rose. She hissed and stumbled back as Jace rushed at the demon, driving the blade home and finally slaying it.
All the while the mundane was still on the ground, watching with wide, panicked eyes as the demon folded in on itself and eventually disappeared to its home dimension.
Eleanor was quick to retrieve her stele from her bag, twirling it in her hand as she approached Rose. The demon's blood was burning through her shirt, into her skin, and absently the parabatais knew that Rose should've left her jacket on. At least then she would've avoided the acidic burn searing through her skin, as well as avoided the destruction of a prized shirt.
The mundane was quick to scramble to her feet in an attempt to run. Alec shouted out to her, "Hey!" but was too far to run after her. Dagger still in her hand, Rose shifted away from Eleanor and poised her arm to launch the dagger, faltering somewhat from the pain in her shoulder. The dagger flew, whizzed past the mundane's head, and was lodged into the door with a loud thunk. The mundane stopped in her tracks, clearly scared for her life, but none of the Nephilim seemed to care; they were too busy tending to their own, making sure this little girl hadn't let one of their comrades suffer.
Eleanor was quick to pull Rose to the side, ignoring her yells at the mundane over how dangerous her interruption was for them, and applied an iratze while Alec and Jace handled the situation.
"You're all crazy," the mundane gasped. She didn't dare move, too shocked to run again in case yet another weapon was thrown at her. "What do you think you are, vigilante killers? The police–"
"The police," Jace cut in loudly, "aren't usually interested unless you can produce a body." As he said it he began to walk over to the redhead, Alec following closely. Eleanor had just finished applying the iratze to her parabatai and now watched the boys as they stepped over the wires on the floor.
At his mention of a body, the redhead looked over to the spot where the demon had been – where Jace had slain it. She was searching frantically for anything that'd make the whole situation rational to her, and Eleanor knew she was destined to fail.
"They return to their home dimensions upon death," Eleanor announced. The redhead and Alec looked to her frantically, her cousin's hushed warning enough to make her pout. "I was just saying…"
Jace was quick to cut in again. "It really doesn't matter, Alec," he said. "She can already see us. She already knows too much."
"Then what do we do with her?" Rose demanded.
The blonde seemed to consider his answer, the redhead rooted to the spot in fear for her life.
"Let her go."
Once again Eleanor let out a stunned, "What," as Alec and Rose stared at Jace with jaws agape. Alec was quick to recover from his shock, virtually used to Jace's obscure antics.
"Maybe we should bring her back to the Institute," he suggested hurriedly. "Hodge might want to see her."
"We can't," Rose argued, just as Eleanor said, "Alec's right." The two exchanged a quick glance, unsure of what to say to the other, and finally Rose added on to her argument, "She's a mundie – she doesn't belong near an Institute."
"Or is she?" Jace countered. His voice was soft, his eyes locked with the redhead's. It seemed to scare her even more. "Have you had dealings with demons, little girl? Walked with warlocks, talked with Night Children? Have you–"
"My name is not 'little girl'," the redhead interrupted loudly. Eleanor had to admire her guts to speak out in such a situation; her life was possibly in danger, even though the armed people before her had just said she could be let go, and she still had enough bravado to correct one of the assailants. "And I have no idea what you're talking about. I don't believe in– In demons, or whatever you–"
The storage room doors opened once more, and this time everyone noticed. If it wasn't the sudden flood of loud music, it was a boy's voice calling out tentatively, "Clary?"
The redhead seemed to respond to the name, and all at once the Shadowhunters assumed that this must've been her name – this must've been her friend.
He walked into the storage room, one of the bouncers from the entrance following behind him. "Are you okay?" he asked. He peeked into the room more, looking around – through the Nephilim. Never truly seeing them, as was expected. "What are you doing in here by yourself? What happened to the guys – you know, the ones with the knives?"
When the redhead – Clary – turned to face the Nephilim again, she greeted them with a wide-eyed stare of confusion and confliction. This was possibly just what she needed to confirm that this was not a normal, mundie conflict she'd witnessed. It was possibly almost enough for her to lean to the rational side of things and wonder if she were going crazy, which probably wasn't far from the truth after how she'd initially reacted to their pseudo explanations. Jace shrugged at her apologetically, mixing in his own brand of mocking with it, and Eleanor wandered over with her arms crossed in front of her chest. Rose soon joined, watching the mundanes carefully as she cradled her healing arm.
Clary slowly turned back to the bouncer and her friend with an apologetic look of her own, mixed with a flush of embarrassment. "I thought they went in here," she said lamely. "But I guess they didn't. Sorry." Her friend's expression soon changed from worried to embarrassed as well, whilst the bouncer appeared annoyed at the false alarm. "It was a mistake."
Not long after she left the storage room with her friend, the foursome looked to each other and released their breaths simultaneously. They were expecting the bouncer and the brunette to not see them, but they hadn't accounted for Clary. Then again, they hadn't accounted for the possibility that mundanes still had a touch of Sight, even after such people became rarer and rarer over time. They all glanced to each other, surveyed the damage that had been done, and finally one of them broke the silence.
Rose, putting on a pout and stamping her foot once in impatience, demanded, "Can we go home now?"