Chapter One
"But she felt empty… like a vase intoxicated by fumes of a dying flower"
X
December 13th 2007
The first loud cry of Simon's cellphone failed to wake him.
So did the second… the third… even the fourth.
Finally at the blare of the fifth ring, Simon turned over onto his side and groaned into his pillow. He subconsciously reached for the eyeglasses that laid on his bed side table, but dropped them almost immediately when he remembered he no longer needed them.
He was a vampire. How could he have forgotten?
Simon grasped the cellphone in his hand, blinking rapidly in an attempt to brush the sleepiness away. A few moments following, the bright screen swam into focus.
Eleven missed calls.
At that sight, he shot up from his bed, suddenly alert and awake. However, he paused in slight confusion when he saw the caller ID: Jocelyn Fray. His eyebrows knitted together as his lips turned down in a frown.
Why was she calling so much? Thinking that Clary must had lost her phone (again) and was apologizing for ditching him last night, he called back immediately. She answered on the first ring: Jocelyn, not Clary.
"Simon?" Her voice sounded frantic.
"Yes? Is everything okay?" He replied swiftly.
"Is Clary with you?"
He hesitated. Simon had covered for Clary these last months on numerous occasions. Jocelyn was not very fond of Jace and because of that, Clary often lied to her about her whereabouts. She chose to spend more time with Jace than Simon (and obviously Jocelyn) pleased but Clary loved Jace and because of that, Simon would not refuse her requests. However, considering Clary ditched him and did not say anything about a cover up, he answered truthfully and slightly harshly.
There was a pause at the other end of the line and Simon's eyebrows remained tight.
"Is everything okay?" He asked again.
"Clary… she did not come home last night."
A pang of anxiety twisted itself inside of Simon, but it disappeared as quickly as it came. Last night, he had texted her in desperation to meet. She was reluctant at first (tired he supposed) but promised she would meet him. However, she never showed. He waited at the diner for over an hour before storming out in fury. Irritation clouded his mind and as a result, he left without finishing his food (food was a loose term considering it was a pint of blood in actuality). Before walking home, he checked along the streets surrounding the diner, in case she was somehow lingering. Nevertheless, he never found her and his own exhaustion got the best of him; then he headed home. He fell asleep in anger, rather than fear because he knew Clary. Simon knows her better than he knows himself. She was spacey and often enthralled in her own little world. Sometimes he would rant to her, then realized she had that inattentive look on her face and hadn't heard a single word he uttered. He never got upset when that happened solely because that was her, that was his Clary. When she discovered the shadow world and dove deep in the waters of shadowhunters, he watched her slowly change. She became sharper, more graceful, and less careless. Yet that side of her (the remiss part) - the one he couldn't help but love - sometimes broke her polished surface. Although that was rare, he found himself cherishing that infrequent treasure.
"You know Clary…" His voice remained calm. "She's probably off in the park somewhere... sketching, creating. She probably didn't even notice the sun had fallen. She'll show soon."
"I've called her a few dozen times." Alarm and panic smeared Jocelyn's voice. "She's never done this before, I'm worried Simon."
Simon could understand why because Jocelyn was fiercely protective over her only daughter. Yet, he wished she knew her more, as well as he did. "I bet her phone's dead. I can give it a ring though."
He imagined her shaking her head. Clary received her stubbornness from her mother, that's for sure. "I was going to call Jace…" She trailed off, changing the subject.
Simon sighed in understanding. "But you don't want to worry him." Jace Wayland was (about) a six foot blonde killing machine. He was unearthly attractive (Simon was man enough to admit that) and the most cocky and infuriating person Simon knew. Yet, he loved Clary. And because of that, he was a little overprotective of her. Key word: little.
"I would spot by the institute but I have to head to work. I can probably call in sick…"
Simon cut her off, shaking his own head. "Nonsense. I'll head over right now."
Jocelyn exhaled a sigh of relief. "Thank you. Call me as soon as you hear from her." Her voice sounded peculiar at her closing words. It was almost like… she knew she wouldn't hear from her daughter. Simon said a quick goodbye and jumped from his bed; he threw on a pair of jeans and headed out the door.
Head over was the perfect summary of Simon's abilities regarding the institute. It was concealed by glamour, appearing to be an abandoned and ruined church. However, in actuality it was an immense, gothic cathedral. The glamour was meant to keep the morals away and the wards that protected the area were meant to keep the monsters away… vampires like Simon. He would never be able to step foot in the institute again. Hence the word over, rather than in.
He reluctantly texted Jace when he reached the doors. He preferred to ignore Jace as much as possible but anything regarding Clary, Simon knew he had to be the first to know. About ten minutes later, Jace, Isabelle, and Alec joined him at the gates.
Jace looked beautiful and golden as usual. His mane of messy blonde hair starkly contrasted with his present black clothes. His hands were stuffed in his pockets and he rocked back gracefully on his heels. Alec - on the other hand - appeared gauche and sleepy. He sported a pair of plaid pajama pants and his hands combed through his bed hair in a failed attempt to tame it. His bright blue eyes were narrowed at a random spot on the pavement. And Isabelle, well, she looked stunning and serene. Even despite the fact her long raven hair was twisted in a bun and her slender frame was covered by an oversized gray sweatshirt. Nonetheless, Simon didn't fail to notice that what held her hair up in the bun was two chopsticks that had sharp, pointed ends.
"What's this about vampire?" Jace asked harshly.
"It better be good considering you woke us up." Alec added, yawning. Simon looked down at his watch, suddenly registering the current time. It was barely past seven. Somehow on the walk over, he failed to recognize the light rise of the sun, the unusual vacant streets of the city, and the chilly morning December air.
"Anytime now." Jace remarked. Simon looked up, his eyes falling on him. Although he had known about the shadow world and its hunters for some time, he couldn't help but still feel intimidated by the three that stood in front of him. They had grown up with knives as toys and poison as medicine. They were all beautifully deadly and that mere fact chilled Simon to his bone (despite the whole-not-feeling-anything due to being a vampire).
"Clary slept here last night right?" He asked, surprised his voice remained calm and nonchalant despite his intimidation. His glance remained on Jace since he barely knew Alec and didn't have the audacity to look at Isabelle. That might have something to do with the conversation he wanted to have with Clary last night…
Jace's face remained neutral. His lack of response and expressionless demeanor engendered Simon to continue speaking. "You don't have to lie, it's no big deal. I just need to confirm because Jocelyn is freaking out since she did not come home last night."
His posture immediately tensed. Jase's mouth hardened in a tight line. "What do you mean she didn't come home last night?" His voice was so eerily quiet, Simon strained to hear.
"It means exactly what it sounds like. SHE, as in Clary Fray, did not, as in FAILED, to ARRIVE at the home of Jocelyn Fray, in the night that was the LAST." Simon said slowly, placing emphasis on certain words. He was mocking Jace, obviously. Could he not understand a simple statement? Simon opened his mouth to say something more, but the look Jace sent him, shut him up immediately. His golden eyes flashed, saying wordlessly: don't test me vampire.
Although he tried to not look at Isabelle, out of the corner of his eye, he saw her tense as well. She frowned, glancing over at Jace in distress. At her anxious expression, Simon became the third of them to tense as the realization sunk in. "You mean she wasn't with you last night?"
"No." Alec answered for Jace. "She wasn't."
No one said anything for a few moments. Then Jace was the first to speak: "Where is she then?" He whipped out his cellphone and pulled it to his ear.
"I tried to call her on the way over. It's no use. It's dead I bet."
Jace sent him another look. "She was probably ignoring your calls. When she sees me calling…" He trailed off. Jace cursed, redialing her cell. His face reigned neutral, but Simon knew better. He couldn't help but think: it's the calm before the storm. And at that single thought, Simon panicked. He looked down at the pavement, rewinding the event from last night and all the times he recently saw Clary. His shook out his hands in an endeavor to stop their shaking. Clary was careless. She spent days sketching… occasionally she would forget to sleep or eat, simply because she was so captivated. This, somehow felt different. Since the revelation of the shadow world, she never disappeared. When that treasure came out, it was always her spaced out or holed in her room sketching a rune. Never something like this. Simon shuddered, anxiety now coursing through his veins. Maybe she was at the park, like he had told Jocelyn. Maybe she had gone to Java Jones, if she desired her typical black coffee. Maybe….
Simon jumped suddenly at the presence of Jace nearly an inch away from him. He hadn't heard him move, which proved Simon obviously wasn't very good at this vampire thing. He took a step back, pulling a hand through his mess of brown locks.
"It's called personal space…" He began, but Jace cut off him.
"I need you to tell me everything." Once again his voice was ghostly calm.
"Everything? Well, when my mother was about thirty, she had my sister Rebecca. In the next few years, she popped out another. If you haven't guessed that's me. He was only six pounds but even from birth, the doctor knew he would be a fighter. Never could the doc have predicted, he would turn into a blood sucking…" Isabelle spoke for the first time, uttering his name in warning. Jace snarled, about to lunge forward when Alec caught his shirt, pulling him back. Simon knew if Jace really wanted to hurt him he could easily break Alec's hold. But Jace's reaction was more out of fear than spite. Even still he did not feel comfortable.
"This is serious." Alec said, his face strained. "When's the last time you saw Clary?"
"Well I saw her a few days ago when we grabbed coffee… but I spoke to her last night before she went…" He trailed off refusing to utilize the word 'missing'. Because Clary was fine, everything was going to be fine.
"And?" Alec urged, his patience withering with Jace's.
"We planned to meet up at Taki's… I needed to speak with her about something…" He couldn't help but glance at Isabelle. In actuality, he needed to speak about someone. "She texted me she was around the corner but then she never showed."
"So you went home? Didn't think that was a bit fucking weird she didn't show? I know you're used to being stood up - vampire - but Clary doesn't do that shit." Jace snarled, his voice rising. For a second, Simon considered asking Jace if he ever went to anger management since obviously he can't control his temper, but wisely he chose to keep his mouth shut.
"She's spacey… sometimes she has blown me off for you." He said the final word with venom. Simon predicated his statement would satisfy Jace, bring a smile to his face even. However, he was wrong. Jace appeared as angry as he was before. Simon briefly had a flashback to what their lives were like before Jace Wayland strolled in. Although he was hopelessly in love with his best friend, Clary was safe, she was always safe with him.
"Well that doesn't surprise me. Rats aren't great company."
Simon's eyes flashed with anger. He took a step forward, his emotions suddenly conquering logic. However, Isabelle stepped in between them. "This is not the time to play: who can come up with a better insult". She said rationally, her eyes glancing from Simon to Jace. "We need to step back, we need to think, and we need to wait for Clary to come back. You're right Simon, she's probably off somewhere sketching and lost track of time." Simon wished he could believe her. Hell, he wasn't even sure if Isabelle even believed her own words. Nonetheless, they listened to her and split up. Isabelle stayed at the institute in case she came back. Jace and Alec took off to the west, planning on spotting by Taki's and a few other beloved places. Simon opted to head home, check by Jocelyn's and then Luke's bookstore; all places that felt like home to Clary.
The hope Simon clung onto was a dangerous force. It kept him ignorant and optimistic for the girl with the vibrant green eyes that would never return home.
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