"The Inquisitor? Really, Valentine?" Robert Lightwood asked, raising an eyebrow. Clary groaned inwardly. This dinner was excruciatingly boring.
"Yes, she was just called in yesterday for the interrogation," Valentine replied before taking a bite of chicken. They had been discussing a case involving rogue Downworlders and their Shadowhunter ally, all of whom are being held in the Silent City for further investigation. Clary knew from her father that bringing in the Inquisitor was no small precaution; it was serious.
Imogen Herondale, Clary remembered, was the current Inquisitor. Clary slit her eyes slightly towards Jace, who was leaning back in his chair and twirling his stele in his fingers. She wondered if he and Imogen were close, since they were family. Is the Inquisitor even close with anybody? She wasn't exactly a friendly, warm person. But then again, neither was Jace.
"Clary," Jonathan whispered, nudging her in the side and swooping her out of her train of thought. She turned towards her brother expectantly, ignoring the parents' voices droning in the background. "Do you want to go have some fun after this?"
"Fun?" Clary laughed. Jonathan was well-known for being the perfect child of the family. He always kissed up to his father and the Clave, always trained hard and studied for hours. Valentine was strict in raising his children, but Clary had never been much for the uptight rules. Jonathan always followed them, though, and the mention of "fun" surprised her.
"Yeah," he said, rolling his eyes. "There's this nightclub down the street I heard about. We could go there, maybe catch some demons?" Jonathan smiled at her and she couldn't help but nod. A party sounded fun, just what she needed. And if there were demons there, it would just be the cherry on top.
"What are we going to tell Dad?" Clary asked. Her father surely wouldn't want her going to some filthy, Downworld club. He despised Downworlders - that was the whole point of the war, after all. Clary didn't mind them; they were just people, after all. But there was still no way he'd let her go to this club.
"Don't worry. I've got it," Isabelle smirked from the opposite side, eavesdropping. She must've been the one who suggested it to Jonathan.
"Oh, okay," Clary said, taken aback. The girl didn't seem too thrilled by Clary's presence a while ago, but now she seemed fine. "Thanks."
The girl ignored this and returned to her dinner, talking to her older brother quietly. His eyes, still icy blue, bore into Clary and she immediately felt guilty for asking him about Jace earlier.
"Well, that was lovely, Maryse. Thank you so much," Jocelyn smiled.
"It's my pleasure. Do you wish to come to the library with us for some drinks?" she suggested to the adults. They all agreed and stood up, leaving the kids seated.
"Hey, mom?" Isabelle asked in a sweet, innocent like voice. Completely different from her tough, outer shell. "We'd like to show the Morgensterns around town. Do you think that'd be okay?"
Maryse looked over at Robert, who shrugged, not seeming to care. "Fine. But don't stay out late."
"Are you sure that's safe?" Valentine asked, not convinced. He knew that the Lightwoods were more lenient with how they raised their children, and Clary could see in the creases of his face that he didn't agree with it. "It's already dark."
"We'll be fine, Mr. Morgenstern," Isabelle said. "We are Shadowhunters, after all. I won't let anything happen to your precious son and daughter."
"Oh, I'm not worried about that. They're perfectly capable of defending themselves," Valentine laughed. Isabelle just raised one eyebrow.
"Valentine, honey, let them go have fun. They deserve it," Jocelyn sighed, rolling her eyes but laughing. Clary smiled at the victory.
"Thanks, mom," I said, kissing her on the cheek and then doing the same to my father. "We'll be back later!" With that, the five of them all headed into the elevator, leaving Max alone with the adults and his comic books. "You're all coming?"
"What, did you expect us to stay home with our parents?" Jace sneered. "I like to have a little fun."
Clary noticed his glinting, golden eyes and tried not to keep staring. She failed. He gave her a teasing smile when he caught her watching and she quickly flipped her head away. "So, what is this place?"
"Pandemonium," said Isabelle. They emptied out of the elevator and Isabelle smoothly peeled off her leather jacket to reveal her bare shoulders and tossed it onto a coat rack by the door. She had a red pendant hanging around her neck and she kept glancing down at it as they walked. Jace snatched a small knife out of his back pocket and gripped it in his hands. They were ready to fight. "Keep walking."
Clary tried not to laugh as the girl strutted past her so fiercely. She was so intense. Jonathan smiled at her and linked his arm in hers before they continued walking together. They walked for about ten minutes, mostly in silence. She could hear Jace making jokes with Isabelle and Alec from in front of them, but they were mostly inaudible. Finally, they approached a seemingly abandoned warehouse, glowing blue light sneaking out through the cracks of the doors. She could feel the vibrations of the music, the rumble of the crowd. A glowing blue sign with an angelic power rune in the center read "Pandemonium Club." The "Demon" within the word was highlighted. Clary smirked and removed her own blade.
Isabelle led them through a back alleyway, to a locked door. The front door had a line stretching almost a block, and Isabelle was not the kind of girl to wait. She quickly scribbled a rune on the door and it clicked open. The five piled inside, landing in a storage room.
The Lightwood seemed familiar with the place, weaving her way easily through the boxes and shelves until they reached another doorway. This one led straight to the club, right into the mix of pulsing music and shaking bodies. The pendent around Isabelle's neck began to glow a dim red, and Isabelle smirked. Clary wondered what it was. "Spread out everybody," Jace winked. "And have some fun." With that he ran his fingers across his blade before taking off into the mosh pit.
"There's always a few demons here. Meet back at this door in an hour or two," Isabelle informed them before striding off. She unwound what Clary thought was a golden bracelet from her wrist and revealed an electrum whip. Isabelle twirled it in her hands as she wove through the crowd.
Alec gave Clary one more curious look before disappearing as well. Just Clary and Jonathan were left. "Well, I suppose we have some fun?"
"Please, you don't know how to have fun," Clary laughed, dragging her brother into the crowd. The music was loud and Jonathan could barely hear her beside him, but it didn't matter. He could read her lips, which were turned upwards into an energetic smile.
"I spot some vampires," Jonathan called near her ear. Clary whipped around to see where he was pointing. Sure enough, there were two vampires dancing in the center of the floor with some young girls. "You want fun? I'll show you fun," Jonathan grinned wickedly. Just like his father.
"Jon, no!" Clary scolded, pulling him back. "Let them be. Demons only."
"But they're Downworlders, Clary!" her brother insisted. He didn't understand Clary's thoughts on the Downworlders; he believed every word his father said of the "filthy beings."
"Yes, and they're just having fun, too. They're not causing anybody harm, Jonathan." Clary watched as the vampire seemed to notice them staring. He tensed up, his eyes wide and his body stiff. He glanced at the blades in their hands and Clary instantly felt guilty. The Downworlders have lived in fear ever since the war, deathly afraid of Shadowhunters. And it was all her father's fault. "Come on, let's go."
Jonathan sighed but followed her through the club. They pushed through the gyrating bodies, withstood the pounding music, and finally caught sight of someone suspicious. A young girl, maybe 14, was sitting on top of the tables, surrounded by a bunch of older guys. She was dressed in a bright red dress, barely covering her petite body. Her hair was died different colors and her eyes were an electric green. Clary immediately recognized the girl as a demon and gestured for Jonathan to take a look.
"Ready?" Clary asked, smiling excitingly. She always had a rush of adrenaline when fighting. The atmosphere only added to her thrill.
"Go!"