Clary was standing in a desert of bone white sand. The sky was dark, and the moon, shattered into pieces, lay limp in the sky. She was barefooted, the fine sand crumbling beneath her toes. She shivered as the icy cold of the sand bit her feet. She carefully treaded through the desert, though she had no idea where she was heading. No matter how long she walked, there was no change in landscape. The white sand seemed to stretch into infinity. Clary could feel the hard knot of despair in her throat.

She yelped when a hand grabbed her wrist and spun her around. She lifted her head to face Sebastian. His black eyes had a cruel glint, his lips an unforgiving line. Look around you, Clary, he whispered. Look around you. Clary tore her eyes from his, and a silent scream tore through her lungs. There were corpses sprawled on the white sands, blood staining the bony white with a sickening crimson. But they weren't sands now, but skulls, piled and piled on top of each other—

Wake up, Clary. She could hear Sebastian's whisper resonating in her own skull as she sunk into the pile of bones she had been standing on. Bony fingers clutched her shoulders as they dragged her into the dark. They closed over her mouth to muffle her scream. Wake up. Wake up.

Clary gasped, her eyes fluttering open as Jace shook her shoulders. Her mouth was dry, her throat stinging as if she had been screaming.

"It's almost midday, and I can't have you skipping lunch," he said. He straightened himself, crossing his arms. "You seem to have had a lovely dream."

"You bet," she muttered, trying her best to keep her voice from shaking. She could still see the cold eyes of Sebastian, glaring at her. She rubbed her eyes. "It featured your lovely Sebastian."

"That explains your expression when I woke you up. Any dream that doesn't star me is a nightmare."

"I'll keep that in mind the next time I fall asleep," she said. Jace offered her a hand. She took it as she yanked herself off the bed. "Do you usually barge into ladies' rooms? Someone should have told you it's extremely impolite."

"You're welcome," he replied with a pleasant smile. "I knew you would like to brighten the start of a new day with my radiant presence." She ignored him with a roll of her eyes. Her limbs still ached from the fight— if it could be called one— she had with Jace the previous night. "You might want to get ready to go out. Isabelle cooked lunch," he explained, as if the last sentence was an obvious reason to eating out. Clary thought she caught a faint smell of boiled socks wafting through the open door.

"I'll come knocking as soon as I get ready," she muttered, feeling a little queasy. Jace nodded before leaving the room, closing the door behind him with an audible click.

Everything was a daze as Clary got ready. She could still hear Sebastian's voice echoing in her head. She furiously brushed her teeth, hurting her gums. The pain managed to take her mind off the sinister dream. When she entered her room, rubbing her wet hair with a white towel, she was surprised to see her clothes in a neatly folded pile on her bed. Jace must have visited Magnus during the morning. She only just realized how sleeping in her casual clothes had left her a little stiff. She changed into a pair of jeans and a white shirt, the feeling of crisp fabric leaving a satisfying sensation on her soft skin. They were the few ordinary clothes Magnus had allowed her to keep. She combed her hair with her fingers, letting the magic dry the damp locks.

She knocked on the ivory door across her room. When she heard Jace shout an answer, she turned the door knob— it had a ring of herons carved in a circle, she realized— to bump into Jace. He was wearing black cargo pants and a rider jacket thrown onto a black shirt. She could see the swirl of Marks on his collarbone.

"I was going to open the door for you," he said. "I am often told that I am an extremely polite person."

"Your room is dreadfully messy," she noted, promptly ignoring him. His room looked as if it had been ransacked by a hasty burglar. Papers and photographs were sprawled on the ground, drawers flung open, and weapons were stashed against a sky-blue wall. His blankets were a tangled mess on the mattress.

"Messy?" Jace repeated. "I'll have you know I am the definition of tidiness."

"Peculiar," she replied, observing the dagger hanging on a ruined pearly white curtain. "I don't recall seeing your name the last time I looked it up."

"Then your dictionary is sorely in need of an update," he smirked. Clary saw him pocket something with the corner of her eye. Maybe he had been digging his room apart in search for something. Before she could ask anything, he swept her out of his room, following close behind her. "I think I saw Isabelle looking for us. My deepest regrets to my parabatai, but I am afraid we will have to abandon him if we want to keep our tongues live and healthy." He shook his head in mock sorrow.

Clary's thoughts flew to Sebastian, but the dream had left a bitter taste. She did not want to confront him just yet, at least not while the nightmare was still lingering at the tips of her mind. "Where are we going?" she asked instead.

"The one place on this dimension that can possibly be more aligned to the heavens than the Nephilim," he said, his lips pulled into a delighted smile. He's beautiful, Clary realized with a jolt. She had known he had charming looks, but his smile, cleared of the constant guard in his expression, illuminated his angelic features. "The brilliance of the spaghetti fra diavolo at Taki's outshines even our brightest witchlight runestones."

"If you say so."

Jace led her through the maze of corridors, this time matching his speed with hers. She couldn't help but notice how their footsteps were perfectly synchronized. She deliberately slowed, and Jace instantly fell in step with her. He glanced at her. Only then did Clary realize she had been staring at him, and tore her eyes from his face.

"So," his voice was a low whisper. "You were with Magnus since you were three?"

Clary nodded. His sudden curiosity of her past was surprising, but she had no reason to hide it. "Mom had taken me there, asking Magnus to blind my Sight. She wanted to live as mundanes. Magnus told her he needed to study the fabrics of my mind carefully, or else he may damage something else permanently. She was on her way home, to fetch what Magnus wanted as payment. She didn't come back. Magnus was worried, and went looking for her. He found a Morgenstern ring that mom had left in warning."

"You don't remember her, then?" There was an unreadable emotion in his voice.

"Only brief flashes. I think she looked a lot like me. Red hair, green eyes…" she trailed off. Jace hailed a cab and opened a door, beckoning her to climb in. She did. Clary pulled herself into the other seat to let him climb in after her, shutting the car door. He barked a location to the driver and turned to face her.

"Fourteen years with a warlock," he shook his head in disbelief. "And you didn't ever think of going to the Nephilim for help?"

"Why would I? Magnus is the best protection ever, and he doesn't fuss over some petty law every time he so much as sneezes," she replied, disregard for the Clave coloring her voice. "Besides, I'd be sent to Idris. All my friends are here."

"Friends?"

"The Downworlders. You're familiar with Luke's pack. I've hunted demons with them every now and then. And there's the vampires. They're friendly enough if you let them. Plus, they're fantastic at chess," she half-smiled at the memories. "Magnus's friends, the warlocks, scavenged multiple dimensions to find me this ring. I think I've met every Greater Demon in existence."

"And the fey?"

"Difficult people, though they do seem to like me. But they either have a murderous sense of humor or are too careful with their words to be any fun." Her eyes flickered to his. There was a spark of amusement in his gold eyes. "But they did train me with weapons."

"But no Shadowhunter friend. No one like you," he said. "Sounds a little lonely, in my opinion."

Clary shrugged. "Does race really matter when making friends?"

"Perhaps not," he said. The cab pulled over to the side of the road. Jace handed the driver a couple of notes and pulled himself out of the car. Clary followed, clumsily stumbling a little. Jace caught her by her shoulder. "You have the balance of a drunk faerie warrior. Fantastic training at its work, I see."

Before Clary could snap a retort, he led her to a low brick building. It stood like a block of red lego, windowless with a neon sign hanging lopsidedly. Two figures were standing at the entrance, their faces hidden under black hats. It looked like somewhere from the movies, where gangs traded drugs and shot each other to death. One man lifted his hat just enough for Clary to glimpse his red skin. He gave a slight nod as they approached.

"It doesn't look like anything aligned to the heavens," she muttered. "It looks like a prison."

"You'll see soon enough how woefully wrong you are," he replied with a complacent smile. "Hey there, Clancey." He patted the red-skinned man on the shoulder as he passed them, leading Clary into the building.

The inside was surprisingly bright, furnished with wooden tables and chairs. The cushions were brightly colored, reminding Clary of Magnus's flashy suits. A woman beckoned them to sit wherever they liked to. Jace led her to a table at the corner. She tentatively sat on a chair.

"Is Isabelle really that bad at cooking?" she asked. Jace handed her the menu, leaning back on his chair.

"Actually, she's fantastic. When you want her to badly poison your arch-enemy, that is," he amended. He leaned over to flip the menu in her hands to the last pages. Clary glimpsed lists of animal blood and raw steak. "Otherwise, you don't want to go near her food. That's the human food section, by the way."

"Any recommendations?"

"The burgers with ricotta cheese are divine, I've heard," a familiar voice made Clary almost jump out of her skin. She turned to see Sebastian smiling down at her as he drew a chair from another table to sit next to her. "Nice of you to sneak out with Alice, Jace. You were the perfect excuse for me to avoid Isabelle's treacherous grasp. I wish I could say the same for her brother though." He bowed his head, wiping his dry eyes.

Clary could hear Jace swearing under his breath, but Sebastian ignored it. "I'll have that, then," she said timidly. She hated being stuck in the middle of a fight, which was precisely why she avoided parties with invitations to both werewolves and vampires. Though Magnus seemed to enjoy watching their childish dispute now and then.

"I'm sure Jace has explained, but let me introduce myself in person," he said with a polite smile. "I am Sebastian Verlac, temporarily staying at the Institute until the Lightwoods return. Oh, and I'll have the same," he told Jace, who scowled and called the waitress. Clary watched as he muttered to her. He looked as if he wanted Sebastian's pulsing heart for lunch.

"It was nice of you to offer your assistance the previous night," she replied. Though she was speaking to Sebastian, she was still eyeing Jace, who made no effort to hide his sudden bad mood.

"Oh, we're Shadowhunters. We're meant to help others," he shrugged. "It's been too quiet and peaceful at the Institute, anyway."

They sat there in awkward silence, though Sebastian seemed unfazed. The waitress handed out their food, which were indeed divine. Clary took a large bite out of her burger, her eyes slightly widening at the rich flavour. Even Magnus didn't cook this well. Jace seemed to notice her expression and managed to crack a smile.

"You still think this is a prison?" he asked. His plate of pasta was already half empty. There was a smear of sauce on his chin, indicating where half the content of his plates had gone.

"I am satisfied with the choice of abandoning your parabatai for the meal here," she answered between bites. "But I still think the exterior can be improved."

"Nonsense," he said, wiping his chin with a napkin. "The true value of a restaurant comes from this." He waved his hands at the food on the table with relish. He wolfed down the remains on the dish. "Its exterior is proof that Taki's is not some third-rate restaurant that lures customers with fancy walls."

As soon as Clary finished her burger, Jace rose from his chair. Before Clary could protest, he pulled her to her feet. Sebastian merely glanced at him, gracefully wiping his lips with a napkin.

"He gets paid from the Clave," he briskly explained. "The lunch is on him."

Sebastian shrugged, and took out his wallet. Jace tugged her out of the place, Clary almost running to keep pace. Clary was curious and a little irritated with his obvious hatred of Sebastian, but she was wise enough not to comment on it. She followed him stalk into an alley.

"You're not going to wait for him?" Clary asked, though the answer was clear. She was sure Sebastian would manage to catch up anyway.

"Why bother? The sooner we're rid of him, the better," he replied. His voice was cool, but she could see the irritation stiffening the hard set of his shoulders. He was walking along the alley, his back to Clary. His fair hair was a glint of gold in the dimness. She was studying the swirling lines on the back of his neck when he abruptly stopped without warning. Clary bumped into him, face first. She was about to complain, but she could see his muscles tense. One arm was stretched in protection, the other reaching into his jacket.

Clary peered over his shoulders, and gasped. A corpse was slouched in the darkness, its neck and wrists slit. Blood pooled on the ground, still damp. Flecks of it stained the wall the corpse lolled against. There were scratches on the walls and a deep denture on the ground. The corpse's fingers must have dug into the concrete; his fingertips were bloodstained, and his nails— or claws, Clary noticed— were cracked. A pair of fangs slid out of his open lips.

"A vampire. But the blood isn't old, it couldn't have been more than a few hours," he frowned. "What was it doing in broad daylight?"

"The window's open," Clary whispered. "Maybe he jumped out to run away from something." But he wasn't fast enough. Jace raised his head to see where she was pointing. Curtains billowed in the wind. Clary tried to step forward to take a better look at the vampire's face, but Jace held her back. "I have to see him, Jace, he might be someone I know!"

She ducked under his arm and ran towards the remains of the vampire. However, she backed away immediately, sickened. His eyes were gouged out, and claw marks stretched over his face, which was contorted in agony. The deep gashes that tore his face made him unrecognizable.

"Do you know any vampires that should be notified?" Clary could hear Jace's soft voice. She didn't know she had been trembling until Jace's hands firmly held hers.

"I— I have to contact Raphael," she stammered. She could feel her burger churn in her stomach, the image of the murdered vampire branded beneath her eyelids. "He's at the Hotel Dumort."

"Are you welcomed there? You won't be attacked on sight?"

Clary shook her head. "I've been there before. They know me."

Jace held her firmly as he guided her out of the alley. She was glad to take her eyes off the broken corpse, the remains of a person that may have been slaughtered all because of her. When they reached the end of the alley, they stumbled into a very surprised looking Sebastian.

"What happened?" Sebastian looked alarmed. He was staring at Clary's pale face.

"A vampire was attacked and murdered. Go to the Institute, Seb, and contact the Clave. I'm going to take Alice to the nearby vampire clan." Jace's voice was curt. Sebastian looked confused, but nodded in response.

"Won't you be attacked though?" he asked.

"We'll manage," Jace replied. He and Clary raced to the nearby idling cab, leaving Sebastian standing bemused. He watched as the cab took a sharp turn at the corner and disappeared from sight.

Note:
I'm going to be busy on Wednesday with the exams, so I'll just post it today.
Thank you all for the feedback! I may not be replying, but I'm reading all of the reviews :)