Tada! Next chapter! Thank you for all the lovely reviews once more! Yes I've been lacking on the Clace so far but from next chapter… I don't think you'll be complaining ;) anyway, more reviews would be much loved! Since I'm busy at the moment, I'll update whenever I get more than ten reviews for now. Seems like a fair enough number. Anyway, enjoy and drop those reviews! x

Clary

When I sneaked back into the mansion on the outskirts of Alicante, I was sure Father wasn't home. His horse wasn't there for one thing. Since my room had been sealed shut with a rune, I'd slipped out of Jonathan's window. There was a trellis that I was sure he'd had put there on purpose. Yeah, he sneaked his bitches in and out as much as I snuck out.

The trellis was old, but strong. It creaked only a little as I climbed up, pushing open the window and rolled inside, onto the bed.

Just one problem- there was already someone on it. From the scream of surprise, it wasn't just my brother sleeping in there tonight. Wide eyes stared at me. Ones that were green and a tangle of curly dark brown hair framed her pretty face. She'd yanked the covers up to her chest, bunching it under her chin.

Oh by the Angel.

"Clary-!"

Now that was Jonathan. He shoved me off the bed, yanking the covers over… oh sweet Jesus he was naked. No, no, god no. I clenched my eyes shut until I was sure he was covered enough. Then I did look. In the morning light, Jonathan's tangled and messy hair was silver, his midnight eyes shining like obsidian. He looked angry. "Clary what the hell-!" he reached for me, but I backed off, laughing out under my breath, "no thank you. I bet I know where your hands have been an-" I trailed off as I looked at the girl, frowning lightly. "I know you. You're the Inquisitors daughter. Alex."

The girl's cheeks were ruby red as she spluttered out, "I don't… I-" she swallowed hard. "Don't- Don't tell anyone you've seen…" she couldn't finish and I couldn't help but roll my eyes- another foolish girl who had fallen for my brother. Why did they even do that?

"Stay here Firecracker," my brother told her now, leaning forwards and… oh ew. He pressed a kiss to her lips before standing up, causing me to look away again. He grabbed a pair of boxers and yanked them on before walking out of the bedroom. I shot Alex one more look before following him out.

"Where the hell have you been?" Jonathan hissed as soon as the bedroom door was shut. I rolled my eyes. "For a walk." I turned to leave but he grabbed my wrist. Ew. Eww. His eyes were narrowed. "There is blood on your hand. And clothes. Where. Have. You. Been? Or do I have to tell Father and he'll get it out of you?"

I yanked my arm away "a walk. And a horse came at me okay? I ran it through with my blade. Damn thing's blood melted it away."

Lies. All lies. I had to lie. If Jonathan knew the truth… yes, were close. But he'd tell dad.

He seemed to analyze everything before nodding slowly, saying in disbelief, "you killed an equi umbra?"

"Yes."

Jonathan started laughing, shaking his head back and forth. When he stopped at last, brushing the white blond locks from his eyes, he told her, "you're lying to me, little sister. I'll give you one last chance to tell the truth."

"If you tell on me, I'll tell on you," I snapped now.

Those dark eyes flashed with anger. "Fuck you."

"Fuck me? You're the one fucking the Inquisitors daughter. Her parents hate you with a passion."

Jonathan shrugged. "I don't really care what they think. I'm an adult, and so is she. She's allowed to sleep with whoever she wants. And so am I. Now excuse me, I must get back to her." He'd admitted defeat. For now. Wow, he must have really liked that Alex. Usually he just spent the one night with them, not giving a shit. He was heartless. Thinking with his dick was a good description of my brother.

"Use a condom," I told him warningly, feeling sick. Little sisters weren't meant to tell their elder brothers that. Gross. The door snapped shut and I distinctly heard a lock turning.

One more thing. I rapped on the door twice, smirking as I heard a loud snarl of "what?!" from inside. "Where are they?" he knew who I meant. Our parents.

"Out until tomorrow. Now… go. Away."

I left before he was even finished, shutting my bedroom door with a yawn. I kicked off my boots and slipped out of my bloodied clothes. And then I collapsed into bed and prayed internally to Raziel that I didn't hear my brother and his… conquest.

Jace

Alec sighed as he drew the final rune, and I felt my leg heal completely. It was still sore, but that didn't matter. "How the hell did you let a equi umbra bite you? You do know most of them are poisonous?"

Maybe that explained the light sheen of sweat covering my forehead. I laughed lightly. "Yes. I do know that."

"And from what I can see, you're full of it!"

"Ah. That sucks."

Alec snarled. "Stay here." He left the room and I rolled my eyes, lying back upon the bed. My body ached. Equi umbra poison was coursing through my veins, and I'd completely forgotten about the fact they were poisonous. That bastard Clary had jumbled my thoughts.

I groaned to myself now. Why had I saved her? Why, when I'd seen that horse rearing up from a distance as I rode Firenze, had I suddenly urged him forwards and collided head on with the beast? And as to giving her lessons… by the Angel, what was wrong with me? I'd saved her life, and then she'd saved my own.

Her father was a monster, and so was her brother. Didn't she know that? She must. She hated them too.

Clary Morgenstern was a curious little thing. I didn't know how to perceive her.

God my head was spinning. Around and around. A moment later I'd scrambled to the edge of the bed, very nearly throwing up over the side. Yeah, equi umbra poison. It was a bitch.

As I lay back down, the lights became too bright. My arm rested over my closed eyes, soothing the sting for now. But damn, Clary wouldn't leave my mind. Such determination and fire in her soul.

But it didn't stop me loathing her. Her family had killed my own.

I couldn't like her.

Revenge was like the damn equi umbra poison. It creeps slowly through your body, tainting everything until it destroys you completely.

Clary

I spent the entire day in my room, only coming out for something to eat or to check if my parents were home. They didn't come back at the time Jonathan had told me, but I didn't mind. It was peaceful without the entire family here. Jonathan had gone out. Yeah, with Alex. Where to I had no idea and didn't want to know. But there was one problem- him thinking with his dick meant he'd forgotten about the equi umbra in the stables. They needed to eat.

Pulling on my clothes, I wondered vaguely what Father would say about the fact Jonathan was neglecting his horse and Demons Run was in less than two months now. The initiation night was in two weeks. It was a night where the ones who would be running and maybe dying in Demons Run came together for a night of festivities.

I'd never set eyes upon it. It was for participants only. But my brother had told me it was magical.

When I got down to the Morgenstern stables, which were as grand as the family name, there was someone there already. As I realized who it was, a wide grin spread across my face.

"Simon!" the boy didn't even have time to brace himself as I threw myself at him, hugging him tight. He laughed, patting my back. "Hello Miss Morgenstern."

I slapped his arm. "It's Clary."

Dark brown eyes twinkled playfully. "I know."

My grin was fixed upon my face as I walked with him the rest of the way towards the stables, casting a glance at the clothes he was wearing. Trousers that were muddied and thick boots. His shirt was half tucked in and dirty cream. "Are you back? I thought…"

Simon shook his head, soft brown hair flopping against his forehead. "Not exactly. Your brother sent me a message." He wrinkled up his nose. "To feed the equi umbra. But… how the hell do I do that? I only feed the normal horses." His eyes were nervous. "I don't like those things."

With a thought to kill my brother when I saw him, I shook my head at him. "No, I came down to do it. I suspected he wasn't going to bother." Simon wasn't a servant exactly, but he wasn't free either. He lived in New York usually with his family. But, since he was a mundane with the Sight, was of use to my father. Simon Lewis was the stable boy for the months when the equi umbra weren't around. Paid moderately well and his own little cabin behind the stables, plus Portal home at the end of it? It wasn't a bad life.

"When are you going home?" I asked now, frowning lightly. Simon shrugged. "Tomorrow. At least, I could. But this year…" he trailed off, pausing before continuing with, "I want to stay. Watch the Run."

"Simon." I groaned, closing my eyes. "You're a mundane. I don't think they'd let you within a hundred meter of the Run."

"Your brother said he'd draw runes on me."

"He said what? Do you even know what that means?" I wanted to kill Jonathan now. Simon was my friend and he was going to turn him Forsaken-?

Simon's eyes widened. "No! Not like that! Wow no. I meant with pen. To make it look like I am a Shadowhunter."

My rage at my brother didn't dissipate much. "But still. He shouldn't be doing that. He's just…" I couldn't go on, grinding the back of my teeth together in annoyance.

It was starting to get cold early this year. When the races were run, the whole city would be blanketed in snow and deadly, slick ice. LakeLyn had to be completely frozen over, or it would be cancelled. It usually never came to that. Only once in my life had that happened. The year before Father stopped running, passing the flame to my brother.

The ground was still very green, but today, there was the lightest frost covering it. Yes, the colder months really were coming. Soon, more equi umbra would come. The Shadowhunters who hadn't started their training would catch one and begin. Some would die before the Run. Some during the Run.

But Demons Run always needed its tribute of blood upon ice. And every single year, it had received it without fail.

The dark days were coming again.

"Relax Clary," Simon told me, unbolting the door to the barn, letting me slip in first. The equi umbra were wide awake. Actually, I'd never seen one asleep. Did they even sleep? Father's horse Bellator watched me with eyes as red and dark as blood.

And then there was the brand new equi umbra. The one that had gone insane when my brother had went to shove me or something even worse. It was watching me with its ears pricked up. Unusual.

Simon noticed too, stopping dead in the doorway. "That horse is watching you."

I nodded, not moving. "I don't know what to make of that horse. When Jonathan yelled at me… it went berserk. Even Jonathan was amazed. He said it liked me."

"Yeah. To eat you."

As I stood there staring back at the obsidian colored demon horse, I remembered how Jonathan had dropped to the floor when Father had found us there. He'd thrown Jonathan over his shoulder and marched back up to the mansion with me trailing behind.

"You go anywhere near those horses again Clarissa, and you will regret it."

That was all my father had said to me on the subject, dropping his son onto the sofa. It had angered me. Who was he to decide what I could and could not do?

So the next morning I had sought out Jace, deliberately defying my father. It felt… good. Fun almost, the fact I'd ignored his warning and done such a thing.

Tomorrow was my first lesson with that same Jace. Sneaking out was going to be difficult, but I was going to do it. I had to. Had to show my father that I wasn't some silly little girl that he could control.

The new horse still had those shackles around its hind legs, making it hard for it to stand. Demon horse or not, I felt a surge of great pity for the beast.

"Clary what the hell-?" Simon hissed at me as I picked up a special piece of headgear just for equi umbra. It was more a muzzle than anything else, stopping it from biting. With my hands steady, I took slow and determined footsteps forwards towards the demon horse, my eyes never leaving it once. My brothers warning to stay unafraid in the face of them was forefront in my mind, but I was still scared.

"Please don't bite me," I whispered to myself more than the horse as I reached forwards, taking a deep breath before sliding the gear over its muzzle, keeping a close eye on the beasts body language. But its ears were still relaxed and alert, even as I fastened it. With a sigh of relief, I dropped my hands from the demon horse, totally amazed. For my brother, it was a maelstrom. A destructive creature. But for me… why was it like this? Not that I was complaining.

I slid the bolt of the stall open now, ignoring Simon's words about getting the hell out of there. The horse wasn't going to hurt me. With a series of grunts, I managed to slide open the bolts on its ankles, freeing them. A low snort and the demon horse flexed its rear legs as I retreated from the stall and locked it back up again.

I didn't trust the thing. Not at all. Once again, my eyes were careful as I removed the headgear from its mouth and sharply pulled away.

It didn't move once. Or make a sound.

"Clary, what the hell was that?" Simon muttered behind me. My eyes were wide as I shook my head. "I have no idea. Even Bellator attempts to bite Father at times, and they've been together since… forever."

Demon horses were not to be trusted. But this one held a special place in my heart already.

After me and Simon had shoved meat into the buckets and fed the animals, both normal and demonic, we left the stables. It had started to snow. The first snowfall of the year. Simon shivered, rubbing at his bare arms. "It's going to be a bitter winter this year. I can feel it."

I nodded. "Agreed." I half wanted to tell him about Jace. That I was going to take lessons from him. Learn how to ride… one of them. A monster. But Simon would tell on me in an instant. I knew him too well. He'd want to keep me safe.

"So when are you back at the Academy?" Simon asked me now. I wrinkled up my nose. "The day after the Run. Jonathan finished a few months ago for good." You finished at AlicanteAcademy at the age of eighteen. Since Jonathan was an adult now, he'd graduated, becoming a fully fledged Shadowhunter. And what an amazing warrior he was. With skills that surpassed even our fathers, he was destined for greatness. Or great ruin, my mother had told me once.

Simon snorted at that. "Your brother is an asshole. How do you put up with him?"

"I have no idea. He's out with Alex at the moment. The Inquisitors daughter."

He just stared at me. "But she hates him. I mean, her mother. And father. They hate him. They hate your family."

"I'm interested in just how they hooked up," I admitted. "I mean… this is Jonathan after all. Pretty on the eyes, but the manners of a demon most days."

Again, the urge to tell Simon about meeting with Jace came over me, but I quashed it.

When we parted ways, him going to his cabin, me to the mansion, my parents were back. Mom was looking happier than I'd seen her in ages, dad too.

They looked happy. Like a proper married couple. Holy crap.

"Where is Jonathan?" Father asked me as soon as I closed the door. Fuck. "He's out with his friend." More like girlfriend.

His forehead creased into a frown. "I wasn't aware Jonathan had friends?"

Wow. That was harsh.

I very nearly laughed as I told him, "Jonathan has friends."

Valentine Morgenstern, my father, narrowed his eyes now. "Is there something you aren't telling me Clarissa?"

Shit.

"Like what?"

I had no idea how he figured it out, but a curt nod later, he said quietly, deadly almost, "He's with a girl isn't he?"

Double shit. "I have no idea."

"Clarissa," he snapped at me. "Don't you even think about lying to me. Don't… you dare."

I gazed stonily at him, face giving away nothing. A muscle twitched in his cheek. "No matter how admirable your love for your brother is… you must realize that lying for him will get you both in trouble. Not just him."

"Who said I'm lying? He's with a friend. If they're banging, or whatever, I don't know nor care." Did I really just say banging to my father? Oh by the Angel…

The temperature dropped a few more degrees. "Tomorrow at dinner… family meeting. We've a lot to discuss. You, me, your mother and your brother."

There was something in his voice that I didn't like. Not at all. Mom had her eyes closed, a light sigh of defeat escaping her. At times I think she wants to stick up for Jonathan, but something stops her. But one thing was for certain…

Jonathan was in for hell when he returned tonight.

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