Hi guys, I'm very, very sorry that I didn't update in a while but somehow school turned my life upside down...

Anyways, I'm publishing this chapter now, I had no idea how to adjust it to Jace; Clary wouldn't be able to carry him to the Institute.

So, I really hope you'll enjoy this.

During the afternoon the air had gotten heavy.

When Jace sprinted to get home he felt as if he were swimming through honey.

He wasn't fast enough, he would never be fast enough until he could run as fast as light. He managed to cross a street before the traffic light could stop him and continued running.

What had happened? Who had attacked his mother?

Maybe she isn't even your mother a voice in the back of his head whispered.

He shooed it off and ran around the last corner. From what he could see from the outside everything was normal. The lights in the apartment were sending a warm shimmer down to where he came to a halt to empty his pockets to find the key.

Everything seemed so terribly normal that Jace was almost happy to find the hallway dark. The light bulb had blown and sent the staircase into darkness.

Jace thanked god that he wasn't afraid of the dark anymore and set his foot onto the first step of the stairs.

"Where are you going?" Jace could barely hold back a very girly scream when he whirled around to search for the owner of the husky voice. When his eyes adjusted to the darkness in the hallway he noticed the armchair that was standing in the door of Madame Dorothea's flat. Sitting in it was an old lady looking almost as if she wouldn't ever get out of it again.

Jace wanted to ignore her but she wouldn't let him off that easily.

"Your mother made quite a pandemonium up there. What was she doing? Moving furniture?"

"Listen, I don't have..."

"And the light bulb blew." She sighed as if it was the end of the world that she was sitting in the darkness now. "Can't your mother ask her boyfriend if he could change it?"

"Luke's not..."

"And the skylight is dirty once again; no wonder it's that dark..."

"LUKE'S NOT SOME KIND OF A JANITOR!" Jace yelled. He didn't care that the old lady flinched at his voice.

He ran up the staircase always taking three steps at once.

"Mom?" Jace called when he pushed open the door. After coming out of a dark room the light stung in his eyes. J

ace shielded his eyes. Everything seemed normal, so terribly normal! His mother's purse and key were lying on the shelf next to the door – as always.

Why wasn't anybody here? Jace strode further into the flat. "Mum? Mum, it's me!"

Nothing. Both windows of the living room were open and the curtains resembled restless ghosts in the wind. Just when the curtains got limb again Jace noticed the chaos.

The sofa cushion were thrown across the room. Some of them were even ripped open and its stuffing was coming out. The bookshelves had fallen over and had spilled the books on the floor; there were claw marks on the side of the piano and the sheet music was spread through the whole room. That wouldn't have been as bad but Jace froze when he noticed the pictures. Every single one of his mothers beautifully painted pictures was ripped into fine stripes. Whoever had done it had to have used a knife; you couldn't rip the canvas with bare hands.

"No." Jace whispered. "NO!" His scream seemed to echo from the empty walls.

Panicking he ran into the kitchen. Tabasco was spread all over the floor looking almost like blood but Jace almost choked on the sharp smell. All the cupboards were ripped open. He couldn't bear it.

Where was his mother? Had there been a burglar and his mother had tried to take him on? Should he call the police?

That was probably the best option. Where was his mother's phone?

He left the kitchen and went for his mother's purse but he wouldn't get to the door. A growling sound made him whirl around and he ducked just in time to miss the black creature jumping at him. The creature flew past him and dug his claws into the floor to stop sliding. There it sat showing all of its gruesomeness. It was looking like some crossover between a alligator and a millipede.

Jace stood there like a deer in the headlight and stared at the thing.

It stared back.

"Boy... Meat, blood. Food, aah, food!" it hissed while it approached Jace.

Suddenly Jace felt as if somebody had filled his veins with ice. Realisation flooded his mind and burning rage replaced his fear. "What have you done to my mother?" he whispered barely holding back from screaming. The creature didn't answer. "Break his bones, suck out the marrow, drink his blood..."

"WHAT HAVE YOU DONE!" Jace yelled, grabbed a chair and hauled it at the thing crawling towards him. He had probably used more force than he intended; the chair broke when making contact to the thing's head but it was effective; the creature shook its head confusedly and when it wasn't paying attention Jace threw another chair at it. This one also hit it right into the face and Jace made a run for one of the kitchen drawers.

He quickly gathered all the knives he could find and began throwing them. There's not much difference from throwing darts. he realised when the first knife dug into the creatures neck.

One, two, three, four, five; neck, head, missed, back, back.

"Is it dead?" Jace whispered.

The creature's claw twitched. Jace flinched, hurried to get some rum his mother used for baking, hurled the bottle onto the creature that hard that it burst, dug through the drawer for some matches, found them, lit the whole package and also threw it at the mess of being lying on the floor. Flames engulfed the liquid, slowly taking over the remains of the chairs and the creature itself. Suddenly it roared and began trashing and Jace ducked when a burning leg of a chair flew into his direction. F

everishly he searched for something he could hurl at the creature, found methylated spirit, opened the bottle and tossed it over the kitchen unit. The screams of the creature showed him that he hit his target.

He started tossing things again. A frying pan, a heavy iron pot, some plates, cups and bowls were thrown at the creature as well as some tins of beans, peas and other vegetable, another pot, everything he could get his hands on.

Slowly the movements of the thrashing creature died down and finally stopped. Jace stared at the burning mess of kitchen utensils wondering if it was save to slack the fire yet.

"Oh, hell, what a mess!" Jace whirled around to throw the thing he had momentarily at hand – a heavy copper vase – at the person the voice belonged to.

Clary was hit squarely on the head and fell over – it almost looked like a cartoon. Jace stared at her unmoving body for a second before he could hear someone chuckle.

"Clary, Clary, letting your guard down so easily..." The girl from the pandemonium – Isabelle – stepped into sight and kneeled down beside Clary. "Congratulations, she's out cold." She shot him an irritated look. "Did you really have to throw a vase at her?"

Jace shrugged. "She nearly gave me a heart attack..."

"You just don't throw vases at ladies."

"Do I look as if I care?" Jace felt that he was losing his temper and he suspected that he would lose his sanity as well. "I just got attacked by that... that thing, set half of the flat on fire trying to get rid of it and now you're trying to teach me manners? Sorry, but that's..." He laughed humourlessly. "That's just ridiculous."

"Ridiculous or not, you just don't..."

"I KNOW! Look, can we just... get out of here or something? I'm not keen on encountering any more of those creatures..."

Isabelle grimaced. "Alright. But I fear you'll have to carry Clary..."

"I don't have any problems with that." Jace answered and kneeled down to lift the petite girl off the ground. He picked her up in bridal style and shifted her weight until he was comfortable with her lying in his arms. "She's as light as a feather." he smiled.

Isabelle rolled her eyes. "Come on, let's get going!"

"Alright..." He manoeuvred her around the kitchen table, carried her out of the flat but when he was cautiously climbing down the stairs she suddenly leaped up, screaming 'Get your hands off me!' and sent them both flying down the staircase. The last thing Jace heard before he hit the floor at the bottom was Clary cursing.

When he woke up he was lying behind the bushes next to the house.

His chest hurt terribly as well as his wrist and his leg. He realised that he had some difficulties with breathing. It hurt.

"What..." He couldn't finish because of the hand pressing on his mouth.

"Shush! Quiet down or they'll find us!" Clary glared down at him. "You'll better stay down. You broke your left leg as well as some of your ribs."

That would explain the pain. "You forgot my wrist." Jace hissed in pain when he carefully laid his hand down again. "Where are we going now?"

"We're heading for the institute. Alec should be here any second. You know – you're a bit too heavy for us girls to carry."

Jace closed his eyes again and took a deep breath before he flinched when he realised that that too hurt. He broke into a coughing fit and had to keep himself from screaming when his broken ribs protested. When he took his not broken hand from his mouth again his fingers were red.

"Punctured lung." he heard Isabella whisper.

"How could somebody be stupid enough to break a leg, a wrist and puncture his lung while only falling down a staircase!" Clary sighed. "We'll have to get him to the institute as quick as possible or he'll choke from his own blood."

"Alec's not here yet." Isabelle checked her watch.

"We don't have time to wait for Alec. Make way." Jace could make out a glowing object in Clary's hand. She grabbed his hand.

"Clary, what the hell are you doing!" Isabelle hissed but Clary pushed her away. Jace felt a stinging kiss on his wrist and tried to pull away but her grip was surprisingly strong.

"You're insane, Clary! He'll turn into a forsaken!"

A forsaken? Jace frowned but hummed contentedly when the pain in his leg and chest died down.

"I knew it." Clary murmured and Jace could hear her smile.

"What was that?"

"My stele." Clary answered. "The rune will heal your injuries within seconds – as long as they are not inflicted by demon poison or sorts."

Jace sat up and looked at his wrist where a black mark decorated his skin.

"Isabelle?"

"We're here." Isabelle whispered.

"Alec is here." she told Clary and Jace. "Let's go."

So, I hope you like it.

Did I tell you that I love Reviews?

Thanks for the Support, I love you, guys!