A/N: I am so, so sorry. I thought I would have Wi-Fi at some point on my holiday but there was almost none:-( I promise to update as much as I can from now on though!

I hope you don't mind that I switched tense...

LINE BREAK

He gave her the illusion of privacy at least, leaving her with the photographs in one hand and the phone in the other. She wished that he would leave, but instead he sat at his desk as though absorbed by the papers in front of him. Perhaps it was just the stress and Sebastian's grinning face staring up at her, but even with the windows boarded shut she felt watched. Her phone, cool from Raphael's tight grip, sat nestled in her palm. The password had been removed and she rolled her eyes at her new host's blatant lack of respect.

She scanned the text's first, all fourteen of them, each more desperate than the last. Again, they have all been read whilst she slept. At first it was just Simon complaining of her lateness, as convinced as Clary was that eventually she would be there, that nothing could pull her down. Then suddenly she was bombarded with messages from everyone, Isabelle, Simon, Luke, her mom, Maryse, Jace, even Alec and he was travelling. They all asked where she was, what had happened, why she was missing, and then panicked once they realised Sebastian was back. The last text was from Maryse, clearly after she had spoken to Raphael. Come home safe, honey.

She hadn't realised that she had become a daughter to Maryse. It choked her up and made her want to cry, realising that there was a mother out there who accepted her completely and would be there whenever Clary needed her.

Quickly she dialled her own mom's number, and Jocelyn picked up on the first ring.

"Clary, is that you?" Jocelyn's frantic voice filtered through the phone, irritatingly loud. Clary shushed her, glancing up at Raphael, who was acting as though she didn't exist.

"Mom, is there anyone else in the room with you?" Clary's mom took a sharp breath but said nothing. Clary repeated the question, more forcefully this time. There was a quiet laugh from where Raphael is sitting, but he gave her an innocent look in response to her glare, and she had to make do.

"No- no, I'm fine," Jocelyn said, clearly indicating that someone was there with her. A door closes on the other end of the line and Jocelyn began to cry. "Baby, you're alright! Oh, I thought I wouldn't ever see you again. I am so, so sorry."

Clary paused, unsure how to react. Her mom didn't cry, didn't break down. All Clary's life she had been loving and caring but slightly withdrawn, slightly stony. Clary had expected her mom to tell her off, not to cry like a little girl.

"Mom, I'm okay," she said at last, trying to keep her voice down. "It'll be just fine. You know I love you, I didn't mean it. Don't cry."

There was a sniffle on the other end of the line, and then Clary could hear her mom taking a deep breath. She sighed in relief.

"Mom, I need you to swear on the angel that you'll do exactly as I ask you. I swear I'll only ask you to do things that protect me, or protect you."

There was a silence as her mother thought. Then, soft and scared, her mom swore to do exactly as her daughter asked.

"Okay, I don't want to scare you but I – I can't come home yet," Clary paused, unsure of herself before she ploughs on. "You know the photo's sent to everyone, from Seb- Jonathon?"

"Of course, but Clary, you need to come home if you're in danger. Simon can't protect you; he doesn't even have anywhere to live."

"I'm not at Simon's… mom, don't freak out but I'm at Raphael's. You can't tell anyone, not even Luke. And don't tell Jace, he'll only come looking for me." The silence was worse than the shouting she expected. Her mom was strict, and before the Shadowhunters her word had been law. Clary knew that she was stronger than her mom, and that she was nearly an adult now, but she still felt like she had to obey.

"Clary," her mother said slowly, "there is no way you can stay with a vampire. Especially one like Raphael."

"Raphael has no reason to hurt me," Clary said, thinking of his fury when Simon became a daylighter and his less-than-subtle flirting. "This is the only way, mom."

LINE BREAK

It took another twenty minutes before Clary could hang up. Her mom had cried, whisper-yelled, commanded and begged her to come back to the institute. But she had given her oath, and she had to stick to it. By the time Clary was saying goodbye Raphael was openly staring at her.

"It has always amazed me, the lengths Shadowhunters go to, to keep their word," he said, leaning elegantly back in his chair. His eyes bored into her, but his expression was calm, amused. "Would you risk everything to keep a promise?"

Clary stood, and walked a few steps towards him. It was a rubbish instinct, the desire to be closer to a vampire, but she didn't particularly care. "Of course, if I had sworn on the angel," she said and the corner of his mouth lifted up into an irresistible smile.

"But you think it's foolish," he stated, and she couldn't think of a way to lie to him. She just shrugged and he grinned at her, that grin full of energy and devil-may-care delight. "So why pretend? Why act like a perfect little shadowhunter when you think they're wrong half the time and cruel the rest?"

She hated it when he got it so right. "Because what's the alternative? Letting demons overrun the world?"

He played with his pen for a moment, studying her closely. His mask was up but there was a burning in his eyes… if anything, Clary would call it passionate.

"The alternative is trying to make it better."

A few months ago Clary would have fallen for Raphael's tricks. She would have thought he was a pioneer, struggling to bring around a new age, and she would have helped him on the road to power. Instead, her voice was cold, direct.

"Valentine wanted to make things 'better' as well. Have you never heard the phrase 'democracy is the worst form of government except all the others that have been tried'?" He didn't flinch, but it felt like a triumph all the same.

"Winston Churchill," he noted the quote with a wave of his hand. "Still, democracy can and must be improved. To improve is to change, to be perfect is to change often."

She laughed when she realised they was using quotes the way Jace did. His name stung her though, a rude reminder that she shouldn't be here, arguing with another boy in a way that bordered on flirtatious. "Churchill again? I still don't trust you. You would take power of any kind without pause. I don't like politicians."

He didn't seem worried. She was leaning on his desk now, her feet having carried her onto the raised platform, the solid wood cutting into her hand. It was strangely smooth and polished under fingertips.

If she hadn't been distracted by the carved desk, she would have seen the momentary slip in the mask and the desire that illuminated his pale face. As it was Raphael was smiling when she looked up.

"Regardless, we are stuck together now. Hungry?" He asked, and her stomach contracted at the thought. He grinned and stood up, straight into her space, close and personal. "I'm afraid we don't have any human food at the moment, so we'll have to go out."

"But – doesn't that defeat the point? Of me hiding here?" Clary hated how breathless she sounded, and the way she quivered when he tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.

"Perhaps. But I can't be bothered to baby you, and you would go crazy if you were stuck here all day and night. I know a 24-hour diner nearby; Sebastian won't go looking for you there."

Clearly there was no way round it. She took an unsteady step back, feeling his sharp gaze on every inch of her skin, and almost jerked towards the door. He chuckled behind her, but she ignored him.

He unlocked the door, leading her through the Hotel of Death.

A/N: If you're still here after all this time, thank you. I won't even ask you to review, because you've already done your part by sticking around...