A/N: Ready for another chapter? I know I am. I want to know what happens to Jace! It's a bit of a longer one today, but so much fun. I really like this one!

As usual, review review review. It really encourages me to write faster, and while I'm on holidays from uni, I have more time to write!

Hope you enjoy!

Chapter 6

"We have to do something!" Clary snapped, and paced back and forth in the kitchen. While she paced, she twisted the Herondale ring on her finger, feeling the metal scrape with familiarity against her skin with each spin. The others watched her from their seats around the table, no one bothering to stop her from making more tiresome laps. "We can't just keep standing around here doing nothing!"

"We will, Clary. Don't worry," Alec said.

She looked at him then. "Is he all right though? Can you feel him?"

He got up from his chair then and caught at her shoulders, pinning her in place, preventing her from walking to the edge of the kitchen again. He nodded down at her. "Yes, I can feel him, and yes, he's okay. Maybe a little banged up, but nothing too bad."

She glanced up at him then, smiling appreciatively. It wasn't the same as having Jace back, but at least she knew that he was okay, that he wasn't… She couldn't even bring herself to think the word without feeling like she might throw up. "I just…" she started and broke off. "We've got to find him."

"And we will."

Clary glanced down at the Herondale ring again, her fingers were pressed lightly to the pattern of birds which were engraved into the metal. She sighed and took it off, her skin feeling bare and naked without the presence of it on her finger. She wondered how Jace felt to be without it, whether he was feeling like some part of himself was missing. But he had given it to her anyway, saying that he wanted her to have every physical part of himself, even when he wasn't there. Her heart still fluttered at the words. Curling her fingers around it, as it was nestled in her palm, she reached into her back pocket and withdrew her stele. She closed her eyes as she felt the familiar burn singe the back of her hand and the tracking rune was created.

She could see Jace, could see his location, as if she was looking over his shoulder. She let her feet start walking, letting the rune guide her to her fiancé. But a hand clasped down on Clary's shoulder, stopping her journey. She forced her eyes to snap open, still feeling the hum of the tracking rune in her veins. She glanced up. "What are you doing?" Simon asked.

"Finding Jace," she replied. "I know where he is." She opened her hand to show him the Herondale ring.

"You're not going alone."

"Fine, then come with me. But hurry up. I want my fiancé back."

He turned to the others who were all staring at them, waiting for their orders to move out. "We need weapons first, for just in case." She already had a dagger hidden inside her boot, but nodded her head, moving towards the stash of weapons in the kitchen. She grabbed two seraph blades, slipping them through her weapons belt, and hurried to grab Heosphoros from her room, feeling it settle comfortably on her hip.

When she returned, everyone was runed up and had several weapons connected to their own weapon belts. She traced a few quick runes of swiftness, surefootedness and silence to her upper arms, and nodded to them to say she was ready.

They ran through the backstreets of New York, keeping an eye out for any demons which might leap into their paths, and stop their journey to Jace. But none did. None stopped their journey to Jace and his kidnappers. Clary couldn't help but feel puzzled about this. Why wasn't anything stopping them? Surely the people who had taken Jace didn't want them just wandering in and taking him back? What would be the point of that?

The abandoned shed which Clary had seen Jace in through the tracking rune loomed before them. It was old, but still standing. It looked black on the outside, like it had once gone up in flames but hadn't taken much damage except for a little bit of charring. Outside, she turned back to the group which followed her, and they all looked back at her eagerly with anticipation. "This is it. He's in there." I can almost feel him, she almost said, but kept that to herself. However, glancing at Alec, she knew she wasn't alone. He could feel his parabatai too. They both nodded at each other.

Clary extended her hand down to her hip, pulling Heosphoros free from the sheath, and holding it in ready hands. The others followed her, getting out their own weapons: Alec with his bow and arrows, Izzy with her whip, and Simon with a seraph blade. They all nodded at her.

She turned back and pressed a hand to the metal door of the shed. It was cold to the touch, but thankfully not locked, not even sealed. It swung open with ease, squeaking softly on its hinges. They all snuck through the door. It was dark inside; Clary quickly traced a rune to help her see in the dark. And in good time too.

The ravenor demons leapt out from nowhere. One snapped near her face, and she quickly brought her blade around in an arc and slammed it into its chest. It shrieked with agony before disappearing in a cloud of ash. So this was where all the demons had been hiding, she realised.

"Clary, behind you!" someone shouted, breaking her out of her thoughts. She whirled, feeling claws catch at her ankle but not caring as she brought the sword across its neck, successfully severing the head. Demon ichor splashed her arms and legs, burning through her gear. She barely gave herself a chance to watch the demon disappear and ignored the pain, before she was pushing herself further into the battle. There was so many of them, all crawling and growling at them, lunging at the shadowhunters, being sliced down by blades and whips, turning into ash as fast as they had arrived. Clary stabbed and retreated, sliced and backed away, grinned and panted when there was none left. She looked around at her friends. They were all slightly out of breath, faces red with exertion, all glancing around in case more demons appeared out of nowhere. Nobody seemed too badly hurt; Clary sighed in relief.

There was the sound of clapping behind her; the sound echoed and bounced off the tin walls. Clary spun around to face the newcomer, glaring at the man who was tall but wide in breadth of chest and shoulder, and greying on the head and face. His hair might have once been a light blonde colour. He was dressed in shadowhunter gear.

"Ah, that was most impressive," he said and grinned at them all, gaze sweeping across the small party. "I have always wanted to see the famous shadowhunters who helped win the Dark War in action."

"Who are you?" Alec demanded, stepping forward, an arrow ready in one hand, ready to be put to the string of his bow, and released into the chest of the man, if needed. "And where's Jace?"

The man smiled at him. It was a pleasant smile, as if nothing was wrong and he wasn't in the shed where she had tracked Jace to. "My name is Claudius Morgernstern. I was good friends with some people you might know and recognise."

Clary sucked in a breath. Morgernstern. It was a name she thought she would never have to hear again, and she was glad to forget it. As if awoken by the name, she thought she felt Heosphoros pulse in her hand. "You're a Morgernstern?" she breathed.

The man turned his sharp gaze to her. His eyes were a soft green colour, she realised, the colour of the ocean. He smiled. "Yes. Hello, Clarissa." He then added, "my niece."

Clary felt like she was going to be sick or pass out. "Niece?" she said, brow furrowing in confusion. How was that possible?

"Hmm," he hummed. "I was most saddened to hear of the tragic death of my beloved brother, Valentine. But even more saddened to learn I had lost two people in such a short space of time. His son was dead too, I got told. My nephew was gone."

"Valentine didn't have a brother," she spat. "I would know."

He laughed, a soft tinkling sound that seemed to spread through the entire room. Clary glanced behind her, remembering that she wasn't alone here. The others looked just as shocked. "Would you though? Would you know who I am when you didn't even know about shadowhunters for most of your life? When you had no clue about who your father was?" He laughed again, as if this whole situation was amusing to him. "By the angel, you even thought Jace was your brother." She flinched at the memory. It was not a time she liked to remember fondly, trying to push her romantic and sexual feelings for Jace away to replace them with sibling love. The Herondale ring, back on her finger, reminded her how far they had come. "So, forgive me, Clarissa, if I do not believe how you would know about our family."

"What about us then?" Clary glanced over her shoulder again to see Isabelle talking. "Alec and I have been shadowhunters our whole lives, and we had no idea Valentine had any siblings."

"Again," Claudius shrugged. "Ignorant and had no idea what was happening beneath your noses." He sighed, and it was a sad, pained sound. "But, my brother never spoke of me much, or rather at all. Neither did his demon son. I was seen as a disappointment to the family, not one to support my family's ways of doing things. I believe they were right in their beliefs, but not the way they carried them out. I stood back and let them do their own thing. I didn't want to get involved. But now, you have given me no choice. You killed my only family and now, I want blood for blood."

Blood for blood. One body for a body. She glanced up at him, feeling the dawning realisation of the decision she was faced to make. Jace, she thought, I'm sorry. She stepped forward, feeling the weight of Claudius's gaze settle on her. He looked amused, as if he knew what she was about to do. "Okay," she said. "Okay. Blood for blood. Take my blood, but let Jace and the others go."

"No!" a voice roared and Clary whirled, eyes wide. Her heart was hammering in her chest. She would recognise that voice anywhere, as if it were own. "Clary, don't you dare."

"Jace?" Clary forgot everything else around her, and was focused solely on the sound of Jace's voice.

"It's me, baby. It's me," he confirmed, and his voice cracked slightly. Hot tears welled up in Clary's eyes, threatening to spill over onto her flaming cheeks. She pushed them away with frustration. She stepped in the direction where she thought his voice had come from, raising a hand. She couldn't see him, and it was killing her. She couldn't see if he was okay. There was darkness everywhere, filling the corners and edges of the shed. He could be anywhere. "Don't move, Clary. Don't come any closer."

"But Jace…" she whispered. "Where are you? Are you all right?" Her own voice cracked, and the tears were back. This time, they spilled over. She needed him, wanted him back more than anything else in the world. She remembered the way she had watched Jace die on the beach in Idris, and how she had asked Raziel to bring him back, even when she could have had anything else in the world. She would do that again, if she had to.

"I'm all right, Clary. I'm okay. Just get yourself and the others out. Leave me."

She paled in horror. "Jace, no…"

"Clary," he sighed, his voice filled with pain. "Please. I'll find a way back to you, I promise. Just go, get out of here. He wants blood. Let him have mine."

Clary squinted through the darkness, trying to find him. The rune wasn't helping much. She thought she saw the glint of his gold eyes though, trained on her with determination to save her. "I'm sorry, Jace. I can't let you do that. I love you too much." She turned away to face Claudius again, hearing his angry protest at her back. "Do it. Take me. Let him go."

Claudius grinned. "Ah, yes. My brother told me all about your courage and how you would do anything to save those you love. It's inspiring and rather… adorable." He flicked a hand and there was a loud groaning sound and the flash as a ward dropped.

Jace stumbled out into the light. He was bruised and bloodied. One eye was almost swollen shut and his bottom lip was cracked open. He walked with a slight limp, too. Clary's breath caught in her throat at the sight of him. Their eyes immediately made contact, and then she was running towards him. He held his arms out to her, ready to catch her.

But she never made it to him. There was yet another ward between them, and Clary hit it with a shocking force. It sent her hurtling backwards, her head cracking into the ground. She cried out as stars burst in front of her eyes, and the world spun. Blackness crawled on the edge of her vision.

"Clary!" Jace screamed, but she pushed herself up, ignoring the way she felt like she would fall backwards again at any moment. She staggered to her feet, but her legs buckled. Somebody caught her. She glanced up into the face of Simon, and tried to smile, but she only showed her pain and wooziness. She could feel blood knotting her hair at the back of her head.

"How very touching," Claudius said, and he clapped his hands with joy. "It is very interesting to see the famous love story of Clarissa Fairchild and Jonathon Morgernstern in person." He was silent for a moment. Clary was having a hard trouble staying upright, even with the help of Simon's arms. The room was not staying in focus. "No, I think I've changed my mind on what I want."

"And what would that be?" Alec growled, his eyes flickering to his parabatai, a question written in his eyes. Jace nodded to say he was all right, but his eyes went back to Clary, concern filling them.

"Both the girl and her precious lover, is what I want. After all, Clarissa is my blood, and as much as Jace tells me otherwise to protect her, I know it was her hands which killed my kin." His smile twisted up into a wicked grin. "Let me keep Clarissa Fairchild and Jonathon Morgernstern, and you can all go in one piece."