A/N - hello again, and THANK YOU for getting this fic to 100 followers! As promised, I've gone back and made this fic longer by adding a little bit of Jace POV; so you'll get to see what happened at the NYC Institute when Clary disappeared. When we switch back the Clary's POV, that is what was originally written for this chapter. Thank you so so much for all of the lovely reviews and of course the 100 followers!

Disclaimer: yeah, you know.

Jace's POV

I wake to a scream. Clary's scream. I bolt of out bed without a second thought and sprint down to the sanctuary where the scream came from, but it's too late.

The last of demon mist disappears and Clary is nowhere to be seen. My heart sinks down into my gut.

The rest of my family piles into the sanctuary behind me and start asking questions; but I can't hear them. I turn around and storm out the door, fury filling my veins. I should've heard Clary get up, I should've followed her outside. Then, she wouldn't be gone.

There's no question that it was Valentine. He finally got his hands on her. I wish I could say that I can't imagine what he could do to her, but I can. Valentine has proven he has no mercy; not when he created the Circle, not when he killed my parents in front of me. Just because she's his daughter, I know he wouldn't hesitate to hurt Clary.

I feel Alec following me back upstairs and don't try to turn and talk to him. He's my parabatai; he already knows my intentions, just not the extent.

The Clave won't do anything about this; that's for sure. They've tried to force me to train students in Alicante, without thinking about what that means for me.

And Clary.

She's made it clear to me; she doesn't feel safe in her own world.

Not with Valentine.

Not with the Clave.

Now I've lost her.

When we reach my room I automatically go to the closet and pull out a weapons belt and begin sheathing blades.

"Jace-"

"I'm not discussing it," I interrupt Alec.

"You can't just leave; you need to think about this. How do you even know where she went?"

I look at Alec now. "All I can think about is how scared she must be; what Valentine might be doing to her; that I should've been there-"

"Clary is a shadow-hunter," Alec interrupts me, now. "She can take care of herself. Mom is calling the Clave right now; they'll know what to do."

"The Clave won't do shit, and you know it... and if they get their hands on her, they may never let her go," my voice breaks.

Alec grabs my shoulders, forces me to focus. "How will you find her, Jace?"

I immediately grab my stele and go to Clary's room; ignoring that fact that Alec is trying to calm me down.

Once I'm in her room, I grab her hair brush and draw the tracking rune.

But when I close my eyes I see... nothing.

And then there's nothing I can do but sit back and wait.

I exit Clary's room and shut the door.

When we're in the hall, I'm not sure where to go next, but Izzy runs down towards us. Her eyes are red and puffy, the half-circles under her eyes dark. I reach out to her and she hugs me tight. No words pass between us until she backs up and looks at Alec and I.

"Mom needs everyone in the library; she just finished talking with the Clave."

Clary's POV

I run through the tunnels. It's dark and cold, and I can hardly see a foot in front of me, but I need to get out and I run as fast as I can though the damp stone tunnels.

Until I slam into a solid body. I try to cringe away but the arms grab me and I no longer want to leave. These arms are warm and familiar.

"Jace," I whisper. "I'm scared, Jace. I'm so scared."

"Shh. It's okay, Clary. It's okay."

I look up at him. I try to see his face but it's too dark, I can only make out an outline.

I feel his fingers brush against my neck and then I realize my neck is on fire, the agony is indescribable. I cry out to Jace.

"It's okay, it's okay," he says. He shifts and suddenly there is light and I can see his face. But it doesn't look like his face. This face is contorted in pain.

"Jace?"

"It's okay," he keeps saying.

The light is a stele in his hand. He's reaching for my bruised neck.

"I'm going to make it better," he says.

I feel the sizzle as the stele touches my neck, and then it's gone. Everything is gone; the light, the dark, the warmth, the cold. I feel as though I'm falling.

And I jerk awake in a scream.

I need a way out.

Someone is coming down the stairs in response to my screams. I see nothing but a shadow until the figure is right outside my cell. It must be nighttime.

It's Valentine.

I wonder if my scream was loud enough to wake him wherever he is sleeping or whether he was just close enough to hear.

"Are you alright?" he asks softly. I almost believe he cares.

I want to curl up in the corner and cry, but I don't. I am a shadow-hunter.

I stand. "No," I say. "I'm not alright."

"What can I do?" I'm confused by how concerned he seems.

This is my chance, I think.

"Is there a bathroom somewhere around here?" I ask. Please say yes.

"Uhhh," he hesitates.

"I need to pee," I say forcefully. It could be true, I've been here for probably 12 hours now. But I haven't been fed since I've been here and I try to ignore the pain in my stomach because of it.

He sighs. "Very well." He takes out a stele from his pocket. I'm almost surprised when it turns out not to be mine. But then I laugh at myself because of course he would have his own stele. I just wish I had mine.

He uses his stele to open the padlock on my cell and then leads me up the stairs. We emerge in the library and keep walking to the door on the wall of pictures. I'm surprised to find that the hallway beyond the door looks similar to any other. Eventually we get to the bathroom.

"I'll just wait outside," he says as I slip into the bathroom.

It's not huge, but it's not small either. A toilet beside the shower. A sink beside the toilet. A towel rack beside the door. And window across from the shower.

I maintain all the necessary noises while trying to get the window open and just before I leave, I flush the toilet and turn on the sink. As I jump out the window I wonder how long it may take for Valentine to realize I'm gone. But I take off before giving it a second thought because if I think for too long, it could hinder my escape.

I run as fast as my legs will carry me in an attempt to get away, but I have no idea which direction I'm running. Lake Lyn won't appear until I get out of Brocelind Forest on the right side. Unfortunately, if I had my stele, all of this could be avoided.

The Brocelind Forest is dangerous. Especially for a shadow-hunter with no weapons.

I could be attacked by a werewolf in here, or even better, a vampire.

I check where the moss is growing on the trees while still running away from the manor. I could have a ridiculous amount of demons on my heels this very second. I run north-east towards Alicante.

I ignore every sound that seems out of place. I can't think about the dangers of the forest, only the danger that could be not-too-far behind me.

Relief pours through me when the forest thins and sunlight leads the way. Now I have cover from vampires and demons. I see the river that runs from Lake Lyn to Alicante, but I'm not sure I can make it all the way to Alicante before sundown.

The sun, however, does not help the dehydration and Lake Lyn taunts me with its contaminated water. My feet drag as I walk along the length of Lake Lyn. Runes flash in my head; so many things that could help my situation, if only I had my stele.

After what feels like a lifetime, I see Alicante over the horizon and I start towards it. The sun is beginning to set but I know I can make it.

It's dark when I'm still about a mile away. I've never approached Alicante from the outside before, but I can't stop to take in its beauty as I feel my health deteriorating. Someone is running towards me; they're holding a seraph blade and I feel like I can trust them immediately. They must be from the Clave, my brain tells me, they must be one of the guards of the city.

Relief surrounds me and I feel as though I may collapse.

The man approaches me. "Are you alright?" he asks.

My head feels heavy. "Do you have a stele?" I ask. "Please tell me you do."

He looks worried but then I hold up my right hand and show him my permanent voyance rune. He quickly pulls out a stele and I grab it, then draw a stamina rune on my arm. It works quickly and I feel myself gaining energy.

"What is your name, shadow-hunter?" he asks. He's at least ten years older than me and I'm sure he must know, but maybe that's how tired I look.

"Clarissa Adele Morgenstern," I tell him.

His eyes widen in recognition. "By the Angel." He turns towards the other shadow-hunters by the gates. "It's Clarissa!" he shouts. Then he turns and puts his hand on my back to lead me the rest of the way to Alicante.

Clave workers around me are scattering around saying words that I don't care to understand.

I turn to the man that led me safe inside Alicante. "Where's my mom?" I ask him. "Where's Luke?"

The man looks at me with pity, something I'm constantly shown for the brief periods of time I'm in Idris. "She's on her way," he tells me. "Along with Consul Penhallow."

Despite the stamina rune, I feel like I'm about to collapse. The world is spinning in front of me.

Someone, I think it's the same man, shouts, "Someone get some runes on her!"

Then a woman runs up next to me. "Clary. Clary, come on. Come sit down." Her voice is familiar and panicked.

Then I focus on her face. "Amatis." Her hands push me to the ground and I sit. "Is Luke here? Where's my mom?"

I feel the sizzle of a stele drawing a rune onto my arm. "It's alright, they're almost here."

As if on cue I hear Luke's voice. "Amatis?!" he calls.

Amatis moves from in front of me and I see Luke's face fill with relief, I wonder if mine does as well.

"Clary!" He runs towards Amatis and I and I get up just in time for Luke to hug me tightly. I don't even care that it almost hurts. I just care that it's warm and comforting.

I burry my face into Luke's jacket and everything floods back to me. I wonder if my stamina rune has worn off already because I'm so tired.

Then I start to cry. My lungs heave as I stain Luke's jacket with tears.

Luke holds me tight and tries to tell me that I'm safe and everything is okay.

I feel as though I can't even support myself with my own legs anymore. Luke notices and hauls me up into his arms; cradling me as though I'm five again with my arms around his neck and my legs around his torso.

I hear my mother call my name and I only peak over Luke's shoulder to see her, but we make eye contact and she runs over to Luke and I and she strokes my hair and tell me everything is going to be okay.

Everything is not okay. It is all very, very bad.

A/N - yay! Clary is safe! We knew she could handle herself! ;)

How did Clary get away so easily? What are the Lightwoods up to? Will Max ever take his test?!

Don't forget to follow and review! Love y'all!