Duck and Run- 3 Door Down

warning: slightly harsher language in this chapter. Please read at your own discretion if it will offend you.

Jace ran for the Accords Hall rapidly pulling ahead of Isabelle who was going with him. No doubt he would get an earful about making her sprint with heels on. But this was important.

He reached the steps and took them two at a time bursting through the doors. He entered the chamber and glanced around for someone who could help him. His gaze lit on Malachi. Jace walked over to him.

"Excuse me Malachi I need to speak with you."

"Of course you do." He replied sounding bored, and started to walk away.

"Please, this is about my sister-" he began

"Your sister? Good lord, do I look like a babysitter?"

"Malachi I know Valentine is back in New York, and that puts my sister in direct danger. If she were to be caught the clave would be in more danger than I can explain."

"Well you better start trying."

Jace hesitated weighing the idea of the Clave getting their hands on Clary and Valentine getting Clary. Deciding the former was marginally better he began to tell Malachi, doing exactly what he had tried to prevent by keeping Clary in New York.

"She can create new runes. And amplify the power of existing runes." Jace said jumping in without preamble.

Malachi stared as that knowledge sunk in. "Creating runes is a power of the Angels, Morgenstern. Do not be so pretentious."

"I know how that sounds but it's the truth, I've seen her do it. She used one of the runes she created on me."

"She used one on you?" he sounded as though he didn't know whether to be shocked, or insulted, or amazed.

"Yes, it was a rune to take away fear."

Malachi was silent.

"Sir, we have to get her out of New York. If Valentine got his hands on that kind of power he could create a force that the clave could not stop."

"Are you insinuating that Valentine wishes to harm the Clave?" Malachi asked

"Are you serious? I think he has made his intentions very clear for quite a while. And I also believe he would use anything to help his cause."

"Are you saying your sister is willing to help Valentine?"

"What?! Clary? No of course not. She hates him."

"She hates her own father? That seems unlikely."

"She only met him after he kidnapped her mother and almost killed the man she views as a father figure. You must see that it would be madness to believe she would want to help him. She has done nothing except fight against him."

"In that case, it sounds as though we have nothing to fear from her getting captured because she would never put her 'powers' as you call them, to an evil use."

"So you are going to leave her there?" Jace asked incredulously.

"Either she is a Valentine sympathizer and would be a violent threat against us, in which case I could have her removed and brought back to Idris to live in jail for the rest of her life. Or she, as you claim, hates Valentine passionately and would never allow Valentine to take advantage of her. And thus I see no need to remove her and risk my fighters."

Jace gazed open mouthed at him. This couldn't be happening. Why couldn't there be one member of importance in the clave who had any brain cells at all? Why were they so prejudiced? Why did they always have to act just as Valentine said they did? Why could they not earn his loyalty?

"I don't think you understood me at all." Jace said the venom pouring into his tone. He knew he should stop. That he should continue to be polite, but he couldn't stop himself in his desperation. "I believe that Clarissa should be removed from New York because she is a shadowhunter and thus it is our job to help her, and because it would be a great mistake to allow Valentine to force her to assist him as we both know he would be very capable of doing."

"You are very opinionated. And how do I know that you do not sympathize with Valentine? You afterall have no excuse of not knowing the man. Did you not make efforts to meet him, even after you well knew who he was, and most likely what he was planning? Perhaps I can trust your sister, perhaps I could persuade her to use this gift for good, for the clave. But how can I trust you? What if this proposition is simply a trap?"

"Are you crazy?" Said another voice from behind Jace. He whirled around and saw Isabelle, he had forgotten that she had come with him. "Jace would never follow Valentine, especially if it were to put Clary in danger. You are walking away from a situation you will regret later."

"Well I suppose I could try to bring Clarissa here, if there were some way to ensure that she was willing to become a member of the clave."

Jace hesitated, that was steep. He had always been glad that Clary was not a member of the clave because she was not bound by its rules as he was.

"Why are you hesitating? Do you put such little faith in the clave? That would appear as though maybe you adhere to Valentine's view of the clave."

Jace glanced to Isabelle who seemed to be just as stuck as he was. "I'll give you my answer later." Jace said at last.

"Right. I'm sorry I was under the impression this was urgent." Malachi said bitingly before turning his back and walking out of the hall leaving Jace with isabelle.

"Isabelle I can't do that. I can't let her swear the oath," he pleaded wanting her to understand.

"I know Jace, I'm not questioning you."

They were quiet for a while thinking over the alternatives, Jace could tell Isabelle was waiting for a cue from him.

"I don't know what to do." He whispered

"I've never heard you say that." Isabelle said just as quietly. Jace was surprised by this fact. Although he had made it his business to never appear weak to those around him for most of his life. Still so much had changed when Clary came along, it always surprised him when someone reminded him how much he had changed since then.

"Let's go back and talk to Alec, he may have gotten a hold of Magnus."

"Okay," Isabelle said though it looked like she wanted to say more. They were about half way back before she seemed to have found the right words to say. "I'm worried about her too Jace, I want you to know that."

Jace didn't reply, he didn't know what to say, but it was a gesture he wouldn't forget.

They reached the Penhallows house and climbed the stairs. Alec was in the foyer grabbing a jacket off the hooks there. He looked to the door as they walked in.

"Good, I was just going to head over to see how you were doing." He said hanging the jacket back on the hook. "Did you speak to someone?" Alec asked

"Did you get in contact with Magnus?" Jace asked impatiently.

"Yes, and it was awkward, so thank you for that."

"Good, what did he say?" Jace asked seeming distracted

"I explained the situation. He said he would keep an eye on her, He wasn't planning on leaving the city for about 4 months anyway, so he will be able to guard her well."

"I hope that's enough." Isabelle sighed sinking into a chair.

Jace began pacing feeling more like a caged cat than he had ever in his life. He prayed that Magnus would be able to keep Clary safe, because as much as it hurt to admit, her safety was entirely out of his hands.

"What happened at the Accords Hall?" Alec asked seming to suddenly remember that he hadn't heard yet.

"Malachi said he would only help her if she swore the oath to the clave." Jace replied curtly.

"Or he would throw her in jail for being a supporter of Valentine." Isabelle added quietly.

"Clary a supporter of Valentine?!" Alec exclaimed

"That's what I said." Jace remarked smugly.

"That's crazy, they can't throw her in jail, she hasn't done anything wrong. There's no proof. She is a shadowhunter, she would have a trial and no council would covict her." Alec reasoned.

"Do you really think so? Because I think the council would do anything to appear like they are doing something against Valentine. And that would include throwing his daughter in jail." Jace said.

"You've got a point. They do seem to be getting kind of desperate. And that is something that they would feel was justified for the greater good." Alec pointed out.

"You're not helping." Jace muttered.

"Well as long as Magnus keeps an eye on her he is more than capable of keeping her safe. We don't even know for certain that Valentine is in New York. It was mostly a rumor anyway." Isabelle said trying to lighten the mood.

"I guess" Jace said not really agreeing. He knew that whatever Magnus might be capable of, he would have rathered, actually he would have given anything in the world to be the one keeping an eye on Clary. He had never liked letting anyone doing a job he thought he would be able to do the best.

"Well it has been quiet here, maybe the same will stay true for New York." Isabelle said. Jace noticed she was being much more optimistic than usual. He wondered if that was simply for his sake, or perhaps his sanity.

"It's been too quiet if you ask me. I think something is wrong, it just feels so wrong." Alec said.

"I agree, they called us all back here, and it's been over two weeks and stil nothing has happened. Either they were misinformed, or we were." Jace commented.

"It just doesn't add up." Isabelle chimed in. "I feel like something has been building since we got here, and the quiet just adds to the feeling that something big is going to happen."

As soon as the words left her lips there was a crash and voices yelling filled the foyer. Jace jumped to his feet glancing at the other two as they all bolted for the entrance of the house. Jace got there first leading the other two. The foyer was full of Shadowhunters, and Maryse and Robert Lightwood were just reaching the top of the stairs. He could see Robert yelling and waving, but there was too much commotion to hear the exact words.

A hand gripped his arm and yanked to the side. Isabelle cried out from next to him. He whipped his head around to see the largest of the Shadowhunters, Kane Falkland, gripping him and steadily pulling him toward the doorway where the door had been kicked in and shoved off to the side.

"Hey! What are you doing?" Jace yelled trying to be heard over the noise filling and echoing in the foyer. "Stop!"

But Kane continued to simply move the two of them through the crowd and out unto the front steps. It was marginally quieter here.

"What the hell are you doing?" Jace demanded enraged.

"You're coming with us. There's something we need to discuss up at the Gard." Kane explained. He pulled Jace down the steps and into the street. Jace pulled himself roughly out of Kane's grip.

"I can walk by myself, thanks." he explained and with a sharp gaze Kane turned and lead the way up the street toward the Gard which stood on the hill over the city. He glanced back at the house and he could see Robert in an agrument with a few of the shadowhunters, but they were filing out of the house. Apparently they had been on a mission to retrive him. How touching. When had they stopped just knocking on doors? How flattering that they thought him worthy of a whole home invasion and breaking and entering episode. He had to admit that the law seemed to be falling slightly to the wayside lately.

"What do they want me for?" Jace tried again.

"That is none of my business, Malachi tells me to get you. And I go and get you. That is all I need to know." Kane recited.

"Malachi?!?" Jace exclaimed stopping, "You've got to be kidding me!"

"No I am not kidding you. Now will you walk or shall I drag you again boy?" Kane threatened.

"Lead the way." Jace replied sarcastically gesturing ahead of him.

Kane measured Jace up with his eyes and then turned to continue up the road toward the building. Jace followed a whole step behind, going over what had happened in his head. Had Malachi actually liked the idea of throwing someone in jail enough to have him incarcerated? Or perhaps he had convinced himself that Jace was guilty o something.

Figures. Everyone seemed to believe he was guilty of something. He supposed it was a phase everyone around him went through. Had Clary ever thought him guilty of a crime? Perhaps when he had told her he would be her brother. Well he had to agree with her, he was guilty of being a jackass in that instance.

Kane pushed open the massive doors of the Gard. The building was intimidating as you approached walking up the hill. It was like a huge presence towing over you. Gazing down with the power to see straight into your most deeply hidden secrets. It was a triumph of the shadowhunters to have created such a building. Such a show of force and power, a physical display of the justice and law upheld within.

Kane lead down a corridor past the main meeting room and into one of the side rooms off the hall. Jace had never been to this part of the Gard. He sat in the chair Kane indicated. As soon as he was seated Kane left the room.

Jace galnced behind him to see the door close.

"Perfect" Jace muttered under his breath.

Within a minute the door had reopened and Malachi walked in. Jace jumped to his feet.

"I demand to know what is going on. This is ridiculous! You broke into my house to arrest me?"

"No arrest you. Keep a closer eye on you."

"Bullshit"

"I will not tolerate that kind of language in my presense." Malachi said his voice raising.

"Well your highness I will not tolerate this kind of behavior. Why the hell am I here?"

Malachi stared at him as though Jace were the most disgusting he had ever seen.

"What is it exactly your sister can do?" Malachi asked after a long moment

"Leave her the fuck alone." Jace spat

Malachi stared again waiting. But Jace wasn't going to bite.

"I thought you wanted to help her."

"I do. I don't want you bastards helping her."

"Your lack of propriety is distribing."

"Your methods are distrubing." Jce retorted.

"Perhaps a little time in a jail cell might change your mind" Malachi threatened.

"You are all the same!" Jace yelled furious, "The last inquistitor pulled that on me too. And I guess it didn't work. What is that you want really?"

"I want to know why you and your sister are capable of what you can do" Malachi yelled back before he seemed to know what he was saying.

Jace could feel a grin pull up his lips. "Well then, that is interesting. I wish I could help you, but I would love to the answer as well. If that's all you want may I go?"

"You don't know?" Malachi asked sounding taken aback.

"I thought I was a Wayland until two months ago. You think I know anything about my past?"

"I think you know more than you will ever tell me."

"Well then perhaps you are smarter than I would give you credit for."

"In that case-"

Before he could finish a raven swooped throught the window.

"Hugo?" Jace gasped, "What the hell is going on here?" he demanded rounding on Malachi

"Excuse me?" Malachi asked moving toward the bird.

"I thought Hugo went back to Valentine after Hodge left. What is he doing here?"

Malachi didn't answer he merely stroked the birds feathers.

"He won't come to you unless..." Jace trailed off. Unless Malachi was working with Valentine.

"Are you-" he began

"Jonathan you are more observant than I thought." Malachi cut him off now advancing toward Jace.

"What does that mean?" Jace said trying to back away slightly. He was treading lightly now that he percieved he was in a great of danger.

"I thought he had exaggerated," Malachi expained.

"Who?" Jace asked stepping behind the chair.

But he never learned who because at that moment a hood was pulled over his head and he felt something slam into his head and then everything was gone.