A BIG thanks to XxRin-sanxX and XxListlessAngelxX for the reviews! And really, really sorry it took so long to update. My laptop wasn't cooperating with the Internet. It was immensely frustrating haha! :)

Chapter 10

Dark blurs swam through Simon's vision as he blinked his eyes. After forcing his eyes to focus, Simon saw Lexis's worried face bearing down on his own. "Are you alright?" Lexis asked. To Simon's surprise, the dark boy's voice was laced with a thick French accent. Pushing himself up on his elbow, Simon rubbed at his temple with one hand and answered,

"I'm okay. What about everybody else?"

"I-I don't know. I have not checked them yet."

"Well, don't waste your time on me. They can't hurt me, believe me," Simon mumbled, thinking of the Mark of Cain on his forehead. When Lexis didn't move, Simon glanced up at him through the dark curls that kept falling into his eyes. Brushing the hair away, Simon said, "What?"

Blinking his dark eyes, Lexis stammered, "Uh—nothing. I'll check on them." Simon groaned softly to himself because the pain in his head continued to drum steadily as he rose to his feet. Kneeling beside Logan, Lexis bent over him to grab his shoulders and shake him. Even when he jerked him more aggressively, Logan still didn't stir. "I wonder what they did to them. You were not out long at all, but these guys are gone." His accent really was strong, but it was soothing, not all hacking and gagging.

"I don't know. But I guess we should call Clary or Jace," Simon suggested, fumbling in his pocket for his phone.

"Who are they?" Lexis asked, getting to his feet.

"They're just some of my friends. Well, Clary is anyway."

"You don't like this…Jace?" Somehow, Simon thought he heard a hint of hope in Lexis's tone. He paused in scrolling through his contacts to glance up at Lexis. The werewolf stood there all dark hair and eyes and olive skin, staring at Simon.

"No. I mean, Jace…" Simon trailed off thinking of his history with Jace. On one hand, Jace was a dick. But on the other, he made Clary happy. And what made her happy made Simon happy as well. "It's complicated," he finished.

Lexis blinked. "Are they your vampire comrades?"

With a bitter smile, Simon replied, "No, far from it. They're Shadowhunters." Pressing the call button, Simon raised his cellphone to his ear. As he did, he raised his eyes. They met Lexis's, whose face was creased with a frown. "What's the matter?" The first ring.

"Why are you, a Child of the Night, allies with the Angel's children?"

The second ring.

"Well, it's a long story. But, in short, Clary and I have been friends since we were kids."

A click came down the line as Clary answered, "Hey, Simon. What is it? I'm supposed to be training right now so I can't talk long."

"Well, I think you'll want to hear this. Maybe you should come over here."

The line crackled as Clary sighed. "What's this about, Simon?"

"It's about Magnus's sister. She's been abducted."

There was a short, stunned silence. Then, "Where are you?"

"Magnus's house."

"I'll be there in five minutes." She hung up. Sliding his phone back into his pocket, Simon looked up at Lexis.

"Well, I guess we should try and move these guys. We probably shouldn't leave them on the floor like this," Simon said.

"I suppose," agreed Lexis. He crouched, swung Logan's long figure over his shoulder and walked to the couch. It was strange seeing such a slight person hauling someone so much larger like he weighed as much as a loaf of bread.

Bringing himself out of his thoughts, Simon turned to pick up the nearest person the floor. That person happened to be Magnus. "Let's take Alec and Magnus to Magnus's room. Cody can go in that chair," Simon directed, gesturing toward the stuffed armchair in the corner. "Then, we'll find some place to put Bat." Lexis nodded to show he conceded then moved to sling Alec's body over his shoulder.

Magnus's room wasn't hard to find. It was at the end of a hall. When Simon first entered, he didn't notice the décor, but when he did look around, he had to stifle a cry of surprise. Nearly every single surface and item in the room was a bright red. It was ridiculously obnoxious and made Simon's head ache slightly. Heart-shaped pillows sat at the head of the bed, the bedspread was dark red with lighter red and white hearts, the curtains were patterned with black hearts, the lamp on the nightstand was shaped like a heart, and the chair in the corner was bright red and in the shape of—guess what—a heart.

Simon didn't mind hearts. He didn't mind girly things as long as he wasn't forced to wear them or anything. But this was overboard.

The door creaked as Lexis came in lugging Alec. Like Simon, Lexis didn't notice the room's theme until he straightened up from setting Alec on the bed. With his back to Simon, Lexis froze. "Whoa," he breathed.

"I know, right?" Simon said. As if he hadn't been aware of Simon's presence, Lexis jumped and whirled around to stare at Simon. His dark eyes were huge, half obscured by wisps of black hair.

Suddenly, Lexis started for the door, but he tripped over his feet in his rush. Normally, Simon's vampire reflexes would've caused him to catch Lexis. But right then, his reflexes seemed just as astonished as he felt because the next thing he knew, he was on the ground, Lexis sprawled on top of him.

Hastily, Lexis pushed himself on his hands and knees. "S-Sorry!" he stuttered.

"That's alright," grunted Simon. "I understand how Magnus's style can be a bit startling."

Lexis laughed nervously but stayed where he was over Simon. Fidgeting slightly, Simon couldn't help but notice that the position they were in was rather…intimate. It was how couples always looked in the movies when one pinned the other to the ground just before they kissed.

Oh, good Lord, don't think about something like that right now! Simon screamed silently to himself. If he'd still been human, he would've been blushing furiously. But the greenish glow in Lexis's eyes made Simon freeze. Through the deep tan of the other boy's skin, Simon saw his cheeks were flushed slightly, and his breath seemed a little ragged. "Lexis?" Simon said nervously. That gleam in his eyes was one of hunger.

"Well, isn't this a yummy sight," chuckled a snarky voice. Lexis seemed to fly backward, slamming into the side of the bed, and slid to the ground. Simon, breathless with tension, sat up to see Magnus also in a sitting position on the bed. He sat almost provocatively, one arm holding him up while one leg was pulled up, his other arm swung over it. His green-yellow cat eyes were slits as he smirked at Simon and Lexis.

Not knowing what to say, Simon looked at Lexis. But the werewolf had a horrified expression on his face and refused to meet Simon's eyes. Before anybody could say anything more, stomping footfalls sounded down the hallway, quickly getting louder and louder.

The door banged open. In the dark hall stood Clary's short shadow, behind her hovered Jace, Cody, Bat, and Logan. "What's going on, Simon? You said it was about Katherine so then why are these werewolves here?" Clary asked, gesturing behind her with her thumb to Cody, Bat, and Logan.

Simon explained about Maia's abduction and the attack on Magnus's house. "Why would they want take Katherine?" Clary pondered.

"They never meant for her to live. She was supposed to die last night, but Alec saved her," Magnus explained.

"I wouldn't have been able to if you hadn't told me what to do," grumbled the awakening Alec. His tone almost sounded like he didn't want credit for saving her. He scrubbed at his face and lifted himself to place his feet on the floor.

Blinking, Magnus smiled then said, "Well, it doesn't matter now." Swiftly, the warlock slid gracefully from the bed to glide toward the door. But he paused by Lexis, gazing down at him with those bright cat eyes. "I like you, werewolf. You're quite intriguing." Lexis's wide, dark eyes turned to stare up at Magnus. But before he could say anything, Magnus started walking toward the door again. Facing Clary and Jace Magnus demanded, "Now then, where is Katherine?"

Clary and Jace looked at each other uncomfortably. Clary said, "Um, you don't remember?"

A frown creased Magnus's brow. "Remember what?"

Clary's green eyes flashed to Simon's face. It was a lightning fast movement, but Magnus caught it and swiveled on his heel to look down at Simon stonily. "What am I supposed to be remembering, Simon?" Magnus's tone was cold as ice and hard as steel.

Clearing his throat, Simon got out a single syllable before a husky voice interrupted, "Katherine's gone, Magnus." All eyes turned to Alec. All except for Magnus's, that is. He stood stalk still, staring down at Simon.

"What?" he hissed through clenched teeth.

"Well, they took us by surprise, Magnus. All of us were unconscious, not just you. What did you expect us to do?"

"Go after them! Immediately after you woke up! Why are we all still standing here? You idiots! I thought you would have been able to defeat a few humans. I had assumed you'd gotten her back after you woke. Apparently not!" Magnus stormed past Clary, but Jace, catching a meaningful glance from Alec, moved fluidly to block him. "Move your ass out of my way, Shadowhunter!" Magnus growled. His voice was dangerously low and the pupils of his eyes were so narrow they almost disappeared.

"Hey, I'd really rather not kick your ass, warlock, because it might make Alec mad at me. But if you really want it—" Jace was cut off by Alec who seemed to be growing impatient.

"That's enough. Magnus, you were unconscious. How could we go after her if we didn't know where she was?"

Still with his gaze zeroed on Simon, Magnus made a physical effort to calm down. His chest rose slowly as he took a deep breath then turned to Alec. "Fine. What do you propose we do, Alexander?"

A grin spread over Alec's face as he glanced past Magnus to Jace. "I think I've got a plan."