Hey, sorry this took so long to come out. I was taking finals for the last two weeks and couldn't really afford to write. Anyway, I should be back on track now

The Written Word

Luke watched Clary warily, completely unconcerned with the water dribbling down the wall and the glass shards scattered like ice across the ground. He saw the way her hands were clamped into fists, her skin turning white and her arms shaking with some pent up emotion. He rose carefully from the place he was sitting and approached her. Luke had seen wolves like this before, so calm on the outside but raging on the inside. It was like the calm before a storm, or the blue ice, so deceiving before it cracked beneath your feet. Clary wasn't calm, she wasn't even okay; she looked ready to lunge forward and scratch someone's eyes out.

"Clary," Luke said carefully, and he raised his hands up in defense. "Clary, be careful around the glass. Your mother would never forgive me if you cut yourself on my watch." Clary turned her eyes on the glass on the floor and stared at it. She seemed to be trying to communicate with the glass, searching it for an answer. When she returned to Luke, her eyes were sparkling like the glass, and they were just as hard. "Here, come away from the mess and I'll clean it up."

"Clean it?" Clary gave him a quizzical look. "Why bother?"

Luke held his hands out to her. "Well, it's broken glass. Someone could hurt themselves, and it's my job to take care of you. In fact, if you could go to the kitchen and get me a broom-"

"I'm not staying here, Luke, so I don't see the point."

Clary moved suddenly, stalking forward to the stairs and knocking Luke's hand out of the way. Her shoulders were set in a hard line and her back was as straight as a board. Luke sighed, following her. "Clary, come back, please."

Clary marched up the stairs, trying to fight back tears that were threatening to fall from her eyes. Behind her, Luke was speaking, but she spoke over him. "I'm not leaving Jace with Valentine and that son of his. He wouldn't leave me behind, so neither will I. I'm going to find Valentine, rescue Jace, the Lightwoods, and my friends, and then we're coming back here."

"Clary," Luke growled. "It's not so easy. You can't just walk up to your father and demand he give you what you want. Valentine is expecting you to come find Jace, he wants something with you."

"Well, good, because I want something with him, and when I find him, he's going to answer to me." Clary threw open the door to her room, and, glancing around, began to dig through her clothes. "I'm tired of running; first it was the Edison Group, and now it's my father. Well, I'm through with it." Clary found a few pairs of jeans and shirts, and she shoved them in a bag. "This has to end."

Luke watched her with a frown on his face. "This isn't going to work, Clary. You have to plan something, you have to be prepared for your father."

"And quite calling him that!" Clary snapped, turning on Luke with a snarl. "He's Valentine, Valentine. He's not my father, he didn't raise me, he didn't give me anything, not even a name! You should be ashamed of saying that."

"Clary, please-"

"No, Luke," Clary said coldly. "This is for Jace, and I would do anything for him."

"I understand what you mean, Clary, but this isn't how to do it." Luke moved forward and managed to get a hold of Clary's arm. "Listen to me, Clary!"

Luke gave her a shake, and Clary spun about so fast she almost broke his grasp. "If you're not going to help me let me go."

"I want to help you, Clary, but not this way." Luke gave her a severe look, but Clary forced herself to stare into his eyes without blinking. "You want to rescue Jace, I understand, and I'm going to help you. But I'm only going to help you if you think about this a different way. I won't let you get yourself hurt."

Clary was silent for a long time, staring at Luke, measuring the grip of his hand on her arm, and the determination of his gaze. She blinked quickly, her eyes darting away, and Luke saw the tears running over in her eyes. "What else can I do?"

"You can rescue Jace, but you're just going to have to go about it a different way. He won't want you to get yourself hurt by going after him; you know Jace loves you." Luke saw Clary shaking and he moved closer, gathering her up in his arms. "You want to prove you're a shadowhunter, you want to prove yourself to Jace, you want to prove that you can take care of yourself; but you won't accomplish any of this by running headlong into the fray of battle. Show your sense, show your planning, show that you belong here."

Clary tucked herself against Luke and sobbed softly. "I want Jace back, Luke; I want to know he's safe. Valentine has him and I don't know what he's doing to him. I'm scared that I won't get to Jace in time, or that when I find him he'll be different. I just want to know he's safe."

Luke rubbed her back. "You know Valentine won't kill him, Clary. Jace is too valuable alive for Valentine to use, but that doesn't mean we should waste time. We should regroup and make a plan tonight, and tomorrow, head for New York."

"That's what I was going to do," Clary murmured, looking up at Luke with a small frown. "That's why I was packing."

"You were just going to rush after Jace," Luke said with a sad laugh. "That's brave, but foolish. Valentine will be expecting you to go after him, so you're just going to have to surprise him."

"He'll be expecting me," Clary whispered. "You said it yourself, he'll be expecting me. How can I outsmart Valentine? How can fight him?"

"Well," Luke mused, sitting down on her bed and looking out the window. "Valentine is going to underestimate you, Clary, because he doesn't believe anyone who is less than a shadowhunter can fight him."

"I am a shadowhunter," Clary said firmly.

"You are, Clary," Luke said quickly. "But not the kind Valentine considers a threat. You have an amazing gift with runes, a gift you can use to fight Valentine, and he doesn't know it. When Valentine thinks of shadowhunters, he only thinks of trained warriors like Jace, and his son, Jonathan, not girls with no training. You're going to be a surprise just with your talents."

"Do you think we can rescue them?" Clary asked shrewdly, leveling Luke with a searching look. "Do you think we have the ability to fight him?"

"I think I'm going to help you no matter what," Luke said thoughtfully, and when Clary's face broke into a small smile, Luke waved her over. "Clary, I'm always going to be here to help you, and I want to stop Valentine as much as you."

Clary joined Luke on the bed. "I just want to stop running, Luke. I'm so tired of running."

"It will end, Clary," Luke promised, draping his arm over her shoulders and squeezing her. "Valentine can't hunt you forever; we'll make sure of it."

Clary closed her eyes a moment. "What are we going to do? Is there a plan?"

"First, we have to go back to New York, and figure out what's protecting the Institute. Valentine will have wards and demons up around the place, so we're going to have to be prepared to fight them off."

Clary blanched. "We can't, Luke. I'm not trained to fight, and you're a werewolf. How can we get past them?"

Luke was about to answer when the door swung open, and leaning against the frame was Rae. She had her hip cocked and her arms crossed, and the look of determination of her face was unique. "You've got a demon problem?"

"Rae, you don't need to do this," Luke said at once. "This isn't your battle, this isn't your life; you don't owe us anything."

Rae frowned. "Isabelle and Alec saved my life, I owe them that much."

"This is a war, Rae," Clary murmured, giving her a hard look. She'd heard rumors about Rae, about her betrayal and her escape, and didn't know if the girl could be trusted in such a dangerous situation "You don't need to help us fight, not when you could get hurt or killed. Valentine is no one to trifle with, no one to get involved with unless you have to."

"They saved my life," Rae said slowly, looking at Clary like she was an idiot. "I'm not going to let them be killed by Valentine just because he's got some demons on his side. I'm half demon myself, so what should I be worried about?"

"It's not the same-"

"I hate owing people," Rae said loudly. "I hate having to know that someone helped me get where I am. I like being self-reliant, and the only way I can see myself getting back to that is if I come with you."

"This isn't how you get even, Rae," Luke sighed. "Valentine is not going to stop you and let you go, or stop you and lock you up. He'll kill you if he gets his hands on you. This is something we have to do because this is our world. This is our responsibility, not yours."

"Not mine?" Rae looked confused, and then her eyes narrowed. "How is it not my responsibility, but it's Clary's? It's not like she knows what's going on any more than I do. It's not like Clary is any better a fighter than I am."

"He has Jace, I don't have a choice-"

"Well he's got my friends, so how do I have a choice?" Rae demanded, and then threw her hands in the air. "Don't you dare think that just because they don't trust me I don't care about them. I made a mistake, okay? But I'm trying to fix it, I'm trying to make it better. Or am I not allowed to get better? Am I not allowed to be trusted?"

"That's not what I mean," Clary ground out. "My father is a monster, he's dangerous and cruel and vicious. He kills people without a thought, and he won't think twice about hurting you."

"I'm tired of being scared," Rae said passionately. "I'm as tired of it as you are, and I'm just as willing to fight as you are. Take me with you, let me help. Think what I can do; I'm half demon, and I'm just as capable of fighting them as you are. I'll probably be better."

"I don't want you getting hurt," Clary whispered finally. "Too many people have been hurt lately because of me and my own. I don't want any more lives on my head."

"This is my choice," Rae said firmly. "I'm not going to let my friends die locked in a cell; I'm going to rescue them. Then they'll know, they'll know I was always there to help them…" Rae's voice warbled off, and Clary realized that Rae wasn't doing this because it was the right thing. She wanted to repay them, convince them that she was their friend. This was about proving herself.

"You don't have to do this," Clary said again, but she knew Rae was going to come along anyway. Her determined stare was saying as much.

"No, I don't, but I'm going to. We all have to do things we don't want to sometimes, but they have to get done."

Luke nodded slowly. "That's very noble of you, Rae, and very brave. If you're sure you'd like to come with us, we'll let you. It could be useful to have a half-demon on our side."

Rae's face brightened at once and she raised her hand in demonstration. Her palm exploded in flames and she threw a ball of fire into the air. It burst, small flames raining harmlessly down to the floor. "I've been practicing."

"That's impressive," agreed Luke. "If the three of us go-"

"What about me?" demanded a small voice from behind Rae. Max pushed past the girl and stomped into the room with a serious face. "You can't just leave me here; I'm coming with you."

"Max, no, you're too young," Clary said at once, but he crossed his arms and glared. "You're sister would never forgive me if I brought you along. This is too dangerous and you're just a child."

"It's my family," he said simply.

"I can't let you do this, Max," said Luke suddenly. "We'll take you along, but you're going to have to stay with my pack. I am not going to let a child come with me when I go to fight Valentine."

Max slammed a foot down. "You can't do this! My sister and brother are being held captive by Valentine and you think I'll just sit and watch you rescue them? I'm coming, and you can't stop me."

Luke smiled faintly. "I'm going to have to stop you, and I will. I know you want to be a part of this. I know you feel like you can do anything, but you have no training-"

"Neither does Clary!"

"She has other skills," shot Rae, and she caught the boy's eye. "You don't really know what will happen, and you have no idea how much your siblings love you. They would never forgive us if we took you along. You need to stay safe."

"I'm not staying with a bunch of wolves." Max shot Luke a look, daring him to say otherwise.

"What will you do if we take you along?" Luke asked with a raised eyebrow. "What can you do to help us fight?"

Max seemed at a loss for a minute. "I can sneak around, I can spy on Valentine. He won't expect me, he won't even be threatened by me. I'm perfect to send in and find our family."

"Valentine suspects everyone," Luke replied. "He'll know who you are, and he'll use you to get to your family. Do you want to be the reason bad things happen to Alec or Isabelle, or even Jace?"

Max's face fell a little, and he looked nervously to Clary, who was watching him carefully. "But he wouldn't find me. Clary could invent a rune to make me invisible, even to another shadowhunter!"

Luke shook his head, but Clary felt her heart leap at the idea. She could, she just knew she could make an invisibility rune. If she could make herself unseen, there would be no reason to fight, no risk in rescuing the others. Clary's fingers started to itch with a need for a stele.

"But she could!" Max protested angrily, shooting Clary a pleading look. "You could, couldn't you? I've seen you make those runes on the paper, and it's the same thing. This time, you're just hiding people, not pictures."

"Max, Clary's powers aren't like that-"

"Luke, he might be right," Clary said quickly. She stood up and dug around the bed until she found the stele. Her mind with racing. "I could probably design a rune to hide us. It would be so easy to sneak into the Institute and get them all out."

Luke fixed Clary with a searching look. "Even if you can hide us, I'm not letting Max come along. He'll stay with my pack and be safe."

"No," Max said at once. "I'm coming. It was my idea to make the rune, it was my idea!"

"I know that, Max, but I just can't take you along. You're too young." Luke stood suddenly, and his height seemed to silence Max for a minute. He glanced at Clary pleadingly, but when she gave him nothing but a sad smile, he looked down. "You're just a child, Max, and I'm responsible for you."

Max stomped his foot but he'd given up. He turned about and stormed for the door, throwing a very frustrated, "Fine!" over his shoulder.

Clary and Luke watched him go and Rae stared at the floor. After a moment, she said, "That boy needs to get his priorities in order."

"No, Rae," said Clary. "He's a shadowhunter, it's just in his nature."

"But he's right," came Luke's voice softly. "You can make the rune, Clary. Draw on a piece of paper first, and then we'll see if it works."

"You think I can?" Clary asked, feeling like a balloon were inflating in her. "You think I can make the rune work?"

Luke handed Clary a piece of paper. "I have to think you can do it. If you can't make us that rune, I don't know how we'll get in."

Derek stared through the bars of his cage and caught Chloe's eye. She gave him a weak half smile in return and moved closer to the bars. "Are you alright?" Derek asked softly.

"Well," Chloe said with a frown. "It'd be nice if I wasn't locked in this cage."

With a grunt, Derek shifted around made sure the light of the flickering torches caught his face. When he smiled bravely, Chloe could see him. She felt just a little better knowing that Derek was that close, but the bars between her and him, not to mention the sense of terror and hate that lingered in the cell, was choking her. Even though they might have been monsters, the Edison Group had let her and Derek be together.

"Isabelle must be working something out," Derek said thoughtfully. "She'll find a way to give us a little time out of here."

"Fat chance," snorted Jace below Derek. "I know Valentine, and if he says we're staying in these cages, then we're not coming out. Valentine will keep us locked behind bars until the day we die."

"Ray of sunshine you are," Simon said, and Jace could hear the smile in his voice. "I'm glad we've got you around to keep up morale."

"I'm just saying," Jace ground out. "I know Valentine, and we've got a long time cramped up in these cages before us."

"Someone's coming to rescue us," said Tori defiantly. "You know, Jace, that Clary isn't going to let you go."

"Tori is right," Alec said gruffly. "Clary went after you once, she'll some after you again. This time, it's her turn to rescue us."

"Well, maybe we shouldn't rely on that alone to get us out of here," Jace replied, rolling away from the rest of the children. Thinking of Clary hurt him too much. "Maybe we should make plans to get out ourselves."

"You know that's not going to happen," said a cold voice. "You know, Jace, that we're keeping you here. You and all you're freak friends."

Jace jerked around and saw Jonathan standing in the stairwell. He was smirking horribly and spinning a stele in his hand. When Jace's eye landed on him, Jonathan moved into the light. He strolled around the room, dragging his stele over the bars of the cages.

"What do you want, Jonathan?" asked Alec before Jace said something he'd regret.

"I want to kill you, actually, but I don't think that's possible. Not with your sweet sister playing our game. Unfortunately, I can only come and tease you."

Derek growled like a wolf. "Get out of here."

"Are you going to make me wolf boy?" Jonathan challenged, coming eyelevel with Derek. "You going to fight me?"

"Let me out, and I will," hissed Derek while Chloe shook her head frantically.

Jonathan smiled. "I'd love to, but I'm not here for you. I'm here for my dear, little brother. I want to let him know that tomorrow he'll be sending a letter to Clary, asking her to come rescue him." Jonathan knelt down before him and reached through the bar to grab a hank of Jace's hair. "You're going to be quite the poet, I think. Something desperate and terrifying, that should bring little Clary running."

Jace snarled. "Never."

Jonathan laughed. "If you say no I'll kill one of your stupid friends." He looked about. "I'll start with the necromancer and work my way through her pathetic friends. You want to watch them die?"

Jace wriggled around but Jonathan held on tight. He forced himself to meet Jonathan's eyes, and then turned his gaze slowly on Chloe, who was staring at him from her cage. She looked terrified, and Jace knew then that he wasn't going to let her die. She wasn't just a necromancer anymore; she was his friend, and his family. He would do what he had to to defend her, just like she would do for him.

He swallowed loudly. "No, I'll do what you want."