A/N: Sorry this took so long! I had hoped to get this up before I went on vacation, but I suck and I didn't. Anyway, I really hope you like it! Also I want to take this time to say thank you to all the people who have favorited the story, as well as those who have put it on alert. I want to say thank you to the "Anonymous" who have left reviews. I usually try to reply to everyone who comments, but I can't reply to you if you're anonymous, so just know I appreciate it! As always, let me know what you think! Oh, and if you haven't had a chance yet, please check out my *One-Shot* called Just For Tonight. It's in Jace's POV, from a chapter in CoLS!

~Chapter Ten~

A Warlocks Party

After leaving the Institute, Jace decided to try and redouble his efforts of distancing his feelings from Clary. And he had even been doing okay until they stepped off the Subway and started walking through an industrial style neighborhood. He glanced back at Clary again with growing agitation. For some reason she seemed to be falling further and further behind, and Jace was now having to constantly look over his shoulder to make sure she was still there. He tried to tell himself that it was simply because he didn't want to fall behind himself that he was growing annoyed, but he knew that since the Ravener attack he hadn't wanted to let her out of his sight again. He looked at Isabelle and Simon up ahead with the Sensor, and then at Alec by his side; and then he sighed as he turned to look at Clary again. In all honesty, Jace was surprised that Simon was ahead with Isabelle playing love sick puppy after all the fuss he had made over Clary back at the Institute. He figured it'd have been her leg he was trying to hump—not Izzy's.

Granted—if he tried humping Clary's leg, Jace was decidedly sure that he would probably punch the mundane in the face. He was also decidedly sure that while he would want to break his neck, Clary would certainly frown on that. So in the event of possible leg humping, he would have to decidedly stick with face punching. Jace shook his head, wondering why the hell he was thinking this shit.

He turned to check on Clary, and—for the love of Christ!

Somehow she had fallen even farther behind. At this rate, they were going to lose the others, who were already a half a block ahead. This time he slowed down so that he could match her steps. "Keep up," he whispered irritably, and Clary looked up at him with raised brows. "I don't want to have to keep looking behind me to make sure nothing's happened to you."

"So don't bother." she grumbled, her eyes darkening as she looked ahead.

"Last time I left you alone, a demon attacked you," Jace said pointedly. Unless she had forgotten, which he doubted.

"Well, I'd certainly hate to interrupt your pleasant night stroll with my sudden death," she said with snarky anger, pulling Jace up short as he stared at her. What the hell had he done? It was true she hadn't talked much since leaving the Institute—except to tell Jace 'thank you' after he had caught her when her ankle folded in the high heeled boots she wore. But she hadn't looked at him with anger then.

Jace looked ahead at Isabelle and Simon, bitting the inside of his cheek. "There is a fine line between sarcasm and outright hostility, and you seem to have crossed it." He said, and then looked down at her, his tone softening. "What's up?"

But she didn't answer right away. She stared ahead, her shoulders slumping slightly as she bit her lip. Jace shoved his hands in his pockets to keep himself from pulling her into him and comforting her. "This morning," she finally said, "weird creepy guys dug around in my brain. Now I'm going to meet the weird creepy guy who originally dug around in my brain." and then she looked up at him. "What if I don't like what he finds?"

That's what this was about? She was nervous? He cast another glance at Simon, grateful that it wasn't about the mundane before answering lightly with a shrug. "What makes you think you won't?"

"I hate when you answer a question with a question," she said irritably, fanning her hair out behind her.

"No you don't, you think it's charming," Jace said immediately with a smile, unable to stop himself. "Anyway, wouldn't you rather know the truth?"

"No," she said immediately. Then she sighed. "I mean, maybe. I don't know." Jace swallowed as she looked at him with those bright trusting Idris eyes. "Would you?" she asked. He met her emerald gaze with his golden one. She wanted to know what he thought—trusted his judgement. And because she was scared—scared of knowing the truth. Jace had to ball his hands now, hoping that that would anchor them in his pockets as he thought about her question. Would he want to know? The answer came immediately without hesitation.

"This is the right street!" Isabelle suddenly called, and Jace removed his hand to wave, letting her know that he heard her, his eyes sweeping the scenery as they always did, before looking back down at Clary. But she wasn't looking at him anymore. She looked around the neighborhood with curiosity. As she turned her head lightly, looking up the road, Jace noticed a strand of curls sticking to her shoulder.

Don't do it. Seriously man. Don't. Reaching forward, Jace brushed his fingers lightly across her shoulder, sweeping the hair back. Dumb ass. And yet, he didn't remove his hand, her skin hot under his. "Absolutely. Always," he whispered answering her question. She really was beautiful.

"What?" She asked confused, looking at him.

She did that sometimes, he realized. Disappeared in that confusing head of hers, forgetting or not realizing that others are right there with her. He found it both frustrating and endearing. "The truth," he said, his fingers lightly tracing the freckles on her skin. "I would—"

"Jace!" Alec called suddenly and Jace took a breath at his parabatai's uncanny timing. He dropped his hand as he turned to face his him.

"Yes?"

Think we're in the right place?" He asked, pointing just behind a black car. If Jace had thought that Alec was merely asking for directions, he would have given him a colorful answer. But he could hear the excitement in Alec's voice. And when Alec was excited, it usually meant something.

"What's that? he asked rounding the car to see just what it was that Alec was looking at. And then he laughed. He couldn't help it. Rows of motorcycles were lining the street a the curb, but the weren't just motorcycles. They were vampire motorcycles. And they were just all right there unprotected. It would be a shame—a tragedy really—if some gloriously self-righteous handsome hooligan were to vandalize them. Movement in his peripheral caught his attention and he saw Clary slide up gracefully next to him. She was looking a the bikes confused. "Vampires," he said in way of explanation.

""They look like motorcycles to me." Simon said coming up behind them with Isabelle.

And you look like a rat in glasses. You're also a—

It would be Isabelle that answered him. "They are," she said, frowning at the bikes, "but they've been altered to run on demon energies. Vampires use them—it lets them get around fast at night. It's not strictly covenant, but. . ."

Jace looked back at the warehouse they sat in front of, before hopping off the curb. He pulled a small corked bottle from his inside jacket, and he walked to the closest bike as Alec started talking excitedly. He couldn't fault his brother's excitement—they were something pretty amazing. Very pretty actually, in their own way. Jace had never seen one before now. Alec, on the other hand, had been obsessed with these things since he first learned about them from Hodge during lessons. He had spent hours learning about them afterwards. Jace looked down at the sleek silver machine that almost nearly seemed to be humming. Had he just heard Alec say they could fly? With his thumb, he popped the cork off easily and hid it under his palm as he reached forward and grazed a hand along the cool metal of the chassis, pouring the holy water as he went. Nox Invictus wasprinted on the side. Yes it was, Jace thought with amusement. He looked up and saw Clary watching him.

"Victorious night," he translated out loud. And then he realized that Alec was watching him as well, his eyes narrowed.

"What are you doing?" He asked suspicously.

Jace quickly slid his hand back in his pocket, hiding the now empty bottle. "Nothing," he said lightly, with a shrug and a small smile playing on his lips. He knew Alec had seen more than he was letting on, but he merely shook his head as Jace listened to the low almost inaudible sound of hissing coming from the bike now.

"Well, hurry up," said Isabelle impatiently. "I didn't get this dressed up to watch you mess around in the gutter with a bunch of motorcycles."

"They're pretty to look at." Jace said with a wink as he rejoined them on the sidewalk. "You have to admit that."

"So am I" she said curtly. Jace, knowing that that was the closest she would come to admitting anything, suppressed a laugh. "Now, hurry up."

But Jace was looking at Clary, who watched him questioningly. For not having been raised a Shadowhunter, she sure was suspicious like one. He wondered if he had seen anything of what he had done, but probably not. His Slight of Hand rune would make it difficult for anyone who wasn't a trained Shadowhunter to have noticed. "This building," he pointed at the red brick warehouse that loomed over them and the bikes. ""Is this the one?"

Clary looked at the building as if surprised that he would guess that it was that one. But with all the vampire bikes, it made sense didn't it? "I think so," she exhaled looking down the row of buildings. "They all look the same."

That was true, Jace thought. Except, again, this was the only one that had scores of Vampire bikes and other vehicles parked out front of it, so . . .

"One way to find out," Isabelle said as she turned on her heels and mounted the steps. With a shrug, Jace and the rest of them followed her.

Jace wrinkled his nose as an offensive odor assaulted him. One would think that when one was the High Warlock of Brooklyn, they would live somewhere that did not smell like piss. Or at least use their magic to rid the piss smell from where they lived. Jace saw the name near the buzzer, Bane, and new instantly that they had the right place. Isabelly pressed the buzzer a first time, a second, and she was about to press it again when Alec's hand shot out stopping her.

"Don't be rude." He said, holding her wrist, and Isabelle glared daggers at him. And then, what Jace was sure would have been a colorful reply from Isabelle was, stopped short as the door flew open. While everyone around him seemed to be caught off guard by the slender and man in the entryway, he merely cocked an eyebrow. The guy seemed, by mundane standards, about their age. His skin glittered with . . . Oh that's actually glitter, Jace realized.

"Magnus? Magnus Bane?" Isabelle asked, recovering herself and flashing a smile.

"That would be me." The warlock replied, his blue painted lips frowning. Jace looked at him. He had seen warlocks before, and while they were all a little odd—immortality could do that to someone—he had never seen one who looked quite like Magnus. He wondered mutely where his Mark was. And then Magnus looked at him (Ah. There it is, Jace thought.),his cat like eyes seeming to linger just longer than when they had looked at everyone else. He was lucky that he had escaped with something as simple as vertical slit pupils as his Mark, though. Jace had seen some warlocks with beaks, and others with talons for hands. His father had had even told him of one who was all green. The warlock was still looking at him. It were almost as if he recognized Jace. But that couldn't be possible. He was sure of it. He'd remember this guy. Magnus barely looked at Clary. Running a ring covered hand through his black spiky locks, he looked back at Isabelle. "Children of the Nephilim," he mused. "Well, well. I don't recall inviting you."

But Isabelle was already one step ahead of him, removing the invitation from her purse and waving it at him. "I have an invitation," she smiled. "These—" she pointed at her companions, "—are my friends."

Magnus snatched the blue parchment out of Isabelle's hand and stared at it intently. Jace took his stele out of his pocket and started rolling it in along his knuckles just as Magnus shook his head. "I must have been drunk," he said as he opened the door wide for them. "Come in." Then his eyes fell on Jace. "And try not to murder any of my guests."

Jace, who couldn't help himself when such an opportunity presented itself, stopped in the doorway, hiding his stele as he went, and looked at Magnus with amusement. "Even if one of them spills a drink on my new shoes?" He asked, as if death would be the most logical course of action for such a heinous act. Magnus wasn't inclined to agree.

"Not even then," he said. And then before Jace knew what had happened, Magnus' hand had shot toward him, relieving him of his stele and holding it up to him. "As for this," he said to Jace's chagrin. "Keep it in your pants, Shadowhunter." And his eyes widened as Magnus pulled him closer by the hem of his jeans, his fingers cool agains Jace's skin, and slid the stele into his pants pocket.

Before Jace could collect himself, Magnus grinned with satisfaction and headed up the stairs. What the hell just happened? Jace thought with bewilderment as he watched the warlock go. Shaking his head, he looked back at the rest of his group—they looked just as dumbfounded as he felt— and waved them in. "Come on," he said, holding the door open. "Before anyone thinks it's my party."

As they pushed past him, Isabelle stopped and looked at him. "Try not to piss him off, please." she sighed. "Then he wont help us."

Jace rolled his eyes, taking on a bored air. "I know what I'm doing." He couldn't let them know just how much Magnus had took him by surprise. It had been like Clary walking into the utility room of Pandemonium all over again.

"I hope so." She stated without a hint of amusement, before walking past him in what he could only describe as a 'huff'.

Jace watched as one by one they began disappearing up the stairs. Clary caught his eye briefly, and he smiled reassuringly up at her. He was biting his cheek, thinking, as he didn't move from the ground flopr. He hadn't liked the way Magnus had looked at him—as if he had recognized him, but he really didn't like that he had been able to take his stele out of his hand, before he had had time to react. Because of that, Jace was feeling mutinous.

"You coming?" Alec asked, reappearing on the steps and looking down at him.

"Of course." Jace said, looking up at him, though he didn't move. Alec smiled came back down to meet him.

"What's up?"

Jace shook his head, not sure how to answer. "I hate vampires," he said. He didn't really want to go into how the warlock had rattled him.

"Is that why you poured holy water on that bike out there?" Alec asked knowingly. Jace wasn't surprised that Alec had seen what he had done though, he would have been more shocked if he hadn't.

All the same, "I don't know what your talking about," he said in a tone of mock offense and superiority. "Why would one such as myself take the time. . ."

But Alec wasn't listening. Instead, he pulled out three more corked vials of holy water. "While you stand there and pretend to be offended, I think I'm going make sure that at least a few more leeches have trouble getting home tonight."

"A man after my own heart." Jace grinned, opening the door back up. Alec always seemed to know how to cheer him up.

As Jace entered the apartment, still flushed from the excitement of having ruined the motorcycles, he saw that the party was in full swing. While there were other types of Downworlders here, vampires were the majority and Jace immediately looked around for Clary. He didn't think that He didn't think that he and Alec had taken that long, but he didn't like the idea of leaving her alone as it was. Next to him, Alec muttered about large number of Vampires just as a faerie came dancing up to him. Alec stiffened immediately, looking as if her were going to punch the tiny girl, and Jace stepped back, stifling a laugh as she threw a glowing ley around his neck. To make it even funnier, she kissed him on the cheek before dancing away, leaving Alec's eyes wide with shock.

"Didn't know you had a thing for them faerie chicks," Jace whispered in his ear. "Bet you could nail her if you wanted." And then he laughed as Alec looked at him murderously. He knew it had been a crude statement, but as Alec refused to reveal his true orientation, Jace would simply have to try and prod it out of him. Instead, Alec grumbled about having standards and taking the flower necklace off. He had been about to chuck it on the ground when Jace's hand shot out and caught it.

"Refusing a flower from a girl, Alec?" He chided playfully as he put it around his own neck. "Now thats just rude."

"A Downworlder," Alec corrected.

"Enough!" Jace grinned, holding out a hand to stop him. "It looks better on me anyway. But then—everything does. Perhaps she would look better on me too." He confided with a wink. Alec rolled his eyes, looking irritated. Up ahead, Jace saw a flash of curly red hair that had become familiar to him, and he nudged Alec to follow. As they made their way to Clary, Jace overheard a couple vampires talking about leaving and he smiled, hoping that one of them might be an owner to one of the bikes they had desecrated.

As Jace came to a stop next to Clary, he saw that Magnus was with her but that Simon and Isabelle were nowhere to be found. He looked around quickly locating them dancing provocatively together—well, Isabelle was dancing provocatively. Simon looked as ridiculous has he had at Pandemonium. Either way, Jace wished he hadn't left Clary alone now. When he looked down at her, he saw her watching him carefully. Magnus was looking at Alec.

"Where are Simon and Isabelle?" she asked.

"On the dance floor," he said pointing, and then he frowned as Clary hugged her arms around herself as she watched them. He knew that the jacket she had thrown over herself was light, but it wasn't cold. He looked back up at Isabelle and the mundane. She's upset, Jace realized. She didn't like the idea of Simon dancing with Isabelle. I could offer to dance with her, he thought. He was a far superior dancer than the mundane. But would she take him up on the offer? Perhaps she was only used to dancing with the mediocre. He hated that she was so upset though. A chuckle so soft that he almost missed it, caught Jace's attention and he looked up to find the warlock watching him with amusement. What the hell was his deal? Jace shook his head as Magnus' grin widened.

"Look," Jace said suddenly. "We really need to talk to—"

"MAGNUS BANE!" Alec and Clary visibly jumped and turned toward the deep booming voice, while Jace and Magnus merely looked up at the short vampire dwarf with a shaved head. "Someone just poured holy water into the gas tank on my bike." He said stoping in front of the warlock, who Jace noticed didn't bat an eye. In face, he looked bored. "It's ruined," the vampire continued. "Destroyed. Al the pipes are melted." At this, Alec looked like he was about to start laughing. Jace wouldn't be surprised—it had been Alec's idea to pour the water into the gas tanks, and now it seemed to have done more than even they had originally thought it would. Still, laughing would give them away, and he thought about kicking Alec to shut him up.

"Melted?" Magnus breathed, his brows going up in what looked like a halfhearted attempt at surprise. "How dreadful," he said. Though, he didn't really look like he thought it was dreadful at all.

"I want to know who did it," the vampire boomed, baring his canines. Jace went on instant alert and took a step forward in front of Clary who—seriously?—was staring at the man with fascination. Jace shook his head as the vampire midget continued. "I thought you swore there would be no wolf-men here tonight, Bane."

Magnus, who looked utterly unimpressed by the vampire, examined his nails. "I invited none of the Moon's Children." he said patiently. "Precisely because of your stupid little feud. If any of them decided to sabotage your bike, they weren't a guest of mine, and are therefor—" Magnus looked up now, an engaging smile on his lips. "Not my responsibility."

The midget vampire didn't seem to take too kindly to that, however, and Jace marly laughed as he roared with munchkin anger. "Are you trying to tell me that—" and then he was clutching at his throat as he started gagging on his words.

Jace looked at Magnus curiously. He stood there with his arms crossed, the bored look still on his face, but there was a new air around him. Electric almost. "You've worn out your welcome." he said, his yellow cat eyes wide. "Now go." Jace looked back at the oompa loompa vampire just as he spun against his will and headed toward the door. Okay, that was kind of cool, Jace thought.

He whistled under his breath. "That was impressive."

"You mean that little hissy fit?" Magnus asked, his eyes shooting toward the ceiling. "I know. What is her problem?"

Alec chortled, his body shaking. "We put the holy water in his gas tank, you know."

What the— "ALEC," Jace glared at him. Did he not know that now was not the time to be admitting to such things? He really was ready to kick him now. Right in the ankle. "Shut up." But Magnus seemed neither upset or surprised.

"I assumed that," he said, his lips curving upward into an amused grin. He was looking at Alec with a sort of appreciation now. "Vindictive little bastards, aren't you? You know their bikes run on demon energies. I doubt he'll be able to repair it."

Now that he was just that Magnus wasn't going to kick them all out for causing a rift, Jace merely shrugged. "One less leech with a fancy ride," he said. "My heart bleeds."

"I heard some of them can make their bikes fly," Alec chimed in excitedly, but he was looking at Magnus pointedly as if hoping he would either confirm or deny this.

"Merely an old witches' tale," Magnus smiled, but Jace saw the glitter in his eyes. Or maybe that was just the glitter around his eyes. There was a lot of glitter. Magnus turned to look at Jace. "So is that why you wanted to crash my party?Just to wreck some bloodsucker bikes?"

Jace bit his cheek, looking at Clary. She hadn't said much since having seen Isabelle dancing with Simon. He looked back at Magnus, his tone serious. "No. We need to talk to you. Preferably somewhere private."

Magnus regarded him silently for a moment, his brow cocking. "Am I in trouble with the Clave?"

"No." Jace said immediately, hoping that the truth would be more persuasive.

"Probably not," Alec amended. Jace kicked him in the ankle. "Ow!" he cried out, giving Jace a "what the fuck" look. Jace glared back. First he nearly gave them away, then he did give them away, now he was trying to threaten the warlock? Knock it off! Jace seriously hoped Alec got all that with the look he was giving him.

"No," Jace said again, looking back at Magnus who seemed to be suppressing a laugh. "We can talk to you under the seal of the Covenant. If you help us, anything you say will be confidential."

Magnus' smile faded. "And if I don't help you?"

Jace spread his arms and shrugged. "Maybe nothing. Maybe a visit from the Silent City"

"That's quite a choice you're offering me, little Shadowhunter." Though Magnus smiled, his voice was like ice. All the same, Jace got the strange sense that the warlock would have expected nothing less of him.

"It's no choice at all." Jace said.

"Yes," said Magnus. "Thats exactly what I meant."

Magnus lead them down a hall and through a door. Jace blinked at the brightly colored room. Given the abundance of color, he couldn't say nothing matched at least. It was like a rainbow had vomited in there. But all the same, Jace could tell that everything was high end. He walked to the window, pulling aside the heavy multicolored curtain and looking down on the road. He had a good view of the motorcycles from here. Or at least the one's he and Alec hadn't ruined.

"Nice place," Jace said. "Guess it pays well, being the High Warlock of Brooklyn?"

"It pays," Magnus said, and Jace turned to look at him. "Not much of a benefit package, though. No dental." He shut the door, and then leaning against it, his cat eyes met Jace's as he crossed his arms. "So . . . what's on your devious little minds?"

"It's not them, actually," Clary said suddenly. Jace met her eyes briefly, before she looked back to Magnus. She wasn't standing far from Jace, as if she had thought of following him to the window before changing her mind. "I'm the one who wanted to talk to you."

Magnus looked at Clary now, and Jace thought that it very much looked like he was trying to decide on something. "You are not one of them," he said, his cat eyes withholding emotion. "Not of the Clave. But you can see the Invisible World."

"My mother was one of the Clave," Clary said quickly. Magnus swallowed then, and Jace leaned in closer. "But she never told me." she continued. "She kept it a secret. I don't know why."

"So ask her."

Jace glared at Magnus. He knew who she was. Jace knew this. So why the games? But before he could answer, Clary spoke up again. "I can't. She's. . ." and Jace saw her wince as she tried to find the words she wanted to use. "She's gone." Clary breathed.

"And your father?" Magnus asked without blinking an eye.

"He died before I was born."

Jace turned to look at Magnus as he sighed irritably, looking up at the ceiling. "As Oscar Wilde once said, 'To lose one parent may be regarded as a misfortune. To lose both seems like carelessness.'"

Jace took a sharp breath. Watch it warlock, he thought angrily. He, too, had lost both parents, but in his case they were both dead so Magnus' words hit close to home for him. In fact—

"I didn't lose my mother." Clary said, cutting off Jace before he could speak. He saw her throw a glance his way as well, and he bit the inside of his cheek. "She was taken from me." Clary continued. "By Valentine."

"I don't know any Valentine." Magnus said airily, but Jace had the urge to scream 'Bullshit!' at him. He could tell he was lying. Tell that he knew Clary, knew Valentine, and might even know the real reason that they were here. But before he could say all that , Magnus was already speaking. "I'm sorry for your tragic circumstances, but I fail to see what any of this has to do with me. If you could tell me—"

"She can't tell you, because she doesn't remember," Jace cut him off, having grown tired of the game Magnus was playing. His body was tense as he stared at the warlock, his golden eyes unwavering. "Someone erased her memories. So we went to the Silent City to see what the Brothers could pull out of her head." And now Jace saw a spark in the Warlocks eyes. If he didn't know before—which Jace highly doubted—he knew now. "They got two words." he continued. "I think you can guess what they were."

Everyone stared at Magnus now, as the warlock looked back unamused. The smile playing on his lips was acidic. "My signature," the warlock finally admitted. "I knew it was folly when I did it. An act of hubris . . ."

"You signed my mind?" Clary said in shock, staring angrily at Magnus. Though she had her back to him, Jace knew that she was piercing Magnus with those emerald fires of hers. Magnus seemed unfazed though. Lifting a finger, he traced the outlines of his name, leaving a fiery trail of his signature. Lowering his hand, he examined the glowing words that continued to hand there. Jace wondered if that was how it looked when Clary had seen it under the influence of the Silent Brothers.

"I was proud of my work on you." Magnus said, looking intently at Clary. " So clean. So perfect." Jace shuddered at the way the warlock spoke the words. Caressing them almost. "What you saw you would forget, even as you saw it. No image of pixie or goblin or long legged beastie would remain to trouble your blameless mortal sleep. It was the way she wanted it."

Clary's voice was on edge as she stared at Magnus. "The way who wanted it?"

Jace bit the inside of his cheek as Magnus sighed. He looked at her, and he knew that she was already aware of the answer to her question. He could see it in her eyes when she looked back at him. This was something she just had to hear spoken, Jace realized. All the same though. He could see the rigidness in her body and the slight stumble forward she took as Magnus finally spoke the words she wanted to hear.

"You're mother."

Jace made himself readied himself to catch her, in case she needed him to.