Clary felt bad about neglecting Simon. He was her best friend, as he liked to remind her whenever he was feeling left out. Honestly, sometimes she thought he was like a little puppy, begging for her to love him.
He could do the puppy dog eyes really well too. She usually fell for them.
After spending a week around Jace, Clary was anxious for company that wasn't her boyfriend. Not that she didn't love him, but there was a line that absolutely could not be crossed for Clary when it came to personal hygiene. Sharing a toothbrush was way over the line.
So, Clary was headed over to the apartment that Simon shared with Jordan to watch anime and make up storylines because they couldn't speak Japanese.
However, when she got there, it was Jordan who answered the door. He only opened the door partway because of the various chains that stretched across it. From what Clary could see of his apartment, it was covered in signs and symbols to keep demons away.
Jordan himself was a wreck. His eyes were wide and slightly crazed, with deep purple bags etched into the skin beneath them. His hair was sticking up in all directions as if he had been constantly pulling at it.
"Hey, is Simon there?" she asked.
"No. I'm sorry, but I can't help you. He's gone. They came for him. I can hear them. They're coming for me next." Jordan babbled, looking as if he wanted nothing more than to curl up in the nearest corner and hide from the world. Clary was used to werewolves having a certain air of fearlessness to them, so to see Jordan so absolutely terrified was worrying.
"What's wrong, Jordan? Is it something to do with the Praetor? The Clave can shelter you if you're in trouble." she offered, reaching out to him.
He laughed, a hollow sound that managed to convey just how hopeless he was. "The Clave can't help me now. Goodbye Clary." He shut the door in her startled face.
Clary caught a cab back to the Institute, and while she rode back she tried to figure out who had taken Simon. The only person she could think of that would have a grudge against him was Maureen. She had heard that Maureen had killed one of the Praetor too, that might explain Jordan's fear. Simon no longer had the Mark of Cain either, so he was vulnerable to attack.
She would need help of she was going to get Simon back from the leader of the New York vampires. Jace and Jonathan would be her best bet, although it wouldn't hurt to have Isabelle and Alec along. She planned on bringing with a number of extra steles, just in case.
The taxi pulled up in front of the Institute a few minutes later, and Clary sprinted inside, shouting for Alec or Isabelle while she headed towards the armory.
Isabelle appeared while she was digging for steles.
"What's wrong? Is Sebastian back?"
"No," Clary replied. "Simon has gone missing, and Jordan is freaked out."
Isabelle raised an eyebrow. "Jordan? Uber-calm Jordan of the Praetor Lupus? Are we talking about the same guy here?"
Clary nodded as she dug through a crate of steles. After selecting five, which she strategically placed on her person, she stood and looked Isabelle in the eyes. "That's why I'm concerned. Do you know where Jace and Jonathan are?"
"I think they went to a hospital to work on his angel powers. It's only a five-minute walk. I'll grab Alec and we can go."
Two minutes later, the three of them were running down the sidewalk, headed towards the hospital.
-‹◊›-
Golden fire raced through his veins, giving his skin a soft glow. Jace gently rested his hand against the head of the sickly child in front of him, trying to get a feel for her thoughts.
It's so boring here. When's Momma gonna be back? My chest hurts...
Jace could sense a sort of wrongness emanating from the little girl. It was similar to when he felt the demon, but where the demon was rotting and death, the girl was sickly sweetness. The heavenly fire in his blood surged, pouring out of his hand and into the girl. He was glad for the glamour runes that he and Jonathan had applied before they entered the hospital. He could only imagine how he would appear to the mundanes right now, skin glowing from within, wings pressed tightly to his back. Not that he really cared what they thought; he just didn't want to be worshipped.
Then the heavenly fire was gone, and Jace fell to his knees, gasping at the sudden chill that permeated his body. The sickly sweet wrongness had disappeared from the girl.
Jonathan looked shell-shocked. "Do you know what you just did?"
Jace closed his eyes, utterly exhausted. "Obviously not." he muttered.
"That was a miracle. The little girl had lung cancer, and you got rid of it."
"That's nice." Jace said as he tiredly got to his feet.
"Miracles are tremendously draining. You'll probably need to take it easy for a few days."
Despite the fact that he had just had a week of rest, Jace didn't protest. He couldn't remember a time when he had felt more exhausted.
He swayed, the floor tilting up to meet him, before Jonathan slipped his arm around his shoulders. They staggered towards the door, Jace stumbling over his own feet occasionally.
He started and almost fell when Clary, Isabelle, and Alec burst into the hospital.
"Simon's missing." Clary said.
Jace's head flopped forward into his chest as he groaned.
A/N: So my dog is doing much better, thank you for all of your support. The plot is going to start picking up more from here on out. Mwahaha my poor characters there is so much anguish planned for you.