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The Shadow World
Chapter Eleven
The nape of Clary's neck prickled as she made Jace's latte. She felt his eyes burning a hole through her neck. And it is definitely assured that it is NOT the best feeling in the world.
Seriously, it isn't.
Jace leaned on the counter in a "I'm just so awesome," way that made Clary blush. For no apparent reason, of course.
Definitely no reason.
"Here you go," Clary handed the latte over.
"Thanks," Jace replied as he handed her a five dollar note. Clary smoothed out the note and jangled for the change.
"So..." Jace leaned forward. His eyes were in an unnerving shade of gold. "Do you want to get training?"
"Now?" Clary asked, dismayed. Her shift wasn't over until five, and it was only four thirty. The main reason she sounded dismayed was because her arms (which Isabelle had oh-so ruthlessly bruised) ached and she did not exactly want to be whopped again.
"Don't worry," Jace said lazily. "I'll be nice. I'm not that ruthless, aren't I?"
Clary had a feeling that Jace would be even more ruthless than Isabelle.
(((())))
For the thirty minutes, Jace sat down and made himself home. He browsed the Internet, checked the news, played some games and waited.
Clary couldn't settle down. She just kept on glancing at Jace, even while serving other customers. Unfortunately, she had to turn her attention back to the coffee when she scalded her fingertips.
"Yowch," Clary muttered quickly as she wiped the cup clean and handed it to an impatient looking girl with dyed hair who slapped the money angrily on the counter and did not give her a tip.
"Rude," Clary grumbled. She grabbed a rag and started mopping the countertop.
Clary then glanced at the clock. It was five ten. Where was Maia? As far as Clary knew, Maia was the type of person that would never be late. Even if the sky is falling in two seconds, Maia would somehow manage to find her way to the Java Jones and complete her shift.
Jace glanced at Clary, as if to say, "Well? Hurry up!"
Just then, Mr. Jones came bustling in.
"Clary, what are you doing here? Isn't it Maia's shift?" Mr. Jones asked.
"Maia isn't here," Clary explained.
Mr. Jones looked at her concernedly. "All right. Why don't you go first? I'll take over her shift and call her."
"Thanks!"
Clary was already untying her apron and yanking on her jacket.
(((())))
Clary did not know how to react when they were training.
Jace was a demon. His gaze fell onto a motorcyclist chatting with his girlfriend. Easily, Jace pick-pocketed the ignition key. Grabbing Clary with a hand and the handlebars with the other, the motorcycle shuddered to life and took off with alarming speed. Soon, the poor motorcyclist was nothing but a distant shadow behind their back.
"Isn't that stealing?" Clary yelled. Her wild dark red hair swirled around her face. The clips and pins keeping them in place practically disintegrated in the wind.
"I'll return it!" Jace yelled back.
Clary's arms were without a doubt squeezing Jace in half, which would seem very rude, but Clary didn't really care. She cared more about her life.
Steering the motorcycle with his knees, Jace fished two motorcycle helmets out. Clary shoved the thing onto her head. Immediately, her hair stopped disobeying, and she found it easier to breathe as well.
"Better?" Jace's voice was somewhat muffled.
"Better!" Clary confirmed.
Then, Clary suddenly realized how close she was to Jace. How...
Shut up, brain. Clary thought to herself savagely.
(((())))
"No, no, no!" Jace cried out, exasperated. "How many times must I tell you? You don't place your arms so high!"
It had been barely ten minutes, but both student and teacher were soaked to the skin with sweat caused by sheer frustration.
"I know!" Clary gritted her teeth. She relaxed her arm, but couldn't manage the standard throwing pose. The dummy that had been their target bobbed patiently on its stand. There were three knives that hit the bull's eye, all thrown by Jace. Clary, on the other hand, couldn't even hit the target.
It was exactly pitiful.
Jace was a better teacher than Isabelle, that is for sure. Jace didn't whack Clary at all, but drove her harder than Isabelle ever could.
Clary hurled the knife. It smacked the floor.
Jace practically tore his hair out in frustration.
"How about a snack?" Clary suggested.
"Of all things you want a snack?" Jace said in disbelief.
"Yeah. So?" Clary asked, suddenly very defensive.
"Fine! A snack, then!" Jace threw his hands in the air as he headed for the kitchen.
Clary threw the remaining knives in her hands at the target. They bounced on the ground. One of them nicked the plaster of the wall.
Great.
Clary followed Jace to the kitchen, and had to stick a fist in her mouth to prevent gagging.
Isabelle had been very busy.
Everything, from Chinese food leftovers to the carton of sour milk had been thrown into Isabelle's massive soup tureen. Isabelle stood there, straggly hair tumbling down her back, face flushed by the steam as she stirred a repulsive looking murky green sludge. Jace was hunched over the refrigerator and snack box.
"What is that?" Clary gagged. She swallowed viciously as she saw sour milk chunks bobbing on the surface of the sludge.
"It's soup!" Isabelle said proudly. "The best one I've made too!"
"There's nothing decent left in here," Jace announced, straightening from the refrigerator. "Isabelle's soup is NOT decent, if you're wondering,"
"What did you say?" Isabelle whirled towards Jace. A large wooden spoon sprayed green sludge on the ground. Clary jumped away just in time.
"There's nothing delicious left in here," Jace said quickly, inching towards the doorway. "Your soup is notoriously delicious, by the way,"
"Good," Isabelle narrowed her eyes. "I expect you to eat a large serving of them at dinner. I'll make sure every single bite goes down your throat,"
"Awesome!" Jace said enthusiastically.
"Better yet..." Isabelle's face turned wicked. "Why don't you try some now?"
(((())))
It was the first time Clary tried Isabelle's soup. Isabelle's coffee was bad enough, but the soup was an entirely different story.
To save you the pain and horror, I'll give you the simplified description.
It tasted like a mixture between shriveled crabsticks, rotten flowers, sour milk (definitely) and spoiled yogurt.
Jace and Clary had both gotten a BIG mouthful of the stuff. They had barely managed to keep up the charade and get out of the kitchen before vomiting in perfect harmony into the nearest toilet.
It was ridiculous and VERY (emphasis on the VERY) disgusting.
"There's a Seven Eleven down the street," Jace wheezed as he drank some water. "A bag of Cheetos sound awesome right now,"
So the two of them bundled up and walked down the street.
Jace got a big bag of Cheetos, which he munched noisily on. Clary got herself a can of Diet Coke and some saltines. Her stomach wasn't quite ready to face real food yet.
"What a pretty day," Jace sighed, glancing at the sky. It was in a lovely shade of grey and blue.
"Yeah," Clary said dreamily. She glanced around. A lady was walking her little boy, trying to persuade him not to eat his chocolate chip cookies too fast. Nearby was a float with... dragon heads?
"MOVE!" Jace yelled as the dragon heads lashed out.
(((())))
Clary found herself flat on her back as Jace fended off two beasts with three heads each. They snapped at him, but Jace moved with alarming speed, decapitating them one by one. The demons were, however, more wary when two heads thudded on the ground and dissolved into nothing.
"What are they?" Clary shrieked.
"Hydra Demons!" Jace yelled, blocking a blow.
Beside her, Clary saw a dazzling knife with stars on them. Clary picked the knife up and got to her feet.
Jace had killed one of the demons, and was lopping a head off. The remaining head snarled furiously as it snapped. Jace dodged.
"Watch out!" Clary shrieked.
Jace's eyes widened in shock as he slipped in a puddle of ichor. He fell, sliding down the pavement. His Seraph blade skittered out of reach.
The Hydra Demon smelled victory. It snaked forward, snarling with triumph.
Suddenly, everything seemed to slow down. Clary leaned back, her feet shifting itself into the knife throwing stance. Her arm relaxed. The knife left her hand, sailing through the air in a perfect arch, thudding into the demon's head.
The demon fell dead, crumpling into nothing.
"Good job," Jace wheezed, standing up.
The slowing time thing didn't stop yet. Clary felt herself drawn to Jace, as they leaned closer and closer. Jace's eyes were like those of a cat's, clever but humorous and...
Jace's hand, stained with ichor grasped hers. They seemed to be...
"HEY! Clary!"
The two of them jerked away, eyes wide with shock.
"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?"
Simon came trotting up, his glasses askew, looking slightly... OK, very miffed. "What are those creatures? AND WHAT WERE YOU TWO TRYING TO DO?"
Jace's eyes boggled with shock. Clary opened her mouth, but could not say anything.
Finally, Jace cleared his throat.
"It's a long story, mundane. It's a VERY long story,"
And... CUT!
Congratulations to you all once more! We have reached eleven reviews, and you have been rewarded with an ALMOST Clace moment.
Also, I will post a bit more of Maia's Story on the next chapter. I got lost in Clary's Story for a bit.
Smiley face!