Chapter 12
Jace's POV
I grabbed the arm of a young, female werewolf and hauled her to her feet. It hadn't taken long to get rid of the rest of the Raum demons. Currently, I was helping to gather the wounded and lay them onto tables where their doctors were taking care of them. After I had stabbed the last demon, Alec had found me and told me he was taking Clary to Magnus' apartment. Isabelle and I stayed behind to help out and find Simon since we would've been no help to Magnus and Clary had we gone.
I still couldn't figure out where Clary's parabatai had disappeared to. If he wasn't dead already, I was going to murder him. It was his fault that Clary had gotten hurt. I lifted another wounded faerie up and set her down on an open table.
"Thank you," she croaked and grasped my hand as I made to move away. I nodded politely and continued my search.
Isabelle came up behind me. "Anything?"
I shook my head. "No. Nothing. Not even his body."
"Way to be morbid, Jace."
Angrily, I threw a piece of chair at the wall. "What do you want me to say? He left his parabatai alone, and she was almost killed."
Isabelle gave me a pointed look. "That's not why you're upset. You're always going off without Alec. You're mad not because Simon left his parabatai and she almost died. You're mad because Simon left Clary, and Clary almost died."
I stopped lifting rubble off of a dead werewolf, and whirled around to face her. "I don't know what you mean. He shouldn't have left his parabatai alone in battle. Period." I looked around for somewhere else to look. "Now, if you'll keep looking out here, I'm going to look for Simon in the kitchen."
Isabelle huffed and looked annoyed but let me go. Before, I entered the kitchen Isabelle yelled, "You know it wouldn't kill you to admit that you actually like Clary. It's okay to only want one girl for more than her body."
I dutifully ignored her except her words bounced around in my head.
No, Iz, it very well could kill me.
Simon's POV
My head hurt. A lot. What had happened? I brought myself to a sitting position, but my vision had black spots, signifying I was about to pass out. I laid back down and closed my eyes. I listened closely to my surroundings, checking to see if there was danger nearby. Deeming it safe, I tried to remember what happened.
I had been walking with Clary, the Lightwoods, and that cocky ass Jace down a New York City street. We had been on a demon hunting mission. Then we had passed Taki's, and I was hungry.
Ah, Taki's. Everything changed when the Raum demons attacked.
Just kidding. The Raum demons had already been attacking the Downworlders in Taki's when I entered. Clary had followed me in, and we had immediately went to work. Then this guy had grabbed Clary-
My thoughts were interrupted when I was suddenly hauled off the floor. I flailed wildly trying to figure out what to do and what was going on when the person who grabbed me pushed me against a wall.
"How is it," Jace spat in my face. Boy was he angry. I wanted to laugh at the way his face contorted. Desperately, I suppressed it as Jace continued, "that you're fine, in fact, you're having a nap while Raum demons snack on you're parabatai. What the fuck happened? Where were you? I should slash that parabatai rune right off your body." He lifted my body away from the wall and slammed me back into it, jostling my head.
Clary.
Recognizing what Jace had said, I reached up towards my parabatai rune instinctively. If she was dead, I would know, right. After a few minutes, I sensed nothing wrong, so I addressed Jace.
I tapped on his hands which held fistfuls of my shirt. "If you'd please let me down, Sunshine, I would be more than happy to tell you what happened. Perhaps you could also let me know where Clary is, seeing as your so concerned for her well-being," I said in my best mockery of a cheery voice and flashed him a wide smile that made me close my eyes, but not before I saw a flicker of annoyance and worry cross his face as I mentioned Clary. No doubt the annoyance was directed towards me. He reluctantly set me down, and I made a show of brushing off my clothes even though there was no dirt there. Jace scowled.
"Okay. First thing's first. Where's Clary?"
He narrowed his eyes. "Alec took her to Magnus after I barely managed to save her from a Raum."
"How bad is it?"
Jace scowled again, and I was slightly annoyed that even then he looked good. "She'll live, no thanks to you."
My worry for her only increased with his answer. I had no idea how badly she was injured, and right now, I just wanted to be by her side. I didn't think Jace would let me go to her until I told him what he wanted to know, though.
I sighed. "When we first got here, it wasn't only Raum demons attacking Downworlders. Exiled Shadowhunters, former Circle members, were here as well."
Jace's eyebrows creased. "What do you mean? I saw no Circle members."
"That would be because they left. After Clary and I joined the fray, I saw a couple of Circle members gunning for her." Jace opened his mouth. "Before, you ask, I don't know why they were. I would assume it's because she's a Morgenstern."
Jace closed his mouth, and looked like he was mulling over this information. "What happened next?"
"I," I placed my hand on my chest, dramatically. "I, like the excellent parabatai I am," That earned me a sharp look from Jace. "Intercepted the Circle members and fought them. Our fight brought us in here. A portal randomly opened, and they couldn't get out of here fast enough. Something must've scared them off. Before one of them left, he slammed my head into the counter, so what you said before was not true. I actually have a concussion."
Jace shook his head. "You're a pathetic excuse for a Shadowhunter, and I'll never understand why Clary picked you; however, the next time you leave Clary alone in a battle even if you're dead or wounded, you will have to answer to me. You're also going to have to explain the Circle members to the Clave."
"I know that. I am a Shadowhunter." Jace snorted skeptically in response to this.. "Also, I had no idea you liked Clary that much." I waggled my eyebrows at him.
He pursed his lips but said nothing. "C'mon. Let's go make sure Clary's okay, ratboy."
"Nooooo, you don't even know that story. Not fair," I stated. However, he was already gone, so I raced to catch up to him.
Clary's POV
I slowly came to consciousness but my eyes wouldn't open. My body was sore. Man, Jace really did a number on me. I was uncomfortable on my back, so I rolled over onto my front….and landed on the floor.
My eyes flew open. Looking up, I noticed I had fallen off of a familiar couch. There was a meow by my ear, and I realized I was at Magnus'. I pulled myself into a sitting position despite my protesting limbs. I subconsciously stroked Chairman Meow's head eliciting a purr from him while I tried to remember how I got here. The only thing was that I couldn't. I must've passed out.
Magnus burst into the room, tying the sash to his robe as he entered. "Clary! Are you alright, darling? I heard a crash."
"Yeah." I took his outstretched hand, and he guided me to sit back on the couch. "I rolled off the couch."
"Well, why would you do that?" I gave him a look that told him I wasn't in the mood, and he mumbled, "Sorry." He cleared his throat. "You're awake much earlier than expected. I managed to get the poison out, but you'll be sore for a few days. Take it easy, biscuit. The rest of your friends should be here soon."
"The rest?" I took in his appearance. His hair was ruffled, and his purple, silk robe was all he was wearing. "Magnus… who is in your bedroom?"
Magnus opened his mouth to say something when Alec came stumbling out of Magnus' room. He finished pulling his shirt over his head. He stopped short when he realized that I was awake. "Um, Jace- He just- Fire- Coming."
Magnus chuckled and added to Alec's embarrassment by saying, "No, Alexander you weren't quite there yet when Clary here fell off the couch." He patted my head like a dog, and Alec turned bright red. His mouth gaped like a fish's. "Alexander, calm down. I was only teasing." He turned to me. "Clary, we were only discussing your recovery while I checked Alexander's wounds. There was nothing inappropriate going on in there." He jerked his head towards his bedroom door and smiled. Alec looked down at his feet. "Now, Alexander, what was it you were trying to say?"
Not looking up, Alec mumbled, "Jace sent a fire message saying they were on their way."
"Well, I better get dressed then. We wouldn't want them to get the wrong idea." Magnus winked at Alec who all but fainted into the armchair behind him.
