Hello, Readers,

Sorry I'm such a slow updater, I've had so much going on in my life with school and everything, that I haven't had very much time to write. Usually I post a lot of chapters at a time, but from now on, I'm just going to post things as a write them. Hopefully I'll be able to finish this before the real book comes out. :-)

Chapter 15

Jace felt so much better now that he was showered and in fresh clothing. He hadn't been able to find anything really to his liking in the closet, but he'd managed to scrounge up something that nearest to his style: dark jeans and a white button-down shirt.

Back in his usual bedroom, he just sat and stared at the wall. Despite the fact that there weren't any TVs in the Void, he wasn't bored. It was so much more interesting to watch life through Clary's eyes, to see what he was missing. He'd sat through most of the meeting in the library, completely unnoticed, in the only empty chair at the library table, the one next to Clary.

Now, he watched Clary while she drew peacefully in her sketchbook. He didn't pay attention to the page; he just looked at her face, the delicate curves of her features, the way her unruly but soft red hair fell into her eyes as she tried unsuccessfully to push it away.

She frowned, scratched something out, and started over again. Frustrated, she abandoned the book and left the room. Jace walked over to examine what she'd left behind.

A startlingly realistic depiction of the staircase he'd climbed earlier today stared at him from the page. Next to it, a drawing of Jace, so detailed that it could have been a photograph. Jace had never seen things through an artist's eyes, had never understood how someone like Clary could capture every nuance in someone's face and put it on paper. She'd even gotten the chip on his tooth right; even he had forgotten about that.

But the things that held his attention for the longest time were the tiny doodles at the bottom of the page, all of the same thing. It looked like a rune, but he'd never seen it in any of the Shadowhunter books. Still, it looked familiar somehow, and he guessed that it was one of Clary's creations. Obviously he'd seen it somewhere, but he still couldn't—

"JACE!"

Jace blinked. "Hmm?"

He met a pair of large brown eyes. They stared at him warily, and it took him a while to remember that they belonged to Rebecca.

Rebecca squinted at him. "You know, you've been acting really weird lately."

"Tell me something I don't know." he said.

"So you're acknowledging the fact that you've been acting weird."

Jace shrugged.

Rebecca shook her head and went on. "Seriously Jace, you've got to explain what's going on. At first, you hated Sebastian's guts, but now you guys are like besties or something. And you just spent twenty minutes just staring at the wall, not talking. Or acknowledging anything I've said like, 'earth to Jace', or 'Jace, are you still alive in there'?"

Jace had to admit that out of context, that did seem like strange behavior. But at this point, he really didn't feel like explaining that he was currently telepathically communicating with his girlfriend. Or that he was plotting his escape with said girlfriend, and pretending to be on Sebastian's side.

"Why do you care?" he said instead of an explanation. "It's not like we're 'besties'" he made quotation marks with his fingers.

Rebecca sighed theatrically, clearly exasperated. "Jace, I know we're not. But if you're locked in a room with someone over a long stretch of time, don't you think that you should at least try to warm up to that person? Or maybe tell them what's going on?"

"You know what?" Jace flashed a plastic smile. "You're right. After this is over, why don't you and I go out for hot chocolate? Then, we can 'warm up' to each other near a fire, since it's getting to be Christmas season. But I'll have to warn you, carols annoy the hell out of me."

"I give up." Rebecca crossed her arms and pouted.

Just as Jace began to feel bad about what he said, Clary's voice rang through his head. Jace, are you there? It sounded like she was yelling.

Jesus, Clary, not so loud. Jace answered.

Sorry. I need your help with something.

I know. You need to draw a map.

How did you know? Jace could hear the wonder in Clary's voice.

I was there. said Jace. And, your friend Simon's in pretty bad shape.

I know. But that's beside the point. Do you know where a blueprint could be?

Not really.

Jace hadn't lied. He really didn't know where anyone would keep a blueprint, not to mention whether Sebastian would have one. Still, he could look for one.

Where was Sebastian anyway? Jace knew that he was probably somewhere, plotting the destruction of the world or something like that, but why hadn't Sebastian asked anything of him since their last conversation? It was almost as if he had forgotten about him.

Maybe he needed to see what Sebastian was doing.

Jace? Are you still there? Clary asked.

Yeah. I'll try to find something.

Without a word to Rebecca, Jace got up and left the room, on his way to Sebastian's office. He discovered the room empty, and wondered where Sebastian had gone. Still, Sebastian's absence provided Jace with a perfect amount of time to open and close drawers.

After cleaning out Sebastian's desk and looking under everything (even the rug), Jace stood up to leave. But right as his foot crossed the threshold, he noticed something and walked backwards. A long white scroll had apparently been shoved hastily between two books at the bottom of a bookshelf. Jace squatted and pulled it out, unrolling it before him.

The palace was even larger than he'd imagined, according to this map. The piece of paper was huge, and every room was small and intricately drawn. If it wasn't a depiction of a demon palace, Jace would have thought it beautiful. The precision and artistry with which this had been drawn astonished him. Maybe Sebastian had some of Clary's talents.

Clary. Jace said. I found what you're looking for.

Back at the New York institute, Tessa sat in the vast library, curled up in a comfortable armchair with A Tale of Two Cities her favorite book. Unfortunately, her original copy, the one with Will's note to her in it, hadn't survived for more than a hundred years, so she'd had to buy herself a new one. But she'd still memorized every word from it.

She couldn't help but feel a twinge of pain when looking at Alec, who now sat a few feet away from her, still researching Pandemonium. He looked so much like Will, but had none of his personality. There was an odd vulnerability to him that she hadn't seen in any of the Lightwoods before. Will had had it too, but Alec seemed incapable of hiding it.

Hesitantly, she went to sit next to him.

He blinked and looked up. "Hi."

"Have you found anything yet?" Tessa asked.

Alec looked frustrated. "No. There isn't actually very much information about it, just stories we've heard from demons."

Tessa nodded but said nothing. Alec continued to stare at the page, as if looking at the same combination of words over and over again would somehow give him an answer.

"Can I ask you a question?" Alec was staring at her intently now.

"Sure."

"When you said I looked like 'him'," Alec hesitated before continuing. "did you mean I look like Will?"

The question surprised her. He's pretty perceptive, she thought. "What makes you think that?"

"Well, Camille mentioned it before…" he trailed off. Clearly, he didn't want to get into any more detail that that.

"Yes." Tessa answered. "You do look like Will. But you don't act like him."

Jem was still trying to get used to the feel of a car. He still hadn't even attempted to drive yet, but even in the care of a professional taxi driver, he still felt unsafe. He could still remember the bumpy sensation he'd gotten while riding in a carriage long ago. And although he'd left the Silent City long enough to see the world changing around him, it was different to be part of that change.

Emma Carstairs had been fun to visit. She and her best friend Julian Blackthorn had been training together when he'd found her, and he could tell that Julian would be her parabatai, if he wasn't already. He'd only stayed for a few hours, realizing that he didn't really belong in their lives. Emma was young and vibrant, despite the fact that her parents had just died. She didn't need the knowledge of a long lost relative overwhelming her.

After hearing about Jace's predicament, he'd finally found a good reason to leave two days early. Hopefully the Clary, Isabelle and the rest of the New York Shadowhunters would be happy to have him. Just a few more minutes…