Yay! You guys are awesome! Keep the reviews coming! I'm trying to stretch this out for you, really I am!! I hope you are still enjoying it. :) I really enjoy cocky Jace…so much…sigh…
Chapter Songs:
Black Hole Sun by Sound Garden (Scene 1)
Burning Bright by Shinedown (Scene 2)
***I own nothing but plot, interpretation and … well, if you've been reading this far you know what…;) ) ***
Simon's mouth filled with the most intoxicatingly delicious taste. The warm, thick liquid slid down his throat, quenching his thirst to the point of ecstasy. Heat spread through his cold body, strengthening every muscle and heightening every sense. He felt so strong, so full, and so invincible. The haze in his mind started to clear, but he didn't want it to end. This was the best dream he'd ever had and he wasn't ready to let go yet. But the darkness abated anyway and he felt his consciousness open to his surroundings.
He grasped at the last remaining memories if the dream, running his tongue over his lips expecting them to still be parched and cracked from the lack of blood. Only they weren't dry or split, they were plump and smooth, just like after he fed. His hands explored the space around him. Grime covered the ground beneath him and hard stone jutted out behind him, pressing into his back uncomfortably. Nope, he was still in the hellhole he'd been in. Had they fed him while he slept? How was that possible? He certainly felt better, stronger.
Opening his eyes, he peered out into the darkness, surprised to see his vision had improved. It was almost as if moonlight shone inside, illuminating the entire cell. He could make out the dirt floor, the bars lining two sides, and the different sized stones making up the other walls. Swallowing, he could still taste the dream on his tongue. He closed his eyes, trying to hold on to the memory for as long as possible—until he heard it. A soft sigh followed by light breathing resonated beside him. Why hadn't he noticed a presence near him before?
Slowly, he turned his head, taking in the figure next to him. It was a girl, with dark tangled locks hanging down, shielding her face. Chains snaked from the wall behind her and attached to the shackles surrounding her tiny wrists. Simon's chest clenched, he knew those hands. He knew those untidy tendrils.
"Clary?"
She did not respond. If it weren't for her shallow breathing and the faint pounding of her heart, he would have thought she was dead. He tested his own chains and found that they were long enough to allow him to touch her. Reaching out, he laid his hand on her shoulder. Still no response. He shook her lightly. Nothing. Raising his hand, he slowly pushed back the veil of hair separating her face from his.
"Clary—" Her name choked on his lips.
A large black stain covered the front of her shirt, trailing down from two punctures in her neck. Two wounds that could only have been made by one thing—a vampire. Suddenly it all made sense. The taste on his lips. The renewed strength in his body. His improved vision. It had been him. He'd bitten her, fed off her.
"Clary! Oh G—" The word stuck in his throat as always. "Oh, please, please. Clary." He reached out and pulled her to him, using the last bit of slack in both their chains to do so. Her body fell limply against him as her pale face stared up at him, eyes closed and mouth slack. "What have I done? What have I done?" He pressed her against his chest and ran his hand down her hair. "I'm so sorry. I—"
A sob ripped through his body as he squeezed her tight against him. She remained unresponsive—a rag doll in the arms of a monster. Simon lowered his face to her hair, letting the unrelenting waves of torment and grief wash over him, throwing him down into the deep, dark abyss he deserved.
***
Jace landed in a crouch just as a loud crash sounded from above. He whipped his head around, catching a glimpse of Maryse's livid face staring down on him from the shattered window. Cocking a grin in her direction, he turned and sprinted into the shadows. Footsteps pounded behind him. Spying a branch a mere twenty feet over his head, he jumped and caught it, swinging himself up and landing steadily on it. Five Shadowhunters rushed past under him, not bothering to glance up. He chuckled to himself.
A light burned bright in a window two floors up, backlighting a dark silhouette. Isabelle. He thought to himself. At least he knew his looks were interpreted correctly. Another branch hovered above him and stretched close to the window. He leaped up, caught it and shimmied along until he came within a few feet of Isabelle.
"You're an idiot, you know that," she said, her face masked in disgust.
"An idiot you'd risk Mom's wrath for." He flashed her a smile.
"Ugh." She tossed a package over to him. He caught it with one hand. "She's going to kill you, you know."
Jace tucked the package in his pants. "Yeah, well, she can get in line. I have bigger problems than Maryse's anger at this point." He glanced back up, meeting Isabelle's eyes. "You know I can't sit back and let them handle this."
She sighed. "I know. Seriously, Jace, you've got to teach that girl of yours to quit running off without a thought."
"Easier said than done. Clary doesn't think with her brain when it comes to people she loves." He paused. "In fact, I don't think she thinks at all."
"Apparently, neither do you."
He grinned. "Touche."
"What I don't understand is what they want her for? I mean, I thought you were the super-special warrior guy."
"I think this was the plan all along. Whoever this is knew the quickest and easiest way to get to me was through Clary. Take her and I'd come running." He glanced up at the sun. It was starting its descent toward the horizon. "Well, you know me—I'm not one to disappoint." He readied himself to jump down.
"Jace, wait."
"What?"
"Let us help. Alec and I."
He started to protest, but she cut him off.
"Don't be a moron. You know we can help. Just give us some time to get out of here and we'll meet you somewhere."
Jace blew out a slow breath, knowing she was right. "Yeah, okay. Meet me at Turtle Pond as soon as you can. Preferably before sunset." He grasped the branch, preparing to leap.
"Okay. We'll be there. And Jace—"
"What, Isabelle?" he asked exasperatedly.
"Watch yourself. You have Shandowhunters after you now too."
"Yeah, yeah. Just hurry up."
Jace looked to the ground and once he was satisfied no one was waiting to snatch him, he lowered himself from the branch and dropped down. Following the shadows along the building, he made it to the street and blended himself in with the swarm of mundanes going about their business. He'd almost made it to the subway entrance when he heard, "There he is!," from close behind him. Glancing over his shoulder, he spotted one of the Shadowhunters whose nose he broken.
"God, this is annoying," he muttered to himself before sprinting down the stairs and jumping over the rail into the teeming crowd of mundanes. He pushed his way through the mass, earning himself a large amount of inventive names. Some of which he filed away for later use. Just as the doors were about to close, he slid through them. He turned and faced out, looking through the glass right into the eyes of the big Shadowhunter. Jace smiled and wiggled his fingers in farewell as the train pulled away.
The big guy swore and ran back through the crowd. Jace let out a slow breath and stood near the doors, readying himself to exit at the first stop. He was going in the wrong direction from Turtle Pond so he would have to backtrack, the fact of which seriously irritated him. It wasn't like he was out there for his health. Who knew what was happening to Clary. They could be hurting her, or worse. He clenched his fists at the thought. Even though Isabelle swore Simon was under some sort of spell, Jace had half a mind to impale him to a wall. It wouldn't kill him, but he doubted it would feel very good.
As soon as the train stopped and the doors opened, Jace rushed out, drowning himself again in a sea of mundanes. Up ahead, he spotted the restroom doors. Ducking inside, he stole into a stall, removed the package Isabella had given him and ripped into it. The wrapping fell away revealing his Shadowhunter gear. He grinned, peeled off his clothes, and stepped into the gear. After applying a glamour, he stepped out of the stall, throwing his other clothes into the corner. He figured they'd be gone within minutes.
He exited the restroom and raced up the stairs. When he emerged from the subway tunnel, the sun sat low in the sky coloring it with deep red and burnt orange streaks. He swore under his breath and took off down the crowded street in the direction of Turtle Pond. Luckily, he didn't run into any other Shadowhunters on the way.
He crossed into the park at just as the last traces of the sun slipped below the horizon and the deep purple of twilight took over. Isabelle and Alec sat in the gazebo, waiting just as they'd promised. They stood as he jogged across the bridge to them.
"What took you so long?" Isabelle stood, dressed in full Shadowhunter gear, her weapons belt full and her whip wrapped around her wrist. "We were starting to freak out that you'd been caught already."
"Oh, ye of little faith. Do you really hold me in such low regard as to think I could be caught so easily?"
Alec stood next to Isabelle, his face still drawn and pale, but a flicker of determination livened his previously deadened eyes. "I don't know Jace. You've got a dozen or more Shadowhunters after you, not to mention however many demons and vampire-werewolf things. Not even you can avoid all of that."
Jace shrugged. "Who said I was avoiding—well, the Shadowhunters yes, they're just a bunch of spoil sports—but the others . . . at least they'd get me where I need to go."
"You're not seriously considering . . . giving yourself up to these monsters are you?" Alec looked at him incredulously.
"Do you have a better idea?"
"Actually," Isabelle furrowed her brow, "I think I might." She raised her eyes to Jace's. "Why don't you try tracking her? You know, like you did with Sebastian—er Jonathon."
"I would but it's not like I actually had time to get anything of hers to do it with."
"Plus," Alec started, "the others already tried. They only hit a block."
"But what about this," Isabelle said. "We're in agreement that this whole thing is some sort of trap to get Jace to come after Clary, right?"
Alec and Jace nodded.
"Well, what if the only reason they're hitting a block is because the only person who can find Clary is the one they set this all up for." She turned her gaze back to Jace. "You. What if you can track her?"
"That's all great and everything but I already told you that I don't have anything of hers."
Isabelle grinned. "But I do." She reached around to her side and slid a dagger out of her weapons belt. Lifting up the edge of her gear, she pulled on the shirt she wore underneath, cut a small square from the bottom and handed it to Jace.
He held it up in the moonlight, a dark smear stretched across the middle. "Is this—?"
"Blood." Isabelle nodded. "From earlier. I got some on my finger and wiped it off on my shirt."
Jace smiled. "Izzy, I could kiss you!"
She held a hand up in front of her and grimaced. "Please. Don't." She paused. "Does this mean I'm forgiven for letting your girlfriend get kidnapped?"
"Not quite, but it doesn't hurt."
"So what now?" Alec asked.
"Now, we see if this works." Jace tucked the square of fabric into his palm and turned his fist over, tracing the tracking rune on the top of his hand. He closed his eyes as the images started to flow. Scenery rushed past him, taking him through the city, up side streets and stopping in front of an abandoned warehouse. The number 3366 flashed before his eyes and then he was plunged into darkness. Dirt and grime covered the ground, and old stone surrounded the room except for the bars on two sides. His eyes snapped open. "Gotcha."
He turned to Isabelle and Alec and nodded.
"It worked?" Alec looked at him, amazed.
"Yep."
"So where are we going?"
"Old warehouse district—not far from Magnus's actually."
"Okay," Isabelle said. "Let's go—"
A rustling in the nearby bushes pulled their attention away. Three large, green serpent-like demons slithered out.
Alec sighed. "Well, at least it's not one of those vampwolves."
"Way to look on the bright side." Jace slapped him on the shoulder and turned back to the demons. "Well, I don't have a lot of time for you tonight, so do me a favor and die quickly—oh, and if it's not too much to ask—I'd appreciate it if you could keep your blood splattering to a minimum. I don't have anything to change into."
Alec pulled his bow from his back and fitted an arrow into it. Isabelle uncoiled her whip and snapped it at her side.
Jace slid the blade from the sheath on his back. "All right. Let's get this over with."
"Right," Alec said as he pulled back on his bow, sending an arrow flying through the air just as Jace lunged forward and Isabelle cracked her whip.
BBS (Be back soon—for future reference). Make sure to leave reviews—if you like these daily updates…;)