Chapter 8: Adventure

Jocelyn's POV

**flashback to 12 years ago**

I had just woken up from sleep and went to wake up my children for breakfast. My son was curled up in a ball in his small bed, still deep in sleep. I gently shook him awake, allowing him to adjust to the light I'd already let in through the window. He eventually started to rub his eyes with his little hands and he sat up to look at me.

"Good morning Jonny boy."

"Hi mama. What's for breakfast?"

I looked into his eyes, they used to be so green, but now they were a cloudy black. The green was barely even visible anymore. I sighed, "How do waffles and bacon sound?"

He shook his head yes hard, his body filling with excitement. I chuckled at my boy. I'd never imagined him to turn out as sweet as he is considering the father figure he has to look up to.

"Alrighty. You go ahead and get ready for the day and I'll go wake up Clare-bear."

I left my son and went across the hall to Clary's room but was surprised to find her bed empty. Maybe she went to the kitchen while I was in Jon's room?

I found the kitchen empty as well and glanced to the living room to find the front door wide open. My heart beat picked up as horrible thoughts of what could happen to a young child on their own flashed through my mind. I made my way outside, stumbling over our welcome mat, and thankfully saw my daughter in the distance. She was squatting down, and her mouth was moving like she was talking to something, but from my view nothing was near her.

I made my way over to her to find out that I was wrong. There was something near her…a small faerie woman. Fear filled me as I took in what was happening.

"Oh, hi mommy. This is my new servant," she said, her tiny voice strong and confident in her actions.

I watched as my little girl forced the faerie to pull a piece of grass out of the ground and eat it whole. My heart beat grew rapid as it dawned on me.

Valentine had done it to her too.

Jace's POV

My palms were sweating slightly as I opened the door to Hodge's office. He looked up, setting his glasses down on his desk in front of some papers he had been reading. There were two comfy chairs planted in front of his desk reserved for meetings, or for me when I was wanting to bother him while he was at work.

"What can I do for you Jace?" Hodge asked, clasping his hands together like he usually does when he lectures me about responsibilities. He already knows that I'm about to tell him something he's not going to like.

"Hodge…I have some important intel you need to know," I paused thinking over my options once more before mentally preparing for whatever was about to come of this conversation, "before you yell at me, hear me out."

His eyes narrowed in on me, disappointment already emanating off of him.

"I was bored sitting around the institute, so I may have dragged Alec out and we may have killed a large amount of demons."

The disappointment quickly turned to anger as Hodge stood from his seat and started to pace, as he usually does during our conversations. "You went hunting without the proper approval? Jace how many times do I need to explain to you the repercussions for your actions?"

"Well considering that I don't recall many of the things from our meetings I would say tha-"

"I'm calling Alec down here. You both need to be punished for going behind my back and deliberately disobeying my orders. I am in charge here and you both need to learn how things work."

Hodge reached for the door handle but stopped as I quickly started speaking. "Hodge, I lied to Alec and told him you'd given us a mission. He doesn't deserve any kind of punishment." I'd imagine most people would be feeling guilt or shame right now, but I feel nothing. I guess I'm a little more shielded from feeling guilt due to the fact that I really don't care too much about most things. Oh, I'm going to be punished? Woopdy doo that sucks, but it's not going to kill me. If it's not going to kill me, then I really don't care what it does to me.

Hodge returned to his desk. I was surprised by this considering he usually would be towering over me right now trying to show some kind of authority. But now he is looking at me from his desk. All the anger from before seemed to dissipate.

I usually know how to respond to Hodge so that I end up on the winning side. I knew all of his go to reactions for certain things I do that irritate him, and I knew how he usually went about punishing me. Now…well now I have no clue what's about to happen and that makes this situation exciting.

Worth it.

"Jace. I promised your mother I would look after you when she sent you here. I have tried everything to keep that promise to her considering all that she's gone through, but now…I don't know if I can."

Mother. Oh, mother. He hadn't mentioned her since I was sent here. I try to keep my thoughts of her to a minimum because it usually makes me emotional, and I hate feeling weak. I love my mom, don't get me wrong, but she sent me here. She either couldn't handle me anymore after the death of my father or just didn't love me enough to keep me around. I don't know her reasons for sending me here, but I've never been able to imagine anything good.

"Do you want to go back to live with your mother?"

I shook out of my thoughts fast as his question replayed in my head. Living with my mother? I didn't even know that was still an option for me. I tried to imagine going back to Idris and living in that house. My old home. The thought made my skin crawl. I had grown so fond of the Lightwoods…I think leaving them would break me.

"I'm guessing the lack of response means you don't know?" Hodge spoke up again, but I didn't have an answer.

Thoughts of my mother flew throughout my mind, "Hodge…I-I love my mother, but she sent me here because she didn't want me. Why would I want to go back to that?"

Hodge's eyes grew sympathetic, "Jace, your mother didn't send you here because she didn't want you."

"Then why?"

"You were too young to understand what was going on at the time, but I don't see any hurt in explaining things to you now," Hodge took in a deep breath, like he was preparing, "your mother was abused by her parents growing up."

My jaw clenched instinctively, and I gripped the arm rests of the chair to prevent myself from getting up. I needed to hear the rest of the story.

"Not many people know about her past. The few that do know are Maryse, Robert and myself. After your father's death she fell into a deep depression and didn't see herself as fit to raise you. She looked to us in her unstable state for help, which is why we know of her past. Depression had been something she had dealt throughout her life due to her childhood trauma, but it had never been as bad as it was after Stephen's death."

"So, you did as she asked, took me and left her all alone? She could hurt herself." The anger had spread through my body and I no longer felt like listening to Hodge anymore, but I stayed to hear the end of his spiel.

"We didn't leave her alone Jace…we sent her to get help. She's been under the care of a warlock since you joined us here in New York. He's been watching over her and trying to cure her."

"What's the name of the warlock?" I wonder why he hadn't been successful yet in healing my mother.

"His name is Ragnor Fell."

Clary's POV

It has been almost a month since our first meeting with Luke's and his movement. We had officially joined the day after our first meeting and had started calling the movement Nightfall. We liked that name because in the mundane world creatures, like downworlders, are known to roam free in the night and freedom is what we were fighting for.

Jon and I had been sneaking away from work to attend meetings twice a week and so far, the Lightwoods don't seem to think anything is off. We have been working on recruiting a vampire representative for Nightfall, but they haven't given us a solid answer as to whether they are in or not. It's understandable that they are weary of this alliance due to the fact that it's mainly werewolves right now. Vampires and werewolves don't have the best history.

I grabbed a hair tie and put it safely on my wrist before locking the door and heading to the institute. Jon had to close the club last night, which means he didn't get home until 3 or 4 in the morning. He was still deep in sleep when I was ready to head out, so I figured I'd just go train on my own today.

Church greeted me at the front door to the Institute, doing figure eights between my shins. It always confuses me how he's not touchy with other people, but for some reason he loves me.

I scratched behind Church's grey ears before making my way down the hallway looking for anyone that I could find. Izzy had been locked away in her room for the past few days. Alec said she'd had a fight with her friend, Meliorn. Apparently, she was really upset with him and won't talk to anyone, so I figure I won't be seeing her anytime soon.

The halls were quieter than usual, which says a lot considering the halls are always silent. I rounded a corner and the faintest sound of keys hit my ears. As I walked towards the end of this hall, the sound of a piano grew louder and louder until I was standing in front of an unfamiliar door. I'd never really roamed the institute before. Jon and I usually stuck to the training room, library and kitchen.

I knocked on the door, but nobody responded, and the piano music continued. They must not have heard me. I wrapped my hand around the cold doorknob and let myself into the room. The space was dimly lit, only one window allowed a small amount of light in. To my left was a variety of instruments hanging on the wall and to my right was Jace.

His body flowed with the music coming from the grand piano like he was a part of it. I had always wanted to play the piano, but we'd never had enough money to buy lessons let alone the instrument.

As I walked closer to Jace, I began to feel like I was intruding and decided to turn around and leave before he noticed my presence. Just as my hand grasped the doorknob once again, the sound stopped, and I heard my name.

Jace's POV

I'd heard the door open as I played one of my favorite songs by Joep Beving, "Midwayer". I didn't turn around, expecting the visitor to be Hodge. I didn't want to talk to Hodge. As the footsteps came nearer to me I realized it couldn't be him. The steps were too light footed. I took a guess and called out her name, stopping my song.

"Clary." I turned around to see her holding the door handle. Was she leaving?

"Jace…I'm sorry if I interrupted your playing. I-I just heard the song and came to see where it was coming from."

Her cheeks slowly turned red as I looked her over. Usually I'd try to be subtle when checking a girl out, but lately I haven't been myself. I started at her feet. She was wearing her usual grey and black new balances, a pair of joggers and green hoody that made her eyes stand out.

My eyes locked with hers as I stood to walk to her. "I didn't know you were coming by today."

She was still blushing. Cute. "Um yeah my boss called and told me I had today off, so I figured I might as well come here."

"I'm glad you came. What are you going to do today? Lessons with Hodge or training?" I asked.

She seemed to think for a second before hesitantly responding, "Well…I was actually wondering if you guys wanted to go out and do something fun?"

My eyebrows shot up. So far, the Morgenstern siblings had only come to learn, but fun was new. "You want to have some fun?"

I noticed that she was fiddling her thumbs. Could she be nervous? "Yeah…do you have anything in mind?" She asked, her thumbs dancing faster around each other.

I thought over our options. New York had endless ways to find fun, but none of them really screamed out at me. We could go to a club later, but that's what Izzy always picked for fun nights out, which means that's what we did every time we wanted to have fun. I did like going out to the club, but I want to do something new. Plus, Jon and Clary work at a club, so I'm sure that it wouldn't be their go-to hang out option either.

Ooooo. Wait. I have a great idea. "How do you feel about traveling Clary?"

Clary's POV

"Come on let me in Izzy!" I had been knocking on her door for what felt like thirty minutes but was probably only five. She finally opened the door.

"What?" Izzy asked.

I knew something was truly wrong with Izzy when I registered that she was wearing sweats. A couple weeks ago she was supposed to take over my lessons for the day, but instead of teaching me about Idris she taught me the top 10 reasons why sweats are a 'no no'. In my opinion sweats are a blessing from God…or well the angel I guess. It's still weird to say things in the name of the angel.

"We are going on an adventure," Izzy tried to shut the door on me, but I was too quick and managed to slip inside her room. "Not so fast Izzy."

Her shoulders slumped as she sat on her bed and hugged a pillow, "Clary I'm not in the mood for an adventure. I just want to sit here and wallow."

I squinted my eyes at her, determined to convince Izzy that our adventure was worth it. It would also be really good for her to get out and forget about her problems with this Meliorn guy for while too.

"You are going to like where we are going."

Izzy rolled her eyes, "Oh another trip to Takis? Or let me guess. We are going to the club to hunt tonight?"

"Nope."

"Then where?"

I looked her dead in the eyes. I didn't actually know where we were going because Jace wouldn't tell me. But, I have a good feeling about this.

Half an hour later.

After Izzy finished packing we met up with Jace, an irritated Alec and a half asleep Jon. I'd managed to get Jon on the phone after the 5th time of calling him and ordered him to meet us here in half an hour. I knew he was tired, but I also knew that Jon loved a good adventure.

Jace didn't mention much other than he'd made a few calls and we were expected to arrive at our first destination before noon.

It wasn't long before we were standing in front of an old apartment in Brooklyn. Before we could make it halfway up the stairs, the front door opened and revealed none other than…my boss?

H-he's a warlock? His eyes are definitely his mark. They resemble a yellowish-green cat's eye. How had we never noticed this before? I looked over at Jon to see that he was just as surprised as I was. I thought about all of the times I'd seen Magnus and realized that Jon and I actually never saw him at work. I think we've only ever been around him two or three times and that must have been before we learned about glamours.

"Is it ready?" Jace asked Magnus.

A cat came into view in the doorway and meowed up at Magnus. "Oh, come here Chairmen Meow," Magnus picked the cat up and pet it in his arms. "Yes. Come in and I'll send you off."

Alec's head shot towards Jace, an angry questioning look clear on his face. Jace gave off his usual careless smirk along with a shrug and headed into the warlock's apartment. We all followed behind Jace and ended up in a rather grand looking living room.

Magnus spoke with Jace for a minute separately as we all stood in his living room staring into…a portal.

Alec was ranting to Izzy about all of the reasons why us portaling somewhere only Jace knew was a horrible idea. You know for a parabatai, Alec really doesn't seem to trust Jace's decisions much at all.

Neither Jon or I had ever been through a portal, let alone seen a portal. I looked over at Jon. His body was tense, but I could tell he was intrigued by this adventure. I'm not gonna lie my nerves are running wild right now, but this feels right. The idea of getting caught is making this all so much more exciting. Jace is definitely rubbing off on me.

"Okay everyone go through the portal," Magnus ordered, "except for the dark haired boy. What's your name?" Magnus pointed to Alec and winked.

"Alec. Alec Lightwood." His cheeks grew red.

While they spoke to each other, Jace told us the place to imagine in our heads when stepping into the portal. Jace and Izzy went first, then Jon, me and lastly Alec.

Going through the portal felt like I was flying and falling all at the same time. The closest thing I can compare it to is that feeling you get on those rollercoasters that go high into the air and just drop. One thing I'm sure of is that I'm definitely doing that again.

The exhilarating feeling of falling ended as my body hit ground, or I guess I should say body. I opened my eyes to see Jace staring up at me. I wonder if he tried to catch me or if I just caught him off guard and crushed him.

A stray blonde curl got caught in Jace's eyelashes, so I pushed it out of the way. Everything around us seemed to vanish except for the feeling of our hearts both beating rapidly. One of his hands was on my shoulder and the other on the small of my back. I was on my forearms, so our faces were closer together than they'd ever been before. As he smiled up at me the only thing I could think about was how intimate this moment felt.

Jace's smile quickly disappeared and his eyes turned serious. He rolled us over to the right fast. His body was closer to mine now, almost like a protective barrier from something.

"Ugh. That's gonna leave a mark," Jon groaned.

I looked at the spot Jace and I had just been in to find my brother flat on the ground. A giggle escaped as I looked up at Jace, now hovering over me.

"Jace. You better give me a good reason why you are on top of my sister right now. You don't want to find out what will happen if I don't like your answer."

Jace leaned down and quickly whispered in my ear before getting up and pulling me with him. He started talking with Izzy and Jon, but I couldn't hear what they were saying. I was too focused on replaying what he's just whispered to me in my head.

We're not done here Red.

Alec fell from the sky about two minutes later and we wall looked at what was in front of us on the horizon. Izzy was gleaming with joy at our new destination. Jon and I were both confused but intrigued none the less.

"Jace you do realize if we get caught by Hodge he will rain hell fire on us?" Alec questioned, but it sounded more like a statement.

Izzy's eyes showed excitement, "While I do love this destination, I have to agree with Alec. Isn't this illegal according to the clave?"

We all looked at Jace who was standing at the top of the hill we had landed on. He looked back at us all.

"Great adventures are full of risks. Now hush up and let's go break some rules."

Author Note:

Good quarantine afternoon Broskis. This chapter wasn't very action filled, but don't fret. Chapter 9 will make up for it! I don't really have much to say other than the next chapter should be up within the next weekish. Lmk where you all think they've portaled to in the reviews!

Y'all stay home and stay safe out there.