Five
The walk to the Institute hadn't been a long one; maybe ten minutes with their speed runes. Jasmine's head was awhirl with thoughts of the mundane dangling from Jace's arms, and the peculiar situation they found themselves in. Not that they realised what the situation was yet.
The pair hesitated as they reached the entrance to the Institute. The grand doors would effortlessly open for the presence of shadowhunters; but the ambiguous heritage of the redheaded girl gave them pause.
Stepping forward, Jasmine pressed her hand against the cold oak. Mere seconds felt like minutes but, sure enough, the doors groaned powerfully as they swung open.
Jace hurried through into the foyer, Jasmine following close behind, and the flickering flames that adorned the sconces trembled as the pair flew past. The Institute was bare - save for a few straggling shadowhunters who looked on in surprise as they barrelled on. The golden-haired male went through corridor after corridor, and Jasmine gave up trying to figure out where they were going. Clearly she hadn't explored the maze-like Institute enough.
Finally, Jace's path seemed to end as his gaze set upon an ornate door. Engraved above the entrance to the room was a single word that told Jasmine all she needed to know: Infirmary.
The door opened flawlessly as Jace barged his shoulder into it, carefully minding the redhead who was draped across his arms.
It was the first time Jasmine had set foot in the Infirmary, and she had thought that the room was pretty simple. Plain, off-white sheets were draped neatly over the thin mattresses of the cast-iron beds. One bed was placed centrally in the hall - and Jace strode determinedly towards that very one. He gently placed Clary on top of the mattress and frowned as she started to shiver.
Jasmine stepped closer towards the pair and gently nudged Jace aside so she could look at the wound on Clary's shoulder. The gash was beginning to exude a stench of rot and death, and an alarming redness had started to spread down her arm.
"She needs an iratze," Jace said, his dual-coloured eyes roving over the wound.
Jasmine sighed. "I know… and if she's a mundane?"
A brief moment of hesitation filled the space between them. And then, Jace declared with a shocking amount of finality: "She's not."
Jasmine pinned her gaze on the shadowhunter. "Are you sure enough that you're willing to risk her life?"
"Yes," was the simple answer he provided, as he knelt down beside her bed. A hand reached into his pocket and he pulled out his stele, the crystalline tip glistening brightly at his touch. So softly that Jasmine dared not breathe, he brushed her vibrant hair away from her neck and brought the stele up to the unblemished skin. After a second of deliberation, he began etching the rune into her neck, swift yet careful, and the familiar smell of burning skin filled the air.
The redhead stirred in discomfort, but remained unconscious. Jace sat back on his heels to admire the rune that now adorned her throat, and absentmindedly stroked a strand of hair away from her eyes.
Jasmine was reluctant to disturb the moment, but she noticed how Clary's clothes were sticking uncomfortably to her body, the residual demon venom and ichor staining her ivory skin. "We need to get her out of those clothes," she spoke softly, aware of how Jace flinched at the sudden sound of her voice.
Jace stood up straight and did the last thing she expected. He whipped his shirt over his head and held it out to her, expectantly. She trained her eyes to meet his, and to not blatantly let her gaze rove over his nicely-defined chest and abs. She found it was quite an effort.
She offered him an awkward smile and quickly snatched the shirt out of his outstretched hand. "Right… thanks," she said, turning her attention to the unconscious redhead whilst studiously pretending that she didn't notice the wide smirk on Jace's face.
The creak of the floorboard behind her piqued her attention. She turned her head, pleased to find that Jace was purposefully facing the other way so that Jasmine could change Clary's clothes. At least he did have some manners, it seemed.
It didn't take Jasmine long to rid the girl of the ruined clothes and, soon enough, she gently led Clary's head back onto the pillow, having thrown the outfit in the corner of the room to be burned.
Jace gravitated back towards Clary as Jasmine stepped away, something intense glistening behind his warm, amber eyes as he gazed down at her. He reached a hand out towards her soothingly.
It was at that moment that the door swung open. Jace startled and jumped away from the redhead as Isabelle walked in. His gaze refused to meet Jasmine's eyes as he plastered on a nonchalant smile. Though how he could be so innocent, standing there bare-chested, Jasmine had no idea.
"Oh, you found her," Isabelle said - pleasantly neutral - though the knowing twinkle in her eye betrayed her amusement.
"Yeah," he replied. "I'm gonna go and find Alec." And he hurried - not so nonchalantly - out of the room.
Jasmine and Isabelle exchanged a glance, the girls' eyes dancing with delight.
Not long after Jace departed, Jasmine had rushed back towards her room. She wanted to find some clothes to put Clary in once she woke up and was able to move around. She doubted that the redhead would want to wander around in Jace's shirt, and also couldn't imagine her being comfortable wearing Isabelle's eccentric and risque style.
With a bundle of clothes held tightly in her hands, she made her way back to the entrance of the Infirmary. As the door creaked open, she could hear the trembling breath that rattled throughout the sterile room - gasping, choking noises that exuded the purest amount of fear that Jasmine had ever heard. She quickly entered the room, her eyes darting around. The sounds came from the small and vulnerable redhead, who shivered slightly before calming back into a restful slumber.
Isabelle had plopped herself down onto the bed next to Clary, eyes locked on the unconscious girl. The Lightwood hummed in appraisal, and Jasmine wondered what was flying around in that big brain of hers.
"I've never seen Jace so curious about a mundane before," Isabelle mused quietly. "What do you think of her?"
The question startled Jasmine. She glanced at the Lightwood woman with a frown and sighed deeply, carefully placing the selected clothing on to the nearest bed.
"I dunno," Jasmine trailed off, hesitating. She yanked her hair out of the tight ponytail it was constrained by and fluffed it out impatiently. She blew out a sharp breath. "But she's not a mundane," she stated with finality, having witnessed the success of the rune Jace had inscribed onto her skin.
Isabelle gazed up at Jasmine, silent and contemplating.
A short gasp startled the shadowhunters, and their gazes swivelled towards Clary. Her brow was furrowed in pain, breaths coming in sharp waves, and her fingers were tightly wrapped around the necklace that lay on her chest. Jasmine had noticed it with interest when she was changing the girl, but hadn't thought any further of it. The jewellery was eye-catching, and the shadowhunters looked on in surprise as the large gem glowed a vibrant, purple hue. Isabelle leant down closer towards the girl as her breaths became shallower, about to reach out to her when the redhead jerked upright with a scream.
Jasmine winced as she heard the distinct sound of two skulls colliding.
The Lightwood female inhaled. "Ow," she let out with a controlled smile plastered on her lips.
Clary gazed around the room, eyes widening at Isabelle's proximity, and she visibly began to panic, scooting towards the end of the bed, her back hitting the headboard. Isabelle was quick to console the befuddled girl, before bluntly letting her know that she was a distraction and 'distractions are dangerous in our line of work'. Jasmine could have easily let the bubbling laugh escape her lips, but she didn't wish to terrify the redhead more than she already was.
Clary's eyes darted towards her, and her shoulders slumped. Jasmine wasn't sure if it was in relief or disappointment.
As the two females conversed, Jasmine couldn't shake the foreboding feeling of change. Now, she wasn't against change - it was the only inevitable constant in life, she supposed - but her mind unwillingly cast itself back to her father's words. 'Something is stirring…'.
She caught Isabelle reprimanding the girl, the Lightwood calmly insisting that the shadowhunters had saved the mundane's life, rather than kidnapped her.
It was at this point that the Lightwood brother stalked in, Jace trailing behind him with an eye roll. At least he'd put another shirt on. The temperature of the room seemed to drop by a few degrees, the air becoming thicker as Storm Alec began to brew.
"A mundane shouldn't even be here," he grumbled, glancing over at Jasmine as he passed. She neither agreed nor disagreed, and so she kept her face impassive. She would play the waiting game.
"Where is 'here' exactly?" Clary demanded shakily. Her voice was a tide of emotions, rising and falling with time.
They ignored her, Jace instead defending her classification of species. "She's not a mundane, Alec."
The older Lightwood sibling scoffed, circling the bed as a vulture would its prey. "How do you know that?" he retorted.
Jasmine took this opportune moment to stick her hand up and interject. "Not to take sides or anything, but she's literally got a rune on her neck and hasn't turned into a big, fat Forsaken sooo-" she trailed off, leaving out her earlier situation with the redhead and the stele. "You know, maybe- not a mundane?" She noticed the glare Alec directed towards her and lifted her hands in a placating manner. "Just putting it out there."
Jace grinned, pointing towards her triumphantly. "Thank you! Not to mention, the seraph blade lit up when she touched it," Jace asserted, gesturing wildly towards the poor girl who glanced back and forth between them as they argued. "Look, Isabelle, can you…?"
The dark-haired shadowhunter smoothly stood from her perched position on the bed and stopped next to her stoic brother, nudging him with her elbow.
Jace sat down in front of Clary, sighing deeply. "I'm Jace Wayland."
"I'm, uh-" she stuttered out.
"Clary Fray, yeah, we know who you are," he interrupted swiftly.
The redhead frowned and immediately glanced at Jasmine, accusation burning in her emerald eyes. The action didn't go unnoticed by Alec, whose gaze followed Clary's to find Jasmine shaking her head.
"Am I the only one who finds this unusual?" He questioned, scornfully glaring at Clary.
"You find everything unusual, Alec," Jace interjected, his eyes trained steadfastly on the redhead.
"I have to report this to the Clave." Again with the Clave. Jasmine wondered where his affinity for strict rule-abiding came from.
Jace's jaw clenched. "You know what? Dial it down a notch," he suggested.
The shadowhunters bickered back and forth. Isabelle's melodic voice laughingly piped in, breaking up the deep baritone grumbling that came from the men. Jasmine kept her eyes on Clary, watching her as she cast her gaze downwards and tried to control her breathing.
"What is with you?" Alec demanded, dismissively gesturing towards the panicked redhead. Isabelle walked over towards him, linking her arm through his. He scoffed loudly. "Really, no, what is with him?"
"Walk with me, big brother," his sister soothed him as they strolled away, murmuring consoling words into his ear as he complained.
Jasmine remained in the room, silently watching and listening, amused by the attention and care that Jace showed towards the mysterious girl.
"Your wound," he pointed out, softly. "It's healed."
Clary frantically shoved the fabric of her top aside, revealing the unblemished skin of her shoulder. She shook her head, blinking rapidly. "How is that even possible? S-so what, I'm miraculously healed, and all of you… stunning people have magical powers?" Her gaze bounced between Jace and Jasmine, eyes bewildered but ultimately curious.
Jace laughed, shaking his head with a fond smile. "No," he scoffed good-naturedly. "No, don't confuse me with a warlock."
"A what?"
"A warlock," he clarified, though it only served to confuse her more. "One of the Downworlders."
Jasmine stepped forward from her spectating stance. "Jace," she called softly. The blonde looked back at her, questioning her interruption. "She doesn't know anything about our world. Go easy on her."
He looked back to see Clary glancing between them despondently, clueless as to just how much her life had changed in a single night.
"I'll keep it simple for you," he promised. He paused, allowing her a moment to relax. "All the legends are true. We're shadowhunters," he explained slowly, gesturing from himself to Jasmine, who was leaning against the wall with a solemn expression. "We protect the human world from the demon world. So those… people you saw murdered at the Pandemonium, they weren't people at all - they were shapeshifting demons."
Clary did something that surprised Jasmine - she scoffed and leaned forward determinedly. "I'm not interested in being a part of your supernatural fight club. I just wanna find my mom." Her voice wavered at the end, choked with emotion. "All I care about is finding my mother."
"And we will," Jasmine declared, straightening up from the wall. "Shadowhunter or mundane… it's what we do."
Jace met her eyes and nodded before turning to smirk proudly at Clary. "We're the best chance you've got."
"I don't even know you." The disbelief in her voice was obvious, but Jasmine couldn't blame the girl. She couldn't imagine being suddenly shoved into a hidden world, having had your entire heritage concealed until it lashed out from the shadows, dragging you into its depths to the point of drowning.
An incessant ringing broke the ominous silence that settled over the trio. Clary gasped and reached behind her to find her phone, sighing in relief at the caller ID. "Simon," she breathed as she answered the call.
Jasmine could hear the frantic mundane blasting off questions, demanding answers as to why she'd suddenly disappeared. She approached the other contemplating shadowhunter, sitting beside Jace as he turned over the pages of her sketchbook. In particular, he was closely examining the runes that she had illustrated - knowledge that she shouldn't have known.
"What're you thinking?" She quietly murmured, carefully watching as Clary happily conversed with her mundane best friend.
"There's more to her than we think," he replied, his gaze equally transfixed on their newest addition. "Her mother's disappearance is proof of that, at least."
"Uh- what happened to my clothes?" Clary demanded, evidently finished with her phone call. She marched towards the pair in Jace's t-shirt. Jasmine winced; she hadn't given thought to what Clary might think about her clothing situation.
"Demon venom," Jace answered swiftly. "Remember?"
Jasmine stepped forward, guiding the red-head towards another bed which held the pile of clothes. "I got you these," she offered. "Figured you'd be more comfortable in them than in Isabelle's clothes," she added, smiling fondly at the Lightwood's fabulous style.
Clary tentatively touched the fabric, a small smile stretching across her lips at the soft material. It wasn't much - a black, silk shirt paired with a pair of high-waisted jeans and heavy biker boots. Jasmine had a rough idea of what Isabelle would have put the redhead in, and she could tell by the relief on Clary's face that it wouldn't have been her cup of tea.
"Uhh… could you-?" She plastered an awkward smile on her face as she vaguely gestured to the door, the clothes dangling in her vice-like grip.
Jasmine nodded and started towards the door, stopping to nudge Jace when he didn't seem to have an inclination to move. "Don't be a weirdo. Let the girl change."
He huffed a laugh and followed her, his steps seemingly slow and reluctant. As she reached the door, Jasmine glanced back to see that Jace had paused, halting to share an intense look with Clary. The silent gaze they held screamed a thousand words, and she smothered a giggle as she let the door clang shut behind her.
Jasmine found Isabelle and Alec easily enough. They were both looking at one of the many computer set-ups in the atrium, talking heatedly with their heads bowed close together. She had a feeling it was surrounding Clary and her whole situation - not that they knew what the situation even was.
They were in uncharted territory, that much was certain.
She approached the pair slowly, taking in Alec's deep scowl and Isabelle's placating hand rested on his arm - despite her firm and unyielding expression. The two broke away as they noticed her, though Alec's frame was wrought with tension. Jasmine considered asking them what was wrong; but ultimately decided against it.
Isabelle sent her a small smile in greeting, brown eyes flickering behind Jasmine expectantly. "Where's Jace and Clary?"
"Getting changed," she replied with a shrug.
The Lightwood siblings glanced between each other with raised eyebrows, and Jasmine didn't miss the brief glint of hurt that crossed Alec's features. Realisation dawned upon her at how they might have taken her answer.
"Clary was getting changed," she hurried to correct herself. Despite how much of an ass he was, Jasmine didn't want Alec to be upset over something that wasn't even happening. "You know… because of the venom. I gave her some clothes."
Isabelle giggled at her explanation whilst Alec gave her an unamused glare. "I- uh- dunno where Jace is though," she continued quickly. "I'm sure he'll be around soon."
As if on cue, the blonde and redhead duo entered the atrium. Clary held her head high, but her hands were shaking and her green eyes darted across every square inch of the Institute nervously. They were talking animatedly, striding purposefully towards the entrance of the Institute before disappearing outside. Jasmine had heard a faint mention of Simon; figuring that he had somehow managed to locate Clary at the abandoned church the Institute was glamoured to look like.
Jasmine glanced back to the Lightwood siblings. Alec looked like he'd swallowed something particularly foul whilst Isabelle rolled her eyes at her brother.
"The mundane shouldn't even be here," he grumbled unnecessarily. Jasmine refrained from letting a laugh escape her lips at his new catchphrase, especially with the murderous expression on his face.
"Who's Simon?" Isabelle pondered aloud. Jasmine realised that they must have heard Clary's brief utterance of her best friend's name.
Jasmine refrained from responding to Isabelle's question, figuring that she probably wasn't expecting either of them to actually answer. Hopefully, if Jace had any sense, he wouldn't bring the mundane boy into the Institute. Raziel only knows how Alec might react to that.
Jasmine nodded her head towards the computer screen that still glowed brightly before the siblings, detailing what looked like satellite images and CCTV recordings. "What are you guys working on?" She asked, only partly in an attempt to change the subject.
In a surprising turn of events, Alec actually turned to address her. "Well, since the mission was ruined, we never found out who was buying the blood, so we've been tracking some possible leads."
"Found anything yet?" She asked, leaning forward to get a closer look at the screen.
Alec shook his head with a scowl that wasn't quite directed at her. "Still looking."
The trio turned to face the entrance as a commotion reached their ears; scurrying footsteps and the distinct sound of an argument. Jace stormed into the Institute atrium and headed straight to one of the large touch-screens in the hall, a shaken redhead and a befuddled Simon scurrying behind him. The idiot.
The three were bickering. Jasmine had to admit, behind her annoyance at the blonde, the sight was amusing. Jace looked about ready to tear the actual mundane's head off and, taking a quick glance at Alec, it appeared that he would like very much to do the same.
Alec had already set off towards the group; his stride determined and dangerous, and Jasmine quickly followed after him to minimise the damage, leaving Isabelle to continue her search for the blood buyers.
"What's going on? Why is there a mundane in the Institute?" He demanded lowly, casting a derisive glare to the bespectacled mundane in question. Simon puffed his chest out in offence, but didn't meet Alec's eyes. Probably for the best.
Jace glanced away from the monitor to look at the group. "A Circle member followed him to get to Clary."
'Something is stirring…'. The poignant words of her father taunted Jasmine. He'd mentioned the Circle specifically in his ramblings; was adamant that danger was afoot and that Jasmine - and everyone - would need to be careful. She'd brushed him off at the time, but now she was thinking that maybe she shouldn't have.
"What is a Circle member and why are they trying to kill us?" Simon's frantic voice echoed across the atrium.
"A formidable force… borne of torment and violence," Jasmine murmured, unconsciously mimicking the very lecture her father had given her.
The group sent her a look which she tried to ignore. She figured that she should speak to her father and find out what he meant when he spoke of the Circle.
Jace broke the awkward silence that followed her words. "Uh- yeah, a long time ago, the Circle led a revolt. A lot of shadowhunters were killed… including my father." He trailed off at the end of his explanation, his eyes downcast.
"And since the revolt we've been forbidden to even hear about the Circle," Alec finished, his tone all-but demanding an end to the conversation.
Jasmine had always thought that part of their shadowhunter heritage was odd - the secrecy that surrounded their shadier past. The mundanes didn't hide their history; sure they weren't proud of it, but they actively taught their children the bloody past in an attempt to prevent history repeating itself.
Clary shook her head in disbelief, scoffing as she looked at the group of shadowhunters. It seemed as though she thought the same. "But, how's that even possible? It's your history."
"Says the girl who didn't even know she was a shadowhunter," Jace retorted with a cocked eyebrow.
The fire in Clary's green eyes died down, realisation and hurt killing the flames. She sighed deeply in resignation. "Yeah… yeah, you're right," she muttered. "And now the only person who knows the truth is missing, so I don't care about your rules or what's forbidden, I'm…", she broke off tiredly, running a hand across her face. "There's gotta be someone out there who can tell us why they've taken my mother."
Jace nodded resolutely. "There is." He gestured for Clary to follow when her eyes met his. "You coming?"
The nervousness that clouded her features broke away, leaving a fierce determination. "Yeah," she replied as they made to depart from the group. Jasmine raised her eyebrows in amusement as Simon moved to follow close behind them.
Apparently, Jace did not find his proximity as amusing and promptly held up a hand to stop the mundane. "No, no, no… not you."
The redhead crossed her arms with a frown. "We're a package deal," she argued.
Jace scoffed, mirroring her stance. "There are runes all over the training room floor that would kill your mundie boyfriend."
Jasmine bit back a laugh as Clary and Simon stuttered at the word 'boyfriend', though the mundane boy looked significantly disappointed.
The redhead flicked her gaze between Jace and Simon, her mouth slightly agape as her words tumbled out disjointedly. "Oh, he's not my–"
Her explanation was drowned out by the jumbled Simon, who similarly stuttered out a half-hearted clarification: "I'm not, like– we're, uh, just friends."
"Best friends," Clary emphasised, clearly missing the dismayed and wounded expression of Simon to her side.
A tentative smile covered the hurt as the mundane looked upon the group of shadowhunters. "Yeah… and I'm tough. I can handle runes… so, uh, bring on the runes," his voice trailed off as he sounded less and less sure of himself. "Um… what exactly are runes?"
Isabelle laughed as she stood from the computer screen, easily drawing Simon's attention like a moth to a flame. "They give Shadowhunters our demon-fighting powers," she explained as she lightly ran her stele over the skin of her forearm, illuminating her enkeli rune.
Jasmine fought the urge to reach over and close Simon's mouth as he stared at Isabelle, instead just watching with unconcealed amusement - especially as he murmured, with no small amount of amazement, "So hot."
An awkward silence filled the space as Simon continued to ogle the giggling Isabelle. Jace roughly cleared his throat, startling Simon out of his dazed state, and gave the mundane a look of warning.
"The rune," Simon clarified unconvincingly.
Isabelle sauntered towards the group, smiling warmly. "Don't worry, Clary. I'll watch over the best friend," she told the redhead. Her grin widened as her gaze redirected to Simon. "In fact, I was just about to make breakfast."
Jace murmured something under his breath about the quality of Isabelle's cooking and Jasmine had to smother a wince, remembering the smell of burnt bolognese that still lingered in the kitchen.
The brunette beauty continued to smile, though it was distinctly sharper than before. "I'll pretend I didn't hear that," Isabelle said graciously, sending Jace a warning glare. "Please excuse my brother's lack of manners," she continued, and nudged her brooding sibling with an elbow. "This is Alec, I'm Isabelle… and this is Jasmine." Isabelle grabbed Jasmine's arm and pulled her close, a large smile adorned across her lips.
Jasmine rolled her eyes at Isabelle and sent the mundane a polite smile. "Hi," she greeted simply.
Simon's gaze darted between the brunette and the blonde, seemingly unsure of which one to let his stare rest on. "Uh, Lewis… Simon. Simon Lewis." Isabelle reached out to shake his hand, and Jasmine followed suit. Simon's grip was firm; tight enough that she could feel the hammering pulse beneath his warm skin. "Two first names– am I still talking?"
Somewhere behind Isabelle and Jasmine, Alec scoffed and a familiar rustle of fabric told Jasmine that he was probably crossing his arms broodily. She snuck a peak back and smirked when her theory proved to be correct. His gaze met hers and his scowl somehow deepened.
She turned back to the conversation to see Clary and Jace walk off together as Simon continued to bounce his gaze between her and Isabelle.
"I'll be fine," he gulped.
The echoing giggles of Isabelle and Jasmine filled the atrium.
A/N: Okay so... I'm actually terrible. 2 years later and I have uploaded... I'm embarrassed, to say the least. I sort of hit a slump in the midst of working full-time and doing my Master's degree, but I'm hoping to make this a regular priority now. I hope I still have some people left who want to read this lol. This chapter is kind of filler-y, so I apologise for that - I just needed to slowly edge myself back into it haha.
I've also been meaning to answer my reviews!
Guest: I'm glad you've been enjoying it! I'm sorry I've been so inactive with it :(
shadowstarxy: Oh I've been anticipating Jasmine and Magnus meeting properly too! It'll certainly be something alright ;)
HylianDoll: Thank you so much for all of your lovely reviews! I hope you've stuck around for this obscenely long time to keep reading :( I'm so happy you've enjoyed it and like how I write! I love writing but never know if it's actually good enough x
