**Thanks to everyone who's R your comments are such a big part of what keeps me writing this =) I appreciate any and all feedback and I wanna thank my regular commenters. You know who you are! You guys are the shiznit. Keep showing me love and I'll keep writing. Oh and heads up you guys...the story is about to get heavy. Get ready for it because its coming soon. ENJOY!**

Jace's boots made light, but audible sounds as he jogged down the darkened cobblestone street after Valentine and Jonathan. He frowned down at them, quickening his pace so that he was running, placing his feet down carefully until he moved as soundlessly as a shadow. He glanced up ahead of him, and seeing two blonde heads, threw himself sideways into the mouth of an alley. Jace pressed his back against the worn brick of the building and edged towards the corner of the wall to peek around and locate his family.

Jace cursed his overactive imagination, as he slowly peered around the corner, imagining that his father would be standing on the other side.

Jace laughed quietly as he saw them down the street, turning down a side road. Even Valentine wasn't that good. Jace slipped out of the alley and resumed his quick and silent pace, keeping out of the witch light streetlamps and in the darkest shadows.

He approached the side road, crossing rudely through someone's garden so that he could take cover behind their house and peer around its corner. Jace's hand slipped around the edge of the house as he slowly glanced around the corner, his eyes searching for the telltale blonde.

He saw Jonathan not more than three houses away; leaning a hip against a low brick wall with his arms crossed, looking arrogantly bored, like he had better places to be. Jace flicked his eyes away from his brother and searched for his father but did not see him, and figured he must have went into the house that Jonathan was standing outside of. Wondering what his father was doing inside the house and thankful he had decided to leave Jonathan outside of it so Jace could find them, Jace relaxed slightly.

He knew that he would still have been able to find them if Jonathan had accompanied him inside…but the way that things had turned out just made things easier for Jace.

Peeking into the windows of the homes of Shadowhunters at night was never a wise move to make, especially if his father was inside one of them.

Jace could only compare it to playing Russian Roulette by yourself; you may or may not have your head blown off with the next window you peeked in but no matter what, eventually, the gun was going to win the game.

Jace's eyes were drawn back to his brother as Jonathan turned and boosted himself up onto the wall, apparently tired of standing. Jonathan leaned forward with his elbows on his knees and held his face in his hands, still looking bored but no longer arrogantly so.

Due to the relatively close distance and Jace's superb eyesight, he could see his brother's expression. Jonathan was staring down at the bushes a few yards in front of him, and a slight frown crossed his face. The bushes moved slightly, and Jonathan's eyes seemed to get darker.

Jace heard a very faint mewling, and his heart stuttered as a small, black kitten stumbled out of the bushes. Jonathan narrowed his eyes at it.

The kitten mewled again, its voice high with how young it was, before it tramped over to him, tripping awkwardly over its own feet. It stopped in front of Jonathan, looking like a black ball of silky fluff with huge ears and ridiculously big green eyes.

Jonathan titled his head to the side as he stared down at it. Run now…Jace thought.

The kitten was foolishly young; it did not seem to sense the predator in front of it, only recognizing Jonathan for a human that had the potential to play with it. The kitten looked down at Jonathan's feet before wiggling its rump and launching itself at them with horrible aim.

Jace clenched his hand on the wall so tightly his knuckles turned white, convinced he was about to see his brother stomp the kitten to death.

Jonathan stared down at the black kitten that was now sitting on his boot, trying desperately to overpower it though Jonathan was not moving at all, with a look of such coldness in his eyes Jace was amazed that the cat was not a chunk of ice by now.

The kitten rolled to its side and dug its little claws into the material of his boots while using its back feet to kick at it ferociously, clearly thinking that it would be the death of Jonathan's foot.

Jonathan smiled slightly, his eyes glacial, and leaned down, his hands braced on the wall on either side of his hips, and as he made the motion, Jace had the image of him taking the cat in his hands and breaking its neck, that smile still on his face.

But then Jonathan did something Jace never would have expected in a million years; he wiggled his foot.

The kitten mewled and renewed its assault on his boot with determination, now biting the toe with tiny white teeth.

And Jace never would have believed it if he hadn't witnessed it with his own eyes, but a crooked grin broke Jonathan's cold expression as he looked down at the tiny black kitten that was attacking his foot with all the ferocity of a mountain lion.

Just as his hand moved like he was going to reach down and pet it, Jace heard the deep laugh of his father from inside the house, accompanied by a chorus of sycophantic cackles from the Circle members inside.

Jonathan's grin disappeared as his head turned towards the house and Jace saw his hands clench the edge of the wall he was sitting on. Then Jonathan turned back to look down at the kitten, who had looked up at him and mewled again, wanting him to wiggle his foot more.

Jonathan smiled at it and Jace swallowed; usually Jonathan only reserved that particular smile for him.

Jonathan leaned down, his chest touching his knees, and peered down at the kitten with the same 'I hate you so much' smile still stretched across his face.

"Kitty, kitty?" he cooed at it.

The kitten rolled over and stood up on his boot, stretching its face up at Jonathan's and meowing in response to the boy's tone.

Jace leaned his head against the wall and groaned lightly. Poor stupid thing…It had no idea Jonathan was mocking it.

"Come here, kitty, kitty…"

The kitten stood up on its back feet, placing its tiny paws on Jonathan's leg, stretching its little face up towards his. Jonathan watched it for a second, dancing on his foot in an effort to be closer to him.

And then he looked into the ridiculously big green eyes, eyes that would surely melt his pathetic brother's heart, and hissed loudly, injecting so much venom into it that it didn't even sound human to his own ears.

The kitten launched itself backwards away from him, a startled hiss escaping its throat before it took off back into the bushes, but not before Jonathan had seen the look of animalistic fear in its eyes. It would think twice before running up to play with another human…not that he was strictly human…

Jace frowned in confusion as he watched his brother run his hands up over his eyes, watched as his shoulders sagged like a weight was crushing down on him.

What was going on? Did he really feel bad for hissing at a cat? Jace edged closer to the corner of the house, staring at his brother more intently.

Valentine laughed again loudly from inside the house, and Jonathan's hands slipped up and gripped his blonde hair tightly, his dark eyes staring at the ground with such intensity, but Jace knew he couldn't really be looking at anything.

Jace knew that look. He was the fucking poster boy for that look….

Jace didn't know what to feel as he watched his brother sitting there, looking like he was being ripped apart slowly from the inside out…

But there was one thing that Jace did know, and he knew it with a stone cold certainty: his father was the one responsible for the tortured look on his brother's face. Valentine was the one that was slowly ripping Jonathan apart from the inside out...

Just then, Jonathan glanced up quickly, releasing his hair and looking ahead of him down the street, his angry eyes moving through the dark searchingly.

Shit! Jace ducked back behind the house quickly, his heart pounding.

Jonathan saw movement out of the corner of his eye, about three houses away and across the street, and he turned his head towards the brick house with the fancy garden.

His eyes raked the corner of the house, the area where he had seen the movement, and they narrowed when he saw a patch of tulips, two of the flowers still swaying with motion.

Jonathan slid off the wall soundlessly, his hand slipping the knife out of his belt.

Jace, his back pressed against the brick of the house, tried to slow his pulse. Maybe Jonathan hadn't seen him. And if he did…maybe he would think it was another cat…

Jace exhaled soundlessly and rolled his eyes up towards the darkened sky; he never did get by on 'maybes'. You needed something a little better than bad luck to manage that.

Jace looked towards the corner he had just vacated. His heart skipped a beat as he saw the flowers he had been standing in slowly flutter to a standstill.

He cursed silently before quickly turning to face the wall. Raking his eyes up the brick, Jace took a few steps back before running at the house and jumping, his hands reaching up for the high window sill.

He heaved himself up quickly, placing a foot on the sill, hoping the people inside were fast asleep, before stretching up and grabbing the edge of the roof top. It was high but Jace could manage it.

Standing on the tips of his toes, Jace pulled himself up, a quiet breath of effort escaping his mouth because he couldn't use his legs for fear of accidentally kicking out the glass of the window.

As Jace rolled onto the roof of the high house, breathing slowly around the burning in his arms and abs, Jonathan slipped around the edge of the house below him.

His eyes flicked around at the footsteps left in the garden and noticed that there were no footsteps that led out of the flowers.

Jace heard the quietest rustle of grass over the edge of the roof and bit his lip to keep from swearing out loud, knowing that it was his brother.

Jace rolled slowly over onto his stomach, his hand holding his seraph blade against his hip so that it would not scrape against the shingles. He pushed himself slowly up onto his hands and knees, and crept across the roof, his shoulder blades moving languidly through his shirt with the grace of a stalking lion.

Jace, looking ahead of him towards the chimney, missed the broken shingle in front of him. His careful hand came down on it and it cracked loudly, making Jace wince and stop moving.

Jonathan slowly looked up at the edge of the roof.

Somebody was up there. Somebody who was very fast, and very quiet…

A smirk pulled up Jonathan's mouth and his obsidian eyes glinted though no lights were around to reflect off them.

But not that quiet. Never that quiet.

Jonathan slipped the knife back into his belt as he took a few steps back and launched himself at the edge of the window sill.

Jace stood up in a crouch and hurried across the roof as quickly as he dared, watching out for more traitorous broken shingles. He stared at the house next door, knowing that he could leap across the distance that separated them but not knowing if he could do it without Jonathan seeing him.

His brother may have heard him, but he still hadn't seen him. Not all was lost yet.

Just as Jace was debating whether or not he should risk jumping he saw movement out of the corner of his eye.

Whipping his head, Jace saw hands clenching the side of the roof and the very tip of a blonde head rising up over the edge.

Jace sprinted to the chimney and ducked behind it with a silent speed that would have the toughest mundane crossing themselves in fear.

Jonathan pulled himself up onto the roof, surprised to feel the ache in his muscles at the climb. His father wouldn't be happy to know about that.

Rolling onto his feet, Jonathan searched the roof with a quick flick of his eyes. He had definitely heard someone up here.

And he knew of only one person who could get up on this roof as quickly as it took Jonathan to jog across the street. And to do it with almost dead silence?

Jonathan pulled the blade back out from his belt.

His brother was here. He knew it. And catching Jace and showing him to their father would make Valentine forget completely about his earlier comment about Blackwell…Jonathan smiled. All would be forgiven.

He walked across the roof slowly, not bothering to keep his footsteps inaudible. He looked over at the chimney; he knew that Jace knew he was there, and he hoped that Jace knew that he was about to get caught and that Jonathan was going to be the one to hand him in.

Jonathan looked down at the broken shingle, stepping on it lightly, purposefully making noise to increase the suspense, reminding Jace that he was the mouse while Jonathan would always be the cat.

Jace pressed his back against the chimney, knees drawn up to his chest, waiting for Jonathan to say something smart ass and cocky about him hiding, and just when Jace was about to stand up and show himself, he heard a door open and loud voices echo from across the street.

Valentine's voice stood out among them and Jace heard Jonathan walk across the roof. Jace crept backwards, his brother only a few yards in front of him. All he had to do was turn and he would see him…

But Jonathan didn't turn. He was staring out across the street at the house he had been standing in front of. Jace watched as his shoulders tightened.

Jace took his distraction to creep away to the edge of the roof.

"Where's my son?" Valentine's deep voice could be heard from across the street.

"Fuck…" Jonathan groaned quietly. Then remembering why he was on the roof, he whipped around. There was no one behind the chimney.

"Jonathan!" Valentine called, and anyone who really knew him could hear the anger in his voice.

"Dammit!" Jonathan swore as he slid his knife back into his belt.

First the stupid cat and now this? How was he going to explain this to his father…Tell him he thought that Jace was following them so he had to climb somebody's house to catch him in the act? He was loosing it…Jace wouldn't come to Alicante…he was a little Angel Boy…Jonathan thought bitterly as he stepped off the edge of the roof, landing lightly in a crouch on the grass.

Jonathan kicked his way through the garden, effectively destroying the tulips, as he walked back to his father.

Jace, who was hanging onto the side of the house, watched him cross the street out of the corner of his eye, his arms starting to shake.

When he felt like it was safe to look, Jace glanced over, hidden in the shadows, at his father, brother, and another man. His father looked pissed for having to wait on Jonathan.

"Where were you?" Valentine asked, his eyes narrowed. Jonathan stopped in front of him.

"Nowhere. I got tired of waiting and went for a walk."

"Well now we're waiting for you, let's go." Valentine said with a glare before following the man around the low wall and into the alley.

Jace let go of the roof and dropped down to the ground.

That was some shit…how come he believed Jonathan when he lied?

Jace stood and darted across the street, peeking around the wall just in time to see Valentine shake hands with the man before he turned to go through a side gate back into the house.

Valentine then turned and stepped through the Portal that the man, well warlock, he corrected, had made, its light flashing brightly and chasing away the shadows of the alley.

After a second, Jonathan followed him into the Portal and Jace was left alone.

He entered the alleyway, staring at the Portal, faced with a choice that would determine whether or not he would get caught.

The Portal back was right there, but should he take it?

If he took it, he risked portaling right into the room his family was in, and the whole point of this was to keep them in the dark about what he had been up to today. A nagging thought made him feel like maybe his life depended on it.

But if he didn't take the Portal…he would have to walk home. And his father would surely notice by then that he was not in the house.

The way he saw it, he had two choices; he could either stretch out the time by dragging his feet before the guillotine inevitably fell, or he could cut the rope that held the blade up and just make it quick.

That was the problem though…Jace thought as he ran his hands through his hair. He knew it wouldn't be quick.

He knew that the guillotine's edge would be dull, that it would be pulled back up and dropped on his neck again and again and again while he choked on his own blood and begged for it to stop, begged for the release of death.

But it was inevitable. He had to get that through his head.

So, what it all really came down to, was if Jace was man enough to step through the Portal and just get it over with.

The Portal started to flicker and fade, and Jace stepped forward before it vanished, thinking of the Morgenstern Manor.

As the light blinded him, a grim smile curved his mouth as a dead feeling passed through him.

Just get it over with? he thought, Just get it started.