Chapter 4: Clary's POV

Wind whirls through the library, my Portal runes lighting up. A blue spark lights, and soon a doorway appears. The force of the wind sends me crashing into Jace's arms since he's standing right behind me. They're warm and strong. We smirk at each other and he keeps me in his arms as a show for our visitor.

I smile internally. Zara has always had the biggest crush on Jace and now I get to rub the fact that she can't ever have him in her stuck-up, lying face. And even if Jace and I weren't engaged, he still wouldn't approach her after what we told him about Zara last night.

A figure lands, perfectly if I must add, both feet level on the ground. Her white-blonde hair doesn't waver in its braided bun and her cold grey eyes slowly warm as they rake the group. She's tall and slender, taller than Izzy, and extremely athletic. The figure is Kendra Whitelaw.

She quickly steps out of the way as another body slams into the ground with the same grace. Dark brown hair spikes up in weird but hot ways as the wind toys with it. His dark green eyes don't relax until they land on Kendra. His tan muscles are as prominent as Jace's, albeit being a little taller. This is Kendra's betrothed, Adrian Rosales.

Adrian and Kendra move to stand next to each other and out of the way. Dad inches toward them, trying to get closer to greet them but the wind is unusually strong.

More feet land. This time, it's a girl, basically a clone of Adrian but younger. Her hair is wavy and goes down to her mid-back, not unlike her parabatai's, Kendra. She's shorter than the other two, maybe reaching the other girl's chin. Kendra pulls Lyra Rosales out of the way as the other Whitelaw comes through.

Xavier Whitelaw is beyond intimidating if you ask me. He's 6'4" and all muscle, with wavy white-blonde hair that falls in into his eyes like Adrian's. His gray eyes are almost colder than his sister's. His pale skin looks eerily luminous in the blue light. He skirts out of the way and stands next to his parabatai, Adrian, and behind his betrothed, Lyra.

Next is Aline. Her black hair is waving out of its messy braid, adding a playful light to her brown eyes. Her lightly tanned skin is different from the pale starkness of the Whitelaw's and the dark shadows of the Rosales's. She's mid-height and slender. Aline stumbles a bit but Alec steps forward and catches her.

Last and certainly least, is Zara. Unfortunately, she enters through with almost as much grace as Kendra, though no one can replicate the elegance Kendra has. Zara's blonde-brown hair is immaculate as always in its tight bun at the nape of her neck. Her hazel eyes are malicious and plotting as they scan the group. When they land on Jace, a predatorial want overtakes any and all other emotions and makes the man holding me shiver a little until they land on me, in Jace's arms. They darken with hate and she turns abruptly away. Her back is ramrod straight as she steps out of the Portal's area of destruction. I temporarily leave Jace's arms to shut the gateway down. When it's closed, I return to Jace.

Dad steps forward. "Welcome, Ms. Dearborn, Ms. Penhallow, to Morgenstern Manor. I take it that this is your first time here?"

Zara looks around criticizingly. "Yes, it is. Though I have a feeling I wasn't missing anything." Her tone is snarky and superior.

Dad's eyes, as well as the rest of my family's, eyes darken. I can tell that her stay won't be very pleasant.

Aline rushes in. "What Zara means to say is that so far, we are both very impressed. This library is beautiful, Mr. Morgenstern."

He smiles warmly at the Consul's daughter. "Thank you, Aline." He sweeps his arms in a wide arc. "My wife, Jocelyn, and I will lead you on a tour of the manor along with Sebastian, my son, and Alexander, Robert's son. Come along." Seb offers his arm to Zara, who reluctantly takes it. Aline takes Alec's arm, with her being a bit more welcoming. The group leaves the room and the atmosphere immediately lightens. I step away from Jace, his heat leaving my body a tiny bit cold.

"I can see why you called Zara a bitch," Jace mutters.

I shoot a sympathetic glance toward the library doors. "I just feel so bad for Seb. She doesn't deserve him. But Dad just notices this and I think it's too late to change anything."

He shrugs. "Valentine is the head of the Circle. He can do anything, can't he?"

"I don't know. Maybe he can, maybe he can't."

We both look toward the rest of the group gathered in the room. The parents are drifting towards the doors, chatting easily, while the children make introductions.

I lead Jace over to where Jon and Izzy are talking with the four newcomers.

"Clary!" Lyra shrieks. She runs over to me and throws her arms around my neck.

I hug her back, though not as enthusiastically. "Hey, Lyra."

She pulls away and places her hands on my shoulders. Her eyes take me in as they move up and down. "Oh, you've changed so much!"

I roll my eyes. "It's been two months, Lyra. Of course, can't you see those gray hairs and all those wrinkles?"

Lyra scowls. "Don't be that way, Clare. I get enough of the sarcastic shit from Kendra already."

I bat my eyelashes innocently. "It's all part of the game, sweetheart."

Lyra then looks at Jace. "Are you Jace Herondale?"

"I am the Jace Herondale," he replies.

"Otherwise known as 'Goldilocks'," I add.

"Yeah, and she's Red. We all have nicknames, just some of us have better ones than others."

Lyra laughs. "So, who would you say has the better nickname? Goldilocks is priceless if I might add."

"No, it isn't. It's-" Jace is cut off by Jon walking over with Xavier and Izzy. He sneaks up behind Lyra and picks her up. He slings her over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. Lyra shrieks and laughs at the same time. He smirks and runs toward the door.

"Bet ya' can't catch me, Xav!" He yells before bolting out and into the hallway.

Xavier chuckles. He goes running after the two but his sister beats him to it. Kendra speeds past, her golden hair falling out of its bun as she pulls it down. "Come on, y'all! Jon isn't slow and you know it," she says before following my brother.

Xavier and Adrian go next. Izzy giggles as they leave. "They seem like they're so much fun."

I nod vigorously. "They are, as long as you don't stay behind. Let's go." I sprint out, not pausing to look but already knowing Iz and Jace are right on my tail.

We catch up to Xavier and Adrian in no time. They are about 10 feet behind Kendra, who seems to know exactly where Jon and Lyra are. We run for ages, it seems. Finally, Kendra bursts onto a terrace that overlooks the massive garden. Being the reckless people we all are, when we see the two, we vault right over the side and into the bushes below.

I end up landing on Adrian by accident. I jump off him and giggle, causing him to chuckle. The other four join us and we go back to sprinting after Jon and his stowaway.

I lead the way, being the smallest and nimblest out of the group of abnormally tall people. As we near the walls of the garden, I get an inkling of an idea as to where we are going. There's an old tree right outside the boundaries of the manor that has a doorway to a bunker this way. Seb, Jon, and I found it when we were younger and used to play in it all the time. Then training overtook most of our time and we stopped.

My suspicions are confirmed when Jon jumps over the low garden fence. I flip over with the rest following soon.

I smile deviously when I realize Jon forgot the shortcut we found. "We're taking a shortcut," I yell.

"Do you know where we're going?" Izzy asks.

"You know I do." A branch comes up and I speak again. "Swing off this branch and land on a humongous log. From there, just swing from vines. Don't worry, Jon did this with, like, 5 pounds of food on his back. The vines will hold."

The branch comes into reach. I jump and swing off, landing with practiced grace on the fallen tree. The closest vine is within easy reach, so with a short leap, I latch onto the long green rope and start to act like a female Tarzan. Behind me, Xavier starts yodeling like an ape as he starts to swing.

"The last vine is coming up. It's just a field after that, but there are a couple of trees. Jon's heading for the biggest one although he's probably about five minutes behind us," I yell.

A chorus of "Ok" resounds from behind me. I leave the forest behind, arcing gracefully in the air while doing so. I dash across the field to the giant tree, the metal door already visible. The hinges look unused, a clear sign that Jon has yet to arrive.

I sketch a speedy Soundless rune onto my arm. My feet make no noise as they pound the waving grass.

I yank open the door and swing in, using the top of the door as a temper. I land on the dirt floor of the deceivingly large underground room, moving out of the way quickly so the others could enter.

Izzy launches herself in first. She lands hard, though she doesn't move an inch as her two feet slam evenly. She takes a step forward and looks around. "Wow."

I pull her out of the way as Jace slams into the space she was just in. He glances around a bit before sliding out of the way and going to the wall of weapons running along the north barrier. Iz stands next to me as the others enter in the same style as the people before them.

After the last person comes through, I climb up the hard-packed dirt stairs to shut the door. Then I head over to a telescope sort of thing that allows you to see the ground surrounding the bunker. I spot Jon's feet just leaving the worn path that he took.

"Get your asses out of sight!" I yell. Everyone dives into a spot just as Jon comes in.

He comes down the stairs, Lyra staring around at everything with a confused expression. He sets her down near where Kendra supposedly dived. Jon heads to the weapons wall, grinning triumphantly as he goes along. "They'll never find us here."

Lyra puts her hand on one of the walls. "What is this place?"

"An old demon raid bunker that Seb, Clare, and I found about a decade ago. It's been a while since we've last been here, so you, Lyra, are stuck with me for a long time."

A crash echoes. Both Jon and Lyra jump. A portion of the ancient weapons wall had fallen exactly where Jace had dived. I smirk in the shadows.

Jon walks over to where I'm crouched. I shift over to the left just in time. His feet replace my body right after I leave that spot.

A yelp escapes Lyra as she's pulled into the dark. Jon whirls around frantically.

"Show yourself, demon," he yells. He goes into a defensive position and I decide to have some fun.

"No, stupid Nephilim," I rasp. "I'm going to have some fun."

A figure shaped like Xavier slithers across the ground. Jon stares at it with narrowed eyes and a clenched jaw.

"What is your name?" Jon demands.

I stand up behind him. "Clary Morgenstern," I whisper into his ear.

He immediately relaxes and I feel his body rumble with laughter. "I knew it. That - I don't know what it was - looked very human. So it was either you guys or an Eidolon but they don't speak that way."

One by one, everyone emerges from the dark corners. We start heading back to the manor, chatting and laughing as one big group.

If only Alec and Seb were here, I think gloomily.

Sorry, it took so long to update, guys. I had major writer's block.