"Hey, we're going out." Jace appeared in her room, dressed in light gear.
She looked at him through her mirror. "Are you going to be vague or tell me where we're going?" She asked.
He smirked at her. "I found the girl. From last night. I want to talk to her; I want to know how she can see us."
She almost dropped her hairbrush. Not Clary. They couldn't bother her. They had to leave her be. But she couldn't argue with Jace. And she did want to see how she was holding up after the previous night.
"Well?" Jace grew impatient very quickly.
She pursed her lips, putting her brush down. "Stay while I get ready." She decided. Her fingers hurried through her hair, knotting it into its twin braids. She changed into dark pants and a black shirt. She put a dark vest on over the shirt and laced up her boots. "Weapons."
He raised his eyebrows at her. "Weapons? This is a stealth mission."
She rolled her eyes. "Come on, Wayland. We at least need a seraph blade or two." He followed her to the weapons room. She worked swiftly, blessing two seraph blades and handing him one. She kept the other, stashing it in her vest. She put her knife bands on and blessed two throwing knives, sheathing them tightly. She looked back at Jace, smiling. "Let's go."
He grabbed her hand and they left the Institute. She asked where he had found the girl from the club. "Found out she was going to some mundane coffee place called Java Jones." His mouth worked, like there was something he wanted to say but didn't know how to say it in the right fashion. "So, last night…"
She smiled, a pink tint coloring her pale cheeks. "Nothing needs to be said about last night, Jace." Blushing seemed too trivial a thing for her, but he made her blush like she was a twelve-year-old girl who had just had her first kiss.
In a way, she was that twelve-year-old girl. She'd been isolated her entire life, never knowing anyone but Marisol, her father and her brother. The previous night's kiss had been her first.
Jace's grin lit up her entire world. He was quite literally the sun. "I love you." He continued smiling.
They arrived at Java Jones, walking through the door unseen. They picked a spot in the back to sit. Clary and an unknown boy that she seemed to be friendly with were sitting in front of them. Clary hadn't noticed them at all.
Jace leaned over, his mouth close to Eliza's ear. "This feels mundane, doesn't it? Listening to poetry in a coffee shop."
She looked at him from the side of her eye. "Sure. Except for the fact that we're armed. And incredibly dangerous."
Jace smirked at her. "Deadly is better suited for us."
She shoved him lightly. On the stage, some guy was reciting terrible poetry, an unusual and unpleasant expression of pain on his face. Right in front of them, Clary and her friend were talking intimately. Specifically, he was talking about an unnamed girl he liked. Clary was being completely oblivious to the fact that her friend liked her.
Jace coughed to try and cover up his laughter. Eliza shot him a withering glare. "Jace, don't." She hissed. "It's romantic."
Clary turned, her eyes wide as she took them in. Simon turned too, completely looking through them. Jace waved half-heartedly at Clary, his family ring glittering in the light. He leaned towards Eliza. "Come on." He grabbed her hand, lacing his fingers through hers.
The two of them got up and walked out of Java Jones. Once they got outside, Jace leaned against the wall, as if he expected Clary to come running after them.
Eliza fiddled with the wrist braces, the tips of her fingers skimming over the slim knife blades. When she looked at Jace again, he was messing with his Sensor. With the setting of the sun, the sky was turning shades of pink and purple and Jace's hair had a coppered gold tint.
"You're beautiful." Eliza told him.
He pulled a face. "I prefer handsome."
She said no, handsome wasn't enough. It didn't do him justice. "Any man can be handsome." She told him. "But you're beautiful. Like an angel."
His golden eyes glinted. The doors to Java Jones slammed shut and they both looked in the direction. Clary was staring at them. Jace smiled brightly at her. "Your friend is really bad at poetry." He told her.
Eliza smacked him on the bicep. He looked at her, eyes wide with surprise. "Don't be rude, Jace."
"Excuse me?" Clary called their attention.
Jace pocketed his Sensor. "His poetry. The guy on stage. He's really bad at it. Someone should tell him."
Eliza rolled her eyes. "I'm sure she didn't follow us out here to ask us what we thought of the poetry." She told Jace. She looked back at Clary. "It was rather awful though." She admitted.
Clary gave an exasperated sigh at the two of them. "Followed you? You're following me!" She huffed. "And no, I don't care about your opinions on Eric's poetry. I don't even care about his poetry!"
"No one said we were following you." Jace countered.
Eliza pursed her lips. It wasn't technically following, but they had gone out looking for her. "Don't forget the eavesdropping." Clary said. "Either the two of you tell me what's going on and why you're spying on me, or I call the police and they sort it out."
Eliza entertained the idea of her calling the police in her head and then shut it down. Jace snickered quietly. "Little girl, the police aren't going to believe you when you tell them there are invisible people following you. They're going to admit you." His voice was unusually withering.
"My name is Clary. Not little girl." Clary said, her teeth gritted.
"Like the sage." Eliza whispered quietly, thinking no one heard her.
But Jace did. He always did. It was like he specifically listened for her voice. "Ah, yes. Clary sage. You know, in the old days, people thought eating the seeds let them see the Fair Folk." Jace told Clary. She said that actually, she didn't know that. Her tone was snippy and full of loathing. "You're quite the perplexing case, Clary." He drew out her name, every letter. "You can see us, but you prove to be just as mundane as every other mundane."
Clary asked what a mundane was. "A person who comes from the human world." Eliza answered. Clary said that they were human too. Eliza shrugged, a movement that seemed so unlike her. "We aren't like you." She half-lied. Clary was a Shadowhunter. Shadowhunter blood ran true, it ran dominantly. But Clary hadn't been raised like them. She had the blood, but she didn't have the training or the knowledge.
Not that she or Jace could know that. If everyone remained ignorant of who Clary was, she was safe. Even more so once Magnus came back.
Clary frowned. And then her face pinched in anger. Her cheeks turned a slight color of red, a different red than her carrot colored hair. "So that's why you were laughing." Clary said, as if she had discovered something previously hidden. "You think you're better than us. Better than everyone." She was looking pointedly at Jace, but Eliza had a feeling that she was not left out of the accusation.
Jace rolled his eyes, crossing his arms over his chest. "Wrong." He said in a bored tone. "I can't help but laugh when someone is declaring their love. Unrequited love amuses me."
Eliza laughed then. Both looked at her. She covered her mouth to smother her small fit of giggles. "I'm sorry." She said, her laughter dying down. "But Jace, declarations of love amuse you? You're the one to talk!"
Jace flushed. "Don't, Liz. It's different." She made an annoyed face at him. He didn't respond, looking back at Clary. "Besides, your friend, what's his name?"- "Simon."- "Simon might be the most mundane person I've ever seen. Also, Hodge considered you to be dangerous, but you are very clearly not dangerous. At least, not to us."
He had spoken to Hodge? Eliza looked at him, jaw slack with shock. "I didn't know you talked to Hodge about this." She said quietly.
He nodded. "Of course. She could see us."
She sucked on her teeth. Hodge knew about Clary's existence. He may not have known who she was exactly, but he knew about her. Things were getting stickier and stickier. She was losing time too fast.
"Dangerous? The two of you are dangerous!" Clary said quickly. "You killed a guy last night!"
Jace was completely nonchalant about the encounter. "We know. We know who we are, what we are. Do you know what you are? Who you are?"
Don't push her, Jace. Do not bring her further than where she is.
Clary asked who Hodge was. Eliza was half-tempted to answer that he was a lackey for her father, a traitor to the Clave. But she kept her mouth closed. "Hodge is our tutor. Will you show me your right hand?" Eliza's voice was everything Jace's had not been. She was inviting and trustworthy. Sympathy and kindness saturated her words.
"For what?" Clary asked. She continued after a half a moment. "Will you leave me alone if I do?"
Jace said of course and Eliza knew he was lying. He sounded too happy about it. Clary held out her right hand. Eliza took it with both of her small ones. Eliza had several inches on the other girl, almost towering over her.
Clary's knuckles were dusted with light freckles. Eliza's movements were gentle as she inspected Clary's hand, turning it over, her eyes straining to see what she knew wasn't there. "Are you left handed perhaps?" She asked her. Clary said no. She asked why. "When we're children, we Shadowhunters are Marked on our dominant hands. It's permanent, never going away." Clary muttered that she saw nothing on Eliza's hand. "Look closer." Eliza whispered, breaking the rule her mother had set.
But Clary was in too deep already. There was no going back. Clary jerked, and Eliza knew that she had seen the Voyance rune- the Shadowhunters take on an eye- on the back of her left hand.
"You have tattoos. Cool." Her voice was flat, unimpressed.
Eliza smiled at her coolly. "They're runes." Jace spoke up. "We burn them into our skin."
Oh yes, Eliza's smile fell, let her think we mutilate ourselves. She really won't think we're crazy then.
"There are different runes for different things." Jace continued. "Most vanish after filling their purpose, but some are forever." He looked up at the sky. "It's almost dark. We'd better get going. Come along, Clary."
Clary looked at Eliza, green eyes wide with a mixture of fear and surprise. "You said…You said you'd leave me alone."
Eliza gave her a sympathetic look. "Well, I lied." Jace told her. A turn of events, Jace being the liar. "Hodge wants to talk to you."
What? Hodge wanted to talk to her? That couldn't be good. Why was Jace hiding things from her?
"Why?" Clary asked him. Yes, Eliza also wanted to know why. As far as anyone needed to know, Clary was a mundane with a touch of the Sight. So what? It happened all the time and no one had a cow over it before.
"You know about us. It's been at least a century since anyone knew the truth." Jace told her.
Eliza wished he weren't so dramatic. Things could do without his flair.
"No one's supposed to know about people who believe in demons and warlocks, then?" Clary remarked sarcastically.
Eliza hid a smile. She liked her. "What Jace means," Eliza interrupted their conversation, "is that no mundane has known about Shadowhunters in a very long time. We do believe in demons, yes, but that's because we kill them."
Clary set her mouth in a line. "Well, what if I don't want to see this Hodge guy?"
It's better if you don't, Eliza thought bitterly.
"You come willingly, or we take you." Jace said honestly, not caring that he sounded very much like a kidnapper. Which was exactly what Clary accused him of being.
Before Clary could say anything else, her phone began ringing. Eliza looked at the phone hopefully. Please be Jocelyn, she thought, please call Clary away and take her far away from this.
Clary turned away from them to take the call. Eliza heard bits and pieces. "Mom?...I'm fine, Mom. I'm coming home-…Mom!...Who found you? Mom what's going-Mom!" Clary was shouting.
Mom. Jocelyn.
Eliza wanted to move, to console Clary, but her feet were stuck to the ground, her legs betraying her.
"What's wrong?" Jace asked. Clary didn't answer. "Clary, talk to us."
She messed with her phone, redialing and redialing. She dropped the phone to the ground. "Damn!" She shouted.
Eliza moved then. Jace was on his way to her but she easily bypassed him and went to Clary. Her sister was on her knees on the ground. She squatted down and put her hands on Clary's shoulders. "Look at me, Clary." She said in a soft voice. Clary looked over at her. "Tell me what's happened. Is your mother okay?" Is our mother okay?
Clary shook her head and jerked away from her. She went for Jace, jerking his Sensor from his shirt pocket. "I have to use your phone and call the police."
Eliza sighed, standing up. Jace told her that it wasn't a phone, it wouldn't work. "We can help you if you tell us what's going on." Jace insisted.
Clary reached out, smacking him across the face. Jace stumbled back in surprise. Clary took off running down the street.
"Clary! Clary, wait!" Eliza called. But Clary kept running. She turned to Jace. "Let me see." She muttered. Jace showed her his cheek. Yes, it was a little red and there were splotches of blood where Clary's nails had cut into the skin. "You'll be fine." She patted his cheek softly. "We've got to go after her, you know."
Jace said he knew.
Eliza pretended not to know how to get to Clary's brownstone in Park Slope. But once they got there, something heavy filled her stomach.
Something was wrong.
The foyer of the brownstone was dark, the light burned out. The lights on the stairwell were out as well. Eliza took out her Witchlight and it shone in the darkness. Jace followed her up the stairs, the feeling in her stomach making her feel nauseous.
The apartment door was wide open, letting light out. She pocketed her Witchlight and stepped inside.
The apartment was brightly lit. Every light inside was on. The living room windows were wide open, the white curtains ripped. The cushions from the couch had been torn and ripped apart, thrown carelessly around the room. The bookshelves had been knocked down. The piano bench lay on the floor, music books scattered beside it. All the paintings had been shredded at and torn from their canvases.
Eliza bit down on her lip as she took the scene in.
The kitchen held a similar fate. Cabinets strewn open, a bottle of some red sauce shattered on the floor.
Her nose stung, so she knew that whatever had done this was a demon. But what kind, she had to know. What had ruined this place? What had her mother so afraid?
She followed Jace around the small apartment, walking towards the back of the home. He nudged the master bedroom door open. Eliza immediately shielded herself from the smell. Demons smelled awful; if they left a body, they smelled worse dead.
"She's still alive." Jace told her.
Eliza uncovered her face, her nose still scrunched up. The Ravener demon was dead on the floor. Next to it was a young girl, not far from their own age at all. Her wild red hair was a mess of curls. She lay unconscious on the floor.
Clary, Eliza thought. Where was Jocelyn?
She bent down next to the Ravener. There was no visible injury on the demon, other than the black liquid coming from its mouth. What had killed it? She groaned and stuck her hand in its mouth. She felt around until her fingers grasped something. She pulled it out, covered in demon saliva.
Jace's Sensor.
"Well, she isn't dumb. She shoved the Sensor in its mouth. It must have choked on the runes. Probably saved her life." Eliza mumbled. A surge of pride went through her. Even without the upbringing, Clary was a Shadowhunter.
Jace knelt, checking her pulse and breathing. "It stung her. We gotta get her back to the Institute before she dies." He told her.
Eliza frowned at her companion. "Okay. You carry her. I'll guard." She stated. Jace huffed a breath and picked up Clary's limp body. He grimaced as he began to walk out of the bedroom. Eliza gave him a look. Was he really struggling to carry Clary? The girl had the stature of a child.
"You could help, instead of making fun of me." He suggested lightly.
She smiled at him, holding the door open for him as he made his way into the hallway of the apartment. "You know, I would but making fun of you is so much more fun." She did want to help, but she worried that if she looked too eager, Jace would think something was up.
She followed him out of the building. There were two cops outside, talking quietly. Jace and Eliza hid behind the rose bushes and Jace laid Clary down gently.
Eliza peered through the bushes, watching the cops. "Du'sien demons." Eliza reported. "There's no getting out of here without them seeing."
She glanced back at Jace. Clary's eyes were open. "Don't move." Jace warned her. Clary moved anyways. She wavered as she sat up. "I told you." Jace sighed.
Eliza moved over towards them and lifted the hair from Clary's neck. She grimaced. "The Ravener stung you in the neck. We're going to get you back to the Institute, so we can heal you." Eliza told her. "Don't worry." She whispered so only Clary could hear.
"It talked to me." Clary began shaking as she recalled the terror.
Eliza nodded as Jace tied a cloth around Clary's neck to cover the wound. "You've heard them speak before. At Pandemonium." Jace told her.
Eliza asked what the demon said. Clary only said it was going to eat her. "A good thing you killed it then." Her smile was meant to be encouraging. She glanced back at the Du'sien demons and then at Jace. "Go. I'll catch up." She told Jace. "Get her back to the Institute."
"What about my mom?" Clary's voice was a whisper. Eliza gave her a soft look, one that said she wasn't sure about her mother. Their mother.
He shook his head. "I'm not going without you."
She leaned forward and cupped his face. "Yes. You are. She's going to die if she doesn't get help soon. She can't die, Jace. She can't." Jace frowned at her, at the pleading in her voice. She glanced back at the demons and then looked back to him. "There's only two of them. I can handle it. Hodge said I'm better than you, remember?" There was a hint of taunting in her voice.
Hodge held Jace to the highest when it came to training. He always said Jace was the best Shadowhunter of their age. And then Eliza came. She hadn't been bad at the start, but not at Jace's level. It didn't take long for Eliza to become as good as him, maybe even better.
Jace scoffed. "Almost. He said almost." He reminded her. "Besides, you've always had backup." There was something in his eyes, something that made her stomach knot up. She recognized it: fear.
She leaned forward, her green eyes seeming to darken. "Jace, we don't have time to argue. We came to save her life and that's what we're going to do. Now go." She pressed a kiss against his lips and pulled away. She looked at her unknowing little sister, oblivious to everything that was happening. "You're going to be okay. I promise."
She stood up and made her way through the bushes. The demons were focused on the apartment building, not even paying attention to her. Not until she got close. Somehow, demons always knew when she was near. They turned, sickly smiles on their faces.
"Officers." Her voice was high and sweet. "I'm having a little car trouble down the block. I could use a little help." She suggested sweetly.
To them, she looked like a quick meal. "Of course." The female officer said. "Lead us there."
She refrained from glancing back at the rose bushes. She led the officers down the street to a secluded and dark area. She took out her two seraph blades. "Is it me or do you demons keep getting more and more stupid?" She asked.
She twirled the blades in her hands. "You are the stupid one." The male demon said. "We haven't eaten in days."
"Give it your best then." She hissed.
Both lunged at her. She ducked and slashed at the female demon. The blade cut right through the demon's stomach. The demon screamed as she turned to dust. Eliza smiled at the remaining demon.
"Is that all you've got?" She asked him.
He growled, running towards her. He slammed her against the alley wall and grabbed her by the throat. "You smell good." He growled. "Can't wait to eat you."
Her fingers fumbled as she produced two small knives from her jacket pocket. She shoved one into his side and he howled as he stumbled backwards. She picked up her seraph blades from the ground and used both to sever his head.
She wiped them off on her jeans and put them back on her back. She wiped the sweat from her forehead and sighed heavily.
All she wanted was a hot shower and to crawl into her bed. Or Jace's. She wasn't picky.
I'm back, little dove.
Thank the Angel. But it must wait. Something has…come up.
Oh? Do tell me more.
She recounted in her mind what had happened. Clary finding them at the club, she and Jace finding Clary at the coffee place, the call from Jocelyn, the Ravener in their apartment and rescuing Clary and bringing her to the Institute.
I'm staying to find out what she knows and then I'm leaving. It must happen after Clary wakes up. I need to know she's okay.
Magnus said he supported whatever decision she had to make, but they couldn't wait forever. And they wouldn't, she told him.
For three days, Eliza paced. She didn't sit by her sister's sickbed like she wanted. No, she paced, and she threw knives. From what Izzy said, Jace hadn't visited Clary at all. At least Eliza checked on her occasionally.
But Eliza was there when Clary woke. Her sister's eyes fluttered open.
"And she lives." Izzy remarked dryly.
Eliza shot Izzy a contemptuous look. Clary turned slowly to look at Izzy, who was sitting on the next bed. "What Izzy means is that we were worried you would die in your sleep. We're pleased that didn't occur." Eliza said clearly.
"Am I in the Institute?" Clary's voice was raspy, sounding very much like she had been unconscious for three days.
Izzy rolled her eyes, flicking a braid over her shoulder. "I suppose there's nothing Jace and Eliza left to the imagination."
Eliza stood up and poured Clary a glass of whatever Hodge had sent from the pitcher on the bedside table. "Yes, this is the Institute. You're in the infirmary, a sorry place to experience first." Whatever the drink was, Clary had to drink it very soon after waking up. "This is a tisane, though I'm not sure which one. You haven't had any sort of nutrient in a few days. This will help." She handed Clary the cup. The girl's eyes skirted from the glass to Eliza. "Drink." Her tone left no room for argument.
Izzy slid off the bed she had been occupying. "My name is Isabelle. Isabelle Lightwood, but everyone usually calls me Izzy."
"Clary Fray."
Clary's eyes moved to Eliza. She waited. "I'm Eliza Starkweather. I was-."
"You helped save me. You were with Jace."
Eliza nodded, a pink tint coloring her cream face. Izzy snorted. "When isn't Eliza with Jace?" She asked sarcastically.
Eliza's cheeks turned a bright shade of pink. "Izzy, don't be childish." She said quickly. "Especially in front of a guest."
Clary asked how she got to the Institute. Izzy perked up, ready to tell the story. "So, apparently, Jace and Eliza go to rescue you and you've killed the Ravener demon all by yourself. The cops are demons, so Eliza uses her super badass skills to kill the demons and Jace brings you here. Hodge was pretty pissed at them. You got ichor and everything all over the rugs. My parents totally would have grounded Jace if they'd been here."
Clary closed her eyes. "I killed that thing." She whispered, opening her eyes.
Eliza said yes, she did.
"Where's Jace?" She asked, looking around the room. So, she wasn't the only one expecting him to be there.
Izzy shrugged and then said that she was going to go tell everyone else that she was awake. She pointed towards the bathroom and said that she had left Clary some of her old clothes. Clary asked where her own clothes were. Izzy smiled slightly. "You see, they had quite a lot of ichor and blood on them. So, Jace burned them."
Clary frowned. "Is he always so rude or is it because I'm a mundane?" She asked the two of them.
Eliza said he wasn't always rude. "He is." Izzy countered. "One of the reasons he's so hot." She gave a half-apologetic shrug to Eliza. "And he's killed more demons than anyone else his age."
Eliza let her have it. Jace was incredibly attractive. Izzy could admire that. "But isn't he your brother? He lives here with you." Clary asked, confusion coating her voice.
Izzy laughed loudly. "No. He's not my brother." Clary asked why Jace didn't live with his parents. Izzy looked at Eliza, her eyes dark.
"His parents have passed on. He doesn't like speaking about it, so we don't." Eliza said in a careful voice. Clary asked how quietly. Eliza opened her mouth and then shut it again. "His mother died giving birth to him and his father…" Lie, lie, lie. "Jace's father was murdered when Jace was ten. He was unfortunate enough to witness the event."
Izzy sighed, ending that conversation. "Now, I'm going to tell the news that Clary's woken up. Please freshen up, you smell." Izzy left after Clary thanked her.
Clary looked at Eliza. "Go and freshen up and change. I'll be here when you're finished." She helped Clary from the bed and the girl disappeared into the bathroom, shutting the door.
Eliza sat on the bed, her chin in her hands. She hoped this didn't take too long. She needed to ensure everyone's safety. Then more than ever.
The Ravener in her mother and Clary's apartment had been no coincidence. She was sure it had something to do with Valentine.
Clary came out of the bathroom a few minutes later. Izzy's clothes looked absurd on her, but she didn't say a word. The jeans were much too big and the shirt was too big in the chest area. Eliza sized her sister up. She was sure she had clothes she could borrow.
"Well, Izzy's taste is a little…different. I believe I've got some things you could wear more comfortably." Eliza told Clary.
Clary said thank you in a quiet voice. "Why are you so nice? The others are abrasive and they're rude. But you're not."
Because we're family, she wanted to say. But she didn't. She couldn't. "I grew up in a place where people were rude to me all the time. It still happens occasionally, if I run into certain people. Growing up like that, it can teach you to be kind. I think the world could use a little kindness, don't you?" Clary smiled and said yes. "Hmm, I think we'll go find Jace. Give him the news that you're awake in person." She decided.
Clary followed her to the corridor. It was empty, the rose lights flickering. Eliza didn't have to strain her ears to hear the sound of Jace's piano playing. She led her sister down the corridor to the music room. The sound of Jace's melancholy playing grew louder and louder still as they approached the room.
Jace was seated at the bench of the grand piano. Eliza could see how his hands glided across the keys. His halo of curls was messily done, his feet bare.
The floor creaked and Jace looked up. "Alec?" He called, not seeing them.
Eliza stepped into the light. "I'm offended. I don't think I resemble Alexander in any sort of fashion." She wore a different sort of smile on her face when she was near Jace. Like there was no way everything could be falling apart around her because there was Jace Wayland, beautiful and hers. Jace apologized in a sincere tone. "You can make up for it by playing something happy." She told him. "You always play such sad songs."
He stood up, peering into the dark next to her. Clary stepped forward quietly. "Well, look who's been kissed awake. It's about time, Sleeping Beauty." Jace carefully slid the cover of the piano closed. "Where are we off to?"
Eliza smiled radiantly. "We came for you. But I suppose to see Hodge now?" Jace said that sounded like a fine idea.
He looked at Clary, taking in her appearance. "Isabelle's clothes look absolutely ridiculous on you."
Eliza swatted at him. "Stop it. You burned hers." She snapped. "If I'd have known how ill-fitting they were going to be, I would have volunteered my own. Which, Clary is more than welcome to go through my closet after this and find something better suited for her."
"How generous." Jace drawled. "Can we stop talking fashion and go to Hodge?"
Eliza rolled her eyes in distaste, but said yes. As if by instinct, like they had been doing it for years, like it was the most common thing in the world, Jace's hand found hers. His fingers roped around hers. His free hand went to touch her hair, which fell in soft waves down her shoulders.
"Your hair's down. You don't wear your hair down very often." He noted quietly as Clary walked behind them.
"Jace, I wear my hair down all the time." She told him.
He said no. "You wear your hair in those complicated braids. This is just…you look like one of the Fair Folk."
Her nose crinkled in disgust, her mouth twisting into a frown. "What a rude thing to say. You know how I feel about the fey. Especially Kaelie."
Clary remained quiet behind them as they bickered about the fey waitress at Taki's. "I have a question." Clary said from behind.
"Ask and be answered." Jace told her. The pad of his thumb moved over Eliza's hand in gentle patterns of circles.
"There are a lot of empty bedrooms for this to be a place of research." Clary said, not really a question, but housing one.
Eliza nodded. "All Institutes are required to offer a place to stay and safety to any Shadowhunter who may require or request such. Therefore, we have a residential wing. Not many stay all the time. Not like we do." Clary asked who the we included. "Myself, Jace, Alec and Izzy, Max and their parents and then Hodge." She asked who Max was. "You've met Izzy." Clary said yes, she had. "Alec is her older brother and Max is their younger brother. He's with their parents in Idris, our home country. It's not on any maps you would have seen, so don't fret over not knowing about it."
She glanced back. Clary looked like she was reeling over with the information, trying to sort it all out. "Have you been there, to Idris?" Clary asked.
Eliza stopped walking, jerking Jace backwards. Clary fumbled into Eliza. Eliza took a deep breath, composing herself. "We grew up there." Jace spoke for her. "Ironically not knowing each other until this past May." There was a way that he sounded that said nothing else would be spoken of that pertained neither his nor Eliza's childhoods.
After a few more quiet minutes, they reached the library. Church was lying in front of the arched doors. Jace used his bare foot to pet the cat but it traded him for Eliza. She reached down and rubbed between his knubby ears. "Hi, sweet Church." She cooed.
"So, are you guys the only people you know that are your own age?" Clary asked. Jace shrugged and said yeah, he guessed so. Clary asked if that was lonely for them.
"No. I've got all I could ever need." He squeezed Eliza's hand tightly.
Her heart wrenched. Maybe not for long, she thought bitterly. Jace let her hand go and opened the doors to the library. Clary walked in beside of Eliza.
Hodge was sitting at the desk in the middle of the room. He had a fond smile on his face. Eliza turned to see Clary admiring the room. "You've brought me a book lover." Hodge accounted. "One of you should have told me."
Jace stuffed his hands in the pockets of his jeans, grinning at Hodge. "There's not been quite a lot of talking, Hodge, what between the demon killings and all. Our reading habits were back burner."
Hugin sat on Hodge's shoulder, watching the room with dark beady eyes. Hodge stood and Hugin stirred. "I am Hodge Starkweather." He told Clary. "And this is Hugo." He reached his hand out and Clary shook it, introducing herself.
Hugin stared at Eliza, the two connecting gazes. Eliza hated the bird and she hated his brother, Munin. Jonathan had trained them to be cruel, to peck and bite and rip at skin and clothing. Valentine had saved Jace's falcon a terrible fate.
"Jace and Eliza have told me that you killed a Ravener with your own hands? I'm impressed, to say the least." Hodge told Clary.
Clary shook her head at the statement. "I used Jace's phone."
Jace laughed. "My Sensor. She shoved my Sensor into its mouth. I'll be needing a new one."
Hodge said that there were extras in the weapons room. He turned back to Clary, a smile on his face. He asked how she had been creative enough to use the Sensor as a weapon. Before Clary could answer, a cold laugh cut through the room.
Alec was sitting in the red chair by the fireplace, his long limbs covering the piece of furniture. "Do you seriously buy that?" He asked. The other four people in the room stared at him. He was looking at Clary with contempt and hatred. A look that didn't grace his beautiful face often.
"Alec, what do you mean by that?" Hodge asked, an eyebrow quirking. "Are you insinuating that Clary didn't dispose of the Ravener in her apartment?
Alec said no. "Have you seen her? She's a mundane, for one. And a child one at that."
Eliza bit her tongue. She couldn't speak out against Alec, not as much as she wanted to. "I'll be sixteen on Sunday." Clary told him.
Not even two years between us, Eliza thought. How can we be so different?
"Isabelle is sixteen. Are you calling her a child as well?" Hodge asked.
Alec's face twisted into a dry form of anger. "My sister is a descendent from one of the greatest Shadowhunter lines. Meanwhile, this girl is a descendent from New Jersey."
Wrong. Clary hailed from a stained Shadowhunter line. One no one would ever want to be a part of. She wondered what Clary would say if she ever found out who she really was.
"I'm from Brooklyn." Clary finally said, her voice calm. "And I just killed a demon that attacked me and probably ate my mom but you're being a dick because I'm not a spoiled brat like you or your sister."
The room went silent. And then Jace laughed. Alec stood up. "Jace, are you really going to let her get away with that?" He asked.
"Oh, yes. Take it in." Jace said generously.
Alec's face tightened. Oh, Jace had really pissed him off. "Jace, you and I may be parabatai but my patience with you is wearing incredibly thin."
Jace said the same went for him as well, how perfectly matched they were. "I watched the demon vanish, Alec. If she didn't kill it, who did?"
Alec suggested that maybe the demon stung itself, they were known for being stupid. "You're kidding me." Eliza spoke, her voice cool. Alec stared back at her, a stoic no coming from his mouth. "Are you trying to imply that the Ravener committed an accidental suicide? Alec, I stuck my hand in its mouth. I pulled the Sensor out. Clary killed it. Get over it."
She had never been so blasé with him before. Alec had always been kind to her and her in return. He pursed his lips, turning to Hodge. "She can't be here. Mundanes aren't allowed to be inside an Institute."
"Not according to the Law." Hodge said. "If under special- and this is quite special- circumstances, mundanes are allowed sanctuary. Clary and her mother were attacked by a Ravener. She is allowed inside."
Good one Hodge, Eliza thought.
Alec wasn't done. "We all know what Raveners are used for. They're machines for higher level demons and warlocks. Tell me, what would a Downworlder or a demon want from her and her mother?" His eyes were bright.
"What is that supposed to mean?" Clary asked hotly.
Eliza knew exactly what it meant. And she assumed Hodge did too. "Alec only means that it's highly unusual, almost unheard of actually, for a warlock or powerful demon to concern itself with a mundane household. Now, some humans do succeed in summoning demons by means of a warlock."
Clary shook her head, saying no. "Unless…our downstairs neighbor, she's a witch. The demons could have been after her and got mixed up."
Hodge looked at her questioningly. Jace shot it down. "She's a fake. A hedge witch, if you must. A non-threat to our issue at hand."
Hodge nodded, his mouth a frown. He stroked the raven on his shoulder as he thought to himself for a few moments. "Well, I believe we should notify the Clave." He decided. Jace said no immediately. Alec agreed with Hodge. "Jace, I apologize but it's what we must do. The Clave must be notified of the presence of a mundane who has knowledge of Shadowhunters. It is Law."
Jace took a deep breath. As if he were about to uncover some deep secret no one knew about. And he did. "What if she wasn't a mundane?" He asked quietly.
Clary said that was impossible. She was a mundane.
Eliza stared Jace down. What did he mean? What could he mean? "Start talking, Wayland." Her voice was unusually hard.
He didn't meet her eye. "That night, there were the Du'sien demons. Eliza went to distract and kill them. Except, Clary was too weak to run and there was another demon I didn't see so…" "So?", coaxed Eliza "So I put a mendelin rune on her arm."
Eliza's vision turned red. She heard Hodge shout something at Jace. But he was looking at her. "You idiot." She groaned. "You complete moron! She could have died!"
Hodge sided with her. "You know the Law, Jace. What it says about Marking mundanes."
Jace said he did. "Clary, show them your arm. Show Eliza."
Eliza moved to stand next to Clary. The girl held her arm up. Eliza saw it, not exactly clear as day. But it was there. Three overlapping circles on the inside of her arm. A rune.
"She wasn't hurt by it." Jace said quietly.
"That is not the point." Hodge seethed. "She could have become a Forsaken."
Jace said that she didn't. Which meant she had to have Clave blood. Shadowhunter blood. Eliza's vision was dotted with red. All she could think about was how Jace could have easily turned her sister into a monster. Or killed her.
Clary said there was no way that was true. Jace told her that she did, that she had to, or the Mark would have killed her.
"Eliza." Hodge's voice ran clear in her head. She turned her sights to him. "What do you have to say about all of this?"
She crossed her arms over her chest, standing up straighter. "I think that Jace is a complete idiot who risked Clary's life simply on the fact that she has a little more than a touch of the Sight." Hodge asked what she thought of the possibility that Clary had Shadowhunter blood. "I won't write it off as impossible. Anything can happen."
"Clary's mother could have been in exile from our world. That gives the possibility of unnatural enemies." Jace offered.
He was partly correct. Not that he needed to know.
"There was no way my mother was like all of you." Clary wrote it off immediately.
Eliza wanted to laugh at her. She would be surprised about her mother. What she had done.
"And your father? Where is he?" Jace asked her.
Eliza did wonder what lie Jocelyn had made up to tell Clary. There was no way Clary knew the truth. Jocelyn would have done anything to prevent Clary from knowing the truth. "He's dead." Clary said simply. "He died before I was born. Wrapped his car around a tree in Albany."
More like alive and in the city, trying to kill anything that opposes him.
"Then, it could be possible." Alec interluded. "Her father could have had the Angel's blood and her mother have been a mundane. We all know the Law on relationships between Shadowhunters and mundanes."
"It seems the most likely." Eliza agreed with him. "It explains why Clary has no idea about the Shadow World. And if her father is dead and the Clave didn't know how to find her mother, it also explains why the Clave never came for her." Clary said that her mother would have told her that. She would have had to have. Eliza gave her a sympathetic look. "No, she wouldn't. Everyone has secrets. Some more than others. Perhaps that was hers."
Clary went quiet. Jace moved to stand beside Eliza. He nudged her with his elbow and leaned close to her. "You didn't have to say that about me." He said quietly.
She nodded once. "Yes, I did." She told him. "Sometimes you need to be put in your place. Especially if you're going to go around putting the Marks of the Covenant on mundanes."
He pulled a face. She supposed he had never expected her to oppose him. Eliza glanced back at the scene behind them. Clary was using the rotary phone to call someone.
"Liz." Jace sighed. He opened his mouth to say something else, but she cut him off.
"Jonathan." Her quiet voice was only a whisper, but it was angry. "You could have killed her. Or turned her into a Forsaken. I know you were trying to help her and that you achieved that goal, but actions have consequences, so I need you to think about those. Please."
The phone dropped back onto the receiver. Eliza looked back at Clary. Her sister's hands were shaking. "So, that must have been a no." Jace observed loudly.
Hodge's face was disapproving. "If the three of you would kindly leave, I'd like to speak with Clary alone."
Oh, there was no way she was leaving Clary alone with him. Jace went to leave, joining Alec by the door. He looked back at Eliza expectantly. "I'm going to stay with Clary. I think she'll need a familiar face." She wasn't leaving Clary alone with a traitor like Hodge. And she needed to know what Clary wasn't telling.
"Very well. Eliza, you can stay behind." Hodge permitted.
Jace's mouth went slack. "Excuse me." He huffed. "I found her. I saved her life. Why don't I get to stay?"
"Jace." Eliza's tone was warning. Don't argue.
Alec sniggered behind Jace. His hand was on Jace's shoulder, starting to turn him around. "See Jace, not everyone wants you around all the time. Not even Eliza." Jace grimaced and followed Alec from the library, muttering that they would be in the weapons room.
"Let's sit." Eliza told Clary. She led Clary to the couch and they both sat. Clary seemed to ease at the comfort of the furniture. Eliza plucked a kerchief from the desk and handed it to Clary. "Here. It's all right to cry. You've had a very hard day."
Clary shook her head. "No. I don't cry. It doesn't mean anything, I promise."
Eliza frowned at her. Eliza had really never cried. Not since she was a child, at least. But she knew that crying was perfectly all right. Hodge pulled the chair from behind the desk in front of the couch.
"Clary, would you like anything? Perhaps a nice hot tea?" Hodge offered.
She said no, she didn't want tea. He offered her water and she said no again. "All I would like is to find my mom. And then kill whoever took her."
"I'm afraid we don't have any bitter revenge, my dear." Hodge cracked a smile.
Eliza held her tongue. You may not have any, but I have plenty.
Clary sighed, asking what she was supposed to do. She didn't have anywhere to go. "Well, it's always a nice start to tell us exactly what happened." Hodge said, handing her his own handkerchief and replacing the one Eliza had given her. "Had you ever seen a demon before the Ravener in your home?"
Eliza said no for her. "She saw us kill the Eidolon in Pandemonium."
Hodge smiled. "Of course. I forgot about that little incident. So that was the first time you had ever interacted with a demon or a Downworlder?" Clary said no. "Your mother never mentioned anything at all about any of this? Or took a peculiar interest in myths?"
She shook her head furiously. "My mom was the most normal person in the world. She wouldn't even let me watch Disney Channel. Is there any way that is all one awful mix-up? A terrible mistake?"
"No, I'm afraid not. You are not an ordinary mundane. You saw the Ravener for what it was, and you heard it when it spoke to you." Hodge told her.
Clary closed her eyes tightly. Eliza put a comforting hand on top of Clary's own. "It's fine. You're perfectly safe here."
When Clary opened her eyes, they were prickled with tears. "It wanted to eat me. But it said it wasn't supposed to. And it said something about a Valentine or-."
Eliza jerked away from Clary so fast she almost hit her with her hand by accident. Hodge went stock still, Hugin flying away from his sudden movements. "It said what?" Hodge asked quietly.
Eliza saw him sneak a glance in her direction, but she kept her eyes averted. "The demon in Pandemonium said the same thing. Something about knowing where Valentine was…" Clary continued. "Does that mean anything?"
Hodge said yes. Valentine was a name most knew in their world. "He was a Shadowhunter."
"Was?" Clary questioned.
Eliza licked her bottom lip. She looked at Clary with dark eyes. "Yes. Was. He's been dead for almost fifteen years." She had to work hard to keep her hands from shaking, her voice from wavering. Clary asked if there was any way if could be someone with the same name. "No. It's a cursed name now." Eliza said, her voice thick.
"Although, someone could be using his name to send a message." Hodge suggested. He stood up and moved to his desk. "This seems to be the time to do so. With the Accords coming up."
Eliza's mouth had a sour feeling to it. Clary asked what the Accords were. "Our peace negotiations with the Downworlders." Clary, he realized, had no idea who the Downworlders were. "Forgive me, I must be confusing you." Hodge apologized. "The Downworlders are beings such as the Night Children-vampires-, the Moon Children-werewolves-, the Fair Folk-faeries- and Lilith's children-the warlocks. And we, the Shadowhunters, are the Nephilim. We came to be over a thousand years ago when our world was plagued by demons. A warlock summoned an angel, Raziel. He gave his blood and mixed it with the blood of men. Those who consumed the blood became Shadowhunters and the blood passed down, always dominate. The cup from which they drank became known as the Mortal Cup, from which it was always possible to create more Shadowhunters."
"Was? What do you mean when you say was? Is it lost?" Clary asked.
Eliza cleared her throat. "In a way, yes." She said. "Valentine destroyed the Mortal Cup before he died. He set the manor on fire, killing himself and his wife and their son. Just like his name, the land is cursed." Clary asked if the land and the name were really cursed. "Curses are uncommon, but I wouldn't put it past the Clave. My- Valentine committed the greatest sin. He killed fellow Shadowhunters, he and his group, the Circle, they called themselves. Valentine and the Circle murdered dozens of Nephilim and hundreds of Downworlders just before the last signing of the Accords."
"But why would he turn on everyone? Why would he kill so many people?" Clary asked.
Eliza asked herself the same question. Though, she knew the answer and much more. She thought of the way her father's eyes darkened whenever he talked about the Downworlders, how his voice went mad. "He hated them. He disapproved of the Accords because of his feelings towards the Downworlders. He saw them the same way we all see demons. As invaders, unnatural and impure. It's not the way that Shadowhunters, especially the Clave, sees Downworlders as allies. We need them to fully defeat the demons." Eliza continued to explain. She couldn't imagine having to live without Magnus. He was her saving grace, her only solace. He would be the only one still with her when everything was over.
Hodge continued for her, saying that because of Valentine, the Accords were made possible. The Downworlders saw Shadowhunters turn against their brethren and defend the Downworlders, giving them hope for a better future. "I shall send a message to the Clave and the Silent Brothers, alerting them to the situation. We will go from there."
Clary wrung her hands in her lap. Eliza asked if something was wrong, other than the obvious. "I want to go home. I need to see if there's anything left, and I need clothes."
Hodge gave Eliza a wayward look. She already knew what he was asking of her. "I suppose," Hodge started, "but only if Eliza or Jace escort you there. It will be much safer with at least one of them."
Clary looked at Eliza, expectant and a little unsure. "Come." She stood, holding her hand out to Clary. "We'll go ask Jace. He might be in a mood, though."
Hodge chuckled lightly. "It's you asking, my dear Eliza. He won't say no."
Her cheeks tinted. Clary stood and walked with her out of the library. As the door closed, Clary turned to Eliza. "Can I ask you some questions?" Eliza nodded, not saying anything. "Are you and Jace dating?"
Eliza stopped dead in her tracks. "Why would you ask that?" She asked quietly before beginning to move again.
Clary smiled knowingly. "The way you two look at each other. You blush when his name comes up. And you guys hold hands. A lot."
A dark red crept up Eliza's neck. "It's complicated. Really complicated."
Clary said that was all that mattered. "Okay, one more." Eliza glanced at her, telling her to ask. "How do you know so much about Valentine?"
Eliza's eye twitched. She looked at Clary. "My uncle, on my mother's side. His name was Henry Ravenscar. He died because of Valentine. My mother always told my brother and I about what occurred because of Valentine. I used to have terrible nightmares about it." She said it slowly, ensuring that Clary believed the clever lie. But she still looked stunned. "Are those the only questions you have?"
Clary stayed silent all the way to the weapons room. Eliza opened the door.
Little dove, get your affairs in order. It's time.
He knew she was done. He knew her better than she knew herself. Eliza walked Clary into the weapons room. Alec and Jace were standing at the table, creating new seraph blades.
"There's been a change of plans. Jace, you're escorting Clary back to her apartment to go through her things."
Clary's eyes widened. "You aren't going?"
She said no. "I have somewhere to be. But Jace is going to take exceptional care of you." She said with a slight smile.
Jace put down his seraph blade. "Where are you going?" He asked her.
She asked him to go into the hall with her for a moment. He followed her out, leaving the door cracked open just a smidge. "All this talk of Valentine has me feeling weird. I told you about what he did to my family, to my mother. I'm just going to walk around the city for a while and try to breathe. I just need to be alone for a while."
Jace frowned at her, but said nothing to counter her plans. "I'd better get in there before they start hitting each other." She pulled on his hand, pulling him to her. She kissed him, deeply because she knew it would be the last time. The kiss lasted only a few seconds until he pulled away. "I love you." He told her.
She couldn't help but smile. She dropped his hand, letting him walk back to the door. "Jace." She called softly. He half turned, looking at her. "Take care of Clary. And yourself. Don't do anything reckless."
He told her that reckless was his middle name before going back into the weapons room.
She didn't let herself cry as she stole away to her room.
Her hands shook as she wrote the letter that was going to be her downfall. Once she gave this to him, he would tell Alec and Izzy and she'd lose the only friends she had ever had. She may even lose Clary. Not that she would remember them anyways.
Soon, everything she had learned, everything she knew, was going to be gone. She wouldn't know Alec or Izzy or even Clary. She wouldn't know Jace. She silently told herself that it was all for the better. It was to protect them, to protect the world.
Her tears stained the paper as her shaky script glided over the page. She wiped her nose with the back of her hand as she continued to write. She couldn't tell him everything, no, there were some things that had to stay buried, including her brother. At least, that's what people needed to think.
Jace,
By the time you get this, I'll be gone. No, stop making that face. You know the one I'm talking about. The worried, upset one. I'm not dead. I'm just…gone. Which, once you get to the end of this letter, I won't matter to you anymore. But first, I'm going to tell you a story. My story.
My name is Eliza Seraphina Morgenstern, born to Valentine & Jocelyn Morgenstern. I had a twin brother named Jonathan, who died in a house fire along with my grandparents. My father survived. He raised me secretly in a cottage owned by one of his most loyal followers, Marisol Hardtower. When I came of age, when he thought I was ready, he gave me his most important task. A search and rescue for his most prized possession: the Mortal Cup. He had sources saying it was in New York and he couldn't go, I mean, people thought he was dead. So, he sent me instead. He sent me to New York, telling me to find the Cup, no matter what.
He didn't know I had other plans. I hated him. I despised my father with all my being. I was going to betray him, use the Cup against him once I had it. I was going to turn him to the Clave and accept whatever punishment I received.
I didn't expect what happened once I got to the city. I didn't expect to make friends, to be accepted. I certainly didn't expect for someone to make me feel so breathless, so happy, so…good. And I was happy. I forgot about the Cup. But I never forgot the lies.
Then the whispers started. Demons here and there saying that Valentine was back, that he was in the city. And I knew, I knew I didn't have time. I was extremely lucky to have made an unlikely friend in the High Warlock of Brooklyn, Magnus Bane. Once I was sure my father was in the city, I decided to do the only thing I could to stop him. I had to erase myself, make myself disappear.
I knew once the truth came out, my friends, you, they would never want to see my again. And I was okay with that, deep down, because it was going to save their world from the most dangerous man.
Jace, I'm sorry. I'm not who you think I am. I'm the bad guy.
I told you I was a Starkweather, I told you that I was good. But I had to lie.
I never meant to hurt you. I never meant to hurt anyone. He wasn't supposed to come here, he was supposed to stay away, to wait for me. And I was going to turn the Cup over to the Clave, turn my father over to them, and live happily with whatever punishment I got.
I'm sorry. Please understand that. I will never forgive myself for any of this. For lying to you, betraying Alec and Izzy, taking advantage of your trust. If you never forgive me, I'll be fine with that.
I know how hard it was for you to open yourself up to me, to trust me. I'm sorry I had to lie to you. I know how badly you wanted me to be the good guy.
There are good people in the world. You just have to find them.
I'm doing all of this for you, to protect you. To keep you safe from him. He would hurt you and I can't let that happen. Not to you or Izzy or Alec or even Clary. I'm going to protect all of you, even if it means losing myself, losing everything.
Eliza
She bit down on her lip as she folded the letter. She shrugged on her jacket. She pocketed the letter and took one last look around the room she had been calling hers since May. She frowned, shaking the thought away.
She left the room, closing the door quietly. She walked down the hall to Jace's room, slipping the letter under his door. He was gone, out with Clary to go through her things in her ravaged apartment. He wouldn't find the letter until it was too late, not until she wasn't even herself anymore.
She moved through the Institute quickly, walking out into the world. She hailed a cab, telling the drive Magnus' address. The ride took too long, longer than she wanted. She arrived at his place, loudly slamming the door to announce her arrival.
"Get it over with." She told him, flopping down on the couch. Chairman Meow made his way into her lap, nuzzling against her stomach.
Magnus entered the living room, an annoyed look on his face, his cat eyes narrowed. "You know, you don't have to do this. You could go to the Conclave." He said, his face softening at her defeated look.
Her eyes were puffed from crying, her nose red from sniffles. "No. They won't find him. This way…he'll never see it coming. Please, get it over with. I don't want to feel this way any longer."
Magnus sat on the coffee table in front of her, placing his hands on the sides of her head. "You're ready?" She nodded in agreement. "Your name is Eliza Starkweather. You are the daughter of Oskar and Seraphina Starkweather, the younger sister of Jonathan Starkweather and third cousin twice removed of Hodge Starkweather. On the night of April twentieth of this year, your parents and brother perished in a terrible fire that destroyed your home. You were sent to the New York Institute to be with your cousin. You know nothing about the Mortal Cup and you've never met your mother or your sister. As far as you know, Valentine should be dead."
She licked her bottom lip. "Yes." She murmured. He told her how brave she was, how good she was.
Her eyes closed at the soothing tone of his voice and she slumped back. Magnus mumbled a few words in a demon language and picked her up, carrying her to the back bedroom. He laid her on the bed, covering her with the duvet. "Sleep well, little dove. There's a storm coming, and you'll need your strength."