There was a soft knock on her door. She'd only been back at the Institute for a little while. She had stopped by Magnus' first, her skin on fire. She had demanded an outfit for the party that night, one that would make her almost unrecognizable. And he had delivered, sending her and the outfit on their way so he could make his apartment presentable for the party.
"Come in." She said, her hairbrush working dutifully through her wet hair. She didn't see who came in her room, only hearing the door open and close.
"I feel as if we should talk." Jace's voice was clear, resonating in her mind.
A sick feeling filled her stomach as she remembered her dream from the previous night. "Oh? What about?" She stood up and moved to her bed. She pitched a throw blanket over her outfit for the party.
"I don't know. I was hoping you could tell me." He said simply.
She raised her eyebrows at him. She pulled the sleeves of her cardigan over her hands. "I'm not sure I know what you mean."
Jace leaned against the door. "Alec says you're mad about the Kaelie thing earlier."
Her shoulders stiffened. She looked at him with an unusual look in her eyes. "Why would I be mad? You're an attractive and single young man. You withhold a right to flirt with and kiss whomever you like."
He narrowed his eyes at her, clearly not believing a word from her mouth. "Is that what you and Alec have been doing, then? Flirting and kissing?" His words were venomous, burning her skin. She couldn't help but laugh at him as she asked what he meant. "You think I haven't noticed how close you and Alec have gotten? I can't imagine what goes on when the two of you are alone."
She clenched her hands into fists at her sides. "Well, I can certainly say I wonder how you spend your time with Clary. And as for what happens when I'm alone with Alec, it is most definitely not what occurs when I'm alone with you." She spat at him. "In which I mean that I am not filled with an undeniable sense of dread and annoyance."
"What is your problem?" He shouted at her. "You didn't used to be like this."
What the hell did that mean? She rolled her eyes at him. "You're my problem, Wayland." She gave him a stone look, her eyes like green daggers glaring at him.
"Eliza, what do you remember about your family?" Jace asked suddenly.
She frowned in confusion. They were in the midst of an argument and he was asking about her family? What sort of nonsense?
"Remember them? You act as if they died five years ago, not five months ago. I remember everything about them."
Jace's face seemed to soften. "I'm sorry, Liz. I didn't mean anything I said."
She put her hands on the desk, leaning back on it. "Very well. Apology accepted." She paused for a moment and decided to do the kind thing. "I apologize as well. I shouldn't have been so nasty towards you."
Jace took three steps towards her. He shoved his hands in the pockets of his jeans. "You don't talk about your family a lot, you know. I know the basics, but you don't ever really talk about them. Who they were."
She gestured to the bed and he sat down. She drew her legs up on the desk and perched herself on top of it. "My mother had these incredibly green eyes. The color of the forest after rain, that's how my father described them. She was mild-tempered and kind-hearted. I used to love playing with her hair. She always wore her hair down when I was younger. It fell in this waterfall of dark red curls. I loved it. It was like fire. And my dad…he was the most wonderful person I've ever known. I can't even describe him, honestly. They were a lot better when I was younger, my parents." Her voice went wistful, her eyes glazed with tears. "I was really young when my uncle died. My mother adored her younger brother. She would have killed for him, I think. Sometimes, if I think hard enough, I can see his eyes or hear his laugh. He used to chase Jonathan and I around the gardens of the house. When he died, I felt things change in the house. My mother didn't leave her bed for months. We weren't allowed to run in the gardens anymore." She was alert of the way Jace's eyes were staring her down as she spoke. She licked her lips and went on.
"He died during the Uprising." She said quietly. "Valentine was fleeing, and my uncle was defending him. Valentine fled from a fight he caused, and my uncle was too blind, too loyal, to stray away. A few months after he died, my mother started talking. I heard her whisper about taking us away, leaving behind everything except what we needed. She wanted to run, to quit being Shadowhunters. If my father had been closer with Uncle Henry, if he hadn't been so proud a Starkweather, he would have appeased her." She told him. "But my father was one of the last Starkweathers left. So, he told my mother that Jonathan and I wouldn't train as Shadowhunters. We wouldn't know how to fight or kill a demon. Jonathan hid books in his room, he would stay up all night reading about demonology and the different ways to kill a demon. He wanted nothing more than to be the best Shadowhunter our world had ever seen. He taught me as much as he could. Before he turned eighteen, he hired Westley Hightower to tutor me. West was patient with me. After John turned eighteen, he left Alicante to go to the London Institute to learn from Arthur Blackthorn. He came back every year for Christmas and my birthday. My parents tried so hard to get Westley to quit tutoring me, but no amount of money could persuade him. Every week, there was a dance held in the Hall of the Accords. I always went with John and then when he left, West escorted me. The dance of the week of my seventeenth birthday, John took Guinevere Cartwright and West took me. I wore a dress that John had brought me from London and that night, West kissed me. That was the last time I saw my brother before he died. He left early to walk Guinevere home and he was asleep when West dropped me off. West came early the next day, before John was awake, to take me to the demon towers."
Jace was no longer sitting. He was standing in front of her. She was aware of a wetness on her cheeks. Tears, she realized. The pads of his thumbs ran across the blotches of red on her cheeks, wiping the tears.
"Sometimes I think it's all a dream." She said softly. "It all seems so…perfect when I think about it. How could something so beautiful be real?"
Jace let his hands fall from her face. They rested on her knees. "The best things in life seem likes dreams, Liz. That's what I think whenever I lo-." He cut himself off and backed away. She asked what he was about to say, leaning forward. "Nothing. I'll see you later for the party."
He walked across the room, his hand resting on the doorknob. He paused, turning around. "You have her eyes." His voice was beautiful, smooth and flowing. "Your mother." He further explained. "Your eyes are the color of the forest after it rains."
She smiled at him as he left the room.
She wound up in the training room with Alec. "Does your offer still stand?" She asked, balancing on the rafters at the top of the room. Her voice floating down to where Alec was punching a dummy.
"What offer?" He shouted up to her.
She laughed quietly. "To talk. About my dream."
"Yes. Now, if you want." He replied easily.
She smiled to herself. Alec was such a good friend. She wished she would have gotten him before Jace had. He made an excellent fighting partner.
"I was in the greenhouse with Jace. We were lying among the morning glories and he was playing with my hair. But then he ran out of the room and I went to find him. I heard his piano music, so I went to the music room, but it wasn't him. There was this awful man who said terrible things. And there was a boy who insisted he was my brother, but he didn't look at all like Jonathan and he called the man his father, but he didn't look like my father either. I remember being seized by an awful fear because the man said he was going to hurt you and he was going to hurt Jace. And then you woke me up."
Alec had stopped punching. He was looking up at her, his lips pursed. "You're scared." He finally said. "You're worried about Jace. You're afraid he's going to do something stupid regarding Valentine."
She flipped down from the rafters, landing gracefully and firmly on her feet. She swiped pieces of stray hair from her face, looking up at Alec. "And you're not? This is Jace, after all."
Alec let out an amused noise. "Very true. I know how to keep him from doing something stupid." She asked how to do that. She had to know. Alec smirked at her, a mischievous look in his eyes. She asked him again. "Stay by him. Be at his side always. He won't do anything stupid with you around him. He doesn't want to risk you getting hurt because of him."
The familiar sense of déjà vu washed over her. She felt as if they'd had a similar conversation before. She shook the feeling away and rolled her eyes as her response. "I should go shower. For the party."
Alec's amused look fell from his face. "Right." He nodded. "Liz, I was telling the truth. Jace really does care about you. I…I don't know what'd he do if something happened to you."
She paused in front of the mirror. The black thigh high boots carved out the toned shape of her legs, the shortness of the dress accentuated just how long her legs were, the deep wine color of the dress made her pale skin look creamy and the high sleeveless neckline with the chest cutout emphasized her breasts.
She had asked Magnus for something stunning, something not like her at all and he had delivered in his magnificent fashion.
She had colored her lips a deep shade of red, dark makeup around her eyes and her hair fell down her shoulders in a wave of luxuriant loose curls. Her stele band was on her right bicep and her silver arm bands were around her wrists. She had a holster on her left thigh for a seraph blade.
Satisfied, she left her room, wondering what Izzy had conjured up to wear. Ever curious, she made her way to the other girl's room and nudged the door open.
Clary was sitting in front of Izzy's vanity, Izzy standing behind her and fixing her hair. From what Eliza saw, Clary was wearing something of Izzy's, a little slip of a black dress paired with fishnet tights and black boots. Izzy wore a silver skirt and a glimmering top, spots of silver in her inky hair.
Izzy turned back, a bright smile on her face. "Damn, Liz. You look hot." Clary went to turn but Izzy jerked her head back straight. "Where'd you get that dress?"
Eliza stepped into the room. "Magnus. He likes to spoil."
Izzy didn't respond. She continued her ministrations with Clary's hair, pinning it up with glittering pins. "Now for your makeup." Izzy decided.
"What's he like? Magnus?" Clary asked Eliza.
How to describe an entity like Magnus Bane, the Magnificent? "A rave." She decided. "He's bright and full of life."
"Can I ask the two of you something and it won't leave the room?" Clary asked them quietly.
Izzy inspected an eyeliner pen, glancing between it and Clary's eyes. "Yeah. Go ahead." She went to work on Clary's eyeliner.
Eliza watched Clary's mouth twitch as she tried to form the words. Finally, she spoke. "Alec. Is he…gay?"
Eliza watched Izzy's hand jerk, creating a dark path from Clary's eye to where her hair began. "Shit." Izzy muttered, tossing the pen on the vanity. Izzy turning quickly, her hands working around the mess of her vanity. She glanced back at Eliza, her expression unsure. "You can't say anything, either of you." Izzy said quietly.
"I knew." Eliza told Izzy. Izzy looked at her incredulously, like she couldn't believe what she was hearing. "I've spoken to Alec about it."
"Are Shadowhunters not allowed to be gay?" Clary questioned.
Izzy began wiping the stray eyeliner with a cotton ball. "It's seriously frowned upon. My parents would probably disown Alec and he'd be tossed out. It isn't talked about, being gay. Not with us."
Clary said nothing else on the matter, realizing the touchiness of the subject. Izzy finished her makeup. Clary leaned forward to get closer to the mirror. There was a stunned look on her face.
"Do you like it?" Izzy asked her. Clary said she did, her voice a shocked whisper of excitement. "Good. Let's go. I've heard amazing things about Downworld parties."
She looked at Eliza with a furious excitement, waiting for her to interlude on the matter. "Prepare to be amazed." Eliza admitted in a low voice.
They made their way from Izzy's room to the entryway of the Institute. The boys were waiting there, all dressed in black.
Eliza was aware of Jace's gaze on her. His slack mouth, his wide eyes. She smirked at him. "Wipe the drool from your mouth, Wayland. We've got a party to get to."
Jace's hand went to his mouth immediately. Simon was at Clary's side, inquiring about her dress. Jace handed Clary a small dagger, a rose shaped red stone on the hilt. Clary slipped the blade in her bag.
Eliza subconsciously fiddled with the thin throwing knives on her wrists. "You wear knives on your wrists? Isn't that dangerous?" Simon observed.
Her lips formed a slight smirk. "The bands are made of iron, long enough to cover the blade of any regular sized throwing knife. Completely safe. For me."
Simon paled at her response. "Don't mind her." Izzy told Simon. "Liz likes sharp objects. It's scary what she can do with a blade. She never misses."
Simon glanced at Eliza, a fearful look in his eyes. "Jace, wanna give him a demonstration?" Her green eyes seemed to darken a little. Jace said by all means. He stood stock still against the wall. Eliza took out a throwing knife. The silver blade was thin, glinting in the lighting. She twirled the knife over her knuckles, never hurting herself. "Ready?" He mumbled a yes.
Within the blink of an eye, the knife was out of her grasp, stuck in the wall right neck to Jace's ear. His finger grazed over his ear, coming back tipped in blood. "You nicked me." Jace breathed. "I'm bleeding."
Simon looked at Izzy, his brown eyes wide. "I thought you said she never missed?"
Eliza walked to Jace and plucked the knife from the wall. She put the knife back in the band and looked back at Simon. "I don't." He swallowed hard.
"You're sure you know the way?" Jace asked for the tenth time. "This doesn't look like somewhere the High Warlock of Brooklyn would live." He had tasked Isabelle with mapping the way, even though Eliza was leading them.
"Yes." Eliza groaned. "And if you're so sure of my incompetence, you can walk on your own and I'll go by myself." She told him sharply. "As if I don't know the way. It's etched into my mind."
"We're on the right street." Izzy announced, backing Eliza up.
Eliza gave her a thankful smile. Just ahead, she could see the sleek sheen of motorcycles. Demon energy motorcycles.
"I think we're in the right place." Alec told Jace.
Jace grimaced, taking in the bikes. "Vampires. Great."
Izzy started on how the bikes had been manipulated to run on the demon energy and then Alec interceded, saying how some flew or worked underwater.
"This the building?" Jace asked Eliza, pointing at the brick warehouse.
She said yes. He started towards the building, but she pulled him back. "Let me go first." She told him. "He knows me."
The five of them followed her into the building. She led them up the stairs to Magnus' apartment door. She pressed her palm against the door and it swung open. Magnus was close to the door, as if he had been about to open it.
"Well, if it isn't my little dove." Magnus' smile seemed to gleam, his yellow feline eyes shimmering under the lights. His dark hair was in spikes atop his head. He looked like one of the kids she would have seen in Pandemonium, dressed in jeans and black shirt that was covered in silver buckles. He had tons of black glitter around his eyes, his lips an electrifying blue. "I didn't realize I had invited you." He murmured thoughtfully. "No. I only invited my darling Eliza."
She made a half-annoyed face at him. "Don't be coy, Magnus. You knew we were coming. I came earlier." She reminded him in a weary voice.
Magnus looked her up and down, eyes skittering over her appearance. "I was right about the dress. I told you it would compliment that pale skin of yours." He stepped aside. "Inside you come, Nephilim. Please try not to murder any of my guests. That would be rude."
Eliza walked past him, a catty look in her eyes. She grabbed Jace, pulling him away from the others. "Do not be yourself tonight." She warned him. "We need his help and his favoring of me will not help us if you piss him off."
Jace shook her away. "You think I don't know how to behave?" He looked shocked.
She made a thin line of her red lips. "You do. You just act as if you don't."
Magnus' apartment looked different. It was void of furniture for the party. He had torn the doors from the rooms to use as a bar. There was a woman bartending, her lilac skin a beautiful shade and her two pairs of arms working swiftly.
A cat pawed at her covered ankle and she looked down. "Hello, birthday boy." She bent and lifted him into her arms. Jace made a face as she cooed at the cat. "Jace, say hello to Chairman Meow. Chairman, meet Jace."
Chairman Meow hissed at Jace.
Eliza saw Magnus slink towards Clary and she saddled herself beside him once he stopped walking.
"So, what's the party for?" Clary asked him.
"My cat. Though I've no idea where the beast has gone." Magnus sighed. "He doesn't like crowds."
Eliza cleared her throat, calling them to attention. Both looked at her. Clary asked if that was his cat and he said yes solemnly. "He really isn't enjoying the party, Magnus." She told him.
"Clary, this is my recently returned cat, Chairman Meow. He prefers the presence of Eliza. She sneaks him food he shouldn't have."
Clary cracked a smile. "She does the same thing with Church at the Institute. Your cat isn't special." Jace appeared. "It's a thing she does, you know. She makes people feel special and then she moves on to someone else."
Eliza's eyes narrowed at him. She put the cat down and let him scurry away. She so wanted to say something despicable but decided not to, for the sake of listening ears.
"So," Clary spoke, "where are Simon and Isabelle?"
Eliza noticed the crown of flowers topping Jace's halo of golden curls. He pointed to the dance floor. Jace looked at Magnus. "We need-."
A booming voice cut him off, shouting Magnus' name. The voice belonged to a short bald man with a dark goatee. "Warlock, someone poured holy water in the tank of my bike. All the pipes are melted."
Magnus looked half amused by the story. "A dreadful occurrence, I'm sure." Magnus bemused. The vampire bore his fangs at Magnus, demanding to know who was responsible and blaming the werewolves. Magnus looked down at his glitter covered fingernails. "None of the Moon Children were given an invitation, therefore, if a werewolf did this, it is not my responsibility."
"Do not try and skim you-." The vampire started to say.
Magnus' long index finger had barely moved, just the half of a twitch really. The vampire's hands went around his throat, a gagging noise protruding. Magnus had a lazy look on his face as he gazed at the vampire. "I believe the time for you to leave has arrived, Child of the Night." Magnus spread out his fingers and the vampire turned, being pushed to the door by an invisible force.
Jace had an impressed look on his face. "Cool." Was all he said. Magnus gave a gratified look.
Alec laughed lightly. "It was me, you know. I put the holy water in the gas tank. Figured the world could do with one less bloodsucker who had a sweet ride."
Eliza was shell-shocked. Alec had done that? "Shut up." Jace told him quietly.
Magnus looked at Alec with amusement. "What a spiteful angel you are." He smiled. "Is that all you came for? To pour some holy water in motorcycles? I'm disappointed; Eliza said there was an important matter to be discussed. I do hope I'm not in trouble with your Clave."
Jace said he wasn't. He told Magnus anything discussed was strictly confidential.
"Good. I have a room we can use to speak privately. Follow me."
Magnus led them down the sparsely populated hall and opened the door to the second door on the right.
The room had sparse white walls, a regal four poster bed sat in front of the furthest wall, a matching wardrobe across from it. There was a matching vanity as well and a door that led to a bathroom.
"Is this your room? It's awful plain." Jace observed. "Especially since you're so…loud." He used the words delicately.
"Heavens no." Magnus laughed loudly. "This room belongs to Eliza."
She felt them all look at her. "Wait, what?" Alec inquired. "She has a room here?"
Magnus shut the door and waved a hand over it. "Yes, of course she does. I know she's the best Shadowhunter of her age and that she's very deadly, but I much prefer she stay here instead of travelling back to Manhattan so late at night. I'm a warlock, not a monster." He gave Eliza the kindest of smiles. "So, what can I do for you?"
Clary cleared her throat. Magnus looked down at her inquisitively. He observed that she was not a Shadowhunter but did have more than a touch of the Sight. "My mom was. But I can't talk to her. She was taken. By Valentine."
A look of darkness passed over Magnus' face but was gone in an instant. "I apologize. I don't know a Valentine. Is there something else?"
Clary nodded. "I can't remember things. Things I need to remember. And when I went to the Silent City, guess what they found."
"I can be proud, sometimes at my own expense." Magnus said bitterly. "I should have never left my signature there." His index finger traced his name in the air, the letters made of golden fire. "I did a wonderful job on you, Clarissa Fray. One of my finer works. You didn't know you had the Sight, forgetting every little piece of the Shadow World as you saw it. I did better than your mother had asked me."
Clary was outraged. Rightfully so. Her mother had had her mind altered, in a nonconsensual fashion. "But…But why?" Clary grumbled.
"I didn't ask." Magnus told her. "I do what I'm paid," he paused dramatically, "within the Law, of course." Clary asked how often, was it just one time? What was she forgetting? Something specific? She sat down on Eliza's bed, a defeated slump to her shoulders. "You were two the first time we met. Your mother looked so mundane as she came to my door. She held you in a blanket and when she unwrapped you, you were all over my apartment. She told me that she was Nephilim. She said you were making nice with one of the lesser Fair Folk that afternoon and she knew she had to do something about your Inner Eye. At first, she wanted me to strip you of the Sight." Clary interrupted, a choked noise coming from her throat. Magnus eyed her carefully before going on. "You have an unusually strong woman for a mother, Miss Fray." Magnus told her. "I said I would not alter your mind so severely. I told her that I would place a block that would erase the Shadow World as you saw it, but it had to be refreshed every two years. I have watched you grow up, something I've never done."
"You recognized her when we came through the door." Jace stated. Magnus gave a weary answer: yes, of course.
He ran his ring-covered fingers through his spiked hair. "I was shocked to see you here, though." He said to Clary. "I was due to see you a month ago, but I had to leave for a trip to Tanzania. I stopped by your home once I came back, but your mother said you'd run away somewhere and she'd call me as soon as you returned. I never got a call." Magnus explained to her.
Clary stood up. "I saw you. You were leaving Madame Dorothea's."
Magnus looked pleased that someone remembered him. And then he scowled. "You shouldn't have seen me. My glamour was as thick as a cement wall."
"She's full of surprises." Eliza interceded, her voice airy.
"Can you take it off me? The spell? I want to remember." Clary spoke to Magnus.
Magnus said no, he couldn't. "Can you reverse it?" Alec's voice was oddly soft-spoken.
Again, the warlock said no. "Creating a spell is easy. Undoing one is not. I won't put Clary's mind in that sort of danger. She could go mad. The spell has begun fading now and soon, it will fade completely. Though, I can't say what memories will be brought back and what will stay behind."
"I'm damaged and I just want it fixed." Clary said in a hard voice. Her hands were tight in her lap.
Magnus had a foul look on his face. He's cross, Eliza realized. She had never seen him cross before. She didn't care for it. She preferred him bubbly.
"Little girl, every person your age feels damaged or broken. It's called teen angst. Now, you are different. But it is not a bad different." His voice was cool, made of black ice. "A bad different is when your nice religious parents have you for a child, plagued by the mark of the devil. Bad different is when your mother is so sickened by your existence that she hangs herself in the barn and your father attempts to drown you in the creek when you're ten and you set him on fire. A bad different is hating what you are."
Eliza put a reassuring hand on Magnus' bicep. He looked down at her and she gave the softest smile she could muster.
"It wasn't on you." Alec spoke, breaking the tense silence. "You had no say in how you were born."
Magnus looked at Clary. "Different is good, once you get over the bad things. Jocelyn was protecting you. I suggest you take it in kindness." Clary muttered that she didn't care about being different. She just wanted to know who she really was. Magnus sighed, Eliza's hand falling back to her side. "Oh, fine." He said in a decided tone. "I shall give you something."
He moved to exit the room, slipping through the dark door quietly.
"Is he always like that? So tense?" Alec asked her in an interested voice.
She hid a smile. "No. He's usually very…light."
Magnus entered the room, a thick green book in his hands. "That's the Gray Book." Jace observed. "How do you have that?"
Magnus gave him a catty smile. "I've been alive for centuries. One acquires many valuable things through the years. Now, Clarissa, come here." He laid the book on the bed and opened it to a specific page. "Look at this until you feel it." She asked what she would feel. "How would I know? It's your mind."
Eliza crossed her arms over her chest and looked at the floor. "Are you okay?" Alec's voice was barely a whisper. "You know Jace was just being an ass earlier."
"I had forgotten the incident until now." She lied to him. In reality, the encounter burned in her mind. Jace's biting words.
"Do you perform a lot of memory blocks?" Jace asked Magnus.
Alec's head snapped up and Magnus looked as if he could kill. "Not many, no." His tone had a sharp edge to it.
"Hmm. Interesting." Jace murmured.
Eliza heard Magnus snatch the book from Clary and snap it shut. "You can't read them all at once." Magnus told her. "You'll feel sick."
Clary began to object but instead closed her mouth.
"I gave you the rune for remembrance. It should help the process along faster. It's all I can do for you." Magnus told her.
"But I need to remember the Mortal Cup and I still don't know anything about it."
Magnus' face actually darkened. It was one of the first times Eliza had seen him look completely serious. "You have never known anything about the Mortal Cup." He told Clary. "Nor any of the Mortal Instruments."
Eliza's mind prickled. The Mortal Cup…
"Instruments?" Clary echoed. "There's more than one?"
Eliza gave a quiet yes. "Our Angel gifted Jonathan Shadowhunter three things. Sword, cup and mirror. The Mortal Sword resides in the Bone City with the Silent Brothers and the Mortal Cup and Mortal Glass were in Idris. Until Valentine stole the Cup. No one has seen the Mirror in…no one knows how long it's been." She explained to Clary.
The idea of the Cup resonated in her mind. She could envision the golden chalice, placed in the hands of Jonathan Shadowhunter by the Angel Raziel. And then she saw it in the hands of the man from her dream. A shiver of cold washed over her and she closed her eyes.
"You intend to get to the Angel's Cup before Valentine does." Magnus noted. "It would be wise for you to keep yourselves unconcerned of his plan for revenge." He told them.
Eliza didn't notice the worried glance he gave her. "Were you there? At the Uprising?" Alec asked him.
Magnus said he was. Eliza looked at him. Magnus had been there? Among all that nasty fighting and killing? She couldn't imagine her fanciful warlock fighting for his life. Clary reported that Magnus didn't sound so surprised that Valentine was still alive.
That was when Eliza saw all the worried looks. Jace, Magnus, Alec. All wore the same expression. She made no move that said she noticed their looks.
"Monsters always survive." Eliza's voice was a dreadful quiet.
Magnus clapped his hands. "Back to the party before something awful happens." Eliza was the last to leave the room, Magnus at her side. "How are you, my little dove?" He asked as he locked the door.
"I'm fine. Why wouldn't I be?" He shrugged, saying nothing more about it. "Do you know anything?" She asked. "Something about the Cup or Valentine that you aren't letting on?"
His look was sharp. "No. I know nothing. Please go enjoy the party. You look too hot to have that sour look on your face." She let the expression fall. "The Wayland boy is quite delicious looking, I see why you're interested in him. But that Lightwood fellow…mmm, I'd love to eat him up."
She heard Clary scream. She tore away from Magnus, her response dissolving in her mind. She found them, Isabelle in front of them. Izzy and Clary looked frazzled. "What the devil is going on?" She asked.
"Simon's a rat." Jace said, his voice uncaring.
Eliza began to respond and then frowned. "Jace, we don't call mundanes 'rats'. It isn't kind."
Clary had a tight grip on Izzy's wrist. "No. He drank something and turned into a rat." Izzy told her. She jerked her wrist. "You're denting my bracelet, let go!" She whined.
"You bitch." Clary hissed at Izzy, running towards the bar. Izzy grabbed her wrist, rubbing it gently.
Eliza looked at Izzy with a tired look. "You let him drink something? Really?" Izzy mumbled that he had taken it when she wasn't looking. Eliza said that she would go get Magnus to see if he could help.
"Magnus. Magnus." She found him amidst a circle of fey.
He looked down at her, yellow eyes bright. "What is it, little dove?" She explained the situation to him, asking if he could at least come take a look. "Oh, of course. Lead me."
She took Magnus to the bar where her group was standing. Clary held a small brown rat in her hands. "Can you reverse it?" Clary asked Magnus.
"There's simply no point in it." Magnus told her. "It will wear off in a few hours." There was a commotion by the door. "Excuse me. My guests are growing vengeful." He stalked off with a weary look on his face.
"I can't take him on the train. The officers will try to arrest me for transporting pests." Clary said. Alec suggested putting rat-Simon in her bag. Clary didn't oppose. She took her bag off her back and gently put Simon inside.
Magnus loudly announced that the party was over, due to the restlessness of the vampires, who had experienced broken bikes and missing friends. The band ceased playing and people began moving to the door.
Eliza lost her friends in the crowd and planted herself next to Magnus at the door. Her friends appeared just as Magnus was complaining about his parties. "You throw them because of Chairman Meow. Even though he's anti-social."
Magnus agreed with her. His eyes landing on the Shadowhunters. "You're leaving so soon?" He simpered at them.
Jace said yes in a tight voice. "We'd really hate to overstay our welcome."
Magnus slipped a grin. "There was no welcome, Shadowhunters. It was only a pleasure to meet you, Alexander Lightwood. Eliza would love to give you my contact information if you're interested." He winked at Alec.
Alec's cheeks flushed a bright red and Jace grabbed him by the elbow and yanked him away. Izzy followed them. Magnus put a careful hand on Clary's shoulder, holding her behind.
"I have a message to give to you. It's from your mother." Clary's green eyes widened as she asked what it was. "Your mother was a curious thing to me. She hated the world we live in, our Shadow World. You'll do well to remember that she would not want you to risk your life in trying to save hers. It will also be in your best interest to remember that your mother ran from one thing, one dangerous thing in this world. The Shadowhunters."
"Magnus, that's enough, I think." Eliza said. She took Clary from Magnus. "Come on, Clary. Let's go." She looked at Magnus. "The party was interesting. A nice time. I'll talk to you tomorrow."
Magnus nodded, his only response. He saw them out and shut the door.
The others were waiting outside the building, Jace leaned so casually against the rusted railing. Alec was trying to calm Izzy down, who was crying profusely about the situation. Her mood changed suddenly, and she began asked how he thought of Magnus.
"Wait." Clary's voice was shockingly demanding. "Simon's gone. He isn't in my bag."
Izzy asked if he had climbed out and Clary shouted a no. Jace took her bag, examining it. "Someone ripped into your bag." He called to Alec and Izzy and told them to go on. He looked at Eliza. "Stay or go?" He asked.
There was a look in her eyes that screamed danger. "Oh, I'm definitely staying." She told him. "You need me. We're going to Magnus. Come."
She led them back into the desolate building and to Magnus' door. Her hand barely touched the door before it swung open.
"GO AWAY! I AM RESTING!" Magnus' voice boomed through the apartment.
Eliza rolled her eyes, like one did when annoyed with a sibling or good friend. "It's me, old man. We have a delicate situation on our hands."
Magnus appeared before them. He wore a kimono with dragon designs and a golden turban on his head. "I was trying to sleep." He said, his voice heavy with exhaustion. "Warlocks need rest too."
Chairman Meow returned, his small kitten body behind Magnus' foot. The kitten meowed at Eliza, peering around Magnus.
"Go to her, traitorous little beast." Magnus sighed.
Chairman Meow pounced over his foot and went straight for Eliza. She picked him up and ran her hand through his fur. "Simon's missing. Someone took him from my bag." Clary told Magnus.
"One of your guests, a vampire, brushed against Clary and her bag. We need a bit of information." Jace explained further.
He glared at Jace and then looked to Eliza. Her look said everything: please help. "Fine. I remember seeing a vampire leave with a brown rat. I hadn't thought anything of it. The Night Children tend to get stupid when they're drunk and turn into animals." Jace nodded thoughtfully and asked where the lair was. Magnus groaned, running his hands through his hair. "I can't tell you. I can't risk being on their bad side. Again."
"Please." Clary begged, her voice sounding like a child's.
"They could eat him, Magnus. Imagine the horror when the Clave finds out that the High Warlock of Brooklyn knowingly left a mundane in the hands of the vampires." Eliza had never spoken to him in such a manner. She was blackmailing him.
Magnus' eyes turned into dark yellow slits as he looked at her. "Sometimes, little dove, you are incorrigible." He muttered. "They reside in the old Hotel Dumont. Be safe walking."
"You're a warlock and you don't have a Portal?" Clary asked dumbfoundedly.
Magnus nodded. "They're touchy. There are only two in New York. The one at Renwick's and the one at Dorothea's." He looked pointedly at Eliza. "There's a nice Catholic church on Diamond." He plucked Chairman Meow from her and slammed the door shut. A short moment later, it opened back up. "You'll let me know when you're home safe." Not a question.
Eliza's smile was satisfactory. "Yes. As always."
The door slammed shut again.