"How was your hunt this afternoon?" Declan was…unusually involved with her life as a Shadowhunter. He seemed to take a lot of interest in her activities as the Angel's Child.
She shrugged as they walked down the street. "Well, I got my ass handed to me by a dragon demon and then my brother got his ass handed to him by his adoptive mother, who I may mention actually despises me."
Declan stopped walking, jerking her to a halt. "Are you alright? Were you hurt?" His caramel eyes scanned over her, searching for any sign of injury. His hands were gentle but firm on her shoulders, cold as always.
She smiled, ducking her head so he wouldn't see the blush creeping to her cheeks. "Yes. I mean, yeah, I'm fine. Some healing runes fixed me right up."
He may have been a member of the blood-sucking undead, but his smile was like heaven. Brilliant, warm and comforting.
His hands traveled to her face, cupping her jawline. He raised her head, making her look at him. "I know that you're some badass, kickass Shadowhunter, but you can die. You're mortal. I'm afraid to admit that your mortality scares the absolute hell out of me, Eliza. I do worry about you quite often."
Her heart felt like it was melting. He managed to be inhumanly sweet without making her want to vomit. He wasn't afraid to show he cared.
She put her hands on his wrists, her thumbs rubbing against the skin. "Thank you. For worrying about me. It's very sweet."
Her back pocket vibrated. Cell phone. She'd started carrying a disposable one so Clary could reach her more easily and so that the hospital could get ahold of her if anything changed with her mother.
It vibrated again. She pulled away from Declan and took the phone from her back pocket. Luke's name flashed on the screen, indicating he was calling her. Her eyebrows knit together in confusion.
"Is there a problem?" Declan asked quietly.
She shook her head. "No. It's my mother…I mean, her friend. My uncle, I think. Just give me a moment, please." She walked a few feet away and flipped the phone open, answering the call. "Luke? Is it my mother? Has she woken up? Is she okay?"
She heard Luke take a deep breath. "It's your brother, actually." She couldn't stop the roll of her eyes. She couldn't imagine what Jace had gotten himself into and the amount of trouble it took for Luke to be calling. "How fast can you get down to the Hunter's Moon in Manhattan?"
She said that they were in the city, so it wouldn't take too long. "Wait, isn't that a…a wolf den, sort of?" She bit her lip, glancing over at Declan. Luke said yes. "It's just…I'm with someone right now. On a date."
Luke huffed a breath. "Eliza, you need to come get your brother immediately before he gets himself killed. I couldn't care less if you brought company. Come get Jace. Now." He hung up.
She shut the phone, sliding it back into her pocket. She looked over at Declan. "Wanna go to a wolf den with me?" She called to him.
His perfect mouth dropped. "You're joking." She didn't smile or laugh. "You aren't joking."
Then she smiled. "It'll be fun."
The Hunter's Moon loomed over them. There was a dead body on the sidewalk, blood splattered on the ground. "Well, this is inviting." Eliza muttered.
Declan hovered behind her. She could feel the slight nerves radiating from him. He had every reason to be nervous. He was walking into the den of the downtown werewolves.
She walked forward, pushing the door open. The bar was a wreck. The wolves were a wreck. Her nose wrinkled at the smell. They all turned to her.
"Shadowhunter." One of them hissed. "Haven't the Nephilim caused enough damage tonight?"
"Bat, easy." The girl behind the bar warned him. "Are you here to drink?"
Eliza said no curtly, but said thank you for the offer. The wolves were all glaring at Declan. "Luke called. We're here to pick up my brother, Jace."
The girl behind the bar nodded solemnly. She said that she'd take them to the back. She came from behind the bar. "Your brother is an asshole, you know. A huge asshole."
Eliza smiled. "Oh, you have no idea. I'm Eliza. Eliza Morgenstern."
And with that, the air was sucked from the room. Declan put a hand on her shoulder, just a simple sign showing that he was there. Protection if she needed it.
The girl shifted. "Maia Roberts."
Maia led them to the back of the bar. Maia motioned to the door of the back office. Eliza murmured a thank you and pushed the door open. Something whizzed near her and her hand went up. The pencil caught in between her fingers.
She stared ahead. Jace was sitting behind the desk in an old leather chair. There were cuts and bruises on his face, indicating a fight. She tossed the pencil back to him. "Is that any way to greet your sister?"
Jace rolled his eyes. "My bad. How wonderful to see you, Lizzie." His voice was drowning in sarcasm. His golden eyes focused in on Declan. "Who's this?" He asked, voice hollow.
Eliza glanced back at Declan. He stepped in front of her, walking towards the desk. He extended his hand to Jace. "Declan Kensley. I'm courting your sister."
She braced herself for the reaction. The cold smile he'd give, the snide remark. Jace extended his own hand, shaking Declan's hand firmly. "You're courting my sister?" Declan said yes proudly. Jace looked back at her and then to Declan again. "You're a vampire." Again, Declan said yes. "Well, if you hurt my sister's feelings, I'll have to stake you."
Declan looked back at her, such a gleeful expression on his face.
The door opened again, Jace threw the pencil again. It stuck into the wall next to Luke's face. Clary walked into the room, Simon behind her.
"Eliza?" Clary asked.
She waved. "Guess Luke thought we both could provide some help." They both looked at Jace. "Speaking of help, what the hell are you thinking? Trying to fight an entire pack of werewolves? Are you trying to get yourself killed?"
She imagined that she sounded like what their mother would sound like. Gentle but reprimanding. Firm, but kind.
"Get out." Jace told Simon. "I don't want you in here."
Clary's mouth dropped. She told Jace that he needed to remember that Simon had saved all their lives just a week ago. Simon waved his hand. "I'll wait in the hall. It's fine." He muttered.
Eliza put a hand on Declan's arm. "Would you go keep him company? This shouldn't take long and then we can get dinner." He pressed a chaste kiss to her temple and left the room with Simon.
"Who's the hottie?" Clary asked, green eyes sparkling.
Eliza couldn't help but smile. "My boyfriend, I guess. I don't know, he's courting me." Clary looked impressed. She turned her attention back to Jace. "Well, are you going to tell us what's wrong with you?"
Jace gave her a cold look. "The joy that is my adoptive mother kicked me out. She told me never to come back and she made it very clear that you were not welcome either. But you had a date with the British vampire, so you weren't there for that."
She stared at him. Jace. Beautiful, beautiful Jace Wayland. Her brother. Or so everyone else thought. "I'm sorry." She whispered.
Luke was frowning. "I've known Maryse Lightwood for a very long time. She's never been on my favorites list, but I don't think she'd kick you out, Jace. What exactly did she say?"
Jace looked at Eliza. "She basically accused me of doing everything that my sister was doing. Helping Valentine, trying to secure the Mortal Cup, the list goes on. She thinks that we're spies."
Luke shook his head, looking to the floor. Jace and Luke both knew Maryse Lightwood better than she did, but she thought their visions might be skewed. Jace's by the blind adoration for his mother figure. Luke by the woman he had known too many years ago.
"Maryse is hurt." Luke told them. "She loved Valentine, as we all did. He betrayed her and he hurt her. She's going to the extreme to protect herself from Valentine's son. You'll simply need to reassure her, Jace."
Luke was being reasonable. Jace was not. He argued that Maryse shouldn't need anything from him, she was an adult.
"Jace, you need to go back to the Institute. Alec and Izzy need you. They need you to be bigger than Maryse." Clary told him.
He said no. "I'm seventeen, practically an adult by Shadowhunter standards. I can take care of myself." Eliza snorted. He shot her a glare. "I'm entitled to compensation from the Clave."
"No, you're not. You aren't an adult by the Clave's standards yet. You can't get a salary from the Clave. If the Lightwoods refuse to care for you, the Clave will appoint someone to do it for them."
Jace rolled his eyes. "That won't happen. I won't be shipped off somewhere. I'll get a job to make money." Luke and Clary both said he couldn't do that either. "I will not go back to that place. She wants me to say that I hate him. And I can't."
Her heart wrenched. The pain in his voice killed her. He had been raised by a different brand of Valentine. He got the loving but harsh father. She got the cruel father. She hated him. It was easy to admit that she hated him. For Jace, it wasn't.
"I understand." Luke's voice was softer than she had ever heard it before.
She watched Jace's face soften, his lips part. Jace hadn't come to the Hunter's Moon to pick a fight with the wolves. He'd come to speak to Luke.
"Did she really say that?" Clary asked. "That she didn't want you there anymore?"
He shrugged in response. "She said it would be better for everyone if I stayed somewhere else for a while."
Eliza worried her lip between her teeth. Luke offered Jace a spot in his house. Jace mumbled a thanks. "You need to go back to the Institute and find out what's going on with her. It's just an option."
Clary offered to go with him. "Luke, will you come too?"
Luke's mouth dropped. Eliza looked at him with surprise. "Jace, I've been living in New York for fifteen years and never once gone to the Institute. Maryse is not fond of me." Jace was quiet when he begged for Luke to go. "Yes. I'll go with you."
They all looked to Eliza. Clary's stare was insistent. Offer to go, her face said. Luke's face said the same thing.
They didn't understand. Jace and Eliza were not on the same wavelength anymore. She had messed it up too much. Ruined everything between them. They only played nice when they were hunting. He wouldn't want her there.
"I'll send Declan home. I'll go with you too." She told him.
For a split second, just for the moment when their eyes met, it was only them. Just Jace. Just Eliza. Just the two of them. He had the cruelest expression on his face. But that was the problem. It wasn't intentionally cruel. His eyes were kind, understanding and forgiving.
"No, it's okay. Go have fun on your date. Maryse hates you anyways, so you wouldn't be helping my cause any."
She wanted to say something, almost wondering if she should insist on going. But she knew better. Jace didn't want that. He genuinely wanted her to be with Declan.
"Thank you." She whispered.
Her brain tickled. The warm feeling she got whenever Magnus was close lit her brain on fire. She knew it was the link they shared. She put her hand on her head.
"Liz, are you okay?" Jace was standing up, walking towards her. That disgustingly sweet look of worry on his face.
She nodded, wiping her forehead. "Magnus. He's here. Outside, I think." Luke looked confused. He must have been the only one unaware of her bond with the High Warlock of Brooklyn. "We share a psychic link. We can talk to each other mentally, sense each other when we're near. It's helpful. A little bold, but helpful. He's outside the bar right now. The alley, I think, to be more precise."
Jace frowned. "He keeps tabs on you like this?"
Before she could begin to protest just how absurd that was, Luke interjected. "I called him here. I asked him to check out what happened in the alley. See if he could figure anything out."
"So, Declan and I will stay behind with Magnus while you guys go back to the Institute. We'll keep each other updated."
Clary agreed with her, saying that sounded like a great idea. "Luke, let's give them a minute." The younger girl grabbed Luke by the arm and practically dragged him out of the room, shutting the door quietly.
Eliza looked up from the floor to see that Jace was already looking at her. "You're being courted." There was a hint of the old Jace in his words. Snark and wit covering concern.
She nodded once. "Declan is a bit old-fashioned." She told him.
"He's a vampire. You're being courted by a vampire."
She laughed, leaning back against the wall. "It sounds absurd, doesn't it?" He agreed, half a smile on his face. "I brought a vampire to a werewolf den. I might be the worst person to court."
"Not to mention the fact that our father despises Downworlders and tried to have them eradicated." He pointed out.
The air in the room staled. Yes, there was that.
Jace's smile fell. "Anyways, I meant what I said to him. If he hurts you in any way, I'll stake him. Then, I'll cut off his head and leave his body out in the sun to burn. No one gets away with hurting my little sister."
She rolled her eyes, pushing off the wall. "You're really going to milk the older sibling thing, aren't you? Well, if you must. It's time we get going. Like I said, I brought a vampire to a wolf den."
Declan's hand brushed against hers as they walked. "Your sister seems very lovely. Your brother as well, though he seems intense."
"I've only know Clary for a few weeks and Jace a few months. Jace and I used to be very close until recently."
"May I ask what happened?"
She stopped walking, placing herself in front of him. She dropped his hand. "I lied to him. Until last week, Jace didn't know he was my brother. Jace didn't know he had any family at all."
"Does this have anything to do with your father?" He asked quietly.
Her eyes darted around the park. It had cleared out a while ago, no one too keen on being out in the middle of the night. The trees rustled in a slight September wind, the air not yet too chilly.
"It has everything to do with him. I'm…I'm afraid of him. I've been afraid for my entire life and coming here, it changed me. It made me think that I could stop him, beat him at his own game. But I can't. So, I'm stuck here waiting for his next big move, waiting for him to hurt someone else or to use me against the people I care about."
"Eliza-."
"No, Declan, you don't understand. You're a vampire, a Downworlder. He could kill you without thinking anything of it. I'm putting you in danger and I don't think I could live with myself if something happened to you because of me."
He chuckled quietly, shaking his head. He put his hands on her shoulders, looking down at her. "Eliza, I am not like that mortal boy your sister keeps around. I've been a vampire for a very long time and there is a reason that I've stayed the head of the London clan. I am perfectly capable of protecting myself. And I will give my life to protect yours." He leaned down, pressing a soft kiss to her forehead. "As for your father, I'd love to see him try and take me from you."
He pulled away, once again standing beside her and linking their hands together. He looked up at the sky, clicking his teeth.
"Our night is coming to an end. I'll walk you back to Magnus'."
As they began to walk, she let out a soft laugh. "Declan, that mortal boy that Clary keeps around, he killed a Greater Demon last week. He saved all our lives."
"Why did Luke call you to the Hunter's Moon tonight?"
Magnus was sitting at the desk in his study, staring intently at a book. Chairman Meow was sitting on the desk, his small little kitten body taking up hardly any room at all.
Magnus looked up from his book. "A werewolf cub was killed. He wanted to know if I could obtain anything from what was left behind."
"The mess outside of the bar…that was from a cub?" She whispered.
He shut his book. "I'm afraid so, little dove. And just two days ago, a warlock was found dead. The warlock was completely drained of blood, yet it seemed that with the cub, the assailant was interrupted before his little ritual could take place."
She felt ill. Who would do such a thing? "Did you find out anything?" She asked.
He shook his head. "Unfortunately, no." He stood up from the desk, picking the kitten up. "Please don't worry yourself with these horrors, little dove. You have things troubling your mind, I can sense it."
She waved the idea away. "Magnus, it's my job to worry about stuff like this, quite literally. As a Shadowhunter, it's my duty to protect everything in the Shadow World."
"As long as Shadowhunters and mundanes aren't being killed, it's my duty to protect the Downworlders. Unless, you feel bound to protect those like me because of the past?"
She pursed her lips at him, but didn't deny the truth in the question.
"Atoning for the sins of thy father. How noble of you."
She bit her tongue. He wasn't cross with her, not really. He was only tired. Maybe scared, too, just a small bit.
"Maryse Lightwood is back at the Institute." She told him. "She kicked Jace out. She's not very pleasant."
Magnus laughed. "No, that she is not. Speaking of Lightwoods and pleasantness, how is Alexander?" His catlike eyes sparked in the dim light of his study.
"Healing up nicely, thanks to you."
Her phone rang, putting a halt to any further conversation about Alec. It was the Institute. Who on earth would be calling her at such a late hour?
"Hello?" She answered.
"Liz, it's Jace. I need you."
Her heart skipped about two beats. "Wha-What is it? What happened with Maryse?"
"The Inquisitor. She's coming here to question me. To question us. Maryse thought if we weren't here, nothing could happen but then I came back and…Liz, you have to get here now."
The Inquisitor. A cold feeling filled her body. The Inquisitor meant the Sword.
"Liz?"
She licked her lip, staring at Magnus. "I'll be there as soon as I can. Don't worry, everything will be all right." She hung up, pocketing the phone. She looked back to Magnus. "I've got to change and go to the Institute. I have a date with the Inquisitor." She smiled uneasily.
"Safe travels, little dove."