4. Night Out
Clary's eyelids felt as if the weight of a thousand lead bricks held them closed. Her breath sucked in slowly, the air feeling thick and dense as she pulled it into her lungs and the effort of breathing burned up energy like the coal fire of a steam engine burning at a steady pace until its fuel dwindled to nothing. She would have likened the sensation to drowning if it were not for the rest of her body feeling exposed to the cold air that surrounded her. Goosebumps raised across her arms and legs, the hairs standing on end. To her left, she could hear the gentle sounds of water lapping against a rocky shoreline. She wondered where she was if she was on a beach stranded somewhere. With some effort she curled her fingers towards her palms, surprised by the soft material that her fingers scooped up along the way. So maybe she was on a beach after all, though she couldn't smell the salt of sea air, in fact, the air here smelt entirely different to that of the places she had visited in her lifetime.
After a few moments, the weight began to lift from her eyelids, allowing them to open slowly. It was pitch black, the only light falling on the area coming from the luminescent light of the moon and stars that hung lazily in the night sky above her. Her surroundings were marked with hues of darkness, the moist sand beneath her a darker brown and the water beyond varying intensities of dark blues with small clusters of bubbles littering the surface in random positions. It was almost serene, sitting upon the sand and watching the gentle swaying of the water back and forth as the mild winds blew across the surface of the lake however Clary's mind was plagued with a feeling of unrest. She scrambled to her feet and whirled around, a shiver passing over her. Behind her trees spread out around the edge of the sand creating an arching forest. Her eyes searched between the trees, flicking backwards and forwards before coming to rest on a pair of brilliant, yellow shining eyes. Startled, Clary stopped, forcing her breathing to quieten as they gazed at one another.
Not a moment later a rumbling started emanating outwards from the lake behind her. A searing pain broke out in her stomach and the eyes vanished as her hand flew to the offending area. She spun around once again to look at the lake the surface of which was lit up with a brilliant golden light as a large figure emerged, water crashing outward around it in waves. Clary pulled her hand away from her stomach. She could feel the warm wet blood coating her fingers and palm, refused to verify the reality of it with a glance.
Her mind filled with the unearthly songs the bounced around in her mind, the hauntingly beautiful melodies willing her mind to calm. Out of the corner of her eye, she caught a glimpse of an unmoving body face down in the sand. She wrenched her eyes away from the beautiful figure that now protruded almost fully out of the water, her eyes falling on the motionless body of her brother and the dark stained sand surrounding him. She screamed.
"Clary wake up, it's just a dream." Isabelle's soothing tone ripped Clary from the dream she had been sewn into, her eyes flew open and her lungs dragged in a deep sustaining breath.
It took a moment for the room to come into focus around Clary, it was dark and they were in the living room which was faintly illuminated by the dark title screen of the film they had been watching. Clary didn't remember much about it, she assumed she had fallen asleep quite early into it after the two movies they had already watched. "I'm sorry, I fell asleep on you." Clary apologized, her balled up fists rubbing violently against her eyes in an attempt to help clear the fading vision of the dream she had been having.
"It's fine I didn't like that one as much anyway." Isabelle joked, taking Clary's hand in her own to lead the sleepy girl through to the kitchen. "So did you have the nightmare again?" The dark-haired girl asked offhandedly, she was in the process of making coffee while Clary seated herself at the dinner table and stood with her back to the red-haired girl.
"I guess you could say it was a nightmare, but not the nightmare. Do you remember the drawing you asked me about a couple of days after what happened on the East River? I told you I'd had a dream about the sword and the cup and then it happened. Well, this dream felt the same, it's hard to explain. I think I was in Idris."
"That is kind of weird, do you think it means something? We are going to Alicante tomorrow..." Isabelle trailed off, setting a steaming grey mug of coffee down in front of Clary. The milk was still swirling and mixing in with the liquid, causing a cloudy multi-hued effect.
"I don't know, I just hope it doesn't mean anything. In my dream, an angel was rising from the lake and Jace was bleeding out into the sand beside me. I saw these eyes as well, yellow shining eyes like a cat between the trees."
"That sounds a lot like lake Lyn, Clary. Surely that's a sign that your dream means something, maybe the way you interpret it is what will allow you to change it?" Isabelle offered, her dark brown eyes shimmering with faint excitement. Clary couldn't help but grin, there was something about being around Isabelle that filled her with an indescribable warmth. She wanted nothing more than to explore the emotions calling out to her from the tender dark eyes that gazed at her.
"You're incredibly cute, you know that right? Maybe we should ask Simon his opinion." Clary grinned, sipping at the cooled coffee in front of her.
"Oh you're right I forgot about that, how come we needed to wait for dark to see Simon anyway? He has daylighter powers he can walk in the daylight now, can't he?" Isabelle cocked her head to the side, a confused smile playing at her plump red lips.
"Yeah but I wanted Raphael to come as well, anyway we're going to one of Simon's gigs first and that's not going to start until nine fifteen." Clary explained, still captivated by the small smile and the bright excitement portrayed in Isabelle's eyes. Clary took a moment to finish her coffee, fixing her eyes on the cracks and bumps on the oak wood of the table in order to stop herself from becoming distracted.
"So then, that means I still have time to take you out for dinner then." Isabelle pointed out, one finger poised auspiciously at the corner of her mouth as she grinned at the fortunate circumstances.
"What did you have in mind?"
As it turned out, an entirely casual meal at Taki's one of the groups usual food hangouts. It provided an extra note of normality to their evening that Clary was grateful for and the easy banter that passed between them as they each ordered their favourite dishes added another depth to the night entirely.
"I can understand why Alec was so worried about coming out before." Clary commented, Isabelle had been sharing stories about the times their family had vacationed in Alicante, they proved to be rather enlightening but Clary refused to believe that they couldn't change the hateful ways of the Clave, they just needed fresh minds and serious law revisions.
"The way some of the elders acted around Alec caused Mom to stop allowing us to visit with them, this is the first time we'll have been to Alicante in years... Honestly I can't wait but I'm nervous about how people will respond to you, to us. Jace is right though, it wont stop me from being myself around you." Isabelle who had finished her braised salmon reached across the table to take Clary's hand in her own as she spoke. She had a light blush dusting her cheeks, likely a result of the glasses of wine they had each drank throughout the course of the dinner. It was incredibly nice to have a normal date with the dark-haired girl and though it seemed casual it had turned out to be far more mature than any other date she had been on yet. So far Isabelle managed to soar high above any preconceived standards Clary had set in her mind for relationships and it led the red-haired girl to think about the Seelie Queen's previous comment on the two on more than one occasion.
"I'm glad you feel like you can be yourself around me, honestly it's the greatest gift you could give me. I get how you feel though, I promise I'll stay with people I know the entire time we're there." Clary smiled, it would be an interesting adventure taking a trip to Idris and she still couldn't help the overwhelming excitement she felt over the subject. Isabelle's descriptions of the beautiful country scenery, forestery and of course Alicante itself. It painted a fairytail picture in Clary's mind that she could only begin to fathom, she planned to pack art supplies for their journey. If Alicante truly was as beautiful as Isabelle described it would provide the perfect scenery for her to capture.
"Trust me Clary, I feel far more comfortable around you than I have around potential love interests in the past. There's something so innocent and welcoming about you, I feel like you accept people as they are and it just puts me at ease. Everything you do is laced with the ambition to do right by your family as well, you're just an admirable person and I love spending time with you." There was a strange vulnerability in Isabelle's eyes which smoothed over into a warm tender look as Clary smiled and squeezed the brunette's hand. "We should get going or we'll be late, don't worry I'll pay." Without another word Isabelle rummaged through her bag to retrieve money and Kaelie the Fae waitress meandered over to them and set the cheque down on the table before wandering off in another direction.
Isabelle placed her money atop the waiting check, making sure to leave a tip for the airy graceful waitress.
"I know what you mean, I feel inexplicably comfortable around you as well though you do make me blush a fair amount. You're such a strong amazing and beautiful woman too, I feel like I hit the jackpot with you." Clary continued as they left Taki's and headed towards the Hunters Moon on Hester's street. She flashed a shy smile at Isabelle, their fingers instinctually intertwining as they walked.
It was quiet outside for how early they were out, few people roamed the streets with them however the traffic seemed quite heavy. Clary's phone began to buzz in her pocket and she slipped it easily from her jeans, unlocking it with her thumb expertly before pressing it tightly to her ear. "Hello?"
"Hey, it's Raphael, Simon wanted me to make sure you were on your way, he's getting nervous." Raphael's smooth voice sounded over the line. She could hear Simon complaining half-heartedly on the other side, accompanied by Raphael's soft chuckle.
"Yeah don't worry we're just heading down the street now if you guys want to meet us outside." Clary replied, her eyes connecting with Isabelle's who seemed to understand the situation and sported a small smirk.
"Great, see soon." The chuckling vampire replied before Clary heard a click and the line went dead.
"So please tell me there's something going on between those two." Isabelle laughed as Clary stowed her phone safely away in her pocket.
"Definitely, Simon already confessed to me about it." Clary giggled, she didn't feel bad about telling her partner about Simon's crush when it was just so blaringly obvious.
"Now that is adorable, it'd be really good for Simon too." Isabelle went quiet as they approached the two vampires in question. Raphael wore a trim and noteably expensive suit which fit his form perfectly, Clary surmised that he had went to the trouble of having this suit tailor made. Clary shared a knowing look with Isabelle, who seemed to be enjoying the situation far more than Clary had assumed. "Wow Raphael is that a tailored suit? It looks great, you look awesome as well Simon looks like someone did your hair for you." Isabelle greeted.
Clary almost burst into a fit of giggles at the response of the two. Simon immediately began rubbing the back of his head nervously, shuffling from foot to foot while his counterpart avoided looking at the present shadowhunters. Turning to hide the touch of embarrassment showing on his face, Raphael turned on his heel and led them through the side door and over to a table set up close to the stage. There was a large crowd inside, most of the tables were full and many people were standing about the room with drinks in hand, waiting for Simon's set to start.
"I gotta go do my last preparations, I'll see you guys after." Simon grinned, waving dorkishly with his right hand before heading off towards the back of the stage, his brown hair bouncing lightly atop his head with every step.
When Clary turned back to the table Raphael was placing drinks in front of them, his own glass of blood placed neatly in the exact centre of the Jack Daniel's coaster. "Thanks." Clary offered, taking a sip of the brightly coloured liquid offered to her. Her face recoiled at the strong taste but she swallowed nevertheless, shaking her head after in an attempt to shake the taste away. "So Raphael, you got Simon to go solo for the Downworld huh? I've been telling him he should go solo for a while, he has an amazing amount of talent he just doesn't always have the confidence."
"Yeah I did, I agree entirely that's why I'm glad you guys are here tonight to provide him a little extra support I really just want to see him able to do the things he loves doing." Raphael gazed at Simon as he stepped up onto the stage almost dreamily, his fingers playing with the rim of his glass as his eyes swept over the boy. It was clear to see he had feelings for her friend, she only hoped they would tell each other sooner rather than later.
"Here's to a great night!" Isabelle exclaimed, raising her glass towards the centre of the table.
"To a great night"