CHAPTER 3

3 | Hotel Dumont

"I've never met a strong person with an easy past"
atticus

"Where's Isabelle?" Jace sighed over the noise of the crowd.

Hailee leant into Kassia, her voice dropping to a murmur, "Who's Isabelle?"

"Alec's sister." She replied, following them as the group weaved through the crowd, "Very pretty, very outspoken."

"Your type then," Hailee stated.

Kassia just flashed her a smirk and watched as the pretty Lightwood girl stumbled forwards. The smell of alcohol oozed from her and her unstable movements just emphasised her drunkness, "Jace! Alec! Where have you been? I've been looking all over—"

"Where's Simon?" Clary interrupted quickly.

Isabelle glared at her, something that would have looked much colder if she wasn't wobbling on her feet, "He's a rat."

"Did he do something to you? Did he touch you? If he tried anything—" Alec started, seeming to forget that his sister was a Shadowhunter who could take care of herself. The brotherly concern was endearing though, Kassia was certain he was the older of the two.

Isabelle scowled, "No, Alec. Not like that, he's a rat."

"She's drunk," Jace said, looking down at her in disgust.

"I'm not!" Isabelle responded, "Well, maybe a little, but that's not the point! The point is Simon drank one of those blue drinks — I told him not to, but he didn't listen — and turned into a rat."

Kassia covered her mouth to hide a laugh and forced it out as a cough the moment Clary glared in her direction. "A rat?" Clary repeated, "You don't mean..."

"You don't know what a rat is?" Hailee said, "Small, brown, long tail, vampires favourite snack."

Clary let out a screech, instantly paling at Hailee's words.

"Really?" Kassia bit out, kicking Hailee sharply in the leg. She looked to Clary, "She's joking, she just loves to mess with people." Even though she was quick to argue against Hailee's statement, Kassia was struggling to keep a smile off her face at the terror caused with just a few words.

"The Clave isn't going to like this," Alec sighed, "I'm pretty sure turning mundanes into rats is against the Law."

Jace shrugged, "Technically she didn't turn him into a rat. The worst she could be accused of is negligence."

Kassia decided that this situation was slowly turning into a bad drama show that played on repeat at 2 in the morning and, after exchanging amused looks with Magnus and Hailee, was certain they were holding similar comments in.

Hailee elbowed Kassia, "Weren't you turn into a rat, Kass?"

"Shut up." Kassia scowled, watching as Clary almost attacked Isabelle. "You know I hate faerie drinks because of that time." For Kassia, it had been a terrible experience, for everyone else it had been the best part of a previously shitty party.

Magnus walked beside them as they followed Clary, who was weaving between the crowd so quickly Kassia though they might lose her. "I believe, Evercross, that Kassandra was turned into a ferret."

"That's what it was." Hailee nodded, clicking her fingers as though a eureka moment had occurred. "You were so cute, I wish I had a camera."

Kassia glared, "Fuck off, Hails, go get another drink."

"I will, Kass, and I'll enjoy it," Hailee exclaimed as she backed away towards the dance floor.

"I hope you turn into a weasel," Kassia called after her and was met with a middle finger and bouts of laughter.

Kassia turned back to the bar and watched as Clary dropped to the floor. She began searching under the bar, eyes focused on the darkness that was barely visible to Kassia even with multiple runes.

"What's she doing now?" Kassia inquired, to no one in particular.

"I believe she's searching for her friend," Jace announced as he arrived beside her, leaning against the bar just beside her.

Kassia cocked her head, "The mundane, right? Do you generally adopt multiple mundanes?"

"She isn't a mundane."

"Technically no, but mundane isn't synonymous with mortal." Kassia said, "I just mean she's got no training, can't use weapons and has angel blood that must be practically non-existent."

"It'll come naturally to her," Jace responded, looking away from Clary — who was aimlessly searching beneath the bar — and towards Kassia. "Your Parabatai's a bitch."

"She is, but she has her reasons." Kassia nodded, before a devious glint lit like a spark in her eyes, "Do you have any reasons for being a cocky bastard?"

"Such foul words come from your mouth, Romanova." Jace chided, offering her a smirk, "And reasons apart from the fact that you're still here."

"By the angel, do you have any lines that aren't complete cliches?"

"Spend some more time with me and you'll see." He shrugged and glanced at Clary, "Is he under there?"

"Shhh." Clary said, still on her knees on the cold floor, "You'll frighten him off."

"And that will be just terrible, won't it," Jace muttered.

Kassia laughed, "Mundanes aren't that bad."

"How do you know? Don't Romanov's have strict rules about who you can and can't interact with?"

"Like it ever stopped me." Kassia commented, "I've dated several."

Jace stared at her, looking unconvinced, "You — a Romanov — dated a mundane, correction, several mundanes?"

"It was my rebellious phase, even dated a few Downworlders while I was at it."

Jace's face scrunched up as though he had smelt something bad, "The sex must have been good for you to go through that."

"We didn't get that far." Kassia shrugged, "He was asexual, I was in a bad emotional state."

"Sex is exactly was you should do when you're in a bad emotional state," Jace shrugged. She glared at him, momentarily getting caught in the shifting hues of his eyes before snapping her gaze away and watching the bar once more.

"Can you stop being an ass for one second?" A light flush had graced her cheeks, her eyes instantly darting to the floor.

"No can do, sweetheart."

Kassia clenched her jaw but didn't respond.

Clary had finally lifted Simon from the dusty floor, the rat resting in the hollows of her hands and squeaking around at everything that lit up. It would have been adorable if he weren't such a repulsive rodent; a mouse would be preferable.

She hugged him to her chest, "Poor Simon, it'll be fine, I promise—"

"I wouldn't feel too sorry for him," Jace interrupted sarcastically, "That's probably the closest he's ever gotten to second base."

"It will be the closest you'll ever get to again if you don't shut up." Kassia snapped.

Clary glanced gratefully at her, "Was Magnus with you?"

Kassia looked around, surprised that she had already lost him. Behind her, the Shadowhunters resumed their chorus of painful arguing and venomous remarks and in an attempt to end the anger filled interactions as quickly as possible Kassia just yelled Magnus' name to get his attention.

Magnus swept forward, holding the rat in a systematic gaze for several moments, "Rattus Norvegicus, a common brown rat, nothing exotic. A shame really, it was Kassia's birthday not too long ago and ferrets are the perfect gift."

"Are we ever going to forget that?" Kassia exploded, "It was one time and I was fifteen for Raziel's sake!"

Magnus cocked his head, "You were an adorable ferret, Kassandra, that event wasn't something one forgets with ease."

"Please just sort the rat out, Magnus," Kassia begged, warily watching as it squirmed in Clary's hands.

Magnus surveyed the rat briefly, "No point."

Jace nodded, "That's what I said."

"NO POINT!" Clary exclaimed, "How can you say there's no point?"

"Because he'll turn back on his own in a few hours," said Magnus, "The effect of the cocktails is temporary. No point working up a transformation spell; it'll just traumatise him. Too much magic is hard on mundanes; their systems aren't used to it."

"I doubt his system is used to being a rat either," Clary snapped, "You're a warlock; can't you just reverse the spell."

"No."

"You mean you won't," Clary said.

Kassia sighed, "You can't afford him. He's rather expensive when it comes to you Shadowhunters."

"Why are you still here?" Clary said, voice submerged in acid.

"I find enjoyment in other people's pain." Kassia said, as a pretty, sarcastic, smile marred her lips, "And you lot just happen to be the prettiest pain's in the asses in this place."

Clary ripped her bag open and carefully put Simon inside, "Let's get out of here. I'm sick of this place."

The Shadowhunters started towards the door, which was blocked by a convulsing crowd of vampires. Kassia wasn't surprised, they were usually the troublemakers and drama queens. The vampires were loudly complaining about vandalised motorbikes, the presence of Shadowhunters and lost friends.

"They're probably drunk and passed out somewhere." Magnus sighed, "You know how you lot tend to turn into bats and piles of dust when you've downed a few too many Bloody Marys."

A female vampire scowled, "We can't go around picking up every pile of dust in the place just in case it turns out to be Gregor in the morning."

"He'll be fine, Lucy," Kassia assured her, "Magnus has tempered windows the sunlight won't touch him."

"And I'll even send any stragglers back to the hotel come tomorrow— in a car with blacked out windows of course," Magnus added.

"But what about our motorbikes?" A second vampire, male this time, complained, "It'll take hours to fix them."

"You've got until sunrise," Magnus said, anger starting to shift beneath his skin, "I suggest you get started." He raised his voice, "All right, that's it! Party's over! Everybody out!"

Kassia gave a mock salute as the partiers pushed past her towards the front door. The Shadowhunters didn't even move, forcing the Downworlders to manoeuvre around them; angering the vampires even more.

In the stampede, Clary stumbled away from Jace and closer to Kassia.

"Hey, pretty thing," A vampire said and smirked down at Clary. "What's in the bag."

"Holy Water," Jace reappeared.

"Crucifixes," Kassia said at the same time. She exchanged equally as surprised looks with Jace before holding the familiar looking vampire under a cold gaze.

The vampire grinned at her, "Oooh, a Shadowhunter. Scary, right Kass?"

"Stop annoying them, Tommy, just move along." Kassia sighed.

He backed away but kept his attention on her, "Party at our place, next Friday."

"I'll be there," Kassia sighed but with a juxtaposing smile curling up her lips. She glanced at Clary, "Sorry about him."

"Vampires are such prima donnas," Magnus said from the doorway, "Honestly, I don't know why I have these parties."

"Because of your cat," Clary said.

Magnus smiled, "That's true. Chairman Meow deserves my every effort, you on your way out?"

"Don't want to overstay our welcome," Jace shrugged.

"What welcome?" Magnus scowled, "I'd say it was a pleasure to meet you but it wasn't. Not that you aren't all fairly charming and as for you," He winked at Alec, "Call me?"

"Don't scare him off, Maggie," Kassia said as she watched a blushing Alec retreat from the room.

Clary went to follow when Magnus stopped her, "I have a message for you, from your mother."

"From my mother? You mean she asked you to tell me something?"

"Not exactly," He said. "But I knew her in a way you didn't. She did what she did to keep you out of a world that she hated. Don't waste her sacrifices to keep yourself safe by risking your life. She wouldn't want that."

Clary stared, "She wouldn't want me to save her."

"Not if it meant putting yourself in danger."

"But I'm the only person who cares about what happens to her—"

"No," Magnus cut her off, "You aren't. And one last thing. Keep in mind that when your mother fled the shadow world, it wasn't the monsters he was hiding from. Not the warlocks, the wolf-men or the Fair Folk, not even the demons. It was them. It was the Shadowhunters. There's a reason the Romanov's don't trust them."

Clary swallowed harshly, glancing back to Kassia, "What does he mean?"

"...I—" Kassia started uncertainly, "In the civil war, the Clave and my family worked together. We were told that we were going to corner Valentine, attack his base together, and that's what my family did. They attacked the base but the Shadowhunters never showed up. They'd used us as a distraction and because they did five hundred of my family died. Shadowhunters are only good because they decided the rules of right and wrong, not because they have a moral compass that points north."

For a moment, Clary contemplated her words but instead of responding she just left and shuffled down the stairs.

"Well, that was fun," Kassia said, watching as Clary closed door and let the room fall into silence.

Magnus narrowed his eyes, "I believe you and I have different definitions of fun, Kassandra."

"Annoying pretty Shadowhunters is fun, Magnus," replied Kassia. She spun on her heel and swept across the floor towards the sofas, sending a disgusted look at the blood bags scrunched between the cushions.

"How long are we staying here, Kass?" Hailee called from the bar, pouring herself yet another drink, "I need my beauty sleep."

Kassia rolled her eyes, "You do, yeah."

"Don't worry, yourself, Evercross," Magnus announced, "You'll be gone as soon as I check on Kassia's wound."

Kassia swallowed. It was hardly a wound, it wasn't from a battle or a fight or anything that she could even remember.

She tugged her jacket of carefully and then pushed the left sleeve of her dress down her arm. Unlike before, she didn't even glance over her shoulder at it. After staring at it in the mirror for hours on end, Kassia knew exactly what it looked like: an unstoppable infection that was flooding through her blood and turning her veins black.

It has started as an unfamiliar rune but now? The rune had pushed started an infection, that was beginning to push itself across her back. It burned and itched and caused Kassia more pain that she could ever imagine.

"Is it worse?" Kassia said but she didn't know why she'd asked. Of course, it was worse.

Magnus sighed, "It's darker, more inflamed but the spells are slowing it down."

"So it hasn't spread any further?" She asked. She hoped. At the moment Kassia could throw a top over it and pretend it wasn't there but she was terrified of when it finally began to spread past what she could hide.

"Thankfully, no." Said Magnus, "But it looks as though it is trying to fight against the spells."

Hailee sent a pitying look at Kassia, "Are you saying the wound is sentient?"

"It's not a normal infection."

Kassia closed her eyes. Hailee never complained about spending so much time at Magnus, not seriously at least, but the infection was starting to take it's toll on her too. Parabatai were meant to be stronger together, not weaker because one of them couldn't even fight some days.

She stayed silent as a blue glow erupted from behind her, Magnus' spell setting to work. It lasted a few minutes before Kassia was able to pull back her dress and force the unknown rune out of her mind. Was that healthy? No, but she didn't know how else to deal with it.

Magnus flicked his hand and a notebook and pen appeared carelessly in his hands. He scribbled a few notes as Kassia fell back on the sofa behind her.

The doorbell let out a scream over the silent building.

"Who in the angel's name is that?" Kassia cursed, nearly jumping out of her own skin; so much for Nephilim reflexes.

"Most likely a vampire still fixing their bike." Magnus sighed, snapping the pen he was holding. "They can never tell which part is broken."

"I heard the biker vampires leave while you were doing," Hailee gestured vaguely between the two, "The rune stuff," The buzzer sounded once more, louder this time.

Magnus pressed the intercom, "Who dares disturb my rest?"

"Jace Wayland." A boy's voice called through the static, "Remember? I'm from the Clave."

"Oh yes," Magnus nodded animatedly, "Are you the one with the blue eyes?"

"That was the quiet one, Magnus, this is the sarcastic asshole," Hailee spoke up, helpfully.

"No," The static flickered again, "My eyes are usually described as golden and luminous,"

"Oh, you're that one," Magnus sighed, "I suppose you'd better come up." He walked down the stairs, the door opening with a crash.

Kassia moved forwards towards the upstairs door so she could glimpse the scene below as she pulled on her jacket.

"I was busy." Magnus scowled.

Clary stepped forwards, speaking before Jace could fit in a sarcastic comment, "Sorry to bother you—"

She cut off as a flash of white passed by her feet and into the house. Clary glanced at Magnus, "Chairman Meow?"

"The beast has returned," Kassia exclaimed. The white fluff ball scampered up the steps and stopped at Kassia's feet, pushing between her legs; searching for attention. "Go away you little monster."

Chairman Meow whined, pink ears lying flat against its grey stripes as it stared up at her. Kassia glared but found herself bending down to pick up the ball of fur. She lifted him up to her eye-line, "This is not becoming a regular event." Chairman Meow merely pressed into the hollow of her arm, sinking into the heat roaring from her leather jacket. "Shut up."

"—I saw one of the vampire bike kids from the uptown lair leave with a brown rat in his hand. Honestly, I figured it was one of their own. Sometimes the Night Children turn into—"

"Uptown?" Kassia interrupted, "Do you mean Raph's clan?"

The three at the bottom of the stairs looked up at her as though they had seen her for the first time whilst behind her Hailee stirred, lifting herself from the bar to become invested in the conversation.

Magnus nodded, "It's him, yes."

"There's one more thing," Jace started, not removing her eyes from Kassia as she began to search around the door for her Katana. It was common practice for her to leave her weapons by the door and not bring them into the party; she was there to enjoy herself not start a fight."Where's the lair?" His tone had changed, becoming more alert like he was a soldier going into battle.

"That," Kassia began, slinging her Katana's sheath over her shoulder, "I can show you, pretty boy, we're finished here right, Magnus?"

"For today," Magnus nodded, "Be careful, Kassandra, don't start a war."

"I'll try my best, I promise," Kassia made her way down the stairs glancing back at Hailee. "You want to come?"

"We're Parabatai, do I have a choice?" Hailee asked, pulling her hair up into a high ponytail as she followed after Kassia. "But you owe me big time—"

"I'll buy takeaway from that Chinese place for a month." Kassia bargained.

Hailee contemplated it, "Chinese and Indian and we have a deal."

"Done." Kassia nodded. She pulled Magnus into a hug, "I'll see you on Friday? Tommy's party?"

Magnus smiled, "If I can spare the time."

"Are you going to be okay, Kass?" Hailee asked, eyes drilling into her and asking the silent question she wouldn't dare voice in front of Jace and Clary.

"It's the nightmares that cause me the most pain, not this." Kassia pointed out, "I'll be fine."

"Okay," Hailee said sceptically. "There's a church on Diamond Street, we should head there first." She called, "I haven't got any weapons with me."

Kassia rolled her eyes but smiled over at her, "Do you make it your job to remember every holy place within two miles of our apartment?"

"Seeing as you don't, it's a good job that I do," Hailee said, an exasperated tone hitting her accent.

"Wait—" Clary started, "What would they want with Simon, I thought—"

"Dinner probably," Hailee shrugged. Kassia hit her. "Maybe they thought he was your pet, no rules against that. Or maybe they just think he's one of their own."

"If so, that gives us about three hours before the spell wears off," Kassia assumed, stepping outside. The cold air hit her like it had organised an attack, digging into her skin and sneaking beneath her clothes.

Jace stepped back, removing his foot from the door and allowing Magnus to slam it in their faces, but not without a wary glance at the two girls.

"Where's the lair?" Jace questioned.

"Dumont... Hotel Dumont."

Kassia and Hailee walked side by side, sharing muttered comments in various languages, as they approached the gothic church with its arched windows and high stone walls, that reached up into the heavens.

Clary reached them and instantly began to tug on the gate, "It's locked."

"Let me at it," Jace said, tugging out his stele and taking less than ten seconds to drop the lock on the floor. "As usual, I'm amazingly good at that."

"When the self congratulatory part of the evening is over maybe we could get back to saving my friend from being exsanguinated to death?"

"Exsanguinated," Jace said, "That's a big word."

Kassia rolled her eyes, "And also pointless when 'bleeding to death' can be used just as effectively. 'Bleeding to death painfully' also works."

"You lot are all nerds," Hailee said, pushing through them and into the church grounds.

"Somebody woke up on the wrong side of bed this morning," said Jace.

Hailee glared over her shoulder, "And somebody won't wake up at all tomorrow if they don't shut up."

"I don't think you should be threatening someone on church grounds," Kassia said.

"I'm Christian, it's fine." Hailee shrugged.

Kassia laughed, following her up towards the wood door by the time she matched Hailee's quick speed, Hailee had started to recite the words every Nephilim knew, placing her hand on the door; light scars littering her dark skin. "I ask entry to this holy place. In the name of the Battle That Never Ends, I ask the use of your weapons and in the name of the Angel Raziel, I ask your blessings on my mission against the darkness."

The three Nephilim stared expectantly at the door, Clary observing them silent. The wind picked up around them and beneath Hailee's fingertips the lock clicked and the door opened with a creak, revealing the dark church.

Jace pushed the door open, "After you,"

Kassia relaxed into a quick pace as she headed straight towards the altar, dropping to a crouch and beginning to trace her fingers along the stone; leaving dust walls in her wake. Jace and Clary's voices hollowed into echoes against the church walls as Kassia glanced to her Parabatai, "Found it yet?"

"By the angel," Hailee cursed, "We need to visit some more holy places around here, we're taking more and more time to find it."

Kassia's fingertips brushed across stone indents, "We went to that Mosque last week and that small orthodox church before that."

"What are you doing?" Clary inquired.

"We're looking for weapons." Kassia clarified, not even looking up. She was searching for one particular symbol among a haystack of symbols: one that meant Nephilim.

"Here?"

Kassia fell back on her heels, "They're hidden in the church and we use them for emergencies in case we don't have any weapons."

"Or the wrong type for the situation," Hailee added. Kassia nodded, clicking her fingers in agreement in her Parabatai's direction.

"They're usually hidden around the altar," Jace said, joining the girls. By now, Kassia's hand was aching from wiping away the dust and internally she was cursing her ancestors making these runes so obscure.

"And this is what some kind of deal you have with the Catholic Church?"

"Not specifically," Jace said, "Demons have been on Earth as long as we have. They're all over the world in their different forms: Greek daemons, Persian daevas, Hindu asuras, Japanese oni—"

"What he's trying to say is that most religions have concepts of evil and therefore most religions serve out fight against it." Kassia cut off Jace's never-ending list, "We could have gone to a Synagogue or a Mosque just as easily."

Silence returns as they searched once more— "Found it!"

Hailee whipped her stele out, touching a rune beneath her fingers. The church shook beneath them, a sound, like cogs, moving, echoing around it as a slab moved back to reveal a long wooden box. She pulled the lid up to reveal, shining weapons.

"What are all of these?"

Hailee stared, "Do you know anything about us? There's vials of holy water, steel, salt, silver weapons—"

"Jesus." Clary breathed.

"I doubt he'd fit," Jace muttered. Kassia covered her mouth as a choked laughter crawled up her throat, and even Hailee's lip twitched upwards.

"It seems wrong to make jokes like that in a church," Clary said.

Jace shrugged, golden eyes shining in the moonlight brighter than the blades, "I'm not really a believer."

"You're not?"

He shook his head, "You thought I was religious?"

"Well..." Clary began slowly, "If there are demons there must be—"

"If hell exists, there must be a heaven?" Kassia asked, pouring Holy Water onto the knives that she was pushing into her boots. The heels were already armed, made of silver and blessed iron so that her kicks were pretty powerful against an angry Downworlder.

Hailee was dipped her jewellery, made of silver, into holy water. They may know this vampire clan but that didn't make it any less dangerous.

"It stands to reason, doesn't it?" Clary glanced at Hailee, "You said you were Christian."

"My mother was." Hailee said, "And I suppose it always resonated with me, but just because I believe in a God doesn't mean I believe that he's all loving. We die for him every day, we have for hundreds of years, and he's never intervened. If a god does exist, he doesn't care about us and I'm not sure whether a god like that deserves faith."

"But it was an angel who created Shadowhunters in the first place."

Kassia sighed, "We're on our own, Clary, whether there are gods or not. Angels aren't saviours, they're warriors, they're monsters. Accept that some of us don't believe in a heaven."

"At all?"Clary pressed.

"Let me put it this way," Jace sounded annoyed, "My father believed in a righteous God. Deus volt, that was his motto, Because God wills it. It was the crusader's motto, and they went out to battle and were slaughtered, just like my father. And when I saw him lying dead in a pool of his own blood, I knew then that I hadn't stopped believing in God. I'd just stopped believing God cared. There might be a God, Clary, and there might not, but I don't think it matters. Either way, we're on our own,"

An awkward silence hovered above them the whole way from the church to the subway and to the deserted street as they walked up to the building. It hadn't taken them long to find it, Kassia walking straight to its location of 116th. The sign hung precariously from the building, and what was meant to say, Hotel Dumont, read Hotel Dumort.

"Hotel Dumort." Jace shrugged, after Clary pointed it out to them, "Cute."

"I'm certain they weren't looking for that outcome," Kassia said, crossing the road towards the hotel. The front door was boarded up, they wouldn't be getting in the way or through the windows.

"But it can't be the hotel." Clary said, "The windows are all boarded up and the door's been bricked over— oh. Right. Vampires. But how do they get inside?"

"They fly." Jace pointed to the upper floors, where gaps had formed in the roof and windows.

Clary stared, "We don't fly."

"You noticed." Hailee said, "We're breaking in."

Kassia moved forwards, staying close to the walls of the building; footsteps silent and breathing barely noticeable. She glimpsed a dark figure flash by the window, saw a pale hand closing a greying curtain.

"Stay out of the light, they might be watching from the windows." Jace said before adding, "And don't look up."

"You know where the back entrance is, Kass?" Hailee muttered.

Kassia nodded, leading them through the shadows and towards the alley around the back. It was narrow, overflowing with bones and rubbish. She didn't take a second glance at the bones. Kassia sighed (it wasn't that she was uncomfortable kicking through bones, it's just that she'd rather do something else), "It's beneath the remains."

"You don't get to complain," Hailee exclaimed, "You were the one who wanted to help these idiots anyway."

"You're very quick to judge," Jace said to Hailee, examining the alley with disgust.

"You're very dislikable, how Clary stands you I don't know," She scowled.

Jace's eyes twinkled, "How you have a Parabatai I don't know," He looked at Kassia, "Did you lose a bet?"

"You know, I agree with Jace," Kassia said with a victorious smirk. Hailee glared, kicking bones out of the way in search of the door.

"I'm flattered, Romanov," Jace retorted.

"You should, Wayland, seeing as I'm not going to agree with you often," Kassia said, turning to face him.

He stepped towards her, hair falling in front of his eyes, "Then I better make the most of it."

Kassia moved closer, lifting a hand to brush the blonde locks back, fingers ghosting across his cheeks and sending lightning up her nerves. She glanced up at him, lashes sweeping across her cheeks, "How do you suggest doing that?"

Jace leant closer, the two close enough for their breaths to entangle in front of them, "I—"

"Can you two stop?" Clary's anger finally snapped, "We need to find Simon."

"I agree with, Red, over here." Hailee said, "I'd much rather clean this than watch you two undress each other with your eyes whilst trying not to retch."

Kassia flinched back, heat flooding to her cheeks, "Sorry, Hails," She was sincere, "Let's get this bloody thing over."

"We need to tip the dumpster," Jace commented, recovering faster than Kassia from their repartee.

"Tipping it will make too much noise," argued Clary, "We should push it."

"Clary—" Jace started when a voice cut over him, echoing from the darkness.

"Do you really think you should be doing that?" The voice from the shadows called.

Here's part three! Sorry for such a long wait but life's shit at the moment and I just want to sleep all the time. Anyway, there's a little bit more kass x jace in this chapter and also the arrival of Raphael! (who's my fave.)