All of the love and support I'm getting through you guys is astounding! You all are great and I'm sorry I'm really really late. It's kind of a filler. I do have a plan. I just thought you needed something. This one will have little talk about "taming Jace." It's going to be focused on Clary's party and Jonathan.

Chapter thirteen

They continued their walk towards the ballroom. Clary could already hear the laughter of children. It was rare that children were invited to parties. Valentine preferred them to be professional yet the sound was unmistakable. The whole city must've been invited. The thought that Valentine cared for her that much made Clary smile, but only for a minute. He wanted something from all of this. Valentine always had a motive.

For the past five minutes Jonathan had been talking nonstop. She'd never heard him take such joy in her presence. She'd been tuning him out. "Father does have his plans for Jace. Don't get me wrong. He hopes that eventually, like you, he'll be able to do anything without question. Father's even considering a demonic parabatai." Clary stopped abruptly.

"A-what?" Jonathan shrugged.

"It's not like I really want it." He did. "I mean Father looked into it…"
"A-what?" She said again. Jonathan blinked.

"Demonic Parabatai. It's like a regular parabatai but one partner has more control over-"

"Jonathan!" Valentine called from the doorway. Jonathan tensed immediately. He swallowed. "Clarissa, dear, don't you look stunning. Our seamstress seems to have outdone herself this time." Valentine smiled. "Why don't you go inside? I know everyone's dying to see you." Nodding Clary walked away from the two men and into the ballroom.

Valentine slapped Jonathan across the head. "What is wrong with you?" He snapped. "Clarissa doesn't need to know about any of our plans. You keep your mouth shut. You got it? Jonathan nodded sharply, his black eye glinting with silent anger. "What did you tell her/"

"Nothing important, Father. I swear it." Valentine sighed. "I don't want you to go running your mouth Jon. Not right now." Jonathan waited until his Father had walked back into the party before he relaxed. He wanted the man he called Father, dead. Sooner rather than later. That man was driving him nuts with his petty orders. He played along, did as he was told to do. But for what? Clary would get ahead of him soon enough. He couldn't kill her. So, for the last few hours, as he'd been getting ready in his room, he'd come up with a plan of action. He would play nice with his sister, show her his side of things, maybe even slip a few drops of blood into her drink to get her to cooperated a little easier. He'd confide in her instead of hide things. Then, when the time came, he'd use her to his advantage. So much for the girl being useless.

Jonathan slowly inched his way into the party. He immediately found Clary chatting it up with Jared and William. William was one of the possible suitors for Clary. Valentine liked him because he had a good head. He followed directions without question. And he didn't trust or like Jonathan. Valentine didn't want Clary's husband to be easily influenced. Jared however, was Jonathan's main candidate for Clary. Jonathan easily affected him. He made Jared nervous so he listened to orders and complied without question.

Jonathan wound his way through the crowds, trying not to trample the children as they ran in front of him without a care. He kept his eyes on Clary while also trying to find his girl. It wasn't like they were dating. He didn't have feelings for her. It was just someone he went to when he needed, pardon the term, a good fuck. He also liked her company. And at the moment that was the only reason he was searching for her. He spotted her by the back of the room, near an exit marked in red. He stalked towards her quickly. She didn't notice him until he was leaning on the wall next to her. She jumped slightly. Jonathan took all of her in. The way her light green dress fit her body just right. The way her blond hair just touched the top of her breast.

"Hey beautiful." He said.

Clary half listened as William talked. Apparently he'd killed some high-powered demon last week. She could've cared less but the second she'd walked in he'd gestured her over. And then she'd seen Valentine smiling out of the corner of her eye. He was happy they were talking. Valentine didn't really smile. She'd then concluded he had some of kind of plan. Actually, it had verified that he had an ulterior motive to this party.

Jared listened eagerly to William's story. Clary felt bad for the guy. Not as bad as she felt for some other people in her life but she still felt bad nonetheless. He always seemed to be roped into other people's ideas. He was gullible. She liked Jared a lot more than William at least. He was more truthful than any of the other boys around. He didn't fabricate his stories. And when he was around his other friends he was actually talkative. Politely she excused herself, heading straight for the buffet being served. Her father however had other plans. He walked up to her and rested his hands on her shoulders and sighed.

"Isnt it nice to see familiar faces?" He said calmly. Clary glanced at him from the corner of her eye.

"I guess?" Valentine smiled.

"There are some people I would like you to meet." Gulping, Clary followed him through the walls of people and over to a brunette couple. The woman held a small baby in her arms. "Samuel, Edith," Valentine greeted them. "I would like to introduce you to my daughter, Clarissa." Samuel held out his hand and Clary took it. "Samuel is one of my head guards. They're William's parents."

Jace shuffled his feet back and forth across Clary's room. Every few minutes he'd stop and turn to stare at the book she'd assigned him, lying open on the desk. He wasn't not reading it because Clary had ordered him to. He just wasn't in the mood to read. He also didn't think Clary would follow through on her threat. Come on, it was Clary! He'd searched numerous places for more of her scrapbooks, but had found none. The two he'd located shed locked in a drawer. Sighing he walked over to the double doors of the balcony. The city lights were bright as ever. Jace pressed his head on the cool glass. Something was wrong with Clary. He was worried about her. Valentine was a monster that needed to stop. But as long as he had Clary under his control, Jace knew he himself, couldn't do a thing. Taking a deep breath he looked up and gasped. Beams stretched from wall to wall all the way to the top. He could see a small light at the top. Curiosity got the best of him and he started to climb.

"Jackpot." He said as he landed in the small storage room and took in the surroundings.