They were in a field. The sky was grey and the forest looked dead. The two boys approached each other, not noticing me. They looked familiar. The golden boy said something I couldn't hear to the brown haired boy. Then they both took out swords and started running towards each other. At that moment I realized who they were, Jace and Aaron."Stop," I screamed and now they realized someone else was here. Then they both started running towards me instead. Their eyes were filled with the murderous anger I had seen before on both of their faces. They stopped about a foot away from me and my vision started spinning like I was dizzy. One second Jace would be in front of me and in the next Aaron would. Their images kept changing faster and faster, replacing one with the other. Everything behind them was grey and while they kept spinning a voice whispered into my mind, "Don't trust me," I didn't know whose voice it was but it sounded menacing. Both the boy's mouths were open like they just said those words. When it started to seem like they couldn't spin any faster they stopped but now instead of two boys there were three. Sebastian was standing between Jace and Aaron with a mocking smile on his face. All three of them stared at me and then in unison they all said "Don't trust me," then I woke up, gasping for air.
"Are you in trouble?" I jump when I hear Loomis' voice from across the room.
I thought about that for a minute. Had I broken some kind of unsaid rule? I decided to put that question at the back of my mind and think about it later. "No, well actually, if I ever go home my mom will kill me." He laughed. My breathing had calmed down by now. The presence of another person had soothed me. I realized that I was still exhausted though. I close my eyes and got back into a comfortable position. Loomis said something but I couldn't understand it. I didn't really care about what he said. All I wanted was for Jace to be okay.
"What happened in your dream?" He asked.
"Nothing," I respond to quickly.
"Come on, don't you trust me?"
"Trust is earned,"
"I stopped Aaron from torturing you,"
"True," I hesitated. "Thank you but don't blackmail me with that."
"I wasn't-" He began but I cut him off.
"Then don't start. I'm tired. Goodnight." And with that I fell into a deep sleep without any dreams to haunt me.
I'm woken up to the beautiful music of a pots and pans band. "What the hell is going on in there?" Aaron calls from down the hall. Aaron. That reminded me of my dream. I don't know who was saying don't trust me but just to be safe I wouldn't trust him.
The response to Aaron's cries is Loomis and Vanessa laughing their butts off. I get off the couch and follow the giggles around the corner. It takes me a second to remember that I've never been in this part of the house before. I've never strayed from the blue room and the bathroom connected to it. Now I'm in a bright yellow kitchen. It's small but cute. Loomis and Vanessa are at the little stove trying to fry two things at once.
I quickly turn back around and venture into another room. My curiosity had gotten the best of me once again. Instead of finding my way back into the living room I find myself in a red and brown dining room. It's very simplistic. There's a wooden table and four chairs and a china cabinet. The walls were a dark burgundy and the floor was wooden. There was even a bowl of red apples on the table.
I kept walking and found a side hallway that lead to all the bedrooms. I wanted to see what colors these rooms were. I wanted to open the doors and see what lurked behind them but I didn't have enough courage. If Aaron found me I would be dead meat and he had to be around here somewhere.
As I turn to go back to the kitchen I hear a door creak behind me and I knew that I was caught.
"What are you doing?" Aaron asks as if I'm a dumb child.
"I was curious," I reply.
"What are we going to do with you?" He sighed. I cannot trust him I thought to myself repeatedly. I was weary of him from the start but now I was extremely suspicious. Was I a demon or a child to him? "Can't you see that you're my responsibility?" I didn't know what he meant by this. Loomis said the house was a democracy.
"Well then I'm sorry sir," I said sarcastically.
He laughed. "Don't call me sir. It makes me feel old."
"Then don't treat me like a kid," I retort.
His eyes narrowed. "Fine," he growled. I stood their awkwardly for awhile. It looked like he wanted to say something more. Eventually he sighs and says, "Look, Loomis told me to give you another chance. I will respect you if you respect me in return."
"Okay," I reply honestly.
"And don't pity yourself around us. Arrogance is not acceptable. I don't care that your boyfriend tried to kill you. He didn't that's the bottom line." He said and walked away without noticing the pain written all over my face. It felt like he had taken his seraph blade and jammed it into my heart. I stood there shell shocked until Vanessa called my name from down the hall.
"Good you're up. Come eat some breakfast and then we're all going to the springs." She said with a smile. Great I get to go to the springs with Aaron. I thought sarcastically.
I eat breakfast in the dining room with the three of them. I look at my plate, not even looking up when Loomis asks how I liked his pancakes. I scarf the food down and then wash my dishes in the kitchen sink. After that I go back into the blue room. At one moment I thought of the blue room as my prison but now I'm seeing it as my one space. It's that most familiar place in this house. I lie on the couch and wonder if running away was selfish. I could've helped him. I can't seem to shake the feeling that Jace is in deep trouble.
I had finally came to the conclusion that I ran away in self- defense and not for a completely selfish reason when Vanessa comes in and tugs me down the hall. She leads me into a purple bedroom, everything is literally purple. "Nice room," I said.
She smiles. "I've always loved purple. When I moved in here I decided 'what the heck lets have some fun with it.' I designed the whole house."
"The house is very cozy,"
I tried to make it that way. I wanted to make it a rainbow house. The boys argued about it with me for almost a year but they finally gave in. I was so happy when they finally did." She explains.
"I love the idea of a rainbow house."
"Really? Some people think it's the stupidest idea they've ever heard of."
"Yeah, the different colors feel like different emotions."
"I thought I was the only one who thought that. No one really gets it."
"It does sound weird though but once you actually see it it's amazing."
"Yeah, the reason I brought you in here was not to talk about the house but to find you something to wear to the springs." She starts digging in her drawers and pulls out things for me to try on. Then she makes me model all the swimsuits in her closet.
About an hour later she decides on a baby blue bikini covered with brown and blue swim shorts and a white tank top. I decided to let her have her fun and play Barbie with me. She seemed to enjoy it a lot.
When we were both dressed Aaron came in and gave me a stele and a dagger. "You never know what's in the forest." He warned and then he walked towards the door.
I hadn't thought about demons being in the woods before. I had only killed one demon so far and that was with Isabelle's help. If a demon attacked us I would be on my own. Aaron would only protect Loomis and Vanessa. I would have to remember everything the Lightwood's taught me to stay alive. I wasn't scared though, I was strangely exhilarated.
"Just in case, you do know how to fight right?" He asked.
"Yes," I answered with a smile.
"Okay, good," Then we all met up with Loomis in the kitchen and went out the back door. The forest was just how I remembered it.
Aaron kept watching me as if I was going to run. I wouldn't though. I learned how dangerous the forest was and wasn't going to make the same mistake again. Also where would I run to? I had nowhere to go. It was better if I just stayed here. I liked the house and Loomis and Vanessa were pretty cool people and if I stayed in line maybe Aaron would even warm up to me. It wasn't home but it was a good alternative.
The three of them kept up a constant stream of conversation. It was funny listening to them. It was like Loomis and Vanessa were brother and sister and Aaron was their friend. Now was when you could see the democracy. They tried to talk to me but I was more interested in what the three of them talked about, memories of seeing a monkey in the woods, of being chased by a farmer, even finding a woman in the woods that had died from heat stroke. With that they all snuck glances at me.
"Did you ever find out who she was?" I asked.
"All we know was that she was a shadowhunter. We don't even know who took her body away. One day it was there and the next day it was gone." Vanessa replied.
"The local werewolf pack probably took it away." Loomis puts in.
"You think Milos would've allowed that?" Aaron asked.
"No but Lucy would've convinced him."
"Do you miss any of them?" said Aaron.
"Sometimes, they were the only ones there for me when my parents kicked me out. I always looked up to Milos."
"So you're a werewolf?" I ask.
"Yep," Loomis answers with a laugh on his lips. "Once in a while I'll wake up and still think I'm human and live with my parents."
"How long has it been?"
"Almost two years now,"
I decided to ask the intrusive question that had been bugging me for a while. "How old are you guys?" I asked.
"Seventeen," Loomis informs me.
"Sixteen," Vanessa says.
Aaron hesitates but then replies "I'm nineteen," When we all stare at him.
"Cool," I say simply.
Then Vanessa starts messing with Aaron's hair and they're laughing. I can feel a smile on my lips too. It feels like I'm watching a group of friends at the beach on spring break.
Then I look into the bushes and see three ravenor demons. Izzy once told me "When you fight a demon relax. If you freak out there's a better chance you'll die." When I first heard it I thought she was just trying to scare me but now I know that she's right. I sober up.
"Aaron," I call. They can tell something is wrong by the way my voice sounds. I grab my dagger and jump into battle. Aaron is close behind me. I draw an angel's rune onto the dagger and stab the closest ravenor in the side. He explodes. Another jumps for me and I quickly roll out of the way. All my training had come in handy. The demon runs towards me with his mouth open wide and I jump over him and stab him in the back, surprising him as he explodes.
The last ravenor is battling with Aaron. They're both having a hard time. Aaron's now on the floor and the ravenor is getting ready to pounce on him. He might hate me but I'm sure not going to let him die. I start running over but I know that I'm not fast enough so I throw my dagger at the moving demon hoping the luck of the angel will be with me, and he is. The dagger lands on its target and the demon explodes without even touching Aaron.
I run to him. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah, I'm fine," he groans.
"You sure?" I ask doubtfully.
"I just hit my back hard. I'm fine."
"Okay,"
I help him up and we go back to Loomis and Vanessa. Vanessa is crying and Loomis looks pissed.
"Oh my god! Are you alright? I was so worried! Loomis wanted to go after you guys but I held him back. We thought you were going to die!" Wow, optimistic much? I think. Didn't they know that Aaron was a good fighter? He'd managed to stay alive this long.
"It's all thanks to Clary that I'm still alive." Aaron says. I had been standing to the side the whole time they were talking. Loomis and Vanessa looked shocked. It annoyed me.
"Do I really look that weak? I'm not a child."
"No, it's not that, I thought you didn't have much training," Loomis says.
"I don't. I had good teachers and I was lucky." I shrugged.
"It wasn't luck. She's good. She killed all three of the ravenor demons by herself." Aaron puts in.
"How long were you training for?" Loomis asks.
"Seven months,"
The all stare at me with even wider eyes if that's even possible. I don't get why. It was just luck. Plus it was only three demons Jace could've killed them all in his sleep. "What is it now?" I ask annoyed.
"You shouldn't have been able to do that if you only had seven months of training. Who were you trained by?"
"The Lightwoods, they're shadowhunters who run the institute in New York." This is followed by an eerie silence. "What now?"
"Are you sure you don't work for the clave?" Loomis questioned.
"I'm sure. Why?"
"Never mind,"
"Fine then, let's keep walking. There might be more around here." With that we all start walking. No one speaks until we get to our destination. They say it is but I don't see a spring, I see a giant cliff. They tell me that the spring is located below that cliff. Loomis pushes Aaron off and he screams all the way down. Then Vanessa pushes Loomis over.
I give a Vanessa a don't-mess-with-me stare and walk over to the ledge. I look down, It's at least a fifty foot drop.
"Don't you dare push me in," I tell Vanessa.
"Suit yourself," She laughs and then jumps off. The second she's out of sight I realize that I probably should've asked if there was another way down. I hate heights. I walked around the perimeter of the cliff and still couldn't find another way. I couldn't even find a steep slope. It was all just straight down but still, there had to be another way down. They had to get up somehow.
"Come on, Clary!" Loomis called.
"You people are crazy!" I yell back.
"Nah, you're just scared. Don't worry you won't die."
"Oh that's very reassuring," I mumble under my breath. "How do you get back up?"
"You'll see," Loomis shouted. "Just come down here and I'll show you how to get back up."
I didn't know if I could trust them or not but if I couldn't get back up then they couldn't either. I decided to live a little and chance it. I took a deep breath and flung myself over the edge before I could change my mind. The whole way down I was hoping that I wouldn't die.
As I got closer to the water I tried to bring myself into a cannonball position. The landing sent shockwaves through my body. The spring was deep, I estimated twenty feet. I went all the way to the bottom and felt the algae with my toes. I pushed off with my feet and swam to the top.
At the surface the others were cheering and laughing." What would you have done if I couldn't swim?" I demanded.
"Fish you out of course," Loomis joked.
"This is not funny. How do we get back up?"
"Relax Clary! You're freaking out way too much. There's an underground passageway that leads back up" Vanessa explained.
"A what?" I asked confused. With that I got laughed at once again. These people were so immature.
"Come on Clary, I'll show that the way back up so you can let loose and relax." Loomis offered with a big grin.
We got out of the spring and walked to the side of the cliff and to the right. There was a little hole that I hadn't noticed before, that was only a few feet tall. Loomis went in first and I followed after him. We were only a yard in when I tripped over something. It was very dark, I couldn't see a thing.
"Careful, I forgot to warn you. There are stairs in here that are made out of tree roots. Go slowly." He whispered.
After about ten minutes I had successfully made it up the cliff. Okay, I had a few cuts but it was still a success.
"So are you better now?" He asked. "No more crazy freak outs?"
"Yeah, thanks," I reply. We just stand there between the trees and the cliff. He looks like he wanted to say something.
"Umm… What you did back there? Saving Aaron's life? I just wanted to say thanks. We've become a family and if one of us dies then a piece of the others die with them. We're all outcasts, hated by the towns and cities. We were talking the morning we found you about giving up and turning ourselves in to the people we've been hiding from. Aaron and I would most likely be killed on the spot. We hoped that they would go soft on Vanessa.
Ravenors kept coming and Aaron was the only one of us who knew how to fight them. He wasn't very good at it but he always came back alive. One day he almost died though, and we were scared that the next time one came it would kill him but then you showed up. You know how to fight. You can save us!" He smiled and looked at me with his big hopeful eyes.
"Thanks," I started off, unsure of what to say. These people were making me suspicious. Could I make promises that I didn't know if I could keep? "I was lucky today with those ravenor demons but if you still want me to stay then I will. I have nowhere else to go and I thank you for taking me in." I say.
"Thank you," he whispers and pulls me into a big hug.
As I started to pull away I looked at his face and our eyes locked. Those eyes of his were mesmerizing. "You're pretty," he whispered sweetly. He was a good guy. He was nice and sweet and cute and cared about his friends. What more could you want from a guy?
Our faces inched closer and closer together until I could feel his breath on my face. All I wanted was to feel his lips on mine.
Jace. A voice whispered in the back of my mind, snapping me back into reality and giving me a piece of clarity. I was trembling and there were stupid tears pooling in my eyes.
"I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to-"
I cut him off. "No everything is fine, just go back to Aaron and Vanessa please. Now." The words rushed out of my mouth I couldn't spend another minute with him.
"Alright, but you will stay, won't you?"
"Yes, I said I would but please just go. I need some time alone." I said hurriedly, wanting him to get away from me as fast as possible. And with that he jumped off the cliff at the same time my knees gave out.