A/N : Hey there, it's me :D So thank you for following and reviewing, it really means a lot and it helps my muse be quite productive :p
Who's ready to enter Alec's head? Help yourself :D
Chapter 02 : Mundanes=Problems
Alec Lightwood
Shadowhunters are humans with angel blood running in their veins; we're born to protect humanity from demons, evil creatures from the underworld that Mundanes think of as the result of a wild imagination, little do they know that every monster of their fairytales exists for real.
Other than protecting them from afar, we don't mingle with mundanes, they're a liability. They're weak and they often let their emotions decide for them. Shadowhunters cannot allow themselves the luxury of thinking with anything other than their brains, because any distraction could be fatal, just like tonight.
This mundane girl blew out our mission and almost got us killed by demons and now, she's in our headquarters and under our protection (not that I had a say on it). We have very strong enemies that are waiting for the opportunity to end us and this girl could be the perfect bait that Jace gladly bit into.
I can't risk the lives of my people just because Jace is crushing on her, despite his insistence about her being a shadowhunter, I still have my reserves. I checked over and over and there's no sign of a Clary Fray in our records. She saw us even with the invisibility rune, but that doesn't mean she's one of us.
"You know what!" Jace flares angrily as I suggest to report this to the Clave, our highest authority "Dial down a notch" he spits vehemently, but I've always been the calm type. I don't let emotions blur my vision.
"My brother doesn't have a dial" My sister smiles at me from the couch "I love you Alec, but you have a switch that's always on"
Her words don't hurt me, I'm often accused of being too serious, too keen on following the rules, too strict, too mission oriented and although they see these traits as weaknesses, I see them as my strength. I don't let anything alter my better judgment and certainly not girls. I was trained to be a shadowhunter. Human lives depend on my rightfulness
"I love you too" I reply to my sister "But, this…"
Jace doesn't give me time to finish my sentence when he cuts me off. I sense irritation and anger gurgle inside of me, a sudden urge to bump my fist on his face to put some sense in his head seduces me. He's so absorbed by his fascination with this girl, that he barely sees right.
My sister walks to me, probably sensing the tension between us escalate and escorts me out of the room "What is it with him" I state angrily
"I'll explain to you" she strokes my arm to help me calm down
"We don't know this girl, there's no such a thing as new shadowhunters" we know all of our fellow species, they don't pop up like mushrooms, this girl is highly suspicious and I don't trust her
"There is now" my sister insists, clearly sharing Jace's opinion
"Isn't that strange?"
My sister grabs my hand to stop me from walking "What I find strange is that you're so upset"
She's right, I am upset. I rarely let my emotions control me, but what my sister and Jace seem to forget is that we're in war. Good against evil. Light against Darkness. Shadowhunters against demons. I might have trust issues, but for good reason.
The only people I trust are my sister and my best friend Jace
My sister's next words take me aback and make me cringe internally, because this is not the first time someone hints to it, but coming from my sister, it makes me grit my teeth together so hard that it hurts "Maybe you're upset because of the way Jace is looking at her. You know, you should be happy to see that Jace is interested in someone other than himself"
I gain back my self control and say honestly what's bothering me "Maybe I'm upset that she's ruined the mission" my sister's face falls as she realizes the accuracy of my words "We never found out who's buying the blood"
With this I go back to do my job, our organization works like a police station, but with the highest technology one would possibly dream of. We have cameras in every corner of the city and Demon sensors everywhere. We work in the shadows, if humans discovered our existence they'd freak out, so every day we save millions of lives, without people knowing about it.
That's our job and this is how we like it
Remember, we don't ever mingle with mundanes and risk our cover
So, why exactly is there a mundane standing in the middle of the main area of headquarters? One unspecified person (Yeah, I'm referring to Ginger over there) is problematic enough. There stands a short guy, with curly brown hair and glasses right next to the girl and Jace.
"What is going on? Why is there a mundane in the institute?" I demand
Jace sighs "Circle members followed him to get at Clary"
Alright, that's absolutely great. So now, we have circle members on our backs here, of all places. I can't believe Jace is letting his infatuation cloud his decision making.
"Just like the guys that took my mother" she explains
I glare at her, wondering what exactly it is that Jace sees in her. I do a quick assessment of her looks. She's wearing one of my sister's leather dresses, with this girl's height, the dress is shorter and hugs every part of her body, leaving little to the imagination. Well, it's a nice body I guess. I lift my eyes to inspect her face, trying to find the answer to my question there. Her deep green eyes stare back at me, but I hold my ground, she's got long wavy red hair and rosy pouty lips…I bet they feel pillowy. Wait, what?
I'll blame it on the fact that I was watching her with Jace's eyes
Damn, this is why I never look at girls…I only see them. I can't risk being distracted
"What exactly is a circle member and why are they trying to kill us?" Ginger's friend stirs me out of my mental battle and I hate to admit it, but I'm glad he did
Jace speaks first "All that we know is that there was a revolt, a lot of shadowhunters got killed including my father"
I know how difficult and painful it is for Jace to bring up his father, so I decide to step in and finish the story "and since we've all been forbidden to even hear about the circle"
The girl looks back and forth "But, how is it possible? It's your history"
"Says the girl who didn't know she was a shadowhunter" Jace states sarcastically
"Yeah and the only person who knows the truth is missing, I don't care about your rules, there must be someone out there who can tell me about my mother?"
"There is" Jace states and I hate the direction this whole conversation is taking, I know what he's thinking about and it's a bad idea, but I've decided not to interfere. The guy with glasses follows them, but Jace explains that the runes in the entrance of the training room would most likely kill him.
"There are runes over there that would kill your mundane boyfriend" Jace states
Both of them speak at the same time "He's not my boyfriend" "I'm not her boyfriend"
Well, interesting, because I could swear the guy was staring adoringly at ginger and I'm rarely wrong when it comes to reading people.
"I'm tough" the guy speaks "And I can handle runes" he bumps Jace "So bring on the runes"
If I wasn't really opposed to the whole situation, I would have laughed at this guy's clumsiness, but, my mind is thinking on the long term and Jace is risking to blow everything we've spend so much time building.
The moment my sister speaks, the guy named Simon is in awe. I'm not surprised though, I've seen guys and sometimes even girls swoon around her. She's that beautiful, I guess.
"Please excuse my brother's psycho manners" she smiles seductively at him "This is Alec and I'm Isobel"
"Louis…S..Simon Louis…two first names…am I still talking" Simon loses his composure as he shakes my sister's hand. I can't take it anymore, I turn on my heels and go back to my duties. While Jace takes the girl to meet Hodge, a former circle member that trains shadowhunters in the institute, I decide to call the clave to give them my report about the latest developments here, including the girl.
When I'm done, I join the group in the weapons room where they're all gathered to get ready for an impromptu mission to find Jocelyne Fray.
"I don't approve of the mission" I declare as I step inside the room. We don't have enough information, for all we know it could be a trap. Valentine, our biggest and deadliest enemy wants to destroy us and we're offering to run into his open arms through this mission "I spoke with the clave, they say they will send someone to search for Valentine, but they made it clear…" I glare at ginger "Little girl doesn't leave the premises"
Clearly annoyed with the nickname I gave her, she reacts immediately "My name is not Little Girl, ok" her eyes shine when she's angry, they're so green and mesmerizing "I don't care about the Clave thing or what you want, I'm going to find Dot"
Jace shakes his head pleadingly "Alec, this Warlock has all the answers we need" good move Jace, he knows that bringing up the possibility that the information we gather help us in our work would appeal to me. Yeah, I'm that work-oriented "If Valentine's men are out there searching for Clary, she's not safe outside alone"
"Jace has a point" My sister chimes in
And the ever calm Alec loses it "You too, Isy" I turn to Clary, pouring all my anger in her "Alright, since you have all the answers, where do you suggest we search?" Since this girl entered our lives, everything is ten times more complicated.
"We should start with Dot's apartment, she lives in…" the instant she touches the pendant on her necklace, she gasps and her eyes look glazed "Weirdly, I think I know where Dot is" she states when she recovers.
Simon offers to drive us to the place Clary saw in her vision, once there, she has another vision seeing Valentine's men trying to kill the warlock. Despite how much I hate to admit it, I'm starting to worry for Clary, she seems completely out of control and hysterical as she runs in all directions looking for that woman called Dot.
Once we get inside that club we met her in that first night, we realize that we arrived too late, Clary seems inconsolable "You don't understand, Dot is like my big sister" tears streak down her face. I hate tears, I hate cries, they're a sign of weakness
I look away from her face "It's not safe here" I look at the shattered glass on the floor, there was clearly a fight in here, Valentine's men might still be in the area "We have to go back to the institute now"
"So what now?" anger has replaced entirely her sadness "Valentine has my mother and Dot…we're just gonna give up…what about my memories, they can't just be gone"
"There's another option" Jace admits and I want to punch him for even entertaining the idea. It's way too dangerous, how could he even think of it. I thought he liked the girl. I won't let it happen
"Absolutely not" I state firmly
"I'm not afraid of the silent brothers" Jace smirks
"Who are the silent brothers?" she asks
"Sahdowhunters with greater powers" Jace starts, before my sister continues "They have the ability to recover memories"
"The process might also kill you" I try to sound calm, despite the jumble inside my body "So, there's that" I want her to be scared and to back down, whatever she wants to remember, it's not worth the risk…then again, I would risk it all for my family "We've broken at least eighteen Clave rules" I spit vehemently at Jace "And now you want to go to the city of bones…No way, I won't allow it"
"This is not our choice to make, this is Clary's decision" it is a low blow, he's diverting the conversation and he knows damn well Clary is too vulnerable, she's desperate to find her mother and she'd be ready for anything that would help her achieve her goal. I can't believe Jace is willing to risk her life.
My sister clearly sees my point "How can you ask her to do this, she clearly doesn't know what she's facing. She's not prepared"
"If anyone can tell me of another way to recover my memories and still have answers we need, I'm listening" she looks at us one by one and I'm angry for not having another alternative
"So that's it" she nods at Jace who smiles triumphantly, sending a jolt of pure fury inside of me "See" he taps my arm "She's one of us"
No Jace, she's not and it might very well end in a pool of blood because of you
Clary glares at me as she leaves, probably thinking I didn't want to help her, when deep down, I was actually protecting her. Despite my reluctance, I decide to go with them only because I don't want to regret not being there if something bad happened.
When we make it to the location of the silent brothers' siege, I go check the area first, make sure it's cleared from demons, Jace and my sister tag along, so I seize the opportunity of us being alone to remind my best friend what he's getting us into "Hey, if something goes wrong, If something happens to her…you know that's on us, don't you?"
"I know exactly what would happen if Valentine gets the cup before we do" Jace exclaims "She's lost everything Alec, I know exactly what that feels like" I realize that Jace is somehow helping himself right what was wrong in his past through Clary, he's not thinking with his head anymore, he's letting his feelings cloud his vision and therefore, without meaning to, he's risking Clary's life. Unfortunately, I can't stop either of them from going inside the catacomb "What's your problem with her anyway?" Jace asks "Your family always welcomes strays" he refers to the fact that after his dad died when he was ten, my family took him in. Sadly, most people around me fail to understand that Jace is like a brother and they often think that I regard him as more than that…
"You were never a stray" I clarify
"The point is, nothing's changed, we are in this fight together…" he casts a glance in Clary's way "It's just one more of us"
I watch Clary and Jace leave together, wondering if I'll ever see them again
%%%
"So, is cracking someone's mind open supposed to take this long?" Simon shifts nervously on his legs, while I have my arms folded on my chest, with my back against a wall "Maybe you should go check"
"Jace has it covered" I say calmly, trying to convince myself that nothing bad is going to happen to them. I don't like this girl, the only reason I'm worried about her is that I don't want to have her blood on my hands, I have enough to worry about as it is
"Take my word for it" my sister plays with the poor mundane's nerves "The silent brothers are quite unpleasant"
"Not helping, not at all…what if Clary can't…" Simon's rumbling gets me even more nervous when I'm already on edge
"Literally never stops talking" I cut him off, hoping he would take the hind and cut the crab…Geez, these mundanes…
My sister flirts openly with the mundane and I don't give a shit, as long as it doesn't go too far.
"Where is it going?" I nod at the mundane as he starts to leave
Isobel grins at me "We'll be right back"
She can't possibly like the guy! I raise my eyebrows questioningly, hoping she'd be able to read the big DON'T my eyes are expressing, but she chooses to ignore me and keeps walking until I can't see them anymore.
Some weird noise makes me immediately alert, as I decide to check the area again, Clary and Jace get out of the small door leading to the silent brothers and stopping me short on my tracks.
"What happened?" I ask hurriedly, trying to hide my relief at seeing them ok
Both Clary and Jace look very pale, whatever they discovered, it wasn't good and bad it was indeed "Valentine is Clary's father" Jace speaks first
My eyes travel from Jace to her, her face is livid, like she has just seen a ghost, well technically she has. It's incredible. Valentine is her father, I hardly swallow my initial shock and concentrate on the girl, all my suspicions coming back to the surface "Wait a minute, this girl shows up out of nowhere and she's Valentine's daughter" Oh God, how could I let this happen, we might have just run into a trap set by Valentine himself "Did it occur to you that she might be a spy and all this is part of a plan?"
Tears pool in her eyes as she yells at me, probably running out of patience from my persistent doubt around her "Do you think I planned for my mom to get kidnapped or for Dot to be taken…or to have a sword dangling over my head to find out that my father is one of the most dangerous people in the world…really"
Regret suddenly makes its way in my system. Why do I feel regret? I don't do emotions, I'm often referred to as a heartless person…Maybe I just feel sorry because clearly this girl has been through a lot in a very short period of time and she handled it with lots of courage, I'll give her that.
"Where's Simon?" she asks my sister when she joins us
"I told him to stay in the van" I notice Isobel is out of breath, like she's been running "I searched everywhere"
"He's gone?" Clary cries
Isobel shakes her head apologetically "I can't find him"
