Hey, hey, hey!
So, we have some lover's quarrels in this chapter, but even if it bothers you, it will get better!
Enjoy!
Disclaimer: Cassandra Clare owns TMI and all of its characters. I only own Rose, Liam, and Ethan.
And future characters. ;)
Isabelle and Maryse stormed into the room, followed by that awful Inquisitor, Robert, and someone was yelling after them, who barged through the door as well, out of breath and looking around with wide eyes.
The familiar spikey brown hair confirmed my suspicions.
"Ethan!" I hissed, and I ignored my frozen companions, lunging forward and pulling my little brother to the side.
Alec approached Maryse, with an odd look in his eye, at that. "Alec, what on earth are you doing here? I thought I made it clear that-"
"Mother," Alec interrupted, and I glanced at Liam.
Fearless rune? He mouthed, and I covered my mouth with my hand to hide my laugh. What the hell was he going to say?
"I'm seeing someone." Alec announced, and Ethan raised an eyebrow in confusion. I just shook my head.
"Alec," Robert sighed in exasperation, "This is hardly the time."
"Yes, it is. This is important. You see, I'm not just seeing anyone," Alec was saying, "I'm seeing a Downworlder. In fact, I'm seeing a war-"
With a flick of his wrist, Magnus sent out a couple of blue sparks, and Alec dropped to the ground.
I yelped in surprise, lunging forward with Ethan and Isabelle, crouching at his side.
"Wha-what-why am I on the floor?" He stammered, and I turned to glare at Magnus.
"Yeah, warlock," I growled between my teeth, "Why is he on the floor?"
Magnus didn't reply. "I think we've established that our experiment works," Liam spoke up, and Jace snorted in agreement.
Wait… my brother and my boyfriend were agreeing?
This conversation must be more awkward that I had thought it was.
The second the Inquisitor started speaking, I immediately tuned her out, focusing on Ethan. "What happened?"
Ethan, apparently still breathless, panted, "I tried to stop them, but they were intent on coming for Jace."
I suddenly felt a stab of pain in my chest. In all of this drama, I had forgotten that Ethan was worried as well. He looked up to Jace and Alec just as any little brother would.
"You did well, kid," Liam approved, and I rolled my eyes when the two high-fived silently.
"That wasn't your failure," the Inquisitor was saying to Magnus, "Letting him see his father last night, that was your failure."
My head snapped up, and Jace wasn't meeting my eyes.
"That's ridiculous," An angry Luke argued, "Jace doesn't even know where Valentine is. Stop hounding him."
"Hounding is what I do, Downworlder," The Inquisitor smirked evilly, "It's my job." She turned to Jace. "Tell the truth, now, boy," she said, "and it will all be much easier."
"I don't have to tell you anything." Jace said, staring at her defiantly.
"If you're innocent, why not exonerate yourself? Tell us where you really were last night. Tell us about Valentine's little pleasure boat." The Inquisitor urged, and I glared at her fiercely.
"Leave him alone, for the Angel's sake!" I growled, but the sentence came out muffled as both Liam and Ethan simultaneously clasped a hand over my mouth. Was I really that bad?
Isabelle, Maryse, Robert, and Alec all turned to me at the same time, sending me a warning look.
Yup, I believed I was.
Liam decided to try and speak up. "So you're saying that Valentine was-"
"On a boat in the middle of the East River," confirmed the Inquisitor. "That's correct."
Magnus muttered something to himself, something that contained the words "water" and "spell".
Wait… a river? "Why in the hell would Valentine be there?" Liam spoke up.
"Ask Jonathan. He borrowed a motorcycle from the head of the city's vampire clan and he flew it to the boat. Isn't that right, Jonathan?" The Inquisitor smirked, and I fought the urge to smack her.
The Inquisitor ordered something I couldn't quite hear, and Jace pulled something out of his pocket. Was that… a piece of glass?
The Inquisitor snatched it from his grasp rudely, and it slit his palm open, causing Maryse and I to whimper simultaneously. She caught my gaze for a second, and the fierce glare I sent here caused her to look away.
"What is it?" Robert asked, confused.
As the Inquisitor explained, the glass made sense. It was a piece from the Portal Valentine had disappeared into, preserving a picture of the Wayland Manor.
With a flick of her hand, the Inquisitor dropped the glass, and I went to object, but it was too late. The glass shattered.
"She's been spying on him," Liam whispered quietly, and the thought made my blood boil in anger.
"You've been spying on me," Jace spoke my thoughts out loud, and he sounded angry. "Is that what the Clave does, invade the privacy of its fellow Shadowhunters to-"
"Be careful what you say to me. You are not the only one who's broken the Law." The Inquisitor warned, and I tensed, knowing where she was going. "In releasing you from the Silent City, in freeing you from the warlock's control, your friends have done the same."
Liam's arm that was wrapped around my waist tightened slightly at the comment.
"He isn't our friend," I hissed, "He's our brother."
The Inquisitor whirled around to stare at me sternly. "I'd be careful about what comes out of my mouth if I were you, Ms. Nightlock. You could be considered complicit."
I smirked at her. "Well unfortunately for you, you aren't me."
"Complicit?" Robert spoke up, ignoring my previous comment, "The girl was just trying to keep you from shattering our family. For God's sake, Imogen, these are all just children-"
The Inquisitor interrupted him, but I didn't listen to her, as Liam was whispering in my ear.
"Do you have a death wish? She would willingly strip you of your Marks and leave you a mundane, and no one would be able to stop her." He hissed rapidly, and I glanced at Ethan, who was watching the other events before him with wide eyes.
"I would be or would do whatever it took for my brothers, Liam, wouldn't you?" I whispered, and when I turned to him, his expression was cold.
"What? You think I wouldn't do the same for you, either?" I hissed, and he snorted.
"I don't care if you would. I wish you wouldn't be so damned reckless if it's at your own expense." He muttered, and in one fluid motion I had twisted his arm from around my waist, shoving it back at him roughly.
His eyes held pain, though I suspected it had nothing to do with his arm.
"He will return to Idris with me tomorrow," The Inquisitor was saying, "You've forfeited your right to know any more than that."
"How can you take him back to that place?" Clary demanded. "When will he come back?"
Jace turned to me, giving me a pleading look, and I stepped towards Clary.
"Jace isn't the problem here! Valentine is the problem-"
"Clary, stop, there's nothing we can do," I whispered rapidly, wrapping my arms around her waist in restraint so as that I could hold her back.
Alec spoke up from his perch on the edge of the loveseat. "The Inquisitor is right," He said, "Jace lied to us. There's no excuse for that."
My jaw dropped.
He knew we were talking about Jace, right?
Well, he had said his name…
But the other stuff didn't add up.
"Alec, how can you say that?" Isabelle gasped, and something flickered in his blue eyes, but he quickly hid it.
"The Law is the Law, Izzy. There's no way around that."
Isabelle gave an angry cry, before barging outside, slamming the door shut. I shot Alec a fuming glance before I grabbed Ethan's arm, towing him from Liam's side without a glance at him either, and dragged the two of us out after Isabelle.
When we got outside, we found Isabelle a little ways away, pacing back and forth.
"I can't believe it, we even lost Alec now," She was mumbling, and Ethan took her by the shoulders, ending her dizzying pacing.
"It will be okay, Iz-"
"You sure about that, sweetheart?" A voice asked from behind me, and I turned to see Magnus watching the three of us, bored.
I stormed up to him, and without warning I hit him upside the head with enough force to send a jolt up my arm.
"What the hell-"
"That was for hurting my damned feelings," I smacked him once again, "That was for letting Alec get away," another smack, "That was for letting Jace get taken away by Royal Bitch," and I settled for one last hit across his glittery head before I stepped back.
He rubbed his spikey hair in pain. "And the last one?" He snapped, glaring at me.
"That was for me to let my anger out!" I yelled, and none of the three people in front of me moved as I sighed, calming myself down from my previous breakdown.
We were quiet until we heard the door from Luke's house open, and we hid behind the other house next door as we watched them.
Jace, his hands bound, walked out first, the Inquisitor right at his heels, followed by the Lightwoods and Liam, who stood next to Alec. It was as if Liam could feel our eyes on him, because he glanced towards us, and though I wanted to cringe away, I just stared at him expressionlessly. His shoulders moved as if he had sighed, and he continued walking away with Alec.
"Trouble in paradise?" Magnus asked curiously, and I whirled around, slapping him across the cheek.
"Damn it, girl, is this Beat the Warlock Day and no one told me?"
"It is now. And I just told you."
Iz pulled Ethan towards her, wrapping an arm around him, as we started walking in the opposite direction of the others, set on arriving at the Institute before them.
"So what happened between you two?" Iz asked quietly, and Ethan shook his head hurriedly, trying to warn her.
"Magnus brought up some very bad memories, slowly killing me from the inside." I offered smoothly, and Isabelle's eyes widened.
"Did you do that?" She turned to Magnus accusingly, and he sighed, nodding weakly.
"I am sorry, Rose. I was upset and I had no right to yell at you."
I scoffed. "You can scream at me for all the damn I would give. But you struck a nerve, warlock. Not a smooth move when approaching a Shadowhunter," I reminded him.
"We are friends, you know." He continued, the other two watching us bicker silently, though Ethan looked strongly like he wanted to interrupt.
"If that's how you treat your friends, the Angel forbid I become your enemy," I muttered.
"I love you, Rose. When you showed up on my doorstep as a sad, frightful fourteen year old Shadowhunter, you reminded me how much I missed being around normal people." Magnus continued, and I rolled my eyes.
"Yeah, because the first thing that strikes people about me is my normalcy."
"I'm serious. You are more mundane than you choose to realize."
"Good to know. Now, if you take a left from here, you should reach your apartment, have a fabulous day." I pointed out the direction innocently, and he narrowed his eyes at me, blowing a loose strand of his glittery hair out of his face.
"I'll see you later, Rose."
"Au revoir, mon chérie!" I called, waving with a large smile, and he rolled his eyes as he disappeared down the street.
"You doing okay?" Ethan asked worriedly, and I raised an eyebrow skeptically.
No, I'm not okay, My head was screaming at me. My boyfriend thinks I'm crazy, my brother is about to face full punishment of the Clave, Valentine is on the loose, and the Shadowhunter world as we know it is crumbling, leaving us to dig ourselves out of the rubble.
"Do I not look okay?" I asked coolly, and Iz sighed.
"Well I don't know about you, but I can promise I don't." She grumbled, and we hurriedly walked the rest of the way home, wedged together in a sibling formation, Ethan being caught in the middle, and we just slipped into Isabelle's room before everyone else entered the Institute.
"If I have to shove this dagger through the door, so help me-"
"Rose, just let me in!" Liam called, and Iz shook her head fiercely at me.
"But that would be reckless, don't you think?" I hissed sarcastically.
"Can we please just let him in?" Ethan asked, who was attempting to read manga with Max on Isabelle's bed.
"Shut up, Ethan!" Iz and I grumbled at once.
"Come on, Ethan! Let me in!" Liam called enthusiastically, and I rolled my eyes.
"Don't think I'm not mad that you insulted my sister, Darkstrider!" He glared daggers towards the door, and I huffed confidently. I love having brothers.
Except for Alec, at the moment. Him I could throw out the window for now.
"Rose, I didn't mean it!"
"Could have fooled us!" Isabelle called, even though she hadn't heard one part of our argument.
"You're right," Liam said, quieter, "I did mean it. I was upset that you were willing to protect your brother at your own expense because I am that selfish. I know both Jace and I can agree that we would rather you worry about yourself first, because that is how much I love you, Rose Nightlock."
Isabelle gasped, putting a hand over her mouth, her eyes wide. Max looked up from his book in surprise, and Ethan just gave me an odd look.
All the while I stood there, frozen.
Did he say what I thought he said?
"Rose?" Liam repeated, and Isabelle gave me a questioning glance. I slowly unfroze, changing my expression.
He didn't mean it. No, he didn't.
He couldn't mean it.
So I would lie.
"Was there anything else you wanted?" I called in an irritated voice, and I could hear silence from the other side of the door.
"Alec will still continue trying to convince you to let him in. Just warning you," He murmured, and I heard his retreating footsteps, followed by the slam of his door.
"Oh Rose," Iz murmured, and I turned to face her.
"What?" I asked, my face cool, lifeless.
"Don't do that," Ethan argued, "Don't do that Jace thing. We all know you are the complete opposite of Jace, Rose."
"Ethan, you don't know what you're talking about. So stay out of places you don't belong," I murmured coldly, and he just glared at me, stalking out of the room, and from the following slam I knew he had gone to visit Liam.
Max looked confused, but he just shrugged, continuing to read.
"You're going to regret keeping him out, you know." Isabelle whispered softly, and I grimaced.
"I don't know how to be in love, Isabelle. It's not like it's ever happened before!" My hoarse voice cracked, and she rubbed soothing circles into my shoulder.
"Well it's happening now," She whispered.
What if she was right? What if he did love me? He had sounded sincere, and yet I couldn't believe it.
Guys had never paid attention to me, not for any reasons other than the fact that I was a Shadowhunter. I wasn't that alluring, and I wasn't that pretty. I was too… plain. I had brown hair (excluding the new purple streaks), brown eyes, and a horrifyingly ugly voice to match.
So what was there for him to love about me?
"I think I hear Alec's footsteps, lock the door." I said, not meeting her eyes. She obeyed quietly.
Well, the end of City of Ashes is coming up (City of Glass is going to have a lot of changes, just a heads up) so I hope you guys enjoy it.
Review, review, review!
- EasyIsTheDescent