Chapter 8

. Clary's POV

The burn mark left my skin bubbleing as I sprinted back. I burst through the portal, and the demonic spirit left me so when I came through to my cell I collapsed to the ground. I screamed, holding my face with my palms, the pain still being left behind. The pierceing sound of my voice almost drowned out the pain, but not quite.

Jace's POV

Everyone was disgruntled, some were mad at me for preventing her death, and others simply didn't know what was going on. I clutched the plant in my hands and raised it.

"This." They all stopped and stared. "This burnt her face."

"It... burnt her?" One of them raised his eyebrows at me, questioning me.

"Yes. It seared her skin on her face. It hurt her."

"A midnight flower. She didn't, no one, hinted at this before?"

"No."

"Did she hint at where she was going?" Another asked.

"No, she didn't really talk to me much." I was growing impatient again, I wanted to be doing something again. The fight kept my mind distracted from the sadness, but now that I realize she is gone again it starts seaping into me again.

"Look around the place, find anything-"

"Hey!" Someone waved. "Right here." His finger jabed the place where she had been touching the granite surface. I take three long strides over there and lean over the counter. There, etched into the surface, was a picture. It was a building of some sort, the lines were jaggedy, but you can make out the multiple roofs and long widows.

"Someone draw a rememberence rune, we have to report this," I say, and they listen.

Isabelle's POV

"Anything, Simon?" He looks so defeated, I don't even know why I asked.

"No." He slams a sword against his thigh in fustration. "Nothing. Not a single thing." He shakes his head. "Anything from Jace?"

"I haven't talked to him yet. But maybe they've had another sighting?"

"Unlikely." As soon as he mutters the words, I see a group of startled shadowhunters. Usually they would be tattered and bloody, but they just seemed utterly confused.

"Hey." I marched up to them, some of them skimmed down my body before looking me in the eyes. "What's going on?"

"Another sighting. But this time Jace found something."

My bones went still but I refused the shock that ran up my spine to stuper my words. "And?"

"He burnt her. The midnight flower he swung at her burnt her." The fact that Jace would try to hurt Clary was stunning enough -even in the state that she was in, but hearing that her face was scared from a plant was a thing in itself.

"Details, now." I grabed a hanful of the nearest guy's fabric and yanked his shoulder towards me. Simon made his way to my side and listened in intently.

"When we got there Jace was batteling Clary. He really didn't want to hurt her, he swung out of self defence only. It was just when we arrived that we found that her face was steaming. He had skimmed her cheeck and she reared back. The fight was about over by then, she ran. That's all I know." He gathered himself together and ran up the croud he was walking with origionally.

Simon and I both shared a look, but hunted Jace down the minute after.

"Jace!" I run up to him, but he slumped.

"Not now Isabelle, I'll talk to you later." A pain looked must have slashed across my face for he retraced his words. "Please, I just need a minute. I need to talk to them about what had happened, and then I'll answer any questions for you. I'm sorry."

He dissapeared among the crowd, leaving me a Simon hopless bystanders.

Jace's POV

Everything happened all at once. Each soldier gave their piece of the story and I gave mine. They were all considered before we could acually prove that the midnight flower had proved as some kind of defence against her and her kind. The missing soldiers had no lead, but all of that was nearly forgetten as I brough this up.

"It seems to me that we have an advantage. Now all we need to do is condense this flower into a weapon more suitable for a person, and then attemped to locate this Clarrissa Fairchild."

"No." I say loud, loud enough for people to hear me. I explain myself before anyone can think of me as possessed or a traitor of some sort. "We can't kill. You can't." I shake my head.

"Death is cruel, but when nessicary can be bittersweet."

"Nothing is sweet about death." I retort back to him with anger.

"Not when you get the short half of the stick." The same person replied, who happened to be some man from the audience. I wanted to punch him hard in the nose for even bringing up the idea of killing Clary. I couldn't think the words without tasteing bile.

"We shall do what he says, but we will in all attemps not kill this girl, or any that seem of the same disease as her. We will capture them and study them, for a cure. Discuss this." Jia said and the room went into a noisy chatter.

At the end of the day, they decided to go through with his plan, all except for the part of killing. I would have been all the way relived if it had not been for the fact that they would allow the death of her if it were in complete self defence. That still angered me, and I promied myself that I would be the one to find her. I would capture her and not kill her, and bring her back so they can fix her and take back the Clary that everyone loved. The Clary that ended wars, not started them .