To all my lovely followers! I am so sorry I didn't update sooner! I came back from vacation, had to catch up with work, and spent my free time catching up with my good friend, Netflix. Here's Chapter 4!
Again, all rights belong to Cassandra Clare. I am just a fan with an over active imagination.
The sounds of gun firing and explosions came from the speakers of the old Sony television; the flashing words of "GAME OVER" illuminated the screen as Simon held his controller victoriously in the air.
"Simon, The Destroyer, wins again!" Simon yelled. Jordan groaned and threw his controller on the ground.
"You can't just name yourself, The Destroyer," Jordan said, rubbing his eyes. He looked at his friend who was starting to do a small victory dance in front of the TV and glared.
"But did I not just destroy you," Simon said, pointing at him. "Again?" He burst into another victory dance, creating small circles with his hands. He stopped abruptly when he felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. "Excuse me, my fans need me." Jordan rolled his eyes and picked up his controller to start a new game.
"Hello?" Simon answered.
"Hey," a soft voice replied.
"Fray! You totally just missed the most epic battle." Simon walked out of the living room and into the kitchen. "I destroyed Jordan," he said extra loud for the other boy to hear in the next room. Simon turned his head to see if Jordan heard him, and a single finger in the air gave him the confirmation he needed. He turned his attention back to the receiver and waited for Clary's response, but quickly became concerned, as all he heard was silence on the other end. "Clary? You okay?"
"Sorry Simon," Clary said. She sighed into the phone. "Few things on my mind. I'm still stuck at school. I gotta finish up something."
"Is it another project?" Simon asked, leaning against the kitchen counter. He looked at the clock and it was almost mid afternoon, confirming that his last meal was far too long ago. Simon opened up the fridge, stared into its empty contents and started to dig around in the cupboards for a snack. His stomach growled in anticipation.
"Yeah, it's sort of another project," Clary replied. "The Dean wants to look at some of my artwork and I think I need to stay to finish some stuff up.
Simon quickly paused for his search of glorious food. "What? That's totally awesome! Maybe he'll put your artwork in a gallery or something!"
Clary laughed over the phone. "Maybe, Simon. Anyway, I just wanted to call and let you know what was going on. It's still early, so hopefully I can be done soon, and I'll swing by. Simon reached into the back of the cupboard and pulled out an empty box of cookies. Defeated, he closed the cupboard and returned back to leaning against the counter.
Clary's voice interrupted his foul mood. "And make sure there's food when I get there?"
Simon exclaimed in agreement. "Right?! I don't understand how Jordan has no food in his basement." He heard Jordan yell from the living room. "Okay Fray, just let me know when you're coming over. It's time for me to destroy him again."Clary's laughter resonated in Simon's ear. "Play nice, Lewis. See you later!" Simon hung up the phone and grinned as he made his way to the living room once again.
Clary looked at her phone and sighed. She wanted to tell Simon everything that happened in the last hour, but a nagging reminder in her gut told her not to do it. She was sitting on a bench in the middle of the campus, the sun beating down in the middle of the quad. She closed her eyes and tried to banish the feeling of embarrassment and confusion that followed her from Hodge's office. Heat rose to her cheeks as she remembered the blank stares from Alec, Isabelle, and most especially, Jace. And although Hodge seemed to understand, she almost felt guilty for wasting his time. Could this Shadowhunter idea actually be real?
The confused girl shook her head and sighed out loud. She reached into her messenger bag, pulled out her headphones and found a playlist on her phone that calmed her nerves and also inspired the artistic side of her. She reached in her bag, found her moleskin sketchbook and twirled a pencil in her hand. Right now, she willed herself to ignore any thoughts or ideas of Shadowhunters and focus on the blank piece of paper in her lap. If she needed to make a life altering decision, she would have to clear her mind first. She turned up the volume, her music drowning out the world and her thoughts.
"Bloody hell, would you please stop pacing!" Isabelle shouted.
Jace stopped in the middle of his walking, and turned to face his glaring female friend. "It helps me think," he said coolly.
"Yes, well, it makes me want to murder you," Isabelle said as she toyed with a wooden pencil. "That Clary girl left a few hours ago, and since then, you've been wearing through the 18th century carpet."
"I just don't understand how we just let her walk out of here with all of our secrets," Jace said, his voice edging slightly. "She may be have the blood of a Shadowhunter, but she lived her life as a mundane. How do we know we can trust her?"
"We told her nothing," Isabelle said, exasperated. "Hodge knew exactly what he was doing. If Clary decided to tell her friends anything that just transpired in this room, they would look at her as if she's gone mad."
Jace resumed pacing, ignoring Isabelle's glare. He knew that she was right, but something was urging him to find that girl. And, although he wouldn't volunteer this information, he wanted to find out exactly who she was, and what was going on in this girl's mind. Something about her took a hold of him and he wanted to know why it wouldn't let go.
"I don't know why you're so concerned, Jace," Alec said, teasing him, his lips slightly turned into a smile. "I didn't expect this girl to have you so worked up."
Without uttering a response, Jace plucked the wooden pencil out of Isabelle's hands and threw it across the room towards the other boy. Before anyone could blink, Alec caught the pencil mere inches before the tip pierced his nose. His face broke into a grin. "And here I thought you were losing your edge."
"Boys," Isabelle said, rolling her eyes. "Well, I think staying cooped up in Hodge's office isn't doing us any good. Clearly we're all restless. He left already and I don't see why we can't do the same. I say we head over to Taki's, get something to eat, and head back to the Institute."
Alec dropped the pencil and nodded in agreement. As the three began to gather their items, Isabelle noticed a small item on the floor, and crouched down and reached under her chair.
"Does this belong to any of you?" Isabelle surveyed rectangular brown object in her hand.
"It must be Clary's wallet," Jace said suddenly. "She must have dropped it when I knocked over her things earlier."
"Well, we can just leave it here." Isabelle shrugged. "If Hodge is right, she'll return tomorrow and -"
"No," Jace cut off Isabelle. "Let me have it. I'll return it to her." Jace held out his palm, his face completely serious. "She can't have gone far without it."
Isabelle and Alec looked at him warily
"Who are you, and what have you done with Jace?" Alec asked.
"Give me the damn thing," Jace said, snatching the wallet from Isabelle's hand. "This is the perfect opportunity to track her down and see if she's told anyone what she's learned today." He placed the wallet in the pocket in the inside of his leather jacket and zipped it up.
Isabelle arched her eyebrow and the two boys waited for a cynical response to come out of her. Instead, she paused for a moment and looked at Jace thoughtfully. "Then just meet us at later when you're done with your extremely important mission."
Jace smirked; mock saluted them and walked quickly out of Hodge's office, leaving his two companions behind.
"Why didn't you ask anything?" Alec said. He found it hard to believe that she let Jace walk out without any daggering questions.
"Same reason why you didn't." Isabelle said, a small smile on her lips. "Jace is stubborn and will do what he wants. Besides, this is the first time I've ever seen him chase after a girl."
The warmth from the sun was starting to disappear and the air started to cool, tickling the bare skin on Jace's neck. He flipped up his collar and zipped his leather jacket higher, feeling the pressure of Clary's wallet against his ribs. He searched the Arts building where Hodge's office was located and the cafeteria and the different sections of the library, but couldn't find that red headed girl anywhere.
I'd have better luck finding a demon out here, he thought to himself.
After searching through another building, he found himself outside. He surveyed the area around him and he realized he ended up walking to the other side of the campus. He reached into his pocket and pulled out Clary's wallet, pushing down a pang of guilt for going through someone's private items. He opened it, and found Clary's bus pass and driver's license, along with a debit card and a half filled stamp card from Java Jones.
She wouldn't be able to get home without her pass. It's been a few hours since she left Hodge's office, so she still has to be on campus. Maybe she's going back to the office now to get back her wallet.
After deducing this theory in his head, Jace broke into a sprint and ran back where he came. He passed the buildings he looked inside earlier, and mentally slapped himself for forgetting to check the benches and outside study areas. He veered from his original path, making a sharp left and ran down an empty pathway.
He could feel the blood pumping through his body and his breath starting to become shallower, but he welcomed the adrenaline coursing through him. It was during these moments where his Shadowhunter instincts kicked in that he felt most alive. He reveled in the wind whipping through his hair and started to run faster, back to the building where Hodge's office was. He ran off the cement path he was on and started to cross through the quad but stopped abruptly.
There, before his sight, was Clary lying in front of a bench, her sketching items skewed across the grass. Jace ran faster than his mind could process, and in a few seconds he was kneeling before the unconscious girl.
"Clary?" Jace asked out loud. "Clary can you hear me?" He leaned his cheek against her mouth, and let out a breath he didn't know he was holding. She was still breathing.
He examined her quickly, touching her arms and legs gingerly, and was relieved to find nothing was broken. But his relief was cut short as he heard a sharp cry a few feet behind him. Jace stood up quickly and spun around. There, on the ground, was a black creature, about the size of a small dog, with sharp spikes protruding from its body, its four legs splayed out, as if it was stepped on.
Well, I did say finding a demon was going to be easier. Jace looked back at Clary's still body, making sure that nothing else was lurking in the shadows.
He approached the creature slowly, and realized that the spikes we're actually… pencils? He looked back at Clary and her things on the ground and a wave of emotions flooded Jace's senses. Admiration for this girl for seriously injuring the demon with just a few pencils, and anger, that this thing decided to hurt her. The demon snarled, snapping Jace's attention back to it. Jace stepped forward, and a long tail whipped by his foot, nearly stabbing his toe. But before the demon could make another move, Jace reached by his hip and brought his dagger down in one fluid motion. Black liquid oozed from its body as the demon let out one last cry.
"Vile creature," he said into the wind as he wiped off his blade on the grass. He bent down to examine the demon and slowly picked up the limp tail. At the edge of the talon dripped fresh red blood.
"No." Jace's voice was rough with concern. In two strides, he made it back to Clary, and he lifted her up and placed her on his lap as he sat on the bench.
She's getting warm, he thought grimly.
He lifted her head hastily, checking her neck and shoulders. And there it was, a scratch mixed with blood and black liquid on the nape of her neck.
He closed his eyes and regained his focus, and pulled out a long, circular, silver object from his pocket. "Please work," he said to himself. He picked up Clary's arm and rolled up her sleeve and pointed the silver object on her bare skin, drawing a simple design that connected to each other at the end. Her body temperature started to drop down to normal and Jace breathed a sigh of relief. He was about to shift Clary to carry her, when he heard her moan.
"Jace?" she asked softly, her eyes fluttering.
"I'm right here," he breathed, brushing her cheek with his thumb.
"What happened?"
"You were attacked by a demon."
"Is it dead?"
Despite the circumstance, she managed to make Jace smile. What a girl. That was definitely a Shadowhunter trait; to make sure the enemy was dead. "Pencils were a nice touch," he said, placing his hand on her face.
Clary paused and tried to open her eyes, her face turning up into a small smile. But the moment passed quickly, and her brow furrowed with pain. "It hurts."
Jace frowned. "I know it does. The scratch on your neck is minor, but I'm going to take you to the Institute to make sure that all the demon poison gets taken out. There doesn't seem to be much, but it will still hurt like hell right now."
Clary groaned again in his arms, the pain becoming more apparent now. "Jace," she gasped.
He quickly scooped up Clary in her arms, as if it was second nature, and she buried her face into his chest, as if there was a spot made for her head.
"Hang in there, Clary," he said, almost in a prayer. He pulled out the same long, circular, silver object with his free hand and pressed it against Clary's arm. She turned her head and opened her mouth to ask what he was doing, but the darkness enveloped her and the last thing she felt was a warm prickling on her skin and Jace's heartbeat against her ear.
"Hodge! Alec! Isabelle!" Jace yelled into the halls trying to find help. His blonde hair was matted in sweat against his forehead, Clary slipping in his arms. He tightened his arms around Clary and he found himself in a large room with two white beds. He laid Clary on top of one of them and his arms fell limp on his side, the muscles celebrating the freedom of holding the unconscious girl. Jace ran to the door and yelled for his companions again, his breath almost faltering.
"HODGE! ALEC! ISABELLE!"
It was Alec who answered him first. "What the bloody hell, Jace?" His voice came from the end of the hall and soon he appeared in the doorway.
Jace grabbed Alec's wrist and all but dragged him to the bed Clary was lying on, knocking down a cart full of medical supplies. "I found her. She was stung by a Ravener demon, but the scratch wasn't deep, but I think there's still some ichor –"
"Where's the scratch?" Alec placed a hand on Clary's forehead, his face deep with concern.
"Back of her neck."
Alec turned her head gingerly, brushing her hair back and sighed. "The scratch isn't deep, but the redness is starting to spread and her temperature is rising. If we don't get the demon ichor out now, I don't know how much damage it will do."
The door burst open and a female voice echoed through the room. "What is all the commotion?" Isabelle's eyes fell upon Clary and the worried face of Jace and Alec.
"Ravener demon," Alec said hushed tone.
It took three strides for Isabelle to get to Clary's bedside, even in her high-heeled boots. "Jace, get Hodge now. In his study," Isabelle said with a sense of authority in her voice. "Do not argue with me Jace, I know you want to stay with Clary, but if you want me to help, you get out of here and you find Hodge and tell him exactly what happened. Alec, you stay here and help me. I can slow down this fever… For now."
Jace hesitated and looked down at Clary, fighting the urge to stay beside her. "Herbs and Its Uses… The one class I decide to skip," he mumbled to himself. He turned on his heel and ran out the door.
Isabelle crouched down beside Clary and looked up at her brother. "Get me a warm bowl of water, clean bandages and some witch hazel."
"Of course, leave it up to the rest of us to clean up Jace's mess." Alec raked his fingers through his hair. "Where are the bandages?"
Hodge wiped the sweat from his brow as he cleaned the last bit of demon ichor from Clary's neck. The last hour was spent trying to expel the poison through the scratch, clean it up, disinfect and repeat the whole process again.
"That's the last of it." Hodge looked pleased with himself, but a hint of worry flashed through his eyes. "Have you heard from Jace?"
"No," Alec said, gathering medical supplies. "After he brought you in here, he just took off."
"You would think that he would want to be around to see what happened to the girl he rescued," Isabelle said looking down upon Clary. "I wonder why she isn't waking up. I thought we got the last of the poison?" She looked up at Hodge with a puzzled look on her face.
"I did. Physically, her body is fine, but I can't say why she is still in a coma."
"I just don't understand why a demon would attack in broad daylight," Isabelle mused out loud.
"Well, according to Jace, Clary was able to injure him with her pencils," Alec said. "Which I find very hard to believe."
"Are you calling me a liar, Alec?" a voice said from the doorway. All three heads turned and looked at the young man with his arms crossed, leaning against the frame.
"I said I found it hard to believe that a girl with very little training was able to inflict that much damage on a demon. Especially with sticks." Alec's jaw hardened and his eyes locked with Jace.
"They were sharp pencils," Jace said with a bit of admiration in his voice.
Alec ignored Jace's comment. "Where have you been?"
"Did some searching around the area where Clary was attacked." Jace walked over to the bed and looked down at the unconscious girl. "How is she?"
"I managed to get all the poison out," Hodge said. "You brought her just in time. Five minutes longer and the poison would have been too deep, and I'm not sure if we could have done anything."
"All in a days work," Jace said lightly, but his gaze did not falter from Clary, as if he tried to will her with his mind to wake up.
Alec shifted uncomfortably as he looked at his companion and cleared his throat loudly. "So, did you find anything?"
Jace blinked a few times, as if being woken up from a dream. "Nothing of any importance. I tried to trace back where the demon came from, but my sensor couldn't pick up anything."
"Can we go over what happened again?" Isabelle asked. "She was unconscious on the grass, and you saw the demon a few feet away from her and you brought her back here."
"That's pretty much it," Jace said.
"How did no one see you?" Everyone turned to look at Alec who was still staring at Jace.
"I put a rune on myself with my steele before I checked out the area, obviously Alec," Jace said rolling his eyes.
"I meant with Clary. How did no one see an unconscious girl in your arms?" Isabelle and Hodge looked at Jace and waited for an answer.
Jace set his jaw but he nervously swallowed and looked back down at the unconscious girl. "I put a medelin rune inside of her arm," said Jace. "I couldn't risk –"
"You did what?" Hodge said loudly, his voice echoing off of the walls.
"I knew they would work! Clary is a Shadowhunter; that's what you said!" Jace exclaimed, trying to reason out with his mentor. "I had to use the glamour. I couldn't risk having other people see us."
"So you decided to risk her life instead!" Hodge's voice seemed to have become louder. "Clary may be a Shadowhunter, but her body is not ready for marks! It takes years and years of training in order to prepare! You could have seriously injured her!"
"But I didn't!" Jace yelled. Isabelle and Alec were taken aback at his reaction, and their eyes darted back and forth like a tennis match between the two. "I put a cooling rune on her to keep her fever down when I brought her here too. I couldn't just let her die, Hodge! Will you punish me for that?" Jace glared at the elder man, his hands balled up into fists on the side.
The silence was deafening as everyone looked at Hodge, waiting for him to make the next move.
The elder man inhaled deeply and looked down at Clary. "She should have woken up by now. I need to call someone." With that, Hodge hastily left and walked out the room soundlessly. Jace's fists relaxed and he looked at his two Shadowhunter companions.
"You've gone mad you know," Alec started. "Yelling at Hodge. Putting runes on her as if they aren't sacred."
"Oh shut up, Alec," Jace obviously tired of being lectured. "There's something different about this girl," said Jace. "Hodge is right –"
"Well, you don't hear that every day," Isabelle said, raising an eyebrow.
She received a glare from the blonde boy. "Hodge is right that Shadowhunters need training in order to receive marks. But," he added. "Clary's body was able to handle them. That has to mean something."
"Well, hasn't your tune changed? Earlier today, I could have sworn you said we couldn't trust her," Alec said.
"That's before I realized she could kill a demon with art supplies," Jace retorted.
"Which I seriously doubt happened," Alec snapped back.
"We won't know anything until she wakes up," Isabelle said with frustration at her arguing companions. They all may have known each other for years, but they could still get on her last nerves. "Hodge said she's fine, so there's nothing more we can do here but wait until she wakes up. He said he was going to find someone, so my suggestion is that we let Hodge do what he does best, which is fix Jace's messes."
"Technically, I prevented this messy situation from being a dead situation," Jace said to her, as she turned from the bed and started to walk out of the room, Alec a few steps behind her.
"Are you coming?" he asked.
"Be right there," Jace said, half listening to them.
Isabelle and Alec gave each other a sideways look and gave up on questioning Jace and walked out of the room.
Alone in the room, Jace finally let his composure drop, and he collapsed into the chair next to Clary's bed. His body was starting to feel the strain of the last few hours. He closed his eyes and rubbed his forehead with one hand and tried to collect his thoughts, but his mind kept swimming with questions that he knew only Clary could answer. He looked at the unconscious girl in front of him and was glad that she would be physically okay. But he couldn't fight the feeling in the pit of his stomach that she still wasn't out of the woods just yet.
Jace leaned over and placed his arms on the bed near Clary's head, his lips close to her ear. "Wake up, Clary," he whispered. He waited, but her breathing remained the same. "Clary, please wake up. I need to know you're going to be okay."
Nothing.
The boy leaned back in his chair, rubbing his face. Did you really think talking to her would wake her up? Jace mentally scolded himself. This girl won't come out of her coma because you try to speak to her subconscious.
He sat up straighter and looked out the window that was near the other bed in the room, noticing that the sky was beginning to change colour. In just a couple of hours, the sun will begin to set over Seattle and the darkness will claim the city once again. He instinctively put his hand over a dagger in the hilt of his belt as he thought about the Ravener demon that attacked Clary just a few hours ago. Although it was clear that Clary could take care of herself, he felt the need to keep this girl safe.
Jace leaned his head in once again, this time closer to the sleeping girl's lips. He knew he was being naive, believing old fairy tales that a kiss would wake up the sleeping princess. But he knew he needed to try everything to make sure Clary woke up, even if it meant making decisions based on fables. He leaned in closer, closing his eyes, feeling his heartbeat quicken as his lips brushed hers softly. "Wake up, Clary," he said, still leaning over her. "For me."
But as the girl still lay there sleeping, Jace felt a wave of disappointment and frustration. What an idiotic idea, kissing someone in a coma. He straightened his composure, rubbed his eyes and decided that he needed to get some rest and get his head in order. But as he turned to walk away, he could have sworn he saw her eyelids move in the just the slightest.
Clary opened her eyes and was staring at a bright, white light. I guess this means I died. But as her eyes adjusted, she found that she was staring at the stark white ceiling, a light shining directly above her. She opened her eyes more, adjusting to her surroundings and felt the bandages on her neck as she moved her head. She tried to recount what happened, but her thoughts were interrupted by a voice beside her.
"Well, I must admit, I am good. Look at you, waking up, good as new!"
Clary blinked a few times and focused on the man sitting at the foot of her bed. He was grinning from ear to ear, wearing a hint of black eyeliner and a velvet suit. His eyes were slightly slanted, indicating an oriental background. Clary rubbed her eyes. Was there glitter in his hair?
"Who –"
"The name is Magnus Bane," he said cheerfully.
Clary sat up in the bed, her back pressed against the headrest. She realized she was wearing a thin tunic and felt very self-conscious. She crossed her arms at her chest and stared at the man who was looking at her intently.
"This is the institute, isn't it?" Clary asked.
"I suppose Jace told you on your lovely trip down here," said Magnus. "I can't say I wouldn't enjoy being in the arms of that wonder boy, but I am more partial to brunettes." Clary's mouth opened slightly. "Oh, don't be offended, love," Magnus continued. "Red heads are fine in my books too."
Clary's mouth formed a small smile. "Thanks, I guess," she said, her voice sounding hoarse.
"Yes, this is the institute. But right now you're in the infirmary, as you can probably guess. Here." Magnus reached for the table near the head of Clary's bed, and picked up a jug and poured a pale green liquid in a matching cup. "Drink this. It's one of Hodge's creations to help ease the pain of in your stomach. I imagine the last time you ate was hours ago."
Clary clasped the cup with both hands and mumbled a soft thank you and drank the contents. It was warm, with a hint of nuts and mint and appeased the ache in her stomach. She finished the cup and sighed with relief.
"Wait," she said. "Hodge?"
"Why yes, love," Magnus said. "Who do you think runs the Institute?"
Clary's breath seemed to hitch in her throat.
"Don't you dare pass out again on my watch," Magnus said warned. "You just woke up and we need to know what happened to you."
But Magnus' words felt far away from her, as Clary's memories seemed to come back to her. The meeting at the office, and then drawing on the benches, that awful creature trying to attack her and lastly, Jace.
Jace.
"Where's Jace?" she asked, her brow furrowed with apprehension. "Is he okay?"
Magnus sighed. "Of course the princess wants to find her knight. Yes, love. He is perfectly fine. More or less wretched at the comatose state you were in." He got up out of his seat but Clary's voice stopped him.
"How long was I out for?"
"Four hours, more or less," Magnus said while examining one of his nails.
"What! Four hours?" Clary exclaimed and tried to climb out of bed, no longer worrying about what she was wearing. "Luke is probably freaking out right now!" But before her feet could touch the floor, Magnus grabbed Clary by the arms and placed her back into bed.
"Clary, relax," Magnus said calmly. But Clary did the exact opposite, and Magnus crouched down to be at her level, still holding her arms. "I can assure you that Luke is fine. You can't over work yourself right now. You've barely eaten anything and you just survived a run in with a demon." Magnus stared into Clary's green eyes and she was unable to break her gaze from his solemn face, but she still struggled all the same. "Clary!" Magnus said, his voice raising. "I know waiting here is the last thing you want to do, but you need to rest. It's all very confusing right now, but I promise you we will answer your questions. Please trust me."
The girl paused and nodded silently. Clary's body seemed to relax.
"There's a good girl," Magnus said smiling. He got up and patted Clary's head as if she was a lapdog. "I'll go get Jace. You seemed to have been quite concerned about his pretty face moments ago. I would want to see the person who saved me, too." Clary leaned her head back, touched the bandages at her neck and watched the glittery man walk away.
"Magnus," she called out, stopping him in his tracks. "How do you know Luke?"
He turned around and gave her a dazzling smile. "Who do you think has been helping you with your migraines?" Magnus winked and was out the door, leaving a stunned Clary behind him in his trail of glitter.
Ah, poor Clary. So many questions! I hope you enjoyed this chapter! I would absolutely love some reviews :)
Until next time!
XOXO ~ thatdragonlady6o4