Hey everyone! Last chapter till I get at least 15 reviews!

Haha, like that'll happen, I know, fanciful clacecrazy.

Isabelle

Simon and I responded at the same time. Running the same pace, we got to the door before I realized he couldn't go in. He hadn't thought of it either. I hesitated. Too long. Flinging the door open, I saw him and stumbled, hitting my shoulder on the doorframe. I didn't even feel it.

"Sebastian," I croaked, my voice dripping fear.

He turned his head, grinning ear to ear. "Isabelle Lightwood. You lived," he cocked his head, considering me. "Pretty sight, aren't you?"

Jace was suddenly at the bottom of the stairwell, but I could feel no relief on seeing him.

"How'd you get here?" I hissed at Sebastian.

"The door," he turned fully around and nodded towards where I had just come in. My heart stopped. There was Clary, in his arms. He had a knife at her throat, and she was as pale as a thin sheet of paper. His grip on her was tight, and it looked as if she wasn't getting much air. Alec came sprinting through the hallway, and halted abruptly when he saw Sebastian and Clary. "A very handy device, the door is," Sebastian smirked. "Adding to the party I see." He assessed, mockingly cordial, nodding to Jace and Alec. He turned to Jace. "And you said I couldn't hurt her," Sebastian cackled in the worst way. "Why, Jonathan!" he took Clary's head tenderly between two hands. She put up no fight. "Just a quick snap of my wrist and phew! She's done."

Jace tensed, lip curled in a snarl.

"You can't save her! You couldn't even maintain a relationship with her!" Sebastian scoffed. I wondered what he meant, but Jace looked enraged. And bothered. "You're so pathetic. You want to be with her when you can't be, and then finally," he spat, "When you can, you can't even keep her around." He chuckled darkly. "You call it love, and say it's strong, when you yourself can't keep Clarissa safe from her brother, me!" he smiled darkly at everyone, but mostly Jace. "I underestimated the angel's gift. There's much more foolishness and stupidity than I thought!" He turned to Alec. "And you, you revolting cretin!" he showed genuine detest towards him that made me spark in outrage. "There's something severely wrong with you! You think you love that warlock, when you can't even get along. All you are are outcasts who couldn't find anyone else. But you," he pointed to Alec, shaking his head amusingly. "Are the most selfish person-"

"Sebastian!" I couldn't take it anymore. He turned grinning at me. "Did you come here just to chastise us?"

"No," he said, grin turning into a full pointed-tooth smile. "But it sure is fun. I think it's," he paused, using this silence to feign a sardonic lightness. "-important, for you to know just how naïve and foolish your 'love' makes you. You humans are so vulnerable. But no," he said. "I came for Clarissa."

I took a slow step forward. He sneered. "Try it, Isabelle Lightwood. Just try it, and she's dead." I held my breath. "You think you can conquer anything," he taunted me, "When you can't even understand your feelings. Let me clear them up for you." The blood drained from my face. No. "And I suppose," he gestured to the perimeter of the circle we made around him, "to everyone else as well, hmmm?" My mouth fell open in horror, but I had lost my witty words. He breathed in deeply. "This may come as a shock to your siblings," he cleared his throat. I flinched. "Isabelle Lightwood," he said my name a third time, relishing it, and shutting his eyes to read my soul. "You hate your father." Alec gasped. "You feel betrayed by him in every way, and you hate him because he lacks everything you want in a father. He's selfish, and an idiot in your eyes and you hate talking to him, for fear of making that known. You fear him. You fear him because of the power he wields over you and your mother. But you are ashamed of both of your parents, for being so unsupportive of Alec." NOOO! I screamed it on the inside. Alec, poor Alec, why? Why did this selfish side of me need to be revealed? "You support Alec completely. In some conceited way, you feel it gives you a purpose. You feel it gives you leverage over your parents, so that you are closer to him than they are. He's someone who has to go to you to lean on, because you're the girl in his world of boys. He doesn't have any other girls. Like Jace does. Jace has another girl. You-" I squeezed my eyes shut. "I don't even want to go into it. But you're in love with an immortal, with a vampire, although you don't want to admit it to yourself. You don't want to accept that you're facing love, because you don't want to make that silly mistake that your mother did. You hate love. And you don't want to surrender yourself to the same thing your brother is. You never thought that that would happen, because you never thought that you could be so weak."

I flinched again. "What's your point?"

He curled his lip in revulsion. "My point," he snapped. "Is that you are all self-serving low-lives who failed to see what you had in Clarissa, and thus failed in efficiently protecting her, making her easy to take." He stroked Clary's cheek with the dagger, making me want to throw up. "I can't believe I tried to kill her," he gazed lovingly at her face. "I didn't know the power she held."

"You didn't know about the runes?" I didn't buy it.

"Of course I knew about the runes!" he grinded his jaw. "But that is nothing compared to her true power, which she is unaware of. Or how it can be used." He looked up, eyes shining. "I'm going to finish my father's work, and take it to my own level! With Clarissa's power, accomplishing it will be simple."

I shuddered. "She wouldn't ever do that for you, even if you torture her."

He smirked. "Who says she gets to decide whether or not I use her power? She would never get to decide."

I gasped. I looked over at Jace, knowing he wouldn't stand for it. They wouldn't leave this house without going through him. He looked insane. His eyes were murderous, and he looked ready to lunge. Then he did. It went in slow motion; Jace was in midair when Sebastian was suddenly not there anymore. He was thirty feet away, over at the door, near me, when Jace landed. Sebastian shook his head, then he threw it back and laughed.

"I'm back, Jonathan Herondale. I'm faster and stronger than before, and I have Clarissa Morgenstern. The Clave will fall, and Valentine's revolution resurrected." He knocked Clary's head with his fist, and she went limp. Anger surged through me.

Jace was still crouching, and he stared at Sebastian with a look of pure hatred. Waggling his fingers in a teasing wave, Sebastian was out the door. Jace was out just as fast. It only took me a moment to follow. I couldn't believe what I saw then. Jace was frozen, staring up. I followed his gaze, and panicked. Sebastian was the picture of a war angel, though he was ironically demon. He held Clary, her neck over his right arm, legs slung over the other, her hair spilled like fire in contrast to his darkness. And he was . . . flying. Huge black feathered wings longer than him sprouted from his back. They were massive, and flapped an enormous current toward us. Sebastian smiled angelically.

"I hope you said your goodbyes properly," he called and winked at Jace. And then he flew up, up, up and up, until he blinked out of sight.

Simon was there then. "He didn't give us any clues to where he went."

"No," I responded grimly, feeling numb.

Glancing down at Jace in the street, I was surprised to see tears streaming down his face. I walked away from Simon, to Jace. Sliding my arm around him, I talked soothingly.

"We'll find her."

He looked back at me with empty eyes, and a voice just as monotone when he replied.

"No, we won't."

Shocked, I backed up and gawked at him. I glanced back to Simon and shook my head. Past him, in the front yard of the Institute, Magnus and Alec stood, a few feet apart.

Great, I thought. More heartbreak and it's probably my fault.

Jace was so weak it was scary, Alec and Magnus were fighting, and Simon had been about to kiss me. However our immediate problem was Clary. We had to get her back before she got hurt. But we had no idea where to start, and no idea what she might be going through now.

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