Chapter 6

Quick AN: So sorry for the delay! This was a difficult chapter to write conceptually, and the fact that a close family member recently passed away was also a bit of a roadblock. Thank you all for reading, and I hope you enjoy!

Clary watched Jace closely, waiting for him to explain everything. He swallowed once and pursed his lips, then took a deep breath. Clary tried not to fidget, but wasn't quite successful. She tapped her fingers on the table subconsciously, but she stopped suddenly as Jace narrowed his eyes at said fingers.

"Got somewhere to be?" Jace's tone pushed her over the edge.

"Oh come on just spit it out already!" said Clary in a rush. Once she'd started her rant, everything else seemed to rush out after it, "I have been waiting all damn day for some sort of explanation for all of…" Clary threw her arms up, "all of this." She took a deep breath and closed her eyes, then sat back slowly. Jace's patient expression hadn't changed the entire time, infuriating Clary further, but she didn't have the energy to yell at him anymore.

"Okay, you're right," said Jace, surprising Clary. It probably surprised Jace too. He shook his head slightly, then leaned back and crossed his arms, "what do you want to know?"

"Everything. Just start at the beginning," said Clary trying not to let the relief seep into her voice.

"The beginning?" said Jace, laughing condescendingly; "we are going to be here a hell of a long time if you really want me to start at the beginning." Clary opened her mouth to berate him for being such a smartass, but he quickly continued talking before she had the chance. "I'll just tell you everything that concerns you." Clary smiled.

"Ok… well, you didn't kill your neighbor. Dorthea."

"Obviously," said Clary dryly. Jace shot her a look but continued. Apparently he was done with being interrupted.

"Well, the fact that you got prosecuted wasn't an accident. Someone wants you out of the picture, and Dorthea was just a convenient side affect." Jace waited as Clary processed that information. She turned it over in her mind, trying to make sense of what he had said. Clary knew that someone killed Dorthea, but she'd never really thought that that someone meant to frame Clary.

Clary started to ask Jace another question, but Jace motioned for her to wait.

"Just let me get through this, then you can ask all of the questions that you want." Clary nodded reluctantly, "Anyway, Dorthea was apparently a minor irritation to whoever killed her, but she wasn't the target. You were. Whoever it was wanted to put you away and keep us from finding you.

"Okay wait, who's this 'us'," Clary asked, losing patience with Jace's cryptic and slow-paced story. "I'm getting there," said Jace, his voice laced with sarcasm, "would you like to tell the story? That's what I thought." Clary dropped her hands, which had come to her forehead in confusion. She rolled her eyes but gave Jace a slight nod.

"So we are Shadowhunters. And before you ask," said Jace quickly, anticipating the question based on the expression on Clary's face, "Shadowhunters are the protectors of the world basically. There are downworlders, of course, but we don't really worry about them and they don't worry about us. We hunt the demons that come from other dimensions to keep them from draining the life force of this world."

Clary looked at him blankly, "You know, I really want to believe that you are absolutely insane. But I really don't know how to explain anything that's happened today, so I am just going to smile and nod for the moment and wait until this starts to make sense."

"Look," said Jace, running his fingers through his hair, "It's not going to make sense right away. This will take some getting used to, and I know that it's kind of a lot to grasp at first. I'll just simplify it for you: There are Shadowhunters, downworlders, and demons, essentially. Shadowhunters are good, downworlders are questionable, and—."

"What the hell are downworlders?" Asked Clary, throwing her hands up again, "Why do you expect me to just know what these terms mean? I'm still not even convinced you haven't drugged me and that this is all a dream," said Clary, the last part mostly to herself.

"Right, sorry," said Jace hastily, trying to calm her down. His eyes flared in warning but the rest of his face showed nothing to betray his emotions. The rest of the café had gone silent, now all trying to subtly listen in on their conversation, "Could you keep it down?" asked Jace, lowering his voice, "I shouldn't even really be telling you all of this in public."

"Well I'd offer up my house but I'm pretty sure they would just send me right back to hell," mumbled Clary bitterly. Jace eyed her closely then sighed.

"Okay. Downworlders are vampire, faeries, werewolves, and warlocks. I know you've been taught all this is completely made up, but it's not. There's something special about you. Something that someone wants. I'm here to help you figure out what that something is."

"Okay. You've given me a lot to process. And why would anyone want me? There's nothing special about me, I can assure you," said Clary confidently.

"That's what we're trying to find out. Do you trust me?" Asked Jace. Clary looked back at him with a combination of exhaustion and exasperation.

"If I trust you enough to go face to face undisguised with a police officer holding my photograph, drag a metal blade through my skin, and break me out of prison, I think we're beyond you having to ask that question." Jace nodded curtly and stood up, pulling Clary after him. He sent a parting wink to his waitress friend and then let the door slam behind them.

"Where are we going?" Asked Clary, her red curls bouncing as she tried to keep up with Jace's long legs. She was trying not to think too much about everything that he had told her and instead focus on what was happening in the moment.

"Somewhere safe. I realized that I don't actually know who is after you, so it's probably best that we don't conduct meetings in the middle of a downworlder diner." Jace seemed almost a little bit embarrassed that he had been so careless, but Clary thought that she might have imagined it.

"Are we driving to 'somewhere safe'?" Asked Clary in confusion as they passed the alleyway that the car was parked in.

"No, I'm sure someone has stolen it by now," said Jace nonchalantly. Clary stopped and turned to look at Jace head on.

"That doesn't concern you at all?" Asked Clary incredulously. Jace gave her a look that was almost condescending. She was glad he was back to normal. "That was our getaway car. Even if they didn't recognize us before, I'm sure that they've figured out which car was stolen by now." Jace turned and kept walking.

"Do you mean to say that you broken me out of jail for murder and you just thought tacking Grand Theft Auto to the end of that was for the best?"

"To be honest, your record couldn't have really gotten much worse. And Grand Theft Auto is so classy…" said Jace, still speed walking. Clary decided that her 'living in the moment' idea wasn't as easy as she'd thought it would be.

"So we're walking to this safe house?" She decided to drop the car issue… for now.

"Well… not exactly." Before Jace could finish, a strange looking car pulled up next to them, veering dangerously close to the curb. There was a guy who looked to be about their age sitting in the front seat looking at them expectantly. Clary looked at Jace to ask him what to do, but he was already in the front seat of the car.

"Gentlemen…" mumbled Clary before opening the door to backseat. She was about to get in and introduce herself to the new guy, but realized that neither of the two was paying any attention. They were arguing in low voices. Clary was about to interrupt when she realized who they were talking about.

"What were you thinking Jace? Breaking her out of jail? She would have been safer there," said the new guy, his eyes accusatory.

"What I was suppose to just let her rot in jail without knowing who she was? She was a sitting hen Alec. They were just waiting for the right moment to use her," Jace said, his eyes stony.

"Ahem," said Clary, sliding into the car and slamming the door, "thanks for getting the door for me Jace. Such a gentleman." She was turning their words over in her mind but thought that it was best they didn't know she had heard.

"Ah," said the new guy, who Jace had called Alec, shifting the car into gear, "Clearly she doesn't know you at all if she expects you to be a gentleman."

"Very funny," said Jace drily, making a face at Alec before turning to face Clary with a grin on his face. "This is Alec, my brother." Clary looked at the two in disbelief. Jace looked nothing like Alec.

"Well my brother of sorts," said Jace, nudging Alec playfully. Alec just rolled his eyes and put the car in brake. Clary looked up in surprise.

"We're here already?" The way that Jace had talked about the safe house made it sound like they were going on a road trip to the middle of nowhere.

"I said safe house," said Jace, hopping out of the car, "Behold." He spread his arms out in front of him as if displaying some majestic palace.

"This is it?" Asked Clary, disdain seeping into her voice. She couldn't help it—it was a rundown old church. It didn't even look safe to live in. Not exactly the paradise she had fantasized about visiting if she even got out of prison.

"Hey. Don't knock it 'til you try it," said Jace as he walked toward the door.

"That doesn't even make sense!" Clary called after him. He didn't respond, leaving Clary and Alec standing on the doorstep.

"We aren't actually allowed to leave you alone, so if you'd hurry up and get inside, it'd be much appreciated," prodded Alec, not unkindly. Clary mumbled a quick apology and began making her way up the pathway. Clary was torn between seeing a rundown church and seeing something… more. She couldn't help but feel as if the church used to be beautiful at least.

"Welcome home," said Jace as Clary stepped in the door. She looked at him as he grinned at her. He seemed so different from the sarcastic asshole that had broken her out of prison—he really seemed at home here.

"Maybe," Clary whispered softly. She hadn't had a home in what felt like forever. "Now what?"

"Now," said Jace, back to his signature smirk, "the fun begins."