Getting these chapters up quickly is really hard so forgive me if I start to slow down on updates. I'm only human. I do this on top of homework and the stress of graduating. So, here's chapter 13. Please enjoy and review!
Clary has had plenty of run ins with her past before. She knows that it is a ghost that will haunt her forever. What happens when someone takes a hit out on the red-headed shadow hunter? What will Clary do when she learns that some dirty tricks are being played out? Read on to find out...
Chapter 13
About an hour later Jace comes back with his hair dripping water. He shakes his head like a dog getting the water on all of us. I give Jace a look as he sits next to me with a grin on his face.
Isabelle rubs a droplet of water from her face. "Now that Jace has returned, successfully getting on our nerves, we can get on with the rest of the day."
"Just because you have a hangover it doesn't mean you can be such a bitch," Jace pushes his hair back then leans down to kiss me.
I push him away. "Enough kissing, Jace. I want to get to work."
Jace pouts. "Fine. But you own me one later."
I roll my eyes then pull my legs up to my chest. "So, I need to go back to my house because I'm the only one who can read the writing. I'll go there alone since no one else knows how to read it and I don't really feel like teaching anyone how to read it. That leaves the rest of you to do something else."
Jace leans over. "I want to go with you."
"No," I turn away.
"Why not?" Jace whines.
"Because you'll just distract me, that's why, you idiot!" I punch Jace's arm.
When I refuse to kiss him, Jace starts pouting and giving me the puppy dog look. Isabelle leans forward, obviously amused. "I wonder how long you can go before you give in."
Jace is relentless. I decide to get Alec and Isabelle to work on the secret room while Simon and Magnus go out to ask the Downworlders about the people who have been going missing. Jace finally gets me to agree with him about coming with me.
Isabelle throws me an amused look. "I knew you wouldn't be able to hold out for long."
"Shut up!" I snap.
Jace just grins happily. He looks like a little kid who just got a bunch of candy. I go upstairs to get ready to go. I grab some weapons and pull on my boots. Then I hear the door opening. I glance up enough to see Isabelle standing there with her arms crossed. "Can we talk?"
"Sure," I grab my gun off the table and check to make sure it's loaded. "What did you want to talk about?"
Isabelle sits on my bed and crosses her long legs. "Clary, I want to talk to you about Jace."
"Great," I make a face.
Isabelle sighs and pushes her long hair over her shoulder. "Clary, Jace is a player. He's been with more girls than I can count on one hand. That's already too many. I just want you to know that you can't count for Jace not to cheat."
"Thanks for being so reassuring," I stick my gun in my belt then grab a dagger to put it in my belt.
I know Jace was a with a lot of girls before me. I know that I need to stay on my guard while I'm with him. I don't want to get my hopes up before I can be sure. I want to make sure that there is absolutely no doubt in my mind. I just find it annoying that Isabelle would say something about it too.
When I go downstairs I find Jace leaning against the front door. Jace moves forward when he sees me and puts his arm around my waist. "This should be fun."
"This doesn't mean we're going to fool around, Jace," I open the door and step outside.
Almost immediately I step back inside. A loud pop reverberates in the still air of the morning. I push Jace to the floor while throwing the door shut. I look to make sure neither of us is hurt. "Are you okay, Jace?"
Jace nods then sits up, bringing him closer to me. "What about you? You were outside and more exposed."
I sit up and shake my head. "I'm fine. Let's go find the others. We need to come up with a different plan. It looks like we're going to have to think of another plan."
When I try to stand Jace grabs my hand and pulls me down to him. I look back a little annoyed. "Jace-"
Jace leans up and kisses me. I'm taken by surprise. Jace pulls back before I can react. "Don't scare me like that again."
My heart skips a beat at the look in Jace's eyes. He stands and pulls me up with him. Jace leads me back to the living room where Simon and Magnus look up with wide eyes. "What was that sound?"
"Someone shot at us," I rub the bridge of my nose.
Isabelle comes running downstairs. "Thank the angel you're safe. Was that a gunshot?"
Jace nods gravely. "It looks like someone else is out to get us."
I sit on the couch to catch my breath. The rush of being shot at is still in my system. Jace sits next to me and rubs my back. My first reaction after being shot at is to kill the person holding the gun. This time I have to hold myself back.
Then I look up at Jace. My heart jumps. I was that close to losing Jace. It isn't until just now that I realize that. If I lost Jace after losing Luke and Jocelyn I don't know what I would do. I cover my face with my hands and try to hold back tears.
Jace wraps his arms around me. I let the feeling of Jace's body against my take up all the empty spaces in my mind. I lean against Jace with my eyes closed. "It's obvious that humans and Downworlders are working together on this one. We need to come up with a new plan."
I wrap my arms around of Jace and take a deep breath. "I need a phone. I need to make a call."
Magnus holds out his phone. "This isn't going to run up my phone bill, is it?"
"Does this have a secure line?" I look up.
"Of course," Magnus crosses his arms.
I dial the number and wait a second before someone picks up on the other end. "Hello? Who is this?"
I lick my lips. "Shamrock."
For a second it gets quiet then the other voice speaks again. "I never thought I would hear your voice again. I thought you gave up the business. What can I do for a legend such as yourself?"
"Tell me who put the hit out on me," I growl.
I can hear him swallowing hard. "W-well… I-I di-didn't want to have anything to do with it, but there was no choice. The organization was having monetary troubles and the client was giving us a large amount of money for taking you out."
"Well don't be surprised if you end up with one less man," I snap.
Then I shut the phone and hand it back to Magnus with a sigh. Jace squeezes my hand. "What was that about?"
I rub my face and groan with exasperation. "It looks like the demons are going to humans again. They took a hit out on me from the old assassin organization I used to work for."
Isabelle sits forward. "Whoa! You were a what?"
Everyone, other than Magnus and Jace, looks at me strangely. I only now remember I never actually mentioned anything about me being an ex-assassin. I wonder why it never came up before now. I was sure I had told someone other than Jace and Magnus. Oh well.
Jace puts his arm around my shoulder. "How badass is it that she was actually an assassin?"
Isabelle crosses her arms. "So Jace already knew? Who else knew?"
"Magnus," I point at the sparkly warlock.
Alec gives Magnus a look. "You knew about this and you didn't say anything?"
Magnus wags his finger at Alec. "Don't give me that, hun. I'm not the one who hid sexuality from my family my entire life. And, Clarissa, if you're going to try to put the blame on someone else do it in a less discrete way."
I smirk then look over at Jace. "It looks like the demons trying the same trick they did with Luke. They're going to try to use the same method. I need to deal with this problem soon or it will get out of hand."
"You're going assassin hunting?" Simon inquires.
I nod and stretch. "That's about right."
Simon rubs his chin. "Is it wrong that I think that's hot?"
Isabelle hits Simon in the gut with her elbow. "Of course it's wrong. You know, you're girlfriend is sitting right next to you, right?"
Jace glares at Simon. "And Clary's boyfriend is right here too."
The word 'boyfriend' sounds a bit strange, but I like it. It's not that bad to think about having a boyfriend. It's amazing how quickly Jace has already staked his claim. I sit back against Jace and sigh. "I need to go out there quickly before they start to regroup."
"What are you going to do?" Jace asks.
"Going on a hunt."
I get up and walk to the door. I crack open the door and peer outside. I narrow my eyes. My eyes focus on the possible position they could be perched on.
When I spot a shadow moving behind a curtain I back away quickly. I reach back for my gun. I make sure it's loaded then take a deep breath. Then I throw the door open. I duck down just as a gunshot goes off. I run down the stairs and head down the block.
There is no doubt in my mind that they're following me. I just need to keep going until I find a place I know I can fight properly without anyone getting involved.
I arrive in the warehouse district of the city. There are some train tracks running through here with live lines. I go into one of the warehouses which is presently not being used.
As I move through I know they're here. I can feel them in here. I grip my gun tightly. This is the perfect place to let it all unravel. I press my back against a wall and inch toward the edge of the wall. I hold up my gun and quickly glance around the wall in time to see the other assassin. I pull back when he shoots at me.
I point my gun around the wall and shoot back then I pull back quickly so I don't get shot in return. All of a sudden I feel someone punch me in the gut. I look over to see another assassin. Great.
My attention turns to this one assassin since he's the closest. I duck down when he strikes at my face then drive my knee into his stomach. When he doubles over in pain I grab his hair with my free hand then drive my knee into his face.
For a second he's down then I turn to the first assassin. He has moved forward until he's right next to me. I jump into the air, spin and kick him in the head.
Then another assassin comes out of nowhere. I lift my gun to shoot. He takes out his own gun as well. I back away around the wall then get attacked by the second assassin. It's not easy fighting off people who are in my own class. That still doesn't mean they're as skilled as me.
Soon, the fight becomes a flurry of arms and legs and weapons. I get pushed into one of the stalled train cars. I hit a pole hard. I roll out of the way just in time to keep a bullet from hitting me in the face.
All three assassins enter the train car behind me. I push one away with a strong kick. I shoot on in the arm then another gets punched in the face. Even though they're all out to kick me the urge to fight one another is way to strong. This becomes a four way fight. It's fair now.
Considering our skills are pretty damn close there's no other way to settle this. I know I'm the baby of this fight, but I've had my fair share of battles. I've fought demons so I know I'm on a higher level.
I grab one of the assassins by his coat and throw him into the window. Someone hits me from behind. I stumble forward a few feet before turning around to return blows to another one of the assassins. I lift my hand to fire off some shots. The assassins pull out their own guns and start to fire. Things get really complicated from there.
We finally come to a stop where we're all pointing a gun at each other's head. It's a stalemate. I look between all of them. A silent conversation passes through our eyes. I nod. They do the same. We lower our guns at the same time. We let the magazines fall out from the guns. At the same time we drop our guns to the floor.
The moment the guns hit the floor I reach back for my dagger and slash the assassin to my right across the chest. He stumbles back while placing his hand over his chest. I roll the blade between my fingers then run forward again.
Before I can strike again I'm grabbed from behind and thrown to the floor. I roll out of the way to avoid a foot from crushing my face. I roll back and push myself back onto my shoulders then strike out with my legs at the assassin over me.
I flip myself over and land on my feet. I grab the assassin and slash across his throat. He backs away and hit's the train wall with wide eyes. He presses a hand to his bleeding neck. I tighten my grip my blade tighter and plunge it into his throat. I pull it out and blood sprays onto my face. I back away and turn to the others. I get hit across the face. I grunt and hit the wall. I drop the blade.
I garb the assassins arm and twist it hard. I hear a popping sound. The assassin grunts with pain. I thrust upward making his arm bend in an unusual angle. I palm thrust his chest then knock him back with a kick to the gut. I grab the other assassin and throw him against the wall. He spins around and pins me. I manage to spin around and being my tiny fist against his face.
As he takes a step back I move around him and grab his head with both hands. I twist sharply hearing a crack. I let him fall to the floor. I then turn to the only living assassin left. I walk over and grab him.
When I pull him away from the wall I throw him against it again. I lean in close. "Do you know anything about the people who hired you to kill me?"
The assassin keeps his mouth shut. I know assassins are trained to keep their mouths shut. Even if it means death. It was worth a try though. I quickly snap his neck and remove any evidence that I was ever here. Then I find a crate nearby. I dump all the bodies into it.
Before having it ready to be sent I put a little present inside just for good measure. As a hello to the people who tried to kill me. I leave a little note as well. Then I seal the crate and have it prepared to be sent away. I make sure it's one of the first things to be sent out.
Then I stick my gun and blade in my belt. I run to the door of the warehouse where I stop when I feel a pain in my arm. I look over and see that I got grazed. Great. Just what I need. To get shot again. At least it wasn't the same arm as before.
As I leave I pull up my hood and make my way through the shadows back to the institute. I try not to get the attention of anybody walking down the street. I grab my arm. I'm starting to feel it. If I don't get this dealt with soon it's going to be a bother.
When I finally get back to the institute I push open the doors and quickly shut it behind me before something else happens. I hear footsteps running toward me. Jace is the first to reach me. "Clary!"
I shrug off my coat and wince at the pain in my shoulder. I look at the wound on my arm. "Damn."
Jace gently lifts my arm and pulls out his stele. He looks into my eyes. "Don't move."
For a second I let my eyebrows furrow as Jace presses the tip of the stele against my skin. Instead of drawing blood black ink appears on my skin. It tingles a little. It's another rune. My eyes widen slightly as the wound on my arm closes slowly.
Jace grins then puts the stele away without saying anything. I push my hair back then remember I have blood on my hands and curse under my breath. "I need to go take a shower. Damn, blood. Gets everywhere."
"I love how you're so nonchalant about being covered in blood," Jace grins.
I shrug then grab my coat. "I'm going up for a shower. I'll be down in a few minutes."
When I get to my room I peel the bloody clothes off my body. Then I go into the shower. I rub off all the blood from my face and hair. Then I scrub where my wound used to be. I don't know what rune Jace used, but it really came in handy.
Once I'm sure I've rubbed off an entire layer of skin I step out of the shower and wrap a towel around myself. I go into my room and pull on my clothes. I pull on a tight pair of jeans and a tank top. As I pull on my boots I walk downstairs. The mark Jace drew on my arm is already fading.
Down in the kitchen I hear the others talking. I walk in and see a familiar face. My anger rises. I rush forward and pin her against the wall. "What the hell are you doing here?"
Kim's eyes widen in surprise. Her dull, blonde hair falling over soft, brown eyes. I glare at her as she tries to speak. "Clary, please… let me explain what happened."
Jace places his hand on my shoulder. "She said she knew you. Are you two not friends?"
I let go of Kim after slamming her back into the wall. "She not only abandoned me during a mission, but she left me for dead. She set me up and now she's here wanting to apologize for something I swore to kill her over."
Kim's eyes glaze over from fear. "Please, Clary. I'm here because I want to make it up to you. I know you've been going through a lot lately. I saw the web show. I know there were bound to be people who would come after you again. I don't know why, but I just got this feeling."
"Get to your point," I snap.
Kim jumps and nods quickly. "I think I know the person who put the hit out on you."
I narrow my eyes. "Who?"
Kim clears her throat. "His name is Valentine."
My eyebrows furrow. "That's impossible. I'm pretty sure that guy is dead. I snapped his neck personally."
Kim shakes her head. "It was definitely Valentine. The hit was put out on you two weeks ago. They had trouble finding you at first, but once they found you they started planning. Valentine is definitely your guy."
I cross my arms over my chest. "Too bad he's already dead. I never make a mistake when it comes to something like that. There has to be some other details that we're missing."
"Does this mean you forgive me?" Kim asks hopefully.
"Not by a long shot," I turn and leave the kitchen.
Jace follows after me and grabs my hand. "Hey, Clary. Calm down, will you? I'm sorry. I didn't know she wasn't a friend to you. I promise to ask you before letting strangers like that into the institute."
I turn to face Jace. I lean in and kiss him firmly. Then I pull back before Jace can react. "Jace, if Valentine really put that hit out then that means everything gets a lot more complicated. Putting a hit on someone usually requires the client to be present and it has to be in writing."
"What's your point?" Jace asks.
I sigh and lean into Jace. "Well, it means that either I didn't kill Valentine, which is impossible, or someone is passing themselves off as that bastard. Either way, I know the demons are resorting to dirty tricks again."
Jace wraps his arms around me. "We'll figure this out. I know we will. How about we go kick that girl out?"
"Let me do it in my own way," I turn and walk back into the kitchen with a mischievous look on my face.
A few minutes later Kim is sitting on her ass on the steps of the institute. Jace leans over to whisper in my ear. "Do you know just how hot you look right out?"
I smirk then it turns into a glare as I turn my attention to Kim. "You know very well how things work in my world. You gave me information I can use and I let you live. Get out of here before I change my mind and rip your throat out for selling me out."
Kim nods quickly then runs away. I sigh and rub my temples. Jace wraps his arms around my waist. "Come on. I'll make you some tea."
"That would be nice," I sigh.
When the door is closed Isabelle walks over to stand next to me. "So, you were really an assassin, huh? That's actually pretty badass. Does that mean you used to go undercover too?"
"Sure did," I walk into the kitchen and sit at the table.
Jace gets started with making some tea. "What exactly does that entitled?"
"What do you mean?" I look over with a smirk. I know where this is going.
Jace looks over his shoulder with an arched eyebrow. "You know, have you ever had to use your body to get a job done? I'm wondering because you seem to be very experienced when it comes to kissing."
I smirk and give Jace a look. "Why is it important? It's in the past? It's not like you haven't had your fair share of experience. I did what I did for my job. You did it because you're a manwhore. It's as simple as that, Jace."
Alec sits across from me and smirks. "She has a good point, Jace. You were a manwhore."
Isabelle nods in agreement. "Definitely a manwhore. You have no idea how bad it was."
Jace places a cup of tea in front of me then sits in the chair next to me. "Well, those days are behind me now that I have Clary. By the way, just how many guys have you had in your room, Izzy?"
Isabelle's face flushes red then she turns quickly to Simon. "It's really not something I should be talking about. Mistakes are mistakes. There's no way to change them so what's the point of talking about them. Isn't that right, Simon?"
"Actually, I do want to hear this," Simon glares at Isabelle.
Everyone turns on Isabelle. Jace has a grin on his face that says he's happy that he turned everyone's attention to Isabelle. That doesn't mean Jace is off the hook. I really want to know what was so great about sleeping around and if he would do it now that we're together. Being sure never hurt.
When the awkward moment doesn't go away. I pick up my tea and take a sip. Then Magnus breaks the silence. "So, Clary, when are you finally going to lose your virginity?"
I choke on my tea. It burns my tongue. I glare at Magnus. "What the hell, Magnus?"
Magnus gives me his Cheshire cat grin then continues. "It was just a questions, sweetie. I mean, someone like you should hurry up and have your first experience. Considering your line of work the chances of you dying are getting higher and higher. Do you really want to die without experiencing it just once."
"When it happens it will happen," I take another careful sip of my tea.
Isabelle leans forward while narrowing her eyes at Jace. "What about you, Jace? Are you going to just sit around and wait for Clary to lose her virginity to someone else?"
Jace tenses up next to me. Jace hides his emotion behind a mask of arrogance. "Are you just asking that to take away from the fact that you've probably slept with more guys than I have slept with girls?"
Isabelle glares. "Don't try to turn this on me again. I'm asking you a question."
Alec puts his elbows on the table. "Actually, I want to know about this too, Jace. I know you and Clary just got together, but in our line of work families tend to be built quickly because of the threat of dying so young."
Jace seems to get really uncomfortable. "Can we just let this drop? I really don't want to talk about it."
Alec arches an eyebrow. "Come on, Jace. I see the way you look at Clary. There's no way you can deny you want to do it with her. Have you even talked to her about it?"
Jace clenches his fists. "Honestly, Alec. You're starting to sound like a woman. Clary and I have only been together for a day. Will you stop talking about it already? And what about you and Magnus? When was the last time you really got intimate with him."
It goes back and forth like that for a while. I just sit in my chair looking on with annoyance. My cheeks are red from the discussion going on between the siblings. I rub my forehead. This is one of those moments when I would really like to disappear, but can't. I hope this doesn't turn into a regular topic of conversation.
I give Magnus a look. "Thanks a lot, Magnus. Just look at what you started."
Magnus just smirks.
