Woo! Chapter 18! I've been working really hard trying to find a good way to make the story move forward. I think I found a good way, but only time will tell... I already have an idea of where I want this story to go, but I just need to get there so just hang in there and don't lose faith. Alrighty then! Please enjoy and review!

The city has been plunged into a greater darkness than anyone has ever experienced. Chaos ensues and nothing is certain. How will Clary protect those dearest to her? How will she escape the growing danger that surrounds her? And what will happen when Clary realizes there are more benefits to being half angel than she ever thought possible? Read on to find out...

Chapter 18

After breakfast we go into the living room and get ready to get down to business. Simon enters about five minutes later. Apparently he went out to get some blood. That must be one of the downsides to being a vampire. They always need blood. Controlling their bloodlust must be hard.

Jace drapes his arm around me where we sit on the love seat. I cuddle into his side. I never thought I would be the kind of person to be so intimate with someone and mean it. I'm really lucky that I found Jace during a time when I really needed someone.

Simon sits on a chair and Isabelle sits on his lap. Once Alec and Magnus settle down in the other couch we get started. I start with what I learned from the Greater Demon. "Okay. So we went to go talk to that Greater Demon thing. I learned that there's defiantly something behind the disappearances of the shadow hunters and Downworlders. All the demons are lowering their activities because they don't want to get caught up in what's going on."

"What exactly is going on?" Alec asks.

I shake my head. "It's really hard to explain, but there is an extremely powerful demon out there trying to take over the world."

"Do you know what it looks like?" Isabelle asks.

Jace and I look at each other. Jace is the one to speak. "We don't know what it is. I saw it, but for only a second. It was nothing, but a shadow. It was literally the most terrifying thing I've ever seen. It was like the embodiment of pure evil."

"I didn't know something like that could actually exist," I mutter.

Magnus stares at his nails. "So, some kind of demon is behind this. At least it's a start. One thing I want to know. What happened to the Greater Demon? I hear a lot of screaming from up there, Clary. I had to put a silencing spell on the building so no one outside would hear it."

I don't meet anyone's eyes. "It's nothing that matters now. I did what I had to do. What matters now is that we know that there is a powerful demon out there trying to destroy us all and making people disappear."

Magnus arches his eyebrow. "I think it does matter. Something was going on up there and I want to know what it is."

Just as I'm about to open my mouth to tell Magnus to shut up the entire institute starts shaking. We all stand and get into defensive positions. I don't hesitate for a second. I run upstairs and grab my weapons. I start to get a really bad feeling. I grab my coat and clothes. I grab Jace's weapons as well. I run back downstairs to find that the others are gone. Now that bad feeling is getting worse.

I have to call out just in case. "Jace? Where are you?"

For a second I'm really afraid that he won't answer. Then I hear Jace's voice. "Clary! We're outside!"

I let out a sigh of relief. I run outside to see that the lights in the entire city have gone out. I go up to Jace who looks really tense. I walk up to him carefully. "Does anyone know what happened?"

"The humans are saying it was an earthquake, but I'm sure I felt some really bad energy," Magnus snaps his fingers.

I hand Jace his weapons and he smiles at me. "Thanks, babe."

I return the smile before looking back out at the city. I've never seen this place so dark and so still. It's the city that never sleeps. It looks like it just fell into some sort of coma. I can barely see anything beyond the street we're on. It reminds me of the dream I had.

All of a sudden I realize what that feeling from before was. Then something else hits me. It's supposed to be morning. It's pitch black now. This is really bad. My eyes widen as it hits me hard. I grab Jace. "We need to get inside. Right now!"

Everyone rushes inside. I shut the door just as something passes by outside. I start to shake as I remember what happened in my nightmare. I didn't realize I was shaking so hard until Jace grabs me. "Clary? What's the matter?"

"It's outside," I whisper, wide eyed.

Jace's eyes widen slightly then he turns to the others. "Go straight down to the bunkers."

I shake my head. "No. It will find us there."

"Then where?" Alec asks.

It takes me a second, but then I realize the only place that we could be safe from that thing. "I know where. I need to go get something from my room first."

Jace frowns. "There's no time. What do you need?"

"The book Luke left me," I pull away from Jace and run upstairs to grab the book.

As I'm running up the stairs I can hear the others following. I burst into my room and go straight for my bag. I rip it open and quickly grab the book. I turn and run for the door. I turn the corner just as something dark passes by the window. I keep running until I find the others. I grab Jace's hand. "I know where we can go where we will be safe."

Jace follows without hesitation. I remember where the corridor was that led me to Arcadia. I stop when I hit a dead end. Jace moves forward with a slight frown. "A glamour has been put here."

Magnus moves forward and examines the wall. "It's a strong one too. Whatever this glamour is protecting it must be pretty strong. Isn't that right, Clary?"

I nod quickly. "Yes. I'll explain once we're inside. Can you break it?"

Magnus nods then waves his hands for a few seconds mumbling a few words in a language I don't understand. Blue sparks fly from his fingers before the glamour drops. I push everything through then turn back as the glamour is put back into place.

I don't stop to think about it. I turn to run down the corridor. It's really dark down here. Jace reaches into his pocket for a witchlight. When the light fills the corridor everyone gasps at what they see. I grab Isabelle's arm before she freaks out. "Relax. They're not going to hurt you."

I'm referring to the thousands of spiders covering every inch of the walls. I turn to Jace who's staring at the walls with narrowed eyes. "Are these spider demons?"

I nod then point at the witchlight. "Can you turn down the brightness of that thing? I don't think they like it very much."

Jace's frown depends, but then the witchlight dims. A second later the institute starts shaking again. The spider demons stir. I turn to the others. I give them a signal for them to follow me. We run down the corridor as quickly as possible. The shaking is getting harder making it difficult to run.

Finally, we come to a large spider web holding a large spider demon. Arcadia looks down at me. "Nephilim, I thought we would see each other soon. You brought the chosen."

I swallow hard. "Please. There's no time. We need to go to the other room."

Arcadia nods then removes herself from her web. Before she moves her web she turns to me. "A warning to you and your friends… you will be facing many difficulties. Without each other the world will fall and your mission will fail. The room behind me will provide sanction and an escape. From here on, you are all on your own."

Once Arcadia is finished with her speech she pulls aside her web. I run to the door and grab my knife. I get ready to cut my finger, but Jace stops me. "Stop hurting yourself."

I turn to Jace with a pleading look. "Please, Jace. This is the only way to open the doors."

Jace's eyebrow goes up. "What doors?"

I grab the witchlight from Jace's hand and hold it up to show where the doors are. Everyone gasps. Alec moves forward and runs his hand down some of the carvings. "What is this?"

"Everything will be explained as soon as we get inside," I hand the witchlight back to Jace then cut my finger.

A drop of blood escapes from my finger. I hold my finger over the cup on the door. A few drops fall. I pull my finger away just as the blood is soaked into the cup. Jace grabs my hand and draws a healing rune on me. Then the doors open with a loud creak. I make sure everyone goes through before me. Then I turn to look at Arcadia.

"What will happen to you?" I ask the spider demon.

Arcadia looks up. "I will not be harmed. My will be sure to keep your location a secret. The danger that approaches is after you and the chosen. Even if I am a demon I know where I stand. I must protect the Nephilim."

I nod and smile sadly. "Thank you for everything, Arcadia. I really do hope we meet again."

This time Arcadia returns my smile. "As do I."

The doors swing closed afterwards. I turn to see the others staring at the contents of the room in awe. I walk over to the case where the cup of angel blood is. I look down at it and sigh. I turn around to look at the others. "This room has been hidden for as long as this institute has been here. It holds a lot of secrets."

Jace walks over to me and stares at the golden liquid. "What is this?"

"Angel blood," I lightly run my fingers down the glass case.

Jace looks up, surprised. "This is what was injected into us?"

I nod then turn to the others. "This place is going to keep us safe. This angel blood keeps any demon from entering. This is probably the safest place in the world right now."

"What are we supposed to do about the rest of the city?" Simon asks.

"That's the one thing I don't have any clue on what to do," I sigh.

Jace puts his arm around me. "Do you want to tell them about that nightmare you had?"

I swallow hard. "O-okay."

We all sit together in a circle on the floor of the large room. I hold onto Jace's hand as I explain my nightmare to them. They recognize some of the things I experienced in my nightmare from what's happening to our city as we speak.

Magnus crosses his arms. "Did you recognize the man?"

I shake my head. "No. I just know I was looking through his eyes at first. Then next second I was floating in the air and finally I was looking through his eyes again just as I was pierced through the heart."

Jace pulls me against him as I finish and I start shaking again. Simon looks around. "What exactly is this room?"

"Well, it keeps a lot of history," I look around.

Everyone stands and goes around to look at the room. There are a lot of books and anything else that an archive like this would have. It looks like thousands of years of information has been stored up in this place. I stay in front of the angel blood.

Jace walks up behind me. "Do you know how this got here?"

I shake my head. "No."

"Do you know what it's here for?" Jace asks.

I shake my head again. "No. Arcadia really didn't tell me anything. She said it would be too risky. I didn't push it considering I was talking to a powerful demon. Still, I can't help, but wonder what the point of this whole room is."

"We'll figure it out," Jace kisses me lightly on the cheek.

Instead of standing around and moping I look around the room and find a table to sit at. I pull out the book Luke wrote for me and start reading it. Since I don't have anything to compare it to I might as well just read it as it is. This will be quick.

Reading has always been an escape for me. I've always loved losing myself in a story. I used to love pretending that it was me that was the damsel in distress that needed to be saved. It sort of turned out to be quite opposite. I'm the damsel who's causing the distress. How ironic.

As I'm reading something just doesn't feel right. It feels like Luke is trying to tell me something, but he doesn't want to get to the point. I can see some hints, but none of them are coming together to make any sense. My frown deepens even more.

Before I turn the page Isabelle walks over to me and sits across from me at the table. "Um, Clary? Can I talk to you about something?"

"Sure," I close the book.

Isabelle fidgets then looks me straight in the eye to get straight to the point. "Have you and Jace had sex yet?"

My cheeks burn red. "No! Of course we haven't, Izzy. What the hell?"

Isabelle looks like she wants to break out in a grin, but she's holding it in. "I was just wondering. If you ever need to talk to anyone about that sort of stuff I'm always here to help you. I'm sure Magnus wouldn't mind talking to you about it, but he would probably make you feel really awkward and would only embarrass you."

"T-thanks, I think," I mumble, still trying to contain my blush.

Isabelle beams. "No problem. Oh, and don't forget to come to me in case you need condoms. I'm sure Jace is too much of a blond to remember."

Again my face turns completely red. "This conversation is over, Isabelle!"

"Alright," Isabelle leaves laughing.

I'm glaring at the back of Isabelle's head when Jace walks over to me. "What was that about?"

"Shut up!" I snap.

Of course I feel incredibly guilty afterwards so I put my head down and sigh. Jace leans on the table next to me and chuckles. "It's okay. I don't take any offense. What exactly did Izzy say to make you snap at me?"

My cheeks turn pink. "Nothing important."

"That's not what I heard," Simon mumbles as he walks by.

I glare at the vampire. "Damn you."

"Too late," Simon calls back.

Jace chuckles. "It looks like you and the bloodsucker are already starting to get along pretty well. It's starting to worry me."

I roll my eyes. "Whatever. And stop calling him that. I think he gets enough crap being a vampire who can walk in the daylight. Being a vampire in general has to be hell. Don't make it worse for him."

"Since when do you take his side?" Jace crosses his arms and pouts.

"Since you don't know how to play nice I decided to stick up for the people who refuse to do it themselves," I look up and smile.

Jace arches an eyebrow and reaches down to caress my jaw. My face heats up again. Jace leans down and barely touches my lips with mine. "I'm sure if Simon could he would. It's just a shame he's too much of a wimp."

Simon hears this. "Hey!"

Jace smirks then quickly presses his lips to mine. I pull away before I get too caught up in it. Then I grab my book and flip to the page I was going to read, but Jace pulls it out of my hands and holds it just out of my reach. "If you want this back you're going to have to earn it."

"Damn it, Jace!" I jump for the book.

Jace just laughs. "That's what you get for being so short."

Alec appears out of nowhere and gives Jace a stern look. "Come on, Jace. Don't be like that… if you're going to tease Clary you might as well let us all in on the fun."

I stare in horror at Alec. A broad grin just appears across Jace's face. Jace turns back to me. "This should be a lot of fun."

"This isn't funny," I make another attempt at the book.

Soon everyone is joining in the game of keep away. I'm getting more and more frustrated because I want to know just why exactly Luke is being so secretive about what he's really trying to tell me. I want to know what it is. If I don't find out soon I'll end up strangling someone out of anxiety. That person may just end up being Jace too. He's the one who started all this.

When I have had enough of this game I pounce on Simon who just so happens to have it at the time. I pin him to the ground and growl. "Hand it over, Simon."

Instead of listening to me, Simon flicks the book across the floor over to where Jace is standing. Jace picks up the book and waves it around. "Like I said. If you want this back then you have to earn it."

"You're such an asshole," I hit Simon in the ribs then walk over to Jace.

For a second Jace just grins at me then he leans down to kiss me. I pull away. Jace chuckles then waves the book in front of my face. "I get all the make out sessions I want. That's the deal."

I roll my eyes. "You're such a child."

"A child doesn't know how to make you moan with pleasure," Jace wiggles his eyebrows.

My face burns with embarrassment. "Shut the hell up and give me back the book!"

Jace holds the book out of my reach when I make a grab for it. "Nope. You have to promise first otherwise I won't hand it over. And you have to honor your promise. If you don't I'll just embarrass you until you do. Is that understood?"

"You're impossible!" I yell.

Jace winks at me. "But you still love me."

I clench my teeth and speak in a hiss. "Fine. Just give me back my book, you son of a bitch."

With a triumphant smile Jace hands over the book. As soon as it's in my hand Jace grabs me and pulls me into a kiss. I hear Isabelle groan. "Come on, guys. Why don't you wait until you're somewhere alone to do that? Don't forget what I said either, Clary. Just in case you do end up being alone in a room together."

I break away from the kiss and turn to glare at Isabelle. Before I can say anything Jace pulls me back for another, long, kiss. I'm still not over my anger at Jace, but right now I'm too preoccupied to do anything about it. I think I could manage not being angry until I finish my make out session with Jace.

When Jace and I finally break away from each other I try to remember why I was so angry at Jace. I'm really out of it right now. Jace grins then leans down for another kiss. I slide my hands down to Jace's shoulders and push him away gently. "Okay. I think that's enough of that."

I hear someone clear their throat behind us. I look over my shoulder to see that the others have been watching us. My face turns completely red. Magnus claps enthusiastically then turns to Alec. "Honey, I suggest we do something like that more often."

Alec blushes just as hard as me. We look at each other then smile sympathetically. It's hard being in a relationship where the other person is really messed up when it comes to innuendos and sexual references.

Jace puts his arms around me tightly. "As hard as it may be, you need to stop staring at us. We're trying to have a private moment."

"It's not private when you do it openly in front of other people," Simon throws back.

Jace looks down at me with a pleased look on his face. "Why don't you get back to your reading?"

"Huh?" I respond stupidly.

This makes Jace grin wider. "The book Luke left you."

I look don at my hand. Now I remember why I was upset at Jace. I smack Jace on the side of the head with the book. "You need to stop being such an ass."

"You must really love my ass, since you keep bringing it up," Jace kisses my nose quickly before backing away, laughing.

I glare at Jace before turning to glare at the others. "You shouldn't encourage him. I thought you knew that. Alec, I thought you were better than that."

Alec just shrugs. "We're going to be stuck in here for a while so why not have a little fun."

Isabelle stares at Alec incredulously. "Who are you and what have you done with my brother?"

We laugh as Alec blushes. Our fun, however, is cut short when the room starts to shake. Then something starts banging on the doors loudly. We turn to watch the doors just in case they get knocked down, but it doesn't happen. The banging just gets louder and louder.

Jace walks over to me and wraps his arms around me. It comforts us both. We sit in silence and wait for it to stop. I hold on tightly to Jace. I'm getting a really bad feeling about what's on the other side of the door. Jace and I both know what it is. We've seen it before. We know what it's made of and it scares me.

The images from my nightmare flood back to me. This time I realize something I didn't quite tell the others. I seemed to have forgotten the seraph blade that the man in my nightmare had. He was a shadow hunter. He was one of us and he was killed.

I look up to look at Jace. "Jace…"

"Yes?" Jace looks down at me.

I lick my lips then look down at the book. "That man that was in my nightmare… he was a shadow hunter."

Jace's grip on me tightens. "Why didn't you say that before?"

I shake my head. "Because I forgot. I don't know how I could have, but he was a shadow hunter. I guess the other parts were so overpowering that it just slipped my mind."

"Then that means we have another clue as to where all the shadow hunters are disappearing to," Jace rubs my arms.

"You might be right," I mutter as I close my eyes.

Somehow I manage to fall asleep. I must have been a lot more tired than I thought I was. I feel myself slipping away into another nightmare…

Before I know it I'm standing in the middle of Central Park. I turn in a slow circle. It's really dark, but I can see what's around me. This feels so realistic. It's like I'm actually in Central Park. Knowing what my nightmares are usually about, this one is going to be really bad. I just know it.

All of a sudden a group of people flock by me. None of them even notice me. I turn around just as someone runs right at me. I get ready for impact, but it doesn't come. I look down at myself. I'm transparent.

I look back up just as something dark flies by overhead. I run toward where it's heading. I can see a bunch of people running around in a panic. Is this really New York. I recognize a lot of the streets and buildings. This should be the same city. I'm not sure if this is really going on. There's no way I could know what's going on beyond the sealed room.

Then again I remember reading in some of Luke's papers about out of body experiences. It's a skill that some Downworlders have. Luke called it astral projection. It's rare and extremely hard to master. This skill allows someone to have their thoughts and essence move around out of their body with just the will of the person. Of course, the body is left defenseless and in a sleeping state. It's the only downside.

Could this really be what's happening to me? I am half angel after all. It might come easier to me. I just didn't know astral projection was one of the abilities that came with being part angel.

All of a sudden the ground begins to shake again. The ground cracks open a few feet from me. Hot air gushes out of it. Then fire bursts up along with a big puff of smoke. I back away from it quickly. A few more of these things open up around me. I leave the park before I get trapped.

I run toward the street where there are even more people panicking. There are cars piled onto each other and buildings are on fire. An image of my nightmare flashes in my mind. The buildings are burning. They're going to be just like the buildings in my nightmare.

When I look around I can see that there are a lot of shadows moving around. The ground seems to be crumbling in places too. It's total chaos out here. It's so sad. This place used to be so lively and now it's like this. Just what is happening to this world?

I'm crossing a street when a motorcycle comes rushing toward me. I get ready for the impact. It doesn't come. It's just like last time. It goes right through me. That means I'm pretty much safe. Nothing can touch me. This is just my essence. I don't think anyone will be able to see me either. At least I won't have to worry about being stopped by anymore.

As I'm walking I can see a lot of people that look hurt and lost. There are children without their parents. Most of the stores have been looted. God… what the hell happened?

Suddenly, the ground shakes again. Another crack appears just down the street. Most smoke and fire. People are running away from it. I can see some dropping from the smoke inhalation. I turn away quickly. I don't want to watch them knowing there's nothing I can do.

I keep on walking until I see something down an alley. I hear sobbing. I walk carefully into the alley and look around for the source. I find it curled into the corner. It's a little girl. I move forward. It looks like a little girl.

When I get closer the girl's head shoots up. "Who's there?"

What? I crouch in front of the girl and look into her eyes. Mine widen as I realize she's blind. I reach forward and lightly brush my fingers over her cheeks where her tears steak her face. "Can you feel me?"

The girl tilts her head. "Who are you? Where are you?"

I lean forward and lightly blow on the girl's face. She closes her eyes and smiles. "It's warm. You're not going to hurt me."

I can't help, but smile. I pat the girl's head. Suddenly I feel darkness coming over me. I look up to see the sky turning red. My eyes widen and my body starts to shake. The girl feels my distress. "What is it?"

This isn't good. It's coming. I look at the girl. There's no way someone like her is going to survive on her own like this. I sit next to the girl and wrap my arms around her. She seems to lean into my touch. Then the sky turns completely red and the world around me turns cold. I know it's cold from my last dream, but I'm warm because I'm not really here. I close my eyes because I don't want to see what's going on around me.

A few minutes later I feel the cold leaving and I open my eyes. I look around carefully to make sure nothing is out of place then I stand and lightly place my hands on the girl's shoulders.

She turns her face up. "Do you start walking now?"

I reach down for her hand. She smiles then giggles. I keep my hand on her shoulder as I walk her out of the alley. We move into the sidewalk and I lead her through the streets. We keep walking until I find a huddle of people who have taken refuge in a small building.

The girl tilts her head to the side. "I smell mama's perfume."

She must have a very powerful nose. I lead her toward the direction of the other people. She stops when we hear someone squeal. I turn to see a woman running toward us. I let go of the girl's shoulder as the woman wraps her arms around the girl. "Oh, my baby! I'm so happy you're safe. Are you hurt?"

The girl shakes her head. "No, mama. I'm fine."

I smile slightly then turn to leave. I can't help the urge to call out over my shoulder. "Be safe."

Honestly, I didn't know what I was expecting, but I didn't expect her to respond. "I will. I promise."

I look back to stare at the girl. She heard me? I was under the impression that no one could. Then I smile again. Maybe I'll meet her in person one day. It would be nice. She seems like she has a good heart. I sigh then turn to start walking.

Leaving that girl alone I know her chances of survival are really low. I don't want to linger on that fact. It's really not a pleasant thought. Instead I turn my attention back to the rest of the world around me.

I've seen a lot of things and done a lot of things, but nothing can compare to this. I've never seen anything so devastating. I've never seen anything so dull and destroyed. The city lights are no longer on. The sky over New York was always smoggy. Now with all the new smoke it's nearly impossible to see the sky anymore. I sigh and keep on walking.

All of a sudden I get the horrible feeling of being watch. I don't want to look around because I know what I'm going to find. I try not to move, but I know that's not going to keep me safe.

In just a second I'm running away from the shadows closing in on me. I run down the street an past Central Park. I notice it getting darker behind me as I keep going. I try not to focus on that. I know where I have to go.

When the institute comes into view I don't hesitate to run straight through the front door. I run through the halls to the corridor leading to the secret room. I go right past the spider demons. They seem to watch me as I go by. Then I see Arcadia. She's sleeping, but the moment I see her she wakes up. She watches me as I run by.

Then I go straight through the door and I'm surrounded by light…