Okay... I know it's been a really long time, but I suffered from a writer's worst nightmare... writer's block! That and life. Between college and trying to find a job in this economy, I've been having a pretty tough time trying to fit everything in. Anyway, I know people have asked me to write a chapter in Jace's POV so that's what I did. I'm think I'm going to write another one in this style, but I might just move back to Clary's POV. It really depends on how I'm feeling. Either way, I hope you guys enjoy my newest update. Please read and enjoy! Don't forget to review!

Now that Clary is gone, Jace must learn to carry on without her and find a way out of the black and white world they seem to have been thrown in to. How will Jace cope? What new secrets will be discovered when the gang runs into a familiar face? What is in store for a certain golden haired shadow hunter? Read on to find out...

Chapter 26

JPOV

I stare off into the direction my Clary disappeared into. A hollowness begins to seep into my chest as the realization hits me of what just really just happened.

When I stop struggling Simon and Alec let go of me. I fall to my knees and swallow hard, trying not to break down. I have never wanted to just scream and curse so badly in my life. I mean, I've only known Clary for a short while, but she has made my life so much more bearable.

After a few more minutes of shock I finally rise to my feet and dust myself off. I feel a hand on my shoulder. I look over to see Izzy. "I'm sorry."

I bite my lip to keep myself from saying anything because at this point I really don't feel like saying anything to anyone. I shake my head and push past her to go back into the subway. I grab my bag along with Clary's. I need to find her. I can't let this go without doing something.

Once I finish gathering everything I stand and turn to go, but Simon is standing in my way. "Get out of my way, bloodsucker."

Simon narrows his eyes, but doesn't comment on my insult. "Jace, you need to think about what you're about to do. We can't afford to be separated even more than we already are. We need to find a way out of the city before things start to get even worse."

"I need to find Clary," I ground out between clenched teeth.

Izzy appears in front of me with an annoyed expression. "Honestly, Jace. Clary meant a lot to all of us and we're going to find her, but we can't if we stay out here and let those demons come after us again. Don't forget there is that other demon that apparently is lying low for now."

"What exactly do you expect me to do then?" I cross my arms angrily.

Alec comes forward with Magnus at his side. "Clary ran off from us for a reason. I think she saw something interesting enough for her to endanger herself by staying out longer than usual the way she did. Maybe we can go looking for whatever it was she saw and maybe then we can get that much closer to getting out of here and finding her."

I lick my lips nervously. "I need to find her. I don't know what I'll do if anything were to happen to her."

Izzy moves forward and gives me one of those awkward sibling hugs. "We'll find her, Jace. I know how much you love her. Believe it or not, you're less of an ass when she's around."

Once Izzy is finished hugging me step back and try not to look as depressed as I feel. I hide behind an expressionless mask. I don't want them to know just how badly not having Clary here with me is affecting me. I need her here with me.

Magnus snaps his fingers and blue sparks fly everywhere. "Alright, kiddies. It's time to get moving. I don't know how much longer we'll be able to stay here before those demons figure out where we're hiding. We need to find a better place to hide."

We all gather our things before we leave the subway. I don't feel right just leaving without Clary, but we can't stay here. I know that. It's only a matter of time before those demons come back and we'll be vulnerable.

Alec and Magnus take the lead while Izzy and the bloodsucker are next in our procession and I take up the rear. I grip tight onto my seraph blade. As we walk. I keep a sharp eye out. I'm not going to be taken by surprise like last time. This time I'm not losing anyone else.

As we pass an intersection I hear something. Simon turns his head too and frowns in the direction of the noise. I look down the street to see a girl trying to break into a store with a crowbar. "There's someone there."

Everyone turns to look where I'm looking. I take down the street toward the girl. I stop when I recognize the girl. "Aline?"

The girl looks up and her eyes widen. "Oh my GOD! Jace!"

Aline pounces at me. I step aside when she tries to latch onto me. "What are you doing here, Aline?"

When Aline looks at me she gives me a pout and widens her eyes innocently. "Why'd you do that, Jace? I was so scared and I just wanted to feel safe in your arms."

"You didn't answer my question," I'm starting to get annoyed.

Aline huffs and throws her hair over her shoulder. "I'm taking refuge in some weird temple thing just down the street with a bunch of other people."

"What do you mean by temple?" I frown slightly.

Aline sighs in annoyance. "I don't know. It's like one of those ancient looking temples. It's really hard to explain. It just appeared out of nowhere when things started getting weird. It's been like this for like a month. So, do you want to come back with me and we can keep each other company?"

I ignore the last part and turn to the others who are just catching up to me. "There's a temple down the street that apparently showed up out of nowhere where a bunch of people have taken refuge. Maybe we can go there and try to figure some more stuff out."

"It would be a lot easier if we still had that wonderful library," Alec sighs.

I wince at the memory of Clary. Alec sees my expression and quickly apologizes. I shake my head and turn to Aline. "Can you take us to the temple?"

Aline smiles seductively and runs her fingers down my arm. "Sure, but only if you promise to give us some alone time to get reacquainted with each other."

"If you don't want to then we'll find it on our own," I push past Aline.

I'm really not in the mood for dealing with this crap. I want to find out where Clary was taken and I don't want to deal with someone clinging to me all the time.

"You're playing hard to get," Aline giggles and skips after me.

I roll my eyes and look over my shoulder at the others. "Are you just going to stand there or are we going to get going? We need to find a place to rest safely. Then we need to start figuring how to find Clary and how to get out of this city."

They nod and follow my lead. Aline moves in front of us. "I'll take you there, but only because I know Jace will come around eventually. They all do."

Simon leans in to whisper in my ear. "Dude! That girl is seriously obsessed with you!"

"You think I don't know that?" I whisper back, harshly.

Simon frowns at me. "I'm just saying. You need to make sure she doesn't think you're interested. It will make things all the more complicated with we get Clary back."

I sigh, knowing he's right, but I'll be damned if I ever say it to his face. I just wave him off. "Yeah, yeah. Whatever."

Alec moves up to walk next to me. "So what is the plan? Every book we could have used is in the secret room Clary took with her. We may be able to find something in this temple we're heading to, but it's a long shot. We're just going to have to hope for the best."

"There's no damage in just trying," I run my hand through my hair.

Alec pats my shoulder. "Clary is a strong girl. She can take care of herself, wherever she is."

"I know she's strong, but I want her to be here with me so I can protect her," I stare at the ground intensely as I walk.

All of a sudden the sky starts to turn red. I hear Aline gasp before taking off in a sprint. "Run! Run or they'll catch you!"

We don't need to be told twice. We take off like we're being chased by the devil himself. I wouldn't be surprised if he actually was. Nothing has been going our way lately. I just really hope Clary is having better luck wherever she is.

As we're running I can feel a chill run down my back. I glance over my shoulder and feel my eyes widen slightly. I turn back forward then keep on running.

The sound of those bird demons are closing in on us quickly. Soon, though, there's what looks like a temple just up ahead. We use all of our speed to get to the doors. Aline pushes open the doors and we all fall in. We push the doors closed before the bird demons can come inside.

Once the doors are shut tightly I let out a breath of relief. I run my hand through my hair and look around. I'm just a bit surprised at what I see. Half of New York has to be in here. With that said, this temple place is enormous.

Aline walks up next to me and wraps her arms around my waist. "What do you think? We've been surviving all on our own for a while now. I'm one of the only people brave enough to go out and look for supplies. Don't you think that's impressive?"

I huff in frustration before prying Aline off of me. "Is there some kind of library here?"

"Why?" Aline scrunches up her nose as if just the idea of a library disgusts her.

Alec moves forward to stand next to me. "Jace has the right idea. If there's a library in here there's a chance it has some books that could tell us more of what's been going on around here."

Aline pouts and points off to the left. "There's a hall down that way with a bunch of doors. We're not able to open any of them. We've tried everything, but there's no hope. Why don't you just stay here with me so we can get comfortable?"

I push past Aline and walk in the direction of the hall. There has to be a library down there somewhere. If there's a chance that there's a way to get Clary back then I'm going to try it.

When I get to the hall I look at the first door. It looks very familiar. I don't look over my shoulder when I hear Alec approach from behind. "This looks like the doors to the secret room."

I nod and run my hand over the door. "This definitely isn't the library if there's even one in here. If I know anything about libraries in our line of work, it's that they're always behind ridiculously gigantic doors."

Alec chuckles slightly. "Right. Well, let's get looking then. We'll just do down the hall until we find the right door."

I turn away from the door and start walking down the hall. I look behind us. "Where are the others?"

"Trying to figure out what happened to the city while we were trapped under the Institute," Alec looks at a passing door with invested interest.

"What's there to try to figure out?" I barely glance at the next door we pass. "It's obvious some freakish demon laid waste to the city, and probably the entire state, in its search for us. The only problem is finding out why the city is the way it is now and how to get rid of it."

Alec gives me a scrutinizing look. "What are you holding back?"

"What are you talking about?" I do my best to avoid looking into Alec's eyes.

Alec lets out an annoyed sigh. "Jace, I know you. You're hiding something. Are you going to tell me or am I going to have to force it out of you?"

"How exactly are you going to force it out of me?" I arch an eyebrow.

Before Alec has a chance to rely I look forward once again and notice the ridiculously humongous doors that signal the presence of a library. I take off down the hall toward it. I hear Alec complain before taking off after me.

I reach the door and place my hand on the wood. Alec runs his fingers down the intricate design on the door. "This has to be it."

I take a step back to get a better look at the door. It has the same type of art carved into it. It's not the same picture, but it's similar enough to know this has something to do with the door on the secret room.

Alec runs his hands over the door then releases a relenting sigh. "There's no doorknob or handle anywhere. Maybe I can get Magnus to take a look at this and try to open it with magic. It's not going to get opened any other way."

Just as I run my hand over a part of the door a section opens and something that looks like a cup. I frown slightly. I remember this. It's how Clary opened the door to the secret room. With her blood. Angel blood.

I pull out my knife and cut my hand. Alec lets out a protest. I hold my hand over the cup and let my blood drip in. Just a second later the door creaks open. I look over at Alec with a smug grin. "I'm amazing."

Alec rolls his eyes. "Whatever. Let's just go inside."

I push open the door with my uninjured hand and take a peak inside. Alec grabs my hand as he pulls out his stele. I know what he plans to do, but I can't help, but take a dig at him. "Honestly, Alec! What would Magnus think if he found out you were coming on to me?"

Alec drops my hands like it's made of fire. He then proceeds to blush furiously and glare at me. "That's not funny, Jace! Give me your damn hand so I can draw an iratze on you!"

I chuckle and hold out my hand. "Alright, alright. I didn't mean to get your panties in a twist."

Alec glares at me again. He presses the stele harder into my skin than necessary and I wince at the sharp pain. I pull my hand away immediately and rub at the sore skin. "Geez, Alec. There's no need for you to go all sadistic on me. Why don't you try it on Magnus? He seems to be the kind of person who would go for that crap."

"Can we just check out the room already?!" Alec snaps.

I can't help the laugh that bubbles out of my mouth. I walk through the door with a grin still on my face. I can automatically tell that this is definitely the library. The row upon rows of books kind of gives it away. I notice Alec already skimming them.

"Do you see anything interesting?" I call out as I stride over to a conveniently placed couch.

Alec opens his mouth to say something, but he takes one look at me and his glare returns. "What the hell, Jace? Get up and help me. Don't you want to find a way to get Clary back?"

I immediately bolt up straight before hurrying to another section of the library. I pull the first book I see out of the bookshelf. I flip through some pages before realizing this is in Latin. I sigh and read the title. I shake my head when I figure this book won't be of any use to me.

The next few books are the same until a weird feeling falls over me. I roll my shoulders and shake my head to try to get rid of it, but the feeling just gets stronger. It feels like a tugging sensation in my chest. I put the book in my hand back where I got it from and try looking around.

Alec is on the other side of the library looking at some book. I start looking around again. I turn in one particular direction before the tugging in my chest gets really strong. I figure that's the way I'm supposed to go. I abandon my searching and follow the feeling.

The farther I walk into the library the darker it gets and I start to get anxious. My muscles tense, ready to spring me into action. I keep on going for some reason. I guess it's just the promise of danger.

There's some sort of hum of power. It buzzes in my ear and it makes me feel a bit light headed. I keep on walking until a sudden pressure in my head makes me stop. I grunt and blink a few times to make the hazy feeling in my head.

All of a sudden I feel myself being thrown to the floor. I gasp and clutch at my chest. It feels like someone is suffocating me, but when I look around I don't see anyone.

After a couple more seconds I don't feel like I'm being suffocated and I can get off the floor. I groan and roll my neck. I keep walking in the same directions as before.

Now my body begins to tingle with some sort of power floating in the air. I keep moving forward until I find another door. As I get closer it opens on its own. I hesitate for a second before walking through the new passage way.

Once I'm past the doors they slam shut behind me. I narrow my eyes, but keep on going. I'm now in some kind of garden area. Either this is another part of the temple or some more supernatural crap.

As I move through said garden I find myself walking down a cobblestone path. I look across the garden and see some kind of pedestal at the center of it. There's some sort of thing on it. I'm too far away to see what it is. I walk on the path for a few more seconds before realizing it goes in a spiral and it ends at the pedestal.

I jump over some hedges and a few flower beds before making it to the pedestal. I look down at what looks like a dagger, but it looks gold and clear at the same time. It reminds me of a seraph blade. I hesitantly reach out to touch it.

The blade pulses then flies at my chest. I fall back onto the floor. The tip of the weapon floats just above where my heart is. I swallow hard and don't move a muscle. Whatever's happening, it's obviously something to do with all the other angel stuff that's been going on.

Slowly, the seraph blade rises and returns to the pedestal. I let out a sigh of relief before getting back to my feet. I walk around the pedestal for a better look. I look closer and see a chip in the blade. That's strange. It looks totally perfect otherwise.

As I'm taking a closer something hits me on the back of the head, hard. I let out a curse under my breath before turning to see what it was. I look down to see a thick book lying on the ground next to me. I rub the back of my head as I lift it up.

I scowl at the damn thing before looking at the cover. Damn it! It's in that angel language that apparently only Clary knows. I sigh and prepare to throw the book in a random direction for hitting me on the head when it starts to glow.

The book suddenly flies open. The papers flip to a certain page before stopping. On the page is what looks like a drawing of the seraph blade in front of me. I frown slightly before bringing the book closer to me.

A flash of light blinds me and images flood through my brain. I'm able to catch a few things out of the chaos in my head. The seraph blade, a golden outline of a man with wings, and something snapping.

Suddenly there are two blades. One is bigger than the other and only one of them is glowing gold. I see a dark figure that gives me the chills. It looks overwhelming and even I have to admit it would be idiotic to take something like that on. It looks like some kind of demon.

Then the visions are gone. I gasp and drop to my knees. That's one hell of a rush. I grab my head and the book from the ground before walking back through the garden again. I go to the door that led me in here and it's open when I get there.

I walk through quickly before it can close on me again. I keep rubbing the back of my head. I think the stupid book broke skin. I'll have Alec draw an iratze on me when I get back.

As soon as I'm back in the library I hear Alec calling out my name. I sigh and follow the sound of his voice. I find him walking down one of the aisles. He gives me a reprimanding look. "Where the hell have you been? I've been calling your name for the last ten minutes."

"Shouldn't you be calling Magnus' name instead?" I arch an eyebrow as I pass a furiously blushing Alec.

Alec huffs and follows after me. "Where were you? Honestly. I couldn't find you anywhere."

"Because I was-"

My throat constricts. I clear my throat before attempting to speak again, but my voice is determined to not let me speak about what I was just doing. I notice Alec giving me a strange look. I shake my head. "Never mind. Anyway, did you find anything interesting here?"

Alec nods slowly before holding up a book. "It looks like a book that can translate that angel language that Clary can read."

I immediately take the book from Alec and run over to one of the tables. I hear Alec complain behind me. "Stop whining and go tell the others that we found this place. I think I'll hang out in here reading this book for a while."

Alec gives me another suspicious look before walking out of the library. I turn to the two books in front of me. I open the book that would help me translate the stupid book that gave me a freakin concussion.

I start to translate the first few lines. It takes me nearly two hours just to translate the first page. Damn! There are hundreds of page to this book and I'm not anywhere close to finishing. This is going to take a while. A long, long while.

All I'm really finding out so far is some more of our history. I get that it's important to know all this stuff, but I'm seriously getting tired of reading this crap over and over again.

So I'm just sitting at the table for a few more hours before I feel a hand fall on my shoulder. I look up, over my shoulder. I frown when I see that it's Aline. "What do you want? Can't you see that I'm in the middle of something?"

Aline drags her fingers down my arm. "I was just thinking maybe you could use some company. Maybe I can also help you relax. You seem so tense lately."

I push away her hand and turn back to the books. "No thanks. I don't need you distracting me."

"Oh, now I'm a distraction?" Aline arches an eyebrow. "You didn't think that when we were together."

"That was then and this is now, so go away and let me focus," I huff and try to focus on the words in front of me.

Aline moves around me and sits on the table right in front of my books. She crosses her legs and pushes out her chest. I sigh in frustration and look up at Aline with annoyance written all over my face. Aline runs her hand up the length of my jaw. "Why are you playing so hard to get? You know you want me."

I glare up at the idiotic girl who can't seem to take a hint. "Listen, Aline, you obviously can't take a hint so let me be blunt about it. I'm trying to figure out a way to get the love of my life back from wherever she was taken to and you're not helping. Now go away before you waste any more of time."

Aline sits there with her mouth hanging open in disbelief before snapping it shut and smirking lightly. "I get it. You're trying to make me jealous. There's no need for that. I'm already all yours."

I'm about snap when I hear another voice do it for me. "What about 'no' don't you understand, slut! Get the hell away from him!"

We both turn to see a pissed looking Isabelle. I give Izzy a grateful look. She arches her eyebrow at me before turning to Aline who looks particularly furious. "What do you want? Can't you see Jace and I are in the middle of something? Don't you know when you're not wanted?"

Izzy scoffs before striding forward and pulling Aline off the table. "Don't you know when you're not wanted? Jace isn't interested in you. He has a girlfriend who he's trying to find and you're not doing anything to help. Now get the hell out of here before I kick your ass."

Before Aline can respond, Izzy grabs her and throws her out of the library. I lean back in my chair and pick up the translating book up to my face. "Thanks for that, Izzy. You're a doll. Now why don't you go pick up my dry cleaning and grab me some coffee while you're at it."

Izzy rolls her eyes and moves to stand right in front of me. "Shut the hell up, Jace. I'm here to tell you we found out something really interesting about what happened to the city. I think you'll find it very enlightening."

I sigh and leave my work behind to follow Izzy back into the main area of the temple. Everyone is gathered at the center of the room with all the others.

Alec is sitting next to Magnus and Simon is trying not to look too disgusted at how Magnus is openly trying to grope Alec. I chuckle to myself. I move to sit next to Alec. "Honestly, Alec! I didn't think PDA was your thing."

"It's not," Alec grumbles as he tries to keep Magnus' hands from wandering.

I laugh out loud just as Izzy sits down next to me. "Alright, listen to me, you idiot. It turns out that the city was apparently attacked by some kind of demon. They obviously didn't know that at the time, but it's pretty obviously to people like us. Most of the people in the city were able to escape, but there were those who didn't make it during the demon attacked and overran the city."

Alec choosing this moment to join in on the conversation. "This temple appeared not too long after the initial attack. When the temple doors closed for the first time there were still a lot of people panicking in the streets."

"When the doors opened again, there in that weird black and white world," Simon adds.

I nod slowly and think hard, trying to put the pieces together. "Clary said she saw the city in a practically destroyed state and it was nothing like this. The only explanation I can think of is that we're in some weird other dimension."

The others nod in agreement.

Someone in the crowd around us clears their throat. "I'm sorry, but what exactly are you talking about?"

We turn at the sound of the voice. It's a middle aged man with a little girl, who must me his daughter, on his knee. Alec speaks up for us. "We're talking about our current situation, sir. We're professionals."

"Professionals of what?" the man eyes us suspiciously.

Alec sighs and turns to the rest of us. We just shrug and nod our encouragement. Alec turns back to the man. "We are what are known as shadow hunters. We are a race of humans who specialize in fighting demons."

"What makes you any different from regular humans," the man asks.

"Unlike you mundane, we have angel blood in our systems," I point out, bluntly.

The man frowns slightly before turning back to Alec. "Okay. So if you're all a bunch of angel people, why the hell aren't you doing your jobs and protecting us from those demons."

A faint frown appears on Alec's normally collected expression. "It's not like we were just sitting around doing nothing, letting everything happen. There's a whole lot more to this story than you know. More than we can really tell."

"And not all of us are shadow hunters," Simon so helpfully points out.

"What do you mean?" the man asks another one of his

Simon raises his hand. "I'm Simon the vampire."

"And I am the almighty High Warlock of Brooklyn, Magnus," Magnus holds his head up high proudly at his title.

I roll my eyes at their introductions. "Anyway, if we're all done here I need to get back to the library to finish some unfinished business. I was very rudely interrupted last time."

Without another word I get up and head back to the library. I notice Aline starting to get up to follow me. I frown and speed up. I reach the library and shut the doors. I wait until I hear Aline curse before walking toward the table I was working at before.

I sit down and sigh. I sink down in my seat a little before finally getting back to work. The next few pages are all about our history and it takes me another five hours to translate.

Just when I thought there's nothing important about this book after all, I find something interesting. It's about sacred weapons and how they were created by the father of all shadow hunters, Raziel. They were used to fight ancient demons that were so enormous it took an entire army of shadow hunters to take one down.

My mind flashes to the seraph blade in that garden I was dragged in to. I felt a lot of power coming off of it. If I were someone else, someone without extra angel blood, it might have been too much for me to handle.

I keep on translating and for a long time to learn more about some freakish demons known as Sapling that are controlled by other demons known as Seeds. Sapling are gigantic demons that haven't been seen in the human world for thousands of years. They disappeared off the face of the Earth after some huge battle between their leader and the human race and shadow hunters.

With this new information I'm starting to think something way bigger than anything anyone has heard of is happening. This book wouldn't have hit me on the head if it wasn't important. The only question is, how does it tie into what's happening know. And what does Clary have to do with it.

I run my hands through hair and place my head down on the table. I close my eyes for a second before feeling a warm feeling envelop my entire body. I sigh with contentment.

All of a sudden I I'm standing in some dark space. It's like I'm floating and I feel completely weightless. I look down at myself and see that I'm nothing more than a mass of golden light.

I look around and see another light not too far away. I frown and narrow my eyes to try to see it better. My eye sight is a lot better than most others, but I can't seem to pick out any distinguishing features. It looks vaguely human, but I can't be sure.

Before I know what I'm doing, I'm walking toward the other figure. I stop a few feet away. Now I see that this person is a girl. She's so small and delicate looking. I can't see any of her features, but she seems so familiar to me.

She seems to let out a sigh and steps forward. After another moment she throws her arms around me. It takes a second for me to understand what's going on, but then I finally understand why this girl is so familiar to me. I recognize the feel of her body. It feels so right against mine.

Holding each other we're able to transfer so much emotion to each other even if it's not enough to fill that void that I'm missing. It's enough to keep me going.

Before long, we pull away from each other. She lifts her arm to touch my cheek and I lean into it. I place my hand on her hips. Then I feel like we're being pulled apart. I gasp as I'm thrown into my body. I fall off the chair and stare at the ceiling.

Well, that was interesting. Maybe I should go share it with the others. I stand and move over toward the library doors. I'm surprised to notice Alec standing there with a look of desperation and a fist raised, ready to knock on the door.

I arch an eyebrow. "Can I help you?"

Alec stands there looking shocked for a second before glaring at me. "Do you know how worried all of us have been? You've been locked up in the library for days. What the hell have you been doing?"

I think about telling him, but then I decide that it's a bit too personal. I decide to inform him on what I found out in the book that gave me a concussion. "Let's get the others and I'll tell you."