"The important thing is not to stop questioning. Curiosity has its own reason for existing." – Albert Einstein
Chapter 16
Following the Council meeting, Jocelyn had returned to the Penhallows, her charges in tow, including Maia Roberts, to take care of Max and Valentina. The teenagers were all up in Aline's room, following their return from the Accords Hall, and the news that had been imparted by the Inquisitor and Consul.
"I can't believe they actually said I'm not allowed to leave Alicante, even just to go home to get some things with you guys," Jace said in disgust.
"They're not letting me leave either," Clary added with a grimace. "It sucks just as much for me."
"Quit grumbling and accept it's not just for your safety, but for everyone else's too," Alec said shortly.
Jonathan, Isabelle and Alec were being sent out as a group to go to the Lightwood Manor and the Fairchild Manor, to get some things for their families before night fell.
Simon and Maia were standing a little off to the side, lumped together by the mere fact that they weren't Shadowhunters, listening to the other occupants of the room discuss the strategy outlined in the Council meeting.
"You get use to it," Simon said softly to her.
"What?" she asked, looking hostilely at him.
"Them ignoring you," Simon replied. "They don't exactly mean to do it, and when they're not wrapped up in their own worlds they can be nice, or at least Clary is."
"Clary is nice," Maia agreed. "I'm not sold on the others, I have trouble believing they care much about either you or me. I'm a Downworlder, you're a mundane. We're both only here because there's no other option. Under normal circumstances we would have been kicked out of here faster than you could say Indiana Jones."
In the separate, louder main conversation Isabelle was saying, "I've been thinking, and somehow, that Hellhound attack, and even the vampires attacking Simon, must somehow be linked to the Seelie Queen's plans. Maybe they were attempts at distracting us, so that when she declared war, we'd already be occupied with other things. I don't know, I just know it can't be coincidence. I mean, what if she's going to use demons as part of her plan to attack us?"
"But we're safe in here from any demon attacks at least, she knows that," Aline pointed out. "But do you think that means the vampires are on her side, if your theory is true?"
"I'm not sure, especially as it's just a hunch," Isabelle answered. "Raphael Santiago, the vampire Council representative, also from the New York clan, mentioned that Lily, who took Simon, had never gone rogue before, so maybe was approached by the Seelie Queen, or Meliorn, or some faerie, and asked to find a way to cause some trouble for us."
"Someone should mention that to Dad, but not us," Alec said, standing. "Jon, Izzy, we need to get going. Do you have the lists from Mom and Jocelyn? Okay, good."
Isabelle, Jonathan and Alec departed, leaving Aline, Jace and Clary, with Maia and Simon still talking to each other off to the side.
"We should get out of your hair," Clary offered to Aline. "I bet you'd like to have your room to yourself for an hour or two."
"That wouldn't be the worst thing," Aline allowed with a smile. "What about Simon and the werewolf girl though?"
"They can't leave the house, but they can leave your room," Jace pointed out.
"Simon, Maia, we're going to leave Aline for a bit," Clary called to the two across the room. "Come on, we'll head downstairs."
Simon and Maia did as directed, not having much choice, essentially being under some sort of house arrest and at the mercy of the Shadowhunters who had temporarily taken them under their wings.
They found Jocelyn downstairs looking rather weary, overseeing Val and Max, who were playing with some building blocks with Val.
"You okay, Mom?" Clary asked, looking at her mother.
"Just tired," Jocelyn allowed with a small smile. "I've also got no idea what to do for dinner for you all."
"You know I'm no help there," Clary said ruefully.
"I could see what's in the kitchen," Maia offered. "I've been on my own for a few months now and I've picked up a few kitchen skills. It's the least I can do, seeing as you've all been so good to me."
"Would you really?" Jocelyn asked gratefully. "That would be wonderful."
"I can help too," Simon offered.
"Jace and I will as well," Clary offered.
"Actually, I was going to head over to the Armory," Jace countered. "There are going to be people over there preparing ahead of tomorrow, and I thought I could help. I can't leave the city, but the Armory is in the city."
"I'll go with you," Clary decided, sensing Jace's intention was to get them away from the others at the house. "Let's face it, I'll be of more use there than here."
"Fine," Jocelyn allowed. "Just be back here before nightfall, okay? Find Luke, and Jia and Robert too, I guess. Let them know there will be food here, of sorts, when they can come home."
"Will we have enough food for all those people?" Maia asked dubiously.
"If you can't find enough in the house we'll get Aline to go out for some more," Jocelyn decided. "We can call her down if we need anything."
Jace and Clary left, leaving Maia and Simon to the kitchen, with Jocelyn as back up.
"I'm so glad you got us out of kitchen duty," Clary said in relief. "I wonder if they realise they'll need to cook for about twenty?"
"Not my problem," Jace said with a roguish chuckle. "At least Verlac won't be there, that's one less person."
"Are we actually going to the Armory?" Clary asked as the walked from the Penhallows towards the main area of Alicante.
"At some point," Jace said casually. "I figured we'd go somewhere quiet, maybe the stables. We were never going to get a chance to talk at the house."
"I figured as much," Clary agreed. "Talk, or 'talk'?"
"Both, I hope," Jace answered with a laugh at her forthrightness. "What did I do when you put that Fearless rune on me? Ever since I saw what Luke did in the Accords Hall I haven't been able to stop thinking about it."
"You probably don't want to know," Clary said uncomfortably, trying to sidestep.
They had passed through Angel Square, the plaza located at the city's centre, one of Alicante's most picturesque and historically important places. The usual end of summer ball was held there each year. The Gard was off to one side, the Accords Hall another, and the Armory in the rear. They headed for the stables, which were right near to the Academy.
"I do want to know, whatever I said won't change things between us," Jace told her sincerely, squeezing the hand that was in his.
"I think it might have already," Clary confessed.
"By the Angel, just tell me what I said!" Jace exclaimed.
"Don't yell at me, you're the idiot who confessed your love for me after knowing me for less than a week!" Clary exclaimed hotly.
"Oh, right," Jace said after a moment. "Well, you're very lovable."
"Yes, and you think I'm also more beautiful than Isabelle," Clary added with a small smile. "You also were a little rude to the Seelie Queen, but I think she quite enjoyed it."
"What exactly did I say to you? About loving you?" Jace asked, as they reached the stables.
Clary paused at the entrance of the stables and said, as if in deep thought.
"You said, 'I tried to stop myself from loving you, because I've seen what love does to people, but I can't help loving you.'" Clary quoted softly.
"Well, that's just a little more than merely confessing my love," Jace said dryly. "I suppose you have a few questions?"
"Oh, just a dozen or so," Clary said wryly. "I've been trying to ignore them because they didn't exactly fit in with everything else that's been going on."
Clary sat down on a bale of hay and Jace leaned against the wall next to her.
"Do you really love me?" she asked quietly.
"I really think I do," Jace said. "I'm not exactly an expert on love, but I think what I feel for you is love. I hadn't exactly planned on telling you that way, in fact, I hadn't thought about telling you at all, I guess it was just something I was feeling."
"Okay," Clary said, processing. "What have you seen that made you think that love is bad? Why didn't you want to love me?"
"I did want to love you, I just always equated love with destruction. My parents loved each other, my father died, my mother died of a broken heart. Robert and Maryse are married, and I think they loved each other, but I'm pretty sure that something happened between them because they aren't as much in love anymore. I have a grandmother who I see once every few years, because I make her think of those she once loved and it brings her too much pain. Love opens you up to such loss. I suppose that's why I've never looked for anything more than what was thrown at me by various girls," Jace explained in sincere detail.
"Oh Jace," Clary said, standing and circling her arms around his waist and laying her head on his chest. "That's such a lonely way to live."
"I know that now," Jace said with a small smile. "Just think, in less than a week you've turned me into this."
"I think you're still you, full of smart ass comments and quick wit," Clary retorted. "But now you understand that it's much better to be with love, even if it can bring you pain. My mom would probably tell you that, if you asked."
"You're not freaked out, about me loving you?" Jace asked hesitantly.
"No," Clary said quietly, looking up into his eyes. "I think sometimes, when the time is right, you can meet someone and you just know. I was scared too, you know, about what I feel for you. I was worried that you'd break my heart, or that I'd lose you and my heart would break, but I'd rather have what we have than pass it up because of fear."
Jace leaned down and kissed Clary tenderly, then more deeply, their emotions running as wild as the electric current between them.
Jace suddenly pulled away with a start.
"Dammit, that's what it is!" Jace exclaimed.
Clary was breathing heavily and looked at him in concern.
"What?" she asked in confusion.
"We can't let the Seelie Queen bring her army to us here," Jace said, eyes wide. "The reason the demon towers are so fool proof is because you need demon blood to take them down. Faeries have demon blood. If she can find a way to get a member of the Fair Folk into the city to get their blood onto the towers the wards will come down, leaving us open to all kinds of attack, especially demons."
"You're right," said Clary faintly. "Taking down the walls would be a huge blow against us."
"I was serious when I made the reference about a Trojan horse," Jace replied. "This is their Trojan horse, and it would be our undoing. Come on, we've got to find Robert and tell him and the Consul, now! We can't fight the faeries from here, we need a new plan."
Jace grabbed Clary's hand and together they raced out of the stables, headed first for the Armory.
Inside they found a number of Clave members, including Luke.
"Where's Robert?" Jace asked, running straight up to him.
"Over at the Gard, with Jia and a few others," Luke said, looking concerned. "What's going on?"
"I think I know what the faeries have planned when they attack us," Jace said shortly. "I need to tell Robert."
Jace ran out of the Armory, and Clary threw Luke an apologetic glance before following him.
Clary followed after Jace at a run, and came to a stop just beside him next to Robert and Jia in the Consul's chambers at the Gard.
"Jace, what is it?" Robert asked impatiently. "We're in the middle of something here."
"You can't use the city as a stronghold, I think it's a trap," Jace said urgently.
Luke walked quickly into the room then, having decided to follow his daughter and Jace.
"What do you mean, Jace?" Jia asked.
Jace proceeded to explain his epiphany, going into the same detail he had with Clary no more than ten minutes earlier.
"I think he's right," Jia said when he was finished.
"How did you reach this conclusion, Jace?" Robert asked seriously.
"The Queen is cunning," Jace told Robert. "I was listening to your strategy, and felt like that was what the Queen would be assuming we'd do, by relying on the fortress that Alicante is. I wasn't sure what alternative there was to fighting here, or how she'd find a way to break down our walls, but now I do, and we can't fight here."
"We can't fight here," Jia said agreed firmly. "But where?"
"Brocelind Plain," Jace suggested. "I have an idea."
Once Jace had finished explaining his new strategy to Jia, Robert and Luke, he and Clary were sent back to the Penhallows so that the adults could begin to enact their new strategy, following Jace's revelation.
"You've basically saved their asses," Clary remarked as they approached the front door.
"Not really, I just gave us a better chance," Jace retorted. "If anyone is going to save us, I think it's going to be you. The Seelie Queen wouldn't be so focused on what you can do if it wasn't important."
"That's a lot of pressure," Clary said lightly, her brow furrowed.
"You won't be alone, and we'll figure it out," Jace said reassuringly, taking her hand as they stepped inside.
"Oh gross, Sebastian is here, and talking to my mom," Clary hissed, letting go of Jace's hand.
"I'm going to head upstairs, and see if I can find Max, he's not down here. You tell your mom what they asked us to tell her, I'm steering clear of Sebastian," Jace said grimly.
Jace walked past Aline who was talking with her Elodie Verlac, Sebastian's aunt, and upstairs to the room Max had been staying in, while Clary crossed the room to speak with her mother, and hopefully ignore Sebastian.
Jace found Max upstairs, a copy of The Codex in his lap, as he looked earnestly at it.
"What are you doing, Max?" Jace asked.
"Trying to learn as much as I can so I can help," Max said seriously. "You were all gone, doing things to help, and I wanted to too."
"Alec and Isabelle should be back soon, and we can spend some time together tonight," Jace promised. "Why don't you come downstairs now and you can hang out with Clary and me?"
"In a minute," Max agreed. "I just want to finish this page."
"Okay," Jace agreed with a chuckle, ruffling the smaller boy's hair, and then leaving the room.
Although Jace had been calm and cheerful with Max it was far from the way he was truly feeling. He was tense and agitated about what was to come, especially following the last hour. He walked downstairs, thinking how he wished Alec, and Isabelle, were back already so that he could talk things through with them.
As entered the living room his eyes went immediately to Clary, and he quickly became irate as he noticed that Sebastian was standing with her, and was just placing his hand flirtatiously on her waist and giving her a salacious grin as she cringed away from him.
Jace quickly crossed the room, past Elodie, Jocelyn and Aline, and went straight up to Sebastian and grabbed his hand and removed it from Clary's waist, saying with a growl, "Take your hand off my girlfriend. I think she's already made it perfectly clear that she has no interest in you."
"Your what?" Sebastian scoffed.
"Your what?" Jocelyn echoed in shock.
Clary, like the rest of the room, also seemed shocked, but pleasantly at least.
"Clarissa?" Jocelyn said questioningly, turning to her daughter.
"I'm dating Jace," Clary affirmed, slipping her hand into his and meeting her mother's gaze unwaveringly.
"Okay," Jocelyn said eventually. "We will talk about it more later."
Clary smiled faintly at her mother and released a sigh.
"Sorry," Jace said quietly, once no one was looking at them, and Sebastian had slunk out of the house, to nobody knew where.
"I'm not," Clary retorted with a grin. "In fact, I feel much better."
Jace chuckled and was about to say something in reply when they heard the front door open and a few moments later Luke, Jonathan and Isabelle entered the room, each had their arms filled with an assortment of things.
Jocelyn walked quickly over to Luke, murmured something quietly to him, which prompted him to give Clary and Jace a long look, before returning to speaking with his wife.
"Jace, get over here and help us with this stuff," Isabelle instructed.
"You too, Clary," Jonathan added.
"And where is our older brother, our fearless leader and general bossy boots?" Jace asked.
"We left him to finish stabling the horses," Isabelle said with a grin. "He may have also been stuck with their grooming and feeding too."
"Nicely done," Jace said, taking the things she handed him.
"What's Mom telling Luke?" Jonathan asked Clary as they climbed the stairs.
"Not much," Clary said casually. "And I can't be sure, but probably something about me and Jace, or possibly something about how Jace figured out what the Seelie Queen's aim probably is if we stay here to fight her."
"What, did she walk in on you two making out?" Isabelle asked over her shoulder, listening in.
"No, he stormed across the room and told Sebastian to take his hand off his girlfriend," Clary said with a pleased grin. "It caused quite a sensation."
"Girlfriend?" Jonathan asked weakly. "I think I liked it better when you were a recluse. Mom and I said make friends, not find a boyfriend!"
"It's it lucky that you don't get to decide what I do, or who I date," Clary said tartly. "Besides, it's just Jace, it's not like I'm dating Magnus Bane or something."
"Magnus wouldn't date you, maybe Alec, he thinks he's pretty," Isabelle said with a grin. "And what's all this about Jace figuring out the Seelie Queen's battle strategy? Anything to do with my Hellhound or vampire theories?"
"Nothing really to do with that, but it is a little linked to demons," Clary replied. "Come on, let's stow this stuff away in Aline's room and you boys can meet us in there and we'll talk it all through while we wait for Alec."
Isabelle and Clary disappeared into Aline's room while Jace and Jonathan went into the room they'd been using.
"Let's get one thing clear," Jonathan began. "I accept that you're dating my sister, and I'm fine with it, but the minute you start treating her the way you usually treat girls you'll have me to answer to. Also, if you could avoid playing tonsil hockey with her in my presence, that would be great."
"I appreciate the warning," Jace said dryly. "I don't have any intention of treating Clary like other girls, because she's nothing like other girls. And you might think I'll have you to answer to, but I'm pretty sure you'll have to get in line, and Clary will probably be at the front of that line."
Jonathan gave a reluctant chuckle and shared a grin with Jace.
Across the other side of the Glass City, as Alicante was known as due to the glass-like appearance of the demon towers, Alec was leaving the stables, having finished with the horses. Night had fallen, and his way was lit by witchlight, the main source of light in Alicante.
As he was walking past the Gard he was surprised to notice Magnus Bane walking out with an air of serene purpose.
"Stop!" Alec called, causing Magnus to come to a halt and look enquiringly at him.
"May I help you?" he asked, giving Alec a long look up and down.
"What were you doing in the Gard? You're not supposed to be in there, at all," Alec said seriously.
Magnus gave an amused laugh and replied, "That's very endearing, trying to limit me to your laws, Alec Lightwood. I go and do as I please, especially when I am doing the bidding of the Nephilim, but just to put your mind at ease, I have permission to use the Portal in the Gard currently, without limit."
"Oh," Alec replied, feeling stupid. "Of course."
"Don't worry, you look very sexy when you're trying to be authoritative," Magnus said lightly. "It's very appealing."
"Do you deliberately try to make me uncomfortable?" Alec asked Magnus suddenly.
"What makes you uncomfortable? The fact that you are sexy? The fact that I find you sexy? Or the fact that you don't know what to do about either of these things?" Magnus asked astutely. "Or perhaps it is because you are uncomfortable with this type of attention because it is usually bestowed upon your parabatai, Jace. It is easy to be overshadowed by a Herondale, but you should know that you have just as much to offer, if not more, than Jace."
Alec stood, gaping a little, and as usual, entirely unsure of how to respond to Magnus.
"Is that a goldfish impression?" Magnus asked a little tiredly. "You are very pretty, but I'm beginning to find you boring already. You need a little fire to make you completely appealing. I'm looking for your father and the Consul. Follow me or don't, but stop looking so stupid."
"I'm not a goldfish!" Alec snapped. "And it's all well and good for you to talk about these things openly, but you have to understand that we don't do that here, it's not acceptable."
"But it's acceptable for you to look longingly at your parabatai, even when his magnetic attraction to the Morgenstern girl is palpable?" Magnus retorted pointedly.
"I do not look longingly at him!" Alec hissed, his eyes narrowed.
"You do, and that's fine. You'll get over him, you're young, it's life. You should do something about your frustration, its going to overflow and boil over and you'll be in a mess. You should let me help you with that," Magnus said, his meaning clear.
"I don't think now is exactly the time or the place," Alec said quickly. "You should find my father, and I need to find my friends."
"A good point," Magnus allowed, and watched Alec as he walked off towards the Penhallows.
Alec looked over his shoulder briefly to see if Magnus was following him, or if he had gone in another direction. He found himself a little flustered to find Magnus just watching him, and a hot flush flooded his cheeks when he saw Magnus wink at him.
"You can run from your troubles, Alec, but you can't hide from them. You have to face them eventually," Magnus said quietly under his breath as Alec ceased to look over his shoulder and kept walking away from him.
AN: Thanks for reading :) Who enjoyed the Malec scene? And what did you think of Clace's discussion of Jace's time under the affect of Fearless? :) Or my personal favourite moment, "Take your hand off my girlfriend." I really enjoyed writing this chapter!
Please review, it's really important to me to hear what you guys think :)
I appreciate each and every review, follow and favourite so much! I can't believe this has been going for one month now, I'm so happy with how it's going :) Hope you all are too!