Clary's POV

Jace was quiet as he changed, and in no time at all he was wearing the same fitted pants, polo shirt and tall boots like me, yet he looked like a model from a catalog. Thomas road slightly out in front with a picnic basket attached to his saddle, while Jace and I road side by side. We just walked along quietly. It really was a beautiful trail. It wasn't long before the estate could no longer be seen behind us.

"I imagine you're both having an interesting day." Thomas shouted over his shoulder.

"That doesn't even come close to describing my day." I muttered.

"Clary, did you have any questions for me?" I swallowed hard. I knew Michael said I could talk to Thomas, but did Thomas know that Jace was supposed to be a million miles away? I thought he did, but there was a lot missing from what I remembered. I did have a whole period of shock that everything was kind of in pieces, and that was besides the period where I was just completely drugged. I didn't know what I could or couldn't say. I was thinking Thomas should probably talk to Michael first and see what he wanted me to do about Jace being here, but I had no idea how I'd be able to convey that suggestion without tipping Jace off that something was going on. I was going out of my mind.

"I'm fine." I finally spat out after the silence stretched on for an awkward length of time. Thomas glanced over his shoulder at me with one eyebrow raised.

"Really? You don't look fine. You look like you're about to be sick." I rolled my eyes.

"I'm fine…Really…I'm good…This looks like a nice place to stop and eat." I rattled off nervously as I brought the horse to a stop. Jace stopped too. Thomas looked over his shoulder again.

"We're going to the manor Clary. I thought you realized that." He said as he turned his horse back to face us.

"I'm tired. It's been a long day. It's hot. We should head back." I rambled.

"Is something bothering you Clary?" Thomas asked. He sounded so genuine and heartfelt. Jace looked at me with his eyebrows furrowed.

"I just don't feel like going to the manor right now."

"Then why did you come to the stables?"

"I was looking for Jace." He nodded, but didn't look like he was buying it.

"Clary I understand you need a bit more persuasion to get on board with our agenda, so I'm tasked with swaying you. I've decided you're not likely to assist us unless I can convince Jace. I think it's more important that you're here than that he's not to tell you the truth. Plus, I think it's probably a good idea that he's here for moral support. You seem stronger, more confident when he's around; you're going to need a lot of conviction if you're going to pull this off. We'll just say I used my discretion bringing Jace into this matter. I'll convey it was a paramount decision that I made-" There was something soothing about the way Thomas spoke, he always sounded so kind no matter what he was saying. Though, I immediately became anxious all over again when Jace's agitated voice cut him off.

"Can I just interrupt here for a minute?..." Jace said abruptly.

"...I just want to throw out there, that I've had a pretty fucked up day so far, so I'm not in a rush to get myself or Clary tangled any more into this bullshit. You want to convince me to do…anything…to help you…whatever…DO IT TOMORROW!" Jace sounded somewhere between stressed and pissed. Thomas nodded.

"Of course." He said simply. He turned his horse back around and started walking again. The rest of the ride was quiet. Jace and I exchanged a few sideways glances, but even we didn't talk.

The manor house was much smaller than the main residence, but not tiny either. It was a one story house, more resembling a stone cottage with vines twisting and crawling up the sides. The grounds were kept up, the lawn cut, the gardens tended to. There was even a small stable and paddock. Jace seemed a bit hesitant as we approached and I realized I never told him where we were going or asked if he even wanted to see the house he grew up in. Not to mention if Jace wasn't thrilled about talking to Thomas, I couldn't even imagine how he'd react about seeing Michael. I wondered if he knew exactly where we were, or just suspected it seemed familiar. I had only seen part of the basement of the manor house this morning, but I was so stressed at the time, the memory was hazy and distorted. The only reason I even knew I was at the manor house earlier was because I was told where I was, but we had entered the property from a convoluted entrance somewhere in the woods that was well off the estate; I'd never be able to find the right roads or trails again by myself.

I watched as Jace helped Thomas with the horses. The horses grazed and flicked their tails in the small paddock. Thomas was filling up their water and Jace was throwing in some hay. There wasn't so much as a breeze today and I really wished it was cooler. The sun reflected off the pond and sent shimmers of light across the water. It was very peaceful here. Jace started to walk towards me, but I couldn't help noticing Thomas was walking away from us. He walked over to a large bush with purple flowers. When he turned around he was holding a handful of flowers.

"It's so peaceful." I said softly as Jace approached, he just nodded with his eyes trained on the house behind me. Thomas walked up not far behind Jace and handed me the flowers.

"For you Clary." He said with a smile. He had handed me only a single stem, but on it had a cluster of several small four petal purple flowers all bunched together like a cone. There had to be close to a hundred little flowers on this one stem. They were so pretty and they smelled so fragrant. It was one of the most amazing smelling flowers I had ever smelled before. I just breathed in the scent.

"They're Lilacs Miss. They grow all around the manor house in the spring. It's late in the season now, but there are still a few flowers left." I looked around and noticed there were several bushes similar to the one he had taken the flowers from, but few flowers. I took another whiff.

"They smell amazing." Thomas smiled.

"I thought you'd like them." He said simply. He glanced up at Jace before he walked passed us towards the manor house. I smelled the flowers again as I turned to follow. It was odd, I felt like I had smelled these flowers before, though I didn't remember ever seeing flowers like this in the city. They smelled so familiar. Jace had interlaced his hand with mine, but I could feel the tension in his body. Before Thomas opened the door I felt the need to warn Jace where we were. I stopped abruptly a couple feet from the door and Jace stopped reflexively. He shot me a questioning look.

"Thomas wait!..." I blurted out as he fiddled with the key in the lock. He stopped and looked over his shoulder. I looked up at Jace with anxious eyes. I wondered if he'd be mad, or more correctly, not if he'd be mad, but how mad was he going to be. I suddenly felt like there were a hundred secrets I was keeping from him.

"...Jace, do you know where we are?" I asked hesitantly. I heard Thomas chuckle and I automatically shot him a glare. I returned my anxious eyes to Jace; he furrowed his eyebrows at me.

"What do you mean?" He asked with a guarded expression. I took a deep breath.

"Jace, this is the Wayland manor house. You lived here as a boy with your father, with Michael Wayland." Jace furrowed his eyebrows further.

"Of course I know that. I lived here for ten years of my life. The question is, how do you know that?" Before I could open my mouth, Thomas spoke.

"Because I told her about the manor house before. Now let's go inside, I'm baking out here." Thomas said as he pushed the door open and walked inside. I gave Jace an apologetic look, but he just shook his head slightly and followed Thomas.

Though the outside of the house was well kept, the inside was obviously unoccupied. The whole house was filled with furniture, but there were white sheets draped over everything. Jace periodically pulled a sheet off here or there to reveal a wall hanging or bookcase filled with books and knickknacks, but I just followed him quietly. As he walked down the hall he glanced in a few rooms with open doors, but didn't bother going in. At the end of the hall was a closed door, the only door that was closed in the whole house actually. Jace stopped about two feet from the door and turned around. I had been walking just behind him and Thomas a little further behind me. We all nearly ran into each other when Jace stopped abruptly.

"Alight, why did you take me here?" Jace asked suddenly. His face looked strained and he didn't look happy. His eyes were set on Thomas.

"You're not happy to be home Sir?" Jace furrowed his eyebrows slightly and crossed his arms over his chest.

"I can't say this place brings to mind all that many fond memories. You must have brought me here for a reason, and I doubt it was for a tour. Why did you bring me here?" Thomas glanced from me to Jace with a calculating expression before he spoke.

"Don't you wish to see your room?" Thomas jutted his chin towards Jace and Jace glanced over his shoulder at the closed door behind him. I had to assume that was his room.

"I remember what my room looked like." Jace snapped. He looked at Thomas expectantly.

"Why don't you show Clary your room? I very much doubt she remembers what it looks like." Thomas said with a smirk. Jace took a deep breath and shook his head slightly.

"Unless you want to leave us alone in there for a while, I don't really see the point." Thomas bowed his head slightly.

"Show her your room. I'll be outside with the horses if you need me…It's safe to talk here. There are no listening devices or whatnot." He turned around and left. Jace dropped his arms.

"He left…It's like he wants us to have sex." I rolled my eyes.

"I highly doubt that was his objective, but hey maybe he thinks it will improve your disposition…" Jace shot me an annoyed look

"…I actually think he wants you to show me your room." Jace shrugged as he turned around.

"I don't see why it matters." He muttered as he turned the doorknob and pushed the door open. Jace's room was not covered in white sheets as the other rooms had been. His room was setup as though someone still lived in it. It had been noticeably cleaned and dusted. The room didn't look like a child's room. It had bare white walls, white sheets and a plain white blanket on a twin size bed. There was a tall pine stained bookcase filled with neatly arranged books, a pine stained bureau without a single item on it, and a matching desk that was just as bare. The desk was pushed up to the only window in the room; the plain white curtains were pulled back and the window was pushed open. There was a small white rug on the center of the dark stained hardwood floor. There wasn't a toy to be seen in the room. If Jace moved when he was ten, he must have taken all his toys when he left. Though the room didn't appear to look like that of a child's, I could see this being Jace's room. Jace walked over and sat down on the bed. He smoothed his hand across the bedspread slowly and then he looked up at me and patted the bed with his hand. I shut the door before I walked over to the bed and sat down next to him. He intertwined his hand with mine. He dropped his back to the bed and laid there for a moment staring at the ceiling. I copied his gesture and laid down next to him. He held my hand in both of his and brought it to his chest.

"Are you going to tell me what happened today, what's going on?" I took a deep breath.

"Yes…just not right now." I would tell him, eventually. I just didn't know exactly what I could tell him right now…or maybe I just wasn't sure where to start. He sighed.

"Ok…So this is my room." I nodded.

"Your room is so plain."

"Ha…I don't know what you mean." He said sarcastically. I shook my head as I sat up enough so I was leaning back against my elbows, my hand still intertwined with Jace's.

"You didn't have any toys?" I questioned.

"Of course I had toys. What kid doesn't have toys?" I looked around the room.

"Did you take them with you when you went to live with the Lightwoods?" Jace shook his head.

"No. I took very little." I nodded.

"So where are all these toys of yours?" Jace sat up so he was leaning back on his elbows, our intertwined hands between us, and he jutted his chin towards the closet.

"Closet…Or they use to be." He said simply. I reluctantly untangled my hand from Jace's and stood up. I left the flowers on the bed and walked over to the closet. I slide the door open. Inside the closet were small clothes hanging, sweaters folded overhead, and neatly lined up small shoes on the ground. Actually ten year old Jace probably wasn't much smaller than me by the look of his clothes, and he had larger feet than I do. The items in the closet had a look to them that the rest of the room didn't; they looked dusty, like they might have actually been there for the last ten years. I shut the closet and opened the other side. There were a number of cubbies lined from the floor to the ceiling. Several of the boxes were filled with folded clothes, but the bottom one had a medium sized Tupperware bin. I pulled the bin out and opened it. Not that there were many toys in the bin, but there were a few. Even the toys looked organized. The only thing that really caught my eye was a wooden box with a glass lid holding a set of small toy soldiers. I sat down on the floor and took the box out. I opened the lid and looked down at the twelve partitioned box, eleven of the twelve little cubbies held a toy solder. The box looked like some sort of makeshift display case. I was thinking it was most likely a fancy gift set of tea originally, but it was just the right size to hold the little set of soldiers. I reached in and carefully picked one up and smiled. I glanced over my shoulder towards Jace, he was sitting on the edge of the bed watching me, but he looked like he was deep in thought.

"Hey, I have one of these." I said lightly with a little smile as I looked back down at the soldier and carefully picked another one up in my other hand. Not that the toy soldiers looked breakable or expensive, the paint was faded in places and worn off completely in others, and it was a pretty sloppy paint job to begin with, but seeing Jace kept the toys in this little display case, I imagine they meant a great deal to him. I never heard the bed make a sound, but Jace's hand was gently on my back as he sat down besides me. He took one of the soldiers from my hand.

"You mean it looks similar?" I shook my head as I looked at the solider.

"No it looks just like these. Same exact colors, same shoddy paint job. I think it's exactly the same."

"You had one of these?" I smiled as a glanced at him sideways.

"I actually still have it…I guess we have similar taste in toys." He furrowed his eyebrows at me.

"Where did you get it from?" I shrugged as I looked back at the toy in my hand.

"I don't remember. My mom told me she was pretty sure I got it from Nate…" My voice broke involuntarily as I said his name. I hesitated as the sudden memory of Nate dying clouded my thoughts. I felt my eyes slightly burning.

"You okay?" Jace asked as he started to rub my back. I glanced up at him. He was looking down at me with a concerned look on his face. I tried to shake the thought of Nate as I took a deep breath and returned my gaze to the little toy soldier.

"Yeah…I…I was just thinking…for some reason I always thought I got it from somebody else though, but I don't know who. I just couldn't get rid of it. There was something about it, I can't explain it. I'm overly sentimental I guess, though I'm not even sure what I'm being sentimental about if I can't remember where I got it from." I chuckled slightly. Jace reached out and pushed a stray curl behind my ear. I glanced up at him sideways and he was watching me with a very thoughtful look on his face.

"What?" Jace smiled slightly and shook his head.

"I'm just looking at the love of my life." I rolled my eyes.

"I noticed, why?" He brought his lips to mine and kissed me gently. He pulled back and smiled as he gazed into my eyes deeply.

"You're so beautiful it's hard not to." I smiled and rolled my eyes again. Jace smirked as he took the box from my lap and replaced the toy he was holding into a cubby.

"You still have the soldier? You've had it since you were young?" I nodded.

"Yeah. He's at my apartment. I put him on my drawing desk. He gives me inspiration." Jace was still smirking.

"I can't wait to see him when we get back." I chuckled. Jace kissed my hair and put the box of soldiers on the floor. He put the top back on the bin and put it back in the cubby. He grabbed a small black bag out of the closet before sliding the door closed. He reached for the box of soldiers on the ground and I quickly put the one I had been holding away. My very compulsive fiancé opened the box and moved the solider from the slot I had put it in to the other empty spot. Apparently each soldier had its own specific cubby. He put the box of soldiers in the bag. I watched him with furrowed eyebrows and he looked down at me and smirked.

"I thought I'd take them. Maybe we'll have a little one some day that shares our common interest in toy soldiers…" I couldn't help but smile. He offered me his hand and helped me up off the floor. He interlaced our fingers and held the bag in the other hand. He looked around carefully as if memorizing each detail.

"…Do you think it's odd this room is the only one not covered in sheets?" I shrugged.

"I think it's deliberate, but not necessarily odd."

"That bookcase wasn't there before." Jace said suddenly. He dropped my hand, walked over and put the bag on the bed, and then went and stood in front of the bookcase. I took a step closer to him.

"The books were all kept in my father's office. I didn't have more than a couple at a time in my room…" Jace pulled out a number of books.

"…Why put a bookcase in here now? It doesn't make sense…" Jace continued pulling books off the bookcase until all the books lay on the ground. He stared at the empty book case.

"…I thought maybe…" Jace trailed off. He grabbed onto the side of the bookcase and attempted to move it, but it wouldn't budge. He knocked on the back of an empty shelf.

"…Does it sound hollow to you?" I shrugged.

"I have no idea." He continued to try and move the bookcase, but it didn't move an inch.

"It must be bolted to the wall." I said softly. Jace shook his head.

"No. I don't think that's it." He stared at the bookcase for a while.

"Maybe with Thomas…" Jace muttered as he pulled at the bookcase again. I shook my head and walked towards the door.

"Hey, where are you going?" Jace shouted as I opened the door. I looked over my shoulder at him.

"I thought you wanted Thomas." Jace hesitated for a moment.

"I do. Thank you." He said softly. He took off his shirt and tossed it on the bed, leaving him with just a white tank top undershirt, which was completely fitted and looked very attractive on him. He reached for the side of the bookcase as he braced his back against the wall and really tried to push it, but it didn't move.

It didn't take long for me to fetch Thomas and bring him back. Jace's face was flush and he had sweat trickling down from his temples. He must have really tried hard to move that bookcase. Thomas smirked as he walked into the bedroom.

"You called." He said with a chuckle.

"Can you give me a hand moving this?" Jace said between heavy breaths. Thomas shook his head.

"No." Jace furrowed his eyebrows at Thomas.

"Why not?" Thomas chuckled again.

"For starters, you can't just manually move that bookcase." Jace took a deep breath and leaned his back up against the wall.

"It's a secret door isn't it? Like the one in the library back at the main residence." Thomas smiled.

"Yes, but you can't even open that door from this room." Jace took another deep breath.

"Of course not. That would be too simple. Do I need to knock on it with a super secret knock or something and little fairies throw fairy dust at it and it magically opens?" Thomas laughed and crossed his arms over his chest.

"Something like that, but first you have to be indoctrinated as a member of the secret fairy club. If I recall correctly you didn't want to hear my pitch until tomorrow." Thomas had a very amused look on his face.

"Ok. I'm ready to listen to what you have to say." Jace said as he leaned the back of his head against the wall and closed his eyes. Thomas walked into the bedroom further.

"I suggest you sit. Both of you." Thomas gestured to the bed. I walked over and sat down. Jace continued to lean up against the wall.

"I'm good here." Jace mumbled.

"Suit yourself…" Thomas said evenly.

"…As I started to say before, we need Clary to make up her mind before we move forward with our plans. Unfortunately, she's a bit stubborn…" Jace chuckled slightly. I shot him a glare, but he never opened his eyes.

"…I'm taking the fact that you're here at the estate, and the fact you came down to the stables as a good indicator you're leaning towards helping. Is there anything else I can say or do to seal the deal?"

"I thought I was going to get some answers…See what my father was really like…I was expecting some hard evidence." Thomas chuckled.

"I had rather thought this morning was a prime example." I shook my head.

"I don't even know what the hell happened this morning, but that wasn't my father. He was trying to protect me."

"With your father you never can tell, I wouldn't put anything past him. You never know how much time he's already invested in his plan or what his end objective is. He's a very devious man and patient when he wants to be…I'm betting that whatever happened this morning, happened because somebody on the inside, somebody high on the inside, wanted it to. Agramon has worked for your father for over twenty years; he's too loyal of an employee for somebody on the outside to get to him. Either he truly believed what he was doing was under orders, or he was under orders. Your father could have definitely orchestrated an elaborate situation, he might even have taken out a few choice employees that were in bad standing, but I find it really hard to believe he would have risked any harm coming to you in the process. If this was your father's doing, I think he would have had those woods locked down completely and he would have been in total control of every single thing that happened out there. Something went terribly wrong today. Normally when people have a bad day at work it doesn't end with six dead coworkers and a missing VIP." I took an exasperated breath.

"Ok so my father surrounds himself with corrupt people, I get that, but I'm still not sure I can blame my father for what happened, especially the part about me missing. From my perspective it's just as likely you guys arranged everything to try to convince me to help. I want concrete proof, and not just proof that my father is a deplorable person, but proof that there isn't another way."

"Clary if we had the kind of proof you're looking for then there would be another way, but your father is far too intelligent and cunning. He doesn't leave evidence behind and that's why he'll never see the inside of a jail cell." I took another exasperated breath and rubbed my hands over my face.

"Wait. I think I missed the punch line at some point…" Jace rambled out with his hand raised as he cut in. His eyes were still closed.

"…What are you attempting to do here?" Thomas glanced at me expectantly.

"They want to kill my father." I said quietly.

"What?" Jace snapped as he hastily detached himself from the wall and came to sit by me on the bed. He put his arm around me and glared up at Thomas.

"Ok, back up. I thought you were going to get him arrested in some dramatic bust or something. Nobody is killing anybody. I just want to get the hell out of this place with Clary. Go home and forget the day I met Valentine." Thomas covered his mouth as he half laughed half coughed.

"Well good luck with that." Jace rubbed my back gently as he glared at Thomas. I was looking down at my hands in thought as I spoke.

"I think Thomas is right…my father's not going to let us go anywhere…or at least he's not going to let me go anywhere…maybe before, but not now…" I looked up at Thomas.

"…What's the point of coming to ask my help? You must have had other options that didn't involve me. You couldn't have even planned I'd ever come here. I understand why you want Jace a million miles away, but that could have been accomplished a different way. I obviously dropped the ball on that one anyway. Jace is here. Why decide to approach me now? I really don't see how you could need my help that badly, and my father's known about me for two months. If you thought I was in danger because of my father, you had two months to intervene. I can't believe all of a sudden you care what happens to me?" He nodded slightly as he crossed his arms over his chest.

"You're right…Our original plans didn't involve you. When you unexpectedly showed up in the area Will spoke with you at length…"

"Will?" Jace questioned softly, but Thomas just kept talking.

"…but you didn't make any indication you were involved with the Morgenstern family. After your first week at the lake, we concluded you wouldn't even need to be taken into consideration, you'd surly keep your distance. When you first appeared at your father's doorstep though, you took us completely by surprise. We didn't have a lot of time to determine if you were an ally or an enemy. If we approached you and you were loyal to your father, it would have been disastrous. It wasn't a simple decision, but we had to come to grips with the real possibility we might lose you trying to defeat your father.-"

"Whoa. Whoa. Whoa. Whoa. Whoa. What does that mean?" Jace cut in with a concerned look.

"She likely wouldn't have survived." Thomas said softly.

"She could have died? Is that what you're saying? You were willing to let her die?" Jace snapped as he tightened his arm around me protectively. Thomas looked at Jace gently.

"Yes. It wasn't my call, but if Clary decided she wanted to reclaim her birthright, if she wanted to be a Morgenstern, we would have looked the other way." I took a deep breath.

"He's not just taking my father out is he? He's taking everybody out, Jonathan, Starkweather, all those goons, everybody connected to the Morgenstern family?" Thomas nodded slowly.

"Yes. It's really the only way. You always end up with some…collateral damages, but in the long run, if the Morgensterns are demolished, if there is no opening for them to rise up again, it would have been worth it."

"Ok, you keep saying he and we, I want to talk to this other asshole that thinks it's alright if Clary dies. Where the hell does he get off?" Jace sounded pissed. I shook my head slowly as I looked back down at my hands in thought.

"No. I think I understand…I just…I don't have a vendetta against my father. I understand he's hurt a lot of people, but he didn't do anything to me, not directly. He might be a little manipulative and controlling, but he's never forced me do anything. I think in his own way he's really just trying to protect me. I don't have any reason to want him dead. What if Jace and I just leave? I'll tell my father I want to go and if he really doesn't let me, we'll come back here. I know there is another way off the property from this manor. We'll go somewhere, anywhere. We'll go into hiding like my mother and Luke did if we have to. You can do what you were doing before we got here. He hurt…you guys. He took everything away from you. I get that. I won't stop you or tell my father. We'll go, and you can just let things play out the way they would have." I looked up at Thomas with a slight pleading look and he looked back at me like he was deep in thought.

"A little manipulative and controlling…And how do you understand? I still don't have any idea what's going on. I feel like I'm in some sort of fucked up alternate universe or something." Jace sputtered. Thomas inclined his head slightly.

"She's seen a lot more pieces of the puzzle than you have…You asked before why we're approaching you now? If you haven't figured it out yet, look to your left…" I took a deep breath. Jace.

"…You're stuck between a rock and a hard place and you're not the only one…You think you might be able to leave now, but I'm quite certain you can't…The mere fact you'd suggest we sneak you off the property indicates to me that you have no idea what your father is capable of. We could physically sneak you and Jace off the property, but we could never get you far enough away fast enough, and think of the ripple effect. Your family and friends are surely being watched at this very moment, so you wouldn't be able to make any contact with any of them. You wouldn't be able to tell them what happened to you, and you wouldn't be able to tell them to run and hide. Your father would likely kidnap them all in an attempt to get you to return, and should you not, he'd merely kill them, though he'd quite possibly kill them anyway after you returned…Let me back up though, once you're physically off the property there is the matter of actually going somewhere safe, now that gets hard. You have no fake documents, and they would take quite some time to procure, so you can't use credit cards, ATM cards, or IDs. That's going to keep you from being able to use air or rail travel, and you can't drive a vehicle you already own either. Unless you walk around with large sums of cash money, there is a good chance your father would find you before you ever crossed the city lines. Even if we drove you to the middle of nowhere and dropped you off, think of how long you could live with the cash in your pocket. Even if we gave you some money, without identification you can't get very far. You might be thinking that there is money or expensive antiques you could take and pawn back at the estate, but I'm sure while you're in the estate you're being very very closely watched, and should you attempt to pocket anything your father would be informed immediately…Which reminds me, don't assume any part of that building is safe to talk in, and that includes the bedroom…So where was I, we've given you money and dropped you off somewhere, well your father would know it was an inside job. I was the last person seen with you, so he'd assume I likely helped and he'd kill me and my brother, my family, and anybody else that I associated with, anybody that he felt might have been on any level involved, of course he'd torture us for information first. I could try to save myself, but I wouldn't. You commented that we could just do what we were going to anyway, but your father would be on such high alert if something like that happened right under his nose, that it would be purely suicidal to attempt to do anything at all at that point…Even if you have no concern for the impact that you escaping would have on your friends and family and those of us that might help you, your father would find you eventually, I'm absolutely certain he would, and he'd most likely kill Jace when he did, but not before he dragged you both back to the estate first." I took an exasperated breath. I was frustrated and scared and I could feel my eyes burning. I could hear Michael's words replaying in my head, you're in danger, more danger than you could even fathom, and you've put all your friends in danger as well. Jace had his arm very tightly around me and I could feel the tension in his body.

"You did this! You put me in this position! I could have left before! We could have left!" I spat coldly, though part of me felt badly for yelling at Thomas; he was trying to help me. Thomas shook his head and looked somewhat remorseful.

"I can tell you're flustered and my intent was not to upset you, but you need to understand the very serious position you're in right now…You think you could have left before, but I highly doubt that. I don't think he ever had any intention of letting you choose whether or not you wanted to be part of his life, he just wanted to make it look like it was your choice…I wouldn't be surprised if your father has been plotting how to get you back for quiet some time now. I very much doubt he found out you were his daughter as recently as he makes it seem. You came to the estate to see him, but I would bet you were playing right into his hand. Think of why you were there, all the chain of events that sent you knocking on his front door. Your mother and Luke died in a car accident, maybe it was merely an accident, but maybe it wasn't. Your father's attacks are clever and normally inconspicuous, and when he wishes them to be, they are lethal. Car accidents are definitely one of his things. He's also known to make it look like a runner was mauled by a wild animal or a freak boating accident….but, I'm getting sidetracked here…So your father shows up at your mother's funeral. What are the odds of that? Almost three years ago you became friends with the Lightwoods, and sometime not long thereafter they brought you up to their cottage by the Lake, a cottage they come to multiple times a year. You became so close to the Lightwood children, they started bringing you with them on all their trips here. I'm not suggesting the Lightwoods were involved on any level, but this is Morgenstern territory. Two years ago, for no apparent reason, your father decided to suddenly relocate back to his childhood home, just 30 minutes from that very cottage you like to stay at, leaving you well within his reach whenever you're here…" There were so many times I wanted to interrupt, though the questions flew through my head so quickly I didn't even know where to begin. The way Thomas was talking he sounded somewhere between that he was venting and that he was just thinking out loud.

"…The Morgensterns make it a point to know pretty much everything that happens in this area, and from the moment you arrived at the Lake, I'm sure your father has been keeping close tabs on you. Mr. Fey, Mr. Pangborn, and Mr. Blackwell all work for your father. It's highly unlikely that their children were plotting to set you up without your father catching wind. Of course, your friend Nate was also an employee of your father's, though you didn't know that. Nate was a well placed person to be reporting every little detail of your life, and he was at the Fey's bonfire as well. Jonathan himself even made a brief appearance, though he very rarely socializes with any of the staff or their children. You questioned before if Jonathan wasn't tied into the whole setup with Jace, how do you know it wasn't really your father from the beginning? He could have planed the whole thing, or maybe he just knew about it and didn't interfere because he felt it would work to his advantage. When it comes to your father, we'll never know if he was involved, or his level of involvement. …" Jace and I were both quiet as Thomas spoke. I knew he was only speculating, but I really started questioning everything that had happened since I arrived at the Lake. Not to mention, the suggestion that my father could have been involved with my mother and Luke's car accident was more than I could think about right now. Maybe my father had been much more involved in my life than I ever imagined.

"…Even what happened at the auto repair shop is really baffling. Your father may not have told his guards who you were, but high level guards, like Agramon, would have likely known what you looked like and known you were to be watched and left unharmed. It really has us wondering if your father wasn't already suspicious that somebody else was keeping on eye on you. He might have wanted to see if he could shake us out of the shadows. If that was his plan, it worked…Then there was the fight at the club. How convenient all the same players are at the club that very night? Next thing you know your father is there with a team of his guards just at the right time. Again, it could have been a coincidence that everything worked out that way, but it's suspicious to say the least…A few days later its tea at the estate, fittings for the party, and the whole east wing is being renovated, but you weren't won over yet, and you were back at the cottage last night…This morning you're under attack and it isn't safe for you anywhere but at the estate, how convenient for your father. You were definitely played, but if you ask me, I think it was your father that pulled the strings." It was quiet for a long moment. Thomas finally seemed to be done and I think Jace and I were both just trying to absorb what he had said. Jace's voice eventually broke the silence.

"How about if he doesn't? Just…If he doesn't let her leave, what then?" He sounded so drained. Thomas shrugged.

"That's really up to you both. We won't force you to help. You could still choose to live here and forget about us, forget what you've been told, and live the Morgenstern lifestyle. If you stay here willingly I imagine your father would have no reason to bother your friends or family and after some time, when he feels he can trust you, he would likely let you come and go at your leisure. If you should decide to help us at a later date, you can always come to me; you know where to find me." I took a deep breath. Jace ran his hand through his hair.

"So, we can either spend our lives being strong-armed and coerced into doing everything the way daddy dearest wants or we can try to kill him and everybody else, great fucking choices." Jace muttered.

"He'll do it anyway won't he? Whatever he's planning on doing, he'll still do?" Thomas shook his head.

"No, he'd alter his plans. He won't take the risk." I felt discouraged and exhausted.

"I'm sorry I yelled before…Thank you for trying to protect me…protect us." Thomas nodded.

"I'm sure you're overwhelmed right now. I know it's a lot to process." Thomas walked towards the door. I looked up.

"Thomas?" He turned to me, his hand on the doorknob.

"Yes Miss."

"How can a person do…well…how can my father and Mi…my uncle do what they've done…all those people they've killed…all those terrible things they've done…and live with themselves?" Thomas shook his head slightly.

"I can't tell you that…I know it weighs on your uncle's conscience at times, he doesn't talk about it, but I can tell. It might be hard for you to believe, but he does know the difference between right and wrong. He may not have always made the best decisions in life, but he often knew what they were. He was never one to give an order, but he did do what he was told. He reached a breaking point though…" He took a deep breath and shook his head.

"…Your father on the other hand, well he is ruthless. There are no depths he won't stoop to in an attempt to get what he wants. I truly don't believe he sees any line between right and wrong. He is an absolutely unethical and immoral human being…"

"…You might not be able to forgive your uncle for what he's done or what he plans to do, but in his own way, this is how he hopes to make amends. This is how he hopes to right all the wrongs. Don't think he spent so long hiding in the shadows because he was afraid or because he was a coward, he wasn't. If he just wanted to look out for himself, there were much easier paths than the one he took; he took the hardest path of all. Everything he did, everything he sacrificed, everything he plans to do, is in the hopes to insure there will be a future for what's left of his family."

"If you fail…If you try and you fail…Will my father…Will he…Will he kill…" I swallowed hard. I couldn't finish the sentence. Thomas glanced down at the ground and back up at me.

"Yes Miss. If we fail, if we parish in our attempts, whether or not you stand by your father's side faithfully, I would say he will kill Jace. There is a level of expertise that will be like a signature. Your father will surly suspect who did this to him. Should your father survive, he will seek revenge…Though, I'm fairly certain he'll protect you Clary. You are his daughter, a Morgenstern by blood. I expect he would protect you fiercely if nothing else to preserve the lineage." I took a deep breath.

"I need to go into this with a clear conscience, or as clear of a conscience as I can. I know you've speculated a lot, but I want to know the truth about my father. I want to trust Michael, I do, so if he can tell me something that is a solid fact, something he knows for sure, I'll help…I think I owe him that much." I said the last part softly as I turned my apologetic gaze to Jace. I knew he'd fight me on this; he wouldn't want to risk me getting hurt.

"Clary!" Jace started in a scolding tone.

"I think you are pretty even right now." Thomas said quietly, but I was barely listening to him, because as Jace's expression changed I realized my slip. I felt like all the blood had just rushed out of my face. I knew Michael didn't want me to tell Jace he was involved, and even though we were here, didn't mean I was the one to tell Jace about Michael. I was so terrible lying under pressure, especially point blank, especially to Jace. Not to mention, even if I was the one to tell Jace about Michael, this isn't the way I would have done it.

"What did you just say?" Jace asked in a firm tone. I closed my eyes as I cringed. He sounded mad.

"Clary?" Jace questioned cautiously as he put a hand on either side of my face. I kept me eyes closed.

"Clary!" Jace snapped. My eyes opened slowly and I looked at him timidly. I found myself diverting my gaze to Thomas.

"Don't look at Thomas. Look at me. What did you just say?" He sounded very upset.

"Go on Clary. There is no going back now. The workshop can't be opened from this door, this is just an exit. I'll go around and give you two a moment…I'm sure I'll have some explaining to do for why Jace is here anyhow." Thomas muttered the last part as he left the room, leaving the door open behind him.

"Clary!" Jace snapped again. I took a deep breath.

"I don't remember verbatim." I could hear the question in my own voice as I lied. It tasted bitter. I hated lying, especially to Jace. I saw his jaw clench as he dropped his hands from my face.

"I know you're lying…I want to know what you're keeping from me right now. You said Michael. Michael who?" His face looked guarded, so guarded. His tone sounded almost calm, but he was quite clearly tense.

"Jace." I heard the whininess in my voice.

"Just say it Clary." Jace snapped as he stood up crossing his arms over his chest.

"Your father…Michael Wayland…I wanted to tell you-" He cut me off.

"Stop it Clary! My father is dead. You don't listen to some random guy when he tells you to help him kill your father. I don't care how good of a story teller he is. I don't care if he did tell you my father was alive." He was talking animatedly with his hands and walking around the room, but not looking directly at me.

"He didn't tell me Jace. I saw Michael. I talked to him." He stopped and faced me, crossing his arms over his chest again.

"You saw a man that says he's my dead father and didn't feel like mentioning that to me?" He snapped sarcastically.

"I didn't know who he was until today. You were with me the first time I saw him at the auto shop, remember that guy? Then he was the guy at the club with the matches. Remember the matches that I found in my purse? Then I saw him when I went for a run yesterday and again this morning. He said not to tell you I talked to him and I was just trying to focus on coming here, and getting you as far away as possible, which I failed miserably at doing-" He cut off my rambling pleas.

"You saw this man four times, four times and you didn't say ANYTHING!..." I flinched slightly at the sharpness of his voice. He went back to talking with his hands and pacing around the room as he continued.

"…He told you he was my father and that you shouldn't tell me and you felt it was more important to keep his secret than to tell me…your fiancé…your future HUSBAND!...You lied to me, not just lied to me, but lied to me about…about…this…about killing people…because a stranger told you to!..." He was mad, very mad, and also hurt. I was sure he was angry at me for deceiving him, for lying to him, but I was certain the mere thought of his father being alive for ten years and pretending he was dead had to be emotionally overwhelming.

"…and you believe my father is alive, that he's some mystery man that wants your help killing a whole bunch of people, killing your father, your brother? You believe your father has really done enough wrong in his life to deserve this, to deserve his own daughter setting him up so he can be killed? You want this on your conscience? You believe this is the right thing to do?" He stopped pacing around the room and looked at me expectantly as he crossed his arms over his chest. I took an exasperated breath. I didn't know how to convince him when I wasn't sure I was convinced I should help.

"I'm sure you can still leave if you want-" I started softly, but he cut me off as he threw his fisted hands down by his sides. He looked livid.

"How many times do I have to tell you to STOP TELLING ME TO FUCKING LEAVE?" He sounded so angry, just as mad as he had been the day he yelled at me after I stayed out all night with Sebastian. I couldn't control the reaction to flinch, or the almost immediate tears that started to trickle down my cheeks as my lips turned down and I took in a staggered sniffle. Not that I was afraid of Jace at all, or that what he was saying was really that upsetting, but I couldn't take the fact he was so mad at me. I was upset and frustrated and I just couldn't hold back the tears. He took a deep breath and ran both his hands through his hair.

"Clary I'm sorry…" He walked over and sat on the edge of the bed next to me. I wiped at the tears on my cheeks, but they seemed to maintain a slow trickle.

"…I'm sorry for yelling at you like that. I should never have yelled at you like that…" He sounded strained. He cupped my face in both of his hands and gently brushed his thumbs across my cheeks. He looked into my eyes, and his eyes looked troubled.

"…Please don't cry honey, it breaks my heart that I made you cry. I'm sorry…" His voice sounded gentler this time. Jace wrapped his arms around me and pulled me tightly to him. I brought my hands to my face to wipe away at the last of the tears. I took a deep breath as I laid my head against his chest. He rested his cheek on top of my head.

"Clary, I tried to be supportive when you were figuring out if you wanted your father in your life, even though it was clear that would put you in a certain amount of danger. Doing this, helping these people, whether or not your father is the person they say he is; this will certainly put you in a lot of danger. You're talking about helping somebody try to kill your father. If he's really a mob boss, or whatever they say he is, what do you think he's going to do if he finds out you're helping these people?"

"Right now I think I'm more concerned with what he might do if I don't help…If my father is really the man my mother feared all those years, then I'm going to help if I can." He made an irritated noise and tightened his hold on me.

"Clary, you're going to get hurt…or-" I cut him off.

"I don't care. If I can help-" He cut me off as he quickly moved his hands to my shoulders and moved me back abruptly. His distressed eyes locked with mine.

"You don't care? How can you not care? You know how completely out of my mind I was all morning hoping and praying against all odds that you were alright. If anything happens to you I'll be completely devastated. Were you trying to get me to leave, go back to the city, so I wouldn't be here if things went wrong? I'd find out when somebody called me to tell me you were dead!" His voice shook and his eyes shinned. He sounded more concerned than anything else at this point.

"Have a little faith Jace. Don't you trust me? Don't you trust your father?" He dropped his hands from my shoulders as he threw his head back.

"HA!…You have the worst judgment in men-" I furrowed my eyebrows at him as I cut him off.

"You think I have the worst judgment in men? I thought I did a pretty good job picking out my fiancé." He rolled his eyes.

"Clary, I'm serious. You don't even know if this guy is my father and yet you trust him implicitly. You lied to me for some guy with a good story-" I cut him off.

"You're right. The guy could be anybody. I really can't be sure he is your father. I trust him though; I do, because he saved my life. He took two bullets for me…" Jace gasped slightly and a look of alarm flashed across his face.

"…so I trust him. I do." Jace made an annoyed sound.

"Your mind is made up isn't it? You talk about wanting proof, but you already know you plan on helping don't you? Your father definitely has a few screws loose, don't get me wrong; I'm counting down the minutes until we leave this place and I never want to come back here. I never want you to come back here and I never want to hear the name Valentine again, but I also don't want to get mixed up in some large scale assassination plot."

"You think he'll let us leave? You heard what Thomas said. Seriously? You were the one that said we had two options, we can either spend our lives being strong armed and do everything my father's way or we can try to kill him and everybody else. Two choices." Jace took an exasperated breath.

"I was just rambling on…I don't know…Seriously your father can be scary as hell. I don't like your father, but do I want to help kill him? I'm really not ready to make that leap."

"Than go home.-" He looked furious as he cut me off.

"If you tell me to go home one more time!-" I cut him off.

"Seriously Jace, I'm not trying to pick a fight with you, but you shouldn't be here. I was supposed to make you go home. Michael wants you away from here. You're the only person he thinks is in danger right now. I bet my father will let you leave. If I feel like I'm in over my head I'll-" Jace cut me off.

"Clary…How can you not see you're already in way over your head?…You know how hard it is to wrap my head around the possibility my father is alive?…" It just dawned on me that I had the photo, and I started to fish the picture out of my riding boot.

"…Not just that he's alive, but that he use to work for your father? He use to kill people for your father, and now he's plotting to actually kill your father and a whole bunch of people that work for your father, and he wants you to help him do it? Go home? You're telling me to just go home and leave you here?…" I held the picture out to him and he took an exasperated breath as he ripped it out of my hand without even looking at it. He looked really annoyed.

"…I need some air." He stalked out of the room. I sat on the edge of the bed, my elbows on my knees and my face in my hands, for what felt like several minutes.

"Where's Jonathan?" I looked to the sound of the voice and was surprised to see the bookcase was gone completely. In its place was an opening in the wall and standing in the opening was Michael. He was wearing a pair of blue jeans with a hole in one of the knees and a simple white t-shirt he wore untucked. He stood with a hand on either side of the doorframe and just appeared to be surveying the books on the floor. A little in front of Michael, and slightly off to the side, stood Thomas.

"You mean Jace? Nobody calls him Jonathan unless he's being yelled at. He went to get some air." Michael looked at Thomas and they seemed to be having a quick silent exchange.

"On it." Thomas said simply as he walked towards the bedroom door and down the hall.

"I'm sorry he's here. I tried to get him to leave."

"Don't worry about it. I would have been really surprised if you managed to make him go, but I had to try. You two seem to be attached at the hip. I had Will bring you the ring and the picture when I found out you were both at the estate. I figured if you couldn't convince Jace to leave, maybe he could convince you to give me a chance. I thought the ring and the picture were inconspicuous enough not to raise suspicion with your father if they were scene, but significant enough to convince Jace I was here and I was who I said I was. Though I can't imagine it's easy for him to really believe I'm alive." Michael shook his head slightly and looked down at the ground.

"I was beginning to think I was a complete screw-up, but I'm just a predictable screw-up…" Michael chuckled slightly.

"…I didn't even remember where the picture or ring came from. Will must have given them to me when I was all drugged up. For what it's worth, Jace has them both now…" Michael nodded. I registered the white bandage around his arm and realized he didn't even act like all that craziness happened this morning.

"…You're up? You're walking? You're alright?" I said hesitantly. He shrugged.

"Takes more than a couple bullets to put me out of commission for long…Though I'm pretty sure I'm alive because of you, so thanks, but you should have run when I told you to…" He rubbed one of his hands over his face, stepped around the mound of books, and walked over to the bed. He picked up the flowers that were on the bed and handed them to me before he sat down next to me; I took the flowers reflexively.

"…You don't have to do this kid. You can just go back to the estate, see if your father will let you leave and forget about us." I took a deep breath.

"I really don't think my father is going to let us leave at this point, at least I don't think he's going to let me leave, and god knows Jace won't leave without me…I can help though right? If I stay, I'll be helping?" He nodded slowly.

"Yeah. You'll be helping." I took a deep breath.

"I'll stay." He nodded slowly as he stood up.

"I can't stay out in the open long. Come on. I'll show you my workshop, we'll talk some more." He took a big step over the mound of books. I stood and hesitated.

"How about Jace?"

"Give him some time. He cares a lot about you; I doubt he'll go far or leave your side for long. Thomas will know how to find us." I followed Michael through the wall and down a dark dank flight of stone steps. At the bottom of the steps was a keypad. Michael pressed a combination of buttons and the light that was emanating down the staircase was gone. The door had been closed. I felt a shiver go through my body. I really wanted Jace to be with me right now. I shouldn't have gone without him. I should have waited for him. I was alone in a creepy basement with some guy I really didn't know. Jace wasn't going to be very happy about this. This was probably a bad idea, a very bad idea.

I looked into the poorly lit workshop and watched Michael walk around the room. As Michael walked he kept flipping switches and pulling cords and the room filled with light. The room was full with walls and walls of guns; all different sizes and shapes. It looked more like an armory than a workshop. The guns were all locked behind a cage like barrier, so I could see them all, but it wasn't like I could reach out and grab any of them. I followed Michael as he maneuvered through a few rooms of guns and into a room with a number of other weapons, grenades, knives, swords, crossbows, throwing stars, a number of medieval looking weapons; again I could see all the weapons, but I couldn't actually touch them. Then there were boxes and boxes of ammunition. I followed Michael to a room that actually looked a little like a workshop. I remembered this room. I'd been here this morning, though we got here such a different way, and everything was so dark last time. The table Michael once lay on now had blueprint looking plans unrolled on it. There were a number of seats around the large square metal table. Michael sat down on one and gestured for me to sit as well. I sat down on a simple folding chair adjacent to Michael and had to keep myself from flashing back to this morning. I put the flowers I was still holding on the table and glanced around the room, taking in the room more than I had previously. Along the walls there were shelves of scraps of metal, wires, and a number of other electrical looking items. Everything looked organized to an extent, but not nearly as organized as the other rooms had been. One wall seemed to be covered in newspaper clippings, though I couldn't really see them well where I was sitting.

"Like the workshop?" Michael asked with a smirk.

"It's…different." I said hesitantly. A soft alarm started sounding in the room and two lights on the ceiling were flashing red. After just a few blinks the lights returned to a soft yellow. Michael looked over at me.

"Well this should be interesting." He said quietly and took a deep breath. He rubbed his hands over his face and then cracked all his knuckles. He stood up as he cracked his neck and took a couple steps so he was standing right next to me. For some reason I felt like he was staying close to me for moral support, but maybe I was being ridiculous. Thomas walked into the room alone.

"Where's Jace?" I shrieked as I jumped up.

"He said to tell you he was going to go back to the main residence and that he's contemplating leaving." He said evenly. I furrowed my eyebrows. That didn't sound like Jace. Michael slammed down both of his fists on the table hard.

"SON OF A BITCH!..." He shouted.

"…That's the worst thing he could have done. Get her out of here. Don't even bring her back to the main residence. It's too risky. If he tells Valentine anything he's signing all of our death warrants, including hers. Say she had to be brought to the emergency room. Say she fell off a horse. Say she tripped and fell into the lake. I don't care. Just get her somewhere-" I cut him off.

"NO!..." I yelled as I smacked my palms down hard on the table; I was too distressed to register how much that actually hurt.

"…I'm not leaving without Jace! We leave together no matter what! We're in this together! I won't leave him here…Thomas told me what my father would do if we tried to run…I'm not doing that to the Lightwoods…to your families…If you want to leave fine…but I'm going back for Jace." I felt by eyes burning and I heard the waver in my voice. I was trying to keep myself together, but I wasn't sure how long that was going to last.

"Clary, I'll get Jace out of here if I can find a way. You don't understand…I raised that boy for the first ten years of his life and he never cared for anything like he cares about you. I've seen the way he looks at you darling, if I ever let anything happen to you, he'd never forgive me; and I'd never forgive myself. We just need to get you somewhere safe." His voice was oddly gentle. He took a step towards me and rested his hand on mine. I yanked my hand away and backed up several steps towards the doorway Thomas had just walked through.

"I shouldn't have come down here. I want to go back. I want to go back to the main residence. Take me back now!" I felt like my world was crashing in. I really didn't know these men at all, yet I went down in some eerie basement with them. I'm always so trusting, so naïve and over and over I get myself in trouble, maybe this was the worst trouble I'd gotten myself into yet. Where was Jace? I couldn't believe he'd really leave me here. Did they do something to him? Maybe this man wasn't even Michael, maybe he was just another one of my father's men and this was all some sort of test and I failed.

"You can't. I'm sorry. You don't know what will happen to you-" I cut him off.

"I don't care! It can't be worse than whatever they'll do to Jace! Who are you? Are you even Michael Wayland? Do you really work for my father? Was this some elaborate test?"

"Clary, calm down-"

"Don't tell me to CALM DOWN! If Jace goes back there and they…and they…and they hurt him…It will be because of me! It will be because of you! If you never came back, if you never tried to get me to help, he wouldn't be in danger right now! YOU DID THIS!"

"Clary, we don't have time-" I continued to take slow steps backwards away from Michael, though he took slow steps towards me.

"YOU TAKE ME BACK NOW! YOU OWE ME! I SAVED YOUR LIFE! TAKE ME BACK TO JACE RIGHT NOW!" I was screaming at this point and my voice wavered badly. His eyes looked very concerned, but he stopped pursuing me. Though, I still continued to instinctively back out of the room.

"Clary, I can't take you back-"

"YOU HAVE TO!"

"I can't. Please don't cry. This wasn't-" I hadn't even registered the tears trickling down my cheeks. His voice sounded so gentle, but he stopped talking abruptly and looked with wide eyes at something behind me. He looked somewhere between surprised and anxious. My first thoughts went to my father, maybe my father was here, he found us. I wasn't sure if that made me slightly relieved or more upset. I barely spun around before I felt arms around me and I was being held securely by Jace. I buried my face into Jace's chest for a long moment while I tightly held two handfuls of his shirt.

"You're here." I whispered. I felt the gentle pressure of Jace's lips against my head. Jace pulled back slightly and put a finger under my chin. He lifted my face and looked me in the eye. His eyes looked soft and affectionate, but the muscles in his body and throat clearly indicated he was very tense.

"I would never leave you here alone honey." Jace brought his lips to mine and kissed me gently. He wrapped both his arms around me again and I just buried my face in his chest. I tried to even out my breathing.

"She comes first. As long as we're all on the same page with that, I'll do whatever Clary wants…" I looked up at Jace and saw he was looking back down at me with a heavy look.

"…but, no more lies and no more secrets…" I nodded slowly. Jace brought his lips to mine for another brief kiss. When he lifted his head again he focused his gaze behind me, he looked somewhere between shaken and guarded. I imagined he was looking at Michael.

"…That goes for everybody here." His voice sounded harsh. It was eerily quiet for a moment before Thomas broke the silence.

"Alright…Clary let's go see what weapons you're most comfortable with while we let Michael and Jace have a few minutes alone." Jace looked down at me and nodded slightly.

"Don't go far. Stay right with Thomas." I nodded. He kissed my forehead before he dropped his arms. Thomas gestured for me to lead the way and I walked out of the room and back to the room with the firearms. I glanced behind me only briefly, but Jace and Michael looked like they were both frozen, neither making a move towards the other. Thomas's sudden hand on my back urged me forward.

I weaved my way back to the room of firearms. Thomas helped me pick out four handguns to practice firing. At least I had a little experience with a gun, but my body trembled slightly at the memory of shooting Agramon. I had to shake the thought from my mind. Michael had a small shooting range set-up in another room and as we headed that way we passed long knives, fencing lances, and swords. I would probably cut my arm off if I tried to use a sword.

After about twenty minutes of shooting practice Jace and Michael came into the room. I had caught them out of my peripheral vision, though I was still wearing earmuffs and concentrating down range. It had taken me several shots to feel comfortable shooting, but my initial apprehension was long gone. I placed the revolver I had been firing down on the table in front of me and took off my earmuffs and goggles while Thomas pushed the button to bring my target forward. The target was simple with black and white alternating rings. The majority of my shots hit the rings; with just a few hitting just outside the rings, but none of them hit the dead center of the bull's-eye. Jace came up behind me and looked at the target with me.

"You can shoot." I shrugged. This wasn't my first target, this was probably more like my fifth or sixth, but the last couple looked the same as this one.

"She sure can." Thomas said with a wink.

"Though she shouldn't have any need to shoot anything…" Michael glanced at me with a curious expression and I slightly cringed. I knew he probably wanted to know what happened today just as much as Will had wanted to know. I wasn't ready to tell everybody that I killed Agramon, even if it was to save Michael and myself. I still felt extremely conflicted about the whole thing.

"…You're predominately going to be a distraction." Michael said as he handed a throwing knife to Thomas. Michael put an arm out in a gesture for me to back up and I took a step back, right into Jace's waiting arms. Jace wrapped both his arms around my waist and held me tightly to him. Thomas flung the knife down the range. It seemed to go well down the range, much farther than I had placed my target. Michael pushed the button to recall the target. This target was different than might, it was made out of a solid board, and the knife was placed dead center.

"Showoff." I muttered. Thomas smirked.

"Leave the killing to Thomas and me." Michael said evenly. I swallowed hard. This was a whole new world for me.

"Ok, why don't we all go in the other room and sit down? Thomas said you guys haven't eaten anything, well all day possibly. You can sit and eat and I'll tell you a few stories about your father."

"Michael really? While they're eating?" Thomas said as he shook his head.

"What?" Michael asked indignantly.

"Nothing. I'm not cleaning up down here again today." Thomas sputtered. Michael rolled his eyes.

"Oh come on. Nobody asked you to clean up earlier." Thomas crossed his arms.

"Well it didn't look like you were going to get around to it any time soon."

"I was unconscious." Thomas rolled his eyes.

"Whose fault was that?" Michael shook his head.

"I can never catch a break…Come on." Michael turned back around in the direction we had come in sputtering incoherently under his breath. We all went back in the room that had plans rolled out on the table and Michael rolled the plans up to make room. Thomas stepped away briefly, but came back with a very generously packed picnic basket. I was famished and I didn't care about everything going on. I randomly grabbed a sandwich and a bag of Doritos and started eating, careful not to put anything on the table. I could still just about see Michael lying there with bloody shorts on and IVs coming out of his arm. Jace looked much more reluctant to dig in and he just grabbed an apple.

"So Clary is there a specific story you want to hear, or you want me to just pick a few at random?"

"Hold up…" My head snapped behind me to the sound of Will's voice. I heard him before I saw him.

"…if you're telling stories, wait for me. I want to know what happened this morning." He winked at me as he sauntered into the room.

"Don't you have somewhere else you could be?" Thomas asked with an annoyed look on his face. This was the first time I had ever seen Thomas look or sound irritated. Will shrugged as he took a seat next to Michael and grabbed a bag of chips out of the basket.

"Nope…I cleared my schedule. I missed you…" Will said with a smirk. Thomas just shook his head. Will shoved a handful of chips in his mouth.

"…I never thought Clary would wake up with all that crap they had her doped up on." Will garbled with his mouth full.

"What was that? I couldn't understand a word you said with all that food in your mouth." Thomas said sarcastically. Will opened his mouth to show Thomas a mouthful of partially chewed up potato chips and Thomas just looked disgusted.

"Alright, alright…play nice or I'll separate you." I couldn't tell if Michael was being sarcastic or somewhat sincere. Will chuckled, but Thomas scoffed.

"Will?" Jace asked incredulously.

"To be honest, it took you longer than I thought it would to recognize me, but to be fair I did change my shirt since I came by earlier." Will said sarcastically.

"Why are you here?" Jace asked as he glanced from me to Will to Thomas. I couldn't help noticing he seemed to be avoiding looking directly at Michael.

"Do you mean the cosmically important question, why are we here-" Will started sarcastically, but Thomas cut him off.

"Just ignore him, I do." Thomas said in an annoyed voice. Will chuckled as he shoved another handful of chips into his mouth. Michael took a deep breath.

"Clary?" Michael asked expectantly. I shrugged.

"I think Jace's question is valid. Why is Will here? Is that a story we can hear?" Will shrugged.

"I'll tell you mine if you tell me yours." Will said with a wink. I rolled my eyes. It was going to come out sooner or later anyway.

"Fine, but you first." I snapped.

"Where to begin?..." Will put down the bag of chips and licked his fingers off. He crossed his arms as he leaned forward resting his arms onto the table.

"…Ok, so the Herondale and the Morgenstern family has never really got along. I like to think of it like the good guys and the bad guys. Although my grandmother is the Commissioner of the NYPD, throughout the generations the family has learned that sometimes things need to be handled outside the law…I'll leave the history lesson to Michael and move ahead to more recent events. So it's pretty hard to overlook generations of bad blood, but I tried. I stayed away from the Morgenstern family, they stayed away from me. Then a year ago my sister Ella and a friend of hers vanished. According to Jonathan the three of them had gone out sailing on his yacht for the day and the girls somehow fell overboard and drowned. The lake was searched, but they never found the bodies. Ella never even mentioned Jonathan to me, but knowing how the families were, I don't know if she would have. That's when I started looking for answers, started listening to family legends, and Michael just seemed to find me." Will shrugged. He had talked about his two sisters, said one of them lived in the area, but never told me one of them was dead. Of course I didn't feel like right now was the best time to pry. I was curious about one thing though.

"When you saw me at Pandemonium, when you came up to me to talk to me, did you know who I was?" Michael and Will seemed to exchange a quick look.

"Not at first. I was really just there to hang out with Jem, but I'd seen pictures Michael has of Jace when he was a kid, and Jace really does look like my uncle. I reached out to Michael and he suggested I try to approach one of the girls, make it look like I was flirting. He thought that was the best way to find out Jace's name without raising suspicion. Of course the fact Jace is really a Herondale made my story more legitimate. It was just a good guess I picked you. Maia was clearly paired with Jordan, and I had already spotted Magnus slow dancing with Alec. I had thought Izzy might be paired with Simon, but that wasn't clear…Anyway, I just hoped that put you with Jace." Will shrugged. I realized Jace was being quiet, too quiet, and besides a couple bits of an apple he hadn't eaten anything, while I was completely full. Jace was sitting right next to me, our shoulders almost touching. He had his hands in his lap, and I reached over and grabbed one of his hands, intertwining my fingers with his. He glanced at me briefly and seemed to exhale as he held my hand with both of his.

"Ok Clary, your turn." I rolled my eyes.

"How about Jem? Thomas mentioned before that car accidents are something my father does. Was Jem's car accident because of my father?" Will shrugged.

"I wouldn't necessarily say your father, but I'd say it wasn't an accident. Just like most of the things the Morgensterns do, they don't exactly take credit for their actions. It was a little sloppy and irrational for Valentine. I don't see the motive there. I'm more likely to think it was Jonathan. He's always trying to screw with people. He was trying to hit on Jessie a couple nights before, and so Jem and I stood up to him. I think that pissed him off. He was probably just having a little payback-" Jace cut Will off.

"A little payback? Isn't that a bit extreme? You think Jonathan tried to kill Jem just because you guys stood up to him?" Will shook his head.

"No. Even Jonathan isn't that sloppy. If he wanted Jem dead, he would be. Jem's supposed to make a full recovery. I wouldn't put it passed Jonathan to do something like that to make a point though-" Michael cut in.

"Like the point I'm sure he was trying to make to Will with the car-" Thomas interrupted.

"I still say that was Valentine trying to draw you out." Will just rolled his eyes.

"You're such a conspiracy theorist-" Michael cut Will off.

"We're not having this discussion again. They're both possibilities...By the way, did neither of you notice that repair shop was supposed to be closed on Sundays?" Michael gave us both reproachful looks. Jace scoffed.

"I told you." He muttered. I glared at him sideways.

"How was I supposed to know?" I hissed under my breath. Jace shook his head.

"You're drawn to danger like nobody I've ever met before." Jace muttered. I rolled my eyes.

"Then go-" Jace's hands were tight on mine and he gave me a stern look that silenced me.

"By the way I have a new phone and a new number." Will said nonchalantly.

"What happened to your phone?" I blurted out. It was Michael that answered.

"Ok. Maybe I should explain that a little…When Will got his phone back he asked me to take a look at it. Jonathan was at the party, even if it was briefly, and he did see the two of you leave together. We think the Fey girls already had you on Jonathan's radar the night of the bonfire. After taking Will's cell apart I confirmed it had been tampered with. A small device was installed that under the right conditions would act as a trigger for an explosive…" I'm sure my face was a mask of confusion.

"…For example, Jem's car could be altered to be a bomb and when Will is in the vehicle and receives a phone call the act of receiving a call would set off the trigger of the bomb and cause the car to malfunction or completely explode; depending on the size of the bomb. Needless to say we never picked up Jem's car and we never will. Seeing I raised suspicion at the auto shop, that car is probably long gone anyway. It's a lot easier to install something like that than it is to take it out; they risk it blowing up when they remove it. We didn't know your friend worked for Valentine before, but now that we do it definitely supports that Valentine, or more likely Jonathan, was planning to do exactly the type of thing I just described."

"Do I even want to ask why you know so much about this?" I questioned as I darted my eyes between Jace and Michael. Michael took a deep breath. Jace's face looked completely guarded. I knew this was part of why Michael didn't want him here; Michael didn't want Jace to know this side of him.

"You asked me before what I did…Well you're going to find out soon enough, so I might as well just tell you…Explosives. I'm an explosives expert." I nodded my head as I swallowed hard.

"Like police? Bomb squad type of stuff? You deactivated bombs?" He shook his head.

"No. Clary I made bombs. I could deactivate a bomb, but that's not what I specialized in." I nodded slowly.

"Nice." Jace muttered under his breath as he pinched the bridge of his nose and shook his head. Will gave me a hard look.

"I think it's time to piece together what happened this morning." I rolled my eyes.

"You know what? Wouldn't it make more sense right now for Michael to just fill in the blanks you left out?" Michael half shrugged.

"Sure." Michael said nonchalantly.

"But you're not off the hook." Will muttered.

"So we'll go back to the bad blood with the Herondale family and the Morgenstern family, which goes back for generations…I don't know what caused the initial feeling of resentment, or what sustained it for so long, but by the time my generation came along, the hostility between the families was very serious and very blatant…It was completely unacceptable when Jonathan's biological father…" Michael shifted his gaze to Jace.

"…I mean Jace's biological father, Stephen, started dating Celine, the sister of a man that was very close to the Morgenstern family…" Michael's gaze shifted to me.

"…Lucian Graymark, or Luke, had two sisters, Amatis and Celine. Amatis and I were married just about two years before Stephen and Celine were married, and the sisters were very close, so Stephen and I grew pretty close as well…" I couldn't help but notice that Michael still wore his wedding band and he twirled it around his finger as he spoke.

"…I didn't have any issues with the Morgenstern family or the Graymark family. Luke was known to be extremely close to the Morgenstern family, specifically to Valentine and Jocelyn. I myself am Valentine's cousin. I saw Luke all the time even before I started dating Amatis. When Stephen decided he wanted to marry Celine, his mother and father, Imogen and Marcus, forbid it; they said they would disown him and cut all ties. They barely spoke to him while he courted Celine, never once letting him bring her home, and it was very obvious they never thought he could be very serious about somebody they disapproved of so severely. Well Herondales tend to fall hopelessly in love, and there is nothing like the power of young love, so he married Celine, against his parents' wishes, with the knowledge his family would turn their backs on him, and they did…" Michael turned his gaze to Jace again.

"…Now when you were a little boy and would ask, I always just told you that the Herondale family was extremely religious, and that Celine wasn't the same faith; it was a lot easier than trying to explain the truth to a child…" Jace didn't respond, but his hands were tight on mine. Michael rubbed his hands over his face and took a deep breath. He seemed to shift his eyes back and forth between Jace and me as he continued hesitantly, though his eyes rested on me more than they did Jace.

"…Things were surprisingly calm between the two families for a short time after Stephen and Celine's wedding. Not that the Morgensterns and Herondales were friendly by any stretch of the imagination, but the outward hostility seemed to fade away some. When Stephen, Amatis, and Jonathan died in the car accident it was the catalyst that really reignited the war between the Morgenstern family and the Herondale family. The Morgenstern family was adamant the Herondale family caused the accident out of revenge towards Stephen, while the Herondale family denied any involvement. Stephen was a very good driver, his SUV had four-wheel drive, and the houses weren't that far apart. The report was that he was hit by an out-of-control driver that witnesses reported seeing flee the scene after the accident. Stephen was terribly out of favor with the Herondale family and at the time I could see the Morgensterns' perspective that the Herondale family had motivation behind causing the crash. The fact my family was in that car was thought to likely be just a terrible coincidence. It was my driving force though and it was why I really threw myself into my work. I became so hell bent on revenge and helping the Morgenstern family destroy their enemies…You have to remember I was raised by these people, they didn't bat an eyelash about anything going on. It was just expected that Valentine and I would carry on the business as his father had and his grandfather before him. Everything they did, everything I did, was just the norm; it was all I had ever known…" He took a deep breath.

"…When Celine died during childbirth I just couldn't believe it. How could so many bad things happen in such a short amount of time? The next day I was bringing a baby home from the hospital and I became that much more determined to figure out what was going on. I just couldn't believe everything was just chance. I started to want answers about the crash. I wanted proof if it was intentional, but I didn't even know where to start looking…After Celine died, I grew very close to Luke. He was more of a brother to me than Valentine ever was and probably the only truly good person I continued to associate with. Jocelyn and Valentine lived in Chicago, but I still lived at this manor house, and I really didn't know what was going on between the two of them, except what Luke told me. Luke seemed to travel so much around that time, I really wasn't sure if he called New York home or Chicago. I knew he was crazy for Jocelyn, not that he ever admitted it to me, but I could tell by the way he never wanted to be far away from her. He visited here all the time too; he wanted to watch his nephew grow-up…" Michael gave Jace a tender look, but Jace's guarded expression never changed.

"…When Jonathan was kidnapped though, Luke told me Jocelyn was scared, so scared and she wanted to leave. The Morgensterns are great about keeping up appearances, so the divorce was done by the books, but Jocelyn was petrified if she tried to flee, that Valentine would find her and kill her. I was speculative at this point that would be exactly what would happen. When Luke told me he was leaving with Jocelyn and asked if I'd help them, I didn't hesitate to do what I could. I had learned enough in a short amount of time, that I could easily arranged for false identities and false documents. One night Luke and Jocelyn disappeared seemingly into thin air…You have to understand that neither of them lived with your father at this point, and even though your father kept an eye on your mother, he wasn't worried at all that she would up and leave, so he didn't watch her nearly as closely as he watches you. Neither one of them had family, nor close friends. Valentine had nobody he could use as leverage to try to lure Luke or your mother back to the area…"

"…I tried to keep contact at first, but it was very hard. Luke seemed to be my constant voice of reason. He always planted seeds of doubt about what I was doing, not that he knew exactly, but I'm sure his speculations were in the right ballpark; Jocelyn voiced her suspicions about Valentine and Luke knew I worked for the Morgensterns. As the years slowly went by I started to really question my priorities and I started to regret the choices I was making. I'm not even sure when exactly I realized what I was doing was wrong, but I know I didn't stop right away when I did. I was so focused on figuring out what happened the night of the accident and I had convinced myself that I'd get out just as soon as I found out what happened, and I was so sure I was close to finding the answer. It's a very dangerous line to walk. The further into the web of deception and chaos I got, the more I questioned if they would ever let me leave. After everything I did that led me further and further down that dark dark never ending tunnel of hate and vengeance, I wondered if I would feel vindicated at all for my actions if I eventually found out what really happened that night..."

"…Of course, Luke was always great about subtly reminding me I needed to think about how what I was doing was affecting somebody else…" Michael gave Jace a meaningful look, but Jace's face remained an unreadable mask, though his hand noticeably tightened on mine. Michael took a deep breath and returned his gaze to me.

"…As I said before it was hard to maintain contact. I couldn't call Luke, because the Morgensterns kept very close watch over their phone records, so I use to sneak down to the city two or three times a year. Luke and Jocelyn never even knew when I was going to show up, because we couldn't get on the phone and call each other…"

"…So the last time I brought Jace to the city for the weekend to see you…" I imagine Jace and I were both looking at Michael with the same surprised look on our face, seeing neither of us had any idea we had known the other one when we were kids. Michael smirked slightly, but almost looked sad.

"…You don't remember at all do you?..." I just shook my head and glanced at Jace sideways. Jace remained an unreadable mask.

"…God, you had to be about five, Jace about six. I had done this at least a dozen times since you were born. I'd take a half day on Friday drive to the city, and drive back Sunday…Well the visit went fine and we returned to the manor house late Sunday night…Could you imagine the shocked look on my face the next morning when I went to wake Jace up for breakfast and I noticed the little red head curled up next to him in his bed…" Jace and I couldn't help but chuckle and exchange a quick smile. It was nice to see that guarded expression crack.

"…You laugh, but I nearly had a heart attack. Luckily it was a cool spring day, but not too cold, because neither of you admitted what happened and I have to assume Clary road the whole way in the trunk of the car and then Jace had to have come out at some point after I went to bed and got you out. I questioned you both separately as to what happened, how Clary ended up in your bed, and you both stuck to the same alibi, Divine Intervention…" Jace and I couldn't help but chuckle again and exchange another smile. Jace brought my hand to his lips and kissed my knuckles gently. It was good to see him looking a little less stressed, though I still wouldn't say he looked relaxed. I also couldn't help noticing that Michael seemed a little more comfortable and more like he was talking to both of us instead of just me.

"…I had no idea what to do. Taking Jace to the city a few times a year was normal, but anything out of the norm the Morgensterns didn't like. There was no way I could drive all the way back to the city and then back to the manor house without anybody seeing me. It was a four hour drive back to Jocelyn and Luke's, and it's not like I could just call to say, don't worry, I've got Clary. I was supposed to go to work, and I left Jace home all the time under the care of his governess, but I couldn't just leave Clary too. I couldn't risk somebody seeing her. I did the only thing I could think of. I called the bookstore Luke owned, it was really the only emergency number I had for them anyway. Luckily Luke answered the phone. I prayed he recognized my voice. I just said my son was reading a book, Little Red Riding Hood, when we were at the library over the weekend and I hadn't realized he took it home with him when we left the bookstore…" Jace and Will chuckled, but I just rolled my eyes and shook my head.

"…Luke was very professional about the whole thing, and discrete. I got the feeling he knew exactly what I was saying, but he never said anything that might sound suspicious…After that, I had to call out of work. I said Jace wasn't feeling well, and hoped I could milk that excuse for a few days…So far so good…" Michael and Thomas exchanged a look.

"…I had known Thomas for about seven years. He had started working at the stables after school when he was just fourteen, and he was twenty-one by this point. He worked out at the main stables, but came to tend to my horses daily. Now Thomas seemed like a fairly trustworthy guy, but I would never have trusted him with something like this…I had specifically told you both to stay in the house, but not a minute later I looked out the window and the two of you are racing towards the stables hand and hand as Thomas was leading Wayfarer out into the paddock. I rushed outside, but it was too late, Thomas had already seen you, and Thomas knew what Jocelyn looked like. He had seen Jocelyn in person on a number of occasions, let alone there were portraits of her and Valentine kept up all over the main estate for years after the divorce. Even at five you looked so much like her; fair skin, a light dusting of freckles, auburn red ringlets and green eyes. I couldn't think of a lie fast enough to get out of this mess and Thomas never even asked; at least he didn't ask until years later, though I had a feeling it was because he already knew…Well I was able to call out two days before Thomas finally said it would look rather odd for me to call out of work again. He offered to stay at the house for the day with you children. I was reluctant at first, but I knew he had the entire previous day and part of the second to give me away and he hadn't. The rest of the week he stayed at the manor during the day and watched the two of you and come Saturday morning I drove back to the city. I would have left Friday evening, but I just couldn't. You two acted as inseparable then as you do now. Jace never acted as happy as when the two of you were together, and I knew when we dropped Clary off it would have to be the last time we made the trip. You were both still young, but it was already starting to get hard to maintain the charade and I knew it would only get harder. There was no way to explain to a child how important it is to keep a secret like that. We dropped Clary off and said our goodbyes. Jocelyn, Luke and I talked while you two played for a while, and though Jocelyn said she didn't blame me and she was willing to try, I wouldn't let her take the chance. I couldn't risk anything like this happening again. I couldn't imagine what Valentine would do if he ever found out…It was then that Luke really pushed that I leave the Morgensterns. He suggested I go into hiding like they did, let you kids grow up together, let Jace have a normal childhood. Even Luke commented Jace was going to be heartbroken when he realized he was never going to see you again. I knew I was too tangled into the Morgenstern affairs. I saw and did a lot of things I couldn't forget about. It wasn't the life I wanted, and it definitely wasn't the life I wanted for Jace, but I couldn't get out. I knew too much, they'd go through hell and high water to track me down, and I wouldn't risk the consequences of what would happen if they found me. We all decided it would be better to sever any connection between the two of you. Whenever Jace asked me stories about Clary, I would just tell him I didn't remember or question if he was thinking of Isabelle; we use to see the Lightwoods frequently. Jocelyn said there was a little boy about the same age that lived just up the street and if Clary should ask about Jace, she could just say she thought Clary was talking about the other little boy. I said I would omit Luke from the family and Luke said he'd omit Amatis and Celine. We all felt it would be easier. Sever any ties. You two lived four hours apart; you'd forget each other and never see each other again…"

"…I bought tickets to a Saturday evening Yankee game so if anybody asked I had a good alibi of why we were in the city, and that night after the game we drove back home. I had never even watched a baseball game before that, but it turned into a thing. I managed to convince everybody that I really loved the Yankees and even acted offended that nobody paid close enough attention to realize I was a fan. After that I put the games on TV all the time and even brought Jace into the city a few times a year to catch a game. We never went back to see Clary…" Michael scratched the back of his head and took a deep breath.

"…The deeper in I got, the more cut off I became. The Morgensterns didn't want me to have any contact with anybody on the outside, they were afraid I'd tell somebody something I knew. I argued I didn't know much of anything, I didn't know half of what I was doing, but they felt I knew enough and I was learning more every day. I had to stop going into the city. I had to sever all relationships. I had to stop contacting the Lightwoods, bringing Jace over to play. Not only was I feeling more cut off from the world every day, but I knew Jace was completely being isolated. I wasn't finding answers to the questions I was looking for; I just had more and more questions. I came to the conclusion that the only way to get Jace out was if I was gone, dead, and Jace had to be young enough that they wouldn't question if he knew too much information…"

"…It was really the best I could do…" Michael looked down at his wedding band he was spinning around his finger and shook his head.

"…I think that sums up most of it for now. Any questions?" It was quiet for several minutes.

"Wait, how are we related?" I blurted out breaking the silence. Michael chuckled slightly.

"That's your biggest concern?…It's complicated, but let me start by saying you're not related by blood. Your mother's husband, Luke was my wife, Amatis's brother. So that would make me your step-uncle by marriage. That's not the only way you are related though. Valentine's mother is Seraphina, her maiden name is Wayland. Her brother, Christopher, was my father. So Valentine and I both have the same grandparents on the Wayland side, which makes you my first cousin once removed. We are related by blood. Now, I adopted Jace, but Jace's biological mother was Celine and Jace's biological father was Stephen, neither of which were related to me by blood, therefore Jace isn't related to me by blood, therefore you are not related to Jace by blood. When I adopted Jace I really still felt the Herondales were a bad family…" Will scoffed.

"…At the time I thought the only way to protect Jace would be if I adopted him, stripped the Herondale name and any connection to the family. As Jace got older I began to wish I just took Legal Guardianship of him, it really wasn't fair of me to strip all connection he had to his biological family. When Jace was taken in by the Lightwoods I requested in my will specifically that they take Legal Guardianship of him, which is what they did. That protects him, making sure he inherits everything. If they adopted him, it would have really complicated him inheriting anything that was mine. I also named Jace in my will, but that's really getting into the weeds and we don't have to go there right now. The point being, Jace is my adopted son, so you two are technically second cousins, but not by blood."

"So how much of this did the Lightwoods know about?" Jace asked rather harshly. It was the first time he spoke in a long time. Michael took a deep breath.

"The Lightwoods use to live in the area, up until Alec was six I think. Amatis use to go over the Lightwoods with Jonathan-" I interrupted.

"Wait, there are too many Jonathans. Are you talking about your biological son or Jace?" Michael took a deep breath.

"My biological son. Jace was born after Amatis died."

"Oh yeah. I forgot. Sorry continue." He nodded.

"…Actually my biological son Jonathan and Alec were born just a day apart at the same hospital. Though, I did continue to bring Jace over the Lightwoods frequently until they moved. Robert and I were once pretty good friends. The Lightwoods knew Jocelyn and Valentine too, but they moved to Chicago shortly after they were married, and they didn't keep close contact with the Lightwoods after that. They didn't maintain contact with Jocelyn at all after she fled, but Jocelyn and Luke really did sever their ties with everybody, except me, but after I made all their fake documents and helped them leave, it would have been hard to really sever their ties completely. It was a total coincidence that when you were fifteen Jocelyn and Luke moved to the same area that the Lightwoods lived in. Everybody just decided it was easier to pretend they didn't know each other than to try to explain a very complicated past…My understanding was that the two of you didn't exactly get along anyway." I rolled my eyes, but Jace furrowed his eyebrows at Michael.

"How would you even know?" Jace snapped. Michael ran his hand through his hair.

"I kept in contact with Luke, even after I stopped bringing you to see Clary, even after I faked my death…I use to bring him random news clippings at the bookstore, things about Valentine, about Jonathan's kidnapping. Whatever I ran across that I thought he might be interested in. We'd have coffee and catch-up. After you and Clary were reunited, he would keep me posted on how you were doing, what you were doing…" Michael shrugged.

"So you had Luke spy on me?" Jace snapped. Michael took an exasperated breath.

"I asked Luke how my son was doing. I missed you." Jace was gripping my hand hard. I could tell he was terribly stressed.

"Why don't we move on?" Will muttered as he looked at me expectantly. I took a deep breath.

"Fine. What do you want to know?" I snapped harsher than I meant to.

"Let's just recount the day." Will said nonchalantly as he took a bag of grapes out of the picnic basket.

"Fine…Let me see…I woke up…went for a run…ran into Pangborn…Michael came by and scared Pangborn off…We found Nate shot…Michael tried to save Nate…Nate died…" My voice broke slightly and I felt my eyes burn. Jace squeezed my hand and I glanced over at him. He was giving me a very sweet encouraging look. I took a deep breath and tried to fight back the memory of Nate as I shifted my gaze down to the table.

"…Agramon shot Michael and strangled him until he was unconscious…I thought Michael was dead….Will came…We all came back here and Will saved Michael…Will dropped me off on the side of the road…The cops picked me up…I was heavily drugged at the hospital…I woke up at my father's...went to the stables to find Thomas…I ran into Jace…He refused to leave…Thomas brought us here…The end." I rambled off staring down at the table. I looked up and everybody was watching me.

"So Agramon just left you there? He's alive?" Michael asked skeptically.

"Nooo." I said somewhat nervously. I was having a really hard time telling anybody what I did.

"So, was he the other body next to Nate?" Will asked as he popped another grape in his mouth. He had a weird look on his face, like he already knew what happened, but he just wanted me to say it. I nodded slowly.

"Yeah." I said simply. They all just kind of leaned forward, but it was quiet.

"He was kind of old. He must have just keeled over and died." Will said sarcastically. Michael and Thomas both scoffed. I took a deep breath.

"He's dead. Isn't that all that matters?" I snapped.

"I think the how is important…Is there anybody else that was running around out there in the woods that you failed to account for?" Will asked. I took an exasperated breath.

"No. Everybody is accounted for."

"So what happened?" Will asked.

"Let it go Will." Michael said softly. He had a very gentle look in his eyes.

"Don't you want-" Will started, but Michael cut him off.

"I said. Let it go." Will rolled his eyes.

"Whatever."

"The day is ticking away and we have actual strategy to discuss." Thomas said evenly. A moment later the table was cleared off and the blueprints were laid out again.

I had no idea how long we were down in that basement, but by the time we had gotten back to the horses it was very dark out. I tried to help Thomas and Jace prepare the horses, but they did most of the work. I found myself standing next to one of the Lilac bushes and before long I was pulling off another stem of the purple flowers Thomas had brought me earlier. I don't know why, but I was fascinated by this silly plant. I breathed in the scent of the flowers. I felt like they tickled my memory. The more I breathed them in the more they smelled familiar.

"Need a hand up?" Jace asked as he led one of the horses over to me.

"These smell so familiar. Do the Lightwoods have Lilac bushes?" I asked. Jace smiled as he approached me.

"No. They don't." He said softly. I smelled the flowers again.

"One day I'm going to have a house with a whole bunch of Lilac bushes." Jace smirked as he cupped my chin with his free hand and brought his lips to mine gently. He gazed into my eyes.

"One day I'm going to marry you." As though the slight tug of the memory had finally pulled away the sheet and now I could see what I couldn't before. The little toy soldier and the smell of the Lilacs wasn't enough, but it only took one more thing to completely make the memory click. I closed my eyes.

I was just a little girl. I had on a blue sundress and my hair was up in pigtails. It was a beautiful day. I had been here. I had been here with Jace. The property was filled with fragrant flowers and colors. Purple, pink, and white flowers were abundant all over the bushes. We had picked a handful of purple Lilacs and I sat on the lush grass smelling them. I had told Jace that one day I was going to have a house with a whole bunch of Lilac bushes, and he had responded that one day when we were old enough he was going to marry me. I remember he reached his hand into his little cargo shorts and pulled out one of his favorite toy soldiers that he had hand painted and gave it me. I knew how much the little soldier meant to him, and I promised to keep it always. He said if I did, he promised to marry me when we grew up.

I opened my eyes slowly and Jace was still looking at me. He had a slight smile on his face, but he didn't say anything.

"You knew?" I said softly. His lips curved up a bit more.

"You remember?" I furrowed my eyebrows at him.

"How long have you known?" He shook his head slightly.

"I remembered a little quicker than you; that's all."

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"I thought I had to be wrong. I couldn't believe it…" Jace brought his lips to mine again and kissed me gently.

"…Divine Intervention." He said softly and we both smiled. I heard an intentional throat clear and we glanced over to see Thomas not far away already on horseback.

"It's getting very late you two. We need to get back before we raise too much suspicion." It wasn't long before Jace and I were both on horseback and we were all heading back with only the pale moonlight to guide us.


Jace's POV

By the time we returned to the stables it was after ten and I was pretty much speechless. Clary was taking all of this much better than I was. We started back up the path hand and hand. Clary jetted her chin out and I followed her gaze.

"Pangborn." She said evenly. Sure enough jogging down the trail towards us was Pangborn. I was hoping he was just heading to the stables or something. Clary and I were both a little nervous that somebody might get suspicious we went riding for so long. We were both quiet as Pangborn covered the last of the distance between us; it was obvious he was here to talk to us.

"What the hell happened out there this morning? Who was that guy? What did he say to you? Where did you go? Where did he go?" Pangborn whispered in a harsh voice. Clary shrugged.

"I don't know. I thought he was one of Mr. Morgenstern's men. He just took off-" Pangborn was shaking his head as he cut Clary off.

"No. He's not one of ours." He snapped quietly. Clary took an exasperated breath.

"Super, as though I didn't already have enough to worry about, now I've got random men running with me." I knew Clary was lying through her teeth, but she sounded pretty convincing. It was probably because her stress level was already through the roof, but my body really wasn't reacting to the additional stress either. Pangborn was pointing an accusing finger at Clary and still whisper yelling.

"I bet you knew more than you're saying…You have no idea how much trouble I'm in right now because of you…" Pangborn took a half of a step forward really getting in Clary's face. I didn't like it, but I knew she hated it when I intervened unnecessarily.

"…Six guys died today and they're trying to pin the blame on me for at least four of them..." He took another half of a step forward and Clary took a half of a step back reflexively. That was crossing the line. I put an arm between Clary and Pangborn protectively.

"Easy Pangborn. It's not her fault." I said in a soothing tone.

"Not her fault? Blackwell is dead because of her! My best friend is dead and they're saying it's my fault! Do you have any idea what will happen to me if-" His voice was rising as he spoke and I cut him off. She had enough going on; she didn't need to feel guilty for anything else.

"How the hell are we supposed to keep track of who her father's men are and who are just pretending to be one of her father's men?" I snapped quietly. I felt Clary's body tense next to me. Pangborn's whole demeanor changed. He dropped his accusing finger to his side, his face fell and he took a step back as he gasped.

"Fuck. You're Mr. Morgenstern's daughter?" Pangborn's voice wavered slightly. Oh shit. Clary shot me a little glare and I opened my mouth and closed it again without saying anything. There was really no way to back peddle out of this. It was silent for a long moment as Pangborn just seemed to stare at Clary. I don't know if he was looking for a resemblance, waiting for confirmation, or just in shock. I think Pangborn was finally realizing this wasn't just a stupid detail. I put my arm around Clary's waist and pulled her close to me.

"My bad." I murmured softly, though I wouldn't be surprised if Pangborn heard me.

"I'm…so…sorry…I…gotta go." Pangborn took off down the trail towards the stables.

"Well that went over well." I muttered sarcastically. Clary glanced down the path in the direction Pangborn went, but it was just darkness.

"Something says Pangborn won't be able to keep his mouth shut for long that I'm actually Valentine's daughter." Clary said evenly as she looked up at me. I was looking down at her and furrowed my eyebrows.

"Why did you call him Valentine?" She shrugged.

"It's his name." I shook my head.

"You've never called him that before." I gave her a questioning look. She took a deep breath.

"Well…after the day and night we just had…I think it's the nicest thing I could call him at this point." I scoffed slightly.

"Touché."

The rest of the walk back Clary and I were quiet. There was so much going on, so much we were both trying to absorb. We didn't run into Valentine, which was huge. We wandered our way back up the stairs and through the hallways until we were back in our room. Clary immediately wanted to take a shower. She said she could still feel the blood on her skin and in her hair. I had barely eaten all day and even though it was late, I was thrilled to find food in our mini fridge. I wolfed down the first few things I grabbed and washed it all down with an ice cold beer. Clary was blow drying her hair by this point, so figured I'd jump in the shower myself; I reeked of horse. Before too long we were both curled up together in bed, Clary's back to my chest, my arms tightly around her. With everything that happened and everything that could have happened, my mind was racing. I felt like I couldn't hold Clary tight enough, like I couldn't hold her close enough. I felt like if I fell asleep she wouldn't be here when I woke up. Needless to say, sleep didn't find me quickly.


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