Hi everyone! Originally, I wasn't going to update until the weekend, but there was a review that made me do it, and it made me so proud and happy. If you're reading this (it was a guest review from Anonymous, I really want to say a massive thank you. Also, I wanted to thank every single person who reviewed more than just once to let me know what they thought- ilubcupakes, KyKat and LumiousFishy.

I would really like to know what you think about the Infernal Devices story I might be doing-whether it's bad or good, I just need some indication on whether it's a good idea. The summary is in the author's note in the previous chapter.

"Jonathan came to me with a bargain of sorts…"

"That's what he called it, but I would call it a threat. He had you, so I was going to do what he asked, no matter what. I thought that if I could get to you, I might be able to save you.

"I had always known you were a Shadowhunter. I could smell the scent of Marks freshly burnt into your skin, and the leather of your gear. I kind of assumed you knew I was a vampire. One of the Daylighters. I guess not. I knew that you had a dangerous, and that I could lose you at any time- I just didn't want to believe it. So when Jonathan came to me and told me that if I didn't perform the encanto on you- I'd always had a talent with it, which is why he wanted me to do it- he'd kill you. I probably didn't make the decision you would have wanted me to.

"I hate that I didn't. But I wanted to do anything I could to keep you alive, and if I could figure out where you were, I could just perform it on you and undo it when we got you back. I went to the Lightwoods with my half-done plan. They helped me figure out the details and break in. Alec couldn't have tipped you off that we knew though, and he was hoping to get you to break yourself out of it. It was a chance encounter, but a good one, since without that rune, I don't think we would have got here. There are so many misdirection wards on this manor. I think it might not know where it is itself."
Clary smiled weakly at the joke. The thought that so much effort went into saving her was stupefying.

"Look, if I were you, I would never want to talk to me again." Simon grinned at her, and that alone was enough to convince her that this was not worth losing him over.

"I could never do that, idiot. Who could I talk to about manga?" Isabelle burst in, looking harried. "It's great and everything that you guys have patched things up, but now we have a situation. Your mom told me that Valentine and Jonathan are headed here from the garden. They'll be here in about five minutes."

Clary and Simon looked at each other in panic. A rush filled Clary's head and ears, drowning out all sound. For the first time in two weeks, she felt comforted, and now it was all going to be ripped away from her again.

She shook her head to clear it. Now was not the time to waste dwelling on everything. She scrambled off the bed and started grabbing weapons from around the room. She dashed out of the room.

A huge sea of bodies cloaked black gear and parchment robes swamped Clary's vision. Simon and Izzy had followed her out, and Isabelle followed their stunned gazes. "Oh, yeah. This wasn't just our little project. As soon as we confirmed the location, a warlock opened up a Portal." She looked back at their faces and rolled her eyes dramatically. "Jonathan and Valentine are major threats to the Clave. Plus, did you really think we'd just do all this without major backup? Come on, guys."

Clary shook herself out of her stupor. "I know where the weapons room is. Let's go." She plunged into the crowd. Everywhere she turned, she was attracting curious stares. That's her, the gazes whispered. That's the one who was working with the Morgensterns. Clary set her shoulders and continued to shoulder her way through the overwhelming mass.

After a lot of mumbles and gawks, they reached the weapons room. A small crowd had detached themselves to follow her, armed to the teeth. She went inside and started grabbing as much as she could.

"Well, well, well." An amused voice said. "All these uninvited guests in my home?"

It was Valentine.

Everyone instead the room- and outside of it, it seemed- had their weapons out and aimed at Valentine. He didn't even flinch, looking straight out Clary, who had pulled out a broadsword and was pointing it in his direction. The sword was agonizingly heavy in her slick palm, and her wrist was shaking. Valentine's hard glare chilled Clary to the bone. The danger that hung in his eyes and the tense posture of his body told Clary that he was not as calm as he appeared to be- he was boiling mad. She lifted her chin and looked him in the eye, meeting his icy glower with one of her own.

Suddenly, there was a cry, and someone sank to the floor with a sword buried in her back. Valentine hadn't moved a muscle- but Jonathan was standing at an open window to Clary's right, with his hands empty of a weapon. Isabelle gasped.

"You." She hissed, moving towards him with a burning glare of hatred. Intensity danced in her dark eyes, and Clary noticed that Alec and Jace had entered the room as well and began moving towards Isabelle.

As she took a flying leap at Jonathan, Alec threw himself between them.

"Iz, stop. Revenge later. Now we have to fight, and maybe kill the bastard in the process." Clary just watched, confused. What had happened while she hadn't been there? Izzy's face continued to grow brighter and brighter with rage, and Clary had never seen her so angry. Her hard eyes were glowing like the coals of a blaze with fury- anyone who got to close would be severely burnt. The tension running through her muscles like water through a pipe told Clary that it wasn't over, as well as the look of pure hatred that she sent Jonathan's way. Even though it wasn't directed at her, Clary felt goose bumps rise on her arms and legs. A hate as pure as that- well, it didn't get extinguished easily. Not by calming words, not by apologies, though it was unlikely that Jonathan would apologize, if the smirk he was giving Isabelle was any indication. Her black hair swinging, she stalked back towards the crowd, never once taking her eyes off of him.

Clary could practically see the relief in every single person's eyes. Attacking a criminal unprovoked wasn't a sin, but they knew they didn't have the upper hand here, despite the numbers.

"Valentine." Clary addressed her father in a hard voice. He looked at her disinterestedly, the same way you would look at a bug crawling across a leaf in the garden. "I just thought you should know why I was acting so obediently." At this she turned her gaze to Jonathan. "I don't know what he told you," her voice a death-inducing venom, "but I'm her to tell you that he went against everything you believed in- betrayed you, in fact, by bringing in a vampire to use the encanto on me. I have witnesses." She didn't think she had completely forgiven Simon. Not matter how much she felt for him. Giving her to them was potentially more life threatening than death. Because there were some things worse than dying.

Her eyes returned to Valentine's face, which was made of stone. Not a single muscle had so much as flickered as far as she could tell.

She sighed in defeat. She shouldn't have expected it to work on Valentine. Nothing worked on him unless he let it. Hate was sizzling throughout the room, and Clary had just realized something strange. No matter how much they hated, no matter how many times he had broken the Accords, they hadn't taken him prisoner on sight. She frowned. It was bizarre- shouldn't this man be killed on sight? She glanced around the room again, taking in where most people's gazes rested. A few were on her- as Jace's luminescent eyes met hers she shivered. Nothing had been sorted between them, so what would happen after this tension was dead? They stood there for a few seconds, gazes locked, and then Clary tore her eyes away from his to move on. She could still fell the heavy weight of his scrutiny on her face. She kept moving her inspection around the room, turning in a slow circle. Most eyes were on Jonathan, wary and distrustful. That's it. She recognized- they're afraid of what Jonathan can do. My mother must have told them about him. Then her stare fell onto Isabelle. With every second, her shoulders set more, her chin lifted and her face hardened. Everything in Clary told her she was ready to attack- for some reason unknown to Clary, but if it made Isabelle lose her reason in battle… It didn't matter that no weapons had clashed yet. This was as much a battle as any other part- the one that required the most strength. Finally, Isabelle's stance could get no prouder and tenser- her muscled were coiled like a panther's- and when she sprung, she would wreck her fury onto anyone who got in her way.

Alec, she saw, was already watching the inevitable happen, too, but he made no move to stop her. Clary and his gazes met for a millisecond, and for the first time, a flash of understanding passed between them. There was defeat in his eyes, and surrender, but it didn't seem to be just about the battle. Too captivated by the confrontation, she didn't have time to contemplate, but she had a feeling that she knew exactly what it was about.

A frustrated scream tore its way out of Isabelle's mouth and she launched herself onto Jonathan, yelling. "You killed him! You killed him, and you're going to regret it, Sebastian!" Sebastian? As in, Aline's cousin, Sebastian? Before she had processed anything, he was on his feet with a knife at Isabelle's heart. No!

"That's right. One point for me, and another coming my way soon. I hated having to deal with you cowardly idiots. To pretend I actually liked you." He said, his voice filled with disgust. "All this whining and complaining. 'Clary's not here… Something seems wrong… I'm not old enough to do anything with the Gard. It's never-ending!" Suddenly, he stiffened, his back straight and tense as a brick wall.

"Shut up." Jace hissed in his ear, gold eyes cold with resentment. "What you did was inexcusable- killing a child who was only nine years old. And also a Shadowhunter, just so you could impersonate him. What was the point of infiltrating the house anyway, Sebastian, or should I say, Jonathan?"

"We needed the trio together again." Jonathan laughed, his harsh laughter echoing of the walls of the weapon room. Confusion clouded Jace's face for a second, but cleared a few moments later.

"Kill him." The order rang across the room from Consul, standing across the room at the door, his blade finding Valentine's chest. "Move, and I'll kill you." He directed to Valentine.

Jace drove the blade in.

To air.

Wow, nearly at the end of the story. Only a few more chapters left…

Anyway, I haven't written anymore than what's on this page, so I wanted to let you know you have to wait about a week for the next update.