Spinny Chair #1: Umm… where's Lacie? She's not sitting on me *concerned*
Spinny Chair #2: Clary's not sitting on me either! D:
Spinny Chair #3: They're all late. Chris is usually lounging on me by now
Spinny Chair #2: Clary is usually sitting cross legged on me by now :(
Spinny Chair #1: Lacie is supposed to be sitting and talking right now!
Spinny Chair #2: What do we do?
Spinny Chair #3: What can we do? We're chairs for cushion's sake! Not like we can just roll out of here and find them.
Spinny Chair #1: Why not? It's our responsibility to provide a nice comfortable place for our sitters to rest their bums.
Spinny Chair #2: Clary could be sitting on a hard, cold, bench for all I know D:
Spinny Chair: #3: Allow me to repeat: WE. ARE. CHAIRS. People will panic if they see us moving around on our own.
Spinny Chair #1: Lacie needs me! I don't car!
Spinny Chair #2: What if Clary is about to feint! Where will she lie down? I can't let her sit on any normal wooden chair!
Door: You guys! Shut up! They're coming!
*Lacie opens door with keys*
Lacie: Honestly Chris, did you really need to tell me EVERYTHING about your sword's history? I didn't need to know the detailed process of how you unstuck it from a demonic goat's uvula.
Chris: You asked. Therefore you received.
Clary: My chair! *runs for it and spins around in it*
Lacie: *plops herself down and relaxes* Man, we're late. This is all your fault Chris
Chris: *leans back in his chair and props up feet*Let's start then.
Clary: I'll do it! Hey guys! Welcome back to the story! Thanks for reading and reviewing! Lacie doesn't own TMI, neither do I, wait! I don't own TMI, i AM TMI! But I do own this chair! Man I love this chair!
Spinny Chair #2: I love you too Clary :D
Clary: O-O…
Lacie: ummm…. Enjoy?
Yeah, Enjoy?
Clary POV
"Sit…right…..there…" Clary gasped as she panted for breath between each word, her lungs feeling like they were on fire, "Don't move….you…stupid….childish…I don't…just…..sit down will you?"
She herself was on the verge of collapsing onto the floor, which was looking rather comfortable the more she stares at it, her legs feeling more like jelly than flesh and bone. They were inside the jailhouse, in the small ten feet wide hallway, where instead of walls, cells ran up and down the length of the whole building. She grabbed onto one of the barred door cells for support as the black clad warlock walked by her, not even tired, and plopped down onto the small bed, she thought it was more of cot, that took up almost half of the space in the already shrunken cell.
Clary debated whether or not to close the rolling door and lock the warlock in, feeling very irritated, but realized it would do no good. She'd seen what the slippery little weasel could do, and if she thought that a door would stop him she might as well believe the world was flat and that the moon was made of cheese.
She took his sitting down as an invitation to sit as well, so she went into the cell opposite his, and sat down on the ledge. It took every ounce of willpower to not just drop dead as she sat. She was so tired.
Glancing at the front door that she had left open, she could just see the light from outside shining in. The sun was rising.
Oh, god, the sun's rising….
Finding the warlock had been easy enough, Clary had wasted no time whatsoever in getting back home after her encounter with Lizard and creating a Portal to Alcatraz. When she'd gotten there (ignore the time differences) the sun was setting, just as it'd been in Egypt, and by the time she saw the warlock lazing around in one of the towers, she thought she'd have things settled before the end of dusk.
She was so wrong.
The warlock had been nice enough, in fact, when Clary had first addressed him, a bit chary about how he would react, the warlock had started talking to her as if they were life- long pals, speaking as if Clary had left to get a soda a minute ago and was talking to her about sports.
"Do you like baseball?" he had asked her after she introduced herself.
"Um, not really," she had noted that his face was mostly obscured by the rim of a baseball cap that he wore, the fading daylight casting more shadows on his face. "Look I sort of need your help-"
But instead of asking her why she needed him and how and why she'd come to him in the first place like she had expected, he had simply told her that she'd help with whatever, as long as they played a game.
"What sort of game?" She had asked him, feeling apprehensive. What sort of games do immortals think are fun?
"How about tag?" and though he had a low voice, Clary could see the childlike smile that was barely visible in the setting sunlight. "You catch me, I'll help you, deal?"
But Clary hadn't even said a word before he jumped from his perch, leaving Clary no choice but to chase him all around the rock island, avoiding his magic spells and stuff. She had jumped over lava pits, dodged rays of electricity, jumped over buildings, and even once, when she was chasing him along the edge of the island, her feet inches from the ledge that dropped off to the slashing waters below, she even had to punch a shark in the nose because it had jumped impossibly high in the hair, a trail of sparks meaning that the warlock had caused it to jump behind it. She didn't know what happened, once second she chasing the black figure ahead of her, the next she was screaming her head off as a giant fish with man eating teeth and scary black eyes that could chomp her in one bite and all she could think to do was pull her arm back and swing.
She would've killed the warlock had she not needed him.
In the end it had taken the whole damn night to finally catch the guy, and that was only because Clary had drawn about five runes for speed on each arm and turn on her inner Sebastian so that she'd move so fats he wouldn't have time to react. In the end, she'd tired herself out too much, even with Sebastian.
Controlling her breath, she eyed the warlock who was observing her from underneath his cap.
"Well that was fun!" His voice had gotten a bit higher, perhaps he used the low one to give her a false impression, because he now sounded like a twenty year old. Though his smile was like that of a five year old. "Let's play another game!"
"What are you? FIVE?" Clary voiced her thoughts, sounding agitated, "What do you want to play now? Duck, Duck, Goose?"
Whether or not he noted her sarcasm, he didn't show, "Actually, I'm a thousand and nineteen years old, or at least I think I'm that old, after half a millennia, I sort of lost track, but nevertheless, no I'm sure I'm not five, but I was bored and playing with you was the most fun I've had in a while."
"Well," Clary said, her breath back to normal now, "Now that we've, um, played, care to help me?"
The warlock didn't answer. For a second, Clary thought that she perhaps said something wrong, and that any second now, the warlock would explode and turn on her in a fury, but as the minutes drew by, her hand centimeters away from a blade that she had in her pocket, she noticed that it wasn't because she had said something wrong.
The warlock wasn't even paying attention to her. She didn't know how she could tell, perhaps it was because she's done the exact same thing to Simon several times, but she knew that the warlock had slipped away into his mind just as she was talking.
Doesn't feel so nice on the other side of the stick now does it Clary? She scolded herself.
"Hello?" she waved her hand toward the warlock. "Hey I'm talking to you!"
No response, he wasn't even looking towards her, his face, covered by the rim of the cap, was facing down the hallway, as if he were waiting for someone.
"Can I at least get your name?" she irritably asked.
No movement.
"Hello! Is anyone home?" Clary felt tempted to stomp over to his cell and knock on his skull. Has immortality made him insane? Well, I can't say that Magnus is necessarily all that normal…..
Clary was two steps from the door of his cell when all of a sudden the warlock abruptly turned towards her, and she immediately stopped dead and drew her hand near her blade, but his aura was nowhere near hostile.
"My name is Emery, and by the way, no, I am not insane, touched in the head, deranged or whatever you wish to call it."
He reads minds! Damn! Don't think of anything you wouldn't want him to see! Dang it now I'm thinking of things I don't want him to see! Clary panicked.
"Also, no I'm not a mind reader, I just have a lot of experience watching the way people work, how they think, how they react to things, etc... So you can stop forcing yourself to not think of things that you wouldn't want me seeing, because that's not going to help." The edge of a smirk was visible from beneath the cap and Clary could feel herself slightly blush.
I don't like this guy…
"But anyway, my name is Emery." He shifted his cap up, and Clary was finally able to see his face.
Emery looked like your average nineteen year old, yet the deep look in his hazel eyes suggested something far older than what he appeared to be. He had the lean body of a baseball player, and she could see his biceps even through his black leather jacket. When he pulled his cap off Clary's eyes widened at the shock of red curly hair very much similar to her own. His hair curled around his ears, softening a handsome face.
With the exception of the slightly red tint to Emery's skin, his warlock's mark, which was becoming less and less visible as the sun rose higher and the amount of daylight in the building increased, he seemed like the type of guys you'd find at the batting cages, just enjoying himself.
Wait, the rising sun?
Clary glanced once more down the hallway towards the open doorway, and her fingers absently crawled towards the wrist where her rune was. Around this time of the day, her rune would turn, and soon. Usually, she'd be in the training room right now, and she'd made it a habit to just sit on the ground and wait it out until the rune turned, so that it hurt a lot less than before. But this would be her last turn for this rune, after this one her brown hair would turn curly red, and same old Clary would be before Emery. She either had to deal with this now, or Emery would see her turn.
"So, are you gonna help me now…..?" Clary said into the awkward silence.
Emery perched his cap back on, but tilted the cap upward so that his face was visible, "Helping seems so boring….I mean, how much fun is that going to be?"
Clary gaped at him, "You said-"
"I know what I said, but now I'm not sure I wanna do that…"
She suppressed a scream, "Look, I just need help with something, but afterwards, I don't know, we'll play another game, how about it?"
She wasn't sure if she'd keep her word, but if she could make Chris come back, she didn't care what happened afterward, especially since Emery seemed just fine with it as he said, "Oh Goody! Alright then I swear by my deceased mother –don't look at me like that, I don't care if my mother died over a millennia ago this still counts- that I'll help you."
Is this really the warlock that revived the dead?
Clary looked at Emery as he smiled pleasantly from his seat, and she sighed as she turned and sat right back on the cot opposite him.
She began her story, "Well, it's kind of a weird thing that happened," and she told him about how a 'friend' of hers had gotten sent to hell, describing the process of how a powerful warlock had performed the ritual by using a book that Clary had no idea about. She described how these chains just seemed to come out from the Portal that opened from below, and how the room seemed to get hot. She didn't tell him everything though, such as why her 'friend' got sent, or by exactly who, or how they'd gotten into that situation in the first place.
"Basically, I need to get someone out of a demon realm, out of hell-" she stopped when she saw that Emery was no longer paying attention again, but this time he wasn't just staring off into space, his gaze was latched onto her wrist, where her hand was not fully covering her rune, which was exposed to his curious eyes.
"That's an interesting tattoo," he mused, making Clary turn her wrist to her, "Or is it a rune I've never seen…."
Clary covered her wrist even though it was already turned away from him, "That's none of your business." Her tone was final, but Emery didn't let up.
"How did you get it?" he asked curiously, scooting toward the edge of the bed.
"That's doesn't matter." She insisted, "You've heard what I said, and if you won't help then I have nothing else to do here-" By this point she had walked out of the cot and had started walking down the hallway, when suddenly a hand wrapped around the wrist of the rune. Clary was already whirling on him, twisting herself so that her fist was read to go up his jaw, but stopped because what the warlock wasn't doing anything hostile.
"Will you let me go please?" Her elbow was pointed out as Emery held her wrist, his eyes investigating her rune. It was an innocent gaze, yet Clary felt as if he were looking into something private, something that not just anyone can look at.
No one but her and Chris have actually truly looked at her rune. Other than those people in the courtroom, who only were able to get a glimpse of it, only them have actually seen it. And Clary wanted to keep it that way.
"Let, go!" She yanked her arm out of his grip, glaring at him through slit eyes.
"One more condition," the warlock said, and Clary was about to refuse when he said, "That's a rune, and if you tell me what it's for I'll help you, and this time I'm not lying."
Clary was considering to just walk right out of the edifice and saying goodbye, but something in Emery's voice and eye's made her stop. He really wanted to know, and it wasn't just because he wanted something from her, but it was because he was immortal, and when something new comes up, he wants to know.
She looked at him in the eyes, trying to make up her mind. Emery understood her look, and spoke, "This time I swear on my sister, who actually raised me, not my mother. I never knew my mother, if you want to know something about me."
Clary still didn't want to show it to him, but something held her back. The fact that she might see Chris again if she went through with her kept pestering her, but that wasn't just it. Though she didn't want her rune to stray away from just her and Chris, the fact that someone else could help her make sense of it pulled at her. The idea that someone else could help her deal with this weird rune that she made up, it, gave her some sort of relief. Or maybe she was just feeling lonely.
But first….
"One question," she asked, and before he could ask what about, she said, "Do you by any means work for the Clave or do what they tell you to do or care what they say for? In other words, will you report me to them?"
The warlock looked at her funny, and then broke out laughing, releasing her arm. Clary stood watching him, her eyes screwed in confusion.
"What?" She asked as he struggled to contain himself, "What's so funny?"
After about a minute, in which Clary tapped her foot with impatience, the warlock stood back up, a grin still on his face. She just noticed that unlike most of the other guys that she encountered herself with (Jace, Jordan, Simon, etc…) Emery wasn't very tall. He was still taller than her, which wasn't hard to do, but he was only about five inches so.
Waiting for an answer, he finally said, "How old did I just say I am?"
He answered her question with a question! But whatever, she rolled with it, "Like, over a thousand."
"And how long ago was it that the first Shadowhunter first came to be?" His grin seemed to presume some knowledge that she didn't know.
"The first Shadowhunter was Jonathan Shadowhunter," she said cautiously, "About a thousand years ago….."
"Well, some people, including myself, just called him John, though I mainly called him Mr. 'Oh look at me I'm the founder of an amazing new type of race that's going to protect the world.'"
"Wait? You knew Jonathan Shadowhunter? What does this have to do with anything!" Clary was getting mad about not knowing something.
Emery rolled his eyes, "I didn't just know Jonathan, I made him. How do you think the Shadowhunters were first made?"
"By drinking from a cup filled with blood mixed with the Angel Raziel's and Jonathan's blood, if you're trying to give a history lesson-"
"How did he get Raziel's blood?" Emery kept asking.
"By having a warlock summon Raziel and asking him for it-" Clary's voice died off as her mind put two and two together. "A warlock, a warlock summoned Raziel." Clary looked up at Emery.
"You were that warlock." Clary's brain hurt.
"And she gets it!" Emery looked like it was about time.
"But, why does, how-"
"You asked if I care for the Clave or whether I'll report you to them. The answer is no. No, because I'm the reason why the Clave exists in the first place, therefore, I don't care what they think. I do what I want." Emery seemed pleased with himself.
Clary, however, was angry again, "Couldn't you just have told me that right away! Was it really necessary to make me have to answer for myself?!"
He sighed, "Ah kids these centuries, they want answers, but they don't want to learn."
"Do you wanna know how my rune works or not?" She dead panned.
Emery dropped his smile and nodded.
She sighed, "Fine."
She walked towards the door in the hallway leading towards outside. The sun was well up now, and if Clary strained her ears, she could vaguely hear the sound of traffic coming from San Francisco. The cool winter air of only forty degrees blew across her bare shoulders, but she hardly felt the cold now. Compared to Switzerland, San Francisco was the Caribbean. Looking once again at the daylight, she saw that there wasn't much time now.
"Well?" Emery said after she walked back and sat down on her cot, "Are you going to tell me, because there will be tourists soon."
"Oh, I won't just tell you, you'll see for yourself." Clary sat cross legged, and willed herself to not give into the familiar panic that didn't hit her as hard as it used to when her turn was approaching.
Taking deep breaths, she exposed her wrist so that the warlock could see it, and waited another minute or two.
Then it hit her.
Like she had mentioned before, the turns never got any easier, but Clary has learned to deal with them. Now that there was no one to hold her while they happened, she had toughened up, and barely fidgeted as the hand turned towards the twelve. Of course, since this was the last turn, it was excruciatingly painful, and right before it had happened, she told Emery to stand back another couple of feet so that he wouldn't be caught in the circle of light that emerged around her cot. It was much less showy and dramatic as it had been in the courtroom, especially since she wasn't in chains, but it was the same nevertheless.
She willed herself not to cover her rune with her hand as the needle like pain punctured her wrist, and she swallowed back screams and let her mind float away from the pain, ignoring it completely until she could forget t was there.
She could feel her metamorphosis, as she chose to remain herself instead of being both Clary and Nikita, and saw her hair become curly red, felt her eyes change back to emerald green, as well as her freckles appear back on her face.
When it was all over, she felt a shiver cross her spine, as if she was shaking the pain off, and she looked over at Emery, ready to have to answer any of his questions or deal with his reaction.
"Wow! You're a red head too! You should have told me that, I would have helped out sooner!"
That was not what she was expecting.
She frowned. "Wait, what?"
"Yeah, it's possible you're my progenitor. My great times a hundred niece, because of course I never had children, my sister did, but you should have told me, anything for family!" His face was alight.
Clary was very confused, "So you don't care, what just happened with," she looked at her now empty wrist, "Didn't you want to know about my rune?"
"Oh," Emery's expression faded, "I assume that rune give different characteristics from those you already have, and since you seemed to know that whatever just happened would happen right then, then I also think that this rune would only last about," he looked at her wrist, "Twelve days."
Clary blinked. "Oh, well, you're on the right track." She continued to explain the rest of the rune's properties, how she had to envision not only who she wanted to be, but what part of them, such as for Sebastian, she thought of his strength, and from Isabelle, she envisioned her beauty. "Throughout that time I sort of think and act and look like the person, but how much I think and act like them depends on how controlling their personality is, because I found that sometimes when you become someone, they try to take over who I really am, because at the end of the twelve days, I'm given a certain choices, to stay me, to become them, which I've never done, or be both."
"So you're rune turns every day at the same time in which you drew it?" Emery was fully immersed in the conversation.
"Yes, and the rune traces itself with black blood, my black blood." She explained how when she had the rune she had black blood, which carried the properties of the person she turned into, and were slowly etched into her skin.
"So what happens if you choose to be both yourself, and the person that you envision?" he asked.
"They sort of stay in my head, I can turn their personality on and off whenever I want. Watch." She jumped off of her bed, and walked over to a rusty looking chair, grabbed it, and tried to bend it in half. Of course, the metal decided to not bend. Because metal is metal. And it's not supposed to break when little redheads try to break it.
"Bam?" Emery suggested, "Was something supposed to happen just now?"
"Give me a second," she closed her eyes, and turned on her inner Sebastian. Suddenly, the chair didn't feel so invincible now. She got a good grip on the ends of it, and folded the chair in two, and then, just for measure, folded it again.
When she turned off her inner Sebastian, Emery was looking intrigued, "So you just took on the characteristics of someone stronger than you. So does that mean you can-"
"Can you help me with what I need or not!?" Clary couldn't help herself. She screamed.
Emery held up his hands, "Alright, alright, no need to breakdown into tears. So from what I heard, you have a friend in a demonic realm-"
"He's in hell!" Clary shrieked. She's never screamed about this. Yes, she was touchy on the subject, but she was always quiet and reserved about it. Did she cry during her weaker moments? Yes, but has she ever flung herself onto the ground and have a tantrum? Never. Which is why she surprised herself by screaming in about three octaves higher than her normal voice.
"He's in hell! And I don't know how to get him out and I need your help and you're just making fun of me and my red hair and he could be dead by now and I'll never now unless you do something about it and you're too busy thinking about me being your great times whatever niece which I hope I'm not because there is NO WAY I'm calling you Uncle Emery and I just want him out and can you please just tell me!" her voice echoed across throughout the cells, and she heard the sound of flapping wings meaning that several birds must have been spooked by her.
Her already hot face heated up even more. Great, they must have heard me all the way in Canada…
She sat down on the cold cement and buried her face in her hands, feeling like she wanted the Earth to swallow her up like it did to Chris.
Why can't I do anything?
She felt a hand on her shoulder, "Maybe if you didn't scream, you would have heard me tell you how to get 'him' out."
Composing herself, she looked up at Emery, who was crouched down to look into her eyes. "You said that your friend was sent by a warlock who used an ancient looking book. Can you describe it to me again? How was the ritual exactly?"
So Clary told him about the candles Magnus used and the way he lit them one by one and how the book looked so old and powerful and…..well….demonic.
Emery nodded along the whole time, and when Clary was finished, he seemed to have come to a conclusion. "I know that book, I've never seen the ritual, but I've heard of it."
"You do?" Clary looked at him seriously.
"It's an ancient ritual that was used before the Clave was finalized. Warlocks used it to banish mortals who they deemed to be 'sinful,' but it was a highly opinioned process, warlocks would banish whoever they saw fit for whatever reason, so when the Clave came to be, they never allowed the process to be used again. There was only two copies of how it was done, one copy was said to be lost, and the other was given to a Downworlders who would make sure that it would never be used again. It wasn't trusted to be left in the hands of the Clave, in fear that they might use its power for something they think is just."
"They were right to," Clary said indignantly, "But I guess they forgot about how bad it was, considering it was to their advantage to use it."
"Listen," Emery spoke, "If you want your friend back, we'll need that book, it's crucial because it contains the words for the process, do you by any chance know the warlock that previously used it?"
Oh no, Clary's hoped dropped. She'd hoped this wouldn't happen. She knew the book was necessary, but she thought maybe there was some other way to do it, some way that didn't require her going back to what she had ran away from. If she wanted the book, she might face Magnus. And who knows what Magnus would do when he saw her.
Worse comes to worse, he'll sit on me until the Clave shows up, or even WORSE, Clary though horribly as she remembered what she did to Magnus, or more so, to his head, he'll give me his special MAKEOVER. Oh God what have I done? Getting myself on Magnus's bad side, I'll be dead before he can say 'sparkles'…
"Um," Clary said tentatively, "We're not on speaking terms, but wait, didn't you just say something about another copy that some Downworlders had?"
Emery didn't ask about Magnus, which she was grateful for, "The other copy was in possession of a vampire cove, which has been passed down from leader to leader, and should still be in the same place, granted that there are massive spells guarding the whole mansion, preventing it from being able move away from host that is in current hold of it."
"So…" She pieced together, "We can't just take it?"
"Well, you can't, but I can help you do it. They should be easy to get around, given that I put up many of those spells myself." Emery smirked.
"What haven't you done?" Clary mumbled.
"I didn't help the Egyptians build the pyramids, I believe that was my great great great great great great granduncle, though it would have been nice to."
"I didn't want an actual answer. So are you going to tell me where this place is so that I can somehow sneak in, take the book after you've taken off those spells and get out, or are you gonna tell me your life's achievements?"
"Give me one good reason why I should?" he joked.
"You're bored and have nothing else to do?" she suggested.
"True," he admitted, "and I'll tell you what, I won't just tell you where it is, I'll even Portal you to the front door. And I'll do it just because you're a red head." He ruffled her hair, causing many complaints from Clary.
She felt something expand in her chest, something start to fill the gap that's been there the second Chris's head disappeared through the hole to hell. It was like a flower that was going to bloom, but right now, it was just a small bud. But she was going to take good care of that bud, that bud is precious, and if treated badly, it could wither and die. She'd like her little flower to be alive, thank you very much.
"So what are we waiting for?" she spoke with a burst of enthusiasm, "Open up that Portal!"
"Hold your little red curls! We're not done with our deal." Emery smirked.
Clary raised both eyebrows. She'd told him about the rune, they were square, right?
"You promised that after I helped you with something, we could play another game."
She gulped, "What…..game…."
Emery smiled, and glanced over to the door of the edifice, where Clary could hear the sound of the splashing water on the rock island.
"How about a game of real life Sharks and Minnows?"
Jace POV
"Isabelle?"
"Yes Jace" Isabelle answered innocently.
"You know how I said you could come along with me?"
Isabelle answered again, "Yes, I remember quite well."
"Well, when I said that, it means that we go where I want to go."
"Oh I'm sure that's what you meant." Izzy walked up some stairs and commenced to knock on a door.
"Izzy stop the games! Why are we here?" Jace threw the building before him a contemplating look, "We're supposed to go to that abandoned warehouse to meet this guy-"
"Oh he can wait! You need to get some air, relax a little bit, you've been way too stressed out lately and I can already see you squinting from looking through too much demonic scripture." Isabelle knocked on the door again.
"I am NOT squinting, my eyesight is a 40/20" Jace openly bragged.
"Sure, because you definitely have eyes behind your head, Jace," Izzy beamed as they both heard someone say, 'Coming!' Jace sighed. He'd hoped nobody would be home.
Jace had only let Isabelle join him in his search because in truth, he was feeling sort of alone, and letting her in seemed like a decision to make, at the time. He had wanted to take her to help him convince some Downworlder in giving him information, and Isabelle was very helpful at convincing people, but here he was, miles away from where he wanted to be.
"This is just an excuse for you to see Simon," Jace whispered before said person appeared. They were in front of Jordan's apartment, where Isabelle had taken him (without him knowing they were coming here at first) to 'finish some things.' Little did he know that Izzy was planning on just ignoring his pleas and taking him to her boyfriend's house. Yayyyyy…..
"I'm killing two birds with one stone. I get to see Simon, and get you to relax." Izzy smirked towards him, "Plus you'll be able to think better once you're less tense."
"I am not tense."
"Yes you are, admit it Jace."
"Don't you a key to this apartment by now?"
"Don't change the subject Jace."
"I'm just saying, I mean, you've been dating for three months, you'd think he'd give you a spare key by now." Jace said airily.
"We're taking things slow!"
"Doesn't Maia have a key?"
Before Isabelle could slap Jace with her knuckles (because Isabelle says that girl don't punch, they slap with force) they both had to step back as Simon opened the door.
"Simon!" Isabelle threw her arms around the vampire's neck, muttering how much she'd missed him, and Jace made a face as if he were going to gag. They were standing right in front of the doorway too, so it wasn't as if Jace could just step through and ignore them. Well, he could shove them, but that would be rude even for him.
As soon as Isabelle let go, after prompting by Simon, they all walked in, and Jace could hear some weird peppy music, as well as tire screeches and shouts.
"Damn it Maia! I'm sorry sweetie I didn't mean it, but seriously! Two red turtle shells and a banana!" Jordan said exasperatedly.
"Shut up before I hit you with my lightening, whoops, my finger slipped, sorry Jordan," Maia didn't sound sorry at all.
Jace walked into their living room to see Jordan and Maia, both sitting on the edge of the couch with what controllers in their hand. A third one was next to Jordan, and Jace assumed it had been Simon's before he went to answer the door.
"Hey!" Simon sputtered, making a break for his controller, "I told you guys to wait for me!"
"Sorry Si," Maia said, again, not very apologetic, "But all's fair in war."
"It's actually 'all's fair in love and war' Maia," Jace corrected.
Maia looked at Jace for about point two seconds before returning her concentrated look onto the screen, her thumbs moving excitedly on the controller, "Trust me, there's no love in this game."
"What are you guys playing?" Izzy asked as she scooted herself onto the already crowded couch next to Simon. Jace settled for leaning against the wall.
"Mario Kart," Simon said, and Jace looked towards the screen. The tv was split into four squares, where he could see three different players racing around in ridiculous vehicles and running across weird courses. He watches as what he assumed to be Mario was hit by a, was that a turtle shell? And fell off of the track and into a pit.
"Maia!" Jordan exclaimed.
"Sorry babe!" Maia's face all grin. Jace looked at the screen and saw a blonde character on the screen who was racing towards the finish line in first place. "Yes! Peach wins again!"
Simon and Jordan groaned.
"That's the fifth time she's got us," Simon muttered.
"Babe, you know I love you, but I think you've got some sort of addiction towards this game," Jordan whined.
Maia stuck her tongue and did some weird victory dance, "You guys are just sore losers and are too macho to admit you suck."
Jordan wasn't letting up though. "Rematch! This one's for all the marbles!"
"I hope you've got a big appetite honey, because you're going to get served, again." Maia reset the game, a glorious smile on her face.
Isabelle nudged Jace in the knees from where she was sitting, "Jace, you should play!"
Jace immediately rebuffed her, "I don't even know how to play."
"Well maybe some of your beginner's luck will shine down bring mercy onto Jordan's ego." Simon handed Jace the control and gave him his spot on the couch, "I don't know about him, but I'm tired of getting beat."
Jace inspected the controller and looked at in confusion. What the hell were all these buttons for? What was this thing called? Was he even holding it right?
"Um, like this blondie," Maia flipped the controller around in his hands. Oh, he'd been holding it sideways.
"Pick your character," Jordan told him as a bunch of animated creatures, because they were creatures. Why is that bald little dude wearing a mushroom on his head?
"Is this a Gorilla?" Jace asked, befuddled.
"Oh yeah, that's Donkey Kong." Maia asked as she selected a blonde haired blue eyed character dressed in pink.
"Donkey? It's a gorilla! Or an ape….what the hell is it?" Jace was a Shadowhunter. He killed demons. Not play with apes who were confused my mundanes as donkeys.
He could feel Isabelle watching him from the corner of his eye. She'd done this on purpose. She told them that he needed some time off of his very important business and they scheduled this just so that they would happen to be here. It wasn't like he could refuse his sister's good intentions, he might as well try to please her, just this once. After this though, they were going right back to doing what he's supposed to be doing. Looking for ways to help Clary.
"Jace!" Maia exclaimed, "Come on, pick your kart, you're taking forever!" She seemed impatient, a big cocky smile printed on her face.
"Wait which one's mine again?" Jace looked at the three characters on the screen.
"Donkey Kong." Jordan answered.
"That. Is. Not. A. Donkey!"
Simon POV
Simon would have given anything to be able to capture Jace's utterly confused face as he tried to figure out how to play Mario Kart. Maia had already bumped into him and had him sprawling down into a bottomless pit before he found out that he was going backwards instead of forwards.
"Hey that's not fair! I wasn't ready!" Jace shouted.
"Not my fault!" Maia announced.
Simon laughed as Jace figured out how to work the items and threw a red turtle shell towards Jordan.
"Did you see that?" He laughed as if he'd already won, "This isn't so hard!"
He would have kept watching, had he not seen Isabelle nodded her head towards the hallway, wanting to talk. Silently, he followed, the sounds of his friends shouting fading slightly.
Isabelle opened the door to his room, and they both stepped in.
Simon closed the door, and had turned to see Isabelle laying down on his mattress, looking at him through scrutinizing eyes.
Worried, he spoke, "What's up?"
But before he could even pop the 'p' Isabelle held her hand in front of her in said, "First, I just need to know. Did you or did you not tell Sharon off, because if you didn't this conversation could turn for the worst." Isabelle's soft brown eyes turned hard and dark as night and Simon didn't even want to know what 'worse' meant for her.
So in fear for his immortal life, Simon quickly answered, "Yes, I told her we're done, that I have a girlfriend who I care about very dearly and that I want to be with you and not her."
"Good." Isabelle says, but she still didn't remove the steely look in her eye. The one that said If looks could kill, my sheer presence would have caused hell to freeze over and for it to rain sharpened high heeled stilettos down upon your body until you are nothing but a rag doll that I will use for my miniskirt.
Before Simon could say anything stupid that would risk his life, Isabelle poured into a whole explanation as to what exactly she pulled out from Jace.
She told him about Jace had practically done nothing but go out and get illegal demonic books since he'd come back from Alicante, and that he's been cooped up in the library more than his own bed.
"Have you checked if his bed is messy? That'll show you whether or not he's slept in it." Simon suggested.
"Oh please," Izzy rolled her eyes, "His room is like a monk's. If I didn't know better, I'd think no one even lived in the house other than Alec and I."
She then told him how Jace's attitude toward the Clave had changed, how he'd come from distantly hating them yet staying obedient to completely reckless as to what he was doing and not even afraid to state his opinion about it.
"Now that's weird," Simon said as he paced around the mattress, "Jace is Jace, but even he doesn't diss the Clave like that. He must be pretty wound up."
"That's why I brought him here," Isabelle stood up and stood in front of him, "He needs just a little bit of air and some free time, what with what went on. Which reminds me, how are you holding up?"
This question caught him off guard, "I'm fine. Why the question?"
She shrugged, "Just making sure you're not internally breaking apart too."
Simon caught her eye, "Izzy, are you okay?"
She avoided his look now, and she saw something flicker quickly away. How stupid was he? Of course this thing was hitting her hard too. Izzy can put on a strong front that could put the wall of China to shame, but on the interior, her foundation can crumble with a single prod in the right place. Isabelle had told him about how her father had cheated on her mother. Betrayal was something she took very seriously, and found very hard to forgive.
He had done everything in his power to convince her that Clary hadn't betrayed them, and he knew that she was trying just because he was asking, but in the end, she was fighting against what she felt, and what she knew was right. She didn't know what to think. Her family was torn again, her parents in Alicante, her brother's all over the place, and she's all alone most of the time when she's not with him. How did he not notice this before?
He grabbed her by the chin, forcing her to look him in the eye. They were about the same height right now, so they both looked directly into each other's eyes.
He didn't know what to say. "I'm here." Was all that came out.
"I know," she whispered. "Hey, before I forget, I might as well tell you this too."
"What?"
"I didn't just bring Jace here to keep him out of trouble, because I doubt a few videos games will ease his mind forever."
"If anything it'll make things worse. Video games can make you violent." Simon grinned.
Izzy grabbed his cold hand and rubbed it between her fingers, "I sort of need you to help me with whatever Jace wants to do, I can take care of myself, but we'd need a whole squad to make sure Jace doesn't blow himself up."
Simon sighed, and collapsing onto the mattress he said, "So is that it? You want me to become a part of the JPP?"
"The what?" Isabelle asked, confused.
"The Jace Protection Program, you know, the one where Alec is president, only that's cause he's the only member."
Izzy laughed, "So where does that put me?"
"You're the temporary president, given that Alec is on leave. When is he coming back anyway?"
"He should be back in the next few days, I'm not too sure though." Isabelle admitted.
Simon sighed again, "So let me get this straight, and stop me if I'm wrong, you want me, to follow you and Jace on whatever little idiotic thing he wants to do that could possibly get himself into more trouble with the Clave, which need I remind you, already has dirt on all of us, get involved with more demons and get myself into a boatload of trouble?"
Izzy nodded her beautiful little head, "Yep pretty much."
"What happens if I refuse?"
"Remember when I said this conversation could turn into the worst?"
"Yeah?" Simon raised his eyes.
"Something like that." She grinned.
"So I have no choice, basically."
"That's right." Isabelle beamed at him, a radiant smile that hid her wild craziness.
Man, he thought, why did I get caught up in this sort of life?
Izzy walked up to him, and started to kiss him passionately, catching him by surprise as she bit his lip.
Oh, yeah. That's why.
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Minutes later they were out into the living room again, Isabelle beaming at him.
Maia had dropped out of the game because she said that she needed a break, so Simon came to find Jace beating Jordan by a mile. Jordan was not happy.
"HE DOESN'T EVEN KNOW HOW TO PLAY!" Jordan exclaimed when Jace zoomed across the finish line in first, and Jordan staggered behind in fourth, "How the hell did he do it?"
Looking to Jace, he asked his question directly, "How did you do it?"
Jace seemed to be quite pleased as to how things turned out, "When I need to win, I'll come up with a way to win."
"You didn't even know how to hold the controller right! How did you know of all of those hidden passages!"
"I have my ways."
"Beginners luck!"
"It's instinct, the heavens want me to win," Jace said airily.
Simon cleared his throat, looking at Jace crookedly.
"Okay, so maybe I watched Clary play bit, but I've never played before this," his voice died off as he realized what he just sad, and his mood suddenly changed from boastful and annoyingly arrogant, to quiet and bothered. Simon hadn't heard him say 'Clary' in a long time without sounding depressed and wasted, and in the moment, he'd forgotten about it too.
They were all silent for a moment, all of them caught up Jace's mood, suddenly very aware of the one person absent who should be there with them, and no, they did not mean Alec.
It was Maia who broke their mood, "Oh alright that is enough," she said with an angry look on her face, "Since when had Clary been something for us to be sad about? Since when was she taboo?
No one answered.
Maia looked at all four of them, and taking a deep breath, she said, "Okay then." She proceeded to put all of the games away, and then stood up in front of all of them, even though Simon and Izzy were technically still standing.
"What's up?" she told them all, "Ever since we all got back from that fight in Greece, by the way, Jordan and I, were not transported to Idris, thanks guys by the way for caring so much for us, you guys have been acting like it never happened."
"That's not true-" Isabelle had started to say, but Maia held up a finger signaling that she wasn't done.
Pointing at Simon and her, she said, "You too got together, which I'm happy for and all that, but it's like you guys are using your relationship as something to distract yourself from what's going on."
Moving on to Jace she spoke, "You look like a zombie. You move and talk and eat, but what's going on with you? Clary's your girlfriend! Stop with the mopey attitude and get yourself back into check!"
"Is that what you think I'm doing? Just moping around like some lost puppy?" Jace's voice was quiet, but it spiked towards a dangerous tone that Simon would not have been able to speak against, but Maia held her ground and kept eye contact with him. Man, the girls he knew had nerves of steel.
"Of course you're not, I'm not stupid, I know you're doing something, but you're stupid if you think you'll be able to do anything on your own."
Jace stood. "I don't have time for this," and made his way for the door, but Isabelle stepped in front of him.
Looking to Maia, she said, "So basically, you're willing to help?"
Maia looked as if they all didn't speak English but finally understood what she was trying to tell them, "Yes! You guys are all pretending that we don't exist and that you have to do all this 'Shadowhunter' stuff on your own because that's how you were raised, but you guys have friends, and Jordan and I –yes, you're helping too, don't give me that look babe- are willing to do anything to get you all out of this depression bubble that you seem to ignore."
Jordan looked surprised that things had gotten to this point, obviously not expecting that he'd be pulled into this, but since he looked like he wanted to contribute to this too, he asked, "So, what things have you guys been doing? What do you need help with?"
This time, Simon and Isabelle both simultaneously looked at Jace, making him sigh and reluctantly sit on the couch again. He pretty much told them everything that Izzy had told him, adding in details here and there as to where he's been going and specific places that's been more eventful than others, and places that he's probably never going to visit again because he's banned from there.
"So what are you looking for exactly?" Maia asked.
"I need information, books, old books with old spells, old runes, any old magic that could help link Clary's rune so that I can help her out of it, maybe even still find a way to convince the Clave she's innocent." Jace informed them, and then suddenly he looked towards Jordan, "Do you think the Praetor Lupis would have anything like that?"
Jordan screwed his face in recollection, "I'd have to check our libraries, I'm not really known for being in there, so if I just go out and ask about it they'd get suspicious, but I could see what they've got."
"Good," Jace nodded, "Meanwhile, I'll have to keep looking into the people who I've asked already."
"Friends of yours?" Simon asked.
"Neh, more like 'If you get what you want and I get what I want then we never saw each other' sort of relationship," Jace answered.
"So, you're looking for books?" Maia restated.
"Basically, one like the one Magnus had that night, wait you weren't there," Jace then explained how Magnus had banished Sebastian into hell. With help from Isabelle and Simon to fill in the rest that went on, including the thing with Clary's rune, Jordan and Maia were filled in.
"Wait, why don't you just ask Magnus for the book that he used? If it's as old as you said it was then it's probably got something in it," Jordan offered.
Jace groaned, "Stupid warlock left before I could get a chance to ask him for it, and when I remembered to ask about it he wouldn't answer me, he just gave me the list of names and such for my contacts."
"Well what does the book look like exactly, not just old and stuff, but were there any specific markings on it? Maybe we can try going to some of your, acquaintances, and describing it to them. Maybe they'll, I don't know, recognize it?"
Jace looked as if he were racking his brain, "It was ancient, the pages were so yellow and powdery that you'd think they'd crumble if you blew on them. The writing was all faded."
"I remember that it looked like it was bound in old leather," Isabelle added.
Something pricked Simon's mind when Jace spoke, but he couldn't place why…..
"Was it like, sewn together?" Jordan asked. "What if it wasn't leather but human skin." He said aghast.
"Oh Jordan don't be ridiculous," Maia lightly slapped his arm, "But, yeah, was it like bound by something?"
An annoying thought kept poking Simon in the back of his memory, and it bothered him that he couldn't reach it.
What is it?
"It had a reddish, spine, but faded red so it looked like-"
"Dried blood?!" Jordan interrupted again, then shouted 'Ow!' when Maia slapped him upside the head.
"I was going to say cherry wood," Jace spoke, his brow furrowed in concentration, "And there were wrinkled marks on it, like the letters had peeled off."
Almost got it! Simon thought as the thought reached the edge of his memory but then it slipped away again, Dang it!
"Hey are you okay?" Izzy asked him quietly, squeezing his hand, "You looked like you're thinking hard."
"Yeah," was all Simon said.
"What's up with you Simon?" Jordan piped in too, noticing Simon's concentration.
"Probably thinking about Sharon," Jace said absently, his mind still on the book, not realizing the enormous effect his words would cause.
"Jace! Simon and I already shoved that vampire out of the way. She's gone, right Simon?" but Simon wasn't paying attention to Isabelle, he was gasping as Jace's words sank in his mind and caused an epiphany to explode in his mind.
Sharon…book….Sharon…lots of books….lots of old books….
He screwed his eyes shut in concentration, willing his memory to work. He saw it, the one book that kept drawing his attention in the library that he'd been with Sharon. A spine, a faded red spine…
"I GOT IT!" He suddenly shouted. "Oh my GO-" he then collapsed, clutching at his throat because he tried say God.
"Stupid Daylighter," Jace mused, now paying him full attention. Simon only half heard him, as he felt Isabelle pat him on the back.
"Simon, what's wrong?"
"He tried to say 'God,' that's what's wrong," Jace answered.
"What did you get Simon?" Maia tried to speak above all of them.
"Why can't he say God?" Jordan asked.
"Cause vampires who still believe get hurt by it, they're considered unholy creatures." Jace responded.
"Oh, that's too bad Si," Jordan consoled him.
"So it wasn't because of Sharon?" Izzy asked him.
"WHAT DID YOU GET SIMON?" Maia practically shouted.
"If everyone were to shut up, maybe I can tell you!" Simon spoke through his hurt throat.
Everyone, even Jace, stayed quiet.
"That book, the one we saw Magnus with, I think I know where we can find another copy of it."
Jace stood up, "Are you sure you saw that Simon? Sure you're not confusing it for anything else?"
"I have perfect vision, of course I saw it." Simon answered. "It's in a library I saw at Atlas's house when I went to see Sharon. When I glanced at it I didn't really pay I much attention to it, but it seemed familiar, only until now did I realize why."
"Great!" Jordan announced, "Then we can just go to Atlas's house, or better yet, call Sharon and ask her for it!"
"Um…That's not going to be easy," Simon responded, causing Jordan's face to screw in confusion.
Maia rolled her eyes, "He broke up with her, do you really think she's gonna want to let him in her house after that?"
"Oh."
But Jace kept nodding his head, "Simon may not be able to go, but I'll take the risk." He looked towards Simon, "Where's the vampire's house? I'll sneak in if I have to."
"That's another problem. I don't know where," he told them, "I was Portaled there, all I remember is what it looks like from the inside."
"Can't Magnus just Portal us there?" Maia asked.
Now it was Jordan's turn to reprimand Maia, "Magnus hasn't been answering their calls, remember Maia? He's off in, where was he again?"
"Mexico," Isabelle answered, "And I don't know why this long either, I mean, yeah it's Magnus, but three whole months? I swear when Alec comes back he better not be wearing a sombrero and singing mariachi music and-"
A ring pierced the air, and Isabelle was distracted by her phone in her pocket. As she pulled it out, she whistled, "Speak of the devil, it's Alec."
She clicked something on her phone, and after about five seconds spoke, "He says 'hey Iz, sorry for being gone for so long, hope you haven't gotten into any trouble' Psh….I want to know what naughty things he's been doing with Magnus! Anyway, he also says, 'After three weeks of begging Magnus, we'll be coming back later tonight. I hope the Institute is still in one piece. P.s- How's Jace?'"
Izzy put her phone away.
Jordan spoke again, "Well, isn't that convenient."
"What is?" Maia asked.
"The fact that when we needed Magnus, he'll be here. It's almost as if someone planned for things to end up this way. Like in the movies, or books, or stories, where authors and writers make things happen to cause this huge twist that affects the whole plot. You know?" Jordan looked around, waiting for a response.
"Don't be stupid, no offense," Jace told him, "But that sort of stuff happens in bad stories. And this is real life, get used to it."
"But-"
"We're getting a book, Jordan, don't blow things up to massive proportions." Isabelle said, her thumbs already quickly texting Alec to tell Magnus what they needed him to do.
"We?" Jace suddenly chirped, "What do you mean 'we'?"
Isabelle hit send, and give Jace a 'duh' look, "You're not going in on this on your own, I'm coming too."
"So am I, this could get interesting," Maia added.
"Where you go, I go." Jordan nodded to Maia.
"I know the place better than any of you, and if anything happens, Sharon will believe me more than you guys, so of course I'm coming." Simon interjected.
Jace threw his hands up in exasperation, "Why don't we just invite all of New York to come too, should be fun huh?" his sarcasm practically stained every word.
"Well, they surely could fit all of New York in that mansion, it's huge," he felt obliged to say.
"So now what?" Maia abruptly asked, "We've got to wait until evening, what do we do until then?"
"I'm going to get my weapons," Jace marched for the door but Isabelle grabbed his arms and swung him back onto the couch.
"Oh now you don't, you're still in relaxing mode," she said crossly.
Simon looked out of the window in the apartment while Jace and Isabelle argued. It was barely the afternoon, they still had hours before evening. He didn't want to think about the consequences of going back and possibly facing Sharon's wrath.
As he stared outside, he saw that small snow flurries were covering the window. Striding away from the group, which was now yelling about something having to do with spoiled apple juice, Simon peered out of the window, only to notice that it had been snowing heavily outside, for a while, and none of them had realized this.
"Hey guys," he called out to them, and they all stopped at different times, so that he heard Isabelle say, 'apple juice shots'. He smiled, "Let's have a snowball fight."
Lacie: Clary, sit back down in your chair!
Clary: No! D: *cowers on top of the desk where the microphones are*
Chris: You can sit in my lap
Clary: What if your chair is possessed too!
Lacie: *sighs* just don't step on my microphone. Hello everyone, sorry about the long wait, (yet again, hahaha) but you have to give these chapters time. Honing my inner author is difficult.
Chris: That's a lie. She's been distracted
Lacie: Shut up Chris! I can get off of my phone whenever I want. I just need to shut it off and ignore the world and then I can write!
Clary: I have a great great grea great grear times another bunch of greats- great uncle? And he's a warlock?
Chris: he's my uncle too
Clary: But he had red hair, so he's more my uncle than yours ;)
Chris: He could have killed you though
Clary: But he DIDN'T
Chris: True
Lacie: Yep yep yep. How you guys liking the story? Will Clary and the gang somehow meet up, unexpectantly?
Clary: Can we please!
Chris: Hello, still in hell, would like to get out
Lacie: I'm getting to you next chapter, calm down. And Clary SIT DOWN you're stepping all over my tortillas!
Clary: I am?
Chris: Tortillas?
Lacie: Don't ask *rolls one up and eats it* Now my precious reviewers, please, umm. Review. Yeah. That's it. Do that. Cause you can. You know you can. DON'T IGNORE THAT BUTTON DOWN THERE I KNOW YOU CAN SEE IT
Special thanks to ItsTerror1225 for having me in his story! You guys should check him out, he's just starting but he's pretty cool.