Hey guys. Sorry for the long wait. I had SATs and stuff... It was awful. I'm glad it's over. Your patience is really appreciated! :)
Jace sat at the table in the kitchen, tapping his foot impatiently against the floor, a mug of coffee sitting untouched on the table before him. He'd been up since he'd caught Clary leaving in the predawn hours, and hadn't bothered sleeping since. He'd been up for long hours before. At this point, he didn't even notice the fatigue.
It bothered him, not knowing things. Especially when those things involved Clary. He'd thought, more than once, about following her after she'd left for Magnus'-with her luck, something was bound to happen. But he'd told her that he trusted her, and he did. And Clary was capable of handling herself. Jace would just have to get used to it. Though he still wasn't particularly jazzed with having been left behind.
He'd resigned himself after she'd left to pacing his bedroom, and after that, to lying on his back on his bed and staring up at the ceiling in the dark, anticipating sunrise and Clary's return.
She'd told him she would explain when she got back. Until then, all he could do was wait. And it was driving him a little crazy.
Alec appeared after a while, poured himself some coffee, and flung himself down in the chair across from Jace, looking haggard. He could try all he wanted to put on a brave face and attempt to hide how worried he was about everything, but he couldn't fool Jace. And probably not Isabelle either for that matter. Alec was terrified, though he tried to hide it. He always seemed to Jace lately to be repressing emotion, even more so than usual, not that Jace had any ground to stand on in that department.
"You look like hell," Jace said by way of greeting.
"Thanks a lot," Alec answered. He didn't seem inclined to say anything more. Jace just looked at him for a minute. He thought back to the conversation the two of them had had back in Edom, when Magnus had been kidnapped along with the other Downworld council members. Alec had asked how he would be doing in his position, if Clary had been the one in trouble. Jace had answered then that he would have been in pieces. The same thing applied now, perhaps on an even larger scale.
Now, there was no if. Magnus was definitely going to go through with his plan, the plan that would almost definitely kill him. Alec was essentially counting down the days until he lost the love of his life. Jace couldn't even imagine how he would feel in his parabatai's shoes. He couldn't bear to think about it.
Jace opened his mouth to speak, but Alec, staring down at the mug in his hands, stopped him. "Don't." Jace quickly closed his mouth again. "I know you care," Alec said earnestly, "And you know I appreciate it, but I just… I can't. I don't want to talk about it."
The thought to change the subject to a sarcastic one crossed Jace's mind, but instead, he simply said, "Alright."
Alec met his eyes. "Thank you." Jace nodded and the two lapsed into silence once more.
Clary appeared shortly after this, back from her escapade to Magnus'. She had only to peek her head into the doorway and meet Jace's eyes before he was standing up from his seat and heading to follow her out, patting Alec's shoulder as he passed.
He followed her to her room and closed the door behind him. They stood a few feet from it, in the middle of the room, facing each other. He was relieved to see her back and safe. He'd been worried, despite himself.
"Hi," she said, speaking for the first time.
"You know," he began in response, "'Trusting you' is a nerve-wracking exercise."
"Sorry. You know how important this is."
"No. I don't even know what 'this' is, but if you say it is, I believe you. Which is the only reason I let you go."
"I know. Thanks for that."
"What's going on?"
"I saw a new rune…"
"I don't think we should tell Alec," Clary said, "It's already a touchy subject. I don't want him to hate me." Again. She'd been there before, almost a year earlier, and wasn't anxious for a repeat.
"I agree," Jace replied, "He definitely wouldn't like it. Honestly, we should probably just keep this between us. It worked out best that way last time."
Clary smirked at him, "What makes you so important, huh? Being in on everything?"
Jace grinned cockily back at her, "I happen to be quite special."
"Yeah," Clary snorted, before falling back into seriousness. "No, actually I'd rather word not get around either. I just wanted someone else to know. You were the obvious choice."
"Like I said. Special."
She eyed him, fighting a smirk. "Don't forget nosy and overprotective."
"I'm overprotective because I love you."
She did smile now, her chest filling with the familiar warmth, as it did every time he said those words. "I know. You're getting better."
"As for the nosy part…"
"You should probably quit while you're ahead," she told him, smiling, "And we should probably go. Alec probably thinks we're doing slightly more than just talking in here."
Jace's expression took on a devilish smile. He closed the short distance between them and set his hands on her hips, his golden eyes glittering. "Would you rather do something slightly more than just talking?" he asked provocatively.
Blushing at his tone and fighting another smile, Clary trailed her eyes slowly over him before meeting his eyes once more. "Maybe," she allowed evenly, "But," she added, deftly removing herself from his light grasp. "Breakfast first. I'm starving."
Jace apparently agreed to those terms. Still grinning, he took her hand and led her out of the room.
The sun was setting as Clary and Isabelle walked the Manhattan sidewalks, patrolling. The sky ahead of them was illuminated in peaceful pinks and oranges as the last minutes of daylight came to a close, taking the residual heat of the day with them and replacing it with the cooler air of evening, for which, Isabelle was immensely grateful. It would be September soon, which hopefully would mean a break from the perpetually hot days. Already, the nights were getting cooler.
They were about halfway through their nightly watch. Frankly, Isabelle was sick of having to do them. The Shadowhunters had set up a rotation for the patrols, but with only five of them available regularly and the need for two rounds a day, they all were getting their fair share of demon slaying. Before all of this had started, Izzy had enjoyed hunting demons. It had been something of a sport for her, a rush of adrenaline and the satisfying knowledge of ridding the earth of one more evil. It had been fun. Now though, the necessity and frequency of the hunts just weighed her down. It was nothing more than a chore now; a dangerous chore that required way too much energy and time, and never ended. She was just so tired, in every sense of the word.
Between the constant patrols and the million other things going on, she was ready to have it all over with. She was tired of waiting, and fearing, and dreading. At this point, whatever was going to happen would happen and there was likely nothing any of them could do about it anyway. This needed to end. Soon.
"This sucks," Clary said, a statement Isabelle thought summed up her own thoughts pretty nicely.
"Tell me about it," she replied as they turned another corner.
Clary sighed. "Sometimes I wonder if it was worth it. Embracing this life. I mean, it's cool most of the time, and I definitely would have wanted to know the truth about my mom and Valentine and everything, but if I had just gone back to being normal after all of that, things would have been a lot easier, I think. For everyone."
"I wouldn't say that. I mean, if you hadn't become a Shadowhunter, we would all most likely be dead. Jace definitely would, at least. Simon would have been a vampire either way, and he still would be. Valentine and Sebastian would have decimated the mundane population building an army to fight Downworlders, the Accords would have failed completely, and it would have been complete chaos everywhere. So yeah, I, for one, am very glad you did."
Clary looked at her cynically. "You make it sound like I singlehandedly stopped all of that from happening."
"Well, you kind of did. You played a huge role, at least. The only reason we were able to beat Valentine's army was because of your rune. Same with Sebastian's. I don't think you give yourself enough credit, Clary. You're kind of a big deal." Clary looked straight ahead again as they walked, shaking her head slightly, but Isabelle thought she could see the traces of a smile on her face too. "Besides," she continued, "If you hadn't become a Shadowhunter, you probably wouldn't be dating Jace right now. Even if he hadn't died."
The other girl paused a second before responding, "I guess that's true, at least. I'm just sick of this."
"You and me both, Sister." Isabelle paused, smirking, "You know what I want to do? When this is all over?"
"Besides sleep, you mean?"
"I want to go on a date. Like a real date. With Simon. I don't think we've ever actually done that. Not with him as one of us, anyway. It is long overdue."
Clary grinned. "You should tell him that. Give him something to look forward to."
"I think I will. What about you? When was the last time you and Jace got out together?"
She thought for a second. "Does an impromptu picnic in Central Park count?"
"Sure, why not?"
"Then the day Simon's mom found out about us, I guess. What, probably two months ago?"
"See? We're all overdue for some fun." This was still new to Isabelle, this kind of talk. She'd been the only girl around for so long before Clary, and it had taken some getting used to. She liked having the redhead around now though, liked being able to talk about relationships and do her makeup for her, though she doubted Clary enjoyed the latter activity as much as she did. It was nice not having to deal with all the testosterone alone 24/7 anymore.
Clary answered, "I think we-"
But Isabelle would never know what she thought because in that moment, some invisible force knocked the two of them violently off their feet and sent them flying. The last thing Isabelle saw before everything went black was Clary hitting the ground hard beside her, her head taking the brunt of the hit, and her small frame crumpling.
Jace's heart was in his throat, suffocating him. He felt like he couldn't breathe. He'd never been this worried before, not for anyone. Clary and Isabelle had been due back over an hour ago, and neither of them was answering her cell phone. They'd been late enough for everyone to notice, and then late enough to warrant search parties being sent out. He'd known something was wrong immediately when Clary hadn't picked up. She always answered his calls while patrol. Or called back quickly afterward. He'd tried again, and then again. They'd all gone straight to voicemail. It was only when the tracking runes had given them inconclusive results that had Jace completely lost it.
He had a very bad feeling about this.
The Shadowhunters had split up to search; Jace and Alec went one way, Simon and Maryse the other, which left the Institute empty and unguarded, but it was the best option at the moment. The wards around it would have to suffice.
The parabatai ran at a quick jog down the sidewalks, moving as fast as they could while still being thorough in the dark. Jace held the Sensor as they ran, scanning for any trace of demonic frequencies nearby that would lead them to the girls. So far there had been nothing, which was maddeningly frustrating.
He couldn't stop thinking about her as he ran. Her eyes, her smile, that adorable look she gave him when he said something sarcastic, which he absolutely adored. He couldn't stop thinking the worst. He was worried about Isabelle too, but she had always been able to handle herself, even in rough situations. She hardly ever needed help. Clary, though she had blossomed into an immensely talented Shadowhunter, was still so new to this. And so much smaller. And, by the Angel, he loved her so much. And he was driving himself crazy.
The Sensor began to vibrate subtly in his hand. Jace slowed to a stop, pressing buttons to enhance the signal, and a second later, Alec joined him. "Got something?" he asked.
Jace nodded, scanning the area. "Definitely demonic. And it's gone now."
"Scout the area," Alec said, echoing Jace's thoughts. He nodded. Jace was exceptionally good at hiding his emotions, had been for a long time, but as they spilt up, Jace could fee his mask slipping and was glad Alec was the only one with him. Something bad had happened here. He just knew it.
It was a stretch of sidewalk in one of the sketchier parts of Manhattan, surrounded by abandoned buildings and vacant lots, probably all that remained of them in New York, filled with weeds and city garbage. Jace scoured the uneven pavement of the surrounding roads, looking for any signs of what could have happened, his witchlight the only decent source of illumination. The Sensor was still picking up the frequency.
"Jace," Alec called from the other side of the street. His tone was urgent, and not at all reassuring, and as Jace neared where his parabatai had crouched down and was shuffling in his witchlight's eerie glow, he figured out why. Before Alec, splayed out on the ground like a ragdoll, was Isabelle. Jace broke into a sprint and was at their sides in seconds. It was obvious Clary wasn't with her. His heart stuttered in dread as he crouched down beside Alec, who had propped his sister's long, crumpled frame up on his lap and was tending to her, to help.
After a few minutes and a couple of iratzes, Isabelle stirred, and a moment later, opened her eyes. She had two black eyes and a sliced lip, as well as a decently sized cut on the back of her head. "Clary," she slurred, looking around frantically, "Clary."
"Shhh," Alec comforted her, "Izzy, it's okay. What happened?"
"Where's Clary?" Jace demanded desperately, "Izzy-"
"She's gone," she answered, "I don't know what happened. I'm sorry, Jace. I'm so-" She was crying.
"It's not your fault, Izzy," Alec told her, helping her to sit up. Jace's head was spinning. He looked away, and his eyes landed on a familiar shape on the ground a few feet from them. He walked toward it-he knew if he stayed where he was, he was bound to lash out-and fished it off the cracked asphalt.
It was a cell phone, and on the ground around where it laid, blood, and no small amount of it. The screen was badly shattered, but it was unmistakably Clary's. The screen lit behind the shattered glass and he could just make out the notifications on the home screen. 6 Missed Calls: Jace. For a few minutes, he could only stare, thinking the absolute worst.
Numbly, he walked back to where Alec was just standing up, pulling his own cell phone from his pocket and unlocking it. Isabelle still sat on the ground, knees pulled into her chest, looking miserable and still slightly dazed. He stopped to stand near Alec, who now had his phone to his ear, probably calling the others. He glanced down at Clary's shattered phone still in Jace's hand and placed a hand comfortingly on his shoulder as whoever he had called answered and he began explaining what had happened, relaying their location, and calling off the search. Jace stopped listening quickly.
"I'm so sorry, Jace," Isabelle said softly. He didn't answer. If either of them said anything further, he didn't know or care. Their words were lost to him. He felt like the whole world had just come out from under him. And it had. She was his whole world.
And she was gone. Clary was gone. Missing. Kidnapped. Possibly already dead.
Alec finished his phone call and helped his sister to her feet, slung her arm over his shoulders, supporting most of her weight, and proceeded to help her back toward the Institute. Jace followed behind in a daze, his thoughts far away in a dark, awful place, worry and fear almost overtaking him as he went. The girl he loved was in danger, injured, and alone with the malevolent thing that had taken her. And he was far from okay. He was in pieces.
Bet you weren't expecting that, were you?