Chapter 4

I'm SOOOOOOOOO(Too many O's? Nope.) OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO sorry! Second Semester has not been kind! I get SO freaking much science homework it's not even funny! (Plus my science teacher likes to change the correct word to say 'turn off the lights' in French like five times a day. It's not even funny.) Writers block has not been kind. Okay, you guys have been so patient and obviously you don't want a A/N so….. here is chapter 4!

Clary didn't know how long she'd been there, but she didn't care. Her whole life, even her identity, was a lie. She closed her eyes, letting the soothing feeling of Jace rubbing circles on her knuckles, empty her mind of everything that had happened in the last while. "Are you going to be okay?" Jace asked, bringing her back from her thoughts. She nodded. "Ya," she said, opening her eyes to look at him. "I'm fine." She found comfort in his golden eyes. They seemed… different, from when they first met. Before they were harder to read, like he'd built up walls that he thought no one could ever break. Except for her. Now she could see more of what he'd hidden behind those swirling orbs of liquid gold that no one in a long time had seen. He cared. It shone brightly through his eyes like never before. He'd lost the ones he loved a long time ago, he wasn't going to let that happen again.

"We should probably head back inside." he said, gesturing towards the front door of the Institute. Clar shut her eyes and leaned her head on her shoulder. "But I'm comfy." she said in a tired voice. Jace then stood, making her fall towards the ground, catching herself on her elbow. She looked up at him and he smirked. "Well now you're not." he said. Clary rolled her eyes and reached a hand up to Jace, who took it and lifted her up off the ground. "Hopefully we won't find Isabelle beating Jonathan into a pulp for making you upset earlier." he said as they walked towards the door. When they walked in, they found Simon, Isabelle and Maia lounging around in Isabelle's office. Simon was on his phone, presumably watching Star Wars on Netflix, while Maia and Izzy were chatting while sipping on some coffee.

"Look who finally decided to show up for work." Isabelle said sarcastically, giving Clary a small smile as she entered the room. Clary gave her a small smile, then looked around the room curiously. "Where's Jon?" she asked. "Not in here obviously." Simon said, pulling out his ear buds. "Or Iz would be beating the crap out of him." Isabelle glared at him. "I would not!" she exclaimed. Her friends expressions told her otherwise. she rolled her eyes. "Are we going to sit here and talk about Isabelle beating Clary's brother to a pulp," Maia said before anyone could answer. "Even though he deserves it," Isabelle but in. "Iz! I forgave him! It's over!" Clary exclaimed. Maia rolled her eyes and continued. "Or, are we going to find out what happened to Clary's mom?" she finished. Clary smiled gratefully at her. "Well," Jace said, causing everyone to look at him. "The first one does sound fun to watch…" Clary elbowed him in the ribs and Simon snickered. "I'm joking!" he said, holding his ribcage where Clary hit him.

Clary and Maia left to go examine the remains while Simon went back to his office. Jace looked over to see Isabelle doing something on her computer. "Aren't you going to help them?" he asked. Isabelle just kept staring at the screen. "I'm going over the pictures of the remains trying to find possible cause of death…" she trailed off, chuckling at something on the screen. Jace left the office and walked around the corner and peaked into Isabelle's office through the large glass window. She was looking at the pictures, but she was also watching cat vines on the other half of the screen. Jace chuckled and walked towards the examination platform when someone called his name.

"Jace!" he turned around to see Alec, Magnus ho on his heels. "We need you." he said, out of breath. Had he run here or something? "What's u-" "Armel's been spotted." Alec said cutting him off. Jace's eyes widened. "Where?" he asked them. Magnus answered this time. "Woods near Tuckahoe Marble Quarry." They wasted no time heading out to the car and driving, with the lights and siren blaring, to the quarry. Nothing was stopping them.

…

Clary and Maia had been there for hours, examining every bone for the slightest idea of what had happened. So far, nothing. "Should we check the ribs again?" Maia said with a yawn. Clary nodded. It was getting late but she didn't care. She was going to find out what happened. "I heard what Seb did for you." Maia said. Clary stopped and sighed, looking down at the floor. "I remember, at one of our parties, I challenged him to a face of in Call of Duty Zombies and I totally pwned him. I will never forget the look on his face." She added with a smile getting a chuckle out of Clary. "If we can get enough evidence, we might actually be able to catch Armel." Clary said, looking back down at her mother's remains. Her and Maia picked up two to three ribs at a time, examining them closely for nicks and bruises. Nothing. Almost an hour later, it was 11:30 at night and they were getting pretty tired. Clary's eyes were drooping and she rested her head on the table for a minute. Maia however, was having a little trouble standing up straight. She had her elbows on the table, eyes almost completely closed, and wobbled. She took a step to catch herself, but knocked the skull and a tray of alcohol, q-tips and other supplies on the floor.

The loud crash woke the two instantly. "Shit!" Maia mumbled under her breath and leaned down to pick up the q-tips while Clary checked the skull over for injuries. Then she saw it. Inside the skull, was a large red stain, with some kind of mark in the middle of it. "Oh my god." Clary whispered under her breath. Maia looked up at her. "What? Is it fractured?" she asked, looking at the skull for damage. Clary looked at her, shaking her head. "I know cause of death."

Clary and Maia raced to Isabelle's office, skull in hand. Once they reached Isabelles office, they threw the door open and turned on the lights. Isabelle and Simon were curled up together on her couch, but the loud bang of the door hitting the wall and the light surprised them both. Simon shot up, looking around for his glasses while Isabelle fell onto the floor. Maia held back a laugh and bother her and Clary had small grins on their faces. "What the hell!?" Iz asked when she got off the floor. Then she saw who it was and her angered expression softened a little. "What's up?" Simon asked with a yawn. Clary held out the skull, face down, so they could see the inside. "I found cause of death." she stated and Isabelle walked up to get a better look, rubbing the sleep from her eyes. She squinted and looked closer. "My mom died from subdural hematona. Bleeding in th brain."

"I don't see an actual injury." Isabelle said, looking a little deeper inside. "Can you scan the inside and outside and see if it left a mark?" Maia asked. Isabelle rushed to the Sizzy-tron and started it up, getting the scanner set up. Simon groaned and put a pillow over his face. "Mm going back to sleep." he muttered. Maia walked over to the couch and pushed Simon off it onto the floor. He groaned and looked up at Maia, fixing his glasses. Maia smirked. "You're helping whether you like it or not."

I have plans! Writers block take a hike! I now have 2 fanfics going right now but it's helping my writers block! Cupcakes for EVERYONE! *happy dance!* As usual you guys are fabulous, I will try to update soon!

-TBBG