Seven

Jasmine spent the majority of the drive stewing in silence, listening absently as Jace directed Simon to one of the entrances to the City of Bones.

She reflected on her own experience with the Silent Brothers and shivered as she thought of what Clary would be subjected to. They weren't beings to be taken lightly - Jasmine forgot that they were Shadowhunters, or even human, sometimes.

The echoes of ragged screams still rattled around in her mind, mirrored by faceless, robed men with exorbitant power. She dreamt about it, some nights - and it always ended with her jolting awake in a cold sweat. She glanced over at Clary, watching as the redhead intently listened to whatever Jace was telling her. The idea of another innocent person being driven to madness made Jasmine sick to her stomach.

The van jostled violently as Simon drove over a particularly deep pothole, and she directed her attention to the windscreen. A massive bridge towered over them as they finally arrived at the entrance to the City of Bones. Here we go.

The group ambled out of the van. Jasmine kept a hand close to the hilt of her seraph blade, her gaze scanning the abandoned surroundings. It was dark, and must have been close to midnight. An old pickup truck was ditched not far from where Simon had parked. It looked like someone had set it alight - the frame of the vehicle was brittle and charred black, and wild plants and vines grew in the car's skeleton.

"Yeah, this place isn't creepy," Simon mumbled, as if to himself. "Not at all."

Isabelle cracked a grin. "Don't tell me you're afraid."

The mundane scoffed. "Are you kidding? I was born afraid," he responded with a confidence that didn't match his words. Though, he seemed to realise this and continued hesitantly. "Which sounded a lot better in my head."

Jasmine was already moving away from the group, her limbs itching to explore and check the area. Movement followed behind her, and Alec's deep voice echoed throughout the clearing. "Let's check it out."

She faintly heard Jace telling Clary to stay put and winced, fully expecting some sort of rebuttal. However, one did not come - perhaps Clary was considering the danger that she was becoming more and more entrenched in.

"Hey."

Jasmine turned towards the voice. Alec, Jace and Isabelle were hunched together, their murmurs purposefully low.

"If something goes wrong…". The sound of Alec's voice trailed off the further she walked.

Truthfully, she'd wanted to get away from the discussion. No matter how much Hodge might want to integrate her into the team, it was tough to crack into the impenetrable trio they made. She'd never really had a set team to work with, always being tasked to different shadowhunters with each mission. The closest she'd gotten to a regular team was with Kian, Zak and Tia - and then she'd been whisked away to the New York Institute. She could admit she felt intimidated by the challenge of weaselling her way in - with a potentially lonely outcome.

A chill swept across Jasmine's shoulders, though she couldn't tell if it was the light breeze or something else that caused it. The wooded area was quiet - almost deathly silent. Usually, the skittering of wildlife could be heard - night or day - but not a single snap of a twig reached her ears. It put her on edge.

"Clary! It's all clear," Jace's voice filtered through the trees.

Jasmine remained, staring at the woodland expanse as if something might jump out at her. She could hear the group rustling through the brush, and figured they were making their way to the entrance to the City of Bones. After a few moments, she let out a breath and followed them, trailing behind enough so that she could see all members of the group.

The walk only lasted about five minutes, and then they found themselves standing before a crypt. The statue of a skeleton pinned to the ornate stone was enough of an indication that they were in the right place. From the spine of the skeleton was a pair of wings; a sort of grim angel of death. In its long, skeletal hands was a cup, the golden rim studded with jewels. There was a date inscribed on a thick slab of stone beneath the skeleton, alongside a Latin phrase. '1234: Nephilim Facilis Descensus Averno', it read.

"What is it?" Clary breathed out, a similarly startled Simon next to her.

"That," Jasmine started, pointing to the goblet. "Is meant to be the Mortal Cup. And that is the motto of the Nephilim below."

The redhead squinted to read it. "What does it mean?"

Jace stepped forward, a bright grin on his face. "It means 'Shadowhunters: Looking Better in Black Than the Widows of our Enemies Since 1234'."

Clary and Simon gave him an unimpressed look. "Jace–"

"It means," Jasmine interjected. "The descent into Hell is easy."

Clary huffed out a breath, and she shivered as a breeze washed over them. "Nice and cheery… I can do this," she whispered, though loud enough that the whole group could hear her.

"Yeah, you can," Simon encouraged enthusiastically. "You're Clary freakin' Fray. You can do anything." He moved forwards, towards the skeleton, but soon found the firm hand of Jace placed against his chest - halting his progress.

"All right, hold up," Jace told him.

"Surprise, surprise," Simon laughed - though it was one borne of bitterness, rather than actual humour. "No mundanes allowed, just like in the training room, right? Wrong! I've seen every horror movie ever made and the funny best friend who gets left behind… dead man."

Jasmine smirked as Isabelle let out a full-bodied laugh at Simon's words.

Jace simply crossed his arms, looking away from the mundane. "You're not that funny… but, by all means, go ahead."

Simon smiled triumphantly and walked towards the dark entrance to the bone city. "Of course," Jace continued off-handedly. "The minute you enter, you'll die."

"You see, the problem is, now I don't trust you."

Alec stepped forward. "He's not lying."

"Now," Isabelle sang from behind him. "He was before."

Simon glanced between each member of the group, taking in the amused expressions of Jace and Isabelle, the stony face of Alec, and the concerned frown Clary was giving him. His brown eyes stopped on Jasmine, and they begged her to tell him good news. Unfortunately, she couldn't give it to him.

"The sheer, raw energy of the runes used by the Silent Brothers will kill you, or any mundane, who tries to enter the City of Bones…" Jasmine explained, wincing at the dismayed expression on his face. "So, please." She gestured for him to step away from the entrance.

"The Brothers creep me out," Isabelle sighed, and then turned a grin towards a put-out Simon. "I'll mind the mundane."

"Your sacrifice is noted, Izzy," Jace responded, moving towards the gated crypt.

Simon whipped out a joke about sacrificing a 'financial analysis class' of all things and it seemed to finally take a toll on Alec.

"I can't be here anymore," he explained, pointedly waving a hand in Simon's face. "So, Jace, I'm gonna mind the perimeter."

Jasmine glanced between his broad, retreating back and the sappy moment that was currently happening between Clary and Simon - with Isabelle watching on in amusement - and decided that she, too, would very much like to mind the perimeter.

She moved off, not too far away from where Alec had placed himself and was resolutely looking away from Simon and Isabelle. Casting her mind back to their last run-in, she decided against striking up a conversation. The tightness of his jaw told her he wasn't in a talkative mood. Suffer in silence it shall be then.

The four of them remained in quietude for what felt like eternity. Simon warmed his hands over a burning oil drum whilst Isabelle and Alec lingered in front of the entrance to the crypt. Jasmine was sitting on a large boulder, just off to the right of the three - listening and watching.

Until finally.

"So, is cracking someone's mind open supposed to take this long?" Simon asked as nonchalantly as he could, though Jasmine could tell it was taking a toll on him. "Maybe we, or… you should go check?"

Alec gave an unamused smile. "Jace has it covered."

Isabelle twirled her hair around a finger, a cheshire grin on her lips. "Take my word for it. The Silent Brothers are most unpleasant."

Predictably, Simon became even more stressed out than before. Shaking his head as he stared into the open fire. "That's not helping… not at all. What if Clary can't handle the Brothers?"

"She'll be fine," Jasmine reassured him, gripping his attention. "Especially if she meets Brother Jeremiah. He's got a killer sense of humour for a guy who can't say anything." That didn't seem to calm Simon down - though Jasmine did relish in the tiny smirk it drew from Alec.

"Whilst unpleasant, they don't tend to be in the habit of turning shadowhunters' minds to mush," she continued. "And, from what I can tell, Jace seems to be a pretty capable fighter. He'll protect her."

Simon floundered at her words. "He seems capable? You– you don't know for sure?"

Aware of the pinning gaze of both Lightwood siblings, she simply shrugged with a smile. "I've only been here about a month. But, yeah, he seems alright." Sure, she was pulling on his leg a little, but she couldn't help it. His reactions were priceless.

"What– what does that…?"

"Do you ever stop talking?" Alec's voice cut in. Jasmine snorted a laugh but quickly narrowed her eyes when she saw that he was glancing between the mundane and her, unsure as to who he was addressing.

"Is he always so charming?" Simon scoffed, not bothering to talk directly to Alec, but to Isabelle instead.

"Only to a select few people it seems," Jasmine responded with a roll of her eyes, before she turned away to 'check the perimeter'. As she walked away, she could hear the obvious flirtation between Isabelle and Simon, and grinned as she imagined the displeased expression she knew would be on Alec's face.

Jasmine marched into the woodland in the opposite direction they came from, trying to listen out to any form of animal life. Yet silence continued to fill the brisk air. The presence of the City of Bones could cause such an anomaly, she supposed, given the eerie nature of the beings that dwelled within. Any animal with a sense of self-preservation would steer clear of the crypt.

She relaxed a tad, and frustration towards Alec instead rose up in her throat, leaving an awfully bitter taste in her mouth. What was his problem? Does he act like a colossal dick to all new shadowhunters who have yet to 'prove themselves' to the trio, like some sort of sick initiation? Once they were back at the Institute, she vowed to herself that she would get to the bottom of it.

Crack.

Jasmine whipped her head towards the sound; the first sound that came from the forested expanse. A sharp gust blew past her, the force of it making her stumble, and a stinging pain shot down her left arm.

She grabbed at her forearm, wincing. Blood seeped out from two small, circular punctures that certainly weren't there before. She took it for what it was - a warning.

"Shit."

Jasmine sprinted back to Alec, Isabelle and Simon, ducking under low-hanging branches and leaping over thick roots. It can't have been a coincidence that vampires were in the area at the very same time they were - and with a mundane, no less.

She burst out into the clearing. Alec was mid-conversation with Jace and Clary, whose teary eyes told Jasmine that her trip to the Silent City wasn't pleasant. Though Isabelle and Simon were nowhere to be seen. The three straightened immediately when they saw her.

"Where are they?" Jasmine demanded, her gaze pinned on Alec.

He started towards her, glancing to the bite on her arm. The trio froze and watched her blood slowly drip down her hand and onto the forest floor.

"Where are they?" She repeated frantically, moving closer to them - her eyes darting between them until someone gave her a damn answer.

The foliage on the outskirts of the clearing rustled loudly, and Isabelle darted out. "I told him to stay in the van. I've searched everywhere."

"Simon's gone?" Clary's voice was hysterical.

The brunette shook her head. "I can't find him." It was then that Isabelle saw the crimson mark on Jasmine's skin, her brown eyes widening.

"There are vampires out there," she told the group, striding past them and towards where Isabelle had come from. "We need to find him now."

The shadowhunters followed behind her as she sped through the woods, reaching where Simon had parked the van earlier in the night. The passenger side door was open, a phone and a pair of headphones abandoned on the seat; with no sign of Simon anywhere.

A shrill yell came from behind Jasmine, and Clary sprinted past to grab at Simon's things. "No! Simon?!"

"Is that the mundane's name?" A cold voice echoed down from above them.

Standing atop one of the supporting ledges of the large bridge were two vampires. One of them, a woman wearing a red cocktail dress, was dangling Simon over the edge by an ankle, and he looked absolutely terrified. The other one, a man in a black suit with a red smear across his mouth, was the one who addressed the group. He grinned widely as his eyes met Jasmine's and made a show of licking his lips.

Rage pulsed through her, and she barely registered when Alec moved to stand next to her.

"I'm afraid Simon's coming with us," the male vampire continued.

Clary moved closer to the vampires above them. "No - no, he's not a part of this!" She yelled in despair.

"And it'll be my pleasure to kill you unless you return him," Jace warned the vampire, holding the redhead back as she struggled to get to Simon.

"Careful," Alec interjected, his gaze pinned on the creatures. "We'd be violating the Accords."

"Have you forgotten he bit a chunk out of Jas?"

The vampire in the suit tutted in mock sympathy. "I'm afraid your sidekick is quite right." Conveniently ignoring the comment about the bite. "The Night Children have broken no laws. We're negotiating… The mundane - unharmed - in exchange for the Mortal Cup." He paused - clearly enjoying the chokehold he had on the group. "And the clock is ticking… tick tock, people."

The woman hoisted Simon up easily, as if he were made of paper, and the two of them looked about ready to flee. But, just before they disappeared, the male winked at Jasmine. "Oh and, for the record, you were delicious."

Jasmine's hand already had a grip on her seraph blade and she quickly unsheathed it, preparing to send it flying into the vampire's chest. But, with one mighty gust of breeze, they were gone - taking Simon with them.

Clary wailed out for her best friend, screaming his name as if sheer willpower would bring him back. The shadowhunters stared up at where the vampires were, the dawning realisation of their complex situation weighing heavily on their shoulders.

"Simon!"

"I don't understand. How can shadowhunters be better than– than what you people call mundanes?" Clary demanded as the group walked into the New York Institute.

The redhead was fuming - understandably so. The whole journey back to the Institute was uncomfortable, with Clary silently seething as she glared at all of the warriors. She didn't seem sure of who to be mad at more: Alec for being cruel to Simon, Jasmine for deserting the group, or Isabelle for leaving him alone. So she settled for taking it in turns to scowl at them all. Jace, at least, had been sort of spared - given that he had been with her the whole time. But that didn't mean he risked fueling her ire by trying to calm her down.

"Because we protect humans," Isabelle answered, as if the answer were obvious.

Clary tilted her head back and sighed deeply. Jasmine winced. "You're right," she started, her tone mocking. "Humans. You protect humans." Isabelle averted her gaze. "You left Simon all alone in the van. Great job, guys. You rock," she applauded sarcastically.

Alec - of course - couldn't keep his mouth shut. "There is some truth to the idea that human beings should have a modicum of common sense."

Jasmine rolled her eyes and Isabelle reprimanded her brother - not that he seemed to care.

Jace moved closer to Clary. "Look, they won't do anything to Simon. They just wanted to draw you out."

"Was biting Jasmine meant to draw me out too?" Clary countered, pointing towards the shadowhunter in question with her eyebrows raised.

Jasmine had applied an iratze on their way back to the Institute - less so because it was painful, and more because she wanted something to keep her busy while Clary was on her crusade. Thanks to that, however, the wound had healed over to become two, faint scars that barely even showed in certain lighting.

"They want the Cup," Jace continued, undeterred. "And they think you have it."

Clary shook her head. "But why do they think that? Why does anyone think that? What, my mom lies to me my entire life, except 'oh, by the way, there's this magic cup I hid on, like, the planet Bongo, but don't tell anyone'." She cut herself off of her rant, breathing heavily as the weight of the situation crushed her. "What am I supposed to do now?"

Predictably - ever the politician - Alec strode forward with his holier-than-thou suggestion. "We have to report to the Clave."

"Great," Jace responded dully.

"They have to know what we've learned about Valentine," he continued monotonously.

Clary sighed. "What, that he's my father?" She asked, eyebrows raised. "Great. Fine. Tell them. But what good does that do Simon?"

Jace sidled closer to her. "Clary, it's all connected. The vamps want the Cup."

"Why?" She demanded, her hands flying up in frustration. "It makes new Shadowhunters."

Jasmine glanced at Alec as he heaved a sigh. "Nobody wants Valentine forming an army loyal to himself."

"The Downworlders least of all," Jasmine tacked on - begrudgingly agreeing with Alec.

"Plus, it controls demons," Izzy added.

Jace took back the reins of the conversation, imploring Clary to understand. "They'll propose a trade. Simon for the Cup."

The redhead scoffed. "So, the vampires will trade Simon for the Cup and Valentine will trade my mother for the Cup… either way, I lose someone I love." She backed away from the shadowhunters, withdrawing into herself as she considered the impossible situation. "What if I just toss it up in the air and let them fight it out among themselves?'

"So, this doesn't matter to you?" Alec drawled.

"Yes, of course, it matters," Clary huffed before taking a stabilising breath. "Listen… when you saved my life… I put my trust in you." Her green eyes were focused on Jace. "Now, I need you to put your trust in me. I can't turn into what you are overnight."

Izzy nodded in agreement. "It's true. She was raised as a mundane."

"What are you, her spokesman now?" Alec asked his sister in derision.

"I don't need a spokesman, I need a plan," Clary interrupted, walking away from the group further into the Institute - towards the atrium which held numerous high-tech computers, their holographic screens casting a blue hue across the room.

"Look at all this stuff, these screens. I mean, can any of this help me find Simon?"

Jasmine and the others followed her to a large, oak table that was filled with documents and blueprints. "Where is he, anyway?" She asked. "Some kind of crypt in Transylvania?"

That drew Jasmine's attention. She'd yet to fully learn about the sort of Downworlders who inhabited New York - which groups were notorious in the area or had the most sway in the relationship between them and the shadowhunters.

"Actually, no," Jace answered. "That was Camille's outfit, right?" The question was directed towards Isabelle - who nodded confidently. "They're locals."

"They're at the Hotel DuMort, down in Gansevoort Street," Izzy supplied.

Clary shook her head, seemingly baffled. "And we came back here? Why? We have to go there. Let's go, now. Come on." She turned around, looking about ready to do just that.

"We need a Clave resolution for that," Alec retorted.

Isabelle sent Clary a sad smile. "The four of us can't declare war on the vamps all by ourselves."

"And we can't react without considering our options. Downworlders are slaves to their impulses… we're not."

Somehow the conversation soon de-escalated into a discussion of Downworlder kinks and flirtations. Jasmine was just as baffled as Clary appeared to be. Time was of the essence and they were discussing the dating potential of the Downworld?

"Okay, I can't listen to this. Simon's been kidnapped by vampires. I guess I'll have to take care of it myself," Clary sighed. She was about to turn away when Jasmine lightly grabbed her arm, willing her to stay.

"You're only going to get yourself - and Simon - killed," she told her, before turning to the rest of the group. "Clary is right - we need to do something, now. They are already in violation of the Accords… biting a shadowhunter and kidnapping a mundie."

Jace was nodding along, leaning his hands against the large table before them. "They made the first move - we're gonna take care of this ourselves, right now."

Alec similarly placed his hands upon the table, leaning closer and lowering his voice. "This is a bad idea. I–"

"Have you got a better one?" Jace cut off. "Jas is right. The vamps broke the Accords. The Clave will give us a lecture and then they'll be glad we did it."

"Even if we went ahead," Alec considered. "I don't see how we get out of here without having to explain where we're going. We need weapons, and we can't let anyone see us get them."

Jace smirked confidently. "I know where to get what we need."

A/N: Sorry for the wait - I've recently finished my Master's degree and am now relishing in the freedom to be able to write and not feel guilty about it! Thank you for everyone who has given this story a go, and continues to read despite my sporadic updates. It would mean a lot if you could leave a review and let me know how I'm doing :) Always very helpful.

Reviews:

Rose1414: Thank you! I'm glad you're enjoying the story so far. Receiving your reviews have been really helpful and encouraging :)

The otter reader: Thanks! I hope you enjoyed this chapter!