Hey, I am Susi and this is my first published story. English is not my first language, so please be nice ;-) I am curious how you like it.
Sorry, I had to adjust the first and second chapters to make sense with the main story.
...
In was just another night for him and Alec. After finishing patrolling their sequence, they made their way to Pandemonium to get a few drinks. Alec was talking to Magnus, who had met them there, while Jace just had a look around. Maybe there was a nice girl to hook up with.
„Hey, you guys want another one of those creepy things you are drinking?"
Jace turned to his parabatai and the warlock. They both looked at their empty drinks and nodded, Magnus having a wide grin on his face. Jace sighed. By the archangel, how could they drink something that was glittering and puffing like a volcano? In this matter, Magnus had a bad influence on Alec.
After a few more drinks and a slightly drunken Alec, they made their way to the exit. Since Alec was now living at Magnus' apartment, Jace would be heading back to the Institute alone.
„See you tomorrow my brother!", Alec cried and hugged Jace awkwardly. Jace tried to hide a laugh but failed.
„Yeah, I will call you tomorrow morning, see how you're feeling. Magnus? Please, do me the favour of not healing him from a hangover."
Magnus bowed slightly and with a grin on his face he said:
„My pleasure, young shadowhunter."
„Young to you maybe", Jace mumbled as he left. But he was in his thirties now. He started to feel kinda old.
After he made sure Magnus would bring Alec safe to their place, he got himself a rune, so he was invisible to mundis. He just wanted to be left alone while running to the institute. It was still high live on the streets surrounding the Pandemonium. He observed everyone. Most of them were really drunk, eating some kind of junk food. There were hardly any mundis nearby – only downworldlers visited the Pandemonium - but then his eyes stumbled upon a small figure. She stood out from all the other people on the street. Jace couldn't get a hold on why it was like that. Was she so shockingly mundane? Was she just pretty? Or was it something else? Maybe he just needed someone very badly right now. It was a long time since he had a warm body in his sheets.
The young woman with the mouse-brown, shoulder-long hair was talking to a guy with tattoos all over his body. She wouldn't notice, but Jace was pretty sure, that the big snake on his forearm was actually real – hiding on his body. She was short but didn't look to fragile. Her tight dress revealed muscles under her skin. Before he could get lost in staring, they said goodbye with a quick hug and she turned and walked right up to Jace's direction. She wasn't looking where she was going. But why should she? For her eyes, the sidewalk was empty. Jace wanted to move sideways, but in the same moment, she dug up her phone from her jeans pocket and her elbow collided with his chest. She looked up and right into his eyes. Her eyes were green and he noticed right away that she was one of those people who always seemed to have a smile on their face.
„Sorry... I am so very clumsy", she mumbled and then her gaze went over his rune tattoos. Her eyes went wide.
„I am in a hurry...", was all she said, before she stumbled backwards and into the other direction. Jace's mind was one step to slow to process what just happened. But eventually he clicked back in place. She could see him! Why could a mundane girl see him? A bad feeling of a dejà-vu hit him. Maybe she wasn't mundane at all. He should just let it go. The last time a mundane girl saw him, it didn't go well.
She was already behind a corner, when he decided to follow her. But Jace was the best shadowhunter in history. Nothing special to him to track down a person. Or so he thought.
After he turned the corner, the smile that had crept across his face, fell. She was nowhere to be seen. Swearing, he made his way back to the club. The tattoo guy was still around. He went right to him.
„Hey, how well do you know the woman, you were talking to just a minute ago?"
The guy – who seemed to be a warlock – looked at him suspiciously.
„Why do you wanna know?"
„Because I am a shadowhunter", he said impatiently and stepped closer to the guy.
"Understood?", he added in dangerously low tone. Jace was much bigger than him. The warlock seemed to sense that it was best not to mess with him, because he held up his hands in surrender.
„Alright, keep it cool, man. She's just a friend. What do you wanna know? She hasn't got a boyfriend, if that's what it's about."
„She is a mundane, isn't she?", Jace asked and ignored his last comment.
„Yes, man, but she knows everything about our world. I think she's a witches' apprentice, but I don't know for sure."
Jace thought for a moment. That could explain the second face. But he never heard that witches had mundane apprentices and he definitely didn't hear about them being able to gift the second face.
„Do you know where she lives?"
The guy seemed to get uncomfortable by his questions.
„Man, do you really need to know? She's very protective of her personal space -"
„I need to know.", Jace stated and then whispered low:
„If you do not cooperate, than I will have no choice but to take you to the Silent Brothers..."
He let his empty threat sink in a few seconds. Then the guy talked his head off.
„Fine, fine. You have to believe me, when I say, I don't know her exact address. As I said, she is very protective of her personal space. She will never let me bring her home after a nights' out. I have never been at her place. The only time I was allowed to pick her up, she waited for me at a corner of 116th. It was near the university. Please, don't take me to the Silent Brothers…"
Jace just clapped his shoulder and started running north.
