Sнadow Girl ▹ Jace Wayland (editing)

12.

"Rattus norvegicus" Magnus says peering down at the now ratified Simon.

"A common brown rat, nothing exotic."

"I don't care what kind of rat he is" Clary screeches. "I want him turned back."

Magnus Scratches his head. "No point," He says.

"That's what I said." Jace says smugly.

"NO POINT?" Clary shouts causing me to wince and Simon to hide himself away under her thumb. "HOW CAN YOU SAY THERE'S NO POINT?"

"Because he'll turn back on his own in a few hours," Magnus says completely calm as if clary hadn't just screamed in his face. "The effect of the cocktails is temporary. No point working up a transformation spell; it'll just traumatize him. Too much magic is hard on mundanes; their systems aren't use to it."

"I doubt his system is used to being a rat, either," Clary points out forcing me to have to play off my laughter as sneezing. "You're a warlock; can't you just reverse the spell?"

Magnus considers for a second. "No" He replies.

"You mean you won't"

"Clary he's a warlock, not your slave. He doesn't just do magic for free." I speak up trying to reason with her.

"The girl's right and you can't afford me."

"I can't take a rat home on the subway either," Clary argues back.

I walked off at this point sick of clary complaining. As I moved over to the door I spotted a large group of shouting vamps. The were rambling on about vandalized motorbikes and missing friends. This better no turn into anything more than a bloodsucker protest, I wasn't exactly in the mood to take on a hoard of pissed off vampires.

"They're probably drunk and passed out somewhere," Magnus says clearly bored with the whole ordeal. "You know how you lot tend to turn into bats and piles of dust when you've downed a few too many Bloody Marys."

"We can't go around picking up every pile of dust in the place just in case it turns out to be Gregor in the morning." A girl calls out from the group.

"Gregor will be fine. I rarely sweep," Magnus soothed. "I'm happy to send any stragglers back to the hotel come tomorrow—in a car with blacked-out windows, of course."

"But what about our motorbikes?" A thin boy asks whose blond roots were peeking out from his bad dye job and stake earring seemed to be a failed attempt to be ironic. "It'll take hours to fix them."

"You've got until sunrise" Magnus says starting to lose him calm demeanor. "I suggest you get started."

"All right, that's IT! Party's over! Everybody out!" Magnus announces raising his voice.

With a single twang the music ceased and a loud drone of complaint spread across the room. Though the all obediently shuffled out the front door. Jace pushed clary towards the door leaving us to follow behind in silence. Clary held onto her bag protectively as it now held her terrified rat bestie. Suddenly someone shoved hard into clary sending her spinning.

"Hey, pretty thing," he said. "What's in the bag?"

"Holy water" jace says appearing at her side in seconds.