predestined | jace herondale

25

Isabelle clears her throat when she pulls away, "Looking for Azazel."

"This is Sebastian Verlac, from the London Institute." Isabelle introduces the attractive blond man next to her, "When the demon came after me, Sebastian saved my life."

"Oh, I simply lent a hand." His British accent was thick, making him even more attractive.

Isabelle nods, "Sebastian's an expert on all things Azazel."

Sebastian places his hands behind his back, "When I studied abroad at the Paris Institute, I specialized in greater demons."

"Thanks for saving my sister." Alec held his hand out, "I'm Alec."

"Yeah, thank you." Jace held his out for Sebastian to shake after he shook Alec's, "I'm Jace."

"The great warrior in the flesh." Sebastian shook his hands, "Your reputation precedes you."

"As does yours." Sebastian looked between Clary and I, "Valentine's daughters."

"Unfortunately." I inhale sharply, holding my hand out, "I'm Zee."

"Zee." Sebastian softly smiled at me and shook my hand with a soft grip, lingering to the touch, "It's a pleasure."

I shot him a wary smile, before pulling my hand away and looking at Jace, noticing the hard look on his face.

Clary shook Sebastian's hand, "Don't hold it against me."

"Well, we don't choose our parents." Sebastian shook her hand, smiling at her, before they pull away.

Jace clears his throat, "So, tell us about Azazel. How do we take him down?"

"The only way to banish him is to puncture his demonic core." Sebastian began to explain, "In corporeal form, it's between the T8 and T9 vertebrae, but it's not that simple. The core is about the size of a pea."

Jace nods lightly, "Oh, so the entry point's right below his sternum?"

When Sebastian hums in response, Jace crosses his arms, "If I can get close enough, I can kill him."

"You wouldn't have enough velocity, and even if you did, the defeat's only temporary." Sebastian went in depth, "The nasty buggers always find a way to break out of their realm and come back."

"Thank you for the intel." Alec dismisses, "We'll take it from here."

Sebastian spoke up, "If I can, I'd like to help."

"We appreciate that, but you don't have clearance to go on mission." Alec shook his head, lNot this Institute."

Isabelle stares at him, "Alec, you can't be serious."

"Hey, Alec." Jace turned and faced him, "Look- he clearly knows more than us about Azazel, we could use all the help we could get."

Due to Alec's silence, Sebastian began to speak again, "Now, as far as tracking is concerned, we should really think about-"

"We have a very capable warlock for that." Alec cuts him off, looking between us all, "You do what you want, I'm gonna work with Magnus."

Then, he walks away, Isabelle chasing after her older brother.

-

"You wanted to see us?" Jace questions when him and I walked into the office where Inquisitor Herondale sat.

"Yes." She nods and looks up at us, "I told you I would decide what was next for you once Azazel was vanquished, so here we are."

Jace inhales sharply, "You can do whatever you want with me, but leave Zee out of this."