July 2016
IT STARTS LIKE ANY OTHER NORMAL DAY.
Maya sleeps straight through her seven-o-clock alarm — the weekend with her friends in San Diego having ended five hours before. She wakes up to the sound of Isabelle furiously honking the horn on her Miata, yelling from downstairs that she'll drag Maya out herself if she doesn't show up in the next five minutes.
The entire morning is a blur; Maya manages to throw together a decent-looking white off-shoulder top and denim shorts, grabbing her purse and fixing her unbrushed hair into a messy ponytail as she scrambles downstairs. Tessa is making pancakes for her and a sleepy-looking Mina, who's eating the cut-up strawberries clearly meant for garnishing. The sugary smell of maple syrup tempts her, but as her older sister fixes her with an annoyed glare, Maya's appetite ebbs away.
'Her highness has finally arrived!' Tessa proclaims, half-sarcastically, pointing dramatically with her spatula, 'Good God, what took you so long? That poor girl's been honking out there for half an hour!'
'I'm sorry!' Maya hisses, wobbling as she straps on her trusty heeled sandals (the only shoes that make her look 3 inches taller without absolutely decimating her feet), 'We got back at two a.m. . . . I wasn't exactly going to be bright and bushy-tailed at seven in the morning, '
'Please tell me you're not skipping breakfast, ' The older woman grumbles, as Maya shoots her an apologetic look, 'Last time, you almost fainted — '
'I'm not eight years old anymore, Tess, ' Maya groans; to pacify her, she fishes out a two-day-old KIND bar from her bag, 'I'll eat in the car, okay?'
'Just checking, ' Tessa scrutinizes her with an almost x-ray like expression, 'By the way, who was that guy you were with at King's Cross?'
'Oh, ' Maya recalls the sunlit few moments spent in Draco's compartment, butterflies breaking free from the confines of her chest, 'Just . . a friend, '
'Really?' A coy smile breaks out on her older sister's lips, 'The same friend whom Diana relentlessly teased you about the first time you brought her here?, '
A tint of red breaks out on Maya's cheekbones as she fidgets with the belt loops of her jeans, avoiding eye contact, 'Perhaps, '
'MAYA RAJESH, IF YOU DON'T GET YOUR ASS OUT HERE RIGHT NOW — ' Isabelle's shrill voice thankfully saves her from embarrassment.
'You'll mutilate my body and feed the remains to Church, I know!!' Maya yells back, 'Give me a moment, will you, woman?!'
'Mama, what does mutilate mean?' Mina questions, as Maya ruffles her hair, muttering a 'Bye kiddo!' as Tessa scowls.
'Nothing you need to worry about, ' Tessa replies, quickly. She sighs as her younger sister attempts to run out the door unnoticed, 'Nine-o-clock curfew, young lady!'
Maya sighs, rolling her eyes, 'Really, Tess?'
'Really. ' Tessa clarifies, matter-of-factly, 'I don't want to take any risks, with all those demon attacks around the city lately'
'Fine, ' Maya groans, knowing she'll have to cut plans short with her friends when they grab drinks at the Hunter's Moon after work, 'Now can I go? I don't want to be turned into mincemeat before I graduate high school, '
'MAYA — '
'Go!' exclaims Tessa, practically shoving her out the door, 'Don't get into any trouble—'
The door slams just in time.
Maya bolts down the steps as fast as she can, avoiding eye contact with an extremely grumpy Isabelle Lightwood. She's wearing her signature dark cat-eye sunglasses, head resting against the steering wheel in exhaustion. Red lipstick haphazardly applied and hair looking like someone's been running their hands through it, something tells Maya that having to be her wake-up call isn't the reason why Isabelle's in such a bad mood.
'Please don't tell me you went back to Meliorn's last night, ' Maya laments, climbing into her seat. Isabelle smirks from underneath her sunglasses, looking conspiratorial, 'Isabelle Sophia Lightwood!'
'I have needs, okay?' The older girl exclaims, starting up the engine once more. The convertible roars to life beneath them as Isabelle starts to speed down the hill Tessa's brownstone is situated on, 'Last night was amazing, bloody hell, I was considering skipping training this morning just so I could stay— '
'You like him that much?' Maya questions, surprised. Isabelle's love life is definitely colorful (Maya sometimes envies how easily she's able to attract people), but something about this particular Seelie is different.
'Oh, you have no idea, ' sighs her best friend, leaning against her seat, 'Hell, if we weren't strictly a fling, I'd consider putting a ring on it,'
'What happened to Miss 'I don't want to commit to anything'?' Maya questions, perturbed; Isabelle, although never cheating on any of her suitors, has a strict philosophy of not being tied down during her uninhibited youth. Living in the moment has always been her forte, but she seems to have completely turned over a new leaf for Meliorn.
'She vanished the moment Meliorn used his tongue to—'
'What have I told you about details?!' Maya interrupts, cheeks flaming as Isabelle snorts, 'Please, Izzy, it's way too early in the morning to traumatize your best friend, '
'Yeah, sure, like you didn't want to do the same thing to English Jack Frost, ' Isabelle snorts, as Maya rolls her eyes, 'Still can't believe you kissed him, I thought it would be the other way around, '
'I did too, ' Maya admits, sighing; something new blooms in her heart, from a planted seed that's been there ever since that fateful day in Umbridge's office, 'But he was there, and in case something happened . . . I don't know, it just felt . . . right, '
'I'm proud of you, ' Isabelle says, softly; she reaches for Maya's hand with a reassuring squeeze, 'You've grown so much since last year. After what happened, I was scared that you would never come out of your shell again, but as always, you've managed to surprise me by powering through, '
'Aww, thanks Iz. That's really kind of you,' Maya smiles sweetly at her best friend, adjusting the scalloped hem of her top; She's always hated wearing white, due to the fact that it represents mourning in the Nephilim world. But something about today just seems different. Besides, it's July! Who would want to be stuck wearing black in 90-degree weather?
'Hey — watch it!' The car screeches to a halt as Maya hisses, her head smacking against the back of her seat. She scowls as Isabelle glares at the two pedestrians who abruptly cut them off, 'Can't you see where you're going?'
There are two teenagers standing in front of the convertible; a tall boy with glasses and curly brown hair, and a tiny redheaded girl, whose figure is half-hidden by her boyfriend's. The boy flushes red in embarassment, awkwardly smoothing down his graphic t-shirt — Maya recognizes the pink-haired boy embalzoned on the front from an anime she once put on out of boredom.
It's the girl who answers first, stepping directly into Maya's line of vision. Her jade-green eyes are set in a hardened glare, freckles dotting her pale skin and features almost elfin in their precision. Something about her is eerily familiar, a familiar hint of deja vu curling in the back of Maya's head, 'Learn how to drive first, '.
'Don't talk to her like that, ' Maya snaps, scowling at the girl. Their eyes meet, and Maya feels an unnatural chill go through her. Somehow, she can't shake the feeling that she recognizes this girl, the sheer amount of deja vu making her head spin.
'Clary, no —' The boy with the glasses grabs her arm, but 'Clary' shakes him off, emerald eyes still furiously fastened on Maya.
'You're the one who almost hit us' she counters, as Maya rolls her eyes. The tone of her voice is high, sharp, and grating, reminding Maya of broken glass against concrete.
'No we didn't, ' Isabelle snaps, 'The light was green. You two decided to conveniently walk in the way, ' Maya tries to maintain her glare, but the ominous feeling inside her persists.
Who is this girl, and why is she so familiar-looking?
'Clary, come on, let's just go, ' The boy tugs at his girlfriend's arm again; he shoots an apologetic glance at both of them, 'It's not worth it, '
The redhead sighs, rolling her eyes. Her boyfriend leads her down the street as the cars around them start to move forward. The woman in the minivan honks furiously behind them; Isabelle groans and accelerates, pushing them back into motion, 'By the Angel, mundanes! They drive me mad, I swear, '
'Have we met anyone named Clary before? ' Maya questions, leaning back in her seat; She watches the two of them run down the sidewalk, a worn sketchbook peeking out from the girl's satchel. Something's not quite right about this . . . . 'I could've sworn I've seen her somewhere . . . '
'No idea, ' Isabelle answers, much to her dismay; Maya bites her lip, deep in thought, 'Maybe the reason you're so fixated on her is because you're now attracted to human carrots instead of ferrets?'
'Izzy I swear to God — '
By three that evening, Maya is a complete disaster.
Not only was she half an hour late for work this morning, but in the six hours that follow, Maya's somehow managed to crack her phone screen, spill an entire soy latte on her brand-new white top, fall off of her office chair three times in a row, and fail to turn in an important interview that she's been working on since last week. She returns to her desk from their last seminar fuming, furiously dabbing at her shirt with a napkin, since some fucking idiot decided that it was incredibly convenient to ban the use of warlock magic inside the New York Institute.
Whatever. If she manages to speed-run paraphrasing and editing her article, before her shift ends in an hour, the three of them (Isabelle, Maya and Jace — Alec has more important business to attend to) are free to crash at the Hunter's Moon, snacking on pretzel sticks and rambling about Nephilim politics, downing not-so-innocent drinks and maybe, if she's lucky, Maya'll be able to get home just in time to return that missed call from Draco that she didn't have the chance to return during her 30-minute lunch break.
Or at least that's what Maya thinks until she's interrupted by a fire message almost exactly when she's about to pack up her things and leave. She yelps in shock, nearly dropping her laptop, managing to catch the metal apparatus with just the tips of her fingers. Maya hastily shoves it into her bag, grabbing the smoking paper before it incinerates itself.
Three words blink up at her from the cream-colored background in Alec's messy handwriting: Debriefing room, urgent.
Maya frowns. The debriefing room is solely reserved for mission planning. She's never been in there, partly because of her mother not wanting her to get involved in Nephilim secrets. But Nandini is on a three-month-long stint in Rio, keeping watch over a particularly risky group of Seelie vigilantes. There's no one left to enforce that rule, although Maya can't imagine that any of the intelligence department would love to deal with her mother's wrath.
So what could they possibly want with her?
However, when she manages to get inside the debriefing room, there's no sign of the stern-looking men and women that make up Nandini's colleagues. Instead, Alec, Isabelle and Jace sit at the round stone table, along with a face Maya would rather forget; Raj, their childhood enemy and son of one of the Clave's most powerful inquisitors — Akshay Nanda.
'Sit down, why don't you?' Raj drawls, in his signature plummy tones; Maya scowls and does as he says — Raj would look ten times more attractive if she slapped that shit-eating grin off of his face.
There's an awkward, tense silence, before Jace finally goes, 'Well, I guess we have to explain this to her, don't we?'
'If this mission was sanctioned by the Clave, we could've avoided that whole scenario' Raj replies, smoothly, as Alec glares daggers at him, 'But since you all are too impatient to wait for authorization, I guess this will have to do, won't it?'
'I can't believe my mother used to compare me to you, ' Isabelle replies, scoffing, 'Perfect, talented Raj. It used to make me feel inadequate — but then I realized I'm never going to have my head that far up my ass, '
'Careful, Isabelle, ' His tone is balanced dangerously on a knife's edge, 'One wrong word, and I might just report this to my father, '
'And have us all thrown in the Gard?' Alec laughs, derisively, 'You're such a fucking coward, Raj, '
'I may be a coward, ' Raj stops, eyes landing determinedly on Maya, a self-assured smirk curling at the corner of his mouth, 'But unlike the three of you, I have some amount of self-preservation, '
'Can someone please explain to me what's happening?' Maya questions, loudly, 'Why am I even here?'
Raj snorts. He looks at Jace, gesturing towards Maya. The blond sneers before speaking.
'We've found another victim for our case, ' Jace says, tersely, 'The same M.O. as the others — found naked, body drained of blood, the rest you already know. But this time, the killer forgot to scrape the corpse clean of all evidence. She had a temporary tattoo on her wrist — from none other than Pandemonium, '
'The nightclub on 57th and Park?' Maya questions, interested.
'Exactly, ' Alec replies, eyes sharp and alight, 'When we examined the security footage from two weeks ago, all of the victims appeared to have gone there regularly. It's not hard to imagine why — drinks, sex, drugs, mundanes are very susceptible to their vices. Whoever's doing this has to be using the club as their base — and as a way to sell the harvested blood to vampires and demons., '
'The only problem is — we can't find a way to get in, ' Isabelle sighs, her tone turning foreboding, 'The building is warded against runes with some kind of curse — I've never seen anything like it. This leaves our last option — go inside through the line with the other Mundanes. But none of us are old enough to legally drink — and getting fake IDs could take too long, '
'That's all fine, ' Maya starts, confused, 'But what do I have to do with all of this?'
'Do you remember a Magnus Bane, by any chance?' Raj drawls. The hairs on the back of Maya's neck stand up in alarm.
'What about him?' Maya questions, a bad gut feeling blossoming in her abdomen.
'He owns Pandemonium, Maya, ' replies Jace, biting the inside of his cheek, 'Magnus decides who goes in and out. He controls everything from the drinks to the music. And since you're basically his adopted daughter . . . . we need you to convince him to let us in, '
'What?!' Maya sputters, in shock, 'That's preposterous! Magnus doesn't deal with Shadowhunters — '
'But he cares about Mundanes, doesn't he?' Raj counters, a malicious glint in his beady eyes, 'They're winding up dead just so that some vampires can have something to sink their fangs into. If the Clave finds out about what's going on, it'll be bad for business,"
''We also need you to come with us, Maya, ' Isabelle says, quietly; She looks up at Maya, her eyes filled with regret.
'Wait . . . what?' Maya questions, a nervous laugh escaping her lips, 'Why do I need to be there?'
'We're one person short, ' Alec explains, 'Even with Jace, Izzy and our weapons, we won't be able to tackle the gang on our own. If you come along, with your magic . . . the four of us could take them down in one go, '
'But — But I've never been on a mission before!' Maya sputters, 'What exactly do you expect me to do?!'
'You're just as good in combat as we are, Maya, don't even try to deny it, ' says Isabelle, sternly, 'Think about it . . . . ' Her voice softens, 'We could save lives if you came with us. Magnus will be able to run his club without worrying about who's going to die next. You could use your powers for good as you've always wanted, '
Maya sighs. This is far from how she was expecting her evening to go. Her friends have always been very adept at keeping her out of their work lives, and she's appreciated them for it. Despite her passion for justice, Maya's never been keen on the idea of working for the New York Institute. They already despise her and everything she stands for, and as much as the idea of protecting the barrier between the human and demon worlds intrigues her, she prefers to stay on the more theoretical side of things.
But it's different when Magnus is involved. Maya doubts he has any idea what's going on beneath his roof — and if he did, no one would be dying in the first place. The events that are taking place are a blatant violation of the Accords, the thin frameworks of codes that maintain the fragile peace between Nephilim and Downworlders. If the Clave somehow catches wind of what's going on . . . . his head will be on the line.
Maya takes a deep breath, steadying herself. Something in her gut seizes, alarm bells going off through her nervous system. This idea is fucked. She knows it, her friends know it, hell, even Church is hesitant, curling his body protectively around her legs as if to dissuade her from agreeing.
'I'll do it, ' She finally breathes out, 'Just this once, '
Isabelle's lush features break out into a catlike grin, 'Wonderful. Now time to get you into uniform, '
It takes over an hour for Maya to convince Magnus to let them in. They go constantly back and forth, with him saying that she's too young to go on such a dangerous mission, that getting involved in Nephilim politics is the very reason Nandini hasn't let her work at the Institute thus far. Maya retorts by arguing that it's the three of them who could lose everything if the Clave catches wind of what's happening at Pandemonium. Innocent mundanes are dying just so some vampires can satisfy their hunger for a night. Besides, she's more than proven herself capable of kicking some demon ass. If she doesn't go, there's no other way for them to end this.
Magnus finally agrees after an eternity, making her swear not to eat or drink anything offered, to stay under the cover of darkness for as long as she can, and to come straight home after the mission is over, because of Merlin's beard, they now have a whole other conversation to be had.
Despite the danger, Maya can't stifle the forbidden sense of excitement in her veins at sneaking out with her friends after so long. Her heart pounds to the beat of the bass as the four of them slip through the crowd, the lights around them flashing neon. There are all sorts of people here; a warlock with curved horns is blowing smoke rings into the air, a pair of werewolves are having a heated debate in a nearby corner, and a voluptuous, scantily clad Seelie girl dancing on stage catches Maya's eye and winks.
To the Mundanes, these people are just the regular Friday night crowd, drinking away their sorrows and dancing like there's no tomorrow. They don't have the Sight, an ability shared by Maya and her part-human friends that enables them to see through the glamours that hide these individuals from the real world.
'Bingo, ' Jace breathes out, eyes fastened onto their target. A woman in a purple mesh dress slinks through the crowd, her lithe body twisting between pairs of groping couples. She discreetly hands a small bag to a pale man wearing a dark red button-up, her hand tantalizingly brushing against his as she walks away. When she turns her face, however, Maya sees her eyes glow a dangerous green, indicating that she's far from your regular mundane drug dealer.
The four of them tail her as discreetly as they can, spreading themselves out. Maya can just make out the figure of Isabelle walking ahead of her, platinum blonde wig almost glowing in the dim light around them. She wobbles slightly in her heels, the cold metal of her knives strapped underneath her skirt sending goosebumps down her flesh. Maya spots Magnus lounging on a nearby couch in a silky purple shirt, his head in the lap of a black woman with caramel curls. She quickens her step before he can spot her.
Up ahead, Maya manages to run fast enough to catch up with Alec, who's tailing Jace directly into the VIP section. They manage to sneak in unnoticed, thanks to her Disillusionment charm. There are fewer people back here; a barman with pierced ears is pouring exotic drinks for a group of shady-looking men in black suits.
'Izzy, now, ' Jace breathes. Maya inhales, shakily.
Isabelle smirks, her hands immediately going to slide the long black coat off of her shoulders. She peels the fabric off, exposing her white latex costume underneath as her heels click towards the stage. She sways her body tantalizingly to the music, eyes glazing over two of the men, who now ogle shamelessly at her slim hips, feet moving of their own accord.
The distraction works; Jace tugs Maya by the arm, Alec keeping watch close to the curtains as the two of them walk up to the woman in the purple dress, sitting at the bar as she stirs her drink with boredom. Jace brushes his hand over her arm and she startles, looking up at the two of them with suspicion.
'We hear you've been peddling Mundane blood, ' Jace drawls, the tone of his voice bordering between seductive and menacing.
The woman smiles, a sinister, cat-like grin, 'Why? Are you looking to score?'
'Definitely not, ' Maya states, slipping onto a stray barstool. One of her hands immediately draws out a knife from under her black dress, placing it on the table as a clear warning, 'But you're going to tell us who is, '
The woman snorts, derisively eyeing the both of them, 'No way in hell. You're both outnumbered here, '
'Oh, I like our odds, ' Jace grins, deviously, the seraph blade lighting up in his hand. His expression forms into a more menacing one, 'Last chance, sweetheart, '
'Watch out!' A shrill voice suddenly screams; Maya's head whips around as the woman in purple is yanked off of her stool. Her stomach drops as a flash of red curls appear in her vision. Green eyes stare back at her in horror.
How is this even possible?!
'Stay out of this!' Maya yells. She pushes the redhead from earlier back, hard enough for her to drop to the floor and slide away. The woman in purple hisses, tentacles launching from her mouth as she launches herself at Jace.
Maya lunges at her, knife whizzing through the air as Isabelle jumps down from her position on the stage. It manages to stick itself into her shoulder, vaporizing the demon into a cloud of dust. The Shadowhunter's silver whip wraps around a burly man's neck as he lunges for Jace, who's preoccupied with the girl who just knocked the Seraph blade out of his hand.
'Are you hurt?!' He questions, helping her up from the ground. Maya wants to scream at him — now is not the time for any of them to try and get bitches. But just then, the man frees himself from Isabelle's clutches, lunging at Jace and knocking the seraph blade straight out of his hand.
Maya tries to grab it, but it's too late — one of the men in black suits lunges toward her and she throws yet another knife. This one misses, however, and Maya doubles back as the man flies at her, hands outstretched as if to grab her neck with them.
'Petrificus Totalus!' she yells, a stream of blue light escaping her fingertips; The man freezes in mid-air as he drops to the ground, still as a corpse.
Her relief barely lasts a millisecond, though; Before she can even blink, another man comes up behind her, grabbing her ponytail and yanking her backward. Maya shrieks, her heels scratching against the ground as she tries to free herself. Her fingers grab her last knife beneath her skirt, fumbling to remove the metal from its holster. But just as suddenly, she falls to the ground, the grip on her hair gone.
Maya hears a startled gasp. She groans, looking up from the floor. her limbs aching from the impact. The redhead stands where the man once was, staring at the seraph blade with horror. To her surprise, it glows just as it did in Jace's hands.
What the fuck?!
He grabs it from her without even noticing, throwing it to Alec, who drives it through the chest of the demon he's trying to fend off. Isabelle helps Maya up from the ground, steadying her on shaky legs. She immediately hexes the bartender, who's leaping over the counter and lunging at the girl in white latex. His eyes roll back in his head and he slumps to the ground.
The redhead immediately bolts, stumbling away from the scene. Maya stops what she's doing, eyes wide as she watches the other girl run away, disappearing through the curtains.
'Hey — get back here!' Maya screams, dropping her knife; Izzy's head whips around as Maya runs after her. Her heels click against the ground as she bursts through the curtains, panting. The girl pushes past Magnus, who's heading towards them. His expression grows murderous before his eyes zero in on the redhead, widening in pure shock.
'S-sorry, ' she mutters, before bolting once more. Maya tails her, ignoring the yells of Magnus, whose voice slowly fades into the distance as she runs.
The boy with glasses from earlier tries to follow his friend as she sprints out the door, two drinks held in his hand, 'Clary!' He yells over the noise of the crowd, confused, 'Clary? Where are you going?'
Maya runs out onto the street, but it's too late. The redhead throws herself into a yellow cab, screaming at the driver to 'Book it!' before the car zooms away. She gasps, sighing in defeat as the girl disappears into the night. Her head spins with a million questions as she leans against a lamppost, Jace immediately running up behind her.
'Where'd she go?!' he questions, furiously, turning to face Maya.
'I don't know!, ' Maya pants out, 'She hailed a cab before I could stop her, '
'Shit!' he swears, running a hand through his blonde hair, 'She saw everything, didn't she?!'
'By the Angel!' Isabelle runs up behind them, panting, 'You two weren't able to find her?'
'Nope, ' Maya sighs in defeat.
'I bet Alec would love this!, ' Jace drawls, sardonically. Maya glares at him; none of them are in the mood for jokes right now.
'Love what?!' Alec pipes up, from behind them. Jace groans, putting his head in his hands as Isabelle exhales sharply.
This isn't going to end well, is it?
MWAHAHA I AM BACK BITCHES. sorry this took so long, i was in a bit of a mental slump after an extremely bad week. hold your horses because things are about to get really wild! anygays, it's one in the morning and i have a big day tomorrow (staying up late writing fanfiction probably wasn't the best idea but we need that quality c o n t e n t here so whatever. stay safe and social distance, and let me know your theories in the comments!
- xoxo, disha