"I still don't understand" Clary huffs, striding through the Institute hallway, "How can Shadowhunters be better than...than what you people call mundanes"
"Because we protect humans" Izzy explains
"Really?" I sass, "Humans. You protect humans? You left Simon all alone in a van. Great job, guys. Really, you rock!"
"There is some truth to the idea that human beings should have a modicum of common sense" Alec retorts
"Alec!" Izzy snaps before I can, "Not now"
The sweet moments we'd had at the City Of Bones were gone as soon as I'd stopped crying and pulled away from his arms.
But it was better this way.
He could continue to snark and sass at me and I could focus of protecting my friends and keeping my family safe.
"Look, they won't do anything to Simon" Jace assures us, "They just wanted to draw you out. They want the Cup, and they think you both have it"
"But why do they think that?" Clary demands
"Why does anyone think that?" I chime in
"What, our Mom lies to us our entire lives except, 'Oh, by the way, there's this magic cup, I hid on, like, the Planet Bongo, but don't tell anyone!'" Clary snarks and I smirk proudly, "What are we supposed to do now?"
"We have to report to the Clave" Alec voices
"Great" I groan, "The fucking Clave, because they've been so helpful so far"
"Hey, watch it, their our superiors" Alec hisses
"They're not my superiors" I snap, pointing to myself, "Mundane, remember?"
"They have to know what we've learned about Valentine" Alec continues, ignoring me
"What? Like, he's our father?" I utter, "Now you're selling us out, too?"
"We're not selling you out, Cami" Izzy sighs
"You know what, fine, tell them, then" I shrug, "What do I care, right? I don't live by your Shadowhunter rules, but what good does that do Simon?"
"It's all connected" Jace elucidates, "The vamps want the Cup."
"Why?" Clary inquires, "It makes new Shadowhunters"
"Nobody wants Valentine forming an army loyal to himself" Alec expresses
"Plus, it controls demons" Izzy chimes in
"They'll propose a trade" Jace explains, "Simon for the Cup"
"So, vampires will trade Simon for the Cup and Valentine will trade our mother for the Cup" Clary huffs, "Either way, we lose someone we love"
"What if I just tossed it up into the air and made them fight amongst themselves?" I suggest, crossing my arms over my chest, "Make it a Shadow World Wrestling match."
"So, this doesn't matter to you?" Alec questions
"Frankly, no" I shake my head, before enunciating, "Mundane, remember?"
"Listen, when you saved our lives..." Clary voices, "I put my trust in you. Now, I need you to put your trust in us...or, at least, in me. I can't turn into what you are overnight"
"It's true, they were raised mundanes" Izzy agrees
"I am a mundane!" I groan, "Jesus, is this skipping everybody's minds?"
"What are you their spokesmen, now?" Alec snarks at his sister, again ignoring my comment
"Cami, Shadowhunter or not, you're here and you have abilities" Izzy mentions, "You are definitely not just a mundane, and we need to use that, we need to train you both, as much as we can, before we can help Simon"
"We don't need a spokesmen or a trainer. We need a plan!" I snap, moving into the main room, "I mean, look at all these screens and monitors, surely they can help us do something productive!"
"Where is he, anyway?" Clary wonders, "Some crypt in Transylvania?"
"Oh, honey" I cringe, "Even I know that was in bad taste"
"They're at the Hotel DuMort, down in Gansevoort Street" Izzy reveals
"Um..." I laugh humourlessly, "So, you know where he is and we came back here? Why? We have to go there!"
"We need a Clave resolution for that" Alec points out
"Oh, fuck the damn Clave!" I growl
"Cami, the four of us can't declare war on the vampire by ourselves" Izzy reasons
"Why the hell not?"
"And we can't react without considering our options" Alec continues, "Downworlders are slaves to their impulses. We're not."
"Alec, you can't stomp on all the Downworlders" Izzy defends
"Oh, that's right" Alec smirks teasingly, "Seelies have their charms, apparently"
"Right" Jace joins in, smirking
"What are seelies?" I ask
"Like faeries. The Fair Folk" Jace explains, "Pixies, nixies, elves...anybody half-angel, half-demon. It's pretty much a catch-all term."
"Izzy can tell you all about them" Alec smirks suggestively, "She's got a thing"
"We've all got our things, don't we?"
"I can't listen to this anymore" I groan, "Simon's been kidnapped by vampires and you're joking about Izzy's sex life with a pixie, nixie, fairy, whatever the fuck it is. What?" I ask when they all look at me shocked, "It's not hard to grasp the connotations."
"You know what? I'll take care of it myself if you're not going to take this seriously" Clary huffs, walking away from the table
"You're gonna get yourself killed" Jace says, but I continue walking, "Clary. Simon, too"
She turns back around, "Fine, then help me instead of joking around like teenagers"
"She's right" I speak, "The longer we sit around discussing other options, the longer Simon suffers. Is that something Shadowhunters understand or am I being too mundane?"
"They're right" Jace agrees, leaning forwards. Alec and Izzy exchange looks before leaning forward also, "They made the first move. We're gonna take care of this ourselves, right now"
"This is a bad idea. I-" Alec begins but I cut him off
"You know what, Negative Nancy? Shut up for a second" I roll my eyes and Alec rolls his back
"Have you got a better one, Alec?" Jace suggests, "Look, the vamps broke the Accords. They kidnapped a mundie, that's a big no-no. The Clave will give us a lecture and then they'll be glad we did it. Come on."
"Hard to argue with that" Izzy concurs
"Even if we went ahead, I don't see how we get out of here without having to explain where we're going" Alec informs, "We need weapons, and we can't let anyone see us get them"
Jace frowns, thinking, before his eyes light up.
"I know where to get what we need."
***
When we stop outside of yet another old, run down church, next to a graveyard, I was not even slightly surprised this time.
Of course the best place to find weapons would be a place of God.
Of course.
"Whose grave is it?" Alec questions, slamming the dented van door behind him. Simon was going to kill me for that.
"Mary Milligan" Izzy sighs, "Born January 10th, 1802. Died January 10th, 1878"
"Damn, on her birthday?" I tut, shaking my head, "What a buzzkill."
"All right, Alec, let's go" Jace instructs, ignoring my quippy comment
Their ignorance was really starting to annoy me, I'm freaking hilarious!
"Wait, what are we looking for?" Clary inquires, walking alongside Jace, again. It was like she was a magnet being pulled to him, she was always near him, it was eerie.
Then again, I can't talk because I'm standing right next to Alec.
"Cache of weapons" Izzy replied nonchalantly
"Stashed here with Mrs Milligan" Jace finishes, leading us closer to the graveyard and further from the church
"Woah, woah, woah" I caution, "I am not going to be robbing a grave, nuh uh, that's where I draw the line."
"Why are there Shadowhunter weapons in a churchyard?" Clary interrogates and they again ignore my comment
I huff in frustration, walking a little quicker.
"Because all of the ancient religions recognise demons" Izzy explains, "Or, at least, they used to"
"They forgot about the threat because we've been here to protect them" Alec voices, a clear air of superiority in his tone, "Typical mundane failure of imagination"
"Are you saying Shadowhunters did too good of a job? You just can't let up, can you?" I scoff, "Jeez, it's all doom and gloom with you, isn't it?"
"You know what?" Jace cuts through the building argument between us, "Alec, why don't you go check out by the angel?"
Alec turns to Jace, staring at him annoyedly - surprise, surprise - before stalking off in the opposite direction. I laugh to myself humourlessly as I move to Clary, this man was more complicated and frustrating than anyone I'd ever met in my life.
But why was he still so intriguing to me?
"We couldn't gear up at the Institute, but we know our ancestors left us a cache around here someplace" Jace explains, having turned his attention back on Clary's questions, "We'll find it."
"I always wondered where my Dad was buried" Clary ponders, a wistful tone in her voice, "I used to wish he was still alive...Be careful what you wish for."
I smile sympathetically at Clary, squeezing her arm, "This isn't your fault, Clary. I did the same thing...I think you forget sometimes that, even though I'm not one of you, I'm still your sister and I know how you feel."
"I know" Clary confirms, squeezing my hand, "But I can't shake the feeling that it's all my fault"
The sound of a phone beeping breaks us apart and Izzy beams down at her cell phone, "Excellent. He's home. I'm outta here."
"Wait, aren't you coming with us?" I query, watching Isabelle saunter off, hips swaying more than necessary
"Oh, I wouldn't miss it for the world" Izzy calls back, "But I gotta find out how to get into the vampire's lair"
"Don't do anything I wouldn't do" Jace calls to her and she tosses her hair in response, disappearing around the corner of the church
"Jace!" Alec shouts, "Over here"
"Yeah, coming" Jace nods before turning to Clary, his eyes on her only, "Are you gonna be alright?"
"Yeah" Clary assures him, "Yeah, I'll be fine. I'm just, um...just give me a minute with my sister, okay?"
Jace nods again before walking over to Alec. Clary takes my hand, sighing as we walk along through the graveyard and I notice as Clary absentmindedly checks the headstones, looking at the names.
"He's not gonna be here" I remind her, "He's not really dead, remember?"
"Force of habit" Clary cringes, "I used to do it all the time, when we were little. Mom never told us where his grave was, so I always thought, maybe one day I'd see his name...of course, she lied about that, too"
"I know she lied about a lot" I agree, looking through the names on the headstones as well, "But, for some reason, I just know she was trying to protect us, trying to give us a somewhat normal life, if only for a little while...hey, look!"
I stop when I see some sort of above-ground stone casket, with the name 'Mary Milligan' inscribed on the stone.
"Hey, Jace! Alec!" Clary yells over out them, "I think we found it! Mary Milligan!"
I crouch down by the stone, ripping and pulling at the moss and dirt caked into the centuries old stone as Alec and Jace arrive, bending down slightly to look at the stone's details.
"'Beloved servant?'" I frown, reading from the tombstone, "Who wants that on a headstone?"
"Someone who is in service to a cause greater than themselves" Alec snarks and I glare at him
"Ooh, nice, subtle dig there" I sass, "You really have a massive superiority complex, do you know that?"
"Guys, give it a rest, alright?!" Jace snaps and I roll my eyes, but shut my mouth.
Despite how frustrated Alec made me, Jace was right and this arguing wasn't going to help Simon.
"Abracadabra" Jace mutters, pulling his stele from his pocket
"Wait, you people actually say that?" I scoff
"No, Cami, we don't" Jace deadpans, waving the stele over one of the runes I'd recognised from Izzy's cleavage and then beginning to haul the top of the stone casket off, with the help of Alec.
Inside, there was no skeleton, no body...but an old, dusty chest with carvings all over it. Jace returns and blows lightly on the dust before lifting the chest open, revealing old but strong-looking swords with a clear blade and a steel handle, along with a couple steles.
"Whoa!" Clary gasps, "Where's Mrs Milligan?"
For some reason unbeknownst to me, I reach inside of the chest and take one of the swords, it lights up when I touch it but when I look at Jace and Clary's, I notice the glow of mine is slightly duller.
"Don't touch that" Alec warns, "You don't know how to use it"
I don't respond but instead swish the sword through the air quickly, my hands taking control of the blade as I almost dance across the field, moving the sword through the air easily thanking the long years of dance training for my moves - I definitely didn't know what I was doing with this thing.
"Really?" I front, pulling the blade to my side, "I think I've got the hang of it"
"Yeah, Alec, don't forget she killed that Circle member" Jace notes
So I guess he had told them then.
"Well, I didn't see it, so forgive me if I don't take your eyewitness account to heart" Alec grumbles
"Alec" Jace calls his name, dragging his attention from me, "Do you see what you need in here?"
"No, there's no bow here" Alec huffs, "I need one. I have to rune some arrows. That's back at the Institute. I gotta go."
"Take Cami with you" Jace demands and Alec looks back at him, staring blankly
"Sorry, what?" I speak up, dropping the sword to the floor, "I don't wanna go with him!"
"You have to" Jace shrugs, "As far as the Clave knows, I've been assigned for protective duty to Clary, and Alec to you. If he comes back to the Institute without you, they'll know something's up"
"I'm not leaving my sister alone!" I protest, looking at Clary. She seemed perfectly fine, just staring at the blade in her hands and twirling it in her fingers
"He's right, Camille" Alec sighs, "And Clary will be fine with Jace"
"Fine" I concede, picking the sword up from the floor and putting it back in the chest, where the glow deadens completely
"How are you guys gonna get back in the Institute?" Jace wonders
"Go in the back" Alec shrugs, "They won't bother us if we're alone"
"Okay, good. Go" Jace nods, "I can finish up here"
Alec turns to leave but stops, reconsidering, and then turning back to Jace. He looks at me pointedly, as if telling me to leave him with Jace alone.
"Ok, I can take a hint" I chuckle, moving away from them and over to Clary, "Hey, Clary?"
"Hmm?" Clary hums, still starstruck by the blade
"I've gotta go with Alec, but you'll be with Jace" I explain to her and she looks from the blade to me, worry and fear in her eyes
"Why?" she questions
"Long story" I sigh, "But I have to, okay. You'll be fine, right?"
"Yeah, I'll be fine" Clary smiles, embracing me quickly
"Hey, Fray!" Alec calls and I turn to face him, "We're going now"
I take one last look at Clary, giving her a falsely confident smile before making my way towards Alec, struggling to keep pace with his long legs in my sky-high heels.
This was going to be fun.
***
"Stay quiet" Alec demands as he pokes his head into the back door of the training room, looking around to see if anyone's there.
I do as told, watching as he retreats his head back and nods, confirming the coast is clear.
We enter the room quickly, and I shut the door behind me. Alec taps at the same wall Izzy had earlier, and the rack of swords protrudes from the wall, but on the side closest to us, I spot a beautiful black and silver bow with runes carved into it, along with a set of red feathered arrows underneath it.
Being within the vicinity of the runic energy in the training room was bringing back my headache, but I ignore it. Now that I knew I was...whatever the hell I am, I knew how to be careful around it. I was currently leaning against the wall, keeping myself supported in case a fainting spell decided to overcome me.
"Wow" I murmur, picking an arrow up and moving my finger along the smooth metal, "It's beautiful"
"Very" Alec agrees, snatching the arrow from my hand before grabbing a few others, along with the bow, "And also incredibly dangerous, something someone like you shouldn't be holding onto"
"Wow, nice dig" I scoff, "You know, just because I'm mundane-"
"It's not that" Alec assures me, a softness in his tone I wasn't expecting, "I just meant that...someone like you who has a tendency to faint or keel over in pain when surrounded by runic energy should not be holding onto a very sharp arrow she could fall onto at any moment"
"Oh" I nod, feeling like a bitch, "Right. Thanks."
Alec nods brusquely, setting the bundled arrows on a table, studying them intensely.
"Why do you hate us so much?" I question, "My sister and I?"
"I don't hate you" Alec frowns, turning to me, "Why would you think that?"
"Oh, I don't know, you're snappiness at us and your peculiar hot-and-cold attitude towards me"
"Hot and cold attitude?"
"Yeah, you know, like being nasty and snippy one minute and then...almost kissing me the next"
"I did not kiss you" Alec scoffs, a slight pink tinge to his cheek
"I did say almost" I clarify, smirking, "But out by the City of Bones, on the rock...you would've kissed me if I hadn't move away"
"Okay, so maybe I would have" Alec rescinds, "You pulled away. I got the hint. Case closed."
"It wasn't a hint, Alec" I sigh, "I think it was just...a vulnerable moment we both got caught up in and things just...went astray. It's pretty clear you don't like me as an acquaintance, let alone anything else"
"You're right" Alec says speedily, "You're right, it was a moment"
I was lying to myself, that much was true, but it didn't help when Alec admitted it too, it felt like someone was stabbing me through the heart.
Why the hell did I care so much about him? I barely knew him.
"Right, a moment" I murmur, switching topics, "But that doesn't mean we can't be friendly to each other, and you, especially, to my sister. With her, your attitude is always cold...why?"
"I'm just protective of Jace" Alec shrugs, pulling out his stele and grabbing an arrow, gliding his stele along the stem of it. It lights up with an orangey glow, "And he's my parabatai so I just..."
"Parabatai?" I inquire but before Alec can reply, someone calls his name. We both wheel around to the front doors of the training room, and Alec drops the arrow, pocketing his stele quickly when he sees the middle aged man standing by the door. He's blonde, runed...and he has a red, raw Circle rune on his neck.
"Alec" I breathe, terror flooding through me.
Noticing my tone and looking at me worriedly, Alec follows my gaze to the Circle rune. Taking my hand he squeezes it, prompting me to look at him, "He's okay."
"Of course I'm okay" the man chuckles, taking a sip from his mug before spotting my gaze on the rune, "Ah, you must be Camille."
"Yeah, that's me" I respond tentatively
"Hodge Starkweather, I met your sister earlier" Hodge introduces and I relax immediately, Clary had mentioned meeting Hodge.
"Right, Clary told me about you...just not about the, uh..." I gesture to his neck
"The rune, right" he sighs, "I was a member of the Circle, it's true. A good friend of your mothers. I repented after the Uprising and was sentenced to a life here, without outside world contact but this rune...it doesn't leave you...Well, I didn't expect you guys to be here, at this hour."
"I, yeah, no, I, I" Alec stammers, scrambling for an excuse to make
"Don't tell me" Hodge interrupts, "I wouldn't wanna have to report you."
"It's just that, you know, they are-" Alec continues to stumble, gesturing wildly around the room and at me
"Those girls are Valentine's-" Hodge begins before sucking in a sharp breath. I hear the sound of singeing, of something being burned and I watch in horror as the Circle rune on Hodge's neck burns brightly, driving deeper and darker into his skin.
Hodge grunts in pain, clutching at his neck for a moment but exhales in frustration not too long after, pulling his hand from his neck.
"The monster's daughters" Hodge finishes through gritted teeth and I frown, "There must be some reasons the roaches are coming out of the woodwork again, right?"
"Hey" I snap, "I'm not a monster"
"No, you're not" Hodge agrees, "But forgive me if I'm not cautious of the family members of the man who gave me this mark"
I stay silent, horrified. My father branded this man with a rune that burns him every time he spoke ill of him...this man truly is a monster.
"My father did this to you?" I gasp
"Partly" Hodge nods, "But after I repented, the Clave cursed the rune to burn me every time I spoke about the...group and it's activities"
"Wow, these Clave people sound lovely" I joke, shaking my head
"I like her" Hodge smiles, turning to leave the room "All right, I'll leave you to it, then"
"Hodge?" Alec speaks up and Hodge turns around, "Thank you"
"You remind me of me, Alec" Hodge speaks, "A loyal friend standing in the shadow of the chosen one."
Alec scoffs, turning his head to stare at the wall.
"Hey..." Hodge whispers and Alec turns back to him, reluctantly, "Don't make the same mistakes I did. Look where it got me."
With that, Hodge turns in his spot and leaves the room without another word. He seemed nice in theory, but I couldn't shake the fact that when he spoke about Alec being like a younger version of himself and warning him of costly mistakes...
I couldn't help but feel like he was talking about Jace.