CHAPTER THREE
REBECCA
Rebecca awoke with a start, her heart slamming against her rib cage. She had fallen into an uneasy sleep sometime last night, her dreams peppered with faceless monsters, blurry faces, and Max. Always Max.
The room was still dark. Untangling herself from the blankets, she pushed the curtains aside. It was probably very early in the morning - the sky was still a deep, hazy blue and birds chirped from the trees. The air was crisp and cold, and the streets outside were deserted. She vaguely registered the absence of canals - they were no longer in Venice.
Suddenly feeling thirsty, she wrenched open the door - and froze, her mouth falling open. There was a bloody handprint on the wall. There were dark puddles on the floor, looking almost black in the early morning light. A single long, dark smear of blood marked the wall opposite.
A door opened, and Sebastian stepped out, his silvery-white hair rumpled, his expression playful. Behind him came two girls, both looking sleep rumpled and carrying six-inch heels in their hands. One was fair, a little scantily dressed, in a glittering short skirt and spangled top. The other was younger, softer-looking, with black hair cut short, a red velvet band around her head, and a lacy black dress.
Vampire, Rebecca thought immediately. She could tell just by looking at her. The vampire grinned at her, showing pointed teeth. Clearly, she knew that Rebecca knew. The mundane girl caught sight of Rebecca, then looked back at Sebastian with a high-pitched giggle that made Rebecca's ears hurt. "È lei tua amica?"
Rebecca knew a little Italian, courtesy of Jace, but the girl spoke with an accent so pronounced she could barely make out a word.
Sebastian looked up, saw Rebecca standing in the doorway, and his smile faded. "No lei non è."
The mundane girl started laughing hysterically as she followed Sebastian down the stairs. The vampire shot Rebecca one last ageless smile before following the other two.
Rebecca stood still for a minute, completely nonplussed, and then dashed down the stairs. The downstairs room was empty except for Sebastian, who turned to look at her as she came up behind him.
"What are you doing up?" He sounded genuinely surprised.
"What am I doing?" she said, her voice far too shrill for her liking. "What are you doing?"
"Getting some towels to clean up the mess." He jerked his head towards the stairs. "Vampires and their games..."
"And the mundane was alright with it?"
"She got a little frightened at the sight of fangs. Sometimes they do." At the look on Rebecca's face, he laughed. "She came around. Even wanted more. You saw for yourself that she's alive and kicking."
"Yeah..." Rebecca mumbled uncomfortably, sliding onto a kitchen stool. She suddenly felt self-conscious. She had bolted downstairs without a second thought, and she figured she probably looked horrible. Her guess was confirmed when she caught sight of herself in the glass-fronted kitchen cabinet. 'Horrible' was an understatement. Her hair was everywhere, and there were sleep lines on her cheek where she had mushed her face into the pillow.
"Wine?" Sebastian said, holding the bottle out to her.
Rebecca cast an eye at the clock, thought about reminding him that it was six in the morning, then decided against it. He could rot his insides with alcohol for all she cared. "Just water, thanks."
He poured out two glasses of mineral water - one for her, and one for himself. His movements were smooth and fluid, like a dancer's. He pushed a glass towards her with one hand, the other tipping his glass toward his lips. When he was done, he slammed the glass back down on the counter. "You probably know this, but fooling around with vampires certainly makes you thirsty."
"Why would I know that?" Rebecca said sharply.
He shrugged. "Figured you were playing some biting games with that Daylighter."
Rebecca pursed her lips. "Nothing like that ever happened between me and Simon. And even if it did, why would I tell you? It's none of your business."
Sebastian raised his eyebrows. "Take it easy, spitfire. I never asked."
She rolled her eyes. "What are you doing with a vampire in your bed, anyway? Don't you hate and despise Downworlders?"
"No," he said. "Don't mix me up with Valentine."
"Yeah," she muttered. "Tough mistake to make."
"It's not my fault I look like him." For the first time, Sebastian's voice held a tinge of bitterness. Rebecca stared at him.
"See, there you go again," he said, somewhat exasperated. "You're always looking at me like that."
Startled, she said, "Like what?"
"Like I burn down animal shelters for fun and light my cigarettes with orphans." He poured another glass of water.
"You killed a child," Rebecca pointed out, amazed to find that her voice was steely calm. Usually, she couldn't talk about Max without breaking something or bursting into tears. Sometimes both. "You killed my little brother. That's not something you can be forgiven for, ever."
Sebastian drew in a breath. "So that's it," he said. "Cards on the table so soon, Lightwood?"
"What did you think?" she said venomously, and to her surprise, Sebastian flinched as if she had slapped him.
"Would you believe me if I told you it was an accident?" he said, setting his glass down on the counter. "I didn't mean to kill him. Just to knock him out, so he wouldn't tell-"
"Like you did with me?" Rebecca laughed sourly.
"I misjudged my own strength," he said quietly. "You were strong enough to take it, but Max-"
"And Sebastian Verlac? The real one? You killed him, didn't you?"
Sebastian looked at his own hands as if they were someone else's. There was a silver chain holding a flat metal plate around his right wrist - hiding the scar where Isabelle had once sliced his hand away. "Max wasn't supposed to fight back-"
"DO NOT SAY HIS NAME!" There was the sound of shattering glass - Rebecca had thrown the glass she had been holding at the wall behind Sebastian's head. Pity she hadn't thrown it at his head. "Don't say his name." She wasn't yelling anymore, but her voice was trembling, and she hated the sound of it, hated to look weak in front of Sebastian. She took a deep breath and tried to sound calm. "You have no right. Don't you dare say his name."
She didn't remember getting to her feet, but she became aware that she was on her feet now, chest heaving, ears humming. "He was a nine-year old boy," she said, her voice a little more than a whisper. "How could you kill a nine-year old boy?"
Sebastian didn't reply. He was simply gazing at her with an odd expression on his face - pity, maybe. That only made Rebecca angrier. She started to leave, but he clamped a hand around her wrist, forcing her to stop in her tracks.
"Let me go."
"You believe Jace is different," Sebastian said quietly. "You believe he isn't the same person, that my blood changed him. Don't you?"
Rebecca simply nodded. She didn't trust herself to speak.
"Then, why is it so hard to believe it might go the other way? Maybe his blood changed me. Maybe I'm not the same person I was."
"And maybe you're just saying whatever you think you need to say to get me to trust you."
"Maybe I just want someone who sees me for what I am."
Rebecca looked away, desperate to leave, but Sebastian wasn't letting her go anytime soon.
"I'm giving you a chance," he continued, his voice low. "To see that what Jace and I are doing is the right thing. Can you give me a chance?"
She looked back at him again, this time, full in the face. "Don't worry, Sebastian Morgenstern. I see you for what you are - a monster." Wrenching her hand out of his grip, she left the kitchen, her wrist throbbing.
Rebecca sat fuming in her bedroom. She clamped her hands in her lap in an effort to stop them from shaking, but it didn't help. Her argument with Sebastian had torn open a gaping wound in her chest - one she had thought she had healed from. Eventually, she gave in to the tears that had been threatening to spill.
The sun was high in the sky by the time Rebecca opened the door and peered out. The blood on the hallway wall was gone, the plaster unmarked. It was so clean she half-wondered if the whole thing had been a dream - the conversation with Sebastian, all of it. But no, the light bruise on her wrist where Sebastian had held her said otherwise.
To her relief, Clary and Jace were in the kitchen when she went downstairs. Sebastian was making something that involved onions and eggs, and Jace was leaning against the refrigerator. Clary was sitting at the dining table, and she waved when she saw Rebecca.
Sebastian glanced at her as she took a seat at the dining table. "Scrambled or fried?"
"Fried," Jace said, before Rebecca could reply. "She hates scrambled." He cast an affectionate, big-brotherly grin at her, which she tried to return.
"Help yourself to coffee!" Sebastian called out, turning to look back at Rebecca with a lopsided smile. "I remember how much you love a cup of coffee in the mornings."
Rebecca's stomach squirmed unpleasantly. She had told Sebastian that herself, not so long ago. The memory was still fresh in her mind. It had been her first night at the Penhallow mansion in Alicante. She and Sebastian had snuck up to the rooftop to watch for a shooting star that was supposedly going to be visible that night. They had stayed up talking for hours, eventually completely forgetting about the shooting star, and fallen asleep with their heads resting on each other's shoulders. Now, the memory made her feel sick.
Rebecca grabbed a mug and poured out some coffee, glad to have something to keep herself busy. She took a sip from the mug and winced, realizing she had forgotten to add sugar. Jace slid a packet of sugar across the table to her. "Here."
How can you dump so much sugar in it? Unbidden, Alec's disgusted face floated across her mind. I'm going to puke just looking at it. The thought of Alec felt like a weight in her stomach.
She took the packet from Jace with a word of thanks and ripped the packet open with so much force that the sugar exploded everywhere. She cursed colorfully, and not too quietly either.
"Are you all right?" Jace said, looking at his sister with some concern. "You seem... off."
"I'm fine," Rebecca said shortly, reaching for another packet of sugar.
She glanced toward the window. The view was no longer of a canal but of a hill rising in the distance, topped by a castle. "Where are we now?"
"Prague," said Sebastian, placing a plate of fried eggs in front of her and wiping his hands on a dishcloth. "Jace and I have an errand to do here." He glanced out the window. "We should probably get going soon, in fact."
Clary jumped at the opportunity, smiling sweetly at Sebastian. "Can we come with you?"
"No."
"Why not?" Clary crossed her arms over her chest. "Is this some manly bonding thing we can't be a part of? Are you getting matching haircuts? Because Rebecca and I could do that too, you know."
"Maybe they should come," Jace said, handing Clary a plate of eggs and sitting down at the table. "We could always use extra fighting hands."
Sebastian's eyes, which were dark and deep, gave away nothing. "Anything could turn dangerous."
Jace shrugged and popped a strawberry into his mouth. "Well, it's your decision. I'm going to get my stuff." After grabbing another strawberry off the plate, Jace popped it into his mouth and shot upstairs. Clary got up to follow him, but not before giving Rebecca an odd look that she didn't fully understand.
"You're not eating your eggs," Sebastian remarked. He had slid up behind her noiselessly like a snake.
"I'm not hungry," Rebecca said, trying to sound sincere.
Sebastian took a seat opposite her, and fixed her with his gaze. Rebecca determinedly looked down at her hands, her lips pursed. She could still feel his gaze on her when Jace reappeared, shrugging on a suede jacket. He had clipped on his weapons belt too, and wore finger-less dark gloves. Clary was right behind him.
"I changed my mind," Sebastian said abruptly. "They can come with us."
Rebecca looked up, startled by his sudden change of heart. From Clary's expression, she could tell that she was just as bewildered.
Jace raised his eyebrows. "Matching haircuts for everyone?"
"I hope not." Sebastian sighed. "I look terrible with curls."