The Institute doors fly open as Clary, Jace, Izzy and Alec march through. I hang back growing more and more tired by the second. I was sent out on mission to destroy the Demon den in the early hours of yesterday morning. And I've only managed to get those couple of minutes or hours of sleep before heading out to find Dot. And now we've lost Simon. Seems like I won't be getting a good nights rest tonight. Alec was right before, I really shouldn't have been excited.
"I still don't understand. How can shadowhunters be better than, than what you call mundanes?" Clary asks marching into the heart of the Institute.
"Because we protect humans," Izzy replies. Clary stops walking.
"You're right," She says turning to face us. "Humans. You protect humans. You left Simon all alone in the van, great job guys. You rock."
"Give it a rest, Red," I sigh walking away from the group. I've had more than enough of this night.
"There is some truth to the idea that human beings should have a modicum of common sense," Alec says as he walks after me. I smile slightly. He has always had my back.
"Look they won't do anything to Simon. They just wanted to draw you out," Jace says trying to calm her down. "They want the Cup, and they think you have it."
"But why do they think that? Why does anyone think that? What, my mom lies to me my entire life except, 'Oh, by the way, there's this magic Cup, I hid on, like, the planet Bongo, but don't tell anyone.'" Clary says clearly frustrated. They begin to follow me and Alec further into the Institute. I start to head towards my room, wanting to get away from everyone, at least just for a second, but Alec grabs my arm forcing me to face him.
"How did the Vamps know you?" He asks quietly, not wanting to involve any of the others in our conversation.
"They don't," I simply say, shrugging his grasp off me.
"You sure about that, Lys?" He says using putting emphasis on the nickname Raphael had used. I glare at him, not the same one I have used against him before. A much harsher one, sending daggers at him. Him using that name to me infuriates me, it belittles me and brings me back to the time I was weak. That's how the Vampires had used that nickname months ago. I can't blame him because he doesn't know what really happened, he will never know.
"Don't you ever call me that again," I hiss at him with a harsh expression. His face softens immediately as he realises the affect the name has caused me, however he still looks at me as if he is searching for answers. I look at him a moment longer before storming away towards my room.
"Where are you going? We have to find Simon!" Clary yells after me.
"Then go find him," I snap back, anger consuming my voice.
"We don't need her," Jace says to Clary.
"Yes we do," Alec snaps at him forcing me to turn and face the group. "I'm not going to let you dismiss our best fighter." My anger immediately leaves me after listening to Alec defend me against my brother. Clary looks at me a moment before sighing.
"I don't doubt that she's the best, and the best is what we need to get Simon back," She says slowly as if admitting it pained her. I look at them all a moment and groan.
"She's not the best," Jace mutters quietly.
"Awh, gee, thanks, Red," I say sarcastically ignoring my twin. I reach for my Stele and run it over my rune sending a wave of energy through me. If I'm gonna be fighting a clan of Vampires, I sure as hell don't need to be sleeping on the job.
"Where is he, anyway? Some kind of crypt in Transylvania?" Clary asks turning to Jace returning to their previous conversation. We gather around a table and I take a seat at the head of it, bringing my feet up and relaxing into my chair.
"Actually, no. That was Camilla's outfit, right? They're locals," Jace says.
"They're at the Hotel DuMort, down in Gansevoort Street," Izzy says nodding to Jace.
"And we came back here? Why? We have to go there. Let's go, now. Come on," Clary says quickly.
"We need a Clave Resolution for that," Alec says.
"The five of us can't declare war on the vamps all by ourselves," Izzy says trying to get Fireball to understand.
"And I don't want to be around Vamps any longer than I have to be. Meaning we need a plan instead of rushing in," I say wanting to make it clear to everyone that I hate vampires.
"We have to consider our options," Alec adds to my point sending me a small smile. He knows something big happened between me and the vampires, this is him trying to comfort me subtly, I'm sure. "Downworlders are slaves to their impulses. We're not," He says causing Clary to roll her eyes at him.
"Alec, you can't stomp on all the Downworlders," Izzy says to her brother.
"Oh, that's right. Seelies have their charms, apparently," Alec smirks at Izzy.
"Right?" Jace joins in with smirking and I burst out laughing knowing that they're all talking about Izzy's Seelie 'friend'.
"Seelies?" Clary repeats with confusion.
"Like faeries. The Fair Folk. Add pixies, nixies, elves- anybody half-angel, half-demon. It's pretty much a catch-all term," Jace explains to her.
"Izzy can tell you all about them. She's got a thing," Alec says leaning against the table, resting his hands on my ankles.
"Yeah, they're her favourite," I send a smirk to her.
"We've all got our things, don't we?" She says quickly glancing down at Alec's hands on me before looking back at him. However, I think I'm the only one in the room to notice what she's trying to imply. I chuckle to myself at it.
"Okay, I can't listen to this. Simon's been kidnapped by vampires," Clary says glaring at us all before turning and walking away. "I guess I'll just take care of it myself."
"Clary, you're gonna get yourself killed." Jace immediately straightens up. But she ignores him and continues towards the door. "Simon too." She stops and hesitates a moment before turning around and walking back.
"Then help me. While we consider other options, my best friend is suffering. Is that something shadowhunters understand, or am I just being mundane?" She says keeping her eyes only on Jace. We all share a look causing me to sigh to myself.
"I'm curious, Red. How far do you think you'll get if you went up against the vamps alone?" I ask her receiving a glare from her. Alec squeezes my ankles softly gaining my attention and he shakes his head slightly at me, as if to warn me that now isn't the time.
"Clary's right," Jace says ignoring my comment. "They made the first move. We're gonna take care of this ourselves, right now." Alec groans and removes his hands from me, moving closer to Jace.
"This is a bad idea. I—" he starts.
"What, you have a better one? 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," Jace says looking at each of us in turn.
"Hard to argue with that," Izzy says glancing at Alec to see his reaction.
"Even if we went ahead, I don't see how we get out of here without having to explain where we're going. We need weapons, and we can't let anyone see us get them," Alec says keeping his eyes on Jace.
"I've got one Seraph blade and a dozen throwing knives. Though I seriously doubt that we can take on a clan with just that," I inform them.
"I know where to get what we need," Jace says nodding to me and then turning to Alec. I kick my feet off the table and stand up gaining all of the attention. I start towards the door and spin on my heels to face them again.
"Well come on then. Let's get this over with," I say to them. Jace gives Clary a quick look before walking past me and leading the group out of the Institute.
————
We all climb out of Simon's van and start walking into the graveyard. It's dark, but not dark enough so we can't see. Jace leads the way and I walk beside Alec. I can tell that he isn't sure about this, still holding his grim look. I bump into him playfully and smile at him, hoping that would help him relax slightly. It sort of does, I think anyway. He bumps me back and flashes me a smile.
"All right, Alec, let's go," Jace says looking over his shoulder at his Parabatai.
"Wait, what are we looking for?" Clary asks curiously.
"Cache of weapons," Izzy sings to her, a grin on her face.
"Stashed here with Mrs Milligan," Jace says walking further into the graveyard.
"God rest her soul," I mutter as I follow.
"Why are there shadowhunter weapons in a churchyard?" Fire Cracker asks.
"Because all of the ancient religions recognise demons. Or at least they used to," Izzy says.
"They forgot about the threat because we've been here to protect them," Alec says. His hand accidentally brushing against mine as we walk. I hadn't realised that we are that close to one another. Well, were. As soon as our fingers touch Alec makes a larger gap between us, almost instinctively. I feel myself sigh and help him make a distance by walking over towards Clary. It obviously bothers Alec by being close to me like that and I'd rather not piss him off.
"Typical mundane failure of imagination," Alec says as if nothing happened. Maybe he didn't even realise something did happen and I'm over reacting.
"Are you saying we did too good a job?" Izzy asks in shock as she stops. Alec stops as well and turns to face her. "You just can't let up, can you?" Izzy snaps at him.
"You know what?" Jace says preventing the argument from even starting. He stops and turns to the siblings. "Alec, why don't you go check out by the angel." Alec scoffs at my twin and walks away, and I walk in the opposite direction scanning the various headstones.
It isn't long before a phone chimes causing Izzy to laugh to herself.
"I'm outta here," She says putting her phone away.
"Wait, aren't you coming with us?" Clary asks.
"Oh, I wouldn't miss it for the world, but I gotta find out how to get into the vampires lair," She smirks before leaving the churchyard. Even from far away I can see Alec roll his eyes at her.
"Don't do anything I wouldn't do," Jace calls after her before returning his gaze onto Clary.
————
After wandering around the churchyard by myself for a bit I sigh and glance at the others. Jace and Alec are in a hushed conversation and Clary walks down the row across from me. She seems so out of place here, with us. Maybe everything that's happened to her in the past couple of days has made her forget her mundane self. It makes me feel bad. I stop walking immediately and internally scold myself. Why the hell am I feeling sorry for that bitch?
"Guys! I think I found it!" Clary yells cutting my own thoughts off. Perfect timing. I rush over to her and brush away the dust on top so I can read the name.
"Beloved servant?" Clary questions as her fingers brush over the the words. "Who wants that on a headstone."
"Someone who is in service to a cause greater than themselves," Alec says as he walks over to us and stands behind me.
"At least she is now," Jace says as he grabs a hold of the top of the tomb. "Abracadabra."
"Wait, you people actually say that?" Clary asks shocked. Jace pauses and looks to her, laughing softly.
"No, Clary. We don't," He says bringing his stele to the top and opening up the grave.
"Ah, pleasure to meet you, Mrs Milligan," I say reaching for the box inside and opening it up revealing a pile of daggers and seraph blades.
"Whoa! Where's Mrs Milligan?" Clary asks from behind me. She reaches around me and grabs a blade from the box, it glowing as soon as she touches the handle.
"Easy, Red. Don't want anyone to lose any fingers," I say backing away slightly, not trusting her with it.
"Don't touch that. You don't know how to use it," Alec says glaring at the girl.
"What, like at Pandemonium when I killed that demon?" She snarks back.
"I find it hard to believe that you've managed to kill a demon," I laugh at her.
"She didn't. It fell onto her sword," Alec says glancing at me, a smile on his face. Clary's face grows angry as we mock her and Jace sighs.
"Alec, I'm gonna show her the right way to use it. Do you see what you need in here?" He asks breaking up the tension. Clary turns to him and gives him a thankful look as Alec turns to the box. He shakes his head.
"No. There's no bow here. I need one. I have to rune some arrows. That's back at the Institute. I gotta go," Alec says walking away from me and my twin. Jace quickly follows.
"Well, how are you gonna get back in the Institute?" My brother questions.
"Go in the back," He deadpans. Jace looks at him a moment before slapping his arm.
"Okay, good. Go."," He says. "I can finish up here." He turns to the grave where I stand and walks over.
"I'll see you at dawn," Alec says walking over to Jace offering his hand. Jace takes it and slaps Alec on the back, a smile tugging at his lips.
"At dawn," He repeats as he lets go of Alec and watches him walk away. I stand a moment and soon find Jace's gaze on me. "You're sticking with us, right?" He asks.
"Nope," I say popping the 'p' and chase after Alec. There is no way on Earth I would stick with these two over Alec. No way, whatsoever. As I reach Alec's side he turns to me and smiles, as if he is surprised that I'm coming with him.
"Ain't no way you're leaving me with them, good looking," I joke to him. He laughs and shakes his head as we continue back to the Institute.
————
We had managed to get into the Institute easily enough without drawing any attention to ourselves. It's late at night, so the majority of people are either asleep or on mission, which is lucky for us. As we enter the room Alec immediately heads to the weapon storage and collects a bow and a large handful of arrows. I take a seat opposite him and watch him run his stele over the arrows.
"I wanna say thanks," I say breaking his focus on the arrows and I feel guilty momentarily when I realise I have. He quirks an eyebrow at me.
"What for?" He asks sounding genuinely curious.
"For what you said to Jace earlier. For having my back," I explain. Alec's face softens at me and he smiles. He walks over to me and leans against the table next to me, continuing to run his Stele on the unruned arrows.
"You don't need to thank me," He says chuckling slightly. He then lowers his Stele and looks at me. "I will always have your back. No matter what," He say more seriously. I look up at him and take in everything he said. Something heats up inside me when he says this, an excited nervousness I've never felt around him before, and I hope it never goes away.
"And I will always have yours," I reply matching his seriousness. He looks at me a moment longer, caught up in his own thoughts before smiling at me. I smile back at him. I stand up and grab the last unruned arrows and bring them back to my seat next to Alec. I reach for my Stele and start helping him finish prepping the arrows. I notice him continue to watch me in the corner of my eye, and I feel heat rush to my cheeks. Since when did Alec make me blush?
He clears his throat catching my attention.
"I'm sorry about pushing you to tell me about the Vamps earlier. It's not my place, and I'm sorry," He sighs. I chuckle at his apology and turn in my chair so my whole body is facing him.
"No, you were looking out for me. So don't apologise. I'm fine, everything is fine. I just want to forget it," I say. He looks at me unconvinced about what I said. I place a hand on his leg and sigh. "Seriously, it's fine," I smile. He watches me, silently figuring out what I could be talking about, but he soon nods in response.
Someone clears their throat behind us, and instantly my hand leaves Alec's leg. We both jump up and spin around to see Hodge standing there smirking as he holds a cup of tea, or is it coffee?
"Didn't know you two were here," He says glancing at us suggestively as he takes a sip of his drink.
"Yeah, no, we, uh..." Alec stammers.
"Don't tell me. I don't wanna have to report you," He says walking closer to us.
"It's just that, you know, Clary is-" Alec starts, but Hodge cuts him off.
"That girl is Valentine's-" he starts groaning as he reaches for his circle rune on the base of his neck.
"The monster's daughter." He reiterates. Any mention of Valentine or the circle causes his rune to burn; excruciating pain as punishment for his crimes he committed whilst a member of the circle. It seems unfair to me, he has proven his loyalties to us over the years by helping us train, making us the people we are today.
"There must be some reason why the roaches are coming out of the woodwork again, right?" He sighs. He has a point, and it's one I've thought to myself a lot, especially when I found out who Clary really is. Hodge drags his gaze over the two of us and nods.
"I'll leave you to it." He says turning around and leaving.
"Hodge?" Alec calls after him. Hodge stops and turns around again. "Thank you," Alec says.
"You remind me of me, Alec. A loyal friend standing in the shadow of the chosen one," Hodge says causing Alec to scoff and turn his head towards me. I instinctively reach for his hand and squeeze it comfortingly.
"Hey, don't make the same mistakes I did. Look where it got me." And with those words uttered by Hodge, he turns and leaves us for good. I release the breath I didn't realise I was holding and look back at Alec who watches Hodge leave. We stay silent for a moment before Alec moves away from me and grabs the bow and arrows, attaching them to himself with ease. I keep all of my attention on him worried about what he is thinking. I don't want what Hodge had just said to upset him. He wasn't in anyone's shadow, to me he stood out, to me he is under a spotlight that drowns out everyone else.
Alec turns back to me after collecting his things. His phone beeps and he reaches for it, glancing at the screen and sighing. His eyes lift onto me again as he attempts a smile, however it isn't convincing me that he's okay.
"Come on, Iz has texted the location," He says grabbing my hand in his and guiding me out of the Institute.
————
We walk hand in hand towards my Parabatai who stands leaning against the wall of the Hotel DuMort. I'm not sure why Alec and I are still holding each other, but I'm not going to complain. It makes me feel ten times safer. I am scared for this raid, normally I would be fine, confident even, but vampires are different. They reminded me of too much weakness in my life.
"Iz," Alec calls releasing me as he runs over to her. She turns and looks at us, smirking as she watches me walk after Alec. "I got your text. Where are we exactly?" He asks.
"What took you guys so long?" She asks glancing between us.
"We were playing a round of cards with Mrs Milligan," I reply sarcastically. Izzy laughs at me as she leads the way.
"It's an old meatpacker's service entrance," She says responding to Alec. "If we go back there, we come up into the basement of the Hotel DuMort. Perfect, right? We distract the vamps, Clary and Jace have time to find Simon."
Alec stays silent a moment as we both join Izzy's side.
"Okay," He mutters. I immediately look up at him quirking my eyebrow. Maybe what Hodge said to him has gotten to him.
"Okay?" Izzy replies causing us all to stop. "It was hard work interrogating Meliorn to get this intel." She says and I chuckle slightly at her as she mentions her special Seelie friend.
"Great job, Izzy," He says sarcastically. "You have faerie dust on your dress," He adds walking away and leading us to a bigger room. I stop suddenly at the sound of something behind us. I turn and look around to see if there is something. Alec and Izzy keep walking, still holding their conversation. My eyes glance to the ground and I see a shadow move out of view. Someone is here. I flicker my gaze to the Lightwoods before slipping away and heading after the shadow.
I run my Stele over my silencing rune quickly before sneaking down the tunnel. The lights flicker above me telling me that not many vamps care enough to come down here. But if that's the case why the hell am I chasing someone's shadow?
My phone begins ringing in my pocket and I snatch it up quickly bringing it to my ear. Crap, these blood suckers probably heard that.
"Where the hell are you?" Alec asks frantically through the phone.
"We weren't alone, thought I'd get them before they got us. Though I think the element of surprise is gone now," I huff through the phone. Alec sighs.
"You should've said something. Do you have any idea how worried I was?" He says. I hesitate my reply as the sound of footsteps echo through the tunnel.
"Alec, I will be fine. I'll meet you both in there, but I have to go," I say urgently as I make my way towards the sound, bringing my Seraph blade to my hands. It glows immediately and I end the call, shoving my phone into my pockets. I tighten my grip on the blade and turn the corner, freezing in place. A group of Vampires stand watching me, as if they are waiting for me. It's then I see their faces and notice how familiar they all are.
"Lys, haven't seen you in a while. How long's it been? A couple months? A year?" The closest Vampire questions as he walks closer. Brim.
"Careful, Brim. You're beginning to sound like you care," I snap back instantly tensing as the vampires edge closer to me.
"You left us high and dry. All of us. We want to make up for lost time," He snarls as a wicked smile creeps across his face. As soon as he smiles I feel a body grab me from behind. Before I can react I feel the euphoric pain as fangs dig into my neck. I gasp at the familiar sensation. I let the vampire suck at my neck and the venom enter my system, but only for a moment. I force myself to remember the pain, the hard journey I've made. The weakness I felt before. I shove my head back hitting the vampire. He stumbles away from me, blood dripping down his face. I stare at him, well, more like glare at him.
"That's not very nice," He hisses at me.
"I'm about to be a hell of a lot meaner," I snap as I charge at him and thrust the Seraph blade into his chest. I quickly spin on my heels and look at the other vampires hissing at me. They begin charging at me, however none manage to reach me. The glow of my blade becomes a blur from my movements. And it isn't long until I come face to face with Brim.
"You can't blame us, Lys. We have never tasted shadowhunter blood like yours before," He smirks.
"And you will never taste it again," I state before throwing a throwing knife into his chest. I stay still a moment as I watch him disintegrate in front of my eyes. As the knife clatters to the ground I sigh and walk to collect it. I stand up again and reach for my Stele, running it over my skin to heal the vampire bite on my neck. I wait a moment, trying to calm myself slightly before rushing through the tunnel once again, praying that I'll find Alec instead of more Vampires.
————
I finally make my way into the main body of the Hotel DuMort, slashing at the odd vampire that tries to stop me. I scout around trying to find any of my family, but I don't find them. I guess I should just find Simon. Find Simon, I'll find them.
"Put it away!" I hear Raphael's voice yell. I immediately start running towards it. If he hurts that Mundie Clary will never shut up about it.
I slam my back against the wall, quietly reaching for a throwing knife. When it is safe in my hand I turn the corner and raise my arm ready to throw it. Raphael stands holding a knife to Simon's throat, the others standing helplessly in front of them.
"Put it down, Lys. You wouldn't want to ruin the party now, would you?" Raphael hisses at me before I have the chance to throw it. The others turn and look at me. I hesitate a moment before putting the knife into my back pocket.
"I hope you found the welcoming committee easily enough. They were very eager to hear about your arrival," Raphael says keeping his gaze on me. I can feel everyone else's eyes on me, trying to figure out the connection.
"Well, you should know that their eagerness died as soon as I saw them," I snap. There is a pause as Raphael glares at me, but his attention is soon drawn to Clary.
"Simon. Simon, are you all right?" She asks, taking the pause in conversation as an opportunity to check on her friend.
"I wouldn't say all right—" he starts to reply.
"Stop talking!" Raphael yells. "Now... if you would all just follow me. Let's go," He says backing out of the room still holding onto Simon. I push past the others who stay hesitating and follow. Soon I feel the others follow my lead.
He begins guiding us up a series of stairs, yelling at us to hurry up as we climb. I follow with no protest. If there's one thing I know about Raphael it's that if he wanted Simon to die, I wouldn't be looking at him right now. He was up to something.
He backs into a corner and points his head down a corridor.
"That's right, get down there now! Get down there or I'll kill him right now!" He yells holding a tight grip on the terrified mundane. Alec slowly follows me, as do the others. He looks at me a moment before returning his gaze onto the vampire.
"Look, we're not gonna hurt you. We just want Simon," Clary pleads.
"I'm glad you do. We don't," He snaps back at her. "We wanted you."
"Well, here I am."," She snarks approaching him. Jace grabs her and pushes her behind him.
"Stop!" He says to her.
"I said, 'wanted.' Not my idea. Now get out! Go!" The vampire says as I climb the steps towards a door.
"Not without Simon," Clary yells.
"Shut up! Open the door right now or I'll kill him right here," He snaps back.
"Listen to him!" Jace yells immediately. I hesitate a moment before opening the door, revealing a strong sunlight. I rush out, not listening to the rest of the conversation. My hands tremble, but I know it's not from what's happening, it's from the small taste of vampire venom. I wipe my hands on my jeans trying to get rid of the layer of sweat on them as I walk away from the others. What is happening to me? It was just a little bit of venom, how can that bring on the need to have more?
I feel a hand land on my shoulder and I jump. My body spins around to face Izzy who looks at me with concern.
"You okay, Mae?" She asks quietly, but loud enough to catch everyone's attention. I glance around at everyone realising I had zoned out for a while. Alec and Jace are now on the higher level, whilst Clary and Simon are holding onto each other. What did I miss?
"Yeah, I'm peachy," I reply sending her a pathetic smile before walking over to the stairs. I climb them bringing me onto the same level as Alec and Jace. I don't look at either of them, I'm not in the right headspace to start a conversation with them. I need to sweat whatever venom I have in me out. Before I can get far, Jace's hand clamps onto my arm, pulling me back towards him.
"What's wrong? Are you alright?" He asks with a sigh. I yank my arm back.
"I'm fine," I say glaring at him trying to end the conversation.
"Fine? You're fine are you? Because you're shaking and sweating like crazy and you've got blood all over your neck!" He yells at me. My hand instinctively reaches for my neck, and as it does it meets something warm. Goddamn vampire had to have missed it's mouth.
"You don't have to pretend you care now, Jace," I snap.
"W-what? What the hell does that mean?" He scoffs. I glare at him a moment longer before sighing. My gaze drifts over to Simon and Clary who stand watching with wide and shocked expressions.
"I'm glad you're okay, Simon," I say to him, not wanting him to feel awkward about us fighting. Without looking at anyone else I turn and leave them. No one argues against it and once I'm out of view, I break out into a sprint.