Chapter Text
The silence in the living room at Blackstone was tense and angry. Jace was glowering silently at the coffee table and I just felt . . . numb. Luke had shifted back to human form and we were all standing around, too anxious to sit, waiting for someone to speak.
“I'm glad you're safe, Jace,” Isabelle said at last.
He looked at her coldly and said nothing.
“We have to talk to Central Authority,” Alec murmured, half to himself. “They need to know what's happened.”
“Yeah,” Isabelle agreed.
“Is there anything you can add, Jace?” Alec asked.
“Like what?” Jace snapped. “Whitehawk's alive? And a dick?”
“Is it the cup he's looking for?” Luke asked.
“Yeah,” Jace muttered.
“Do they know where it is?” Alec pressed.
Jace was silent for a long moment. “No,” he said at last, “they don't.”
Isabelle let out a breath. “At least there's that,” she murmured. “Who knows what they might do if they got their hands on it again.”
“We all saw what one round of demon blood did to them,” Alec agreed. “I'd hate to see what they could do with more of that poison running through their veins. It's no wonder they're so dangerous.”
Jace snorted loudly.
“Something to add?” I muttered.
“What, he didn't tell you?” Jace jerked his head at Luke.
Luke looked back at him silently.
“Tell us what?” Alec asked.
“We've all got demon blood in us,” Jace told him with a grim chuckle. “They proved it. We're no different from them.”
The silence that followed was deafening.
“Wait a minute,” Simon said after a long moment had passed. “I'm confused.”
“Of course you are,” Jace muttered.
Alec shook his head. “Central Authority would have told us.”
“Yeah that would have been a brilliant political move,” Jace sneered. “'The maniac's right! Go side with him!' They proved it, Alec – Luke and Jocelyn and Whitehawk, they proved it.”
“Is that true?” Alec asked quietly, turning to Luke.
Luke glanced at Jace unhappily and said, “Yes.”
“Then Whitehawk's right,” Alec murmured.
“Whitehawk's a terrorist,” Luke replied sharply. “Let's not give him too much credit.”
“But we are part demon, right?” Jace snapped. “The truth is, we're no better than him.” As he spoke, his icy blue eyes fixed on me for a moment, then flicked away distastefully.
Before anyone could say anything else, he turned and walked out of the room.
I watched him go with narrowed eyes, then looked back at the others. Isabelle was staring down at the floor, her arms wrapped defensively around herself. Alec clenched and unclenched his hands, his mind obviously working furiously behind an expressionless mask. Simon only looked at me and shrugged helplessly.
“Well,” said Isabelle, attempting a cheerful tone, “maybe we should . . .” She faltered and shot a glance at Alec. She bit her lip. “I think I need a second,” she muttered and left.
Alec barely reacted. He only turned to Luke and said, “I need to call Idris. Since I obviously don't have all the details, it would help If you were there, too.” His voice was quiet, blank.
“Sure,” Luke said, nodding.
As the two of them left, I turned to Simon, who had collapsed tiredly on the couch. “Well, that was unpleasant,” I muttered.
“It kind of makes sense when you think about it,” he replied. “Like half-vampires hunting vampires, the offspring killing their parents – it's not like there isn't precedent.”
“Do me a favour and keep that insight to yourself,” I said.
“Of course,” he replied. “I'm not an animal.”
I grimaced. “Speaking of . . .” I probably ought to go find where Jace had gone off to. “I'm sorry about all this. You can go home if you want.”
“I know,” Simon said. “But this couch is so comfy . . . I think I'm stuck.”
I raised an eyebrow. “Need a hand?”
He shook his head. “I've accepted it,” he said. “This is my home now.”
“Alright, well, have fun,” I said and went to look for Jace.
I found him in the kitchen, leaning against the counter. He looked up as I came in, only to roll his eyes and look away.
I pursed my lips, regarding him narrowly. “Well,” I said, “I'm not entirely sure what happened back there, but I think even you could have handled that better.”
He turned to face me and folded his arms firmly over his chest. “I just told them the truth,” he said, his jaw tight.
“You didn't have to be an ass about it,” I muttered. Admittedly, that was how he handled everything, but that hardly made it okay.
His cold blue eyes narrowed. “Did you seriously think I'd get back and suddenly everything would be all sunshine and flowers?” he sneered. “Am I not acting grateful enough for you?”
“Screw your gratitude,” I snapped. “Alec and Isabelle are your family and they deserved better.”
“I don't have a family,” Jace replied in a clipped tone.
"Bullshit.” I met his icy gaze levelly, refusing to back down.
“What do you know about family anyway?” he hissed. “You left your own mother behind.”
This new line of attack caught me off guard and I blinked, staggered. “I didn't have a choice,” I told him, my throat tight.
“That's bullshit,” Jace said. “There's always a choice. That's just what people tell themselves when they know they chose wrong.”
I shook my head. “I'm not doing this with you, right now,” I muttered.
“Hey, you're the one who came in here yelling at me about family,” he bit out.
“You think this is hard for you?” I snapped. “She's my mom! You knew her for a day – I've known her my whole life! So don't think for a second that this is any easier for me.”
My heart was pounding and I felt tears building at the corners of my eyes, but I clenched my jaw fiercely, determined to keep them in check.
“Maybe I didn't know her as long,” Jace said coldly, “but I never could have done what you did.”
“You weren't there,” I growled. I noticed my lip trembling and I bit down on it angrily.
Jace's eyes flashed. “And if she told you to put a gun to her head and pull the trigger, would you have done that, too?”
“That's not what happened!” I burst out.
“It might as well be.”
I could hardly breathe. “Jace, stop.”
He went on as if I hadn't spoken. “The black eye, the bullet wound – that's just the beginning! That's just what you can see.”
My eyes were burning and I swallowed, desperate for air.
“He used truth glyphs on her,” he hissed, taking a step closer to me. “And I can tell you from personal fucking experience that those things are hell. They take away your free will, make you tell all your secrets.” He paused. “She managed to keep you a secret, though.”
I closed my eyes, trying to ignore the water gather at the corners. “Stop,” I breathed, the word barely audible.
“What do you think he'll do to her now that he knows about you? Knows she kept you from him -”
“Jace, stop! Please!” The tears were rolling freely down my cheeks now, and I was shaking violently.
Jace fell silent and his eyes widened as if seeing me for the first time. “Shit,” he breathed. “Look . . . Clary -” He started to reach towards me, only to stop short, clenching his hand into a fist and letting it fall back to his side. Then he just swore and pushed past me out of the room.
I didn't watch him go. I just leaned against the counter, wracked with sobs. It was a long time before I could breathe again and my head ached dully. By the time the tears stopped, I just felt empty, drained.
“Clary?”
The voice in the doorway made me stiffen, my breath drawing in sharply. I swallowed and turned to see Luke standing behind me.
“Hi,” I said hoarsely.
“Jace just went storming past . . .”
“He can go right to hell,” I muttered, to exhausted to put any real fire in it.
“I have that meeting with Alec,” Luke told me. “I'll probably be in there for a while. Is there anything you need? Anything I can do?”
“Can you magically make my mom be here safe?” I asked. “Or else make Whitehawk be dead – painfully?”
“I'll do my best?” he replied, drawing me into a hug.
“Good,” I said, the word muffled by his shoulder. I drew back at last. “Go to your meeting; I'll be fine.”
Nearly an hour later, he and Alec were still locked away in the study. Simon was solidly passed out on the couch and – at least judging by the music blasting out of her room – Isabelle was still taking a second to sort things out. Jace, perhaps fortunately, seemed to have vanished altogether.
Exhausted though I was, I was too restless to sleep so I'd just started pacing. It was hardly a small house but even so, the path started to get repetitive after a while. I was on my ninth circuit of the house when the phone in the kitchen rang suddenly, making me jump.
I looked around quickly, but everyone else was either busy or asleep. I considered just letting it go to voicemail but then decided it might be important.
I picked up the phone reluctantly on the second ring. “Hello?” I said. Was there some tag I was supposed to add? 'Shadowhunters Inc.! For all you demon hunting needs!'
“Clary!” came the voice on the other end of the line. “I didn't expect to speak to you again so soon.”
I frowned, unsure of who was speaking. “Me neither,” I said slowly.
“It seems you survived last night's excursion,” the voice went on. “Was my map a help to you?”
Magnus. Of course. “Yes,” I said, forcing the muscles in my neck to relax. “Thank you.”
“Were you successful? Did you get your mother back safely?”
I grimaced. “Not . . . as such.”
There was a brief pause on the other end of the line. “I'm sorry to hear that.”
I shook my head. “What did you call to talk about?” Back to business.
“Ah, yes,” he said. “I'm at The Green Man and I think I may have found something that belongs to you.”
I frowned, trying to think if anything had gone missing. It certainly wasn't implausible, given the chaos the last time I'd been there. “What's it look like?' I asked.
“Tall, blond, blue eyes, couple of tattoos – I figured he had to be one of yours.”
“Jace,” I muttered, scowling. “Thanks for letting me know,” I said. “I'll be there as soon as I can.”
“Excellent,” Magnus said. “Goodbye, then.” He hung up before I could say anything else.
I shrugged, hung up the phone, and started making my way to the garage. I wondered if I should fetch one of the others but they all seemed busy, and with Jace involved, I probably didn't have a lot of time.
With a little looking, I found the keys to a discreet, black car and pulled out of the garage. It wasn't far but thhe combination of a couple wrong turns and actually following basic traffic laws meant that it took nearly twice as long to get there as it would have taken Alec or Isabelle.
I parked quickly and hurried to the Blockbuster, barely pausing at the doors. After the bright sunlight outside, it took me a moment to adjust to the dimly lit bar scene on the other side of the doors.
When I could see again, I scanned the room for Magnus but I saw Jace first. He was pinned against the wall on the far side of the room, surrounded by three very menacing and angry looking downworlders. The one in the middle was doing her best to beat him into the wall and, judging by the blood on his face, she'd been at it for a while.
“Hey!” I yelled.
I reached them just as she drew back for another strike and I managed to wedge myself between her and Jace.
Her lip curled up in a snarl and she started to reach for me when a deep voice spoke behind her.
“Leave the girl alone. She's on our side.”
I looked up to see Raphael looming over her shoulder.
She still seemed unconvinced so I said, “Look, I know you're pissed – and, knowing him, I'm sure you have a good reason!”
At least I had her attention now. I took a deep breath. “The thing is, I need him – you know, alive – so if you'd just stop wailing on him for a second, I promise I'll get him out of here.”
She narrowed her eyes, considering, and finally stepped back. “You should teach your friend some manners,:” she growled.
I sighed with relief. “I'm trying,” I said.
Thankfully, after that, she left, taking her friends with her.
I glanced up at Raphael and smiled. “It's good to see you,” I said. “I wasn't sure if you made it.”
He grinned. “I'm not dying any time soon.”
“Thanks for stepping in just then.”
He leaned in a little, as if to confide in me. “I like you,” he said with a friendly smile. “You don't die easy.” Then, with a genial nod, he went back to his drink.
I took a deep breath and turned back to Jace. He looked awful, with blood dripping from his nose and several small cuts across his face. I would have felt sorry for him if he hadn't brought it on himself.
“What are you doing here?” he snapped.
“I'm saving your ass,” I retorted. “What's it look like?”
“I didn't ask for your help,” he muttered, dabbing at a jagged cut over his eye.
“Yeah, well, you got it anyway,” I grumbled. “Deal with it.”
“No," I snapped, just as he opened his mouth to speak. “You don't talk, go clean yourself up.”
He looked at me quizzically for a moment but pushed past me to the bathroom down the hall.
I ran a hand through my hair and went to the bar. Ben the bartender eyed me warily as I approached. “What do you need?” he asked.
“Could I just get some ice?” I asked apologetically.
He nodded silently and laid a cloth across the counter, carefully filling it with ice.
“I'm really sorry about all this,” I muttered. “We'll be out of your hair in a minute.”
“This place has seen worse,” he replied quietly. “People who come here looking for trouble don't have to look very hard.”
“Did you see what happened?”
Ben fixed his strange, ageless eyes on me. “I didn't see anything,” he replied. “Here's your ice.”
“Thanks,” I said, and went to go get Jace.
I hesitated outside the bathroom door, steadying myself, then pushed inside.
Despite the glare he shot in my direction, Jace did look a little better with all the blood gone. On the other hand, it made his injuries stand out more starkly. His lip was split and puffy and there was a swelling knot under his eye that was already turning an interesting shade of purple.
My lips twisted unhappily.
“You could knock,”' Jace muttered, dabbing at one of the new bloodstains on his shirt.
“What's the matter with you?”
He crossed him arms over his chest. “I bet any one who knows me could give you a long list.”
“Cut the crap,” I growled. “What the hell are you doing here?”
“I needed some time to think,” he said, looking away.
“No,” I snapped, “thinking had nothing to do with what just happened. Seriously, Jace, if you needed someone to slap some sense into you, I'd have been more than happy to help!”
He looked back at me silently, his face unreadable.
I sighed. “I got you some ice,” I said, handing him the cloth.
He snatched it from me. “Why are you even here?” he hissed. “It's not like I asked you to come.”
“You didn't have to!” I said, exasperated.
“I don't want your help!” he snapped.
“No!” I said. “You just want to go out and start fights with a bunch of people who're supposed to be on our side.”
He snorted. “You really think they're on our side?”
“Yes, Jace,” I said in a clipped tone. “That is, unless you've gone and killed someone, or started a war in the last hour.” I hesitated. “You . . . you didn't, did you?”
“Relax,” he muttered. “But I understand your concern – that is what demons do, right?”
“You're not a fucking demon, Jace!” I burst out. I took a deep breath. “Look, I know this demon blood thing is hard for you. And I know you're mad about my mom.”
Jace's jaw worked, his blue eyes on me.
I swallowed. “But if I'm going to get her back, I don't have time for your existential crisis. So you can either help me or . . . do this.”
He didn't say anything.
I bit my lip. “I'll be in the car.”
Ten minutes later, the car door slammed and Jace slid into the passenger seat, not looking at me.
“Seat belt,” I said.
Jace didn't say anything but he reached up and buckled himself in.
The silence in the car was tense and uncomfortable but as I pulled away, I couldn't help the smile of satisfaction that spread across my face.