Black || Jace Wayland [1]

|20. just talking

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"MAGNUS BANE." Hodge walked towards one of the large screens in the Ops Room with the group watching intently behind him. Clary and Isabelle sat on opposite sides of the table while Alec sat on a chair in between. Asher was next to Clary in one of the seats at the very edge so that she was able to avoid Jace while being able to pay attention for the briefing.

Hodge pressed something on his tablet, causing one of the monochrome photos of Magnus to enlarge. "And, as you can see, he's not exactly shied away from the pleasures of every century." Hodge started to scroll through all of the photos he found of the infamous warlock. "His tastes are both exquisite and quite excessive."

Asher stared intently at the different photos popping up in front of her. Each one consisted of Magnus lavishly dressed and either posing alone or at some grand social event. She's heard of him before from Julius, but nothing too specific: mostly just about his partying days.

"He looks like the Downworlder's David Guetta." Clary commented. "Guetta's already a Downworlder." Isabelle piped up from the other side, causing Asher to turn to look at her friend as she spoke. Isabelle smirked at Clary's confused expression. "Vampire?" The raven-haired girl shrugged. "Have you ever seen him in the daylight?"

Against her better judgement, Asher glanced a little to the left to lock eyes with Jace's intense stare. She quickly averted her gaze and turned back to stare at the screen when Alec reprimanded the two girls about not being focused on the mission. "Someone needs to get slayed." Isabelle commented, a sly smirk spreading across her angelic features.

"Alec's right." Hodge turned to look at Isabelle, causing her smirk to fall. "Now, Magnus is one of the most powerful warlocks I've ever known. He has a deep mistrust of Shadowhunters." "Well, then why did he help my mom remove my memories?" Clary questioned him. "Isn't she a Shadowhunter?" "Yes, one of the best." Hodge affirmed. "But 'help' might not be the most accurate word. Now, did Magnus provide a service to Jocelyn? Perhaps, but more than likely, your mother paid handsomely for his magic."

Jace stepped out from where he was standing to sit in the vacant chair next to Alec. "Warlocks usually require payment before they help anyone with anything." Asher leaned back into her chair and crossed her arms. "Word from the Clave is that most of the warlocks have gone into hiding since Valentine began hunting them." She recalled the information she received earlier.

"Valentine must be searching for the warlock." Hodge presumed. "Where did Jocelyn-" His sentence was cut short by the circle rune on his neck as it glowed a bright red. He clenched his jaw as his face contorted in pain from the searing skin. "Hodge, your rune." Clary gasped as he gripped the chair next to him. "You okay?" Hodge inhaled deeply before giving a short nod in response. Barely satisfied, the redhead sighed and returned to her regular position. "So how do we find Magnus?"

"We don't. Magnus finds us." Jace answered cooly. "We'll set up a meeting, somewhere protected. Lure him out of hiding." "And I know exactly where we'll do it." Isabelle grinned. She lifted herself up  and made her way by Hodge. Grabbing the tablet, Isabelle typed a few things in before sending a poster to the screen in front of the group.

Asher chuckled as she read what was on the image. "A Downworld rave." She remarked. "Nice, Iz." "And where'd you get that?" Alec raised his brow at his younger sister. "During my surveillance of the Downworlders." Isabelle shrugged. "From what I hear, Magnus likes to party." "He'll never go for it." Alec quickly shut down the idea. "Not with Valentine trying to kill him." "Of course he will." Jace interjected, peering at his parabati. "He'll blend in. Hide in plain sight." "I don't know." Clary spoke up, doubtful. "It seems-"