𝐑𝐀𝐈𝐒𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐇𝐄𝐋𝐋 ━━ ISABELLE LIGHTWOOD

6

"WHAT IS NYPD DOING HERE?" Questioned Kade as he made his way towards Jace, Alec, Clary, Simon and Isabelle who was sitting and doing something on the computers. He raised his brows at the unfamiliar boy, "— and a mundane.  Why the hell is there a mundane in the institute?"

"Like I was about to say to Alec, a member followed him to get to Clary." Jace explained as Clary added, "A Circle rune, just like the guys that took my mother."

"What exactly is a Circle member and why are they trying to kill us?" Simon questioned.

"All we know is... a long time ago the Circle led a revolt. A lot of Shadowhunters got killed... including my father." Jace replied to which Alec add, "since the revolt we've been forbidden to even hear about the Circle."

"But, how's that even possible?" Clary asked, frowning, "It's your history."

"Says the girl who didn't know she was a Shadowhunter?" Jace asked smirking at Clary who rolled her eyes, "yeah, you're right. And now the only person who knows the truth is missing, so I don't care about your rules or what's forbidden, I'm—" Clary was cut off by Kade, "— hey, you don't get to come here and act all superior, all right? You better care and follow those rules." His tone was mocking in the end.

"No need to be a dick." Simon mumbled harshly under his breath making Kade raise his brows at him, "tell her not to be a bitch first. If she wants us to help, she goes by what we say. It's how it works. " Isabelle looked up at him at his words as if to remind him what he said he'd do earlier. He let out a sigh at that.

"He's right." Alec huffed, crossing his arms as Jace rolled his eyes, "guys, come on."

"I'm sorry," Clary muttered before looking at Jace, "there's gotta be someone out there who can tell us why they've taken my mother."

"There is." Jace nodded and began walking away, "you coming?"

"Yeah," Clary nodded as Simon attempted to step forward only to be held back by Jace, "No, no, no. Not you."

"Hey," Clary frowned, "we're a package deal."

Simon nodded, confirming what Clary said, "yeah."

"There are runes all over the training room floor," Jace spoke up as Kade finished his sentence, "that would kill your little mundane boyfriend."

"He's not my—" Clary was cut off by Simon, "I'm not, like— We're, uh, just friends."

"Best friends." Clary corrected as Simon nodded, "Yeah, and I'm tough. I can handle runes. So, uh, bring on the runes. What exactly are runes?"

"They give Shadowhunters our demon–fighting powers." Isabelle replied as she joined them and activated the angelic rune on her arm with her stele.

Simon stared at her wide-eyed and breathed out, "so hot."

Jace cleared his throat while Kade and Alec visibly glared at him. He instantly composed himself, "the rune."

"Don't worry, Clary." Isabelle chuckled, "I'll watch over the best friend. In fact, I was about to make breakfast."

"On second thought, the runes might be less lethal." Kade commented making Izzy smile as she said, "I'll pretend I didn't hear that. Please excuse my friends' lack of manners." She pointed to Alec behind her, "this is Alec—" then she pointed to Kade who was also behind her but o  her other side, "— that one is Kade and I'm Isabelle."

"Lewis. Simon, Simon Lewis." Isabelle extended her hand for Simon to kiss but instead he shook it making her smile, "two first names. Am I still talking?"

"Yes," Kade grunted from behind making Alec smirk slightly at his best friend's obvious jealousy, "you are."

Isabelle chuckled before Jace looked at Clary, "See? Best friend's safe and sound here."

"Jace, if anything happens to him..." Clary trailed off as Simon reassured, "Go on, I'll be fine. I think."

"Where are we going?" Clary asked Jace who replied, "training room." He then looked at Simon, "Hey, uh... don't eat the food. Dangerous."

Isabelle rolled her eyes as they walked away.

**

Kade was leaning against the wall, staring at Simon who was sitting on Isabelle's bed as he waited for her to bring food.

"So you're like..." Simon broke the silence between the two, "the leader here?"

"No," he replied, "I'm not."

"Then why are you so bossy?" The mundane blurted out which made Kade raise his brows slightly. However before he could reply, Isabelle entered the room, holding a tray of food as she said, "if by bossy you mean skeptical, paranoid and annoyed— he's always been like that."

She sat in front of Simon on the bed, placing the tray in between them before grabbing a glass as she began to drink what was in it. "So..." Simon began, pointing to his neck, "what happens to humans if they're runed?"

"They die," Kade replied as he grabbed the cup of coffee she made for Simon. "Hey—" Simon cut himself off and decided to say nothing as he brought the cup near his lips and took a sip. Isabelle bit back a smile at the action but said nothing regarding it as she added, "usually. Sometimes they go crazy. When that happens, we call them the Forsaken."

"And then we kill them." Kade added making Simon's eyes widen, "right. So the rune on Clary's neck—"

"— a healing rune." Izzy said, "Jace used it to save her life."

"So Jace knew she was a Shadowhunter?" Simon raised his brows as Kade finished the coffee.

Isabelle shrugged, "He was almost certain." 

"I can only imagine what would have happened if he had runed her and she wasn't a Shadowhunter," Kade decided to rile up the human a little, "Oh the scandal."

Simon quickly stood up from the bed but Izzy moved quickly in front of him, "where could you possibly be going?"  She slowly pushed Simon towards the bed making Kade narrow his eyes at the action.

"T— To get Clary," Simon stuttered, "to pro— protect her from Jace."

"And you think you'll be able to do that?" Kade asked, "protect her from Jace? I mean, no offense but you?"

"Hey, I'm tough!" Simon defended, his eyes falling on Kade's well built body which led him to mumble, "maybe not as much as you but still!"

"And why would she need protection from Jace, anyway?" Isabelle asked, "he's one of the ultimate protectors."

"What makes Jace so special?"

"Second fastest, strongest, fiercest." Isabelle began listing before she raised her brows, "and hello, have you seen the guy?"

Simon furrowed his brows, "If he's the second then who's the first?"

"Him," she nodded in Kade's direction who smirked at Simon's expression, "of course it's him. Wait why's he not the one protecting Clary then?"

"Cause I was against bringing her here," he replied bluntly, "and Jace called dibs."

"Oh well, uh..." Simon cleared his throat, "sorry I asked."

"Rest easy, hombre. Clary's in good hands," Izzy sat down on the bed and began something out of a bowl while Simon stared at the food weirdly while Izzy ate her food, "mmm, don't worry. There's plenty more where that came from."

Simon looked up at Kade who smirked at the look on his face. He gulped, "Good to know. Good to know..." he played around with his spoon in the food, "so the Circle... if they're as bad as they say they are, it's not good for Clary, is it?"

"It's not good for any of us."