Middle School of Bones - A Mortal Instruments Story

Chapter 3

There were even more people in the kitchen. Simon snatched a bag of chips for us to share, and we found a spot to sit on the stairs and observe the crowd.

"This is almost as good as watching TV in your bedroom," Simon commented as he chewed. "If you ignore the smell of sweat and the noise and the people trying to dance but embarrassing themselves, it's basically an ordinary Friday night for us."

I rolled my eyes, but I couldn't help but agree. Nothing exciting had happened yet, and I was starting to wonder if this was a mistake. Maybe Simon was right after all.

Then I caught sight of a tall dark-haired girl and jumped up.

"That's Isabelle Lightwood!" I cried. I shoved the half-empty chip bag into Simon's arms. "I'm going to follow her."

Before Simon could say anything, I dashed down the stairs to the place I saw her. She wasn't there. I looked around and saw her talking to Becca. Her brother, Alec, was there as well, standing beside her. Neither of them looked dressed for the event. They were wearing all black, like they were planning on robbing a bank when the night ended.

Isabelle said something to Becca that I couldn't hear over the noise. She was leaning beside her ear, and Becca's eyes lit up. Then the three of them left the room, the crowd parting around them. I chased after them, pushing through people and apologizing as I went. I was curious what the Lightwoods had to do with a girl like Becca. They were in different social groups. I wondered if maybe she was part of their club. It would explain how she threw all these big parties.

I turned a few corners and made it into an empty hallway just in time to see Alec enter a room and close the door behind him. I crossed the distance without thinking and tried the doorknob. It was locked. 

I couldn't waste this opportunity, so I crouched to the ground and peered underneath the door. There was only half an inch of space visible above the floor, so I couldn't see anything, but I could hear them. They didn't seem to be trying to lower their voices at all.

"Don't bother lying to us, Becca." That was Isabelle's voice. "If that's even your real name. We've figured you out."

"I... I don't know what you're talking about," Becca said. I could hear fear in her voice. The doorknob jiggled above me. Before I could think to move out of the way, something struck the door, and I heard Becca cry out.

"Just let everyone go and we won't hurt you," Alec said.

"No!" Becca said. "I control all of them, and I did it all by myself. You can't make me!"

Something else hit the door, only much louder. I looked up. A foot above my head, a blade stuck out from the wood. I shot backwards. The Lightwoods had brought knives to the party. And it definitely wasn't a kitchen knife. Its tip was curved and sharp. The wood hadn't even splintered around it.

Something bad was going on. I had to go back to Simon. We could run and catch the next bus home and get as far away from this as possible. But I couldn't make myself go. This might have been the closest I'd ever get to knowing about the mysterious Lightwoods. Curiosity outweighed my thoughts of safety, and I pressed back against the floor.

"Izzy you have to be more careful." The blade glowed brightly for a moment before sliding back out again.

"I am careful," she said. "What, you think a Mundane will see us?"

"Just say it's the drum circle, they'll believe anything," came a new voice. It was lower than Alec's and almost musical sounding.

Isabelle's voice was full of annoyance. "Oh, now you're here, Jace?" she asked. "After we've done all the hard work?"

"I'm ready to kill this thing if that'll make it up to you," he said. The dark sliver of space beneath the door shot into violent white light, and I pushed away, my eyes stinging.

"Did you hear something?" Jace asked. The light went out, and I heard footsteps. No one spoke, and I realized too late that I missed my chance to hide. Instead, I was left standing in shock as Jace Wayland opened the door.

He was a hundred times more good in person than in any of the pictures I'd seen of him. Instead of being just blond, his hair was like the sun itself. His skin seemed the color of chicken nuggets when they're warm and not the ones from the school's cafeteria. And his eyes were literally a ball of gold dust. He didn't seem surprised to see me.

"You've been trying to listen in, little girl?" he asked.

I lifted my chin. He was a lot taller than I was, and I don't know if it helped. "You better tell me what's going on," I said as bravely as I could. "Or I'll call the police." 

Jace's eyes flashed over me. I didn't know if he believed me or not, but he grabbed my arm and pulled me into the room. Then he shut the door and locked it behind me.