Fear

Remember Training?

                 
Chapter 26- Remember Training?

Clary POV

The next week passes by slowly; it was like somebody had pressed the slow-motion button on my life. Everything had been set in a routine: part of it planned by Sebastian, part of it completed in life-threatening secrecy. Early in the morning, Ash would fetch Jace so that Sebastian could repeat the same speech about joining him and overthrowing the clave. Ash would then go to training with Jace for a few hours while I sat in the room trying to create useful runes for our breakout (although Sebastian thinks I spend my time trying to draw a love rune).

It is mind-numbingly boring being forced to sit in this room with only the sounds of my impatient breaths of frustration when being unable to think up a rune and, of course, the frequent deep growl my stomach emits. While Jace is being fed three meals a day, I am being fed nothing. Or at least that's what Sebastian thinks.

Every possible meal, Jace or Ash would sneak food up to our room so that I didn't starve. But with Sebastian's black eyes always watching it was difficult to smuggle anything decent. Sometimes, I just got a couple rolls of bread for the day.

I considered myself lucky though: if Jace hadn't read that letter, I undoubtedly wouldn't have told him and I actually would be starving. Jace and Ash were doing all they could to help me so that our plan could unfold and by this time next week we'd be back home trying to surround ourselves with any sense of normalcy we could find.

"I can't do it!" I holler and lob yet another balled up piece of paper at the wall behind me. Slamming my head on the desk, I release a strangled screech of frustration.

"Wow, Clary. Is making pterodactyl noises all you do while Jace and I are training?" Ash chuckles as he walks into the room carrying a basket with a red tartan cloth hanging over the top.

I turn to give him a death glare, "Aren't you supposed to be with Jace?"

"Actually, no," he shakes his head, moving to lean against the desk I was working on. "Sebastian wanted to work with him, so I took the opportunity to steal some food from the kitchen."

I take the basket out of his hands and peel back the tartan cloth to see pizza, fries, burgers and not a single bread roll!

It's unbelievable how quickly a human can turn into a ravenous animal in just the blink of an eye; shovelling the food down, not pausing to savour the flavour. I try not to drink the coffee too fast, but I relish the warmth flooding through my veins, feeling it rush town my throat- as if chasing something- and then weaving its way like the branches of a tree down my arms and legs. My taste buds burst with the excessive flavour after days of plane, stale bread. I barely notice Ash slide down next to me.

"I'm just going to go out on a limb here," Ash watches me steadily; a slight smile sliding onto his lips, "and say that you were hungry."

"Only slightly," I look up at him through the gaps in my hair. "It's driving me crazy, just being trapped in here all day long, trying to figure out a rune that will help us to escape my insane brother's dungeon while two people who are half-angel keep me alive." I laugh bitterly and rest my head against the side of the bed, "A month ago, my life wasn't exactly what you'd call normal. But this? This is just driving me insane."

"You're half-angel too, you know." Ash stands up, brushing off his jeans. "You might not understand it yet because of some block in your mind, but this world is calling to you, asking you to join it and accept it. You belong in this world, Clary."

"Well this world doesn't feel too welcoming."

"That's because you've barely tried it yet. Come on," he offers his hand to me and hauls me to my feet, "Let me show you something."