Smoke and Mirrors ▹ Alec Lightwood [1]

CHAPTER TWELVE

CHAPTER TWELVE
THE DRAGON DEMON

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     The building Jace claimed the demon was inside was an abandoned hotel. Much like the Hotel Dumort, it was falling to pieces and looked like it hadn't been inhabited for decades. Unlike the Hotel Dumort, the inside was just as old and neglected, and there was no sign of a clan of vampires living inside of the building. Adrian crept in first with a hand on the handle of his seraph blade at his belt, ready to pull it out at any sign of danger. Nothing greeted him on the other side of the broken-down door, but still, he kept his guard up regardless. He motioned for Jace, Isabelle, and Alec to enter the abandoned building behind him. Alec shut the door when they were all inside. The sun was going down outside, but they would have better luck luring the demon out if there was as little sunlight as possible.

"There's definitely something here," Isabelle murmured after five minutes of nothing popping out of the shadows. Adrian glanced at her, seeing the ruby pendant resting in the hollow of her throat start to flash an even brighter red, signifying demon activity. Adrian had a sensor of his own—all of them did—but they were just slabs of ruby cut like soap, and it was easier to just glance at Isabelle's necklace rather than hold onto a rock the entire time. Glancing around at the dark shadows surrounding them, Adrian was suddenly struck with a realization that made him curse.

"Damn, I forgot to bring a witchlight," he mumbled, vividly remembering seeing Alec put one of the stones that lit up at a Shadowhunter's touch into his pocket. Adrian had started to reach for one when Alec had brushed past him. The smallest touch from him had made him forget a vital object for hunting demons. He felt foolish. Grumbling, he halfheartedly reached for the light switch on the wall, not expecting it to work.

Much to his surprise, it did. Adrian jumped as light filtered through the first floor of the building. Half of them were fried or busted, and he was sure they were on the only floor that actually had working lights. He frowned at the nearest light, which was on the chandelier above them. Something told him the lights weren't working because the electricity was on.

"Oddly enough," he said, breaking the silence, "the fact that the lights still work is freaking me out more than this entire place is." At his words, Alec scoffed from where he was scouting out one of the nearby rooms. From the old chairs and broken tables, Adrian guessed it had once been a waiting room.

"But the thought of hunting demons in the dark doesn't freak you out?" he asked, glancing at Adrian with a smile. Jace was peering at the stairs like they were going to come alive and bite him, and Isabelle was glancing around at her surroundings with a delicate little crinkle in her nose. She nudged at the dirty rug beneath her with the toe of her boot, then crinkled her nose some more and stepped completely over it.

"Are you afraid of the dark, Alec?" Adrian asked, moving quickly when Jace stepped past the stairs and disappeared down a hallway. The last thing any of them needed was to lose Jace inside of the creepy abandoned hotel. "I never would have guessed."

"I'm not afraid of the dark," Alec argued. Adrian could hear the scowl in his voice, and that made his smirk turn into a grin. He slowed and let Isabelle pass him so that he could fall into step beside Alec. "I'm afraid of what's in the dark."

"Like spiders?" Adrian teased. Alec's scowl deepened.

"Spiders are scary, okay?" Alec said, heat flooding into his cheeks. Adrian leaned into Alec's side, nudging him slightly.