The Siren and the Vampire [Raphael Santiago]

FOUR

When they got into the institute, Simon looked around. Jace took out his stele, and started drawing a rune on his arm. Clary whispered to Simon, and Simon looked at Jace's arm. "He's like, burning himself." Suddenly, Jace grabbed onto Simon's hand. "Buddy, what's going on, man? I'm not your type, man. I don't even..." Then, Simon saw everything. "Where are we? What the hell? Clary, is there a war going on that I don't know about?" Jace sighed. "There is now." He walked away, and Clary kept her eyes on him.

"I think my mother's at the center of it." Serena turned to Simon. "Everything's fine." Jace said, "You coming?", and Serena started walking. Simon followed them, while marveling. "What is this place? There's a lot of gear in here. What'd they do, rob a tech shop?" Jace started looking on one of the screens. "So this cold-blooded killer is gonna help us?" Serena facepalmed.

"He's not a killer. He's protecting us." Without taking his eyes off of the screen, Jace said, "Specifically, you. It's sort of our thing." Simon's jaw dropped. "Your thing? You guys have a thing?" Serena sensed Simon's panic. "He means a Shadowhunter thing. That's what they do, protecting humans from demons." Simon scoffed. "Demons, right. That makes perfect sense, 'cause there are demons running all around New York." Jace turned to Simon. "That is the first correct thing you've said all day."

Suddenly, the boy from earlier walked over. "What is going on? Why is there a mundane in the Institute?" Jace sighed. "A circle member followed him to get to Clary." Clary started off into space. "A circle rune, just like the guys that took my mother." Simon was even more confused. "What exactly is a Circle member and why are they trying to kill us?" Jace finally looked at SImon. "All we know is... a long time ago the Circle led a revolt. A lot of Shadowhunters got killed... including my father." The guy joined in. "And since the revolt we've been forbidden to even hear about the Circle." Clary stepped forward. "But, how is that even possible? It's your history." Jace scoffed. "Says the girl who didn't know she was a Shadowhunter?" Clary got defensive.

"Yeah. 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... There's got to be someone out there who can tell us why they've taken my mother." Jace thought about it for a moment. "There is." He started walking, then turned back around. "You coming." Clary walked towards him, and Simon followed him. Jace pushed Simon back.

"No, no, no. Not you." Clary stepped forward. "Hey, we're a package deal." Jace sighed.. "There are runes all over the training room floor that would kill your mundie boyfriend." Clary and Simon stammered. "He's not my... I'm not, like..." Simon finally said, "We're, uh, just friends." Clary agreed. "Best friends." Simon almost jumped. "Yeah, and I'm tough. I can handle runes. So, uh, bring on the runes." Simon paused. "What exactly are runes?"

"They give Shadowhunters our demon-fighting powers." Everyone turned around to see Isabelle going over one of her runes. Simon marveled. "So hot." Serena chuckled. Simon looked back at Serena. "The rune." Serena stepped towards Simon. "Sure. You keep telling yourself that." Isabelle laughed. "Don't worry, Clary. I'll watch over the best friend. In fact, I was about to make breakfast." Jace sighed. "On second thought, the runes might be less lethal." Isabelle looked at Jace. "I'll pretend I didn't hear that." She turned back to Simon. "Please excuse my brother's lack of manners. This is Alec... and I'm Isabelle." She held out her hand, and Simon shook it.

"Lewis. Simon, Simon Lewis. Two first names. Am I still talking?" Isabelle giggled. Jace turned to Clary. "See? Best friend's safe and sound here." Clary protested, "Jace, if anything happens to him..." Simon interrupted her. "Go on, I'll be fine. I think." Isabelle whisked him off. Serena turned to them. "I'll go with them."

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"So, umm... what happens to humans if they're... runed?" Isabelle's face grew serious. "They usually die. Sometimes they go crazy. When that happens, we call them the Forsaken. Then we kill them." Simon's face showed terror. "Right. So the rune on Clary's neck..." Isabelle interrupted him. "A healing rune." Serena joined in.

"Jace used it to save her life." Simon cocked his head. "So Jace knew she was a Shadowhunter?"

"He was almost certain." Simon stood up. "Where could you possibly be going?" Simon started walking. "To get Clary, to protect her from Jace." Isabelle stopped him. "And why would she need protection from Jace? He's the ultimate protector." Simon was wary. "What makes Jace so special?" Isabelle started roaming around the room. "Fastest, strongest, fiercest." She chuckled. "And hello, have you seen the guy?" Simon looked down. "Yeah, well, uh... sorry I asked." Isabelle started to calm him down. "Rest easy, hombre. Clary's in good hands."

"So the Circle... if they're as bad as they say they are, it's not good for Clary, is it?" Isabelle sighed. "It's not good for any of us."

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Serena was looking at the weapons. "Wow." Isabelle ran her fingers over the blades. Jace noticed this. "Whoa. No, Izzy." Izzy smirked. "Fifty bucks says he doesn't approve of this mission." Serena cocked her head. "Who's he?"

Suddenly, Alec walked over. "I don't approve of this mission. I spoke with the Clave. They're sending Seelie scouts to search for Valentine, but they made it clear, the little girl does not leave the premises."