City of Bones-Alecs pov

Chapter 3

It's been three days since Jace brought the mundane girl to the institute and she still hasn't woken up. I've tried talking to Jace, but he won't even come out of his room except to eat. I figured he was concerned about that Clary girl, and it annoyed me to no end. Trying to forget about Jace, I walk to the library.

"Hello, Alec. Is there something you wanted?" Hodge askes me as I walk through the doors.

I shake my head and say "No. Just needed something to do. I figured I'd read some."

"Ah. Feel free. I won't disturb you." Hodge says. I walk towards the bookselves, lost in thought. "Well, there goes my plan to forget about Jace. However, I can never stop thinking about Jace." I think, then shake my head to clear that thought away, reminding myself that I'm still mad at him.

I take a random book off the shelf and walk to the sofa. It ended up being a book about demonology. However, before I could get very far, Jace walks in and gestures to someone behind him. Then, Clary walks into the library and I see the look of astonishment on her face. That made me like her a little more, but then I look at Jace. Because I knew him so well, I could tell he was trying to hide that he likes this girl and that made me dislike her even more than I already did.

"A book lover I see." I see Hodge move around his desk to stand at the front. "You didn't tell me that Jace."

I'm still gazing at Jace. I see his lips twitch at an unconscious smile. "We have'nt done much talking during our short acquaintance. Our reading habits didn't really come up."

Unconsciously, I switch my gaze from Jace to Clary. I see her turn to glare at Jace, then ask Hodge "How did you know? That I like books I mean?"

He smiles and says "The way your face looked when you walked in. Somehow, I doubted you were impressed by me." Suddenly, Hugo rustled his wings. "This is Hugo. He's a raven and as so he knows all and I'm Hodge Starkweather and I don't know nearly enough."

"Clary Fray." She says holding out her hand to shake Hodge's.

He nods his head. "I'm honored. I can't beleve you killed a Ravener demon with your bare hands."

"Well, it wasn't with my bare hands. It was with Jace's-well, I don't remember what it was called."

"She means my sensor. She shoved it down the things throat. The runes must've choaked it." Jace says then adds "I guess I'll need another one. I probably should've mentioned that."

"There are several exras in the weapond room." He says cooly. Then he says to clary "That was quick thinking. Using the sensor as a weapon. What gave you the idea?"

Unable to keep quiet any longer, I snort and say "I can't believe you buy that story, Hodge." I see Jace glare at me slightly.

"I'm not quite sure I know what you mean, Alec. You think Clary didn't kill the Ravener after all?" Hodge asks.

"Of course she didn't kill it! Look at her. She's a mundie and a little girl at that."

Clary's face turns red. "I'm sixteen! Well, I will be on Sunday."

"The same age as Isabelle. You wouldn't call her a child, would you?" Says Hodge logically.

"That's different. She hails from one of the greatest Shadowhunter dynasties in history. This girl hails from New Jersey." I say trying to make them see some sense.

Jace looks like he's about to say something in Clary's defence, but she speaks up first. "I'm from Brooklynn! And so what? I just killed a demon in my own house and your going to be dickhead about it just because I'm not some spoiled-rotten rich brat like you and your sister." I could feel my face get hot as my temper ignites.

"What did you call me?" I say, not bothering to hide my fury and obvious dislike of this girl.

Jace laughs and says "She has a point, Alec. It's the bridge and tunnel demons you have to look out for-"

"It's not funny, Jace." I say through my tightly clenched teeth. "Are you going to just stand there and let her call me names?" I ask incrediously.

"Yes." I could hear in his voice that he was trying not to laugh.  "It'll do you good. Try to think of it as endurance training."

I narrow my eyes and glare at him. "You may be my parabati, but your flippancy is wearing on my patience."

He face sobers up a little. "And your obstinance is wearing on mine. When I found her, she was lying on the floor in a pool of blood with a dying demon on top of her. I watched as it vanished. If she didn't kill it, then who did?"

No way was I going to give in to his logic, even though I knew he was right. "Raveners are stupid. Maybe it got itself with it's stinger. It's happened before."

"Now you're saying it committed suicide?" Jace says incrediously. He didn't understand why I was acting this way, and I knew I would never tell him.