The Keepers: Earth, Iron, and Blood ~A Shadowhunters Fanfiction ~

Chapter Three

I carefully lay down on the white sheeted bed in the Infirmary. I haven't been in this Institute before, but it seems nicer than some of the others that I had visited; it's more castle-like. Jace and Alec, who was finally kind enough to introduce himself, are the only people I've seen. I know they can't possibly be here alone. As I shed Jace's jacket, I lay on my right side so the wounds are facing upwards. The sound of a door being flung open catches my attention and I almost jump to my feet. I guess being attacked by the Shax has got me more on edge than I had realized. A girl, probably my age, if not a bit older, comes jogging in. Her appearance makes me feel like a troll. She's almost what most girls would call their personal goals. I sigh inwardly. I know I look like shit— why the hell do you care about what you look like? You've never cared about that before. She comes over to Alec, who is standing off to the other side of the room, whispers something to him and then comes over to me.

"Hey, I'm Isabelle, Alec's sister." She smiles. Her demeanor seems nice. She seems like someone who is caring but will also put you down if you double-cross her. Now she is someone I can get a reading from.

I return her smile, tiredly. "Elizabeth. It's nice to meet you."

"The pleasure is mine." She comes over behind me to a small table beside the bed. "Let's get you stitched before you start bleeding again."

Shit, this is going to hurt. I nod. "Wouldn't want to get the white sheets dirty." I hear a snicker and glance up to see Jace sitting on the bed beside mine. I raise an eyebrow at him. "What?"

He shakes his head a bit, a look of amusement in his eyes. "Not a thing."

I try to read him, but it's useless. The guy has an exterior shell like a turtle. There is no reading him unless it's in his eyes. He seems unfazed by my appearance. There's no awkward glancing, no making sure he only looks at my face, nothing of the sort. He's just relaxed, at ease with himself. I roll my eyes a bit as a look of amusement washes over me as well. "So, now will you tell me what's go—" I break off in a hiss, an intense burning comes from behind me.

"Oh, sorry! I should've warned you before I started cleaning." Isabelle beams.

I shake my head a bit, feeling almost lightheaded now. "It's fine; it's ok. Thank you for doing this."

"It's not a problem. Alec doesn't like causing people pain and Jace get scared around needles, so that leav—"

Jace cuts her off. "I am not scared of needles!" He snaps defensively.

I can't help but chuckle slightly, mostly under my breath. He looks back to me and almost seems pleased with the fact that I chuckled.

"Anyways..." I start, "What's going on?"

The small spark leaves his face as fast as it came. He's back to business now. Even his voice is a bit different. "We brought you here because—" He gets cut off by the Infirmary doors swinging open, loudly. A man (probably in his thirties?) comes walking in. He's dressed in a black button down that is tucked into his black jeans. He's blonde and has a short beard. The thing that stands out to me first is the scar on his right cheek. That must've hurt.

"Is this her?" I hear him ask Alec, who was now over by the doors. I hear no response; he must've just nodded.

"Miss Craftsmen?" the man asks as he comes over to the bed. "My name is Hodge. I run this Institute. It's a pleasure to have you here."

I give him a slight nod. "It's nice to meet you," I respond and quickly add, "Not that I'm not grateful, but why am I here?" I ask as simply as I can. I don't want to sound ungrateful but none of this is normal. I was either being followed or someone knew something was going to happen to me tonight. Jace would not have just randomly appeared in my apartment.