City of Heavenly Fire: A Mortal Instruments Fanfic

Astonished

"Do you see this clear enough?" Sebastian's smirk was wide and unforgiving. He pointed toward the frail pile of limbs in front of the cell. "That is what it will be like. To find someone you care about-someone you love- dead." Jace couldn't help but flashback to a man they had once called father with a flaming arrow protruding from his chest.

Without second thought Sebastian kicked Clary's limp body and Jace barely managed to contain the strangled noise forming from deep inside of him.

Then something changed.

The once red curls had vanished in a swirl and left tangled brown hair. When the girl looked up, her grey eyes meeting his fiery and alert gold ones, she smiled.

Apart from the fact that just seconds ago this stranger was Clary, Jace couldn't believe that this girl was bleeding uncontrollably and stood up without a wince. His nerves were on edge.

Sebastian launched the girl into the cell with Jace and locked the door. "You just wait," Sebastian snarled. "Soon everyone you know will end up the same way. But unlike you, they live once." And he turned on his heel walking back down the long corridor.

The girl remained still for a short time before staring at Jace a little bewildered. "You can't have possibly believed that, did you? He cares about Clary far too much to kill her. That's his weakness, I'd say, but it's too dreadful to contemplate killing the poor girl when she's done absolutely nothing to deserve it." An English accent, almost posh and old, escaped the girls lips.

When she noticed how hard his face had become, she waved her hand. "Don't worry Mr. Herondale, wagering your girlfriends life was never really a gamble the Clave was willing to take."

It was so odd the way she talked to him. She sounded very mature but she didn't look older than seventeen. It was like she knew him but he had never met her. And she knew his name, or at the very least one of them, but he smirked at the thought that he might be common knowledge now. The Boy with the Angel Blood.

"How did you do that?" Jace asked before he had time to stop himself.

"Do what?" she asked.

"You were Clary-- well maybe not exactly, but then you um, now you are um..." He stammered and couldn't understand why he was tripping over his own words.

She released a gentle laugh and her eyes softened. She held out her unchained hand to Jace's cuffed ones. "I'm Tessa Gray. It's nice to meet you Jace Herondale."

*

Simon was the first one to turn his head at the sound of a name he hadn't heard in ages. He hadn't remembered to ask about Maia when he had regained consciousness after Sebastian. In fact, no one had mentioned her since then. But here she was.

"Hey Maia!" Simon waved like it was nothing special but the hanging jaws and eyes popping out of their sockets all around him made him do a double take.

It was Maia wasn't it? He hadn't called her the wrong name. She was still wearing her signature style; long jeans and a plain t-shirt that said 'Bite Me' with a leather vest over it. If she had been in a dress maybe Simon would look like the rest of them but nothing seemed out of the ordinary.

"You were dead." Isabelle gaped.

His neck snapped in her direction. "She was what?"

"Dead." Alec confirmed eyeing their friend suspiciously as he stood from the chair he had been lounging on.

Jadilyn's violet eyes, which were usually so light and happy, had darkened so they looked almost black. Brittany had pushed back her long blonde hair and icily glared at the new comer that, Simon guessed, she had never met before.

The Daylighter watched as Izzy's whip slowly snaked down her wrist and she caught it in a firm grip. Celia had just came back from the weapons room and had a newly sharpened silver dagger. Her smile fell almost dizzily when she saw the Downworlder standing in the doorway.

Maia scanned the room with a tiresome look of shock and hurt. "Who are you?" Brittany snapped when no one said anything.

"My name is Maia." She looked at her steadily. "And I haven't come here to talk with you. I came to ask my friends why the hell I'm in Idris."

"We were gonna ask how you're alive." Izzy snapped.

"I don't know." She said wincing as if the words had pained her.

"How did you know we were here?" Alec asked taking a step in front of Clary who seemed to be in that transive state she was in when they had walked over here. Her face was a blank mask and her hair fell in messy tangles curtaining her face.

"I don't know." Maia put a hand to the thick black curls that rested on her head and rubbed as if to numb a headache. When she pulled her palm away, it was stained red.

"Guys," Simon spoke up surprising himself with his even and authoritative tone. "She's obviously hurt can't we wait to interrogate her until she is rested."

Grudgingly, Alec stepped aside and Simon had time to see the sincere look of thanks on Maia's face before Izzy punched her clean in the jaw and she fell to the ground.

Now that's a chapter. Long overdue my fellow Shadowhunters. Lonnnngggg overdue. I hope you guys like it, I'm going to really try and keep up with this a little more so you don't hate me. I did not review this one so don't hate me for mistakes.