How to escape your imagination

Chapter 17

"Hey, wait up!"  I hear a girls voice call.

I don't stop.  I plow through the main hall where dozens of these gorgeous leather clothed, weapon bearing people are walking around, doing different jobs.

"I said, wait up!"  The girl says again, this time with more frustration in her voice.  A metal whip comes in contact with my wrist and yanks me back, causing me to whack my head on the floor.  

"What the hell was that for?"  I glare at the new girl.  Her hair is darker than I have ever seen in my life, and she has the body that could make sweatpants look sexy.  She looks exactly like the boy called Alec, so I make a relative connection.  

"Sorry."  She shrugs and offers a hand to help me up.  I reluctantly take it and she pulls me to my feet with no effort.

"Who are you?"  She asks, studying my dirty clothing and ruffled hair.  "You don't look like a Shadowhunter."

"I'm new--from the Jersey institute."  I quote the girl, Clary's, words.

"Where are your runes?"  She asks moving her eyes over me.  She stops when she sees the one on my arm that Clary drew.  

"Is that your first rune?"  She asks hesitantly.  "It doesn't look like mine."

I nod and look at it more clearly.  It's a sweep of lines, almost like Korean or mandarin letters.  

"Typically heat runes are not the first runes you receive."  She says narrowing her eyes.

I raise my eyebrows slightly, but I can't think of anything to say.

"You're not a Shadowhunter, are you."  She says stepping backwards.

I shake my head.

"I knew it."  She coils her whip back onto her arm.  "If you're a mundane then why didn't that kill you?"

I shrug.  "You should know not me."

Her eyes widen and her hand goes back to her wrist.

"Then you're a shape shifting demon."  She says quietly.

She bounds up the stairs and down the hallway screaming for Jace.

I turn on my heel and sprint down the rest of the way to the door and fling it open, an alarm blaring by my ears.  I run as fast as I can down the pathway through the garden and out onto the street.  I hear voices coming out of the doorway and three figures chasing after me.  The boy called Jace catching up to me quickly.

"Stop!"  He yells after me.

I turn right as Alec fires an arrow from his bow and it sinks into my left leg.  I cry out in pain, but turn around and keep sprinting.  I hear footsteps growing louder behind me and push on as quickly as I can.

"Stop you stupid demon!"  Jace shouts and he finally gains on me.  I stop short as a sword pierces through me, and I turn around slowly to see Jace staring at me victoriously.  He rips the sword back out of me and I stumble on the pathway before collapsing to the ground.

I look up at Jace, who's face falls.  

"Why isn't he incinerating."  He says, his sword dripping with blood.  My blood.

Isabelle and Alec catch up, Clary close behind.

"Why is he still here?"  Alec asks.  "Jace, what did you do?"

Jace drops to his knees beside me and presses two fingers to my neck.

He leaves them there for a moment before taking them away slowly and looking over at Alec.