Beneath the Skin

Old Wounds Part 2

Clary ran through the halls of the Institute, looking over her shoulder occasionally to see where they were. She kept running, her thighs aching and her breath deepening. She let out a scream as she turned back around, and to her horror, they were standing two inches away from her. "What do you want from me??" Clary stepped back, hitting the wall. I'm trapped.

"Oh Clarissa. You really don't know anything, do you?" Their voice was raspy and low, that of an older man. "Such a foolish girl," He reached for her face, tracing her jawline, Clary turning her head away from him. "you should've come with me when you had the chance, Clarissa." He dropped his hand to his side and looked Clary up and down, examining her figure, short, flat chested, orange hair as bright as the sun and green eyes like the fern trees. "You're a spitting image of your Mother, but you do have my nose." He smirked at her. "Join me, Clarissa."

"I will NEVER join you." She slammed her foot down onto his and ran towards the elevators. She smashed the button and fidgeted with her feet as she awaited for the doors to open.

Right as they opened and she was about to step in, an arm wrapped around her neck and slammed her against the wall. "You didn't think it would be that easy to get away from me, did you?" He put a seraph blade against her neck, pinning her to the wall. "You think you're so smart." He scoffed and pushed the blade into her neck a little farther, blood beginning to trickle down her neck. "You're a lot more like me than you think, Clarissa."

Clary spit on his shoes and made what sounded like a growl at him. "I am NOTHING like you. You're just a psychopathic maniac." She tried to fight against his hold, but it just made the blade dig into her neck farther.

"I really wish you hadn't said that." His mouth went from a grin to a clenched jaw in the matter of seconds. He removed the blade from her neck and jabbed it into her stomach, Clary bending forward into the seraph blade. "Goodbye, Clarissa."

He pulled the sword out from her abdomen and dropped it to his side, the blood dripping from the tip of the blade. Clary fell to the floor and coughed up blood, staining the surprisngly clean floor of the Institute. "V-Valentine..." Clary mustered, her head hitting the ground and arm sprawling across the floor.

Clary sprung up in her bead, her hair stuck to her forehead with beads of sweat dripping down. "VALENTINE!" she screamed as she clenched the sheets in her hand.

Jace came dashing into the room, panic spread across his face, a seraph blade in hand. "Clary!!" He scanned the room, looking for any sign of Valentine. Nothing. "Are you okay? Are you hurt??" Jace walked over to the side of the bed where Clary was sitting upright, staring off into the space in front of her. "Clary?"

She turned to look at Jace, "I- Valentine..." She couldn't even muster the words. Jace dropped the seraph blade on the ground and sat on the bed next to Clary. He grabbed hold of her and wrapped his arms around her.

"Shhh, it's okay. I'm here now." Jace rubbed her back, clinging onto her as if she'd float away if he let go. "You're okay."

...

Back at Magnus's apartment, him and Alec lay sound asleep in his bed, the golden silk sheets hugging them close together. Alec was snoring away and Magnus had his hand right by Alec's, their fingers lightly brushing together. It was as if nothing had happened that night.

Magnus's eyes began to flutter open, taking in his surroundings. The first thing he saw was Alec with his charcoal black hair in his face, mouth open with snores coming out every time he breathed in. Cute. Magnus smiled and took a piece of Alec's hair and brushed it out of his face, tucking it in with the rest of his messy hair. The motion of Magnus's hand caused Alec to stir, his eyes shooting open within the millisecond.