All good things

Chapter 15

Walking down the street, it was eerily quiet. Although Jace was walking towards a slum area, he was still surprised that there were only a few homeless people in sight. He stepped over a puddle of mud and saw the building he was looking for, when he turned a corner. It's roof had nearly collapsed, but when he approached it, he saw the old plaque that was still standing. He could decipher the words 'Orphanage' and 'St. John', but the rest had faded into nothingness. He shrugged his shoulders, zipped up his leather jacket and felt the inside pocket, where his gun was hidden. He didn't need any surprises and it didn't hurt to be ready. After all, he knew Jonathan well enough to expect nasty surprises.

He took a deep breath and went along the narrow pathway that was ingrown with grass. Stopping at the foot of the small stone steps, he looked up. Jace saw that the building wasn't secure to go into, so he wondered where Jonathan might have been. He looked to his right, seeing an old shed. To his left, a trail led to the back of the building. He stood, contemplating, when he saw a figure shifting in the shadows and Jonathan stepped out behind the corner of the house. Jace tensed visibly, his hand going to his gun that he couldn't reach anyway and Jonathan stepped closer. "You came. Smart move." he said and his voice sounded tantalizing. He looked just the same as before, the red hair reminding Jace of someone - who he couldn't pinpoint - and his eyes appeared black in the dark, vicious and demanding. His hands were behind his back like a soldiers, but Jace was ready for Jonathan to pull a gun on him.

Jonathan stepped over and smirked at him. "This way. And I suggest you keep your hands where I can see them." he said, pulling his own hands from behind his back and revealing, to no surprise to Jace, a handgun, that he pointed at Jace, signalling for him to move in front of him. "Charming." Jace replied, rolling his eyes as he moved in front of Jonathan and started walking towards the shed. "What is this place, anyway?" he asked, trying to get something useful out of the man. Jonathan scoffed, opening the door to the small shack and shoved Jace in. The blonde saw that it was filled with old tools and was reeking of mold, but otherwise the shed was fairly empty. Jonathan locked the door and turned, his gun on Jace. "Alright, Herondale. Let's have a chat." Jonathan said, smirking and ignoring Jace's question. His eyes were cold and calculating as he eyed Jace.

"What do you want, Jonathan? I understand that Simon basically screwed you over by saving me, but we're done. I'm done with that business." the blonde asked defiantly, he raised his chin and he unzipped his jacket, before he turned to Jonathan, so he could get to his gun easily, but it was still hidden under the clothing. The red-haired man glared at him, lowered his gun and stepped towards him slowly but menacingly, and Jace's hand flew instinctively to his gun. Jonathan stopped, smirking. "You want to play the 'who's going to shoot first' game? Trust me, Jace, you don't want to be doing that." he said and Jace eyed him. Something in Jonathan's voice told him that it'd be foolish to just shoot him right now. "You might not know this, but Raphael was the only family I had." Jonathan now said, looking at him thoughtfully, but Jace's eyes widened. "What?" he asked, disbelief evident in his voice. Jonathan chuckled, walking around him in circles and waving his gun around. Jace's eyes never left the firearm.

"This place, well, it's practically where I grew up in. Raphael saved me." he said now, his voice dark and he looked like he was remembering good times. "In this shed?" Jace asked, confused. Jonathan rolled his eyes. "I grew up in this orphanage, but I wasn't really favored by the other kids. Nor the people responsible for 'raising us', as they called it...So I spent most of my time in here, alone." Jonathan now said, looking around the small space. Jace's head was spinning at this new information. How did they not find this intel on him before? "Raphael came here once, believe it or not, but the man had a kind heart. He was an orphan himself, you see, and he made frequent visits to the most miserable orphanages. One day, he came by here, and saw other kids picking on me..." he stopped in front of Jace and suddenly approached him and Jace automatically took a step back. Jonathan was quicker and he held the gun to his temple. Jace stared back, focused on not showing any emotion, but was frozen in his spot. "They were calling me names, kicking me, like I was a punching bag..." Jonathan whispered and Jace tried not to look at his eyes, that seemed glazed over with hate. Suddenly, he laughed and took the gun away, and Jace almost let out a sigh of relief.