Raising Hell

4. Well, I Didn't Die

As we are heading to the Hotel Dumort, Alec receives a text from Isabelle telling us to meet her around the side of the building. We find her leaning against the wall, waiting for us. Unlike earlier, she was now wearing a bright red dress and her hair was pulled away from her face. A smirk is on her face as she waits for us, making me chuckle. For a second, she reminded me of the person I used to be.

"Wow," I say as we approach Isabelle. "You look great."

She flips her hair over her shoulder. "Thanks."

"Where are we exactly?" Alec interrupts us.

Isabelle begins walking, Alec and I trailing behind her. "It's an old meatpacker's service entrance. If we go back there—" she points straight ahead at a crawlspace. "—we come up into the basement of the Hotel Dumort. Perfect, right? We distract the vamps, Clary and Jace have time to find Simon."

"We're the distraction?" I question Isabelle. Over the years, I've grown to hate being the distraction. Maybe it's because I realized that being in the center of the fight had more thrill.

She nods with a proud smile.

"Okay," Alec simply says.

"'Okay'?" Isabelle stops walking. "It was hard work interrogating Meliorn to get this intel."

Alec gives a sarcastic smile. "Great job, Izzy. You have faerie dust on your dress. And I hate being the distraction." He moves towards the small opening.

"I don't." Isabelle smiles. "You know, you'd be a lot happier if you weren't so freaking repressed."

Alec simply ignores her, looking through the opening, and scanning the room.

"Alec?" Isabelle tries to get her attention. "Hello?"

I place a hand on Isabelle's shoulder. "Great job, Izzy," I say genuinely.

"Thanks." She gives a grateful smile before following Alec through the opening.

We all keep walking until we reach a narrow hallway. Alec continues ignoring Isabelle while Isabelle continues to try to get him to talk to her. I linger behind, letting the two of them bicker in low voices. Part of me wants to interrupt them, but the other part of me doesn't want to get involved. I remember trying to get involved with Julian and Mark when they were bickering; eventually, I would be forced to choose sides and offend one of the parties.

At the end of the hallway, we come across a ladder. Alec climbs it first, followed by Isabelle. When I finally make my way up the ladder, I am met with another small opening. The three of us go through it, silently making our way to a steel door.

"This must be the way," Isabelle states, pulling it open to reveal a group of vampires. She quickly closes it.

"Well," I say as I lean against the door to help Alec and Isabelle hold it shut. "We found them."

Alec reaches for his stele and begins drawing a rune on the door.

"Any day now," Isabelle says breathlessly.

"Yeah, if you guys hold the door still, it might be a lot easier." Alec tries to draw the rune again, but it fades as quickly as it appears. "It's not taking it."

Isabelle reacts quickly. She moves away from the door. The door moves slightly, but Alec and I push it shut. My shoulder aches as the door pounds against it. Isabelle pulls out a seraph blade and cuts out part of the pipe, sticking it through the handle of the door and another pipe. Slowly, Alec and I back away from the door, ready to push it shut again.

"Whoever said, 'The pen is mightier than the sword' was an idiot," Isabelle says and walks away from the door.

"When you're right, you're right." Alec joins her, placing himself between me and the door. He looks over his shoulder at me as I pull the daggers out of my belt. "Go for the head."