Drapetomania | Shadowhunters [Jace Wayland]

36; Could've Done Something

Elliot's shop was a small corner shop with the street not having much public around. Tris, Jace and Clary had arrived and found the store's front window shattered. They quickly entered the store, Tris feeling unsettled at the amount of destruction in the shop and Elliot laying on the floor, some shards stuck to his skin. Clary felt like throwing up, seeing someone she knew as a kid dead on the floor.

Clary knelt down by Elliot while Jace looked around, and noticed splatters on the floor. He pointed to them. "See these marks? A demon was here."

Clary sighed, closing Elliot's eyes. Tris looked at the blood from his eyes, noticing the incantation from something that Magnus had showed her. "He killed himself, right?" Tris questioned, looking at Jace, who nodded.

"He was tortured, but this isn't murder. He killed himself."

Clary's brows furrowed. "What? How can you tell?"

"The blood from his eyes. I've seen it before. It's a warlock incantation. It's basically their version of a cyanide capsule."

Jace's ears perked at the sound of glass crunching despite none of the three moving and quickly turned his head, his eyes widening a little upon finding out it was Sebastian. The boy waved awkwardly upon seeing the trio. "Hi."

"Hey," Jace curtly nodded, looking to Tris who was just as confused as him. 

Clary arched a brow, standing up from her crouch. "Sebastian? What are you doing here?"

"I, uh...I saw the alert at the Institute," he stammered in response, taking a step towards them. "Is everything under control?"

Jace hesitated before letting his shoulders slightly drop. "We're still not 100% sure what happened. There was a demon presence here, but something doesn't add up."

Clary muttered a curse, making the rest of them follow her gaze. Dead flowers. She looked up as though she had made a realization. "It's Jonathan." Noticing the confusion on the others' faces, she elaborated. "The flowers. My mom shared a memory from when Jonathan was a baby. He'd done the exact same thing. And the gray demon ichor, that's how Valentine described the aftermath of Jonathan's childhood kills. Jonathan was here."

Sebastian cleared his throat, stammering. "Uh, sorry, who's...who's Jonathan?"

"My brother," Clary responded, earning a nod from him.

"He must be after the Mortal Mirror," Jace concluded. "If he comes after it again, I'm gonna have to deal with him."

Tris slowly grew concerned as she noticed the all too familiar look on his face. "What does that mean?"

"It means I'm gonna do anything in my power to protect the Mirror."

Tris scoffed. "You'll kill him?"