Black || Jace Wayland [1]

| 23. the rave

******

ASHER'S BOOTS THUDDED against the pavement as she followed Alec and Isabelle to the front of the bar.

 Alec walked up to Jace from behind. "All clear." Isabelle linked her arm with Clary as Asher moved to be in front. The younger Lightwood gestured to the ruby necklace adorning her neck. "Do you think red's my color?"

"Iz," Clary rolled her eyes. "With a body like yours, everything's your color." "Good point." Isabelle grinned. She looked down at it, pouting. "Damn, I make this necklace look so good."

"Will you take it off?" Alec's monotone voice rose up from behind. "I'm certain Magnus Bane doesn't want drool on his ruby when we make the exchange." Isabelle rolled her eyes. "You know, I wouldn't be so sure." She smirked to herself. "Most men like it when I admire their jewels."

Asher snorted lightly and tried to mask it with a cough, making Jace snicker. Alec groaned. "Can you just give it to Jace?" Isabelle giggled as she unclasped the necklace. "You're such a buzzkill." She held out the ruby behind her head where Jace's hand was waiting.

Asher leaned her body against the wall, arms crossed, as she waited for the line to move forward. Small chatter between Isabelle and Clary floated in the air as she stared off into the distance.  Jace's eyes roamed around his surroundings until they landed on Asher. His eyes shot up in surprise. 

Asher felt an odd sensation, a prickling at the back of her neck. Turning slightly, she caught sight of Jace with an amused grin, his gaze fixed on her. She raised an eyebrow at him. "What?" 

"You changed your hair."

Jace's comment caused the conversation beside them to halt. "Oh." Asher chuckled, running a hand through her now raven-black hair. "Yeah, I decided to glamour it black. I'm surprised you were the first to notice and not Izzy, considering I based it off of her."

"Wait, what?" Isabelle leaned forward to inspect Asher's hair. It was barely noticeable in the dark, but she could see it clearly now that the group stood closer to the entrance light. "No way." Her eyebrows shot up in surprise, a large grin adorning her face. "Wow, you're like a brand new Shadowhunter. It suits you."

"Thanks, but it's only temporary." Asher replied, the corner of her lips quirking into a grin. "Figured it would help conceal my identity."

Clary, curious, reached out to touch a strand of Asher's dark hair. "I didn't know you could glamour your hair color. How did you do that?" "Family secret." Asher shrugged. "I come from a long line of scholars." The redhead opened her mouth to ask another question when the bouncer gestured for them to go inside.

"You're just full of surprises, aren't you." Jace murmured from behind. Asher bit her lip to hide a smile and didn't respond.

Loud techno music filled her ears as they all finally entered the building. Different colored lights flickered throughout the space and confetti fell from the ceiling onto the large group of dancing bodies. 

"Blend in." Jace instructed them. "Keep your weapons ready." With a nod, he lead Clary to the back of the dance floor. 

Asher broke away from the group to stand by the bar. Her eyes followed as the pair made their way over to the other side. The warlock stood at the edge of the pulsing dance floor, eyes trained on the compact mirror in front of him as he fixed his makeup.