Love & Revenge

Chapter 8- Sworn in Blood

Clary looked in the mirror at the necklace that she was wearing. It was the last thing that her mother gave her. She wondered why it was so important. She traced the rough edges and watched the light refract its amethyst color.  She picked up her sketchbook and began absentmindedly drawing runes. She heard someone stomp down the hall quickly. Clary looked up, curious. She heard a loud knock on the door next to hers.

    "Alec! Open up!" Isabelle pounded on her brother's door. Clary could hear Alec's groan through the wall.

    "What is it, Izzy? If you're just getting me out here so you can consult me on your outfit choices, I swear I'll—"

    "No, there's something downstairs. It's....it's not good." Isabelle lowered her voice to a whisper, thinking Clary was still asleep. Alec blinked and glanced down both sides of the hall.

    "What is it?" he asked

    "There's no way to describe it. Just come downstairs with me." Isabelle looked over her shoulder nervously.

    "Okay." Alec turned around and grabbed a jacket before walking out of the doorway behind his sister. Clary knew that something was up. Isabelle never acted like that. Clary slowly opened her door, slipped out and silently shut it behind her.

    She heard Alec and Isabelle talking down the hall. Clary kept a faraway distance as she tiptoed, so that they didn't know that she was following them. She tracked them down the hall to the stairs, and waited until they reached the bottom before going down herself.

    "Izzy, I really don't know what you can be so concerned about. It could just be Jace playing a prank. Or maybe you just imagined it. None of us have been getting much sleep lately."

    "Alec, I'm telling you, this was not my imagination or Jace. You'll believe me when you see what I'm talking about." Clary swallowed, continuing to tiptoe behind them. "It's just around here." she said. Clary held her breath.

    "By the Angel...." Alec breathed. "What is that?" Clary was about to turn around to look when Alec yelled: "Jace..?"

    "Yes?" Clary heard his muffled reply.

    "Get down here, you need to see this." Clary turned in the opposite direction of where Isabelle and Alec were standing and hid around the other corner, waiting for Jace to come down the stairs. She heard him coming down, and she ducked behind the wall.

    "Guys, seriously is it so hard for a Shadowhunter to get his...." he trailed off as he looked at the sight that lay before him, Isabelle, and Alec. "What.... what is that?" Jace's breath caught.

    "Someone snuck into the Institute last night and made a promise. One that will not be forgotten." Alec crossed his arms as he stared coldly ahead.

    "But shadowhunters are the only ones allowed in the Institute, unless invited." Jace said.

    "That's the rule." Alec replied.

    "But aren't the Shadowhunters in the Institute the only ones in the New York area?" Jace asked, standing next to his parabatai.

    "Just because we're the only Shadowhunters recorded in the area does not mean we are entirely alone." Isabelle said.

    "True." Jace agreed. "It could be a mundane with the sight being used as a puppet by somebody else," Jace suggested.

    "They still wouldn't be able to enter the Institute without a Shadowhunter." Alec countered.

    "Maybe if we figure out what type it is, we can pinpoint a possible location of the culprit." Isabelle recommended.

    "That'll do. Izzy, Jace, go get Hodge. I'll get mother." Alec walked out into the main hall, while Isabelle and Jace went to the training room to find Hodge. Clary walked out from her hiding spot and stared at the wall as she walked towards it, her breath hitching while doing so. She couldn't tear her eyes away.