Angels and Warriors // A.L

Chapter 16

With one final glance back at Alec, we rounded the corner and carried on in a flat out sprint. While Isabelle and I ran ahead, I could hear Jace and Clary behind us, having a conversation mid-run.

"I'm sorry for all the trouble I've put you through," My sister was saying. I raised an eyebrow at Isabelle who looked equally surprised.

"You don't have to apologize to me, Clary," Jace replied.

"Unfortunately, you can't stop me," She said back.

He chuckled. "Well, yeah, I'm starting to see that."

"Just I've been so focused on trying to find my mom, I don't think I realised how much you've actually done for me. So, thank you." I nearly dropped dead out of shock at Clary's first unselfish words.

"Clary, I'm a Shadowhunter," Jace was panting a little now from the run, "It's kinda my job."

"Your job? Oh, you'd do this for just anybody?" And there was the self-centered sibling I knew.

"Maybe not Simon," Jace joked.

"Funny, I think he'd say the same thing about you," I called over my shoulder.

We burst into a small room that connected several more tunnels and slowed to a stop.

"Guys? It's pulsing," Isabelle looked around cautiously as her necklace glowed red. "Let's spread out."

I could hear something moving around but I couldn't see anything. Jace voiced my thought, "Izzy, where is it?"

"I don't know. It's like they're right here, but I don't see them," She replied, eyes darting around the room wildly.

Suddenly a creature that strongly resembled a scorpion, but was the size of a dog jumped out and attacked Jace. He wrestled with it before managing to slice it in half with his seraph blade.

Clary uselessly ran over to him, "Are you hurt?"

He brushed her off, "I'll live."

"What are those things?" I asked the more important question.

"Shax demons. They're like the bloodhounds of the Shadow World," Jace explained.

"They've been tracking us," Isabelle added.

"So what do we do?" Clary questioned.

Jace pointed in the direction we were heading before the demon attacked and replied, "The Institute's only a couple of blocks from here. We can't lose them, but they won't be able to track us if we split up."

"But, I don't- I don't," Clary protested but Jace shook his head, assuring her that she'd be fine.

"Izzy and I will draw them away. No matter what happens, just keep running," He said, talking to both her and me.

We started running just as another demon appeared in front of Jace and Isabelle. We came to a fork in the tunnels and as I was in the lead I took the left one, not thinking that Clary would be stupid enough to split up. I was proven wrong however, when I looked back and found that she was no longer following me.

"I swear to God Clary," I muttered. Doubling back, I started chasing after my sister. I was desperately trying to keep my bearings, looking down every tunnel for Clary but I couldn't find her anywhere.

I sprinted around the corner and smacked straight into somebody, knocking us both over. I looked up and saw a startled Alec. "What are you still doing down here? Where's Clary?" He asked, checking over me to see if I was injured.