You Wouldn't Dare

Chapter Nine

When I woke up the next morning, I knew something was wrong right away. Maybe it was instinctive, or maybe I just should have expected it.

Either way, my stomach was in a tight knot that refused to become undone.

Throwing back the blanket and stretching out my sore limbs, I silently padded over to my door and slowly opened it.

Voices could be heard from downstairs, their words rushed and quiet.

I swallowed thickly as I made my way down the stairs, making sure to avoid the steps that creaked and groaned when stepped on.

"-disappeared." One of them said.

"-happens sometimes-" Another continued. "You know how he is."

My eyebrows knitted together. Were they talking about Jace?

Unknowingly, my arm brushed against a flower vase, causing it to tip over and fall to the ground with a loud crash.

Everyone stopped and turned to look at me.

Everyone being: Will, Tessa, Isabelle, a girl who looked a lot like Will, another boy that was wearing way too much glitter, and the final one who looked like he could be twins with Isabelle.

Isabelle was the first to move. "Well, I think we should tell her." She said, her voice bordering on annoyance. "Clary is living in his house, after all."

Will dropped his head into his hands. "I'm going to kill him when we find him."

"Um," I started, trying to remind them that I was standing right there. "Where's Jace?"

Isabelle's twin snorted. "That's what we were wondering."

The sparkly man stepped forwards. "Alec, I don't think-"

He shrugged off the mans touch. "No. She's not a child. Jace is gone. Zap. Vanished into thin air. He could be alive and well- or dead as a dodo. He's a pain in the ass, but he's my pain in the ass, and if he's wandered off because of you..." Alec made a gesture that was probably illegal in some countries around the world. "Then say your goodbyes now."

I blinked, too stunned to come up with a witty retort.

"Alec," Will's tone was warning. "You know Jace gets like this sometimes. Lay off a little. It's not her fault."

Alec looked like he wanted to rip my head off, whether it was my fault or not. He narrowed his eyes at me. "We don't know that for sure."

"Magnus." Will said, like he was making it clear that somebody needed to get Alec under control.

Magnus, who I learned was the man with the glitter, wrapped his hands around Alec's biceps and practically dragged him out of the room.

Will looked near exasperated. "Well, that was fun. Sorry about that, Clary."

I shrugged. "I've been called worse. So... does Jace pull stunts like this often?"

He sighed. "Well... sometimes, but he's unpredictable. We really thought he wouldn't be going anywhere for a while. Especially after you came along."

"Oh." I sunk down into one of the nearest chairs. "Is he going to be okay?"

Will sighed again, looking like he wanted to be anywhere but here.

"I don't know." He answered honestly.

An awkward silence enthused.

"So what should I do?" I asked eventually. "Just... stay here?"

Tessa stepped forward when Will dropped his head into his hands, muttering curses under his breath. "Isabelle and Simon have already volunteered to stay here with you, Clary."

I frowned. I didn't really like the idea of being babysat- but I had a feeling that whatever deal Jace had going on was going to be upheld, whether he was here or not.

So much for my master plan of escape. I thought bitterly.

                        *                *                *

Time seemed to go by in slow motion.

I mean, I loved hanging out with Izzy and Simon, both of whom were way more relaxed than Jace had ever been. Around me at least.

I devoted a lot of my time to watching old episodes of something called 'anime' with Simon and playing his video games.

Isabelle flitted throughout the house, not spending too much time in one room. I knew she was nervous about Jace.

They all seemed to be.

The girl who had been in the kitchen with us that day was Will's sister, Cecily. She made herself known around the house, and to me.

I decided that I liked her.

She had a bubbly atmosphere around her, almost childlike. But something told me that she could be quick and frightening when the need presented itself.

She seemed to like hanging out with Isabelle, and that was fine by me.

Will nearly turned into a whole different person, and I was hoping that Jace's disappearance had been the main reason for Alec's bitterness.

Or maybe he just had a stick up his ass.

Either way, we weren't going to become BFF's anytime soon.

The house seemed so... silent.

No one dared to speak above whispers, and I didn't bother asking why. It was like someone had died or something.

I wondered where Jace had wondered off to.

Sure, he could be a jerk sometimes, but the night before he disappeared, he'd been actually kind of... sweet. And I was my usual crabby self. But it's not as if that meant that I wanted him to go gallivanting off into the forest, never to be seen again!

And as time went by, I really start to question if he was ever coming back.

                        *                 *               *

"It won't be much longer now." He said, his thin face stretching into something that almost resembled a grin. "Once she actually starts listening to him, then we'll have it easy from there."

The other man chuckled, patting the former on the back. "Good. But we need to find that Jonathon Herondale. He's going to break the deal that we made, and you know that I won't be too happy if he does."

The first man nodded. "Indeed. It seems that he, along with his abnormally large family are going to cause some... trouble for us and our plan- but we need her." He suddenly snarled, hanging his hand down on the desk. "Only she can do it."

"Patience." He said, warning seeping into his tone. "We'll just have to hope that they don't start to form any... attachments to each other. Otherwise, he'll never hand her over. At least, not willingly." He smirked evilly.

"You're right." Said the younger one, his tone slipping into normalcy.

His eyes glinted with a silent promise. "I guess we'll just have to wait."