ISpy

Chapter 9

"The Circle...it all makes sense now.." Jace said, eyes wide with shock.

"Who's the Circle?" Clary asked.

"They were a group of agents that rebelled against the Clave. We thought their leader had been eliminated long ago..." Izzy explained.

"Well clearly, that's not the case." Simon said.

"If the Circle has made a reappearance, this could be the beginning of a war. They have already taken many of our Shadowhunters...forcing them to join the Circle...they very well might have more agents than us at this point." Alec said. He thought of Jessica, and all the agents that had been taken by the Circle. He couldn't let one more agent go missing. They needed to end this.

"Uh, guys?" Simon said, and they all turned to see a dozen agents storming into the room, guns in the air. Alec quickly got out his gun.

One of the agents stepped up and looked each of them in the eye. "I hate to cut this tour short, but, you can't go reporting this back to the Clave. Valentine wouldn't be happy."

"So he's alive?" Jace asked.

"Yes, he's alive. Did you really think you could easily get rid of him? It is our destiny to destroy all the other agencies and reign solely over New York. The Circle has risen." He shot the first shot at Jace, who dodged it. Chaos ensued as shots were fired on the Shadowhunters.

Although they were outnumbered, they held their own, and soon they were only a few agents left. Jace held a gun to the chest of the agent who'd spoken out earlier.

"Where is Valentine?" Jace asked.

"The Circle has risen."

"I will ask you again, where is Valentine?"

"The Circle has risen." The agent put his hand on the trigger of the gun on his chest, and shot himself before Jace could stop him. He slumped to the ground.

"Damn it," Jace said.

"Well, I guess there's nothing left to do but report back to Dad," Izzy said, and looked at the rest of the agents.

They all walked toward the entrance, stepping over various bodies strewn over the space, and one catched Alec's attention. "Jessica," he said, and knelt beside her. All those things he had said about her, it felt so silly now. She was a good agent, and she didn't deserve to die. He would avenge her death. "Ave atque vale," he spoke softly, and when he got up he saw Izzy beside her.

"She will be missed," Izzy said. She laid a hand on Alec's shoulder and smiled sadly.

Alec nodded. "We should keep moving," he said. They met up with the rest of the agents outside. Jace noticed Alec's somber expression and said, "You saw her?"

"Yeah," he said, with a sigh.

"What's everyone so sad about? We just wiped out a dozen agents. Shouldn't we be celebrating?" Simon asked.

Clary slapped his shoulder. "Simon!"

"What?" He asked, and rubbed his shoulder.

"You can be so insensitive sometimes," she said, and rolled her eyes.

"Let's get moving, guys." Izzy said and began to walk.

***

The walk home didn't seem as nearly as long as Alec thought it would be. They got to the Institute and made their way to Robert's office. Once they got to the entrance, Clary stopped Simon and spoke to him in a low voice. He nodded and stepped out of the way. Jace walked into the office first, and the rest of us followed. Clary was the last to come in, shutting the door and leaving Simon outside of it.