Galaxies (Alec Lightwood)

Chapter 5

Alecs P.O.V.

My mom walks into the room.

"Mother. Welcome back. We didn't expect you." I say. Then she hugs me.

"You should be prepared, whether you expect me or not." She warns.

"I am. We are." I say trying to convince her.

"We'll talk about the Institute later. Right now, we have a bigger problem. The Vampires have stopped communicating with the Clave and won't explain why. My guess is they're still upset we asked them to send scouts to look for Valentine, but no one will talk."

"We have Vampire friends." I say.

"Yes, I know about your friends. We stay separate from the Downworld for good reasons. The wrong move, the wrong word... Do you think there is such a thing as harmless rebellion? Who knows what offends these creatures? Maybe you told them... something they shouldn't know. Maybe you trod on one of their ridiculous customs without knowing it." Mom says.

"Wait, wait. I don't understand. You're laying all this on us for having friends in the Downworld?" Jace says.

"When someone upsets the natural order, everything falls apart." Mom says.

"Natural order? What are you saying?" Clary says.

"We can help. I know how to talk to Vampires." Izzy says.

"She's right. We can visit with Desiree and see what she knows. We could go with her if you want." I say.

"I'd rather just Jace goes along this time. Alec, you stay with the Fairchild girl. I want her under control. She's caused enough trouble already." She says.

"Maybe that's because I wasn't even a Shadowhunter until a few days ago!" Clary yells, annoyed. Really what does she have to be annoyed about, I'm the one that should be complaining.

"And what an exciting few days it has been. The Clave counts on us Lightwoods to maintain order here." Mom says.

"You don't need to tell me that. If the mission is important to the Clave, I would prefer to be the one who goes with Isabelle." I say.

"You're all so eager to do what you would prefer. It's time to face the truth. Life is not about what you want to do, it's about what must be done. I have given you your assignments, now carry them out. You and you, with me, now.

Jace and Izzy follow Mom out.

"Well, that was a window into the weird. What did you do to piss off your mom?" Clary says to me. Like I'm the one with mom issues.

"I'd guess, for a start... all the unsanctioned missions on your behalf didn't go over that big with the Clave." I say.

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Normal POV
"The mundane just came to visit me." Raphael tells me as he come back into the hotel.

"What did he want?" I ask.

"He didn't know. I told him to get out of here, that I'm not going to save his life again." He says.

"I'm worried that Camille did something to him." I tell him.

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I see Clary run out of the institute and start heading to the Brooklyn Academy of Art. Then her phone rings. People around her look at their phones. Clary is invisible to the rest of the people, who are confused with the ringing. I see Alec running after her, trying to catch up.