Ravener

Jace debated whether or not he should go after Clary. He decided that it would be better to keep an eye on her since Hodge still wanted to speak with her. Yeah, that was the only reason. He wasn't worried about her or anything - of course not.

He stepped out of the shadows of the alley, trying to see which way she went, catching sight of the redhead turning a corner. He swiftly took off after her, far enough that she wouldn't notice him but close enough to make sure she was safe.

She got held up a DON'T WALK sign, bouncing on the balls of her feet. He could see that she was attempting to use the Sensor like a phone, realisation and confusion seeping in on her face as she tried to figure out what it actually was.

Once she could cross the road, she ran up a street where, he assumed, her house was. Clary jogged up to the door, and hastened inside. Jace decided to wait outside, seeing the second-floor windows were lit, not wanting to get involved in something that may just be family drama. Or having to explain to Clary's mother why there was a stranger in their house.

After five minutes of debating the best way to capture and kill a Du'sien demon, he heard a piercing shriek emanating from her house. He hurriedly made his way into the house, to the second floor, noting the door was slightly ajar. Cautiously, Jace pushed the door open, his eyes drawn to the mess of the apartment. Cushions lay scattered on the floor, ripped lengthways, soft cotton innards pouring out. Bookshelves had been tipped over. He didn't stop long enough to assess the rest of the damage.

"Clary?" He called out, softly. No answer.

Jace carefully wandered around the apartment, halting upon hearing a noise from one of the bedrooms. He peered into the room to see Clary, on the floor, unconscious in a pool of blood, with a Ravener demon virtually on top of her, choking whilst shaking uncontrollably.

He quickly pulled out a Seraph blade. "Ambriel," he muttered. He drew his arm back, approaching the demon, preparing to kill it when it vanished completely. She killed it.

He didn't have time to marvel at the prospect, but felt tinges of pride trickling through. He knelt down next to her, examining the back of her neck, which had been stung by the Ravener. He worriedly glanced at the growing pool of blood, carefully takinf her in his arms, before hearing police sirens outside. Time to go.

Jace carried Clary, bridal-style outside, setting her down on a patch of grass, behind a bunch of rose bushes. He started to tear some pieces of cloth that he had grabbed on the way out, looking at Clary every so often.

He was still tearing up cloth when he heard her gag, and saw that she was slowly opening her eyes.

"Don't move," he warned her, while smothering a type of salve onto a strip of cloth which would ease the pain on her neck.

Clary moved her head to the side, once hearing sirens, pain flashing across her face as she did so. Jace internally sighed. Of course, she wouldn't listen...

She then tried to sit up, gagging again, fingers gripping into the damp earth.

"I told you not to move," he hissed at her. "The Ravener demon got you in the back of the neck. It was half-dead so it wasn't much of a sting, but we still have to get you to the Institute. Hold still."

"That thing-the monster-it talked." She started shuddering.

"You've heard a demon talk before," he reminded her, gently slipping the strip of cloth under her neck and tying it.

"The demon in Pandemonium - it looked like a person."

"It was an Eidolon demon. A shape-changer. Raveners look like the look. Not very attractive, but they're too stupid to care."

"It said it was going to eat me," she whimpered, her voice almost inaudible.

Jace felt a wave of anger and protectiveness? Course through him.

"But it didn't. You killed it", he told her, a tinge of pride to his words.

Clary's pain in her neck seemed to have diminished as she hauled herself into an upright position. "The police are here," she croaked out. "We should-"

"There's nothing they can do. Somebody probably heard you screaming and reported it. Ten to one those aren't real police officers. Demons have a way of hiding their tracks."

"My mom," Clary managed to force out.

Jace sighed. "There's Ravener poison coursing through your veins right now. You'll be dead in an hour if you don't come with me." He swiftly got to his feet and held a hand out to her. She eyed it before taking it, letting him pull her up. "Come on."

Clary seemed to sway and he slid an arm across her back to hold her still. "Can you walk?"

"I think so," she replied. She looked through the blooming bushes, towards where the police were and gaped. Jace followed her line of sight and saw what she was seeing. A seemingly normal female 'police officer' held up a flashlight, only her hands were fleshless - skeleton hands. Nothing Jace hadn't seen before. "Her hand-" Clary choked out.

"I told you they might be demons." He glanced around the back of the house. "We have to get out of here. Can we go through the alley?"

"It's bricked up," she told him, shaking her head. "There's no way-" Her words were halted by a violent coughing fit. She raised her hand to cover her mouth, raising it to see her palm stained red. She whimpered softly.

Jace noticed this with well-concealed worry and quickly grabbed her wrist, turning it over to show her inner arm. Clary's knees buckled under the strain. He pulled out his Stele and tightened his grip when she tried to wriggle away. He drew a Mendelin rune on her arm, temporarily hiding her from sight. It looked like a set of overlapping, black circles.

"What's that supposed to do?"

"It'll hide you, temporarily." He slid his Stele back into his belt and caught Clary staring at it in confusion. "My Stele," he answered her unasked question.

She seemed to have trouble staying upright. "Jace," she murmured weakly, crumpling into his body. He caught her easily, and swung her up, bridal-style, much like he did inside.

"I'm breaking Covenant law, you know." Clary tipped her head back to look at him, but it didn't seem like she heard what he said. She slowly closed her eyes, seeming unconscious.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Ravener ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Jace hurriedly caught a cab to get her back to the Institute. The cab driver gave him a number of weird looks, probably because it looked like he was holding an invisible person.

Of course not, he thought sarcastically. That would be ridiculous.

He took this time to just look at Clary. Her brilliant red hair, her fair complexion which, admittedly, looked very pale at that moment, the vibrant green eyes he knew was underneath her closed lids.

By the Angel, I'm getting soft...

Soon enough the Institute was in view. He paid the driver and rushed to get her inside. He briskly went to the elevator to take her up to the Infirmary, when Hodge, Alec and Isabelle came into view. Oh crap...

"Ah, Jace, I was wondering where you-" Hodge himself off upon seeing an unconscious, dying Clary. "What in the name of Raziel?! What happened?!" He thundered.

Jace swallowed thickly. "Uh, she had a run in with a Ravener demon in her house... She killed it."

The three of them stared at him as if he had grown a second head.

Alec was the first to dismiss his words. "That mundane," he spat the word in distaste, "couldn't have possibly killed a demon."

"Alec, as much as I would love to argue with you, I think I should probably get her," he nodded at Clary, "to the Infirmary."

Hodge nodded in agreement. "But we will be talking about this Jace." His tone left no room for argument.

He promptly took Clary into the Infirmary and led her on the nearest bed, Hodge immediately preparing a remedy to halt the demon poisoning.

Jace stood awkwardly in the center of the room, not knowing what to do. "Is there anything I can do, Hodge?"

"No, that'll be all, thank you."

He nodded and walked out of the room, shutting the door behind him. Alec and Isabelle came to approach him but he simply held up his hand, not wanting to be lectured about recklessness or something along those lines, and sauntered off towards his bedroom.

As he led in bed that night, he decided that he wouldn't visit her during the next few days. The others would get suspicious of his behaviour, especially towards, what they suspected, a mundane. Ignoring her presence may also help him get her out of his head, for once.

Yeah, like that's gonna happen, Wayland...

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Love you guys
-Jess xo