Chapter 9: Rankin.

Simon called Luke, Magnus and Clary and explained Maia's surprising reappearance and sure enough it wasn't long before they were walking into his and Jordan's apartment. Seeing Jordan struggling to keep the bathroom door closed, Magnus strolled over to him (considering the situation, he did not seem so alarmed). He ordered Jordan out of the way, who protested but eventually obeyed after some light persuasion. As soon as Maia felt the weight relieved from the door she aimed a kick and burst it from its hinges, only to be greeted by an invisible, solid wall. Seeing Magnus on the other side, she realised he must have put it there. Despite the fact werewolves and warlocks weren't particularly on friendly terms, she still felt slightly betrayed. She thought Magnus may have understood her mindset. Even though he helped the Shadowhunters – who she could see conversing with Jordan near the door to the apartment – she knew he didn't particularly like them. Still, she didn't let Magnus see it in her eyes. She was stronger than that.

'What are we going to do? She hates pretty much everyone here, she's not going to do anything you tell her to' Jordan told the Shadowhunters, who had obviously accompanied Clary. Clary knew that as well as the spoken predicament, there was a silent plea in Jordan's eyes begging them not to hurt Maia. He knew that would be the only way to control her, but he cared about her too much to allow it – even though she was different, she was still Maia and he'd only just got her back. The difficulty of the situation meant they didn't notice that Luke had left the group and was slowly approaching Maia. Maia could see that now he was the one who felt betrayed because he certainly wasn't hiding it – she could see it plain in the set of his mouth and the shine of his eyes.
'Who did you go to, Maia? Who did this to you?' despite Maia's obvious anger, Luke still spoke softly – whether he was trying to comfort her or himself, she didn't know.
'Rankin's pack, near the docks' she spat. She got satisfaction from the look on his face – shock and further betrayal. He wasn't having a good night, she thought.
'But I asked him, he said he hadn't heard of a runaway' Luke trailed off. He obviously knew that what this meant, but he didn't want to admit it to himself. He didn't have to.
'Well, he wasn't telling the truth was he' she replied, a fake note of pity leaking into her voice. Luke flinched when he heard it, not expecting her to be so cruel.
'But why? I've never had any misunderstanding with his pack. We've always been on good terms...'
'Nonsense. He grew tired of your games, Luke. You're the leader of the most powerful wolf pack in this area, plus you have your alliances with the Shadowhunters – there's nothing Rankin could muster to challenge that. But he wants to – he knows you're friends with Shadowhunters and warlocks, even vampires, as are the rest of your pack. He feels you're polluting our kind, making them weak. I can't say I disagree with him, and I'm sure others feel the same.' she practically growled. Luke was clearly taken aback, but he let a stubbornness set his face.
'Sounds familiar' Luke stated sarcastically. 'It sounds like I might be paying Rankin a visit soon'

'Hold on, Rankin? We've been having some trouble with him recently. He's been seizing the Downworlder haunts stirring trouble, trying to turn Downworlders against us and our allies' Jace informed them. Luke gestured him over to the door – clearly he was trying to prevent Maia from hearing him. 'I'm going to go and get my pack and head over to Rankin's. The only way I can stop the Downworlders launching some sort of revolution is to stop him.' Luke whispered urgently. 'Ok, I'll go and get Izzy and Alec, we'll follow you - he'll know you're going to do this and probably has something up his sleeve... figuratively speaking.' Jace corrected himself. He was all business now, his eyes quick and sharp, obviously running over strategies in his head.
'Magnus, do you reckon you could come? It would surprise Rankin to find a warlock, a werewolf and a shadowhunter on one side, which might give us an advantage' Jace asked him. He made sure to turn on his charm even more than normal. It worked, unsurprisingly (or so Jace thought).'You owe me, Shadowhunter' Magnus spat before leaving the apartment.
'Clary, stay here with Simon and Jordan. The wall should hold until we get back.' Jace told her. Even though she was in training, Jace was still hopelessly protective of her. She didn't disagree – she didn't really fancy being in that sort of company – and with a quick kiss, Jace followed Luke out of the room.

The atmosphere in the room was sombre to say the least. Maia had given up trying to get past the wall and was slouched by the toilet, trying to hide herself from the others. Jordan was pacing up and down the room, clearly trying to figure out what to do. Clary chose to sit with Simon, who had his elbows on his knees, head down, on the couch. During a trip from one side of the room to the other, Maia gestured Jordan to the wall.
'Jordan, please, come with me, it-'
'I'm not coming with you Maia. You're 'friends' are trying to kill mine – coincidentally the same friends who have saved you on a number of occasions. I'm not betraying them for some power-hungry psycho.' Although he was still angry, he kept his voice hushed. It was a while before Maia spoke again. After minutes of contemplation, something dawned on her. Her expression finally relaxed – there was little anger, just sadness.
'Fine' her voice cracked. 'Then let me go. I can't promise Rankin won't do anything, but you have my word I won't do anything to harm your friends. Please. You know if when they come back they'll keep me until they can find a way to 'cure' me. I know you want to, too. You want the old me back. But I don't. I'm sorry.' Maia put her hand against the wall. Jordan knew what it would mean if he went through it.
'But you and me-', he couldn't finish his sentence for swallowing. Without realising, he'd put his hand over Maia's on the wall.
'I know, Jordan'. Maia replied through a silent sob. Her voice was shaking slightly. 'But you know if I go, I can't come back. It'll break my heart, but you're safer that way.'
Jordan said nothing. He knew she was right. He simply leaned his head against the wall and looked at Maia, trying to take all of her in: her tanned skin, her wild hair and those eyes. God, those eyes. He scrunched his own shut, and tore himself away from the wall.

'Clary, I need you to do something for me. You're not going to like it.'