Chapter Text
The sound of clattering on the stairs mixed with raised voices summoned Sofia Lightwood from her bedroom, and she dashed into the Ops Centre in time to see her siblings entering the room at the opposite end.
"This doesn't sit well with me"
"Nothing ever does, Alec" Jace shook his head as he began unpacking his weapons "But there's no other explanation."
Sofia wound her way through the few other Shadowhunters who were in the room working and ignoring the bickering occurring between the two men.
"What happened?" the teen questioned, allowing herself to be pulled into a side-hug by Izzy in greeting.
"Nothing" Alec told her firmly, at the same time Jace began trying to explain.
Isabelle raised her eyebrows at her brothers "Well that was a mess" she informed them, stroking the wig that was clutched in her hands "Just tell her" she regarded Alec with a tilt of the head which caused him to let out a huff of frustration.
"Some mundane girl ruined the whole mission" he said pointedly, turning to dispatch his weapons onto the table.
"She's not a mundane" Jace corrected, as patiently as possible "Because she could see us"
Sofia looked momentarily concerned "Seriously?"
Her panic did little to improve her brother's mood as he stepped forward to rest a hand on her shoulder.
"It's nothing to worry about" he assured her "The glamour was probably just a little off, or-"
"-Alec, glamour isn't...off" Sofia reminded him quietly, looking to Jace "So, she must have The Sight?"
Jace smiled softly at the teen and nodded "At least someone gets it" he muttered "But yeah, looks like she's a random Shadowhunter."
At this, Alec swept up his weapons and strode from the room with his siblings watching him go.
"Why is he so bothered about this?" Sofia asked, looking up at Izzy who wrapped an arm round her sister.
"Because it's Alec, and he's always bothered about things he can't comprehend."
The girl smirked at Jace before leading Sofia from the room in pursuit of their brother.
Clary stumbled from the cab and watched it drive off down the street. The girl was breathing heavily, her body quivering at the intensity of her gasps.
She murdered someone. And then she ran?
Still shaking she ran into the shop and up the stairs into her apartment where her Mom was sat on the couch seemingly waiting for her.
"Mom! Mom I think I killed someone"
Jocelyn looked up at her daughter in alarm, opening her mouth to speak but the girl was pacing frantically across the carpet and muttering.
"The blonde with the tats, he had a knife...or a sword and he was gonna stab this woman so I pushed her out of the way and then these huge tentacle things came out of her face! The guy, he dropped his blade and when I picked it up this glowing bar shot out of the end just as this person fell onto it...he burst into millions of pieces of dust."
Clary stopped to catch a breath and Jocelyn took the opportunity to speak.
"What did his tattoo's look like? The blonde guy?" she asked calmly.
"Who cares?! Did you not hear me? I killed someone!"
"No you didn't. You killed something...sit down."
Clary stalled and stared at her Mother as if she were crazy.
"Is this a prank? A birthday joke?"
"Sit"
Clary sat.
Sofia walked into the training area where her brother was in the process of butchering a dummy.
"Picturing it as the mundane girl?" the teen asked, leaning against one of the pillars to watch.
Alec turned and wiped his forehead with the back of his hand "Soph...you don't get it-"
"-Of course I don't, because you never let me go out with you guys even though I've been training since I was in diapers!"
Her brother returned his weapon to the shelf and walked across the room to his sister.
"We didn't know what would happen out there tonight" he told her carefully "We didn't know how many demons there would be or how strong they were, there's no way we'd let you near a situation like that."
Sofia looked up at him "I'm not a baby anymore Alec" she reminded him quietly as he reached out to scoop a strand of dark chocolate coloured hair behind her ear.
"You'll always be my baby sister" he smiled, looking up as the doors opened and Jace walked in.
"Izzy's been working on the computers and we think we've found the girl's house."
Alec rolled his eyes and folded his arms "Great" he drawled "So you can go and ask her on a date now?"
Jace ignored him "I'm gonna head there and find out what she knows, are you coming or not?"
"Can I come?" Sofia piped up, shooting Jace her brightest smile.
He laughed and raised an eyebrow at Alec who placed a hand on the girl's shoulder.
"What do you think?" he remarked, a tone of amusement in his voice.
Sofia shook her head in despair and stepped away from the conversation to mess around with the practice dummy.
"I'm not coming" Alec spoke after a pause "Because it's not an approved mission, this is just your personal treasure hunt."
"Not everything has to be approved Alec"
Sofia rolled her eyes as the boys began arguing again and with a glance back she left to find Izzy.
Clary stood in the shell of her former bedroom, tears rolling down her cheeks as she gazed round at its blackened debris.
Her Mom was gone.
Dot was dead?
And she no longer had a place to call home.
She wished her Mother had told her more about all this before the attack. Clary kicked herself, realising that it's probably what Jocelyn planned to discuss over breakfast the next day, since the girl had been too stubborn to miss out on a night at a club in favour of learning things that could potentially save her life.
Clary kicked through the remnants of her belongings, heart thudding against her chest at how easily everything turned to charred ashes at her touch.
Why didn't she ask what the cup was? A cup was a cup, something for your water or soda or whatever. Why did these guys wreck her house and take her Mom all for a stupid cup?
Clary came to a halt at what used to be her dresser - it was now covered in unidentifiable lumps of her former things.
With a cry of frustration, the girl swept everything to the floor where it erupted into a cloud of ash at her feet.