The Spark

"Well then, thank you, Lydia. My name is -"

Clary stopped talking the moment that Lydia raised her hand. Clary looked confused, but didn't speak another word as she watched how Lydia shook the demon's remains off her arrow before she put it in the quiver on her back. Alec looked down at his sister, rubbing her arms reassuringly before he let go of her a little more, but still with an arm around her shoulders to keep her close. Lydia then looked back at them, that half-smile gone without a trace and in the place of it was nothing but neutrality. "There is no need for introductions. I am not interested in knowing who you are - I did not come here to make friends. I came her because she -" Lydia waved a hand towards Isabelle, "- almost became a liquid late-night snack for that dhampyre."

The tone that Lydia spoke in was both bold and unwelcoming, and Alec could see Clary's expression change. She had never liked it when people spoke to her in that kind of tone - it annoyed her greatly and it was visible all over her face. "I'm glad you could at the very least muster the care to not let somebody die."

"I am not heartless," Lydia snapped. She almost looked offended.

Alec saw something move in the corner of his eye, subconsciously pulling Isabelle closer to him as he looked towards it. There was nothing on the walls, and there was nothing in the dark, but Isabelle was looking at him with a frown, as if she had seen it too.

"Wait, wait, wait," Jace interrupted, holding a hand out in front of him as if to stop everyone from talking. "What the hell is a dhampyre?"

"A human and vampire hybrid," Clary explained, receiving a surprised look from Jace. "Don't you remember the visual novel Simon and I were planning? The tower of mythological books in the corner of our rooms?"

The short silence that fell within the group was long enough for them to be alerted by the quick tapping noise that started to surround them, seemingly coming from the darkness on the walls. They seemed to have momentarily forgotten that they were running from something, but were even quicker to be reminded by the demon that jumped at them out of nothing, though it was quickly pierced by Jace's seraph blade. Alec pushed Isabelle and Clary out in front of him. "We need to leave. Go."

Jace followed closely behind the girls as Alec tried to move Lydia with them as well, but she didn't move a foot. "Why would I go with you?"

Alec rolled his eyes before he looked straight into hers. "These demons have caught onto your scent and you killed one of their friends. There is no doubt that they will run after you too and I'll be damned if I let anyone die tonight."

"I can take care of myself."

"I have no doubt that you can, but there is no telling how many are going to come around the corner, and there isn't a living shadowhunter that has handled twenty demons at once. So move."

Lydia squinted her gray eyes at him before she let out a sigh and moved into the direction that the others had gone. Clary had taken the spot in front, her seraph blade drawn and hand gripping the handle tightly. Alec stayed in the back, as that was where the threat seemed to come from, and made sure to have his bow drawn again. The demons, however, didn't seem to be particularly picky about where they were coming from, and the group had to change direction several times to avoid the bigger groups. Yet they could turn however often they wanted; there were always demons on their heels. They managed to hit and run whenever they really needed to, Clary or Jace staying behind just a second to take care of a demon that stood in their immediate way. Alec always stayed behind, making sure the others were in front of or next to him at all times.

At a given point, it were Isabelle and Lydia that were in front, the others lagging behind to take care of some of the other demons. Isabelle was a few steps ahead of Lydia (she wasn't certain how she did it in those heels), and the gap between them was big enough for a demon to jump out in front of Lydia. It looked humanoid, but there wasn't much time to think about the type of demon because Lydia had to take steps back to get an arrow out of her quiver and shoot it, but the demon followed. It took steps forward as she took ones backward until something silver wrapped itself around its neck, allowing Lydia to create distance and shoot an arrow. Once the demon had turned to ash, it was Isabelle in front of her, a whip in her hand.

There was only a second for them to look at each other when the other had caught up and they were running again. Clary very quickly navigated them towards the pier and soon enough they found themselves in familiar surroundings, wolves jumping from behind boxes that were stored on the pier itself and taking care of the few demons that dared to follow, allowing the group of shadowhunters safe passage inside.

The little doorbell rang above their heads as they opened the door to the Jade Wolf restaurant. Alec closed the door behind him and finally dared to relax his muscles, the quiet chatter and soft music making him feel safer instantly. Demons tended to stay away from werewolves, so at this point it was the safest that they could be.

"A werewolf base. Really?" Lydia spoke up, her mouth snapping shut as yellow eyes looked at her from all around the room.

"Better not offend them," Jace answered. "They bite."

"Are you okay?"

Everyone looked up at the question that seemed to be directed at them, and they watched how Luke walked towards them hastily. Worry was written all over his face; his eyes darting between the blood still drying on the left side of Alec's face, the shaken-up Isabelle that was holding onto Clary's hand tightly and the unfamiliar face that was Lydia.

"We're okay, Luke," Clary assured him, out of breath. "You just called - a little bit too late. Jace and Alec had already gone upstairs - the Forsaken - we - but there were more and we ran but we ran into a dhampyre -and Isabelle - Iz almost got attacked by it but Lydia - I... What's going on? How did you know there was danger at home? How did you know when to call?"

Luke let out a sigh, ushering them all further into the restaurant. "Sit down, I'll be there in a second and I'll explain what's happening."

Alec watched him walk towards the bar on the other side of the room, starting conversation with the woman that stood behind it. They all moved towards an empty table, Lydia quietly following along. Alec noticed that she really didn't want to be there - the message was radiating from her expression, but she didn't argue anymore.

Jace and Alec each grabbed an extra chair from another empty table, leaving an empty chair especially for Luke. When they sat down, Alec felt how Jace gently grabbed his hand on top of the table, lazily intertwining their fingers before he squeezed tightly. It was something that Jace had made a habit of his - to grab Alec's hand after a mission or something alike, as if to tell him "Good job" and "I'm glad you're okay". Alec never minded, and always made sure to hold on a bit tighter, too. Alec knew that the both of them were more affectionate than they'd ever dare to admit out loud, but they never really had to because people could usually see it. Lydia saw it too, her eyes temporarily focused on their hands, and Alec could have sworn he saw her smile slightly.

Roughly a minute later, Luke joined them at the table, his hands folded in front of him. He couldn't speak a word before Clary spoke up. "How did you know the house was dangerous?"

"I have some of the pack scout the house occasionally," Luke explained, looking at each of them carefully. "Just in case something like this happens. They reported Forsaken and Raveners inside and I immediately called you. They must not have seen you enter and they came back here immediately after the call, so they wouldn't have know you had gotten attacked. You didn't try to fight them, did you?" The only answer he got was silence, and Luke's eyes grew a little bit wider. "Guys when I -"

"We didn't have much choice," Jace interrupted, tone bitter. "Alec and I - we went upstairs when we saw the mess the house was in to get our weapons but we heard something break and there was a Forsaken in the bathroom."

"You should have walked away."

"Yeah, sure, because the door that Alec got thrown in his face and the Forsaken jumping at us made that so easy." The sarcasm was dripping from his voice.

"Jace," Isabelle hissed. "This is not Luke's fault."

Jace took a deep breath, and Alec could feel the hand around his tighten even more. "I know... I just... First Clary gets stabbed by a Ravener, almost dies, then she's finally awake, we go out and come back to find a Forsaken waiting for us at home - because that'snormal - and then there are more Raveners. We run from them, then a hampyre or whatever gets a hold of Izzy, almost tears her throat out and it would have if it wasn't for Lydia here because we couldn't get a shot on it and then we need to run again because we can hear more of them coming. I'm really starting to suspect they are after us but why?"

The six of them watched how the lady from behind the bar put down a cup of steaming water in front of each of them, followed by a box of differently flavored teas and a wet towel for Alec to wipe the blood off his face. He gladly accepted this, and started cleaning the left side of his face as Luke continued. "My personal suspicions are that the Circle has found you."

Those words gained everyone's undivided attention.

"The Circle?" Alec questioned, putting the towel down on the table. "You mean the same people that caused the Idris Massacre?"

"Idris Massacre?" Lydia asked. Her eyes had widened a little and Alec could have sworn she had gone a few shades lighter, but her expression remained mostly neutral.

"It's what we call the mass murder of shadowhunters in Idris about 20 years ago," Luke explained. "Do you know the story?"

"I do," Lydia's eyes dropped down and were now focused on her cup of steaming water.

"But why would the Circle be after us?" Clary asked.

"You are the offspring of members of the inner circle - the fuel that has started and kept this operation going for a long time. The betrayal that your parents committed hit the Circle hard and they were never forgiven - they died because of it - but the Circle never knew about you. They always believed you had died with them in the fire."

"How do you know?" Isabelle asked.

"Because they never continued searching, and I think this is where the search starts again - because they know you're alive. You are the children of the people that committed terrible betrayal and tried to stop what they once stood for. The Circle has every reason to believe that you would follow in their footsteps, and they want to make sure that you won't be a problem."

"This isn't very reassuring..." Clary muttered, leaning back in her chair. "What now? They found our home. No going back there. Demons are actively trying to kill us."

"The institute." Five pairs of eyes focused themselves on Lydia. Everyone could see how her face had softened immensely compared to a few minutes ago. She avoided any eye contact as she spoke, and Alec could see she was thinking as she did. She seemed to be fighting herself - eyes darting around, head shaking softly, eyes closing. "The New York Institute. It's where I live. It's one of the few that wasn't destroyed badly enough to make it unlivable. It's still glamored and I have a warlock friend who put up some protections - no surprise attacks, nothing without angel blood will get past."

"Why are you suddenly being so nice?" Clary questioned, suspicion clear in her voice.

"Let's just say that I know what it's like to run from something like that. And it's not like I want you to die."

The New York institute could have been home to Alec, Jace, Isabelle and Clary. It was where their parents trained, and Maryse and Robert Lightwood were once the leaders. The four of them had heard many stories about it. The Lightwoods were proud owners even after they joined the Circle, but had to step away from this position because of their betrayal, because at that point their children were the priority. If Maryse and Robert wouldn't have left when they did, their bodies would have likely been among all the dead ones, along with a two-year-old Alec and a barely one-year-old Isabelle. Because as the Circle grew, it started to attack institutes. Many of them always were on the side of the Clave, and they were the biggest enemy. The most effective way to reach the Clave, was to eliminate the protective circle around it. And those were the institutes.

Robert and Maryse took pride in the time where they lead the institute, and showed pictures of it to their children, and from the outside, Alec couldn't tell the difference. It looked exactly like it had in the pictures his parents had shown them. He was now standing in front of his parents' past, and he wasn't sure whether he should be excited or scared of what he could find.

"Why did you pick the institute to live in?" Isabelle questioned as they continued to walk closer to the building.

"I was hoping it would hold some history, but there's a lot of closed up spaces. My stele doesn't work on the runes protecting it. It's also close to the vampires, and who could possibly have more history stored than them?"

"I feel like I'm being gossiped about."

Everyone turned themselves to the source of the voice. Two vampires had decided to make an appearance. One of them was grinning widely, arms folded across a fancy looking suit, and the other - the other made Alec's heart stop.

"Simon?"