Chapter 7

Jace and I walked outside of a giant bar. The night capturing the black motorcycles that sat around.

"You wanna kill time at a biker bar?" I asked, not complaining, just surprised.

"We can't move on the vamps until sunrise. Plus, there's something I need in here," Jace said as we entered the bright lit bar. Between the fancy lights and music, it reminded me of something I'd find myself in every now and then. Just to sit and watch the people.

A small scuff left my lips, "What, a drink?"

"I don't drink," Jace said, his eyes scanning the inside of the club.

Nodding slightly, I said, "Touche." It was a choice that I never regretted. Drinking wasn't really my thing, never has been and probable never will be.

I followed Jace as he moved towards the side of the bar, a garage like door wide open and letting guys park their motorcycles in. Even I had to admit, the bikes were beautiful, but it only rose more questions.

"Shouldn't you be teaching me to fight vampires or something?" I asked?

Jace cracks a smile as he stops next to the bar, leaning against it. "I am. First lesson..." He lightly puts his hands on my shoulder, turning me around so I'm facing a couple at a tall table. "What do you see?"

At first, I think it's a joke, turning and looking over my shoulder at Jace. He only nods ahead, making me sigh and look back at the couple.

"A couple, talking and making out."

"Focus on the couple. Now, concentrate on seeing through," Jace said, pushing his hand out as if he was pushing something out of the way.

I turn and look at Jace, my eyes pulling together in confusion, "Through?"

"There are layers to reality. You can peel them away. See the Shadow World," He explained.

My attention returned to the couple, watching them have a make-out session on the table. I concentrated on the couple, doing as Jace said and looking past what I was just seeing with my own eyes. Sure enough, as if a spell had been lifted, the couples' true nature poked out.

The couple were humans, in face they barley looked like they did when just looking at them. Instead, their physical features had changed and their teeth weren't just straight, white ones, but fangs.

"Vampires," I said, the word leaving my lips in just above a whisper.

Jace nodded slightly behind me, "Yup. Now, check out that guy." He points to a man in a leather jacket, causing my attention to follow his finger to the guy. The man walks towards the first motorcycle, the design of a fire dragon on the side catching my eyes.

"He's got something we need," Jace said, causing me to turn to him.

"What?"

Nodding towards the guy, Jace said with a smirk, "Go over, flirt a little. You'll see."

Something inside of me turned at hearing his request. I don't know why but I felt, strange flirting with someone in front of Jace. "I don't think I'd feel comfortable..." I started, watch as Jace smirked slightly, crossing his arms in wait.

Letting out a sigh, I mumbled under my breath, "Okay, fine" before turning towards the motorcycle driver. Sucking in a breath, I walked over to the motorcycle driver, grasping any courage I had to pull this off.

A smile played on my lips as I leaned on the bike, my hand resting on the seat of it. "So, you're the mysterious stranger that owns this bike. I was keeping my eye out."

The man smirked, "Well, hey, baby. You like to ride?" He waves his hand slightly, his face changing and his teeth growing fangs. "You know you smell like a friggin' angel, right? But without all that Shadowhunter rune crap all over you. Much better look, right?"

Somehow, someway, my body relaxed, my mind almost foggy as I stared at the vampire before me. Jace became a back burner thought as I nodded slowly, "Right."

The vampire seemed so, captivating, but not in the way Jace was to me. It was as if my mind was controlling me while my heart tried to fight my actions and words.

Leaning in slightly, the vampire smirked. "I don't know what the hell you are, angel doll, but you're one tasty treat."

"Thank you," I said, an uncontrollable giggle leaving my lips.

Walking around his bike, to me, the vampire patted his seat. "Do you wanna jump on the bike, baby?"

"Yeah," I said, still unable to control my words and actions as I climbed onto the bike. It was strange, being on a motorcycle, but even stranger that I wasn't racing to jump off of it as the vampire smirked devilishly at me.

Jace's feet carried him over to us, grabbing the vampire's attention, "Hey. You having fun with my girl?"

Even under the spell like cast I seemed to be placed on with this vampire, Jace's words sent electricity chills up my body.

The vampire glared at Jace, "Piss off, Shadowhunter."

"I'm going for a ride." I said, my hands planted on the seat that I sat on, waiting for someone to take its place.

Nodding, the vampire agreed, "That's right."

"That's not gonna happen," Jace said, shaking his head slightly as he seemed to get slightly irritable. Almost, jealous in a way.

"You heard the lady. Step aside," The vampire said, pushing Jace which causing him to stumble slightly. The actions seemed to pull me back to reality, to Jace as my mouth parted slightly. But even then, my body wouldn't move from the bike and my words couldn't be found.

Jace pushes the few strains that fell in his face back, his eyes moving past the vampire towards me. He pointed a finger at me with a smirk, "Don't move, Faith." And just like that, I felt frozen, now unable to move thanks to Jace's demand.

The vampire sweeps into action, seeing his power on me falter. He quickly goes to punch Jace but he suddenly vanishes, spearing behind him. "Yoo-hoo, Romeo," Jace says, causing the vampire to quickly turn around.

With one hard punch, Jace has knocked the vampire back and onto the floor. His motorcycle keys fly into the air and land perfectly in Jace's hand who smiles victoriously. The second his eyes rise though, he catches the group of vampire stand, their sights set on him.

"As you were," Jace quickly says, turning and racing to climb onto the bike. He starts the bike up, causing my hands to wrap around his waist. In seconds, we've sped out of there, moving so fast that no mortal vehicle could match us.

Yelling past the wind that blew my hair back, I asked Jace, "Why did you let him do that to me?"

"I couldn't exactly dig around in his pockets for the keys."

"What, you were gonna let him turn me into a vampire just to get his keys?" I asked, slightly hurt and disappointed. Luckily though, his next words eased my mind and made my heart skip a beat slightly at his caring tone.

"I'd never let him hurt you. Don't you trust me?" He suddenly speeds the bike up, everything turning into a speed of colors. "Better hold tight, this bike runs on demon energy. It's pretty mean."

Slightly worried they might follow us, I asked Jace, "Don't their bikes run on that, too?"

Jace smiled at my worry. "Why do you think I picked this one? It's been modified. You got a good grip?"

"Why do you keep asking me that?" I asked, shaking my head in confusion.

Suddenly, the bike speeds up again, lifting up off the ground and into the night sky. At first, my arms grow tighter around Jace, scared for a minute until the feeling sinks in. The feeling of light as a feather, the feeling of freedom.

I can't stop the wide, joyful smile that appears on my face, matching Jace's. A laugh leaves both of our lips, enjoying the freedom of flying on a bike.

"Why didn't you just do this in the first place?" I asked, part of my laugh in my sentence.

Jace looks over his shoulder, a small smirk on his lips. "I guess I wanted to show off a bit."

My eyes roll at his comment, but I'd be lying if I said that all of this wasn't impressive. In fact, it captivated my attention and eye so much that whatever spell that vampire had on me seemed to dissolve or ware off.

Eventually Jace and I landed on a cement parking lot, outside of the Hotel DuMort. The place looked cold, dark almost. Which seemed fitting since they were vampires.

We climb off, Jace pulling out his Stele. "Here," He said, taking a step closer to me. He lightly pushed my hair away from my left side, pulling the top of my shirt down a little. He started to use the Stele to brand me, the stinging showing up again. But this one was less powerful compared to the one on my arm.

"What that vamp did to you back at the bar, it's called encanto. That was just the first step. It's kind of like what a cobra does to a mouse right before it strikes. This will keep you safe just in case you run into Mr. Fascinating again."

I roll my eyes, "I'm never gonna live that down, am I?" I asked as he finishes up.

Jace smiles, "Probable not. Give me your arm," He motions towards my left arm. I do as told, holding up my arm as he rolls my leather jacket back.

It's then that I notice the ruin he carved into Clary and I's arms are gone, vanished as if never there. "The ruin you gave Clary and I, it's gone," I said shocked.

"Yeah, like I said before, temporary," He said, lightly taking my arm. Jace proceeds by carving another ruin in my arm, the sting just as powerful as the one on my chest.

"What is it?" I asked, watching his hand move freely as if he'd fone the carving a hundred times.

"This is for silence. The vamps won't hear us coming, but we can't disguise the scent of our blood from them." He finishes, letting my sleeve down and stowing away his stele. His eyes look up to meet mine. "Once we enter the building through there, they'll know something's up. But if our plan works, we'll have time to find Simon."

My eyes pull together in slight confusion, "How will we find Simon?"

Jace looks over his shoulder at the building, "He'll be in the most secure room in the building." He turns, looking at me again, "Trust me, we'll know it when we see it."

I can't help the little soft laugh that leaves my nose as I look at the ground. "My sister is probable freaking out right now, worried about him."

"And you're not?" Jace asked?

A sigh leaves my lips, my eyes returning to the ground before looking off somewhere. "I want him to be safe, but I'm not my sister. Those two have been friends for years."

"But you're her sister," Jace said, not understanding my words.

"Yeah, who spent a lot of her life in bed sick," I said, only confusing Jace even more. I begin to explain, "It seemed like once a year, sometimes more, I'd get this huge sickness that would make me feel like I was dying. Sometimes, I was too scared to fall asleep because I was afraid I wouldn't wake up. So, meeting friends, wasn't always an option. I guess Clary thought she was being nice in having me tag around with her and Simon, everywhere."

Jace looked to be understanding, but still asked, "But you didn't?"

"I knew she felt she had too," I said, my head shaking slightly.

As if needing to reassure me, Jace commented. "Your sister cares about you, you know?"

I nodded, "I know. But, sometimes I wish someone else did. Someone that wasn't family."

It felt like each word I said was hinting towards something, towards someone. But the silence vanished any thoughts I had on the matter. Instead, Jace took the pause in the air to pull both of us back into reality around us.

"Sun's gonna come up soon. Remember how to use the blade? Keep your arms steady and don't overestimate what you know. They can be tricky. We'll try and keep them off you as much as we can."

Although I took comfort in his words, I was more worried about my sister. Clary, although could be brave at times, could also be the one to freak out when someone would attack her.

"Where's Clary, Alec, and Isabelle?"

"Being distracting," Jace said as he turned towards the large building.

As figured, I let him take the lead, both of us with our blades out in case a surprise attack happened. But, just as hoped, the place seemed empty. So empty that hissing noises from another room were more captivating than normal.

My hand reached out, lightly grabbing Jace's arm and stopping him. "Wait, I hear something."

"Hold up," Jace said, motioning for me to stay back while he moved ahead. He stopped before a right turn, poking his head around the corner and checking it out. After a few seconds I joined him, seeing what he was seeing. Vampires raced out of the next room over, heading deeper into the building.

Jace motioned with his hand to have me follow him. In doing so, I discovered another hallway. We followed it, it seeming to take us around the main room where the vampires were leaving from.

Soon, we arrived in front of fancy, double doors. Like Jace said, you'd know it when you saw it, and this was defiantly one that I saw.

We both enter, rushing in, in hopes of finding Simon but to no such luck. Instead, the vampire from the biker club stood, waiting angrily. The second he saw my face, he started to fast walk towards us, causing Jace's voice to call out my name and lightly push me to the side.

"Faith!" He pushed me to the side, readying his blade only for two vampires to run out of nowhere and tackle him to the ground. My eyes watch in shock for only a second as Jace is pinned to the ground.

By the time I've looked up, the biker guy is back in front of me. His hands grabs my arm roughly, yanking it to pull me closer. "Just ran 30 blocks to get here before I freaking burned to death in the sun! You missed your ride, angel doll. Why'd you go with him, huh? You really know how to hurt a guy."

My eyes aren't on the vampire as he talks, but on Jace who is able to pin the two vampires down but is struggling. One relieved moment and Jace would be thrown off and the roles would be reversed. Or worst.

At the vampire's last words, an idea comes to mind. I quickly lift my knee up, kneeing him in the crotch before throwing a hard blow to the left side of his face. He falls to his knees, squinting in pain.

"You're right. I really do know how to hurt a guy."

Turning my attention towards Jace and the two vampires, his name comes off my lips as I step two steps towards them. But Jace's eyes move to me at hearing his name and seeing something I'm not.

"Faith, look out!"

By the time I've turned, the biker vampire has my throat and pins me roughly to the brick wall. My body struggles in his grip as he leans in close to me. "Bitch, you're finished!"

Jace's voice is heard even past the vampires, "The blade! Use the blade!"

My hand, which is still gripping the blade, lifts up to stab the vampires. But, my arm is stopped when the vampire uses his free hand to stop my arm, gripping it tightly.

With the hand that's not holding the blade, I turn my body slightly and swing my elbow into his face. The action caused him to release my arm and rub his face, as if trying to rub the pain away. But he's fallen into my trap this time.

In seconds, I've sunk the blade into his side, causing him to release me and let out a part scream before turning to ash.

A breath of relief leaves my lips for a second as Alec, Izzy, and Clary come running in, just catching the last act of myself. But at the moment, they are the least of my worries.

While I was fighting biker vampire, Jace was able to release the vampires and stand up to get more of a fight in. One turned from Jace, towards me, seeming to put us one on one.

As the second vampire runs to me, he goes to throw a punch, but my instincts take over. I duck, using the moment to slice at the vampire's stomach with my blade and kill him instantly.

Jace looked up at me, both of us defeated our vampires and won this battle. I'm slightly shocked by my actions, but more shocked on how easy it was.

"I killed him."

Nodding slightly, Jace said, "Technically, he was already dead."

Izzy rushed up to me, smiling ear to ear, "Plus, he wanted to kill you. Remember that." Her eyes turned to Jace, "She did great, right?"

Smiling, Jace nodded, "Yeah, you did. You should be proud."

My mouth parts slightly as I stare at Jace for a few seconds, only to be brought back to reality with my sister running up and hugging me. I lightly pull away, causing her to look around at everyone.

"We have to find Simon."

We all nod in agreement, turning and going through another pair of fancy, double doors. At entering, we all freeze at the sight. The vampire from the bridge, Raphael, is holding Simon close to him, a knife held tightly to his throat.

Clary goes to charge ahead, calling out Simon's name only for Jace's hand to stop her.

"Clary! That's not gonna do any good," Jace says, forcing Clary to take a few steps back into the group.

Raphael nods towards Clary, "Listen to him, Clary Fairchild. Put it away. I've had more than enough of your friend for one day."

As he speaks, my hand grips my blade tighter, taking a couple of steps to the side. An idea pops in my head, but Raphael catches me before I can even make an action. "Don't think I don't see you Faith Fairchild. I'd love to cut his throat. Don't give me a reason."

We all stand tall and strong, no one moving at first.

"Put it away! Raphael yells!

Clary is the first to do so, us seeming to follow her. Her eyes move to Simon, "Simon. Simon, are you all right?"

"I wouldn't say all right-" Simon starts his babbling, but Raphael cuts him off with a yell.

"Stop talking! Now if you would all just follow me," The vampire starts to back away, back towards a single door behind him. He all follow slowly, our eyes on Raphael and Simon as we make our way into a dark hallway. "Let's go!" The vampire yells, making his way up some stairs.

"Come on, let's go! Up here now!" Raphael nods to us to go down the other hallway. The word "Exit" at the end of it with a single door set up catches out eyes. "That's right, get down there now! Get down there or I'll kill him right now!"

We start our walk, Clary still trying to plead for Simon. "Look, we're not gonna hurt you. We just want Simon."

"I'm glad you do. We don't! We wanted you. Too bad. Now, get out! Go!"

Even when our bodies stood in front of the door, Clary continued to beg with the vampire. "Not without Simon."

"Shut up! Open that door right now or I'll kill him right here."

"Listen to him!" I yell to Clary, but she doesn't move.

Her panicked voice is heard down the line, "But Simon will die if-"

The door being pushed open cuts Clary off as Alec and Izzy are the first to step out into the lit world. My bodies about to step out, but I pause, catching Simon being pushed towards us. "Take him! Go!" The vampire yells, gesturing for us to leave already.

"I don't know how to thank you," Simon says, thankful.

"Don't thank me. You mean nothing. This is about Valentine and the chaos he can bring. Now, go!"

We all quickly force ourselves onto the roof, the door closing and locking behind us. A pair of stairs are off to the right, taking you to another part of the roof where a fire escape sits.

As if the moment shocked us all, we all take a moment to just stand there and absorb that actions that were just taken place.

Alec and Isabelle climb the stairs, waiting up top. Simon, though, still looks nervous and terrified. "Shouldn't we get the hell out of here?"

"Why, Simon?" Jace asked, slightly annoyed.

"They're right downstairs," Simon said, gesturing back through the door and down the steps.

Jace rolls his eyes as he begins to climb the steps, "Let them come after us. They'll just turn into a bunch of fried eggs out here. I thought you said you watch movies?"

Clary runs to Simon, hugging him before pulling him into a talk. I block them out, hoping to avoid the wonderful comments that usually end in Simon getting friend zone.

I continue to stand on the first roof floor. My body leans on the railing of the steps, picking up Alec and Jace's voice above me. To my knowledge, neither one know that I can hear them.

"Look, can I just say one thing?" Alec asked.

Jace sighs, "You will anyways, so shoot."

"You think you know Faith, right? But you may not."

Jace groans, shaking his head in annoyance. "Do not start this again with me, Alec."

I can hear the slight anger in Alec's tone as he tries to make his friend understand. "She just came out of nowhere, Jace. Her and Clary. And, what? You think you can trust them? Trust Faith? For all we know, she could be working for Valentine-"

"Alec, stop!" Jace yells. Even I can't pretend that I didn't hear him as everyone turns towards the two friends. Jace lets out a sigh as he looks at Alec, "Just... stop."

Jace sounds, let down almost. While Alec just looks like he lost his best friend but was trying to cover up his sadness. "I'm older than you, Jace. I'm not in your shadow."

With that, Alec climbs down the latter, Izzy following soon after. Jace's eyes look away before falling on mine. Neither one of us say a word to each other, but it's clearly evident that I just heard every word.

And, even though I feel the way I do when I'm with Jace, it does darken us. Not because of what Alec keeps saying or thinking, but because it's clear already that Jace would choose me over his friends.

Hope you liked the chapter! The next chapter or two will finally reveal what is really going on between Faith and Jace!

Comment and let me know what you want to see more or less of!