"What was that?" I gasp, the murmuring of voices catching my attention, setting off alarm bells

Clary whirls around, her long orange hair unfurling in a great spiral around her face as she looks back at me, "What was what?"

"That!" I urge, the mumbling reaching my ears again

"Cami...I-I can't hear anything" Clary whispers but I'm already ahead of her, following the source of the sound, the murmuring getting louder and louder before finally, we reach a short wall that stretches out to a giant staircase, a staircase that descended downwards...where the voices were strongest.

I slid slowly down the first couple of steps before hesitantly peering over the bannister wall. It was a massive, square room full of desks and chairs, like cubicles but without the separations between each one. Luke, sitting in a chair across from a woman in a striking orange and black dress, was glaring maliciously at a man in all black. Both of whom presented raw, red-looking markings on their necks in the shape of two circles, one inside the other, similar to the marking Mom had shown us earlier, and neither looked like a decent person.

"The minute we found out Jocelyn Fairchild was alive, you were easy to track" the man snarks, smugly

"Fairchild?" Clary whispers, "That's not-"

"Shh!"

"Turns out you and Jocelyn were never that far apart" the man continues, "The Circle has her now"

The Circle?

What Circle...

My mind flashes back to just minutes ago, when Mom had rushed us both out, Dot said that 'they' were coming and Mom had mentioned 'The Circle'...and now they had her?

"It's just a matter of time until we catch her daughters" the man continues angrily

"You can have them both if you give up the Mortal Cup" the woman purrs

Mortal Cup?

What the fuck is going on?

"I don't care about any of them" Luke growls and I hear Clary's soft, pained gasp from next to me, "They mean nothing to me. Kill them all if you like"

I glance behind me, watching as a single tear streams down Clary's cheek as Luke continues to demean us

"My people want the Cup" Luke snarls, "Why do you think I've been hanging around here all these years? Now, when I find the Cup..."

Luke stands from his chair and I watch intuitively as the man and woman stand also, matching his pace fluidly as if anticipating an attack, not wanting to be at a disadvantage

"I'm gonna keep it" Luke assures them, his voice low and threatening, "And you can tell Valentine and the circle that"

Valentine?

All the new names and phrases popping into my head are enough to make me feel like my head is splitting in two, but, still, I listen on, soaking up all the information I can about the world I've just stepped into.

"No one mentioned Valentine" the woman interjects, her voice raising

"You didn't have to"

"Listen to me!" the man shouts, pointing a finger at Luke

"No, you listen to me" Luke interrupts, smacking the man's hand away from him and pointing back towards the exit "Get out of my office"

The man scoffs, tightening his jacket around him before sauntering off, the woman following close behind.

I turn my back and slide down the bannister wall blocking us from being seen, knowing the conversation they had been having must now be well and truly over.

"Mom...Mom" Clary cries before standing from the stairs and rushing towards the exit.

I resist the urge to shout at her, knowing that calling out her name would undoubtedly attract Luke's attention and so settle to set off after her at a run.

We burst out into the thunder and rain, rushing hastily down the slick steps. I continue to follow her, without asking where she's headed, but before long I start to recognise the familiar streets, houses, sidewalk shops...

She's headed home.

***

As we race down the narrow walkway to the front door of the antique shop, we spot a large pool of blood, floating with pink tinges around the sides of it where the blood is dissipating under the heavy rain. Clary gasps in horror before rushing off up the three stairs and through the shop door.

"Mom!" Clary screams, dropping to her knees, screaming our mother's name through the shop

As Clary bellows, I survey the shop carefully...there's definitely been a fight here. The glass of the display cases are smashed and antiques from all different times and places and years scatter the floor, splintered, shattered and destroyed. Splotches of blood litter the hardwood and rugs covering the floor, creating violent spots of colour in the dark and light fabrics.

Suddenly, Clary stands from her position on the floor, hurrying up the stairs determinedly.

I begin to follow her upstairs hastily, grabbing an ancient axe from the floor on my way, before skidding up the steps with my wet shoes, almost colliding into Clary, who's stopped dead in our living room, facing...

"Dot" Clary sobs, dropping her defences

"They took Jocelyn" Dot speaks, but her voice sounds strange...almost distorted and unemotional.

Clary, oblivious to the difference through her fear, pipes up, "Who took her?"

"Rogue Shadowhunter's searching for the Mortal Cup" Dot informs and I subtly walk a little quicker, positioning myself, and the axe, in between Dot and Clary.

"Clary, I don't trust this" I hiss to her, quietly enough so only she can hear

"What are you talking about, it's Dot?" Clary whispers back, her voice shaky

"Think, Clary" Dot urges, getting slightly more desperate, "Did your mother ever talk to you about a cup? A very important cup. It's gold, almost like a chalice"

The faintest of memories soars through my head and I feel like I know what she's talking about, have seen it somewhere before...

"No! No, we don't know anything about a Cup, Dot!" Clary whines, "One of the antiques downstairs?"

"No, no, not those" Dot urges, her desperation becoming more and more apparent, "Think, girls. This could save Jocelyn."

"We can't think!" I snap at Dot, "Our mother's just been kidnapped, Clary's falling to pieces and...what's so important about this damn Cup anyway?"

"You know more than you think you do, Camille Fray" Dot snarls before opening her mouth...except her mouth doesn't open normally, it splits into four, like a lotus flower, each section of mouth protruding horrible, yellow, sharp teeth and letting out a inhuman, horrific screech.

I stumble, caught off guard and Clary falls in front of me, instinctively driving her family heirloom into Dot's stomach.

She falls to the floor, screeching and wailing before I start to hear the sickening cracks and snaps of bones breaking, rearranging. Her fingernails extend to claws and her skin turns to scales, her human mouth has returned, but the teeth are sharp and yellow and pointed, just as the ones from before.

She snarls at us and I back Clary up, one arm in front of her whilst my other hand grips the axe tightly. Suddenly, Dot's gone and in her place is a blue-tinged monster, like one you'd see in a horror movie.

Clary exclaims, trying to retreat backwards, holding tightly to my outstretched arm.

It growls ferociously, it's mouth splitting open again, before lunging at me. I swing wildly with the axe but swing the wrong way. I feel the teeth sink into my shoulder and let out a scream of pain, falling instantly to my knees as whatever poison inside it's jaws spreads through my veins.

"Cami!" Clary screams

I throw the axe towards her as hard as I can, "Run!"

"No-"

"CLARY, RUN!"

But it's too late. I watch in terror, immobilised as the monster jumps at Clary, piercing her with one of it's sharp teeth. Clary falls to the floor, scrambling backwards with her hands until she hits one of the pillars behind her. Standing quickly she manages to start screaming as the four mouthed face of the monster looms above her...

And then, a bright slash of orange light strikes the middle of the demon's chest and it screeches, a high keening sound that, if I weren't paralysed, I would have covered my ears to defend against... and then it explodes into ash.

I just make out a blonde haired guy with a glowing sword, standing in front of Clary, "What? No 'thank you' for saving your life?"

I try to scoff but instead hiss in pain. He doesn't seem to notice.

"Careful" he warns Clary, "That demon got a piece of you"

"Demons?" Clary whispers

The world begins to echo, Clary and the blonde guy's voice ricocheting off the walls as I drift in and out of consciousness, random words appearing from the conversation in chunks and pieces

"Shapeshifter"

"Ravener demon"

"Room swirling"

"Demon venom"

I just make out the guy catching Clary from falling before the world dissolves...

**************

hope you guys are liking this so far!

another chapter will be up soon

Happy Reading xx