Chapter 4- The Ring

Disclaimer: all settings, characters (apart from Philip and Grace) and the main story plot belong to the magnificent Cassandra Clare. Grace, Philip, and my own story plot belong to me. I sadly do not own the Infernal Devices.

A/N: I think these lyrics kind of sum up Grace and Jem in a way. What do you think?

And this chapter is dedicated to the amazing TheRealSilvershadow for always making me laugh with your consistently supportive and hilarious comments! Thank you so so so much!

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'I'll understand you
Just give me the chance to
Love you more than you'll ever know
Even if it means I gotta let you go
With or without me,
Baby you should be happy
If you're headed down another road
Don't you leave me with nowhere to go
Don't let me be the last to know, yeah
Don't let me be the last to know.'

- Last To Know, The Wanted

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-*-*-*-*- Jem -*-*-*-*-

After Grace ran out, Jem collapsed into the armchair, his face in his hands. "Oh God," he whispered. "Oh God, oh God, oh God. What have I done?" Will was watching him then examined the scorch marks on the wall.

"Did you know she could do that?" he asked Jem. "Because I didn't."

"She told me she was worried that she was becoming Yanluo," Jem said quietly. "I didn't believe her. I was sure it was just Yanluo's final burst of energy after Grace woke up. But I didn't want to believe that she could be in danger again, not after last time. God, she needed my help and I ignored her..."

"You didn't ignore her," Will said. He picked up Jem's box of yin fen and looked inside it again, as if to check he wasn't imagining the lack of the drug inside it.

"I need to go after her," Jem said, standing up and going towards the door. "I need to go after her and-" Jem doubled up and started coughing into his hand, his skin splattered with scarlet. He felt Will's hand on his shoulder, guiding him back to his bed.

"You aren't going anywhere," Will told him firmly. "You are going to stay here and get some rest."

"Where are you going?"

"Grace has obviously gone to find some more yin fen," Will said. "I'm going to look too, and find her if I can."

"Will, are you angry at me?" Jem asked. He realised that it was a silly question to ask, but he couldn't think of any other way to ask it. Will hesitated by the door.

"I was," he said. "But now I'm not. I understand why you did it. I will go to Whitechapel and by all the yin fen I can, everything you need. As you said, your life is yours to live how you choose."

"Thank you, Will," Jem whispered. Will have him a small smile before leaving the room and closing it behind him.

-*-*-*-*- Grace -*-*-*-*-

Grace ran. She just ran and ran and ran, ignoring the rain that stung her eyes. Her head was repeating the conversation she had with Jem, the yelling, the shouting, all of it. She had never had an argument that big with Jem, at least not one they hadn't resolved straight away with laughter at how ridiculous they were being.

But this was different. Jem was risking all the time he had left and Grace just couldn't accept that these were his final few weeks with her. She had always known that Jem was going to die before her and she thought she was prepared.

But she wasn't.

She was in no way ready for her brother to leave her. The worst part was, there was nothing she could do to change it. All the yin fen was gone, bought up by Mortmain to blackmail them. If Mortmain asked for Grace in return for yin fen, Grace wasn't sure if she could refuse his offer. Even though the drug wasn't a cure, she couldn't stand the thought of watching Jem die knowing that there was something she could have done about it.

Suddenly, Grace found herself staring right at a wall before she slammed into it. Groaning, she leant on the brickwork of the alley that she had just run into, looking out into the street. She was in Whitechapel, that was for certain. She could recognise the spire of the church looming above the buildings. Having been so caught up in her thoughts, she hadn't realised where she had been running to.

Normally, she and Will would have gone down here to buy Jem's drugs for him but those days were long gone now. Already, Grace knew that all the yin fen was gone. Will had told her after he had bought a years supply of it that there was no more coming in any time soon. At the time, they had both been fairly relaxed about it, but they hadn't expected Jem to have used up a years worth within two months.

A swell of anger came up inside Grace but she pushed it back down. She had to be careful. Yanluo had already almost burnt Jem's room to cinders. That had been enough for the day. She straightened up to walk herself out of Whitechapel when voices passing the alley stopped her. Backing away into the shadows, Grace watched as two werewolves walked past, both with streaks of silver in their hair.

Yin fen users.

"I need to win tonight," one was saying. "I've used up the last of the drug to give me the strength to fight. Slewford better pay up fairly."

"I could use a win too," the other replied. "But I've still got enough to last me another week. But a win would be nice."

"The offer tonight is if you win two fights, you get two packets," the first one said. "That would last me two weeks. But I do wonder where Slewford gets his yin fen from..." Their voices faded as they walked past the alley and down the street. Grace took a moment to take in what she had just heard.

Someone was still supplying yin fen in London. They were somehow shipping it in. And it sounded like people were competing for it. Grace looked up and down the street and spotted the two werewolves still walking. She drew up the hood on her gear jacket and set off to follow them.

After about fifteen minutes of tailing them, they finally stopped at a large building on a corner street. Downworlders were streaming in through the doors which were under a huge sign. She looked up, reading it.

'Mr Slewford welcomes you to: The Ring.'

Grace hesitated. The law said that she could not make contact with Downworlders or let them know of her condition. But surely that had been broken too many times now for it to matter? The Dark Sisters knew of her, so did Magnus Bane, Camille Belcourt and Woolsey Scott. Five of the most powerful Downworlders in London knew exactly who she was, so how many more did? What did it matter now? If this was the only way of saving Jem's life, then she didn't care how many laws she had to break.

Pulling her hood tighter around her face, Grace joined the crowd and shuffled through the entrance. Inside, it took a while for her eyes to adjust to the dim light. She was in a large room, filled with the smell of sweat, magic and cigar smoke. There was a bar up against the right wall with alcohol and glasses lining the shelves while the rest of the edges had seats lining them. In the middle, though, was what caught Grace's attention. The Downworlders were crowding around a boxing ring, set up in the middle of the room. They were shouting and screaming at the vampire and the werewolf grappling each other inside, yelling out encouragement and their odds for bets.

"Come on, rip him apart!"

"Fight harder, you blood sucker!"

"He obviously doesn't have the strength to fight when the moon isn't full!"

She watch in horror as the werewolf slashed with his claws, ripping out the vampire's throat then punching through his chest. The crowd cheered as the announcer standing at one corner of the ring announced the winner.

"And that was your fourth round fight for the night, ladies and gentlemen, with Mr Pickering as the winner!" He cried. "Your winnings shall be available at the betting table when the night is over so keep your betting slips with you!" Grace wove through the crowd, watching at the werewolf who just fought went up to the announcer who slipped a packet into his hand.

Yin fen.

Resisting the urge to run and grab it, Grace stalked directly to the bar, hailing one of the bartenders. "Little young to be around here, Missy," he said in a thick, East end accent, raising an eyebrow. "What can I get ya?" Grace locked eyes with him.

"I need to talk with your boss," was all she said. The bartender laughed, leaning on the table.

"Oh yeah? Well, you better have a good reason and even better payment as the boss doesn't like to be interrupted in the middle of his commentary," he said, gesturing to the announcer who was taking bets for the next fight. Grace turned back to the man, who was quite obviously a mundane with sight, digging into her pocket and sliding a gold coin discreetly across to him.

"Go get me a private audience with Mr Slewford," she said, "And I'll double it."

"You'll triple it," he told her. Grace smirked and rolled up the sleeve of her gear jacket, showing him the rune on her hand.

"Bloody hell, you're a-" She grabbed the front of his shirt and yanked him towards her.

"We'll keep that between you and me for now," she growled. "Now, let me make myself more clear: go get your boss, or I'll rip you eyes out and report this whole place to the Clave, got it?" The bartender nodded rapidly and, as soon as she let go, scrambled to Mr Slewford, whispering in his ear.

Grace leant on the bar and watched as Mr Slewford's eyes went wide. His gaze landed on Grace, who gave him a little absent minded wave.

"All right, ladies and gentlemen," he said to the rest of the club. "We're going to take a short break but we'll be back in a minute for your fifth fight of the evening." There was a groan of disappointment but everyone went back to their business, talking or drinking or placing bets. Mr Slewford climbed down from his stool and came towards her.

"Come with me," he said, then walked off into the crowd. Grace followed him to the edge of the room and through a door into a private study area. Slewford locked the door behind her.

"You've got some nerve, coming here on your own," he said. Grace grinned and kicked back on the chair in front of the desk, watching Slewford's every move as he went around it and sat down himself. He was a very tall man, but also very thin. He was also a vampire although it wasn't easy to tell.

"I take it I'm in trouble with the Clave then," he said, looking at Grace. "But they're really slipping up if they send just one girl." She tilted her head and pleasantly smiled.

"You could be in trouble, if they ever found out what you're running here," she said. Slewford opened his mouth then closed it again.

"They didn't send you?" he asked.

"No," she said, examining her nails. "They know nothing about this. Yet."

"If you're threatening me," Slewford said, "You should have reported me to the Clave first and brought some backup. There is no way you're leaving this place alive. You Shadowhunters are all the same, so over confident." He laughed. Grace smirked and sat back in her chair, folding her arms.

"I'm not here to report you to the Clave," she said. "I'm off duty."

"No Shadowhunter is off duty," he replied.

"This one is," Grace said. "Because I have a proposition for you." Slewford stared at her.

"You have to be joking," he said. "I don't make deals with Shadowhunters. It will only end up one sided, and most of the time only the Shadowhunters get what they want."

"This deal will be different," Grace replied. "Because I'm not your average Shadowhunter. And you're going to like what I'm offering." The vampire sat forward, his elbows leaning on the desk. Grace had never heard of a vampire named Slewford before, but she could tell he was very old. Perhaps not as old as Lady Belcourt, but old nonetheless.

"I'm listening," he said.

"I doubt you have ever had a Shadowhunter in your fights," she said, watching his eyes light up as he worked through her offer. "I'm offering to be in them. Imagine, every Downworlder wants to see a Shadowhunter get roughed up by a couple of werewolves, or maybe a warlock. You hate us, so why would they miss it? You'd make hundreds, no, thousands from bets and drinks from the bar." Slewford looked very thoughtful.

"All right," he said. "I like what your selling. But what's the catch? There's always a catch when it comes to the Angel's children."

"No catch, just payment. For every competitor I defeat," Grace said, "You pay me with two packets of yin fen. I won't make any trouble for your customers, and if you think I am, then you have licence to kill me. If you suspect anything of me, then you can kill me. I am out numbered after all."

"Why do you want the yin fen?"

"That I will keep private," Grace said. "So, do we have a deal?" Slewford opened a box on his table and drew out a very expensive looking cigar. He lit it, careful not to let the flames brush his fingers.

"For every fight you win," he said. "I will give you one packet of yin fen, not two. It is hard to come by these days. And I won't treat you any differently than my other clients. It's only because I am a very old vampire that I know people who can get yin fen to me on my private shipping route."

"Do we have a deal?" Grace was ruthless.

"One last thing," he said. "I have various levels of fights in my club. No Downworlder just wants to see a Shadowhunter get beaten up. Your fights will be to the death." Grace swallowed. This wasn't part of her plan, but she would pay any price if it meant Jem would live.

"I think we have a deal then," she said.

"I believe we do, Miss...?"

"Blackthorn," Grace lied although she had no idea why. Slewford held out his hand and Grace shook it.

"It's a pleasure doing business with you, Miss Blackthorn," he said. "You start tonight."

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Sooooooooooo, Grace is really messing things up isn't she? What do we think about her decision? Mixed feelings?

So, comment and vote as always please! Let me know what you think!

Love y'all!

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