CHAPTER ELEVEN. A BRIEF TRIP DOWN MEMORY LANE

"FINALLY, A MUNDANE WITH SENSE."

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Simon had ignored all of Wren's calls and texts. She had tried to apologize for hurting his feelings, which wasn't her intention at all, but he clearly didn't want to hear any of it. To make matters worse, she also hadn't heard from Clary, who also hadn't been returning her calls.

The blonde made her way into Java Jones, looking up at the menu sign for something to eat and drink. She decided on a caramel frappe and a cheese danish and waited in line to order. Once it was her turn, she ordered and paid before walking off to the side to wait. Her mind drifted back to Clary and Simon and she pulled out her phone again, preparing to call the both of them.

When her eyes drifted to the large windows, she stopped as she spotted Clary and Alec walking past. Wren furrowed her eyebrows in confusion before heading to the door and pushing it open. "Ma'am, your order!"

Wren ran to catch up to them, calling out the redhead's name as she did. Clary's head whipped around and she spotted the blonde rushing towards them. "Wren," she breathed, meeting her half way, pulling her into a hug once she was close enough. "What are you guys doing?" The blonde asked, pulling away. "None of your business," Alec replied as he came to stand beside Clary. He looked to the redhead, "Let's go."

"We're going to my apartment. Do you remember that box I told you about? The one that belonged to my dad that my mom would sometimes cry over when she thought I was asleep?" Clary said, ignoring Alec completely. Wren nodded her head and the redhead continued. "Well, I think it might help lead us to Valentine. So, we're heading to my apartment to get it," she finalized.

"Isn't that a little dangerous?" Wren inquired, looking from Clary to Alec and then back to Clary. The redhead sighed, "We need to find and stop Valentine. And I need to find my mom. I'll do whatever it takes." Wren looked at her friend for a long moment. Her brain was telling her to go with the girl before logic kicked in. This isn't your fight.

The blonde nodded her head. "Good luck," she stated. "You're not coming with?" Alec questioned in surprise. He was sure the blonde would immediately demand to join them. "I'm not like you guys. I can't fight and I don't know how to kill demons or whatever. It's dangerous. Besides, I'll just get in the way," Wren responded.

"Finally, a mundane with sense," Alec commented before turning to Clary. "Now let's go." Clary hesitated, her eyes still on the blonde. Wren could tell by the look in her friend's eyes that she wanted her to go. Whether it was to retain some sense of normalcy or to feel more comfortable, Wren wasn't sure.

"But, if you want me to go, I'll go," the blonde added. Stupid loyalty. Alec rolled his eyes in annoyance. "I can't ask you to do that," Clary immediately shook her head. "Well, you're not. I'm offering," Wren replied. "If something happens, I'm not sure that I can protect you," Clary continued. Wren looked down at her bag before unzipping it and rummaging through. She eventually pulled out pepper spray.

"Good thing I have this," she said, holding it up. Alec rolled his eyes again and Clary smiled. "So, let's go," Wren continued. She was probably going to regret this.

Clary nodded her head and both she and Wren began walking again. Alec stood for a moment, shaking his head. "Well, that was short lived," he muttered before following after the two.

When the three finally arrived to the back alleyway shortcut to Clary's apartment building, Wren spotted Simon waiting for them. Her eyebrows furrowed in confusion as Clary went to greet him. The redhead pulled the brunet into a hug. "Thanks for being here," she breathed. "You don't need to do this alone. It's not who we are," Simon replied.

Upon pulling away, he spotted Wren standing next to Alec. "What's she doing here?" He asked, a tinge if hostility in his voice. Clary's face morphed into one of confusion as a glare settled into Wren's features at his tone. Alec looked between the two before rolling his eyes yet again.

"I'm here to help, same as you I assume," Wren informed, giving him a look. He eyed her momentarily before looking back to Clary. "What's going on between you two?" The redhead asked her two friends, looking between them in confusion. "Nothing, Simon just needs to grow up, that's all," the blonde replied.

"Wren just needs to know when to keep her overly blunt honesty to herself," Simon snapped back. "You asked me a question and I answered it. I'm sorry that it hurt your feelings but sometimes the truth does that," Wren stated calmly. "Whatever," Simon said.

"Look, we don't have time for this. We need to move," Alec interjected. Clary looked between her friends again before looking at Alec. "Yeah, my mom's loft is just across the alley," she told him. "All right, well, we have to be careful. There are eyes all over this place and everybody in the Shadow World's looking for you," Alec replied.

"I mean, I guarantee you, no one's gonna find this shortcut. We used to take it back in middle school to see Clary," Simon said, looking to Wren briefly before turning back to Alec. "You might know the Shadow World, but trust me... I know Brooklyn. Come on."

Simon then ran to the wall and jumped up and over it quickly. Extremely quickly. Wren's eyes widened in surprise and concern, the memories of Simon thinking that he was becoming a vampire coming back to her. She was probably just thinking too much into things.

The three then followed his lead and climbed over the wall. Wren landed steadily on her feet, her thirteen years of gymnastics helping with her balance. She followed behind Simon as he led them to the the apartment. There was a lot more plants around the back of the building than when she last came through here.

Simon began to climb up the ladder. "Have you been doing parkour or something? Clary asked as she followed behind him up the ladder. Wren grabbed on to the ladder's rungs and began ascending it as well. Once she got to the top, she followed them up the stairs. "You've gotten a lot better at this," Simon commented, looking back at Clary. "I was just gonna say the same thing about you," the redhead replied.

"Climbing a fire escape excites mundanes. I'll never understand these people," Alec spoke aloud. Wren refrained from replying as they made their way up to the back door. Clary stopped and looked at the walls.

"Whoa! I don't remember it like this," she said. Wren's eyes flitted to the wall and she looked over the various symbols that coated it.

"These are runes and wards of protection cast by a warlock," Alec explained as they walked closer to the door. "Dot," Clary realized. "Hm. I always thought it was some weird graffiti or something," Wren muttered as she looked at the familiar symbols that she had completely forgotten about. She had never paid too much attention to it as a kid. As she said, she thought it was just graffiti.

"Some of these have been here for years," Alec continued. "The only difference is now I can actually see them," Clary stated. "Yo, Clary. What are all these tags?" Simon inquired. They all looked at him. "You can see the runes?" Alec asked. "Yeah, kind of hard to miss," Simon replied.

"For a Shadowhunter. They should be invisible to most mundanes. When did you get the Sight?" Alec replied. "I don't know. But whoever drew these should take some lessons from Clary. Their, uh, work is pretty sloppy," Simon said. Clary touched a fading red heart with an arrow through it that had hers and Simon's initials inside of it.

"This is when Simon and I were engaged to be married. Wren officiated us," Clary remembered. Wren rolled her eyes at the memory, remembering how upset she felt because she didn't have anyone to fake marry. The two cupcakes she had later that day made her forget all about that though.

"You were engaged? I'm almost certain I don't wanna hear this story..." Alec began as Simon started speaking. The taller brunet was not surprised in the slightest. "We were eight years old," Simon said. "That was a whole other world ago," Clary pointed out. The smile on Simon's face began to dwindle. Clary walked past him and over to the door, grabbing the doorknob and pulling it. She grunted as it didn't budge.

"There's only one flaw in your plan here, Simon," Clary said. "Here, let me try," he said, going over to the door and ripped the door open with little to no effort. Wren's eyes widened again. "Okay, what the fuck? How are you that strong all of a sudden?" Wren questioned. The vampire thought ran through her head again. She couldn't know for sure because she didn't know what constituted being a vampire. But these were certainly red flags.

She looked at Simon who merely shrugged. Neither Clary nor Alec seemed concerned or fazed by the matter. Simon held out his arm. "After you," he gestured to Clary. "Okay," Clary said. He then gestured to Wren so that she would go in next. Her eyes held worry as she walked forward, continuing to look at the boy who just smiled.

Wren began walking behind Clary to her apartment. The redhead pulled open the door, which was unlocked. Wren gripped her pepper spray tighter as they entered. The four walked through the destroyed apartment and into what used to Clary's bedroom. Everything was charred and burned. Ash covered a good majority of the things in the room. There was hardly anything salvageable in the room.

Wren looked around sadly, childhood memories beginning to flash through her mind. She had been in this bedroom so many times for so many years that it was practically her own. The Fray's apartment was always like a second home to her. Now there was barely anything left. That mere fact made her upset, almost angry.

"Holy crap, Clary. Who torched your loft? Yeah, I can see this, too," Simon commented, the last sentence directed at Alec. Wren sent him a look for his insensitivity before looking at the redhead. "You okay?" She inquired as Clary looked down at a picture frame. "There's nothing left of me here," Clary sadly replied.

"Of course, there isn't. Your mother was trying to erase any trace that you existed. So that you couldn't be tracked. She was protecting you," Alec spoke. "Let's see how well that worked," Clary replied. "You're alive, aren't you?" Alec retorted. He had a point.

The creaking of the floorboards drew Wren's attention to Simon. "These floorboards... They sound different in these two spots. Can't you hear it?" Simon said. Wren listened closer but didn't hear whatever he was hearing. "All I hear is creaking," she replied, her eyes never leaving his form. Another red flag. She'd have to ask Isabelle or Jace about it. She'd ask Alec but, she wasn't in the mood to be yelled at.

"There's something under here," Simon continued as he kept moving his feet on the wooden floorboards, effectively producing more creaking. He crouched down and began knocking on the wood before pulling burnt rug backward. He then pulled off the piece of wood.

"Another score for Brooklyn," Simon said. Alec pushed him out of the way. "Hey, out of the way." The taller man crouched down where Simon once was. "You're welcome," Simon sassed. "There's something down here," Alec informed before reaching in and pulling out a wooden box.

"Is this the box you remember?" He asked, holding it out to Clary, who took it. Wren leaned in closer to the redhead to examine it. She had never seen the box herself but, Clary had mentioned it to her a few times. "Yeah. She used to wait till she thought I was asleep and then take it out," Clary replied, continuing to look down at in in remembrance.

"Well, let's open it," Simon suggested. Clary opened the box and they all looked inside. "I don't know what any of this is," Clary told them. Something shattered in the home and the four's heads snapped to the bedroom door. "What the hell?" The blonde muttered. Alec pushed past Simon and stepped closer to the door.

"There's someone here. Get what you need. Do not move until I get back. We've been here too long," Alec commanded. Clary began shoving the box into her bag as Alec walked out of room. "Shit. Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit," Wren mumbled, gripping the pepper spray even tighter.

The three heard footsteps approaching, far too many for it to just be Alec. Wren held up the pepper spray, pressing down on the nozzle to release the harmful liquid as soon as the person, who wasn't Alec, came into he room. A cry of pain left the man's lips and he doubled over. "You little bitch!" He exclaimed. Wren pushed him out of the way and the three attempted to run out before being stopped by more men.

The only one that Wren recognized was Alaric, who was Luke's partner. The rest of the me were unfamiliar to her. She was grabbed and she let out a shout. The man who took ahold of her knocked the pepper spray out of her hand before she could use it on him. He yanked her bag from her shoulder and threw it before pulling her forward.

"What the hell, Alaric?" Clary exclaimed. Handcuffs were placed onto the blonde's wrists as she struggled in her captors grip. "What are you doing, let go!" She exclaimed, wriggling around but it was no use. The man was far too strong. The three friends were pulled out of the Clary's loft and then out of the apartment building.

The men led them to a car. The blonde was roughly pushed into the backseat of the car. "Let go. Seriously, Alaric," Clary exclaimed, before being shoved into the car along with Simon. The doors slammed shut and the men got into the passenger and driver's seats before quickly driving away.

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