CHAPTER NINE. THE VAMPIRE INN

"SO, THIS IS THE WAY TO THE VAMPIRE INN?"

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Alec had managed to sneak the two of them back into the Institute. He discreetly opened the wall of weapons and pulled a bow, followed by arrows, from it. He looked at Wren for a brief moment before quickly scanning the remaining weapons. He picked up what Wren assumed to be a sword in its sheath.

The brunet pulled the sword from its sheath and held it up for Wren to see. It had a black hilt and the silver sword had a wavy appearance to it. "This is a flame-bladed sword. Also known as a Flamberge sword. These types of swords are known for being decorative as well as deadly. You won't be able to use it to kill a vampire unless you cut off its head. Try not to put yourself in a situation where you'll have to use it," Alec explained.

He handed her the sword and she took it, holding it awkwardly in her hand. It felt weird to be holding the weapon. Alec held out his hand and she gave it back to him. "If you do have to use it, slash, don't stab." He demonstrated what he meant. "If you stab, you might not be able to pull it out in time to try to inflict more damage because again, this won't kill a vampire, only our blades can. And since you're a mundane—"

"I get it, your fancy Shadowhunter swords won't work for me. Give me the sword," Wren said, holding out her hand. Alec looked her up and down before handing it back to her. She gripped the hilt tighter this time, assessing its weight, that's what they did in the movies. It didn't feel heavy or anything though she wasn't sure if that was a good thing. Various runes were engraved in the metal. "You good?" He questioned and she nodded.

"Good," he handed her the sheath, "let's go." She put the sword back into the sheath and followed after him as she tried to tie the sword around her waist. It was uncomfortably silent between them as they walked back the way that they came. When they reached the door, Alec stopped. "I need to rune the arrows before we go. Wait for me outside," he said.

The brunet walked away before she could respond. Wren rolled her eyes in annoyance before opening the door and stepping out into the crisp night air. She huffed, crossing her arms over her chest. She looked down at the sheathed weapon attached to her hip. She really hoped she didn't have to use that thing.

After what felt like hours, Alec finally returned and began leading the way. "Come on, Izzy found a way to get us into the DuMort," he told her. She followed after the tall boy.

••••

"Izzy. I got your text. Where are we exactly?" Alec asked. The two had gotten to where Isabelle had told them to meet her. Wren climbed up the stairs, making sure her feet planted firmly onto each step so that she didn't trip. "It's an old meatpacker's service entrance. If we go back there, we come up into the basement of the Hotel Dumort. Perfect, right? We distract the vamps, Clary and Jace have time to find Simon," Isabelle explained.

"Okay," was all Alec said. "'Okay?' It was hard work interrogating Meliorn to get this intel," she said to him. "Great job, Izzy," Alec said with fake enthusiasm and and a fake smile. He dropped the smile and his same monotonous voice came back. "You have faerie dust on your dress." He walked past her before continuing, "And I hate being the distraction."

"I don't," Isabelle said back. She then looked at Wren's side. "A sword? What kind?" She asked. "Alec called it a flame-bladed sword," Wren replied. "Ah, the perfect definition of pretty and deadly. That's perfect for you," Isabelle said with a smile. Wren fought the blush that threatened to come to her cheeks at the compliment. "What makes you think I'm deadly?"

Isabelle shrugged, "I don't know. You just have a sort of fire in your eyes." Wren shook her head with a light laugh. "I can assure you, Isabelle, I do not," she said. "You can call me Izzy, you know." The brunette then returned her attention to her brother. "You know, you'd be a lot happier if you weren't so freaking repressed," she said, not caring that Wren was there to hear this. She probably wouldn't know what she was talking about anyway.

The boy didn't respond to her at all. "Alec? Hello?" She called to him. He still didn't say anything and just continued forward. Isabelle turned back to Wren and beckoned her to follow her. The blonde nodded and followed behind the brunette.

"It was probably a bad idea for me to come with, right? I should've stayed at the Institute. This is the real deal. I could die tonight," Wren was saying.

"Relax, you'll be fine. We won't let you die," Isabelle said. "I think your brother would have no problem letting me die," Wren retorted. Isabelle thought it over for a moment. "I won't let you die," she corrected with a chuckle. Wren shook her head and turned around to make sure they weren't being followed or anything.

"I don't even know how to use this thing," she went on, lifting her hip slightly when referencing the sword. "Alec didn't teach you basics?" Isabelle asked.

"He said to slice and not stab. That's it," the blonde answered.

Isabelle sighed, "Since you're not exactly trained, make sure you use both hands for more strength. You might be able to chop off a head or two."

"Alec said this sword won't kill them," Wren pointed out. "It won't if you stab. So don't do that," Isabelle said. "I don't think I'm strong enough to actually decapitate someone," Wren told her. "You're not," Alec deadpanned.

Wren scowled up at him. "Thanks for the vote of confidence, Alec," the blonde retorted, a glare directed at the back of his head. Isabelle gripped Wren's bicep and squeezed.

Wren pulled her arm away. "The hell are you doing?" She asked the brunette incredulously. "Do you work out? You feel like you work out," Isabelle said, ignoring her question. "Uh, I mean, yeah—" Isabelle cut her off, "How's your core strength, any good?" Wren opened her mouth but no words came out. She didn't know how to respond. "Wren, core strength," Isabelle repeated.

"Yeah, I mean, yeah," she sputtered. "Hmm." Isabelle looked thoughtful for a moment. "I think you'll be fine," she said. "Yeah, if she stays behind us and let's us do the fighting," Alec said. "Don't be an ass, big brother," Isabelle told him. He didn't reply to her. "Hello? Alec?" He continued to ignore her and she laughed.

Wren could feel the tension and grew uncomfortable. "So, this is the way to the Vampire Inn?" She asked, breaking the silence. Alec groaned. "It's called the Hotel DuMort," Isabelle corrected. "Same difference," Wren responded. Isabelle returned her attention to her brother. "Alec," she tried again. No response.

"You're really not gonna talk to me, are you?" She asked him. "That's because you have no idea what you're talking about," he finally said to her. "But I do. You're hiding from yourself, not me. You have feelings, whether you like 'em or not, Alec," she told him. Wren sighed quietly, she did not want to be present during this sibling squabble.

The three came to a rusty looking ladder. "This is not the time or the place, Izzy," Alec said as he began climbing up. "I don't know. Looks pretty smooth so far," she said. She then looked at the blonde girl. "You go first, I'll watch the back," Isabelle said. Wren nodded and began climbing up the ladder.

Once Isabelle had climbed up, the three carefully began making their way through the building. The Shadowhunters tactically scanned the area as they moved. They came to a door. "This must be the way," Isabelle said before grabbing the door's handle and pulling it open. The group of vampires that were on the other side of the door looked up.

Wren's eyes widened as the vampires came running toward them. Alec and Isabelle quickly slammed the door closed and leaned against it as the vampires tried to break through. "Well, not that smooth," Isabelle said as Alec fumbled for the stele in his pocket. "Any day now," the brunette girl rushed. "Yeah, if you hold the door still, it might be a lot easier," Alec retorted.

Wren moved forward and pushed her body against the door to help keep it closed. She tried to use whatever strength Isabelle was sure she had. "See, you got this," the brunette told her as Alec attempted to draw a rune on the door. "It's not taking," Alec told them.

Isabelle took the seraph blade from Alec's quiver and pushed off of the door. She walked over to a pipe and briskly slashed it, catching it once it was cut. She returned to the two and slid the pipe through the door handle to keep the door closed. Wren and Alec moved away from the door.

"Whoever said, 'The pen is mightier than the sword,' was an idiot," Isabelle said as she began walking away from the door. Wren quickly followed behind her. "When you're right, you're right," Alec said, following behind the two. They stopped a little bit away from the door, the blonde opting to stand behind them.

"Do you think they know where we are?" Isabelle asked with a wide smile. The vampires were using all of their might to break through the door. Wren watched as it jumped every so often. "That's the idea, right?" Alec replied. The door opened enough for a clawed hand to stick through, it frantically moving to remove the object obstructing the door.

Wren's breathing picked up. "I can do this, I can do this," she whispered to herself. Who was she kidding? She was going to die. She knew they should've just called the police instead of tracking Clary's phone to that stupid not-so-rundown church. "How long do you think we have to distract them for?" Alec asked his sister. "Ten more minutes," she responded.

"Ten minutes? Are you kidding? We're liquid lunch in five," Alec replied, pulling out an arrow and notching it into his bow. "So we are gonna die," Wren said aloud.

"Nobody's going to die, Wren. We need to distract them. So let's distract them," Isabelle said. "So let's distract them," Alec repeated, readying his bow with the arrow pointed at the ground. The hand grabbed onto the pipe that was keeping him and his comrades in.

"You better get ready," Isabelle said. Wren wasn't sure if the brunette was talking to her or her brother but either way, the blonde pulled the flame-bladed sword from its sheath and held it up. Both of her hands were wrapped tightly around the hilt. Alec lifted his bow and aimed it at the door.

The snake bracelet around Isabelle's wrist began to slither down into her hand. Wren didn't have time to revel in how cool it looked as the vampires broke through the door and began walking toward them. Isabelle used the bracelet turned to whip to wrap around the vampire in the lead's ankle. She pulled him forward.

A vampire ran forward and Alec shot him with an arrow. Wren watched in horror as the vampire exploded into nothingness. Isabelle used the seraph blade in her hand to stab the vampire on the ground, killing him. Alec shot the third vampire with an arrow and killed him too. "This is fun," he said. More vampires appeared though they remained in the room when Alec lifted his bow. "Keep coming, boys," Isabelle called.

And so they did. Alec fired arrow after arrow at them. Some managed to evade getting hit with the arrows and charged for the three. Isabelle skillfully fought them off. Wren's heart thundered in her chest. Arms wrapped around her and she heard a hiss in her ear. She let out a shout, her head slamming back into the vampire's face. She was released and turned to face the man who came at her.

She did as she was told and sliced at his chest. She was surprised when she had actually managed to touch him with the sword. The vampire hissed in pain and came at her again. Without thinking, she stabbed him. The one thing she was told not to. The vampire groaned in pain and Wren went to pull the sword out but couldn't. Damn Isabelle for making her think she was stronger than she actually was.

"Damn it." The vampire smirked before suddenly exploding into nothingness after being shot in the head with an arrow. "What part of don't stab was unclear to you?" Alec shouted. "I forgot!" She shouted back, "And they always stab in the movies!"

Alec rolled his eyes and jumped back into action, killing more vampires. Wren's eyes were moving quickly as they scanned the area around her for anymore vampire threats.

As skilled of a Shadowhunter that Wren thought he was, she was sure he would've somehow heard the vampire sneaking up on him. But he hadn't and Isabelle was too busy fighting off her own vampires, making sure no more would get around her and to Wren.

The blonde lifted up the sword and swung it around. It landed in the vampire's neck with a thud and he faltered. Wren managed to yank the blade out of his neck and brought it back into it. It went in deeper. It was harder to pull out the second time but she managed it and swung it back into his neck. She was moving faster than she felt she was as the vampire barely had time to react. One more swing and his head came clean off before he exploded into nothing.

Wren gaped at where the vampire was once stood as Isabelle killed the last vampire. She did it. She actually fucking did it. Alec looked at her in surprise. She wanted to to say something snarky like 'You're welcome,' but she was still trying to catch her breath. "See, strength," Isabelle breathed, an almost proud smile on her face. Wren gagged, "I think I'm gonna be sick." The blonde placed a hand over her mouth as she gagged again. "No time for that, come on," Isabelle urged.

The three went through the door that the vampires had come from and quickly made their way through. They had managed to find their way to a room and spotted Clary being held by a vampire. Alec lifted his bow but the vampire turned to face him, using Clary as a shield. Wren went to move forward but Isabelle's arm stopped her.

Alec shot the arrow at the wall behind the vampire instead. A hole formed and a stream of sunlight broke through, burning the vampire. Clary managed to break free from him right before he went up in flames and disappeared. The redhead then picked up her discarded seraph blade and killed a vampire whilst Jace killed the other.

Wren went over to her friend. "Did you see that? I killed a vampire," Clary breathed. "Yeah, me too. Never thought I'd say that," Wren replied and Clary let out a breathy laugh before pulling her friend into a brief hug, relieved that she was okay. "They were already dead," Jace informed the two. They pulled away from one another and turned to Jace.

"Plus, he wanted to kill you. Remember that.
She did great, right?" Isabelle suddenly gushed, looking at Jace. The blond looked at Clary intently, "Yeah, you did. You should be proud. Both of you." He looked at Wren who sent him a small smile. "Thanks, but it's not about me. Let's go find Simon," Clary said. Wren nodded and began walking alongside the redhead.

The five walked through the basement area, weapons drawn and ready. They entered a new room where a vampire held a knife to Simon's throat. "Simon!" Wren and Clary went to run forward but were stopped. "That's not gonna do any good," Jace said. "Listen to him, Clary Fairchild. Put it away. I've had more than enough of your friend for one day. I'd love to cut his throat. Don't give me a reason. Put it away!" The vampire said.

They all lowered their weapons, Wren putting the sword back in its sheath. "Simon. Simon, are you all right?" Clary asked.

"I wouldn't say all right—"

The vampire cut Simon off, "Stop talking! Now if you would all just follow me. Let's go!" He began pulling Simon backwards, the rest following. He ascended stairs and so they ascended the stairs. "Come on, let's go! Up here now!" The vampire yelled.

"That's right, get down there now! Get down there or I'll kill him right now!" The vampire continued. "Look, we're not gonna hurt you," Clary said. "Yeah, we just want Simon," Wren added as Isabelle pulled her backwards. "I'm glad you do. We don't! We wanted you," The vampire said, looking at Clary.

"Well, here I am," Clary practically growled, almost lunging at him only to be pulled back by Jace who yelled, "Stop!" They continued forward up the stairs. "I said 'wanted.' Not my idea. Now, get out! Go!" The vampire shouted. "Not without Simon," Clary stated. "Shut up! Open that door right now or I'll kill him right here," he continued to scream. What the hell is this dude's problem?

"Listen to him!" Jace demanded. "But what about Simon?" Wren asked as she was dragged up the stairs. "Wren, Clary, go!" Simon urged. "Go! Go! Go! Go!" Jace called. Wren went up the stairs and outside of the building. Simon was pushed forward. "Take him! Go!" The vampire said as Jace grabbed the boy.

Wren couldn't hear the rest from outside but she waited for Simon to emerge. Once she saw him, she pulled him away from the door and lunged into him. Simon nearly fell over at the force but held her for a moment before pulling away. She stepped away from him and looked at him. He was okay. He was alive and okay. She felt like she could breathe again.

"Shouldn't we get the hell out of here?" Simon asked. "Why, Simon?" Jace questioned. "They're right downstairs," he replied as if it were obvious. "Let them come after us. They'll just turn into a bunch of fried eggs out here. I thought you said you watch movies," Jace said. He and his siblings began walking up the stairs that were on the roof.

"Oh, my God. Oh, my God, it's over. It's actually over. I was so afraid I would lose you.
But it's true, you're actually here," Clary said as she went over to Simon. "You know I'd do anything for you," the boy said. "You don't have to die!" Clary retorted. "I'd rather not do that," he said. She pulled him into a hug. A hug that was a lot longer than Wren's and Simon's. But the blonde wasn't surprised.

Wren turned away from the two and walked up the stairs and over to Isabelle. She held the sheathed sword out to Isabelle. "Keep it," the brunette said. "What? No, I can't keep this," Wren said, shaking her head. "You killed your first vampire with that sword, and I think you could learned to fight better with it. Besides, you need it more than us. For protection," Isabelle said. Wren looked at her as if she were crazy.

"I live with my mom. My mom who knows nothing about the Shadow World. How the hell am I supposed to keep this?" She asked. "Hide it," Isabelle said as if it were obvious.

"Hmm you know what, you're right, let me find a place to hide it in my small two bedroom apartment where my mom won't find it. I should've thought of that," she replied sarcastically.

"See, you can do it," Isabelle said. Wren stared at the girl. "Okay, if you teach me how to fight, I'll teach you sarcasm," Wren retorted jokingly. "Okay," Isabelle said with a shrug. Wren paused, "I was joking."

"I wasn't," Isabelle replied. Wren just looked at her, unblinking. She couldn't be serious.

"Oh come on, please. You've got potential and I've always wanted to teach someone how to fight. Please." Isabelle pressed her palms together in a pleading manner. The blonde sighed, thinking it over for a long moment.

"Maybe," Wren finally responded. Isabelle smiled before pulling out her phone. "Here, put your number in my phone." She held it out. Wren took it, "I didn't say yes."

"Yeah you did, with your eyes," Isabelle replied. Wren shook her head as she put her name and number into Isabelle's contacts. "That doesn't even make sense." She handed Isabelle the phone. Isabelle sent Wren a quick text. "So that you have my number," the brunette said.

"Alec stop!" Jace shouted. Everyone's attention seemed to divert to Jace and Alec who were in a heated argument.

Isabelle and Wren looked at each other before looking back over at the two. Wren was beginning to feel fed up with the Shadowhunter drama.

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I know it's been a while since I lasted updated. Hopefully this long chapter will make up for it lol. Please be sure to vote and leave a comment. Also, if you're interested in an Izzy fic, obuchi_m  has one called 'Alice.' She also has a bunch of other amazing books so check them out! As always, have a nice day and DO NOT COMMENT FOR ME TO UPDATE!