CHAPTER THIRTEEN. TRIP DOWN MEMORY BANE

"I'M NOT A VIRGIN."

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Wren rushed into Magnus Bane's apartment behind Clary and Simon, who carried an injured Luke inside. "What happened?" Magnus asked as they dragged Luke in.

"He was attacked!" Simon answered.

"He needs a warlock. He needs you," Clary told the man as Luke groaned.

"Put him here," Magnus said, motioning to the couch. Clary and Simon laid him down on the couch and Luke continued to pant. "Where are you?" Luke muttered.

"Luke..." Clary tried to calm him down.

"I can't find you," he continued and Clary began to shush him. "Where are... where are you? Where are you?" He repeated.

Wren stared down at him in concern as the man continued muttering and staring off into space. "Jocelyn! Jocelyn..." He went on. Wren furrowed her eyebrows as Clary responded.

"No, Luke, it's Clary. Can you hear me?" She said.

He finally looked at her, "Clary, listen to me. Listen... You have to listen to me. I have to tell you, just in case—"

"No, don't even say it, don't," Clary interrupted.

"No, listen to me," he pressed.

"Luke," Clary tried.

"No, you need to know! Listen..." His breathing grew heavier.

"Was he bitten by an alpha?" Magnus asked.

"Yeah, why?" Simon replied.

Magnus began counting down, "Three, two, one..."

Luke's body shot upward and he growled, his eyes glowing a vibrant green. The three jumped backwards. "Oh my God," Clary exclaimed. Luke cried out in pain and writhed around on the couch. Magnus began walking away from them.

"Where do you think you're going?" Simon questioned.

"Hold him down," Magnus replied. Wren's hands pressed firmly onto Luke's shoulder as she pushed him down.

Magnus returned with a few things in his hands. "We don't have a lot of time," he said. He placed something into Luke's mouth, the groaning man biting down onto it as Magnus pushed his jaw closed. "It'll take a few moments to take effect," he informed as Luke continued crying out.

"What's happening to him?" Clary questioned.

"Random werewolf transformation. It's a side effect of the poison in the alpha bite," Magnus responded.

Wren felt terror course through her veins as they struggled to keep him down. This was insane. As soon as Luke began to calm down, Wren released her hold on him and walked over to the table underneath the chandelier next to Magnus' kitchen. She leaned her palms against the table and took in a deep breath. This is really my life now.

She shook her head. This was all too much. It was too abnormal. She didn't want this to be her life. She didn't want this to be her new normal. She wished they never went to that stupid club in the first place. If they hadn't, then they never would've met Jace and none of this would be happening.

She pushed herself up and looked down at her hand. Traces of blood coated her skin. She tuned back into the conversation occurring when she heard Magnus' sharp voice. "The bark will stop the transformation for now, but Luke needs an antidote to stop the poison in his system. And I don't have all the ingredients here," he informed.

"Just tell me what you need and how to get it," Clary said.

"No, you stay here. Luke will need you if he wakes up," Magnus replied.

"When he wakes up," Clary shot back.

"I'll go," Simon proposed.

"I'll go," Jace said as he entered the apartment.

"Jace, what happened to you?" Magnus inquired upon seeing the blood dripping down the blond's nose.

"Luke's car may have found its way into a pole while I was stashing it. I don't do mundane driving," Jace responded.

"Yeah, apparently," Simon said. Jace picked up a napkin and began wiping the blood away.

"What do you need for the antidote?" He then asked.

"Hey, I got this," Simon interjected.

"Phoenix eyes, moon salt, and Idris fulgurite," Magnus replied upon reentering the room.

"One trip to the pharmacy, it'll take two seconds," Simon said.

"I don't think you can find those things at a pharmacy, Simon," Wren spoke for the first time since getting there.

The attention diverted to her briefly, with Magnus eyeing her as if just now noticing her presence, before shifting back to Simon who was about to leave. Jace grabbed his arm and stopped him, "I know a guy. And, uh... I don't need him."

"Too bad. You're getting me. We'll be right back," Simon said, glaring up at Jace.

"One more thing." The two stopped and looked at Magnus.

"I need Alexander," Magnus informed.

"Uh, why do you need Alec?" Jace asked.

"Virgin Shadowhunter energy," Magnus replied.

"That explains so much," Simon scoffed.

"Or, virgin mundane energy could work too," Magnus added as an afterthought, his eyes flitting over to Wren.

The blonde's eyes narrowed at the warlock and she shook her head. "I'm not a virgin," she informed. Magnus gave her a once over, tilting his head to the side before nodding.

He turned back to Jace, "Well, then I need Alexander."

"Um, Alec, yeah... I can't," Jace stammered. That was the first time Wren had ever seen Jace be anything but cocky and annoying.

Clary walked over, "Jace, just ask, please. You guys need to talk." Jace sighed and Magnus leaned into him.

"Trouble in paradise?" Magnus inquired. Jace grabbed Simon and began pulling him to the exit.

"Just don't speak to me," the blond said.

Wren watched the two leave before turning to Magnus who was stood in front of her. "Where's your bathroom?" She asked. He looked over at her, his eyes roaming her face and trailing down her body. They landed on the necklace the adorned her neck and his head tilted at the familiar crystal. Wren grew uncomfortable under his heated gaze.

"I need to wash the blood off of my hands," she continued. Magnus was snapped out of his gaze and met her eye.

"Of course, right this way." He led her through the large apartment before stopping in front of a door. He twisted the knob and pushed it open.

"Try not to get blood on anything expensive," he said before walking out and closing the door.

Wren looked around the large bathroom. How the hell was she supposed to know what was expensive and what wasn't. She used the back of her hand to turn on the faucet and pumped a shit ton of soap into her hand. She frantically scrubbed at her palms and in between her fingers. She went underneath her nails and scrubbed her hands until it hurt.

She ran her hands underneath the water and repeated the process until all of the blood was gone. Wren was breathing heavily as she stared at herself in the mirror. Her clothes and hair were disheveled, she looked exhausted, and she felt it too. She closed her eyes momentarily, trying to clear her mind of negative thoughts. When she opened them again, she splashed water onto her face and turned off the faucet.

She dried her face and hands on one of the many small towels in the bathroom before putting it in a basket marked 'Dirty Towels' before opening the door and turning off the light. She walked back out into the living room. Clary was on the ground next to Luke whilst Magnus was pouring things into a pot and stirring the mixture.

His eyes look up at her when she reentered the room. "All done I see," he noted.

"Yeah, thanks," she said. Magnus stepped away from the table and he walked over to her.

"I couldn't help but notice your necklace. Black Kyanite's an interesting choice," he said. Wren looked down at the crystal pendant that she wore before looking up at him.

"Is that what this is? I never really knew," she replied.

"I take it that you're not spiritual then," he said and she shook her head no.

"My mom kind of is. It was a gift from her. I've had it for forever. Said it would protect me. I don't really believe in all of that," Wren replied.

"Yes, protection is one of its many properties," Magnus confirmed.

Wren nodded her head, unsure as to why they were having a conversation about her necklace at a time like this. A smile graced Magnus's face and he threw his hands in the air. "Oh, my apologies. Where are my manners? We haven't been properly introduced. I'm Magnus Bane," he said, holding out a hand to her. Wren took his hand and shook it.

"Wren Holland." His smile didn't falter as he shook her hand.

"Ah, a lilting songbird," Magnus commented.

"What?" Wren asked in confusion.

"Your name means songbird or small bird," he explained.

"Right..."

Magnus released her hand a turned away, walking back over to Clary. Wren walked back over to her discarded bag and pulled out her phone, checking the time.

She, surprisingly, didn't have any missed calls or texts from her mother. She guessed it was either because she was eighteen and her mother wanted to give her some freedom or because she trusted her. Either way, she was grateful. She really didn't want to come up with a lie as to her whereabouts that day. She wasn't exactly the most skilled liar, though she had her moments.

It was getting late and she wanted nothing more than to leave. But she couldn't. She couldn't leave Clary now. Especially if Simon and Jace didn't come back in time. Clary would need her and she couldn't leave her friend alone. So, she sent her mom a text that she was staying over at Clary's again before putting her phone into her back pocket.

She took a seat at the table and rested her head in her hands. She took in a breath through her nose before releasing it through her mouth. She tuned out of the conversation Clary and Magnus were having. That is, until Clary sat down in the chair beside her, a sketchbook and pencil in hand as she waited for Magnus to begin telling her what Luke had asked him to.

"When I first heard about your father, around the time he and Jocelyn first got together, long before the Uprising and the Circle, Valentine elevated the Morgenstern name to be synonymous with virtue. And your mother was at his side. But by the time my people came to know him, barely two years later... his name had become synonymous with devastation. Your mother told me it was then she first saw the signs," he began.

Clary sketched away in the sketchbook whilst Wren watched Magnus as he spoke. He had a glass of some kind of alcohol in his hand as he looked out of one of his large windows. "They never found all the bodies. We'd all stood with the Clave for centuries," he continued.

"How could that not matter to him?" Clary asked.

"He was obsessed with ensuring purity of blood. Convinced that the impurities were a threat to peace," Magnus replied.

"He was the threat to peace," Clary muttered.

"Mad men rarely make sense. Mostly, they just hate. And he hated the Downworlders, for the gifts that we possess that he could not have. He hated us enough to kill us all," Magnus concluded.

Wren felt a shiver run down her spine. She couldn't imagine how terrified the Downworlders must have been. To have a psychopath hate them so much that he intended to kill them all. She never knew how it felt to fear for her life. But Wren was sure if she continued down the path of Shadowhunters and demons and everything in between, she would soon.

She had to get out of this world. If it was possible, she had to do it. It's not like she belonged in it. Neither did Simon. They were swept up in it now but that didn't mean they had to stay in it. It was clear that Alec didn't exactly want them around. Maybe she should grant his wish.

Clary was now standing and Magnus had taken her place at the table. He sifted through the drawings that she had drawn as she began speaking.

"Ever since my mother was kidnapped, and the Shadow World invaded my life, so many Downworlders have helped me, not even thinking about what it might cost them. How could Valentine not see good in any of them?" The redhead said.

He was blinded by his ambition," Magnus replied. Clary walked closer to him.

"Why didn't the Clave stop him?" She asked next.

"He was clever. He and his followers, they managed to convince the Clave that the Downworlders they killed on their special missions had violated the Accords in some way. Complete fabrications," Magnus explained.

"How could the Clave not see that he was lying?" Wren questioned. If the Clave was so all knowing and as high and mighty as they perceive themselves to be, how could they not know that Valentine and his followers were deceiving them?

Magnus stood up and looked at her, "Shadowhunters believe in the Law as absolute. They could never conceive of one of their own going astray."

Wren shook her head, they sounded like a bunch of ego maniacs. Wren hoped to never meet the Clave.

Clary laughed humorlessly. "My father didn't go astray, Magnus. He went insane," she said. He looked at her intensely.

"What happened back then is happening again. The Clave refuses to believe that Valentine's a threat. Nineteen years ago, their lack of vision allowed the Circle to almost decimate the entire Shadow World," he informed.

"That was the Uprising?" Clary asked.

"Yes. Valentine wanted to create a new Shadowhunter army. And for that, he needed the Mortal Cup. He knew it would be on display at the signing of the Accords as a show of the Clave's power," he began. He took a moment to take a breath before continuing.

"He seized the opportunity to accomplish everything he ever wanted. Destroy the Accords, murder Downworlders, and secure the Cup," he concluded.

"How could my mom and Luke be a part of something like this?" Clary questioned, beginning to pace.

"Jocelyn and Luke tried to prevent the Uprising. They tried to change Valentine's mind about Downworlders," Magnus defended.

"Obviously, they didn't," Clary retorted. Magnus walked over to her.

"Clary, if it wasn't for your mother and Luke, the Circle would have won," he informed.

Clary took a moment to take it all in. She allowed his words to resonate in her mind as she paced. Wren looked around the apartment tiredly. This was a lot to take in. She didn't want to know about any of it or anything about the Shadow World. The more she knew, the harder it would be to leave it all behind.

She stood up and looked at Magnus. "Is there somewhere I can go lay down for a bit? I'm a little tired," Wren asked.

He looked her over. "Yeah, I didn't want to say anything but you do look exhausted," he replied. He then motioned her to follow, "Come with me."

Wren sent Clary a smile before following behind Magnus. The two didn't say anything as he led her to one of the guest bedrooms. Wren gazed at all of the pictures and paintings and decorations that filled Magnus' walls and hallways. It was all so nice and fancy. It all seemed to fit his extravagant and flamboyant personality well.

They stopped in front of another door and he turned to her. "Here we are. Clap twice to turn the lights on and off. Rest up, you really look like you need it," he said, looking at her in distaste.

Wren's jaw locked and she plastered on a smile. "Thanks."

She watched Magnus walk back towards the living room before opening the bedroom door.

The room was very spacious. It was decorated nicely, just like the living room and hallways. There was a TV mounted on one of the walls. The room had its own bathroom and a walk in closet. Everything about it, as well as the rest of Magnus' apartment that she had seen, screamed wealth. It was like he was trying to show off. What guest needed all of this?

Wren walked over to the bed and slipped off her sneakers. She took her phone out of her pocket and placed it on the nightstand before pulling back the soft comforter and crawling into the bed. She closed her heavy eyes and clapped twice. The lights switched off and she slowly fell into a dream-filled slumber.

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