Whoa, been a while! Sorry for the long wait on this, it was hard to continue on when I started the chapter and I only just recently got out of the rut with the pacing for it.

Chapter Six

"Welcome to the Institute."

Yu frowned up at the giant building, pausing even as Jace walked over to the giant doors that were at the front. She could've sworn a dilapidated church was in this very spot a month ago, no one going in or out at all. More than that, her heart sank at the idea of how many people would be inside once she walked through those doors. How many windows did she count just at the front? Twenty? Thirty? Too many, she decided.

Elmo tugged at his leash with a whine, desperately wanting to follow. She contemplated just letting him run after Jace and get himself lost in the Institute, but decided against it as she swallowed her fear and made her way over to the front doors. A plaque with New York Institute etched into it caught her eye as she passed the threshold.

"Nervous?" Jace teased. Yu gave him a sideways glance as she observed the pews in this front room. It looked so well kept, like someone ran through the floor with a mop twice over to keep it squeaky clean. The small lights lining the rows cast a soft blue light through the room, a warmth surrounding them and combating the outdoors' cold.

"'Nervous' is a neat, family-friendly way of putting it," Yu muttered. "How many people live here, again?"

Jace made his way over to the elevator at the back of the room. He pulled the doors open as he told her, "Theoretically, this Institute can house up to two hundred Shadowhunters."

Two hundred. How many of these people were there?

"And right now?" Yu asked.

"Four. Five, if we count you."

She pouted at him. Was it really necessary to scare her like that with the big number he pulled out of his behind? He couldn't just say four in the first place? She hoped whoever lived here were a little more straightforward than Jace was, that was for certain.

"After you," Jace said sweetly. He gestured to the elevator with an exaggerated flourish. He damn well knew he'd given her a slight scare with the answer he'd given her. Yu scrunched up her nose as she stomped past him, paying attention only to Elmo as the dog jumped at the walls of the elevator. Jace followed at her heels, sliding the grated door shut and pressing the up button on the wall. The whirring and groaning of the elevator filled the silence between them and made the trip feel all the more eternal to the teens.

When the elevator finally came to a halt, Jace opened the door again and mimicked his earlier flourish. He was much, much too excited about all this, Yu thought. She let Elmo's leash go a little slack, giving the dog more room to move around. Elmo wasted no time dragging her after him, nose glued to the floor like he was on a mission.

The empty corridor and countless doors that greeted her left a sense of foreboding in the pit of her stomach. For a big building that could house a couple hundred people at a time, it was very empty. Yu knew there weren't many people there at the moment—but it was the way the walls spoke nothing but the colour they were painted, the way that not even the interior gave away some kind of personality like the exterior did.

Empty, she repeated to herself glumly.

Jace soon overtook her and Elmo's slow pace. He adjusted one of her bags she'd packed over his shoulder, barely pausing to look back and give her one of his signature grins. "If we're careful…" he muttered, mostly to himself.

Yu watched him with furrowed brows as he peeked into each room they passed. Like he was expecting something to jump out and attack them, or that he'd be proven wrong unexpectedly by a fifth—sixth?—person in the Institute.

After ten doors of silence and Elmo tugging more and more at his leash, Yu groaned, "What are you doing?"

Jace shushed her. Yu's neck shrank into her shoulders, her eyes going wide as he let out an indignant scoff.

Eleven doors successfully checked, and then Jace turned back to her with a matter-of-fact expression. "Is it so wrong that I want to avoid Isabelle and Alec seeing you before Hodge does?"

She looked him up and down. No matter who they ran into, she was certain the goo he was still covered in from Casa de Fray would raise questions. It was amazing how little he stank, actually. Even Elmo wasn't bothered by it—not that it stopped her from making sure the border collie kept his tongue behind his teeth while the teen was drenched in the stuff. If it came from a demon, who knew what it'd do to her precious dog?

Yu settled for rolling her eyes in response. Jace took it as nothing more than exhaustion at his eccentricities, no doubt, and returned to his meticulous inspections of every room they passed. Not once did the corridor change, even as they passed rooms that were very clearly decorated and had more personality installed into them. She even lingered at what looked to be a sitting room, complete with a small fireplace and a pile of books stacked beside an armchair.

The silence was dragging on just as much as the corridor was. Not even Elmo could stand it after a while, and he whined up at Jace during an inspection of—Yu assumed—was a storage room.

"That's just Church's smell," Jace told the dog idly.

"Church?" Yu asked. Small talk breaking the silence seemed to be what Jace needed to relax, even if it wasn't by much.

He shrugged as he continued to lead her past more rooms. "A very old, very stubborn cat. To anyone who isn't me, that is," he added with a smirk.

Yu let out a sympathetic hum, her attention turning to Elmo. She ignored Jace entirely as she cooed at the dog in baby-talk, "Is okay, Moo. I'll pwotect you fwom the mean kitty."

Jace was staring at her dryly when she finally turned her attention back to him. He made no comment on her speech or even the insinuation that the cat would be a thorn in Elmo's side. Instead, he just scrunched up his face and resumed his walk.

"I think it's safe to say that Isabelle and Alec went out for a spell," he decided. Jace was abandoning his checks of every room they passed, and it definitely eased some of Yu's anxiety. "Hodge'll be good practice for how much hell they give you once you're introduced."

"Lovely," Yu groaned.

"It gets better," Jace quipped. "The whole thing with your friend and the Ravener will bring some… Well, Hodge will definitely react somehow to the news."

"Do you just make it your life mission to stress this guy out?"

Jace scoffed. "There are others I make stressed."

"Oh, no, yes—how could I forget the priceless look on whatshisname's face at Pandemonium?"

"Alec."

She knew what his name was. God forbid she be a little facetious in spite of her situation.

The idle chit chat seemed to at least make the walk go by faster. Yu hadn't even noticed some of the rooms pass them by, and she certainly hadn't seen the ornate double doors Jace stopped at before now. She was so focused on covering her anxiety with sass—well deserved, well earned sass—that for a moment she'd forgotten just where she was. For all of that short conversation, she was just giving some guy she knew a hard time while she walked Elmo.

Jace turned to her and adjusted her bag once more. Yu chewed her lip, her focus stuck on the doors and the possibility of an interrogation on the other side. What did she know about Hodge? He stressed over Jace, he demanded Yu come to the Institute once Jace's knowledge of her came to light, and… That was it. A stressed, by-the-book man, she assumed.

Well, at least she had the stress in common with him.

Jace was almost waiting for her to give him permission to knock or something. Yu squeezed her eyes shut, tightened her grip on Elmo's leash, and let out a long-winded groan.

"Do or die," she near-shouted as she slammed a hand on the doorknob and twisted it as far as it would go.

Three pairs of eyes were already watching her when the door swung open. Three rather disapproving eyes, she noted. Whatever first impression she had was ruined prematurely by her shoddy attempt at throwing caution to the wind.

Jace was just as dismayed at the people inside, but more for being proven wrong than for the looks they gave him. Isabelle and Alec were very much in the Institute, and they were very much sneering at Yu while simultaneously glaring at Jace.

"Lovely," Jace mimicked her earlier remark. He reached over, offering to take Elmo's leash, and Yu handed it to him without so much as looking his way.

The room everyone was gathered in was unmistakably the library of the Institute. The walls were practically bookshelves, and beyond the window and desk that Alec, Isabelle, and Hodge were settled near were rows more waiting for keen eyes to read their titles. Even the sight of a ladder leaning on one wall of books was enough to lift her spirits a little, but that feeling would soon vanish without a trace once she looked back over at the desk.

She made direct eye contact with Hodge, and grey eyes wasted no time halting her on the spot. Jace took a few more steps ahead of her, but stopped once he noticed her hesitance. Yu's gaze went beyond Hodge, to the chair he sat in—and on its back, nestled comfortably like the ruler of the roost, was a single raven.

Yu took in a shuddering breath and whispered to Jace, "Here's fine."

The disapproving looks turned into puzzlement, and soon everyone was looking back at Hodge—and then at the raven behind him.

Jace was the first to comment on it. "A raven is where you draw the line?"

"I've drawn many lines," Yu scoffed. "This is just the non-negotiable one that I don't have to point something sharp at yet."

"After everything—"

Hodge cleared his throat. Jace froze up, an expression Yu never thought she'd see on his face slowly making an appearance. It was the kind of expression a kid would make when they said the wrong thing in front of their parents, caught out in their scheme and unable to lie their way out of it. Or, in Jace's case, play dumb until they gave up.

He turned to look at Hodge again, forcing a neutral expression as Hodge leaned forward in his chair.

"What on earth happened to you while you were out?" Hodge's voice was stern, but it sounded much younger than his greying hairs and worry lines suggested. Jace really must've put this man through the ringer as a kid.

Jace cleared his throat and pulled Elmo closer to him. The border collie sat down obediently, and he licked his lips once he noticed the not-quite-dry goo on Jace's person. Yu watched the dog in alarm as Jace began his explanation.

It was a very abridged version of the events of the day, that was for sure. He mentioned the initial plan to just let Yu leave with the friend, then the demon attack at said friend's house. He reached for his jacket's inner pocket and pulled out the two seraph blades, handing one to Yu, and went on to talk about the Ravener. Yu interrupted him once to add, "That's why he's all gross."

"Yes," Jace groaned. "Thank you."

While they were practically at the end of the story, Isabelle still took the time to cut in and make her own accusation—one that Jace was just about to mention, no less.

"Is that a Mark on her neck?"

Alec and Hodge jumped to attention, and the raven cawed in alarm. Yu stumbled backwards, hiding behind Jace almost instinctively. Hodge was no longer as calm as before, in full panic mode as he gave Yu a once-over and ran a hand through his hair.

"Before I get the lecture of a lifetime," Jace said, hands raised placatingly. He looked over his shoulder at Yu, stepped aside so she was in full view, and asked her, "What was the name of the seraph blade again?"

And like a fool, Yu said, "Ridwan?"

The seraph blade in her hand sprang to life, a glow cast against her skin that pushed an alarmed squeak from her throat. She dropped the blade and held a hand to her chest. Hodge hadn't even said anything to her directly yet and she was already having a heart attack. Her do or die mentality was backfiring—she was far from doing and close to dying.

No one was saying anything. When Yu looked back at everyone, they were bug-eyed and watching the seraph blade like it was some kind of anomaly. As far as she knew, she was the only one allowed to have that response—these people fought with them, didn't they? Why were they shocked?

During this silence Jace took the reins again, delving deeper into his explanation. He mentioned his attempt at looking into Yu's family history, at how little he found in the way of the Shadow World. With great reluctance, he even said, "I think that Yu Ascended somehow."

Hodge gathered his bearings enough to blurt out, "The Cup—"

"Without the Cup," Jace added.

The weathered man sank back down into his seat. A dark expression clouded his face, mixing in with his exhaustion and shock. Alec glanced at him nervously, while Isabelle kept her hand over her mouth and her eyes wide on Yu.

Finally, Hodge said, "Go clean yourself up and put, ah…"

Yu looked at the floor, nervous. "Ayumu," Jace said for her.

"Put Ayumu's things and her pet in one of the rooms." He waved a hand at Alec and Isabelle, signalling for them to leave as well. "I would like to have a word with Ayumu in private."

The teens filed out one by one. Yu's heart sank as the amount of people between her and Hodge decreased, and her desire to run only intensified when Elmo—ever the loyal pup—whined and howled as Jace closed the door behind him.

Hodge was silent for the first few seconds. He didn't even look at her. He just crossed his hands under his nose and let out a long, heavy sigh at his desk. Was there anything Yu could say about the situation to make things better? To climb out of the hole that her whole week had dug for her? While she waited for Hodge to speak she reached down for the seraph blade. It was already sheathed, back to being just the small tube she'd found it as in the brownstone.

She moved to set it down on a nearby chair, but Hodge stopped her and said, "You may as well hold on to it."

She looked at him, and the clouded expression was gone. Hodge regarded her with an almost warm smile, strained but welcoming nonetheless.

"I apologise for all of this," Hodge said. Yu slowly sank into the chair she'd planned to put the seraph blade on. "Jace can be…"

She grimaced. "Yeah. He sure can," she agreed.

"How long have you been aware of the Shadow World, Ayumu?"

Yu crossed her hands over her knees. Then she uncrossed them. She wasn't sure just what she should be doing with her hands right now. "Couple weeks? Maybe?"

"And you've known Jace for…?"

"A—Around the same time. I saw him at a crossing and said I liked his tattoos, and when he followed me after he kinda stopped me from being hellhound food."

Hodge nodded, but didn't say anything. Yu panicked a little.

"I begged him not to say anything to anyone," she insisted. Hodge didn't stop nodding. "At first we were just brainstorming over some stuff, but then I got worried and just didn't want anyone to find out. And Jace didn't have to, but he did! So please don't be mad at him for not saying anything sooner."

He blinked at her. His voice was soft, diplomatic, as he said, "I understand."

More contemplative silence, and then Hodge asked her, "Do you know why you may have encountered a Ravener in your friend's home?"

Yu opened her mouth, only to close it again. That was something she didn't want to consider until now. From what she knew most demon attacks were random, but Raveners weren't random—at least according to Jace. If someone had sent a Ravener, then didn't that mean that Clary or Jocelyn had been targeted? But why, if that was the case? They were regular people, as far as she knew.

She looked down at Ridwan, remembering the blade Jace had found in the back of Jocelyn's closet. Were they as regular as she thought, though? Normal people didn't just have these in their houses. Hell, Jace made it pretty clear they were Shadowhunter-exclusive. And Jocelyn wasn't one to just pick up old items or shiny things to keep for herself. That was more Luke's thing, if only because his hobby happened to be his work.

Her shoulders sagged. Her grip on Ridwan went so slack that it almost slipped out from her fingers.

"I don't know," she said, voice quiet. She didn't want to say it as loud as one would when talking about their day or a homework assignment. It felt too intense, too conspiratory. "My friend, she's just a fifteen-year-old who loves art. She stayed away from bad crowds and the worst people she knew were some teenage boys who couldn't land a date in their lives and formed a band that had the worst names in the world. But…"

Yu lifted the hand with Ridwan, drawing Hodge's attention back to it again. "But this was in her mom's room. There was another one hidden in the closet. A—And it was her room that the demon came out of—the first one, before we went in. I can't make an assumption," she decided, "but all I know is that my friend's mother had Shadowhunter stuff in her closet and that demons attacked them specifically while I was out."

Hodge leaned back into his chair. His gaze rested on the blade before Yu lowered it again, and then he was watching her with an almost careful expression. He was gauging his response.

"There is a chance that your friend and her mother may be Shadowhunters who have evaded the Clave," he said slowly. "If this is the case, then it may help to look for them in our records. Do you know their full names? Could you write them down alongside your own?"

"My own?"

"Jace's claim was very…" He pinched the bridge of his nose. "It's an unheard of, practically impossible event. The likelihood of you being unaware of your heritage is greater."

It was the likelihood that she hoped for, but… Yu chewed her lip, teeth digging in deep as she considered the day so far. If she was from a Shadowhunter family or something, wouldn't there be something like Ridwan hiding away in her house? She was more familiar with the house than even her parents were—Yu was the one who patrolled daily the first time she'd been home alone, certain to lock every window and door and block every crevice something could sneak through. She'd hunted down Elmo trying to avoid a bath. She'd desperately looked for places to store her things when she ran out of room. She would've found something, right?

Instead of arguing this, though, Yu felt resignation wash over her. Maybe getting the records checked would help her case. Help Clary be found. If Shadowhunters could fight demons and keep an eye on the supernatural, then they'd surely be able to track down three people Yu had seen just an hour ago?

"Okay." She watched Hodge rise from his chair and fetch a pen and paper from his desk. Yu didn't waste any time writing down the names for the records: Clary Fray, Jocelyn Fray, Luke Garroway, Ayumu Burakgazi. "What happens if they aren't in the records?"

Hodge hesitated. "Then we look into other options of finding them. If demons were in their home, there's no doubt that we need to intervene," he finally said.

She was dismissed shortly after. Yu closed the door behind her, Ridwan heavy in her hand. Her chest ached. Her arms were lead. This wasn't how she imagined coming to the Institute to be—to be so draining and to leave her exhausted. Almost an hour ago she was ready to take on the world and find Clary no matter what. But now? Now it was like all that determination had been sucked from her until she was just tired, ready to collapse and hide away from the world.

As she walked back the way she'd come with Jace, following the straight corridor, she realised she hadn't even been told where her room would be. This day was just going to get better and better.