Jaena yawned as she rounded the corner to get to her apartment building. It’d been a long day at work, 1 of the ones where she had to redo a bunch of documents because the writers hadn’t accounted for tone or grammar, somehow. She hoped the company finally made good on its promise to pay her for the extra work she was doing…at some point. Well, until then, she had leftover pasta to look forward to, plus a cute cat & a dumb action movie she’d already seen twice.
She walked by a tall man who wore wraparound sunglasses. Sunglasses during the day either meant blind or arrogant, in her experience. She also wondered if he was from the government, because of that “incident” the week before. A ghost had been throwing a fit, so she stopped to calm them down. Apparently that ghost had been haunting the place for a while & was so emotional they’d made themselves visible—meaning people saw her talking to a ghost. She could run away from the Man in Black, but that would just make her look guilty…right?
“Uh…excuse me. Are you waiting for an Uber or something?” Jaena bit her lip, toes nervously wiggling around in her boots as she waited for the man to answer.
Things were a lot better in Ipswich than Jayn thought they would be. After the accident (explosion) she’d caused at her school, her parents had told her she was a witch and sent her to their family friends, the Danvers in Massachusetts. Jayn was not loving the autumn cold, being from California, but she did like living in a big house with a sweet guy: Caleb. (Mrs. Danvers mostly kept to herself.) And now they were going to meet his friends at a bonfire, something she’d never been to before. She didn’t understand why they were meeting at the top of a cliff, though.
“Who’s the chick?” a blonde boy asked.
“I’m Jayn. Hi.” He grinned and introduced himself as Reid, before turning things over to Tyler and Pogue. Jayn tried not to stare too much at Pogue, immediately finding him attractive.
———
Chase was just starting at Spenser Academy. Not that he cared much about his education—he already had inherited his deceased adoptive parents’ fortune when he’d turned eighteen. No, he was going there because the Sons of Ipswich would be there. He’d done his research: Caleb would be turning eighteen not long after the school year started, meaning he’d be able to will him an Ascended’s amount of Power. Until then, Chase could enjoy himself and get into his victims’ inner circle.
He hitched a ride with some guy—a guy he had to kill when he saw him use his Powers. Nosy people. Chase got down to the beach and started looking for the Sons.
It was late November in Ipswich, a week after Pogue’s birthday. Caleb & Cassia had invited Jayn & Pogue to join them on a double date. The 4 of them took Caleb's newer car to Boston, driving from his house to pick up Pogue & then Cass. Of course, Jayn moved to the back to sit with her boyfriend, while Cass sat next to Caleb as he drove them to Boston. It took 45 minutes to get from Ipswich to the much bigger city, but they'd all agreed ahead of time that it was worth it since the whole point was to spend time together anyway. That, & the 3 witches still hadn't told Cass about their magic, so teleportation wasn't an option (especially since Jayn still managed to fuck up that part of her magic). Jayn had asked Caleb when he planned to tell her, since he was sort of the coven leader (or at least the most level-headed)...& he happened to be Cass's boyfriend. He kept saying "Soon", which didn't make Jayn happy, but she understood. They all loved Cass in their own way, but who knew how she'd react to finding out that her friends were all witches?
That thought kept poking Jayn in the head on the ride to Boston, starting just after she hugged Cass & her friend got in the car. Jayn didn't keep secrets from her friends, ever, unless you counted when she didn't tell them that she was having a bad mental health day. She'd seen enough superhero & rom-com movies to know that keeping secrets from your loved ones was a bad idea. Her Ipswich friends were her found family. They made her feel more accepted & understood than she ever had. Cassia was 1 of those people, without even knowing that Jayn was a witch.
But Jayn couldn't let her guilt mess up their double date. She already had worries about Pogue breaking up with her over something she did, & on top of that, they'd all coordinated their schedules to plan a whole afternoon together, despite their extracurriculars & college classes. So she tried to make her pout turn into something less depressing, & she turned to her boyfriend, gently squeezing his hand with a sort-of smile.
Caleb was thankful for the chance to relax. Between debate, swimming, & his own classes, he was usually tired. Jayn & his mom were always taking turns checking on him, either to tell him to go to sleep or to bring him food, because he "needed to take better care of himself". He knew they were right, but he'd always been high-achieving, working hard until...well, he didn't like to think about those moments. Knowing that he was doing his best was what kept him going, & having his family behind him kept him sane. That was why he'd bought the 4-seater, using some of the money his mom had given him from the sale of the land Gorman & his dad used to live on. Initially, the thought of spending the money made him feel sick--"ill-gotten gains" & all that. But Gorman had the quarters behind the Danvers house to live in. Beyond that, Ty's Jeep couldn't fit all of their friends, since Jayn, Cass, & Aaron had joined the group. He told himself he was getting the car for all of them.
So there they were, driving up to Boston. It was probably going to rain, but not until nighttime, so Caleb wasn't worried. If anything, he was excited. Cass & Pogue didn't know that they were going to a museum--specifically, a science museum that Pogue had adored when they took a field trip there in middle school. The place had a great planetarium, which Caleb hoped Cassia would love, & Jayn tended to be curious about random facts in general. After that, the 4 of them would go to have dinner at a fancy Italian place (Italian was 1 of Jayn's favorites, & there was bound to be something spicy on the menu for Cass). Then they'd drive back to town, taking the scenic route since they weren't in a rush.
Caleb was glad he'd kissed Cass before she'd gotten in the car, because there wouldn't be any red lights to stop at for about a half hour. Still, he snuck glances at her when it was safe, unable to stop smiling. Sometimes, he forgot what the last person speaking had just said, but he managed to hold his own in the conversation. He was surprised to see Jayn looking upset in the rearview, though. He had a feeling he knew what was going through her mind, but it was probably best to let Pogue take care of her for the moment.
The last thing she remembered was the burnt-up man shooting dark tendrils at her, like an evil Spider-Man. She screamed--
Then she was in the middle of a street she didn't recognize.
"Mom? Dad?" she called out, only for a car to nearly hit her & honk until she stumbled over to the sidewalk. She fell to her knees, trembling. People started yelling at her, for her to get out of the way & she started crying.
What the fuck is going on?!
The yelling seemed to only get louder & louder, until something in her snapped. The fire hydrant a few feet away exploded, flying high into the air as water sprayed everyone in the vicinity.
She knew going in that it was going to be hard. Back when he had prowled the streets, gun owned by the Russians, “Artemis Kelly” kept her ass at least a football field away from Baba Yaga territory. But then, no one talked about him anymore—at least, not in the present tense. There wasn’t the same fear hanging in the air when someone spoke the name “John Wick”. So after she’d gotten at least fifteen years or so of experience under her belt, she went for the big one.
She couldn’t get him using a sight. His house was on flat land, with a long driveway. So she’d have to grit her teeth and take one for the team (not that she had a team to speak of).
Fuck, he was good. She’d gone at him the moment he let her in (since she needed to use the bathroom so badly), and seven minutes later she was taking cover behind his kitchen island, holding one of her last knives. Jas’s tactical gear was supposed to be hidden under a sweatshirt and loose yoga pants, but the rips in her clothes said otherwise.
And then there was the sound of tires, a quarter of a mile away. When did he have time to call in reinforcements?
It would be just her luck to be in one of the biggest cities in the US when the world ended. Everyone knew about the Colorado town that had fallen ill & then there was the chemical spill in the Mississippi, but people forgot about the 1st & of course, the government claimed to be fixing the 2nd tragedy. Next, the country fell sick. When other countries reported that their citizens were showing similar symptoms & dying, it became clear to the public that there was a problem. It was like all the other international crises: conspiracy theories, celebrities making social media posts, public service announcements...
Until certain people got powers & 75% of the world had died. All of a sudden, the global panic that already existed skyrocketed. Los Angeles definitely was impacted, seeing as how there were fires, looters & screaming everywhere. The hospitals were filled to capacity. & Jas needed food. She & her roommates had been sharing their last few snacks & bottled water (thank goodness they'd stocked up when they had), but then it turned out that Adrienne had been sneaking out to see her boyfriend (despite their quarantine agreement). Suddenly she was sick. Nancy followed soon after, since they shared a room. Jas tried her best to stay in her room, unable to fly out to see her parents (not like LAX would be safe anyway). Two days later, she realized she was hydrokinetic when she took a shower.
Anyway, Jas had packed a backpack with bottled water, a small First Aid kit, two books, a handheld notepad, all the cash she had left & her phone charger (actual cellphone held in her sweatshirt pocket). She had read about some kind of government or volunteer (unclear which) convoy going around, trying to help survivors by providing clean water, transportation & food. It was supposed to be going through the city, a 20-minute drive from her apartment.
Well, after getting into a car crash that sprained her non-dominant wrist, she had to walk alongside the freeway. She ended up in whatever area, tired but proud of herself. & all of a sudden, someone was poking a switchblade in her face, demanding her stuff. Jas froze, tears streaming down her cheeks as she quietly pleaded with them. Her powers couldn't help her; what were a few tears supposed to do?
Jas was used to the subtle rush of confidence & determination (no, not adrenaline, that wore off too quickly & was therefore unreliable) thrumming under her skin. She had yet another job to execute & another target to take down. But she had to find him first. Thankfully, Valentine Morgenstern (who she’d stab in the back as soon as he paid her) had given her an excellent description of Jace Herondale. On top of that, Jace was famous for having helped rediscover the Mortal Cup, so everyone knew which house he was living in. It wasn’t hard for her to catch him on the street by himself.
“You’re not from around here. I’d remember if I’d seen you before,” she told him, a flirtatious smile on her face, “I’m Jasmine Silverhand, but I go by Jas. Jas, not Jaz. What do I call you?” Lying & acting were things she was used to. She was just afraid that the glamour hiding her demonic runes & her color-changing hair might wear off in front of someone.
Cathan had just finished a boring meeting with a few members of the Clave (the Shadowhunter government). He knew that he was in the city to negotiate a temporary truce between the Seelie & the Nephilim, but he was used to trips outside the Fey-world being fun. On occasion, he & some other fey would go into human clubs, smiling, drinking & dancing. They used glamours to hide any inhuman characteristics. People always found him to be handsome & charming, so it was weird, sitting in a room full of stoic Shadowhunters. He was glad to meet everyone he'd be dealing with, but he also craved adventure, sex & a good laugh.
Steps outside of the embassy, Cathan did a few simple stretches, since he was feeling stiff. He easily caught the attention of two women who were passing by & his wink made them giggle. Maybe his time in Alicante wouldn't be so bad, after all, he decided. He heard the doors creak behind him, opening to reveal another person. On impulse, he turned to see who it was.
