Distractions - Chapter 7: Chapter 7

When she woke up, it was not to a pounding headache as she had expected. Instead, it was to soft classical music playing and the feeling of crushed velvet under her bare shoulders. She shivered slightly as she sat up, waiting for the unbearable pain that never came. She stared around the room in awe; it was gorgeous. There were red velvet couches, black tables, and gold knick-knacks lining the empty shelves on the walls. She tried to stand, but someone she hadn't seen before rushed over to her side and pushed her back down gently.
"Sit, Escritora. You'll hurt yourself if you do not," a gentle, slightly accented voice told her.
Everest looked up, shock and disbelief written plainly across her features. The voice belonged to a boy, who looked around her age, with curly black hair and amber colored skin. His eyes shone with care and love, though there was some regret intertwined within. She knew this boy, had known him almost as long as she had known Isabelle. She knew how and when his accent got stronger, when the gentle voice he used now went away and was replaced with a cold one that was almost unrecognizable to the voice she knew so well. Everest knew who this boy was, personality, looks, habits, and all. It was Raphael Santiago; the boy who had been taken from her all those years ago by the strange woman in the alleyway and the one she called her brother.
"Raphael..." she breathed, not entirely believing the sight in front of her. She had dreamed and imagined being reunited with him before, but never had she ever truly thought it would happen.
"Escritora...Everest." Raphael smiled at her sadly.
"How—what—why—I don't get it!" Everest cried out. Her arms wrapped around her stomach and she pulled her legs to her chest. She laid her head on her knees, barely noticing the cold hands on her upper arms.
"Everest, I need you to calm down for me alright? I'll explain everything, you just have to let go of your stomach and put your legs down," Raphael coaxed her.
It took a few minutes, but the girl did as he asked. She looked up at him, her jade colored eyes shining with unshed tears and her hair nearly entirely out of her French braids. It made for a truly pitiful sight, she was sure.
Raphael just smiled sadly at her again, pulling her into his arms tightly. He whispered sweet nothings into her ear to calm her down, just as he did when she was little. And just as it did then, it calmed her within moments, the familiar voice making her feel safe. She pulled away slightly, just enough that she could look at his face, and he looked down at her too. He didn't look her directly in the eyes, for which she was grateful, but he still gave her his undivided attention.
"Would you like me to explain what happened that night?" he asked her quietly. All she did was nod.
"The first thing you should know is that I'm a vampire." Raphael waited for the gasp of surprise, the rejection, but he needn't have worry. Everest just nodded for him to continue, knowing that he'd explain more if she didn't interrupt. "I was turned when I was young, nearly 16, but because of how I dress, act, and speak, I'm able to pass as 18 if I need to. When I met you when you were 7, I had no idea who you were. You had strawberry blonde hair with bright pink ends and you hardly looked like Jocelyn Fairchild.
"As I got to know you, you wormed your way to a special place in my heart; one only my family had gotten to before. Once I learned of your heritage, I was put off yes, but that didn't stop me from being close with you. You were raised a mundane, with no knowledge of the Downworld or of your own kind. You didn't even know your best friend was a Shadowhunter."
"Yeah, that was a surprise," Everest muttered. Raphael laughed, his chest rumbling with the action.
"I bet it was." His laughter slowed as he continued with his story. "That night in the alleyway was one of the worst nights of my life. Camille, the clan leader, despised that I was interacting with the mundane world so much. So she followed me that night. I'm sure you know the rest."
"Yeah, I do." Everest said softly. "Do you want to know what happened after you left?"
Raphael simply nodded, and the purple haired girl hoped nothing bad would come from telling him what happened.
"After you left, she properly tied me to the chair before breaking my leg and leaving. I ended up having to knock on one of the restaurant's back doors to get help since I didn't have my phone with me." Everest looked up and saw a sight she had seen only twice; Raphael was near crying.
She reached up and wiped his tears, him doing the same for her. "Hey," she told him gently. "I don't blame you. Never have, never will. So don't you dare blame yourself Raphael Santiago."
The dark haired boy smiled softly at her as a phone rang. He answered with a roll of his eyes and once he hung up, he snarled softly. He turned to the purple haired girl on the couch with an apologetic smile on his face.
"I have to deal with your mundane friend, but I can't leave you here alone so you have to go with me."
Everest snorted softly. "What'd Rat Boy do?"
Raphael laughed at the nickname, but didn't respond. He just pulled her up gently and handed her her gun and extra bullets along with her jacket. She blinked in surprise. She hadn't noticed they were on the table. She clipped them on, covering them with her jacket, and soon enough the duo were on their way to wherever Simon was. They gained looks along the way, though they could have been because Raphael had a protective arm wrapped around her waist that was under the guise of making sure she didn't fall. Everest had just rolled her eyes and gone along with it.
They went through a pair of heavy doors and were greeted with a pacing Simon. The room they were in wasn't all that different from the previous. The difference was that the couches were a gold color and there were more antiques on display.
Simon stopped pacing and stared at the arm around her waist when he noticed her. His eyes narrowed and he dashed forward. Everest was pulled away from Raphael and into Simon's arms. She saw how Raphael's eyes narrowed in suspicion, but she smiled at him lightly.
"Are you alright? Why was his arm around you? Did he do anything?" the mousy haired boy demanded.
"I'm alright Simon, Raphael didn't do anything to me. He was just making sure I didn't fall down," Everest reassured the boy. But, despite her words, Simon still glared at the other boy, just as Raphael returned the glare.
Everest removed herself from the boy's arms and walked to the couch. She could feel two sets of eyes on her, but ignored them. 'Overprotective brothers never change', she mused. She laid down, one arm over her stomach, the other over her eyes, as she ignored the bickering between her brother figures.
She didn't look up until she heard the whoosh of something flying through the air and the tearing of fabric. She shot up, eyes wide. She stared in disbelief between the dagger sticking out of Raphael's chest and Simon's outstretched hand. What the hell? She had so many questions, but had no words to express them.
"Oh please. Honestly, I just got this jacket." Raphael sighed as he took out the dagger. "There's no way out. You're a hostage, just accept it. Everest has."
"Who said I'm a hostage?" Everest demanded.
"Escritora, you were kidnapped by my clan and are being held here until we get what we want. You're a hostage." Raphael gave her an amused smirk when she just shrugged in acceptance.
"Well then, I'm a hostage. Can I have Skittles or coffee?" Raphael facepalmed and Everest laughed.
"I'm a hostage? That means you won't kill me right?" Simon burst out, hope mixed with confusion written across his face.
The doors opened again and this time a woman in a lacy black dress walked in. Her dark hair was curled and pinned in a way that reminded Everest of a modern take on the Victorian era and her lips were painted blood red. 'Fitting', she mused silently.
"Won't kill you? Who said that? Raphael? Oh look. How sweet. You're bleeding." Camille touched her finger to Simon's forehead and licked the blood that came off. "I am so looking forward to getting to know you," she purred.
Everest looked to Raphael who looked disgusted. She wrinkled her nose at him, subtly motioning towards the pair in the center of the room. He nodded slightly and the purple haired girl resigned herself to having to deal with more embarrassing scenes happening in front of her.
Simon started pacing again, though he was rambling this time. "I hate throwing things. I don't-I literally hate throwing things. Even at my own Bar Mitzvah, I wouldn't throw spitballs at a gray table. I mean... I would never throw things, honest to God! Oh, God. You guys can't say God, right?"
Everest face palmed as he made assumptions. She looked towards the vampires. Even Camille looked annoyed at that point.
"For God's sake, what are you trying to say?" Raphael glared at the boy with an expression that conveyed more annoyance than Everest had ever seen anyone ever convey.
"I didn't—I didn't mean to throw that thing." Simon looked well and truly panicked now.
Everest snorted quietly, but it drew everyone's attention to her. "Yeah, yeah you did Rat Boy. You picked it up, you made the decision, you threw the dagger. Simple as that." Simon glared at the girl.
"That's what makes you so amusing," Camille drawled, looking between the two hostages. "You threw the dagger at Raphael, and you—" she pointed a red nail at Everest. "—are so intriguing. You've been friends with Downworlders and Shadowhunters since you were a child, yet you knew nothing of this world. You do not panic when you are held hostage by vampires, in fact you seem to enjoy it. You are a puzzle, Everest Fairchild."
Everest blinked at the woman. She sure knew a lot about her childhood. "And you broke my leg." 'And there's my impulsiveness coming through', Everest groaned silently. Judging by the looks on her brother figures' faces, they had similar thoughts.
But, Camille just shrugged and Raphael spoke up. "I don't find any of this amusing."
"Me neither. I can't say how sorry I am. I can pay to have the whole thing—" Camille snapped her fingers and Simon froze, cutting off his rant.
"Thank you. The living are so exhausting," Raphael complained. Everest did her best not to be offended.
"But this one will be useful," Camille protested.
Before she could get sucked into another conversation with the female vampire, Everest zoned out, focusing on the details of the painting; more specifically, the ornate ruby hanging from the subject's neck. She was yanked out of her thoughts by Raphael pulling her from the room.
"I can't stand that mundane," the dark haired boy grumbled.
"Fair enough," was all she said as she was pulled back into the room she was originally in. "He gives me headaches too sometimes."
At the mention of a headache, Raphael reached over to a side table and handed her a water bottle and a bottle of Tylenol. She smiled gratefully and curled up next to her friend, listening as he told stories about his life. Everest felt her heart swell when she saw him so happy. It had been 4 years since she had seen him, and seeing him happy made her happier and the dark box of negativities fade further back in her mind.
Alec POV:
"Izzy. I got your text. Where are we exactly?" Alec asked as he approached his sister.
"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 Everest and Simon." Izzy smiled proudly.
"Okay."
"Okay? It was hard work interrogating Meliorn to get this intel." Izzy gave him a look that clearly showed she was unimpressed with his response.
Alec smiled sarcastically. "Great job Izzy. You have faerie dust on your dress." He walked ahead of his sister, his smile dropping. "And I hate being the distraction."
"I don't," the brown eyed girl chirped. "You know, you'd be a lot happier if you weren't so freaking repressed."
Alec ignored her, checking another room for vampires. "Alec? Hello?"
"You're really not going to talk to me, are you?" Izzy sounded genuinely shocked.
"That's because you have no idea what you're talking about."
"But I do," Izzy told him. "You're hiding from yourself, not me. You have feelings, whether you like them or not, Alec."
Alec rolled his eyes, suppressing the thoughts of a certain purple haired girl that crossed his memory. "This is not the time or place Izzy."
"I don't know. Looks pretty smooth so far." They climbed up a ladder, entering an empty room. "This must be the way."
As his sister opened the door, a group of vampires stood, waiting to attack them. They slammed the door shut, but it wouldn't take the locking rune. So, Izzy sliced the pipe above them to make a makeshift lock. Fleetingly, Alec hoped the pipe didn't have anything running through it.
The vampires burst through the door, and together the siblings fought and killed each of them. They ran through the hotel, trying to find Jace and Clary. When they found them, they didn't just find the duo. They found the redhead being held in front of a vampire, preventing the others from killing it in fear of killing her too.
"Okay," Alec said. He aimed his bow up and shot the ceiling, allowing the sunlight to burn the vampire to dust.
They quickly finished off the rest of the vampires, the redhead looking shocked at the blade in her hands.
"I killed him," she breathed out, eyes wide.
Jace looked proud as he breathed a little heavily. "He was already dead."
Izzy stepped forward. "Plus he wanted to kill you, remember that." She turned to the blonde Shadowhunter, a proud look on her face. "She did great, right?"
"Yeah, you did. You should be proud."
"Thanks, but...it's not about me. Let's go find Everest and Simon."
Clary started walking away, the other three following. Jace and Izzy both had proud looks on their faces, but Alec was too focused on getting Everest back to focus on the redhead's ability to kill a vampire.
'She better be okay,' he thought. He blinked at the thought, not knowing where it came from. He just shook it out of his head and followed after his siblings.