"My Greatest Fear"

Clary was startled awake with a single image imprinted on her mind. It appeared like a bright flash forcing her eyes open. Broken from a dream about Simon calling to her for help, she had fought desperately to find him. Wanting to save him from whatever invisible hand might be holding him captive. There had been no fear, although realistically that's what Clary should have felt. Instead her mind had been focused on one purpose, getting to Simon at any cost. Any danger she might be in was secondary, for the first time in her life she had been FEARLESS!

A rune made up of simple lines each ending in curling scrolls. She knew immediately that it was her own creation.

Taking in her surroundings she realized that she was still in Jace's room. The moon was high casting dim light through the room. In the corner was Jace slumped over in a chair, looking horribly uncomfortable, but sleeping nonetheless.

She scanned the room looking desperately for something to jot down the image while it was still fresh on her mind. Damn Jace and his barren monk-like room, what kind of person doesn't even keep a pen and paper lying around. She longed for her familiar room filled with sketch pads and colored pencils of every conceivable size and color.

She swung the covers off her trying to be quite, faintly remembering how they had been placed there so gently by Jace earlier that night. Once out of bed, a sliver of metal caught her eye on the ground at Jace's feet. Yes, Jace must have let his stele slip from his belt when he fell asleep.

Snatching it up quickly she lifted the sleeve of the baggy shirt she was wearing and expertly drew a replica of the rune from her dream onto the top of her forearm. Wincing at the pain as she drew the rune, she heard Jace stir. Crap she thought, now she really would hear about it. This is probably not the smartest idea she had ever had, but really how dangerous could fearless be.

Jace looked up to see Clary standing above him with a stele in her hand as he caught the stench of burning skin. "What in the hell are you doing?!"

Clary finished without responding, then sat down on the bed feeling a little light headed.

"Clary, I said what are you doing?" Jace sprang from his seat to approach her.

"I was trying to find a pen and paper before I forgot this new rune I just dreamed about."

"So because you couldn't find one, the next best thing was your forearm and a stele. By the angel Clary! You can't just go experimenting with new runes on yourself."

All Clary saw despite his bitter tone was the concern in his eyes for her. He was standing only inches in front of her, his golden eyes and hair glistening in the moonlight. He looked like an angel all drenched in gold just having fell from God's hands to protect her.

The same sensations enveloped her that had always been present when Jace was standing this close. Fast irregular heartbeats thumped deep in her chest, along with the sensation of breathing with lungs that held no air. The only difference this time was a bravery that accompanied the heat wave that was spilling over her. Usually she was nervous and self conscious in Jace's presence, but tonight it didn't matter. She didn't care how foolish she might look or who might find out, or if he still wanted her after the way she had treated him. There was only this heighted sensation of her sudden need for him, coupled with a complete lack of fear.

It was uncontrollable, the overwhelming drive within pushing her to take charge of him and make him her own. Never in her life had she felt this kind of territorial demand over another person. Jace began to notice a change in Clary's eyes and was unsurely worried about what it meant.

"What does that rune mean?" Jace asked apprehensively.

"Fearless!"

Clary moved so quickly it nearly knocked Jace back, grabbing him and pulling him to her kissing him with a kind of self-assurance that she had never displayed openly before. The kiss was filled with pain and fury, underlain with all of the torment she had felt at holding it back.

Taken by surprise at first Jace gave in quickly, wandering internally if he might still be dreaming. He didn't care really if it was a dream. As long as her warm body was in his arms, and he could feel her soft skin, smell her floral scent. This was heaven and that was all that mattered.

When the kiss began to recede Jace pulled away slightly to look into her eyes.

"So this rune is what caused that sudden outburst?"

"Yea, I guess so. My biggest fear is not being able to be with you."

"I'm not going anywhere Clary. Not without you."

A loud noise broke the silence, like shattering glass. Jace and Clary both jumped. It was coming from the corner of the room where Jace had been sleeping. A bright light suddenly penetrated the piece of portal that was lying near the chair. The light beamed like headlights directly upward illuminating the ceiling above. It swayed with movement like a flashlight being projected through water, accompanied by a rippling noise. There was definite magic involved; it seemed to be a portal opening. Jace quickly threw Clary behind him and screamed for her to stay back.

Black smoke billowed from the light. It rose to form a large shadow that covered the whole corner of the room; then materialized into the shape of a large demon. Its eyes were white with light that drowned out any other recognizable features. Jace was defenseless, his stele was gone he looked around frantically for it. It was hard to see anything though with the demons bright eyes blinding him. The demon struck out quickly as a nightmare unfolded before Jace's eyes. Clary was backed up against the far wall of the bedroom when the demon struck out hitting her with a force field of light that lifted her off her feet and then threw her across the room. Jace screamed out Clary's name. She lay motionless in a crumpled heap on the floor as the demon's deep maniacal voice boomed in Jace's ears. "There's no use worrying about her now, it's you that your father has sent me to retrieve."

"And what if I don't want to see my father?"

"If you don't willingly come with me, then Clarissa will die."

"How do I know Clary's not already dead?"

"I guess that is a gamble that you will have to take. But I can assure you that I would not waste my bargaining tool that foolishly. She is simply unconscious for now, but that can all change very easily."

"I will come; my father needn't threaten Clary's life to accomplish that."

"Your father did not chose Clary as a threat, you did. Losing her is your greatest fear, and therefore that is what has endangered her life."

"Agramon" Jace said with disdain in his voice.

"I see my reputation precedes me, now I suggest you come with me or else I am sure that you know I am very capable of ending her life. It would be as easy as blowing out a candle, who am I to care, but I can see that you care very much."

"I will come." Jace said coldly

A ring of light shot out of Agramon, encircling Jace's body and winding itself around him multiple times to form a restraint. A blinding light erupted from the whole room forcing Clary's eyes shut as she waited for it to be over. Then opening her eyes Jace was gone along with the demon.

Clary had watched bewildered as the whole encounter unfolded before her eyes. She had been against the back wall of the bedroom when the demon's light had shot out at her. But it never penetrated. It was obstructed by what seemed like an invisible force that encompassed her like a protective bubble.

She could hear everything said but nothing Jace had said made any sense. He had called out her name and then his face shown with horror as if he had witnessed her death. But, she had been protected from the blow, could Jace not see that. She heard him ask if she was alive, and he agreed to leave willingly to spare her life. Jace had called the demon by a name, Agramon. There was one other name mentioned that sent a chill through her even now, Valentine.

Clary was almost afraid to move, afraid the invisible field that had protected her might now be holding her captive. As she reached out in front of her though there was nothing there. Nothing was the best word to describe it, the emptiness she felt inside, Jace was gone.

Just outside the door she heard someone coming. The door creaked open slowly and to her relief she saw the familiar faces of her friends. Isabelle came in first followed by Alec and Magnus. The look on Clary's face must have been one of shock because Isabelle rushed to her and began shaking her by her shoulders.

"Clary snap out of it, where's Jace? We saw a bright light in the window from outside and we rushed in as fast as we could."

Clary turned to her, the words consciously setting in as she spoke them, "there was a demon, and it took Jace, well it actually seemed like he went willingly."

"What?" they all three chided in unison.

She proceeded to tell them everything that she had overheard, including the names Agramon and Valentine.

Magnus interjected explaining that Agramon was a powerful greater demon that feeds on fear.

"Well that explains why I wasn't hurt then, Clary looked at her arm where the fearless rune was fading."

"What is that rune?" Magnus looked at Clary in disbelief.

"I created it, it means fearless. I had a dream and it just came to me, I had just applied it to my arm before the demon appeared."

"You can't just whip up a new rune child, it doesn't work like that."

"Apparently I can, that must be what the Seelie Queen meant by 'mine is the gift of words that cannot be spoken'. She was talking about runes."

They all three looked at Clary with jaws gaping open as if she were an alien.

"Well, stop looking at me like that, what in the hell are we going to do to get Jace back?"

Alec stated the obvious question that was on everyone's mind. "There are wards around the institute, how did the demon get in here?"

Clary could only speculate, "I think it came through a portal, this piece of portal Jace took from Renwicks." Clary held up the mirrored shard for them all to see.

"That would require some serious magic, but I guess anything's possible when Valentine is involved." Magnus looked off with concern.

"I guess he knew that Jace would likely keep this with him, and then he took advantage of that weakness." The thought that his own father, she stopped herself. Her own father, was capable of doing such a thing made her sick to her stomach.

Alec felt the need to explain Magnus's demeanor. "Magnus has been trying to track Valentine with the Morgenstern ring that Jace had. It hasn't been working out so well."

"I think the problem has been the fact that it was gifted to Jace, meaning it no longer belonged to Valentine. But now with any luck we can track Jace instead." Magnus held up the piece of portal to examine it, and then noticed a smear of blood on the rough edge of the mirror. "Could this be Jace's blood?"

"Yea probably, I was watching him before he fell asleep gripping it so tight that it easily could have cut him. Is that enough to track him with?"

"It's worth a try. As much as I hate to include the parental figures, we should probably contact mom and dad and then the Clave for back-up." Alec retreated to make phone calls.

Magnus groaned with displeasure, "Oh God, heaven forbid we do anything without mommy and daddy's permission."