Chapter 5:
Jace went upstairs to inform Hodge about this as soon as possible. He knocked on Hodge's door. Hodge opened it. Hodge looked at Jace. Before Hodge could ask, Jace spoke;
"I found out something about Mia." said Jace, breathing heavily from running.
Hodge's eyes widened in curiosity.
"Come in." he said.
Jace came in his quarters and sat on the chair opposite to Hodge.
"Tell me." said Hodge.
Jace then explained everything to Hodge. He said how Mia could die if she would keep getting physically hurt, and how her energy was draining. The brightness of her eyes and skin that started to fade. Hodge listened carefully to Jace's every word.
"Do you have any idea what she could be, Hodge?" asked Jace.
"No, I still cannot think of anything. It's very strange. But now we know that using torture, or any kind of physical violence on her should be prohibited. I will inform this to all the other members of the institute." said Hodge.
"But what should we do with her then?" asked Jace.
"We should leave her in the cellar, and make sure she does not harm herself in any way. She needs to be kept alive." said Hodge.
Jace agreed with Hodge and then departed from his room.
xxx
The next day, Jace and all the other members, including Hodge, Robert, Alec and Isabelle were having a discussion about what they should do about Mia's current situation. They all now knew about her dying state. They had been discussing for about 10 minutes, and they still didn't know what to do. An idea had popped into Alec's mind.
"I think we should call Magnus." said Alec.
Everyone looked a him.
"What do you think he will do about this?" asked Isabelle.
"I don't know, he's a warlock. I'm sure he can use his magic power to get information from her without any torture." said Alec.
"That's a brilliant idea!" exclaimed Hodge. "Why didn't I think of that before?"
"Yes, we should call him tomorrow. I hope he will answer and have time for us." said Alec.
"He will have to. It's not just about us, it's about the whole community. We all need to find out what kind of creature she is." said Jace.
"It is settled then." said Hodge. "We will call Magnus Bane tomorrow."
And with that, the discussion ended. It was 7:30pm and Jace wanted to go see Mia to make sure she was okay, to make sure she wasn't self-harming. He went downstairs this time, without any violent tools for the first time. He opened the dungeons door and walked inside. He reached her cellar, and saw her head leaning against the wall, her mouth open and eyes closed. Her wrists were handcuffed like always, and she had that flimsy nightgown on her. Jace wondered how she could sleep in such cold temperature with that on. But was she really sleeping?
He opened the locker noiselessly and knelt near her to examine her. He lightly pressed his fingertip to the pulse on her neck to make sure she was alive. He could hear her soft breath and he sighed in relief. He looked at her, and unconsciously brushed her hair away from her face. God she was beautiful, even in this state. He never paid attention to how she looked like until now. She had delicate skin, but it wasn't radiant and vibrant like before, but it looked dull, like the skin of an old weathered doll. He knew it was because of her energy draining. She looked so fragile. She looked very thin, and her collarbone was showing. He did not like this. He ran his fingers gently on her collarbone, thinking how little she got to eat in the cellar.
He then heard her gasp. He came out of his trance and realized she was now awake, looking at him in shock. He removed himself quickly from her personal space as he came back to reality. He couldn't believe how he just got himself lost in her. His composure turned back to the cold one and he looked down at her.
"I just came to check on you." he said coldly and casually.
He then quickly went out of her cellar, locked the door and then walked away.
Mia then touched on the same spot where Jace ran his fingers in perplex and wondered what was that all about.