Chapter 7
Alec arrived at the big white church with Simon, Jace, and Isabelle not far behind him. The church was huge, but Alec didn't have the time or attention span to take it all in, for there was but one thought in his mind, repeating it, tormenting him. Clary. My Clary.
Alec would have walked straight into the door if it wasn't for Isabelle. "Whoa, watch it." She held her arm out, stopping him, and then took out her stele. As she drew the opening rune, Jace leaned in to whisper in Alec's ear.
"She'll never forgive you after this; it's all your fault, Lightwood." His words angered him, but he held back. Alec wasn't sure how much longer he could endure Jace's hurtful words, but there was truth behind them. Every single word. If he could have gotten downstairs quicker, then this wouldn't have happened. If he had told Magnus to let him go. And Alec knew Jace was better than him, he was always more attractive, and better with words, and less awkward, and a little stronger. No matter Alec's efforts, Jace would beat him in everything.
But then Clary came, like a new light shining her way into his dark, alone little world. And he simply didn't know what he would do without her. He would probably never be able to really LIVE again. If Jace wants her, it will be over my dead body before he'll even get a chance to touch what's mine, and always will be.
"Ladies first," Simon said, motioning for Isabelle to go in. Jace couldn't help but snort, for everyone knew that even though Izzy's fashion sense and flirtatious personality said otherwise, Isabelle was the very definition of the opposite of a lady. Her expression looked pleased, and slightly flattered as she stepped inside the dark church.
Simon went in after her, and Jace followed. Alec came in last. He rushed up the chapel, knowing what he was looking for. Here. His hand felt a slight tile that popped up, and he pulled with all his might. Isabelle and Jace helped him, and Simon just stood there, utterly confused as to what they were doing. Finally, the tile gave away, and Jace reached down into the floor, and pulled out a large, old box.
Before the others could do anything, Alec rushed forward and savagely tore the chest open. Inside lay swords, daggers, vampire guns, and, much to his liking, a bow and arrows. He always preferred these, and used them whenever he was able to. He snatched up the bow and slung it around his muscular shoulder, and slipped in a sword on his belt. He took some daggers too; and a knife. Jace and Isabelle took their weapons, even though Izzy already had her whip. Alec noticed Simon, standing of in a corner, still not knowing what to do with himself. Alec walked over and handed him a vampire gun.
"Use it wisely; I'm trusting you, mundane." He said, placing it in his hand.
"Why are you being nice to me?" His brown eyes looked at Alec; there was sadness in his voice, but some sarcasm, too- which annoyed Alec greatly, wishing at the moment he could snap Simon's stupid little neck.
"I love Clary, and what's important to her is important to me. And I don't think she would want her best friend dead. But- make sure you get this in your head. I will tolerate you, but we will never, ever, be friends, do you understand?" He said, a serious voice in his words. He didn't have time to buddy up with the mundane, there was Clary, and God knows what was happening to her.
"Yes." Simon nodded.
"Good, then let's go." And the four companions walked out of the church.
"Hotel of death?" Simon said, as they neared the dreary gray building. Alec knew that's where the filthy creatures resided. A dark, sick feeling ran over the place. But there was no turning back now. He had to save Clary, no matter what.
"You can't say they don't have a sense of humor." Jace snorted.
Yeah, I'll give them the definition of fear once I'm done with those bastards. He thought.
"Hey, I think I found a way in, guys!" Isabelle was leaning over a small window that seemed to go into a basement, though nothing was visible. They walked over. "I'll go in first." And before they could say anything, she slid down into the basement. Jace went next, then Alec, and finally Simon.
Alec landed on something crunchy and gross. There was a sickening stinch as he looked around the room, and he finally realized what the were. Skulls, and bones. He wanted to be sick, but he knew he had to keep going. A trail of blood led up the steps. The worst of thoughts formed in his mind, but he pushed them away. As long as Clary's alive- No. Don't think that. Of course she's alive. If she were dead, I'd know. He touched the Lightwood ring hanging from his neck one more time for good luck, and set off as stealthily as he could up the steps. The three others followed.
Alec found himself in a strange hallway, with a gigantic drop in the middle. The hallways built a sort of square going up. He was about to start off again and then stopped dead. His heart skipped a beat and his knees shook.
There, the body tied to a post hanging from a ceiling, was Clary.
She was still alive, though she was bleeding everywhere, as though she had been stabbed an endless amount of times. Her long red curls fell over her face, her pale body limp. He rushed up and up and up; resisting the urge to scream. There was no way he could get to her. He was about to panic until he noticed a long plank of wood. Alec lifted it and started sliding across to the other side, and Izzy and Jace were helping by steadying it. Simon stood there white with fear. When the plank was secure, Alec carefully mounted it and tried not to look down as he started to wobbly make his way across to Clary.
When he finally reached her, he set to work in cutting her ropes. And when that was done, he gently lifted her in his arms, bridal style, and her head leaned across the crook of his neck. He felt her stir.
"A-Alec..." She choked out.
"Shhh… shhh… don't be scared. We're going to get you out of here." He said, rubbing his hands against her back and kissing her forehead gently.
"No, y-you shouldn't have come. It's a trap!" She said, with tears in her eyes. It hurt him just looking at her that way. He wanted to rock her back in forth in a warm embrace and kiss her over and over again until they both felt safe and secure and loved.
"Clary, I know that this most definitely is a trap. Have you underestimated me?" And for the first time she shifted her green eyes at his shoulder, noticing the elegant black bow there.
"Th-theres too many!" She said, desperation in her voice. He kissed her on the forehead one more time.
"So you do underestimate me. Then I guess I'll show you what a shadowhunter can do." He turned to Simon. "This is going to be a bloody fight, whatever you do, stay and protect Clary." And if you fail to do so, I will kill you, mundane. He added silently. The look in his blue eyes must have given it away.
"Of course." And at the very moment he finished, a vampire jumped out of the shadows, only to be slashed by Jace's blade.
"Follow me," The blonde ordered, sped off the edge of the corridor, disappearing into on of the doors. They had no choice but to follow him, and crashed through the door. The room inside was large, with tables like it was some sort of small restaurant. Alec noticed a window to the side that would lead to a terrace, which would lead to a ladder to a roof, and to the soon- rising sun. He silently noted this as their destination.
The vampires came pouring in. There were dozens of them. He saw Simon carry Clary off to the side, trying to go unnoticed. For a moment, Alec was thankful for the mundane. But that didn't last for long when the vampires let out a war cry and charged.
Alec didn't get that normal buzzing feeling he usually got when he went into battle. This time, it was a pure raging lust for blood. Fire leaped from his blue eyes and anger boiled in his chest as his hand tightened around the blade. He kept remembering Clary, and slashed violently back in forth, stabbing, slashing, stabbing, and slashing. He wasn't as elegant and swift as he usually was, and, if you truly wanted to put it into the most truthful of words, he looked like a monster. Soon, he was covered in blood. The vampires were held off for a moment, and he used it to catch his breath.
His friends looked back to him in pure terror and fear; they looked as though they didn't even know them. Their faces reflecting pure shock. The moment didn't last for long though, when the vamps kept pouring back in. Suddenly, glass shattered from a distance. A werewolf came bounding in, then another, then another. Soon the vampires were outnumbered. Alec took this opportunity and picked up Clary, sliding onto the terrace and doing his best to climb the ladder with one hand. He was almost to the top when he felt a hand grasp his ankle, and looked down to see a vampire holding on to it. He struggled and writhed and eventually made his way up onto the roof. The vampires hand met the early rays of the sun and it let out a shriek, the exposed hand turning red and bloody. He turned his attention back to Clary, who was on her knees, drifting off.
"Clary! Clary, its ok, stay with me! We'll get you home. Stay with me." And Clary nodded and closed her eyes, clearly tired, as she fell into a deep sleep into Alec's strong arms.
Clary opened her eyes, but she didn't see what she was expecting. Instead of the infirmary ceiling, a strange one stood above her and she finally realized that she was in her bedroom at the institute. She turned and saw Alec on an armchair, sleeping peacefully, his black hair falling over his eyes, his mouth slightly open. She stood up slowly. She was sore, but it wasn't as bad as she thought. There was a huge pain on her right shoulder, and she knew that was where she twisted it from fighting back the vampires when they took her. Clary figured she wouldn't be able to really move it for a while.
As Clary stood up and headed to the shower, she looked back one last time at Alec sleeping peacefully, looking like an angel in the morning sun. Then she undressed and slipped into the shower, hot water pouring down her. She scrubbed and scrubbed, trying to get all the blood and dirt and grime off of her pale body. When she reached up to wash her hair, she made a mistake of lifting her left shoulder and let out a scream. She didn't mean to, and she didn't want to. But the pain was immense.
She heard the door open and Alec come in. "Clary, are you ok?" Even though she couldn't see him clearly through the glass, she could hear that he was worried.
"I-I'm fine." She tried her best to hide it, but anyone could hear the sobs in her voice.
He snorted. "No, apparently you're not." And quick as lightning he undressed, and opened the shower door.
Clary was shocked. Her mouth hung wide open. They looked at each other up and down, slowly. She couldn't help but blush a little when her eyes swept over his "area." He walked in. "Here, I'll wash your back." She nodded, as she felt his hands run her back and go through her hair. Her heart was beating out of her chest, she was afraid he could hear it. Though his hands were rough, his touch was gentle. When he was done, he grabbed her by the waist and turned her around, kissing her neck. His lips want up to her pulse, and he sucked on it. She couldn't help but let out a shiver. Everywhere his lips left her body was like fire leaving its mark on her skin. His lips met hers and he kissed her passionately, his tongue forcing entrance into her mouth and searched violently inside it. She let out a moan and Alec became deeper with his kisses. Finally, she broke away. Confusion was in his blue eyes, and water was running off his black hair.
"Wha-"He started, but she put her finger to his lips.
"I want to wait, Alec. I'm not ready. I'm not saying that I don't want to, I'm just saying I'm not ready." They stared into each other's eyes, and finally after a long moment, Alec nodded.
"I understand. I will wait for you." He kissed her gently one more time, and then turned the shower off. They both stepped out, and dried off. "Here," He said, picking up a stele. "I'll heal your shoulder." She nodded and turned around, and felt the burning iratze on her skin. Her shoulder immediately felt better.
"After breakfast, do you want to start training?" He asked, wrapping arms around her waist and pulling her to him, embracing her from behind. She nodded, rubbing her nose with his.
"Yes." She said.
"Okay, I think we should get dressed first though…" He chuckled, his warm breath on her ear.
She laughed. "Excellent idea." Then they both slipped into their clothes and walked downstairs, not daring to let go of one another's hand.
"Is cereal ok?" He asked, pulling out two bowls.
"Yeah, its fine." She smiled. For the first time in days, everything felt so right with her and Alec, and she could now count the institute her home. My home is wherever he is. She though, as she watched the black haired boy she loved more than anyone in the whole world. As she ate her cereal, she couldn't stop looking at him. She found it adorable how he could eat like crazy; this wasn't strange, he was a teenage boy after all, shadowhunter or not.
When they put they're bowls in the sink and headed for the training room, there was one other person there that they did not expect to encounter.
Jace.
He looked vicious, sweat rolled off of him. He was shirtless, and was angrily throwing daggers at targets. He didn't even look like he was concentrating, yet every one of them found their mark. A furious scowl was over his face, as though he was angry or something. He turned.
"Enjoy your shower?" Clary stood frozen in shock. Was he watching them? Did he see that? As if reading her mind, he spoke, "Yes, I saw it." And faster than a human could move, she felt a sting across her face, and slowly realized what just happened.
Jace had slapped her.
"YOU BELONG TO ME, CLARY! I'M BETTER THAN HIM! WE ARE MEANT TO BE!" He shouted, and that was when Alec stepped in.
"IF YOU EVER TOUCH HER AGAIN, YOU WILL BE SORRY AS HELL!" And then it seemed as though something in Jace snapped, for he sprang onto Alec and let out a series of punches to the face, the stomach, the gut. Alec dodged this way and that, and eluded most of the blows. They rolled over on the floor.
"Stop!" Clary shouted, but her voice was lost in a stream of curses. She heard something like "YOU FUCKING SLEPT WITH HER!" and "NO I DIDN'T!" and "YES YOU DID!" then "WELL WHO CARES IF I DID SHES MINE!" the fight was serious now, Jace's nose was bleeding badly and Alec had a bruise on his jaw. Finally Alec got Jace into a headlock and shoved him on the ground. "get it through your head, she is mine, and I am hers, and it will stay like that. There is nothing you can say or do that will get in the way of our love, and if you ever touch her again, you'll get more than your nose broken." And with that he shoved Jace away. Clary watched in astonishment as she saw the blonde stagger away, most likely to the infirmary.
