Chapter 10 – There is Fire

Weeks had come and gone. Alec and Jace were currently sitting in the training room with a trainer looking at their form. Both were responsible for learning the others moves, to mimic them. It was the only way they would be able to fight together. Both knew better then that though. Jace knew Alec's style of fighting complimented his. Where Alec lacked in offensive skills, Jace lacked in defensive skills. This made them nearly invincible. Nearly. The trainer levelled his eyes to Jace who had whirled to the right instead of the left and clacked blades with Alec.

"If you would stop trying to be aggressive, and instead learn to fight with each other this would go smoother." The trainer's voice echoed through the space.

"I don't know why we have to fight the way you want us to. Until you showed up we fought together just fine." Jace said tonelessly.

Alec just stood there and waited. This was now normal. They would practice a move, the trainer would bark orders, tell them they were doing it wrong, Jace would respond. Then it would start all over again.

"I doubt you fought very productively from the looks of it" he sneered.

Alec felt like his blood was going to boil. He could insult them as individuals, it didn't matter to him. But to insult the way they were with each other was going beyond what was necessary. Reaching into his leather strapping around his waist he quickly plucked a knife out of its loop and flicked it across the room toward the trainer.

"What a pitty. I missed" Alec reflected. He landed the bullseye on the target behind the trainer. "I guess my aim was a little off." He picked out the twin blade from Jace's belt and examined it thoughtfully. "I could try again. I do need to practice my knife skills"

This was the last time they would have to bare being interviewed by officials. It was started to bother Jace. He knew what he had agreed to. It wasn't something taken lightly. To let someone into his life was one thing, but to agree to be a parabatai was something different. If Alec hadn't asked him soon, he was going to have to do it. Jace knew it took a lot out of Alec to ask that question. Alec was always up for giving straight forward honest answers but when it came to emotions he kept them hidden well. The only ones who seemed to get them freely was Isabelle and Jace. With a tap on the desk Jace looked up. He had drifted off as the Official rambled on. Apparently he was suppose to be paying attention. Alec would fill him in later if he asked.

"At 4:00pm precisely you and your families – I mean – family will go through the portal and be greeted by someone from the council and they will lead you two to the dressing rooms and the ceremony will begin promptly at 5:00pm." With that the Official left the meeting room swiftly leaving the two boys to themselves.

"Well that was a dreadful meeting" Jace spoke first with a slight glint in his eye.

"Not really. He was just making sure we understood completely before tomorrow. Plus he had to give us the final bit of instructions. I wonder what it will feel like to wear the robes of the Clave." Alec's voice had taken on a pensive tone.

"Full of grandeur" Jace looked sideways at Alec "Though they won't be the ones we wear. Ours will be slightly different." Turning his full body toward his brother "Are you ready for this?"

"Since the first day I met you" Alec said without thinking. He looked at Jace "Are you ok with this? I don't need to you to do this if its something you don't want to do"

Jace scoffed at the remark "I would never tie myself to someone so permanently if I wasn't sure."

There were no mirrors in the room where Alec stood. Just furnishings that spoke of the older grandeur the Guard held. He stood awkwardly in the center of the room. He stared down at the leather boots he grabbed. They were greying already, and showed a years worth of damage. The gear he was instructed to wear was a light weight black leather. Soft to the touch yet new. He discarded his older gear with a heavy heart. His father had given him that gift in honour of his first hunt. With expert fingers he started to put the new gear on. It was much lighter then he expected. With each buckle and loop he felt more like he was worth being paired to Jace. That maybe his dull star could possibly shine only half as bright as Jace's. He looked around and stepped back. A figure was standing in the shadows, or maybe a part of the shadow Alec wasn't quite sure.

The figure stepped out, it was a member of the Council flanked on his right by a Silent Brother in his parchment coloured robes. The hair on Alec's arm's stood on end. In the hands of the council member was a black robe with silver runes lining the cuffs and seams of the robe. The black robe had a fluid motion to it that was unearthly.

Alexander Lightwood a calm toneless voice spoke in his head you wear the gear of a Shadowhunter. The runes upon your skin speak of our heavenly charge. You have fought valiantly with honour. The vesture you are to adorn speaks of the bond you share with another soul. Do you take this honour willing?

"Yes. Upon my heart I take these vestments willingly" Alec said, though the words sounded foreign to him. No one talked like that any more, he thought, it must be the settings that had him speaking so weird.

The Silent Brother nodded to the man to his left. The council member pulled the cloak over Alec's shoulders carefully. He smoothed out any wrinkles in the fabric and moved to button the front of the cloak.

Jace had sat himself in a chair that was a little too short for his gangly legs. He could feel his nerves on edge. With his new gear on he looked at his clothing. He had never had something so new. The leather may not have creaked but it showed no signs of ever being used. He twirled a lose thread from the chair he sat on between his fingers as the only door in the room swung open soundlessly. A male council member had walked in with a silent grace followed by a figure that almost glided as it walked. Without having to identify what was behind the man Jace knew but the prickle of the hairs standing on end on the back of his neck. A Silent Brother.

Jonathan Wayland you wear the gear of a Shadowhunter. The runes upon your skin speak of our heavenly charge. You have fought valiantly with honour. The vesture you are to adorn speaks of the bond you share with another soul. Do you take this honour willing?

"I will adorn these vestments with honour." Jace said proudly placing his left fist on his heart

The doors to the side of the Gard opened up. Jace and Alec came out into the extensive room. Neither boy had ever seen the inside of the hall. They looked around in wonder. Surrounding them was the Council and their family. All looking at them with wide eyes. Max was the only one who wasn't present. He was being watched by Hodge at the Institute. Though, strictly speaking, that since they weren't 18 yet they weren't even suppose to be here, but this was always the exception, but Max had been forbidden to come. Both boys came through to the center of the room with grace. The Silent brothers stopped them and walked in front. Pulling their stele's out both brothers etched runes on the floor and then a circle around it.

Please step into the circle. Two voices resonated in their heads in perfect unison. The circles flared up in flame when they stepped in. Jace and Alec reached inside the pocket of their cloaks and produced their stele's. The Consul stepped forward. With the grace of an angel he walked up to the rings of fire and looked at the witnesses surrounding them.

"Though we witness very few of these as the years progress, the honour that comes with this is at the core of our laws. To tie ones self to another is the greatest gift of all." The Consuls booming voice filled the hall. He turned his attention to the boys in the flames. "Upon the oath you will take upon the name of Raziel himself your hearts will beat as one. No time shall tear your bond apart. You will be as brothers." A loud silence followed. "Step forth and swear the oath"

Jace stepped forward first. The ring followed him. His steps forward not only brought him closer to Alec, but it showed his love for the other boy. The friendship they shared paled in comparison to the feeling he had. His steps indicated he had chosen Alec, not the other way around. Never turning his eyes from Alec he repeated the oath

"Whither thou goest, I will go;
Where thou diest, will I die
And there will I be buried:
The Angel do so to me, and more also,
If aught but death part thee and me."

When Jace had finished Alec took Jace's left hand in his own and repeated the oath. Even before the oat was finished being spoken the hum that had sat in Alec's chest for over three years suddenly vanished, and was replaced by a string that now tied his own fate to his friends.

The Consul spoke again in his deep voice "Put upon thy brother the mark of the parabatai Jonathan Wayland"

Alec undid the top button of the cloak and his button down black shirt he had worn. They had decided where they would put the marks. Jace held his stele in his left hand and it flared to life as he moved with sweeping motions right above Alec's heart. Jace pulled away when it was finished.

The string that Alec had felt wrapping around his heart pulled tighter, but felt hollow. The other half was missing Alec realized. Jace pulled his sleeve up on the cloak and smiled.

"Put upon thy brother the mark of the parabatai Alexander Lightwood" The Consul instructed.

Alec moved along Jace's shoulder with subtle movements. As he connected the last line on the rune he didn't feel hollow. Jace looked at him and gasped. His heart had never felt whole since his father had been killed, like something was missing. When Alec pulled his stele away he felt his heart beat right for the first time in three years. The single ring of fire died down as the boys embraced.

"Brother Enoch, Brother Zachariah please escort these two to the chamber so they may celebrate alone" The Consul proclaimed upon the few cheers coming from the small crowd in the front row that was their family.

Congratulations Mr. Lightwood and Mr. Wayland. The bond you two have forged even before this day would rival even the strongest of parabatai. Though Jace couldn't explain why he knew whose voice spoke in his head.