38) Don't Leave

Jace hadn't slept, hadn't eaten, hadn't spoken to anyone except Alice, hadn't left Alice's side except once. It had been two weeks since the war and Alice died. The clave has congratulated everyone in the institute, they didn't even say anything about Alice. They didn't know about her. That was the first and last time that Jace left his sisters side. That was a few days ago.

"How can they not even know you Alice?" Jace asked stroking her cold expressionless face. "We only won the war because of you." The memory of few days ago just rose to the front of his mind; the first time he left her alone, the first time he spoke to anyone other than Alice.

"Jace, come on, you are being summoned by the Clave you cannot keep them waiting." His mother called for him. Jace didn't move, he has been severely depressed since Alice's passing. Maryse opened Alice's door, "Jace, you can come straight back to the room when they are gone, they want to congratulate us all."

Jace reluctantly stood up, kissed Alice's forehead, moving a strand of hair that fell out of place to behind her ear. "I will not be gone long sis. I know you can hear me, please wake up soon, I miss you so much."

Jace followed his mother to the library, everyone was already there. The member of the clave looked at him, giving him an odd look which he didn't even register.

"Is that everyone Maryse?" One of the Clave spoke to Maryse.

"Yes." Was all Maryse replied.

"We just want to congratulate each and every one of you for taking out the enemy, Valentine Morgenstern. I am disappointed that we were not informed of the matter. There would normally be severe punishment for going on such a large mission without informing the Clave, but since there was no one injured at all, which I must say is very impressive, then there will be no punishment." The clave member spoke.

Everyone except the Clave gave Jace a glance, they could see he was going to burst, and they were not wrong, "No one got injured? At all? My sister won't wake up! My sister is laying in her bed not breathing! You say none of got hurt, we did! My sister…my sister saved us! We would have been dead if it wasn't for her, it should have been my body on that bed but no it's hers! You should not be congratulating us; you should be finding a way to wake up my sister!" Jace yelled with anger, his hands in fists which were trembling with anger.

"Your sister? Who might that be?" The clave replied calmly.

"Alessandra Sh-Herondale!" Jace replied, he very nearly said her angelic name.

"There are no records of an Alessandra Herondale." The clave spoke.

"Of course not! she was hidden! Hidden away from Valentine! Her…our father died protecting her! He had to forget her to keep her safe! Of course there are no records because all she ever done was save our asses over and over and no one gave her any credit!" He yelled, then walked out slamming the door.

He heard Maryse apologising explaining how hard of a time he was having, but he stormed back to Alice's room.

Jace was brought back to the present time by a knock on Alice's door. "Jace? I was wondering if you wanted to train some?"

Clary's voice says from behind the door, Jace sighed softly, she seemed to be the only one that knew he didn't want to eat or sleep so she always asked if he wanted to do other things, "No, I want to stay here. I want to be here when Alice wakes up."

Clary opens the door a little, "We can leave a note, come on, you can take some of your anger out on me."

Jace looked at her, Maybe I do need to let some of my anger out. He sighs deeply in defeat. "Fine…Fine I'll train but not long ok? I don't want to leave her alone for long."

She gave a little smile, "Ok great, I'll leave you to get ready, I know you're going to train and get sweaty again, but you really need a shower."

Jace looked down at himself, and let a stifle chuckle leave him, "Yeah, I guess." He kissed Alice's forehead, "I'm just going to train with Clary, ok? I have not abandoned you, I know will come back to me." He says to her, Clary was listening, her heart was breaking, she was hoping and praying that Jace was right, for everyone's sake but mostly for Jace's. Nothing was the same since she left.

Jace left Alice's room and walked into his own which was just opposite, he hadn't been in this room since the talk him and Alice had before war. That last time he was in this room he made his sister so angry, that she walked out slamming the door behind her.

Jace shook the memory away, he grabbed some fresh training clothes then took a quick shower, he had to admit he stunk so bad. Once he finished he got dressed into his black training armour then grabbed his stele, he didn't know why but he just did. Then he walked to the training room. Luckily he didn't pass anyone whilst he was walking.

When he got in the room Clary was there, training by herself with a bow and arrow, hitting the centre of the target every time. Clary frowns deeply. Jace wondered why. "Clary, what's wrong?"

Clary answers without turning away, "I…I think your right about Alice."

Jace's eyes widen, then he was suddenly in front of Clary. "What? You believe me? That she isn't dead?" There was so much hope in his voice.

Clary nods, then explains, "If Alice was dead, then the bond between us would be gone to, right? Before Alice bonded with me, when could I ever hit the centre of the target? With any weapon? Now watch."

Clary picks up four daggers, throws them one after another, after another. Each one of them landed in the centre target. Jace raises his eyebrows impressed. "You think Alice could do that? So she passing it onto you?"

She nods, "Alec says he used to hold his breath when aiming with his bow, now he inhales then releases the arrow when he exhales. Izzy still has her perfect stance, on the balls of her feet. Come on, you can't think none of this is odd. All of us bonded with Alice, she made us better fighters, better shadowhunters. I can still sense so much better, and with a bond, don't you feel empty when the other person dies? But I don't feel empty, neither does Izzy or Alec and clearly you don't feel empty, that means Alice is still alive, she must have done something whilst she was fighting, that or Valentine must have had something on that seraph blade."

Jace looks at her with surprised eyes, "None of you gave up on her? I…I thought you all just thought she was dead and you all gave up on her."

Clary smiles a little shaking her head, "No, we haven't, we have been going through the books to see what we can find, Magnus is going through his magic books, we couldn't just sit around and do nothing. We have no idea what is going on, what she could be going through."

Alice is fighting her way through demons like she has done for months, how many months? 11 and half…nearly a year. She hasn't had a rest in those months, she has had to keep re-activating the runes to keep herself awake and hydrated. She has no idea how many demons she has killed, hundred? Thousands? Anyone's guess is as good as hers. She had no time to think about her loved ones, not anymore, the only thing she could concentrate on was survival.

Just need to portal, come on Alice, there must be somewhere in this god forsaken place where I can portal without bringing hundreds of demons with me. She thinks to herself.

Don't be stupid, you have been through this whole place like 50 times, if there was a place then you would have found it by now! A different voice in her head spoke.

Shut up! I am not giving up! She replied to the darkness in her mind.

Maybe you should, you have done your mission, it was the first thing you done when you got to the Arena, you injured Valentine enough so the demons could torture him. The other voice in her mind replied.

Damn it I haven't checked on him for a while. Alice fights her way through the imps and the hell hounds, back through to the torture chamber. As per the Stilio's were guarding the chambers.

Alice rolls her eyes, ugh killed these stupid Stilio's so many times, I am sure that there cannot be many left in this hell hole. With the Stilio's scurrying towards her, she slices each and every one of them in half. Alice shivered even though it was boiling.

What don't like spiders? The voice in her head joked.

No, it has happened a few times, feels like someone is touching me or walking by me or…I don't know it's stupid, let's just check on the prisoner. Alice replied to the voice in her head. She kicks the door down; Valentine was screaming in pain as the demons where torturing him the exact way that Jonathan tortured her, Burning his insides. Alice flinches a little. She walks behind the Eidolon, stabbing him several times.

Valentine looks at her in relief, "Oh Alice, thank you so much. Have you come to save me?"

Alice rolls her eyes, Delirious. "No, but I am here to end your misery." She moves her blade over his chest.

"No…no!" Valentine shouted but Alice slammed her blade into his chest.

The voice in her mind spoke, eventually why didn't you do that in the first place?

Alice thought back to when she first arrived.

She was fighting Valentine, her senses were perfect she knew he was running towards her, she knew she couldn't die of his blade. Someone peculiar happened though when he plunged his sword into her check. He ripped her soul out of her body. There was something on that blade that caused the soul to be torn out the body.

Since that sort of soul is classed as a tormented soul it automatically goes to the Arena where it cannot escape.

Alice was fighting hard, for about half an hour when Valentine appeared. She was so angry about what Valentine did to her, she walked towards him and sliced and chopped him all over, he lost a hand out of her anger. She wanted him to feel what she felt when she was younger so she just walked away, the demons taking him because he was the weak one and easier one to take.

Ever since that day, the demons have been trying to capture Alice, but they have failed, every now and then she got seriously hurt, she knew anything that happened to her here would happen to her real body so she always quickly healed herself before anyone around her real body notice her. She couldn't let any torture happen to her, Jace could be waiting for her to wake up. That an only that is what has driven her to stay strong.

The voice in her head seemed to understand now, Oh, so you used Valentine as bait? So that it would distract some of the demons? Anyways I thought you never thought of Jace.

Alice groaned softly, she hadn't in fact been thinking of Jace, it was too hard for her, he would think that she was dead, there was no soul in her body, her body would just be lifeless and dead. "I hope he hasn't given up on me." She whispers to herself.

That was when she realised something, there were no demons in this room, she looked at the door she kicked down, she looked at the demons making their way to her. She picks the iron door up and pushed it to the door frame using the lock rune. The door stays bolted into place. Alice runs to a wall, she draws a portal on the wall, walking through it, just as the door caved in. Alice quickly tries to close the portal, but she couldn't close it in time for several demons to escape.

Well could have been worse. She thought. Rather than killing the demons like she probably should have, she looked around to see where she was. "Defiantly in New York." She spoke, though no one around her could hear or see her. After all she is just a lost soul.

Alice looked around until she started seeing things that she recognised. Then she ran towards to institute running through building and cars and anything else to get to her body.

Without training Clary and Jace, gathered the Lightwood siblings and Magnus in Alice's room. "So you all really believe that Alice is still with us?"

They all nod and Magnus talks, "With this bond we can all feel Alice, whether we know it or not. We feel her power run through our body, it isn't enough power to hurt us but enough just to let us know that she is still here watching over us. Right now she isn't watching over us but we need to watch over her. Just before you summoned me to this meeting I think I found out what happened."

Everyone snaps their attention to him, "What?" they all say in unison.

Magnus open his book, "I think her soul was torn out of her body, the blade itself couldn't have done it, which means there was something on that blade that caused the soul to tear from her body."

Jace looked full of hope, "So she is just lost? We just need to wait till she finds her way?"

Magnus sighs deeply, his eyes pained and full of worry, he gulps before speaking, "She…her soul was torn from her body, she didn't give it up willingly, which means it is classed as a tormented soul." Was all he explained, he expected them to know what that meant, but they all just gave him a blank look. He sighed deeply, "Tormented souls automatically end up in…in the Arena."

Jace sucked in air from shock, "No…not that place, it's been two weeks, more than a week longer than you were in. we have to get her out, you have to open a portal or something."

Magnus shook his head, "No…I can't…I promised Alice I wouldn't."

"She saved your life and you won't save hers before you-" Jace started shouting until his attention was caught on Alice, who's upper half of the body flew into a sitting position with a gasp for air before flopping back to the bed. Jace moved to her side taking her hand, "Alice! Alice is that you coming home? Don't leave me. Please stay with me!" He asks. That was when he heard a voice he never thought he'd hear again.

"Jace?" her voice crocked, her eyes few opened, all that was showing was fear, torment, anger, pain and horror.

"Someone get some water please." Jace asked politely but with urgency, Alec moves quickly and only a minute later comes back with a glass of water. "I'm going to sit you up a little ok?" Alice nods as Jace slips his arm around her waist to sit her up, then hands her the cup. She gulps the water down.

Alice looked at Jace, though the same eyes she woke up with, "It's…it's been a year. You…you haven't change at all."

Jace frowned, "A year? No Alice, it's only been two weeks."

Alice coughs a little, and then nods, "I have been fighting demons for a year, I haven't had a rest I…" Suddenly all the pain that she endured when she was in the Arena came over her.

She curled up and screamed all the wounds she thought she had healed in the Arena show on her body.

"Jace! Help me!" She screams through her pain.