Chapter 2
"Alec… Alec, come on, this… this can't be happening…" Jace's voice trailed off brokenly as he gazed down at the nearly lifeless body in his arms, the strong Nephilim slowly becoming a soulless husk right before his eyes. Alec's empty hazel eyes roamed restlessly around the glen, settling on no one, recognizing no one. Izzy sat back on her heels beside her brothers, exhaling deeply as tears leaked out behind her tough façade, her hope fading as quickly as her brother's runes. The little group sat in stunned silence for a moment, broken only when Dot came back to herself, breaking her reverie as she moved to put her hand on Jace's shoulder.
"This isn't over, Jace, he's not finished. I can't heal him. I can't fix him- that's beyond my powers." She put up her hand to forestall Jace's protests as he looked up, tears of frustration running down his cheeks. Focusing Jace's attention back on Alec, his shallow breaths echoing in the glade, she continued, "But I can buy him some time. Time enough to get Magnus and bring him back here. That stubborn warlock and I have been friends for a long time- sometimes I think it's been too long. But in all that time, I've learned a few things about the person behind the name "Magnus Bane". I know that behind that flamboyant façade, he has the most genuine heart I could possibly imagine. I know that he wears that make-up the way you Shadowhunters wear your gear- it's his armor. And I do know that he cares, sometimes too deeply. You and he have that in common," she said with a small laugh, sobering as she looked down at Alec. "And I do know that he loves this one- in a way I've never seen him love before. That's why he isn't here right now- he loves deeply and he hurts deeply too. But he will come, I promise you. He will come if I have to make him- if I have to drag that ridiculously clad warlock here myself." As she finished, she began to rub her hands together, a hunter-green glow beginning to emanate between her palms. "But first, we have to give him some time to remember why he loves Alec so very, very much."
Izzy looked at her, puzzled. "What exactly are you doing, I thought you said you couldn't heal him, what can you do to stop the separation?"
"I'm not stopping the separation," replied the warlock, "I'm stopping time- for those two, anyway." She indicated the two Parabatai. "Clary, I'm going need your help with this," she said as she beckoned the fiery red-head over. Clary stepped up beside Jace, placing her thin hand on his shoulder, her expression calm as she questioned the warlock.
"What do you need?"
The warlock grinned, determination set across her face. "I need you to create a binding rune, one powerful enough to bind Jace to space and time."
The others looked stunned for a minute, questions sprouting across their faces, but before a single one could get out, Alec coughed harshly again and began to shake in his brother's arms. Weird, guttural noises began to emanate from between his lips as he tried to breathe, his runes continuing to fail. Jace tried to activate his iratze rune, his normally calm hands shaking, but it was too far gone to take. Jace groaned in frustration.
"Dot, I don't care what you have to do, just do it. Whatever I have to do, it doesn't matter. Just get Magnus here," he exclaimed as the elder Lightwood's shaking slowly came to a stop. They all waited for a moment, breathless, until the boy's own lungs began again to slowly, slightly, bring in the air they needed. Jace looked up, once again, into the warlock's damp face. "Please, just do it".
For a moment, Dot hesitated, very real fear crossing her face, before she set herself again and began sending her magic around the two brothers. "Okay, I'm creating a space around the both of you, slowing time down within it to only a fraction of the pace of the rest of the world. This will slow the poison down, each second taking longer than the one before it."
"To the rest of us, it will appear as though you are frozen. But inside this space, everything will appear normal, to you and to Alec. But I can't maintain the spell, not from the distance I'll be at, trying to persuade Magnus. Jace, that's where you come in. With your angel energy, you can sustain the space around the two of you. That purity will also help reverse the damage that's been done- BUT only temporarily", she warned, seeing the blond's face grow hopeful for only a second, before her words caused his usual mask of indifference to fall back in place. Dot ached inside, hating to be the one to destroy the light inside this man, this one who had gone through so much already. To lose his brother, his Parabatai… She wouldn't let that happen.
Shaking herself, she continued, saying, "it might seem as though he's doing better, but it will only last as long as the space does. When it fails, so will Alec, the full effects of the separation happening at once, instead of their usual slower progression. That failure also depends on you, Jace. You're his Parabatai, and that connection, and your strength, are what will sustain the bond and sustain Alec. When your strength runs out, the spell will end and Alec will not have much time left before the separation is complete and he is lost, his soul adrift from his physical form."
As Dot continued the spell, she saw Jace set himself, gripping his brother tighter in his arms before looking back to her. "I understand," he said. "I won't fail, I can't fail." His face pleaded with her to believe him, to understand that he would do anything for the raven-haired boy in his arms. Dot nodded sadly.
"Unfortunately, Jace, it's not up to you, your strength can only last so long. When the time comes, if I'm not back yet with Magnus, you will have to let go." Jace's face grew belligerent and he opened his mouth to argue before Izzy, who had held her sharp tongue until this point, cut in.
"Jace, stop, Dot's right," She cried, her voice strained from holding back the tears for so long. "I… I can't… I can't lose two brothers tonight, I can't. And I know Alec wouldn't want you to sacrifice yourself for him, not like this. All he's ever tried to do was protect us, to protect you- why do you think he stepped in front of that dart, taking the poison for you? Dot will be back, I choose to believe that- No, I have to believe that. But… But I can't afford to lose you too. Let Dot protect you, please Jace."
Jace swallowed, before setting his face and nodding silently. Izzy smiled grimly before turning back to Dot, who had finished the small dome around the two boys while the siblings had argued. Dot nodded and began instructing Clary in exactly what she wanted. The slim girl closed her eyes, trying to picture the new rune, before slowly beginning to draw on the surface of the dome.
Once it was complete, Jace felt a sudden sharp pull on his strength rune, before it slowly drew back to a deeper ache. He looked questioningly back up to Dot, who gave him a small smile of encouragement.
"That's the spell working, it is powering itself off you. Slowly at first, but as you grow more and more tired, the spell will drain faster, trying to sustain itself. But this should buy us some time, and I will bring Magnus back in time, I promise." She blew out a deep breath and drew up her still-glowing palms to finish the spell when Izzy halted her.
The Shadowhunter stepped through the sphere, briefly kissed each of her brothers on the forehead, pausing briefly with Alec, breathing in his scent. Izzy stepped back out and glanced at Dot, letting her continue.
Dot looked at the boys, two total opposites, yet the bond between the Parabatai more perfect than any she had ever encountered before. The warrior, his face set like stone, and the archer, gasping desperately, muscles shaking, his dull eyes never settling. Dot noticed a small white glow beginning around his right ankle, the cracks between his body and soul beginning to noticeably widen. Her gaze on Alec's leg drew Jace's as well, horror spreading across his face.
But before he could react further, Dot finished the spell.