Clary's Point of View
There was a soft sensation in Clary's back, a soft rushing almost like warm water running down her spine. She opened her eyes and tried to lift her head but it seemed to weigh a ton. In her state Clary had a hard time making sense of her surroundings, the rows of cots, the chairs around her, the back of the woman standing by the door. Before fear could settle she had a sudden realization and with it came a weird sense of deja-vu. She was in the infirmary after getting mortally wounded by a demon and rescued by her golden prince. A soft sound came from her mouth, meaning to be a laugh, but her throat was too dry and it made her wince.
The girl by the door turned, Clary finally recognizing her as Sophie, and upon seeing Clary with her eyes opened she rushed out of the room. Unsure of what to do next Clary used her arms to struggle into a sitting position, nausea instantly flooding her and she leaned back into her pillow. She tried to move her feet, only to realize she couldn't even feel them.
It was then that the fall came back to her, Azazel's cold hand around her neck, the floor rushing up to meet her and the instant pain that had shot through her body when her legs made impact with the ground. A shudder went through her and she was suddenly glad she couldn't feel her legs. There was a loud noise outside the infirmary, the sound of multiple people running down the hall, Jace appearing in the doorway, hair tousled and eyes gleaming.
He was at her side in an instant, followed by Simon, Izzy and Alec. Clary smiled at them and tried to talk only to get the same soft sound as before. Alec reached for a water jug and served her a glass handing it to Jace who lifted Clary's head and poured the water down her mouth. She ended up drinking 3 glasses before she was able to speak, her friends softly comforting her.
"This is the third time I wake up in the infirmary and your gone." She finally managed to say and Jace laughed sitting beside her and wrapping his arms around her. When he spoke his voice was muffled by her head.
"it seems we have created a tradition. "
"Not a very healthy one, if I might add." Said Simon sending a glare at Clary. Clary smiled at him and grabbed his hand.
"You say that like I intentionally jumped off the roofs edge." Simon grunted but sat down on her bed, careful not to hurt her legs.
Izzy crossed to her other side, Alec behind her as they sat down on the edge of her bed. The light glinted off their united form, creating one long shadow on the wall and Clary had the sudden urge to draw this moment so she would never forget it.
"So what's the diagnosis ?" She asked, knowing that not feeling her legs could not be a good sign. There was silence for a while before Simon spoke.
"Magnus couldn't heal yo-"
"Magnus couldn't heal me ?" There was a fluttering in Clary's heart at the idea of their glittery friend being incapable of fixing her legs.
"He worked on them for a while, until he declared that he couldn't do much more. " Izzy chimed in.
"What does that mean ?" Her voice sounded small even to her own ears.
"It means that while we are stuck in the past, you won't be able to walk. Clary, medicine is more advanced in our time, you probably have a bone dislocated in your spine or something like that, I don't really know. But I do know that you will walk so don't lose your head over this. " Simon said, and she squeezed his hand, giving him a small smile.
Before she could reply Alec flew off the bed and rushed out the door. They all stared after him for a second before Simon finally spoke.
"Should someone go after him ?" Jace reluctantly got up and walked out in the same direction, coming back almost immediately.
"As talented as I am, I don't have a Parabatai tracking ship." Clary tried to laugh but her throat was still sore. They didn't talk again, their attention focused on the door and their missing member. Finally Alec walked in, dragging a very disgruntled looking Magnus after him.
"Alexander let go of me!" He exclaimed indignantly, trying to twist his hands out of Alec's grip.
"This is important, make a protective circle around us ." Magnsu stared at Alec for a beat longer before he yanked his hands free, his magic jumping from his hands and encircling only him at first before slowly expanding towards the others.
"I think there's something I missed while I was asleep." Clary muttered.
"Not really Fray, I have no idea what is going on either." Simon whispered.
Once they were all encircled by Magnus's magic Alec sighed and turned to look at them.
"We have been under Azazel's control this whole time. " He finally said, gaining nothing but confused looks.
"I wasn't sure at first but there is too much evidence to pretend like this is not the case. Two wars and years of training have made us who we are, yet from the moment we got here we seemed to turn into amateurs. From coming to the London Institute to request help from strangers, to not noticing when we are being cornered, to mindlessly attacking suspicious people. I mean I even went as far as to tell Magnus who we really are."
"What are you trying to get at?" Izzy asked .
"Izzy you told us that you had attacked three suspicious men who had been following you. But you used deadly force, without even knowing if they were from the shadow world or human criminals. Since when do you attack mundanes ? "
Izzy opened her mouth to protest but shut it half way through. Now that Clary thought about it , it didn't make too much sense that Izzy had used her whip on unknown attackers and even less sense that Simon had voluntarily used the Mark to hurt someone, especially someone he didn't know.
"And Jace and Clary, you are the best shadowhunters of our time and you were easily defeated by a demon. Not only that but you must have missed something because a 4 story drop does not hurt someone this badly, especially a Shadowhunter. From the moment we arrived I have been having some dark thoughts, things I wouldn't normally even think about. It took too long to figure out we were under control." Alec lamented.
"But how ?" Clary whispered, her throat was starting to hurt again.
"It must be because you are weak after he stole your power." Malec said, his eyes drawn to Alec's back.
"We are not weak." Similar to knives on fires, the anger in Jaces voice cut through the air.
"That's not what I meant, I wa-"
"We are not weak. And that asshooe is going to pay." The anger had not receded and it finally dawned on Clary. He was scared and mad. Twice before he had been under the control of others, done horrible things under their power, and both times he had come close to killing her. She took his hand and brought it to her lips, begging him with her eyes to calm down. He flashed her a look before putting his arm gingerly around her and drawing her near.
" I'm not the leader. From the moment we got here we have all been acting like I should lead. It must have been his influence." Alec said, his eyes shining with the same anger Jace was showing. He lifted his head and put out his arm towards Jace.
"You should lead us." He said.
A short joyous laugh filled the room, breaking the tension.
"Oh Alec that's not Azazel, it's Magnus." Isabelle breathed out between giggles. Clary looked at her and laughed too. In a minute they were all laughing, even Jace.
"What?" There was a lost puppy look on Alec's face, until his parabatai finally took mercy.
"Your boyfriend has made you Insufferable. You have become a bossy, demanding, control freak Alec. " There was affection in his voice, even as Alec swatted the side of his head.
" Yeah, yeah whatever." There was a smile in his voice, even as he tried to glare at them.
" As entertaining as this has been, I still have a house half destroyed to get back to." Magnus interrupted their laughter.
"You're leaving?"
"Yes." The bubble started to recede back into Magnus's fingers, leaving them once again exposed to the real world.
" I assume you will want something to keep Azazel out of your head. I'll see what I can do. " Magnus looked straight at Clary, letting his eyes bore into hers for a moment.
" Do you need something for the pain ?" He finally asked.
" Thank you but the only pain I feel is in my throat." Clary offered him a smile, but a frown had already transformed his face. He gave her one last look before turning around.
"Very well."