A/N: Hello,
Thanks for all reviews, follows, favorites.
Characters belongs to Cassie Clare, except for OCs.
Enjoy reading.
Chapter XVI
"The devil in the angel's skin"
Alec saw everything. Magnus hovering him, speaking to him. He understood him perfectly. Yet he couldn't force himself to reply. Bane put too strong spell on him. He felt his whole body freeze, when the warlock put his both hands over his heart. He heard Magnus calling him his darling. It only made things worst.
Alec still loved him, even though he was heartbroken. He still had dreams about him. Although, once pleasurable visions now caused nothing more but a terrible pain in his heart. The shadowhunter watched as his beloved warlock looked at him for the last time. The boy could swear that there was remorse in those cat eyes that he used to gaze into with a passion.
He laid there for a few more minutes, waiting for his hand to be able to move, so he could reach for his stele and drew a rune against magic. When he was left alone, with no idea what happened to Jace, Alec started to think about Magnus's words.
The real monster is closer to you.
There was only one person that Magnus could talk about. But Alec refused to believe it. Even Jonathan wouldn't be that cruel and crazy to kill an innocent child and two adults. He wouldn't kill his own father, the man that raised him to be this crazy man. Because what motive could he have? Jonathan wasn't the one who wanted the power. He always supported his father's mission in making downworlders slaves and for shadowhunters to rule the whole Shadow World. Valentine wanted nothing more but to rule. Alec thought that Jonathan wanted the same thing. Yet, Valentine had never killed one of his own. So Jonathan wouldn't be able to do it as well.
Alec had to believe it. Otherwise he would be lost. He will lose with himself, with his own beliefs. With his heart, which was telling him that Magnus was right all the time.
"Alec?! Alec?!" Suddenly there was Jace, kneeling by his left side and shaking his arm, yet Alec didn't feel that. "Can you hear me? What in the Angel's name he did to you?"
A few more seconds passed, until Alec felt the spell leaving his body. With every next second, he could move more muscles. Finally, after what it seemed forever, Alec was able to move his whole body.
"Alec?"
"I'm fine," he responded, grabbing his parabatai by his hand and lifting himself from the ground. "Magnus just froze me."
"Son of a bitch." Jace commented, looking around. "We need to find him. We should call John and Isabelle. They will help us. We'll send your mom to Iron Sisters, so they could watch her in her coma, until we figure out how to help her."
"No. We need to go back to the Institute." Jace looked confused at Alec, as he spoke those words. "I need to make sure Isabelle is alright."
"She's with my brother."
"That's what worries me." Alec added silently, so Jace couldn't hear him. "Let's go, Jace."
The blonde boy didn't question it. He just followed his parabatai on his way to the Institute. They were walking in silence. None of them spoke a word to each other, until they were before the gate to the Institute.
"Have you heard anything from Clary? " Alec asked, as he took out his stele to open the gate.
"She's with the werewolves." He responded with a hurt in his voice. Jace was in love with Clary, as much as Alec was in love with Magnus Bane. And he was as much heartbroken as his parabatai is, since the day his red-head beloved jumped with her mother through a portal and disappeared Angel's knows where. "But they're not keeping her in New York." Alec was surprised by that. He turned to look questioningly at his best friend, as they were reaching the front door. "I've been there two nights ago. I found their lair in Chinatown. I went backdoors there, but I didn't find her nor her mother. But I heard them talking about Magnus, and that soon they will move to some safest place. Apparently the warlock has some place of his own. He didn't even be enslaved before. He came up with the story."
"I see," Alec grunted and fell silent as they walked inside the Institute. In the hallway, where his father's body laid before, now were standing Jia Penhallow, Jonathan Morgenstern, Isabelle and Madeline Cartwright, the right hand of Jia. "Hello."
"Alexander, Jace. It's good that you finally joined us." Jia spoke up to them, eyeing them suspiciously. "I believe you managed to kill Magnus Bane for crimes against our kind?"
All of them looked at the two young men. Isabelle was sending him a warm look, full of sorry. Jonathan was looking at them unsurely, which was too odd for Alec.
"He managed to overpower us. He had the help of the whole pack of werewolves." Jace explained moving closer to his brother. "Where's father's body?"
"We called for Silent Brothers and they took our father and Robert's body to the Silent City. Tonight we will pay them respects." Jace just nodded to that. The blonde boy turned around and looked again at his parabatai.
Alec was sad, it was not only shown on his face, but as well Jace could feel his broken heart. He hated the warlock with all his life for what he had done to Alec. At first, when Jace discovered that Alec has feelings for Magnus, he was slightly surprised. Not by the fact that Alec is gay, the boy could never hide it from him very well. But he was surprised that Alec fell for someone so different from him. Despite Magnus being their slave, they could see his true self, especially with the make-up and glitter he put on his face. Magnus was very loud person, while Alec was his exactly opposite. Yet, they've managed to fit together.
Until Magnus Bane broke Alec Lightwood's heart.
"Jace?" he heard Isabelle's voice and felt her subtle touch on his bicep. "Are you alright?"
"Yes," Jace replied and moved upstairs. "Wake me, when we'll be going to the Silent City."
With that Jace turned on his heel and went towards his bedroom. His room was cold, colder than usual. Jace took out his stele and cautiously moved towards his bed. Right on the middle of the mattress was lying small, white paper with his name on it.
JACE HERONDALE
He took it and looked closely. He wasn't very fond of his true last name. It wasn't because he didn't appreciate that he came from the most noble family among shadowhunters. It was because he didn't know who he was anymore. Was he Jace Morgenstern, the son of Valentine, like he had believed his whole life? Or maybe was he Jace Herondale, the miraculously saved boy, whose mother had committed suicide, once his father died. When he learned the truth about his parents, he hated his mother. How could she kill herself, while the boy was still in her womb? For once, Jace was glad that Valentine had saved him on time. That he raised him, as his own and made him who he was today.
Suddenly the card started to glow with a green light. Jace wanted to let it go, but he couldn't. The card changed into deep green vines and swirled around Jace's left arm. The tip of the vines moved itself towards his heart to attach itself to it. The shadowhunter felt an extreme pain and he fell down to his knees. He couldn't catch a breath. His heart was beating too fast, like it would like to break free from his chest.
Then he heard a light, female voice in his head.
Jace.
Clary! He wanted to scream for the girl, but he found himself unable to. He couldn't even move his body. The darkness was consuming him, slowly. The air around him was becoming thicker with every next second. Then he couldn't breathe and his body flew.
There was nothing more after that.
"Jace! Jace! Jace!" He was hearing Clary's voice. "Jace! Please, open your eyes, Jace."
He did what she asked and spotted a white light, which was blinding him. A long shadow was coming from the middle of it. Instinctually Jace reached for his stele, but he found out that he doesn't have it. As well he didn't have his weapons with him. Jace swallowed hard. If it was any demon, he'd have to fight him with his fists. But he won't give up. He will fight for himself and for Clary.
"Jace!" Clary's voice was closer to him. The long shadow was taking the curves of a familiar girl. Then, a moment later his beloved red-head was standing before him, with a worry written all over her beautiful, freckled face. "Thank god it worked."
"Clary?"
"It's me, Jace." She kneeled next to him and threw her arms around his neck. But Jace didn't feel the pressure of her body pressed to him. It was strange. He pulled away from her and looked at her again. Her body was glowing with white light, same as his own. "We don't have much time. I don't know when he'll be back."
"Who? Luke? Magnus?" he addressed the issue.
"My brother, Jonathan." Jace was surprised by the answer. It couldn't be possible. John was with them in the Institute, while Clary was with the werewolves and vampires. "Jace, you need to stay away from him."
"What in the Angel's name you're talking about, Clary?" He didn't understand her. She was rambling some strange words. "Our fath...Valentine is dead. Magnus killed him. Robert is dead too."
"It wasn't Magnus," she defended the warlock with a firm voice. "It's John. He's the bad guy here, Jace. You need to stay away from him. Keep Isabelle and Alec safe as well. He will use you to his big plan."
"Big plan?"
"He wants the power. He needs the cup. He already found the mirror and has the Mortal Sword. The sword is hidden in the place that I'm in." she continued, grabbing his hand. He didn't feel her touch again. "He wants the power and he won't stop until he gets it. If I understood him well, as he was talking to Kassandra, he needs Alec for something. Alec is the key in his plan."
"Alec? Why?" the girl just shrugged her arms in response. "Where are you, Clary? I'll come to save you."
"I don't know, where I am. It is not our world for sure." Her image started to flicker. Jace reached out his hand to grab her, but he couldn't. Her body slipped through his fingers. "Keep Alec safe. He will use him…"
Clary's body disappeared for good. The blonde boy tried to call her again, but it was pointless. Her body disappeared along with the white light. The darkness and coldness started to fill the space he was in. His body was becoming light again. He felt himself flew over the ground, until there was nothing again. Until he stopped feeling anything. The last thing he heard, was the soft voice of Clary warning him to protect Alec from his brother.
In Jace's bedroom, where the boy was lying on the ground, unconscious, the air was changed. It was filled with the sweet scent of a fairy powder. The green sparkles were floating around Jace, keeping him in a frozen state, balancing between two dimensions.
John stood above him, with a disappointed look, shaking his head. When the heartbeat of Jace slowed down, he kneeled next to his brother and sighed loudly.
"Oh, Jace, you always wreck my plans." The black eyed boy complained, petting his brother's golden hair. "I have to hasten my plan now. First, I'll take care of Isabelle. Then I'll take Alec with me, and we'll move forward, little brother. Soon, I'll get what I want. And you will all help me get it."
A/N: Did you like it?
Once again, I'll post the link to the poll for my Master's Thesis. If you're at least 16 you can fill it ;) It will be very helpful to me.
docs. google forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdHcOF0_BP3g5-I5LvtM42viZSDh0SAhJmL-SurRzc0BUb8Eg/viewform
I thought that it will be nice to bring Clary and Jace into the story, at least for a while. In the next one, John will move forward with his plan. What do you think he'll do?
Review if you feel like to,
Intoxic