A/N: Thank you for follows, favorites and reviews.
Characters belongs to Cassie Clare, except for OCs.
Enjoy reading.
Chapter XVIII
"Hope for the hopeless"
Isabelle was first to recover from the spell Jonathan had cast on her. She gasped loudly, trying to catch a steady breath. Her head was aching, like there was some kind of hammering inside of it. It took her a few seconds to calm her heart, and defeat the urge of throwing up on the floor. Finally, she dared to look to the side. Jace was still unconscious, lying frozen next to his bed.
"Jace?! Jace?!" She shook his shoulders and patted his cheek, too hard, but it was for a good purpose. Unfortunately, Herondale didn't wake up, nor he didn't show any sign of waking up soon. "Damn."
Isabelle laid her head on Jace's chest, her eyes turned under the bed of the boy. In that moment she spotted something in there. She laid down on the floor and stretched out her hand, to reach for the item. She struggled for a while, before she grabbed it and pulled it out from underneath the bed. It was Alec's stele. At the sight of it, memories of her big brother filled her mind. She hated Jonathan for what he had done to Alec. For the way he played him, for the way he used him and will use him for his insane plan. She hated John for forcing Alec to help him, threatening him to do so, or he will kill Izzy and Jace.
She hated herself for not discovering John's intentions earlier. She loathed herself that she let herself being played and deceived by him.
She composed herself, for it wasn't the time to dwell on her loathness. She had to escape the Institute and she had to take Jace with her, before Jonathan will be back. The girl unrevealed her left arm and drew three strength runes on it. She will need it, if she wanted to lift Jace's body from the floor. A moment later she felt the power of the runes running through her body. Lightwood girl placed the stele in the cleavage of her tight, white dress and bent down to lift Jace from the ground. It took her a while, but finally she got her arms full of the parabatai of her brother.
Walking with Jace in her arms wasn't easy, but Isabelle was nothing if not determined to achieve her goal. She moved cautiously, looking around to see if Morgenstern was back. It looked like he wasn't. The girl breathed in relief and went straight to the library, where the portal has been opened before. Ten minutes later, she placed Jace on the ground and took out Alec's stele again. With the tip of it she re-opened the portal and waited for its activation. In the meanwhile she wrote the fire message to Brother Zachariah to come and fetch her mother, who still laid upstairs in coma. Isabelle knew, that John wouldn't hurt her anymore, she wasn't useful to him, as there was no certainty that she will ever wake up. Jonathan needed alive people to blackmail Alec with.
Finally the portal was active. Isabelle circled her arms harder around Jace, and stepped through the portal, thinking of the glittery warlock. Soon she felt magic running through her body as it pulled them towards the bright light. The girl closed her eyes and took a deep breath, hoping that the portal will send her to Magnus Bane.
Magnus sat on his plush, red couch, sipping sweet, iced tea stolen from the nearby restaurant. His eyes and ears were hurting from watching Raphael, Jocelyn, Luke battering over the next step in their plan. Jocelyn and Luke wanted to barge into the Institute and take back their daughter. Bane tried to reason with her, telling that there was no way, Jonathan would bring Clary to place so obvious and full of other shadowhunters. He wasn't that stupid. In fact, the boy was very intelligent. He was able to manipulate everyone for his own little plan.
Bane turned his cat eyes to look at Simon Lewis, the newest asset to the New York's clan. Raphael turned the poor boy two months ago, just to spite shadowhunters. It wasn't a wise idea, after all, Simon wasn't friends with hunters, only with Clary. But nevertheless, they needed new soldiers, so in the end it turned out to be very helpful. Simon was consumed in reading a history book, with Jordan Kyle, a werewolf from Praetor Lupus, leaning over his shoulder. It was an odd thing to see them being friends. No one could suspect that those two boys, vampire and a werewolf would be kind of best friends in less than two months. Yet, here they were, laughing over something they had to have read in the book.
Suddenly, there was a loud grumble heard in the middle of the living room. Followed by the burst of magic. Bane dragged himself up from the couch and went in the direction of it. A bright light compounded itself in the air, blinding all of the people in the room. There was a sound of smack coming from somewhere. Magnus opened his eyes and looked down, only to be confused as hell.
Right there, on the middle of the white, fluffy carpet was lying two young people. It only took him a second to recognize them. Dear Angel, he was so shocked by their personalities.
Before his eyes were lying Isabelle Lightwood and Jace Herondale. People that he would never expect to see again.
Raphael, Luke and Jordan were immediately at his side, growling at the two children. Bane was still too shocked to comprehend what was happening around him at this moment.
"Isabelle? Jace?" Jocelyn was the first to speak to the two of them. Her voice forced Isabelle to look up and move her dark eyes around the room. Finally they stopped on Magnus's confused face.
"Magnus! Thank the Angel, it worked!" She got up from the floor, leaving Jace to lay on the carpet. "I need your help."
The warlock could only blink at her words. Not so long ago, the blonde boy, who seemed to be somehow frozen at the moment, was promising him a painful death, and now they were asking him for help? He must have overheard her.
"You better run, if you want to live, shadowhunter." Raphael spat at her, sliding out his fangs. He hadn't been fed for two days, since Magnus offered him his own blood, in an attempt to save his existing. But now, his eyes as black as his soul was a clear sign of his hunger. "I haven't tasted hunter's blood in years. It makes me hungry a bit more."
"I'll kill you before you'll have a chance to make one step, vampire," She threatened him back, glaring him murderously. She looked once again at Magnus. "Jonathan kidnapped Alec."
"Alec?"
"Yes, remember? Tall, black hair, blue eyes, you broke his heart." She sassed him, yet there was pain heard in her voice. "Jonathan done it all. He…"
"I know this, Isabelle." Magnus interrupted her, eyes lowering at Jace. "What's wrong with the boy wonder?"
"He froze him with some spell, I guess? He cast the spell at me as well, but not so strong like on Jace." Isabelle explained, shaking Jace's shoulder. "Can you wake him? Please?"
Bane rolled his eyes and crouched next to the boy. He waved his hand over his body to learn what kind of spell it was.
"Faires magic," Magnus concluded, sending his sparks towards the body of Jace. "Queen's job. A low one, if you want to know."
"Can you undo it? " She pressed the matter again, looking at him pleadingly. Magnus nodded and whispered a spell to wake the boy up. A few seconds later Jace's eyelids started to flutter. "Jace?"
"Izz…" he said hoarsely, scanning the room with his golden eyes. When he noticed the downworlders, he jumped on his feet too fast and faltered. Thanks to Izzy's quick reaction, he hadn't fallen to the floor. "Where are we? Where's Alec?"
"Jonathan has him, Jace. He took him somewhere." There was a glimpse of pain in Jace's eyes, before he gave a sharp nod to the information. "I don't know where. That's why…"
"He must have keep him in the same place that Clary is." Jocelyn and Luke reacted to the name of red-head. "Clary sent me a message with a spell and we talked." Herondale turned his gaze at the warlock. "It was a spell that you taught her to cast. Thanks."
"Clever girl," Bane smiled to himself, being proud of Clarissa. The girl was powerful, grasping the knowledge of the shadow world with such an ease. A sudden thought struck Magnus's mind. "How the hell did you get in here? And why do you think you'll get my help? Alec and I aren't together anymore. In fact, he said he hates me, for everything."
"You still love him," Jace pointed out smoothly, crossing arms on his chest. A pregnant silence filled the living room. Raphael was eyeing Magnus suspiciously. Isabelle's eyes were full of hope. Jace's meaningful gaze didn't leave warlock's face.
Jace was right. Magnus still loved Alexander, with all of his heart. He couldn't make his heart to let go of this feeling. On the other hand, he wasn't sure if he wanted to. Alexander Lightwood had awoken something in him. Something that he hadn't felt for years, not since the first months of being with Camille, when he was sure she loved him back. It was when he felt truly alive in his whole three hundred years of living. Although, with Alec, it was stronger. It was like his heart was beating just for the black haired boy. His soul was responding to every call, every look of the hunter. His body was melting underneath every, single touch. He loved that feeling, even though it was built on lies and betrayals. Deep inside of his heart, Magnus knew that Alec has the same feelings for him. He had seen it in the blue eyes, he used to stare into for hours. He had felt it in every touch of Alec, before the boy learned about the reason of Bane's arrival to their Institute. Alexander loved him, same as Magnus loved the boy back.
Yet the fate was against them.
Nonetheless, Magnus considered helping the shadowhunters, even though this smelled troubles.
"Do not think about it, mi amigo," Suddenly there was Raphael, standing before him, with his cold hands on Magnus's shoulders. He was looking deeply into his eyes, as if he tried to see Bane's soul. "Yo te conozco, Magnus. Yo sé que lo amas, pero es una misión suicida."
"Lo sé", he spoke back in Spanish to the vampire. "But I can't abandon him and Clary. They need us."
"Exactly, you can't." Jace chimed, coming closer to Magnus and Raphael. "You're the reason we're in this mess." Santiago was definitely the king of murderous glares. If only look could kill, Jace Herondale would be lying two feet underground by now. The vampire slid his fangs out again and growled at the boy. "Stop growling, bloodsucker. It's yours and sparky fault that my parabatai is missing and so is my girlfriend! You tried to steal from us and..."
"Shut your mouth, Herondale, before I'll rip your heart out and drink your blood."
"Come on, try it, fangs." They fought for a moment longer, with loud voices full of growls and threats, before Magnus snapped at them, having enough of this childish behaviour.
"Both of you, shut the hell up! I don't want a bloodshed in my home!" Strangely, it was Isabelle and Luke, who reacted to those words. The shadowhunter girl put her arms around Jace's torso and pulled him back. Luke did the same. Even though Raphael growled at him, he let himself being manhandled to the back to stand next to Simon and Jordan, who were given a single order to keep him in check. "Let's get one thing right. I love Alexander, that's true. I also care about Clarissa, she's family. I will help you get them back, but you must cooperate with me and trust me." Isabelle gave a single nod to this, a small smile lit up her face. "Now tell me everything, what happened before Alec had been taken."
Isabelle and Jace started to talk about the events that had taken place in the Institute this morning. The girl repeated every word John had said, describing every detail of his behaviour, while he was talking. Magnus was analyzing it in his mind, along with Raphael, who sat next to him on the couch. The words of demon's power were strange at first, but they rang in Magnus's mind. It took him a minute or two to figure out Morgenstern's boy's plan.
"Do you have any idea, where he had taken them? " Miss Lightwood asked hopefully, looking with her big brown eyes at the warlock. She tried to keep herself on the last amounts of hope she had, which weren't big. Not since she has had lost her father and little brother, while her mother has been in a coma, with a possibility to never wake up. "Magnus?"
"I know." He sighed loudly. There was only one place where Jonathan could take Alec and Clary. There was only one place, where he could gain the power he yearns for, one which Magnus is ought to provide him with. With a heavy heart and a lump in his throat, he tried to explain to the people in his room, how dangerous was the place they would have to go to rescue Alexander and Clarissa. "But you won't like it."
"Where?" Jace asked, his hammering heart was heard in the room, especially by Santiago and Lewis. All of them looked questioningly at the warlock, waiting for the answer.
"Prepare yourself for your worst nightmares to come true. We're going to hell for Alec and Clary."
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
Only one chapter and epilogue have left and this story will be finished. So prepare for the drama till the very end ;)
Review if you feel like to,
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