IV

Jace

"Die Shadowhunter!" screamed the demon as we rolled on the ground trying to kill each other. I was on my way to Percy's when I met this gang of demons in an alley. "Might as well get in a little workout before I go" I thought. It's been a week since I took Percy to meet my friends. With some encouragement he finally opened up and told me about his amazing, unbelievable adventures. I don't think I'll ever complain about being Nephilim again. Anyway I was in the middle of trying to kill this gang of demons, and I was out numbered. I was beginning to have second thoughts about attacking this group alone. I already killed two of them, but they kept coming and I was getting tired. Then I heard a voice.

"Jace?" I heard Percy's voice ask. I turned to glance at him.

"Percy get out of here I can handle it!" I growled as I kept slashing away at demons. Next thing I know we're back to back Percy slaying them as fast as I was.

"Did you forget the fact that I kill monsters on a daily basis?" he asked sarcastically. As he sliced the head off of a demon.

"I promised to keep you from getting involved. I thought you didn't want this?" I yelled over the screams of a blue skinned demon I just stabbed.

"It's my choice to come help you. There's no way you can kill all of these by yourself." he pointed out. I just scoffed at that and kept fighting. Finally all the demons were killed, and it was just the two of us. I turned to Percy who was covered in black demon blood.

"Thank you." I said sincerely offering my hand. He grinned and took it his other hand sill gripping riptide. Suddenly his eyes widened.

"Jace look out!" he yanked on my arm pulling me toward him with surprising strength, as he rushed forward to slice at a demon from right shoulder to left hip. The demon screeched as it died. I was so shocked I just stood still for a moment. Percy's back was still toward me, when he turned around I caught my breath. There was a dagger embedded in his side.

~)*(~

My eyes widened so large I thought they'd pop out of their sockets. "PERCY" I yelled rushing to his side.

"There's no need to yell I'm right here." he said sarcastically. His shirt had already blossomed with blood, and he looked pale. I went over and put my arm around his shoulders as I rushed him out of here.

"W-where are you taking me?" Percy asked. His breathing was becoming rushed and more ragged.

"I'm taking you to Magnus, he's the best healer I know." I said hurriedly as I moved as fast as I could while pulling him along. He didn't say much for a while.

"Keep talking to me!" I yelled at him shaking him up a bit.

"Cut it out. I'm still conscious." Percy said breathlessly. "Are demon daggers poisonous?" he asked. I swallowed bile. They were but I wasn't going to tell him that.

"No" I said.

"Liar, I know what poison feels like." Percy said. His breathing was labored, and his pace was slowing down. Suddenly he stopped.

"Jace give me a minute I can't go on at this speed." he said in between breaths. We had already covered 5 blocks. I was surprised he could keep up with me for that long, when there was indeed poison in his system.

"Percy we have to go. There is poison on that dagger; we have no time to waste. I'll carry you if I must." I said all this while coming toward him. Percy was leaning against the wall shaky, sweaty, and as white as a sheet. He put his hand up to keep me at bay, as he pulled a Baggie of what looked like lemon squares out of his pocket.

"This isn't time for dessert!" I yelled in his face frustrated because we were losing precious time. Percy just ate all of his lemon squares calmly; he must have noticed me looking at him incredulously, because he explained.

"It's ambrosia like healing food for demigods/gods." he said. I just nodded quickly. Some of his color came back, but that was pretty much it.

"Can we go now?" I asked impatiently.

"Ye-yeah sh-sure." his words slurring he looked at me strangely like he was trying to focus.

"Shit!" I growled. I didn't wait for a response and just grabbed him and kept running to Magnus's.

"Don't even think about passing out on me! Keep talking." I ordered. "I thought you said that ambro- whatever you said is supposed to heal you?" I stole a glance at him. His eyes were squeezed shut and he gritted his teeth.

"It does help, but its effect is so powerful and fast acting that it can scramble my mind in the process. Not to mention that this poison is probably taking effect by now." He said in between breaths. He made an effort to articulate his words, but his voice was getting softer and distant. Percy opened his eyes when he spoke, and I could tell he was fighting to keep them open now. We just had a block to go and I was practically carrying the demigod by now. I didn't even bother to knock as I barged my way into Magnus's town home.

"Magnus! Where are you?" I yelled at the top of my lungs.

"D-don't y-ell." Percy mumbled clutching his head in his hands.

"How did I know that it was Jace Wayland barging his way in here, like he's so important." Magnus drawled annoyance in his voice, from the top of the stairs.

"Magnus please he needs your help, He's going to die from demon poison!" I rambled frantically. I don't think I ever felt/sounded so nervous and wound tight in my life.

Magnus just sighed, and came down the stairs gesturing to a couch in the adjoining room. Percy was barely conscious, as I laid him gently on the couch.

"Curse my soft heart. I can't believe I wait on you Nephilim without pay!" he growled as he accessed the damage. His face turned thoughtful, as he placed his hand on Percy's forehead. Immediately the demigod's body seemed to relax, and his breathing slowed down.

"It's amazing this boy was still conscious. You two ran all the way here?" he asked as he continued to work his magic.

"Yeah we ran here for 5 blocks. Will he be alright?" I asked desperately. Magnus just have me a strange look, as he pulled out the dagger, and magically stopped the bleeding.

"The only time I've ever seen you this disturbed was with Clary. Who is this boy, and why does he mean so much to you?" he asked as he carefully removed the demigods shirt so he could properly clean the wound. Suddenly Magnus gasped, and jumped away from Percy.

"He-he's a demigod!" Magnus sputtered. Now it was my turn to be surprised, I've never seen Magnus lose his cool before. I looked to see what the warlock was staring at. There on Percy's inside, right forearm was a tattoo of one line reaching from his elbow to wrist, and a trident with the letters SPQR underneath on his wrist.

"So this is what he always kept covered up."I thought. Magnus swallowed and continued to clean/dress the wound and cast more spells in total silence, with a conflicted expression on his face. When he was done he motioned to two chairs by the couch.

"Tell me how you became affiliated with this boy." he spat the word boy, like Percy was an pesky fly. I told him everything, but he seemed dissatisfied.

"Don't you know that he is one of the most powerful demigods that are out there? What were you thinking going after him? Demigods and their world of mythology are nothing, but trouble. You should have left him alone for his sake and yours." Magnus said bitterly.

"What are you talking about? What are your experiences with demigods?" I asked. Magnus glared at me like this was a bad subject, but he just sighed and suddenly looked like the 700 or whatever year-old he truly was.

"When I was about 400 I met a young daughter of Hecate the magic goddess. Her name was Mariah, and we quickly became friends. Soon our friendship turned into love, but I was foolish to let our relationship go that far. I don't know if Percy has told you yet, but demigods don't live very long. In fact 90% of them don't make it past the age of 20, especially children of the big three such as Percy. They usually die due to the constant monster attacks, being used by their godly parents, or in wars. Mariah was in one of these wars. I didn't want her to serve. I wanted to marry her and get her away from her terrible life as a half-blood, but she felt like it was her duty to stay and fight with/for her family. She was killed in the war, and her death was a deep blow to me. Since then I have never entangled in the mythological worlds, until today." Magnus said miserably.

"Worlds… As in other cultural mythologies are real as well?" I asked. Magnus looked like he swallowed a bug, which probably meant that he probably said something he shouldn't have.

"Did you say Percy was a son of Poseidon?" Magnus asked suspiciously.

"Yeah" I replied confused. Magnus looked conflicted like he was trying to figure something out.

"You know how the ancient Greeks and Romans had virtually the same gods?" he asked.

"Yeah, just different names." I answered. Then it hit me.

"Are you saying that both sets of gods are real?" I asked.

"There's only one set of gods, but they can be viewed in different aspects. What I'm saying is that there are both Greek and roman demigods." he said with a smile. Magnus went on to explain everything else about this concept.

"What confuses me is that Percy lives in New York, claims his father is Poseidon, looks like a Greek, and yet he has this tattoo. Only Romans bare these marks." Magnus seemed to study Percy with new interest.

"He's a very beautiful boy. Children of the big three are always the best looking; even the sons and daughters of Aphrodite/Venus got nothing on these kids. I wonder what color his eyes are." Magnus mused distractedly.

"Ick Magnus please, not while I'm in the room." I said making mock gagging noises. Magnus just smiled at me. Then I remembered something I wanted to ask, that bothered me.

"You said demigods don't live long and especially big three kids. What did you mean by that?" I asked concerned.

Magnus just sighed and rubbed his cat-eyes tiredly.

"I assume Percy's told you how monsters sniff out demigods and attack right?" he asked. I nodded.

"Big three kids are much more powerful than other half-bloods, because of this their scents are stronger. This causes an unbelievable amount of monsters coming their way, which causes them to die faster/younger than other demigods. You know the old stories about the heroes. When did a child of the big three namely Zues, ever live past the age of 20 and have a happy ending?" Magnus asked sadly. I stared at the ground.

"Perseus" I whispered. "Perseus had a happy ending." I said louder this time. I stared at Percy, his namesake finally making sense now.

"I'm guessing that's Percy's full name?" Magnus asked. I nodded.

"That's a good name." Magnus observed. Suddenly something in me became un-hinged, and I stood up clenching my fists in anger.

"This is all my fault. I promised not to get him involved in our world, and now he's dying cause of me. I should have known that in the beginning when he was pushing me away, that he was doing it for his own good not out of plain disliking me. All I've done is cause more stress and problems for a guy who pretty much already has a death sentence." I yelled angry at myself. My face was hot, and I knew tears were on their way.

Magnus rushed up to me, and put his hand on my shoulder.

"Percy is going to be fine, and this isn't your fault. From my understanding it was his choice to get involved and helped you when you needed it. If he didn't help out, you'd most likely be dead." Magnus said soothingly I felt myself relax. He was probably using magic on me, but I didn't care.

"I'm very glad you stuck with Percy. I can see that he has helped you a great deal more than what he just did today." Magnus continued to speak. I just nodded.

"We help each other to forgive ourselves, and ease the constant pain of our memories, worries, and regrets." I mumbled. "He knows all my secrets."

~)*(~

Percy POV

You know how it feels like when you eat a lot of spicy food when you're not used to it, and then you get this stomach ache that feels like your insides are burning? That's how I felt when I woke up, not to mention that my memory of yesterday was fuzzy, and I still felt a bit light headed.

"Your eyes are gorgeous!" exclaimed a feminine voice to my right. I started to sit up, but as I moved I immediately felt the pain in my stomach rise. "Careful." cautioned the voice. I looked over to the man who was now sitting next to me. My eyes widened, and I crouched away my panic rising as I noticed the mans green cat-eyes. "Relax, I'm not a monster. I'm Magnus Bane." The cat-eyed man greeted with a smile, offering his hand.

"Magnus" that sounded familiar. "I'm guessing you're the one that fixed me up?" I asked returning his smile and taking his hand.

"Yes that would be me; I'm a warlock in case Jace didn't tell you." He said.

"Jace only gave me a brief education of down-worlders, he didn't tell me what they looked like." I said apologetically. Magnus just waved me off. He asked me how much I remember from yesterday, and he seemed satisfied with my answer.

"Tell me Percy it's been a long time since I've met or heard from demigods. "What is a Roman such as yourself doing here in the north, and calling your father by his Greek name?" he asked. This is when I noticed I was wearing a new shirt, so I reluctantly told him the truth.

"Fascinating" Magnus said looking at me strangely, making me uncomfortable. I hate it when people stare at me, because I've been stared at a lot in my life and usually it was more malicious then it was approving. Magnus noticed this and looked away.

"I'm sorry, It's just I've never met a child of the sea god, I haven't met a demigod in years, and I'm in awe that the Roman's and Greeks finally made up after thousands of years." Magnus said sheepishly. "I had a friend who served in one of the wars between the Greeks and Romans, she was killed in action." The warlock's eyes darkened. I nodded and looked down, as we sat in silence for a while.

"Where's Jace?" I asked. Magnus seemed to have woken up from his reverie, and brushed his hand like the matter was unimportant.

"He's sleeping." Magnus replied, and then looked to me in as an after-thought. "I didn't think anyone could get through to Jace Wayland except maybe Clary. You must be something very special."

"I guess it's because he takes comfort in conversing with someone who has similar experiences, problems, weaknesses, etc as he does." I said with a shrug.

"If you two are done sharing each other's feelings. Percy and I need to go home." Jace's arrogant voice rang from the door. I just stared at the ceiling, and shook my head. I stood up ignoring the sting in my side as I did so.

"Thank you for helping me out. I wish there was a way I could repay you, it was nice meeting you." I said offering my hand. The warlock smiled warmly as he grasped my offered hand. A warm feeling spread through my body making the burning feeling inside and the light-headedness subside. I grinned as I followed Jace to the door.

"You're always welcome in my house Mr. Jackson feel free to visit. As for repayment maybe you can teach these Nephilim to keep their wallets on them, and act more appreciative of me like you did." Magnus said glaring at Jace good-naturedly as we went out the door. I could tell Jace was trying hard not to laugh.

"What's so funny?" I asked.

"If I were you I wouldn't see Magnus unless you were dying again. He seems to have taken a liking to you." Jace said laughing out loud now as he saw my confused expression. Then I realized what he meant, and I felt my face grow hot. Jace just laughed even harder. I rolled my eyes and shoved him aside.