A/N: I'm really starting to hate the internet. Sorry about being a jerk and not finishing this up earlier. But you know I love you.
"What? I didn't say 'Jace'… I said… face." Stammered Simon confusedly. Clary could see right through him.
"I've known you my entire life Simon," Clary responded rising to her feet with her temper, "I think I know when you're lying. You said 'Jace'. Now, all I'm asking is a truthful answer, Simon. How did you kn-" She couldn't finish her sentence before her mind seemed to crumple in on itself.
Clary gasped desperately for air. Nothing seemed to find her lungs. It felt as though millions of punches were racking every inch of her body. Moving had quickly become too painful to imagine, and soon breathing would be deemed impossible.
I'm going to die, Clary realized abruptly.
In a corner of her mind, Clary realized someone was yelling at her, but she was already so occupied with fighting off the pain that was smothering her to care.
Simon was reaching panic at a very fast pace. He knew better than to mention his name, that it was too soon and a possible trigger such as this one could cause unknown parallels of destruction to Clary's conscious mind. He had known, and yet the name had slipped off his lips all too easily.
Simon tried to concentrate, to remember what Magnus had said to do in this situation or any situation like this one; but Clary's ear-splitting screams weren't really a good calmer. He'd tried everything he knew so far, shaking her shoulders… shaking her shoulders… yelling. But, nothing was working: Clary was unreachable. She had been in this condition for almost ten minutes and Simon was beginning to wonder whom to call the police or Magnus.
Simon weighed his options, if he called the police they wouldn't be able to do much since they knew nothing of conditions of this kind, but he couldn't call Magnus because he was out for the entire day or who knows how long dealing with another raid. Simon was getting desperate.
"What is going on here?" A shrill Jocelyn voiced behind him.
A somewhat fearful and relieved Simon turned around to face a ransacked looking Jocelyn and Luke staring wide-eyed at the scene playing out in front of them.
"Get Magnus!" Was all he could manage before Clary started another scream.
Jocelyn rushed over.
"What's going on," Jocelyn said as she picked up Clary and placed her on the couch, then eying the sketchbook stopped on the page of Jace's face quickly realized the dilemma, "You didn't- no- Simon, you didn't say his name, did you?"
Simon looked down.
At that point, Magnus proceeded to enter the room in a neon glittering blue hoodie and matching golden pants. When he saw the situation, he smiled naughtily and gestured with his chin for someone else to follow.
"Now darlings, it does look like we have quite the dilemma, don't we?" He said as he approached Clary's small form. A dark form followed him in.
"Is she going to be alright? Is her mind dead? Oh god, did I make her go brain dead?" Simon stuttered as Magnus made his way across the room. Magnus stopped abruptly.
"Quiet you pale mosquito, I haven't even touched her yet." He leered, causing Simon to close his mouth and stare worriedly at Clary.
After an eternity of walking, Magnus made it across the room and placed his hands on either side of Clary's head. The blue sparks started.
In Clary's conscious mind, she felt the pain numbing. Not subsiding, but numbing enough to ignore but not forget.
"Clary," She heard an unfamiliar and yet, familiar voice say, "Open your eyes."
Clary creased her brow and shook her head, enjoying the sweet merit of oxygenized blood. Moreover, she wasn't sure that she wanted to face reality.
"Oh god, she's lost all her memories now, hasn't she? And it's all my fault-" She heard a nervous Simon chatter. She opened up her eyes.
"Shut up, Simon." She snapped. A strange man sat in front of her. He smiled.
"Good morning, biscuit, would you like some tea?" He winked at her.
"Who are you?" A clearly panicking Clary stammered, and then recognized her mom among the crowd, "Mom, who are these people?" Her mother broke her gaze.
"Really Ma-"Jocelyn started.
"Ah-ah-ah," The man chided, "Jocelyn, she's quite ready now. Don't you suppose that it's been long enough?" He paused here and began before Jocelyn could protest, "Now let's see if my theory's correct," He sounded almost giddy. He gestured at a dark boy to come near. He turned back to Clary.
"Now Clary, you know who we are. Very specifically, we were all very close for a little while. So, Clary, what I want you to do is just go back inside that pretty little red-head of yours and simply try to remember our names. Simple, isn't it?" He smiled encouragingly. Clary shook her head.
"You're craz-" She started to say, but was decapitated by the overwhelming pain.
Again, Magnus repeated the dulling magic. Clary opened her eyes again.
"Clary, you want the pain to stop?" Clary nodded, "Then do as I say if that's what you really want. Now close your eyes." The last sentence seemed a commandment. However, at this point Clary would do anything for the pain to stop.
Clary obediently closed her eyes and wanted the pain to stop, that desire fuelling the need to know their names. Clary genuinely thought they were crazy.
Closing her eyes was like diving into a deep and cold alien pool. Strong currents threw her in every direction, daring her to breath the poisonous knowledge. There in the deep grotto of her conscious mind, Clary tried to clutch at nothing at and spiralled into eternal darkness. Helpless, she swallowed the knowledge. It came to her then, like something resurfacing over water.
Clary opened her eyes.
"Magnus and… Alec."
Oek kicked Jace awake with her hard metal-soled boots again, like everyday.
"Wake up lazy-bones; we need to go round up some more."
"When don't we?" Jace muttered between painful coughs.
"Get up, before he thinks I'm going easy on you." She urged, her quicksilver eyes piercing him.
Today Oek's shock of hair was twisted and pulled into a tight French-braid. Jace wondered how he could have ever thought that he hated her. At least, that was how it was when he first met her.
Oek was a Sprite. She was half-human-half-fey. She was possibly the strangest thing someone would ever see. She had silver flesh that matched her enormous quicksilver eyes and sharp and almost unattractive facial features. Her hair was a shocking white that could burn your eyes and a personality as cruel as her visage. Jace was her prisoner.
Not that Jace could care very much.
The first time he had met Oek, it hadn't been under happy circumstances.
The sky picked at Jace's eyes uncomfortably as he squinted at the ruby sunset.
"So nice to see you, Jace." Came the throaty voice from behind him. Jace didn't bother turning; he didn't want to see the smug look on Fenmore's face.
"I did it." Jace responded with finality.
"I knew you would." You could hear the smile in Fenmore's voice.
"I'm leaving now." Jace sighed. He started walking.
"We can't have that." It was a statement of fact. The words held a threat too. Jace knew this was the point where he would have to run.
Jace had known the danger of going there, but he hadn't been stupid enough not to believe Fenmore wouldn't go through with his threat.
Before Jace could even break into a run hundreds of hands grabbed at him and stopped him. Jace blinked, he could have sworn that those people hadn't been there before. They turned him to face Fenmore.
Fenmore didn't look like an evil mastermind. In fact, he looked the picture of the average mundane. He had brown hair and plain brown eyes, was of average build and height. He was the opposite of abnormal. But as Jace had quickly come to realize, it was very dangerous to judge someone by outer appearances.
Jace counted the Downworlders and Shadowhunter alike that restrained him. Jace might have been of angelic decent, but he knew when he was outnumbered.
"You said you would let me go." Jace was dangerously near pleading.
"After you helped me. Jace, now you couldn't have thought that you were anywhere near finished helping me, could you? I mean you've barely done anything," Fenmore smiled, knowing that everything was going precisely to plan. "And I think we all know where your loyalties lie. We couldn't have you going back to them and ruining everything, could we? No. Besides, you are a very useful asset to our growing empire," Fenmore opened his arms, gesturing to the growing crowd of slightly anxious and agitated Shadowhunter and Downworlders behind him. "But, we all know that you won't join willingly," Fenmore paused in mock contemplation and smiled. "Jace, I have someone I want you to meet."
Fenmore looked over his shoulder and sighed someone's name. A silver-skinned girl made her way through the now split crowd.
The way she walked said danger. Her absolute confidence, the way she surely put one foot in front of the other, the way that she was weaponless except for a single long-bladed knife, her penetrating gaze… Everything about this girl seeped venom and danger. She was strangely wearing the black Shadowhunter gear. She stared intently at Jace. If, at any time Jace had felt vulnerable, it was now.
"Jace," Fenmore continued, smiling confidently, "I'd like to introduce you to Oek. She's a Sprite: a half-human-half-fey. But, Oek, why don't you tell him what you really are?" Oek didn't turn her head to acknowledge the question.
"A crime against nature." She spat out in her shrill voice.
"Very good, Oek," Fenmore cooed, "You and her will have that in common," Fenmore said, directing his attention back at Jace. "Jace, Oek is going to teach you some obedience." Fenmore paused again to smile happily. Then he gestured to a Shadowhunter sifting foot to foot with his chin.
"Rune him."
Jace knew that this was the point of no return. If he didn't escape now he never would.
He jumped…And slammed into an invisible wall.
Fenmore wasn't stupid, he had known that all chances pointed to Jace attempting escape, so, as soon as Jace had entered the near area a warlock had created an impenetrable force field.
Jace was, -in every sense of the word- trapped.
A dark-skinned, greasy male Shadowhunter approached him, steele in hand. Jace struggled against his captors, striking out in every direction; but failing miserably. Oek joined the Shadowhunter as he burned the symbols into Jace's skin.
Jace tried to see the rune that was burning his arm as the Shadowhunter and Downworlders blocked his line of vision. At last, there was a break in the hustle and Jace's keen eyes picked up a rune he knew by heart. Alliance.
It couldn't possibly be that bad if they were simply connecting him with a Downworlder. The Shadowhunter with the steele turned to Oek. Probably drawing Alliance on her too, Jace thought. But Jace felt no connection like he should have.
The people holding him abruptly dissipated. Jace wondered briefly why, before he decided what to do.
He spat at Fenmore. Jace broke into a run. He hoped he could find a break in the force field. Or at least use his steele for something.
Into the first couple steps of his run, all his muscles locked. Jace was paralysed.
"Oek, make him come back here." Fenmore chortled excitedly. Immediately, Jace's body responded, he walked back without any will or control. Jace had begun to panic.
"What have you done to me?" Jace rasped, his breathing becoming harder. This only caused Fenmore to laugh harder.
Jace could barely see, the last of the days light hastily relinquishing into the night. Then his eyes caught a glimpse of the rune on Oek's arm. It looked like Alliance, but it was different. Jace suddenly came to the realization that it was Alliance combined with something else. Jace squinted, and felt all his hopes die. It was a very strong rune: Control.
"I've done to you like I've done to all that oppose. Welcome to my army, Jace Herondale." Fenmore cackled.
Oek was in complete and utter control of Jace.
Oek herself smiled blatantly at Jace, showing sharp canines. She sauntered over to him.
"Jace, I am in control. There is nothing you can do to stop me, ever," She sneered at him, "Until either of us dies, you are mine. So," Oek stopped, licking her lips. Suddenly her pupils dilated. "Let's learn some rules, and, my favourite part- punishments." Jace still couldn't move.
She lifted her hand and Jace realized that she was wearing rings. She backhanded him violently.
Jace felt his nose pop, his lip tear and deep cuts burn his face. But it didn't make sense, she hadn't hit him that hard. His knees came out from under him. Her smile grew.
"You are mine. Only I choose if you live or not. If I simply think the thought, your heart will stop. But if I do decide you should die, I won't be so kind as to give you a fast death. If you so much as think something I don't like, I can incapacitate you with pain beyond your imaginings." She licked her lips, " Before I give a demonstration, I'll explain something. You noticed there, that the force I struck you with was not nearly enough to break your nose. Your nose broke simply because I wanted it to. You think you are beautiful? I have scarred you to change that. You are mine. I am going to take everything you love from you. Once you are stripped of that, you are nothing. Then, you will come to terms with what you really are."
"Now, to demonstrations," She simply narrowed her eyes slightly, before Jace felt like his insides were being pulled out.
Jace was filled with a sudden and obsolete hate of her and Fenmore. He imagined taking her head off with one of his seraph blades. Abruptly, everything stopped.
"You didn't quite heed my warning, did you?" She said, amused. Suddenly, Jace's skin felt like it was on fire, he screamed in agony. She laughed. "Now beg for my mercy or I'll cut off your breathing. You've got ten seconds."
The pain dulled slightly enough for Jace to say something.
"You'll never win. Valentine and his beliefs are dead." Jace rasped before the agony returned. Oek smirked, the sides of Fenmore's mouth tugged upwards. Fenmore squatted down so he was eye-level with Jace.
Fenmore smiled scarily as he said, "Jace, as you'll soon find out; just because something dies doesn't mean it's dead," He stood up and turned to Oek. "Teach him."
Since then, Jace had been in an eternal state of torture. Oh, he had been taught. He had felt all the hope of escaping, of simply living again just drain out of him like blood in a horrific torture scene. Jace had lost all will to live.
Now he could barely move without Oek willing it. His thoughts weren't even his anymore. Jace didn't even hate Oek any longer. Half of it was that he was too exhausted to try to hate anyone; another half was that he found that the one's in control of the rune had to have experienced the pain they exerted on others: Oek had been through everything he was being put through. Hate had quickly turned to pity.
An extreme pain severed Jace's train of thoughts.
"Stop wasting time. Come on." Oek chastised.
Ever since the first day that Jace had been captured he and Oek had been raiding nests of all kinds of Downworlders. Jace felt unfathomable guilt every time they captured a pack of werewolves, or a nest of vampires, or a group of fey and he saw their young, their old and their strongest be left powerless under Fenmore's magic.
Jace was only allowed to use himself in this way. Everyday, he would herd the Downworlders into a warehouse. He had no idea what happened to them after he left them there, but they were always gone by the next morning. He could only imagine something similar to his position.
Jace started to walk. If they finished early, they could return to their dingy quarters in another warehouse and Jace could talk to Oek.
Soon they reached a portal cast by a angry-looking warlock with pale blue skin. The warlock tapped his foot anxiously and sneered at them.
"You're late." He seethed.
"What do you care? Let's just do this." Oek snapped. The tone of her voice stopped the warlock from responding. Jace allowed himself to grin a little. They walked through the portal.
They were clearly in Idris. Jace couldn't be mistaken. He shifted back to numb ignorance. They walked briskly into a forest. The thick over growth was unnerving, but Oek walked in a pace as if she knew exactly where they were going. Jace hoped she did.
At last, they came to a break in the woods. The light shone through vibrantly here, causing Jace to squint at the sudden light change.
As Jace's eyes adjusted, he realized that they were standing in the middle of an enormous pack of werewolves. This was larger than any other raid he had done. The warlock raised his hands and began his part. Oek spoke up.
"This warlock is casting a force-field that will kill anyone who leaves it." A loud murmur jostled the crowd.
Some women voiced their disbelief, another, in an act of desperation clutched her newborns head and ran towards the woods. Oek made no move to stop them. There had to be proof, examples for everyone to understand the seriousness of the situation.
Just before the woman hit the tree line, she fell over, as if hit by an invisible wall. She and her newborn were dead before they hit the ground.
Jace winced, for some reason this situation reminded him of Clary.
"If you try to kill us, the force field will slowly get smaller and suffocate you." Oek continued."You are now given a choice: Join Fenmore or end up like her."
No one responded. Oek didn't smile like usual.
Jace started to walk without his own volition. Soon, he was at the back of the crowd, herding them forward. They walked slowly, hoping for a sudden escaping possibility. It never came.
The warlock called up another portal. Within minutes, everyone was gone. Jace turned around suddenly.
There was no one left. Why had he felt like someone had been watching him? He scanned the area again. There was no one there. He turned and tried to shake the feeling of eyes on his back.
This reminded him of unhappy memories. Oek smiled him her snake smile. Jace could tell she wasn't really happy, or pleased. He didn't know why she was smiling.
He stepped through the portal.
Clary sifted uncomfortably in an arm chair. She nervously pushed a piece of hair behind her ear and bit her lip. Turning, she craned her neck to see what was going in the kitchen behind her.
Jocelyn seemed to be yelling at Magnus, while Magnus ignored her diligently and hummed to himself while he made a teapot. Finally, Jocelyn gave up and sighed and entered the livingroom where Clary was. Magnus followed her shortly with delicate teacups. He placed one on the vintage coffee table in front of Jocelyn.
"You're just jealous because I was right." He said.
He placed one in front of Alec, Luke then Simon.
"The High Warlock of Brooklyn uses teacups?" Simon grumbled.
Magnus grabbed a Vogue magazine and slapped Simon across the back of his head.
"I'll have you know, Cain, that these teacups are older then your grandparents! Have some respect for your elders!" Magnus chided. Alec smiled, recovering by hiding it with his teacup as he leaned back and crossed his legs.
Simon shook his head and mumbled something about not having grandparents.
Concluding, Magnus placed a teacup in front of Clary.
"So poppet," Magnus sighed, settling into a chair beside her, "I understand that you used to go to Pandemonium with Simon here quite often in the past." Clary nodded. "Do you remember that one time you thought that you saw men with knives there?" Clary looked a bit torn, but she nodded again. "Can you recount that night to me?"
"Why?" Clary blurted.
"Humour me." Magnus sighed.
"I can't remember it very well…" Clary whined
"Just try. Unless you want the pain to come back…" Magnus replied lazily.
"Well… It was a Sunday night and Simon and I had gone to the Pandemonium. Then I saw two guys follow a couple into the back room. I got worried because-"
"Can you describe them to me?" Magnus interrupted. Clary swallowed, suddenly nervous.
"Well one was dark -like the girl in the couple- and the other was blond." Clary mumbled. Then her eyes fell on Alec.
Her pupils dilated and she fell back into her chair. It was like the time earlier, but different. This time there was no screaming, no indescribably agonizing pain, no need to escape. No, this was like choosing to swim out far into the ocean. The floodgates opened.
Clary's eyes were still open, but she wasn't aware of what was going outside of her mind. It was chaos around her, with Magnus trying to control it. The fact that Clary wasn't breathing wasn't helping.
As quickly as it began it ended. Clary almost felt sad it was over. Sadder that it had happened.
She realized what was going on in front of her for a moment. Then she broke into tears. Everything was easier when you didn't remember it.
A/N: Tada! Did you like it? It was chapter longer than what I'm used to writing. I liked writing this chapter, there were a lot of cookies. Next one's prolly gonna be a transition chapter, which are not fun. It'll hopefully be out soon. No promises in case I break them. Are you happy Jace is back?