And I'm back with another "chapter"! Ah...I have to wonder why I like writing dark things so much.

And Noverael Parabati, I did and it does sound cooler. X3 I thank you, though! Oh...and I hope the name change doesn't throw you for a look. :P But, the more I continued writing this, the more I realized that the title Blood of an Angel makes SO MUCH MORE SENSE!

liddepierot, I do try. Jonathan's a difficult character to portray, especially when he's one of the main focuses.

Now, everyone! Enjoy after the disclaimer!

Disclaimer: As much as I wanna, I own nothing more than the plot. |D

3

Reminiscent

Alec shivered, shoving his hands deeper into the pockets of his faded black hoodie that was a good three sizes too large for his frame. Clouds had started to fill the sky, crossing over the moon, causing a white glow through the translucent cape. The wind blew hard again, forcing the trees to bend and sway, threatening to fall to the ground below; they could be heard cracking under the weight of the wind. Something in the night seemed amiss. However, it was not the weather that made him feel that way: It was the air. Something felt off – felt wrong – as though a terrible storm was to soon be upon them.

The feeling sent a chill down his spine just as he passed the walkway around Cherry Hill. The Bethesda Fountain was in view through the trees and he stopped, staring at it as another gust picked up, causing the lily pads to glide across the water. He recalled being pushed into the water a few weeks prior from a demon that Jace had sworn he had under control. He remembered pulling himself, drenched in cold water, out of the fountain and yelling at Jace, who had taken off down the square and through the same path he stood on, now; the demon trailing close behind him. The memory of watching Jace jump onto one of the tree branches and the demon hitting the tree's base headfirst entered his mind, making a small smile crawl onto his face. The fight had ended moments after, Jace jumping onto its back and slicing its head clean off. He had sent a cocky grin towards Alec, who just frowned and shook his head.

A sharp jab to his chest made him cringe at the memory. It was around that time that he had begun to notice a change in Jace's demeanor – he had started caring about his person less and less and become more reckless. Two weeks after that incident, another fight had gone down in the park, only this time at the south end near Promenade. Jace had seemed distracted the entire day, and when a demon seemed to spawn (out of nowhere, it appeared), Jace's mind was only halfway involved. The demon's jagged-ended tail had gone through Jace's shoulder and broke off, pinning the Shadowhunter to a large oak tree as the poison infected his blood. He had ripped the tail out of his shoulder, returning it to the creature by shoving the pointed-end into its abdomen and infecting it with its own poison; which, oddly enough, it did not appear to be immune to. The black writher demons, which they had later discovered it had been, released a shriek as it "fizzled".

Alec had to literally carry Jace back to the Institute, even after healing runes had been applied: Jace had just simply passed out on him, refusing to wake up to walk himself back.

It had proved that Jace was able to handle himself, but his will to do so would come and go. Many times, it seemed that Jace had gone out with full intentions of getting himself slain. Alec could remember a time when the younger male had left all of his weaponry behind and gone scouring for a fight. Times occurred when he even refused to have healing runes applied; said he would rather "fight it out" and "deal with the pain."

He stopped at the fountain's circle, staring up at the angels that sat on top of it. He could not help but feel as though Jace had been in the same spot not too long ago. He turned to stare past the court and down the path that was lit with only the occasional lamp. Sighing, his feet began dragging him down the path, his shoes scuffing the pavement as the wind blew around him. He stopped short when he thought he saw a figure down the path. He craned his neck, trying to see whether or not it was a person and, if it was, then who it was.

"Hello?" he called. The figure did not move. He stepped into the dim light of a lamp, hoping to get a better view. The figure was in shadow, making it difficult for him to distinguish what (or who) exactly he was staring at. He stepped forward, shoulders tense and hand gripping the hilt of a seraph blade in his pocket. He called out again. However, as he got closer to it, he frowned, a feeling of idiocy washing over him.

It was only a tree – nearly a sapling with a small bush around the base.

Shaking his head, the feeling began to fade as he released the death grip he had on the hilt of the blade. He took his hands out of his pockets and crossed his arms, hugging himself as the wind blew harshly again, nearly knocking him back.

That was when his peripheral vision caught the fluttering movement of an arm. He jerked his head towards the object, eyes landing on a hoodie that seemed to have gotten trapped on a bush after being picked up by the wind. He walked over to it as the arm continued to flutter with the wind, making it appear as though it was waving. He cocked his head. The hoodie seemed strangely familiar, its black colour faded, making it appear almost gray. He looked down at the one he was wearing and uncrossed his arms, pulling the base of the hoodie down and out, inspecting it; he even poked his fingers through a hole on the side of it. He looked back to the hoodie caught on the bush.

It was identical.

There was even a tattered hole in the same place.

He let go of his sweater and grabbed the one off the bush, holding it up in front of him. Even the collar was stretched out and the pockets' threads were coming loose. He clutched the hoodie, turning his head to look around him.

"Jace?" he called out, though he was unsure why. What puzzled him even more was why he was expecting an answer.

He balled the hoodie and put it under his arm, shoving his hands back into his pockets as he started walking opposite the Institute.

o-o-o-o-o-o

A knee to the ribs was the response Jace received after cursing his captor. His arms wrapped around his abdomen as he drop to his knees, eyes clenched tight and teeth biting down on his tongue to keep from crying out. Jonathan only crouched down, grabbing the back of Jace's matted, blonde hair and gripping it tightly, forcing Jace to stare into his eyes – his cruel, stone eyes.

Jace bit back his tongue, allowing Jonathan to pull closer to him. No emotion lay within in eyes; his almost dead, blackened eyes. If Jonathan would move only a bit closer, Jace was sure he would be able to—

Jonathan's hand arrested his wrist just as Jace's hand touched the hilt of his seraph blade that was on the older male's belt. He released Jace's hair and, faster than he could blink, he had grabbed the blade himself, unsheathing it and slicing Jace across the face, causing blood from his cut cheek to splatter onto the cement floor. Jonathan let go of his wrist when Jace instinctively brought his hand up to cover the fresh wound. The seraph blade's tip now sat touching the young male's throat, Jonathan's hand unmoving. Jace brought his hand down from his face, blood smeared on his face and hand as his eyes trailed to watch Jonathan's arm cautiously.

He cocked his head to the side, as though he was debating whether or not on what to do. Seeming to change his mind, he stood up; Jace released the breath he had been holding once the blade was gone from his throat. He watched as Jonathan ran his finger down the blood-covered blade and, Jace's stomach could not help but turn, licked Jace's blood from his finger.

"Now that you've had your bit of fun…," he trailed off, walking back to the book that sat lying open on the table. He set the blade on the table as he began flipping through the pages, eyes trailing the words on the pages. Jace could only watch him, his movements barred by the pentacle of runes surrounding him. It was apparent that Jonathan was looking for something in particular, but what that was, Jace could not say. He saw the older male release a slight laugh at one page in particular before he continued turning the pages. He stopped a few more pages in and picked up the book, reading the words silently; a smirk tinged his features, his back still to Jace. "It's time for me to have my fun."

Jace stared at him quizzically.

"Δέστε τον άγγελο." Jace pulled back and watched as the runes around him began to glow a faint, blood red. Jonathan turned, then, to face Jace and watch his reaction. His face brightened, seeing the runes glow before him. He brought his eyes back to the book. "Δαίμονες των κολάσεων. Σας παρουσιάζω αυτό το ανθρώπινο-άγγελο προτού να κάνει με το, όπως θα. Δώστε μου τη δύναμη να αψηφά τον Άγγελο και να μολύνουν το άγγελος και όλα όσα αντιπροσωπεύει." As he spoke, Jace began hearing muffled voices around him; the voices were deep, speaking in whispers. He looked up at Jonathan, whose eyes were focused on the words before him, not seeming to hear the voices the Nephilim could – either that or he was ignoring them. "Ζητώ να μου στείλετε προσωπικό σας για να εξαγάγετε το εσωτερικό άγγελος από αυτόν τον άνθρωπο." After Jonathan spoke the words, Jace felt hands on him, holding his shoulders and wrapping around him. He jerked, looking around him, but saw nothing. He felt the ghost hands on his neck and face, caressing him; hands on his back, however, felt as though they were digging claws into his skin, forcing him to clench his jaw to hold back a shout. "Οδηγός αυτός ο άγγελος από τον ουρανό για να το κολάσεων. Λυγίστε τον κάτω τα χέρια σας."

Suddenly, Jace felt the hands force him onto his back with him fighting, trying to get away. Yet, the hands were too strong and too many. They covered his eyes, making him close them and another set of hands forced his mouth open, entering and pressing down on his tongue. The pain and the weight combined were too much and Jace finally released a yell, a muffled word of "stop". The runes around him started to glow a deeper shade of red, drenching the male in red light. He felt arms wrap around his abdomen and others touch his legs and push down, forcing him into the cement. He started to thrash violently, trying to get away from what was happening; however, his thrashes went unbothered. He jerked his head to the side, the hands covering his eyes seemed to move away and, when he opened his eyes, he was presented to a large, winged creature mere centimeters away from his face. His breath caught in his throat as the creature leaned closer to him, inspecting him. He clenched his eyes shut and turned his head away, trying to rid the demon from his sight. He could feel its breath on him and, when he opened his eyes again, he was able to see what had been holding him. What appeared to be hundreds of hands were all over him, grabbing his body and holding him back; the hands were coming from a sea – a sea of creatures below him. Creatures with large, black eyes and blue, veined hands and arms were reaching up from below, just to touch him, as though they were trying to see if he was real as he wondered the same about them.

It had to be a trick – a trick of the book Jonathan had been reading from. But when Jace tried to lift his head, the larger creature reached up its massive hand, larger than Jace's head, and placed it over Jace's face, obscuring his view and making it to where he could hardly breathe. The smell of rotting flesh filled his nose; the scent coming from the demon itself. Despite wanting to, his entire body seemed paralyzed and he was not even able to release the scream he so much wanted. The demon gripped its hand, making it feel as though it would crush Jace's skull as though it were crushing an already-cracked egg. It turned his head from side-to-side, scanning him over. Once it seemed through with its inspection, it released Jace's head, allowing the Nephilim to gasp a breath of air.

The moment his mouth was open and presenting itself, the creatures holding him reached their hands inside his mouth again, trapping it in the wide, open position. He struggled, fighting to get away, but more hands came up, holding his head still. The demon cocked its head, opening its large mouth, presenting three tongues, each a different color: Black, white and red. Jace's eyes went wide as the creature leaned down, the long, thin, black tongue-like form entered his mouth, passing his uvula and sliding down his throat. Reaction caused him to gag and start coughing, his body trying to reject the alien object. Tears streamed down his face as it continued to slide deeper and deeper into his throat, feeling as though it was slipping into his stomach. He clenched his eyes shut and the demon began extracting its tongue. Once it was out, Jace could not help but open his eyes.

On the tip of the creature's tongue was a small, white orb, no larger than a pebble. With a curve of its tongue, it crushed the small orb, shattering it into millions of specks that fell onto Jace's face.

The moment that had happened, the scene around him vanished, bringing him back to lying on the cement floor and Jonathan watching him, eyes looking up from the book. Jace's heart pounded in his chest as water continued seeping from his ducts and he stared up at the high cement ceiling above. His body shook. Wave after wave hit his body, wracking him nearly senseless. He willed the tears to stop, convincing himself it was only from the shock; but then the scene was gone so suddenly, it had him wonder if it had even happened at all or if was only a figment of his imagination caused by the words Jonathan spewed from the book.

He tried to sit up by rolling onto his side and pushing himself onto all fours; however, his arms wavered as his strength left him and he was left to collapse on his stomach onto the cold floor. That was when his restraint failed him and he released a broken cry – a mixture between a yell and a sob as he called out for one person:

"Al-ec," he spoke in broken words, "ple-ase…. I – I can't…."

His breath hitched as he opened his eyes to see shoes standing in front of him. The red glow from the runes had died out and, once again, Jonathan was standing next to him before crouching down, the book in his hand on his lap. "You can't what, Jace?" he asked, bringing his hand to run through the Jace's matted blonde hair. Jace wanted to respond, but his mind fought, deciding that it was not worth another attack to his body; what he did find was that he hated himself for finding the soft touch of Jonathan's fingers moving through his hair to be soothing. Jonathan bent his neck down, folding his abdomen over his legs as he looked Jace in the face. "Can't truly fend for yourself? Can't admit that you're pathetic?" he pulled up, still continuing to run his hand through Jace's hair. "Can't deny that you are weak?" A pondering look washed over his face. "Or is that you can't tell him? That you can't tell him you really do need him and his rooks to protect you? Tell me Jace: what is it you can't do?" He looked back down at the younger male.

Jace stayed silent, though hundreds of thoughts were shooting across his mind. His eyes still burned, but the water falling from them finally ceased; which made him retain at least some of his dignity – or so that was how he felt.

"Hm…no answer?" Jace bit his tongue to keep from responding. "Well, then, Jace. Let me tell you what you can't you, shall I? You can't protect yourself – at least not from me, anyway. But what you are is so much better. You are nothing more than a worthless Nephilim that no one cares about. You are weak and worthless. Face it: If it wasn't for the fact that the Lightwoods felt obligated to take care of you, you'd already be dead and lying in a ditch with some worthless demon devouring your flesh and bones."

As he spoke, Jace heard whispers around him; indistinguishable whispers that echoed in his ears. His mind started drifting and his eyes became distant as he stared straight ahead of him, absorbing the other's words. In his mind, he recalled the day Clary left – when he had gone to check on her and all of her belongings were arranged in a neatly packed suitcase, her room barren; when she apologized and said that things have changed, that they had gotten older and matured; when she said that even she could tell distance had started to grow between them. And that it was painful for her to stay, realizing what was happening – that she could not be around him anymore because of that reason. She did not say where she was going, but she had left with Simon and her mother, her back being the last thing he had seen. She did not even look back: That innate sense where humans look back instinctively when they walk away to make sure the one they care about is okay did not even seem to come to her.

"But here, Jace, here with me"—Jonathan peered down at Jace, his expression strangely soft; feeling the change in his demeanor—"you are special…and you are useful. Unlike the people you care about on the outside that won't return your sentiment, I will."

Jonathan's words seemed nearly hollow as more memories flooded Jace's mind, dragging him back. His mind flooded with images of the people around him passing him without even acknowledging him; people avoiding him, knowing the pain he was going through, not wanting to get involved. The most recent memory of his fight with Alec came back into his head:

"I don't…care so much. No one else does."

A sharp pain shot through his chest and the tears that he thought he had stopped came rushing back, falling sideways down the bridge of his nose and onto the floor.

"Here, I can show you your potential and protect you from whatever might try to take it."

Jace shut his eyes, allowing himself to be soothed by Jonathan's words and motions; the soft tenderness of his hand running through his hair and odd, gentle speech. Whispers continued to echo around him and, in the darkness of his mind, he could see himself standing in the darkness alone as those that he cared about walked away; their back being the last thing he saw.

Ah...the joys of torture. Wait...I didn't just say that. Oops?

Hope you all are enthralled so far! :D