Scarred for Life

Chapter 14

*I tried uploading this on 2/8/13, but it wouldn't let you access this chapter through email so I re-posted this chapter.

I'm so sorry it took me almost a week to update! Me and my Beta both had lots of homework! (My Spanish teacher gave us two days to do a HUGE project! :-()

Jace P.O.V

My knife had just wedged itself into Raphael's chest with a satisfying thud and I looked around eagerly to see if anyone else needed assistance. Isabelle landed with a flourish beside me, the decapitated the blonde vampire's head falling to the dirt floor, while Magnus, Simon, and Alec were circling Christian with triumphant eyes. I glanced behind me and saw Rebecca throw a seraph blade at Maureen's heart with precise aim.

That's my girl!

I parted my lips to call out to her, when I watched with horror as Maxwell landed on top of her back. My heart seemed to stop and I froze in panic, before my Shadowhunter instincts kicked in and I sprinted across the clearing, trying to reach my beautiful Rebecca in time. I was only a mere ten feet away, when his fangs slid free and attached themselves to her pale neck.

No!

I ripped another seraph blade from its hilt at my side in desperation, cried out "Nakir!", and lodged it in-between Maxwell's shoulder blades.

He unlatched his deadly fangs from Rebecca's flesh wound and turned to glare at me incredulously. How is that possible? He should be dead! Seeing the confusion clearly visible in my eyes, Maxwell laughed manically.

"We work for Valentine; do you really think he wouldn't give us something to protect ourselves against Angel magic?" He shook his head in disbelieve and let out another short bark of laughter, before turning to his fellow brethren. "Come on guys, funs over. Let's go."

All at once, Maureen, Camille, Raphael, and Christian rose from their scattering spots on the ground and brushed themselves off. The other blonde woman's crumpled body remained where it fell. It probably had something to do with the fact her decapitated head rested a few feet away. The surviving five vampires, including Maxwell, turned on their heels and disappeared into the dense forest without another word.

Now that the nightmare had reached its abrupt end, my attention snapped back to Rebecca. She was lying on the ground with blood trickling out of the two puncture points on the side of her neck. I noted that her already naturally pale skin looked nearly translucent under the moonlight. "Oh, no."

I whirled around and scanned for her vampire bestie. Simon held a hand clamped around his mouth and nostrils. Thin blue veins were also starting to appear around his enlarged eyes. "There's too much blood. I need to get out of here."

Isabelle nodded in a silent agreement and looped her arm with his, before pulling him in the general direction of his van. "I'll come with you."

Alec and Magnus joined me at my side with matching concerned expressions on their faces. "I told you not to use the seraph blade, Alexander. If you had let me use my magic, we would have had one less murderous vampire on our hands."

Alec's hair hid his guilty grimace from view as he hung his head in shame and subconsciously leaned away from Magnus. Their restrained, neutral voices made something deep inside of me snap. I left my spot at Rebecca's side to wave my hands at them in bewilderment.

"Do something Magnus! Help me save Rebecca! There's no way in Hell that I am going to let her die! Save her! I swear on the Angel, that I will not let her die!" As my little speech came to an end, I felt a sharp tug at my heart, but dismissed it for now.

Magnus nodded and bent over Rebecca's limp body, slowly examining the bite marks. "She's lost a lot of blood and has vampire poison running through her veins. I can stop the bleeding, but we need to take her back to the Institute if we want to get that poison out of her system."

I nodded vigorously and gently bent to pick her up bridal style. She felt limp in my arms, dead. I knew that we had to get her to the Institute soon if I ever wanted to see her beautiful eyes again.

.o.O.o.

Clary P.O.V

Wake up Rebecca. Come on, Rebecca, just open your eyes. Please, Rebecca! Just show me that you're still alive!

I suddenly became aware of an angel's whispering voice next to my ear. If I concentrated hard enough, I could even picture the angel, too. He had curling honey-blonde hair, piercing gold eyes, and perfectly bronzed skin.

Wait, that's not an Angel. That's Jace! "Jace?"

I felt the warmth of his hand wrapped around mine, sending passionate flames throughout my fragile shell of a body. "Oh, thank the Angel, Rebecca; I thought I had lost you."

I felt a smile tug at the corners of my mouth at the knowledge of his fear of losing me. My heart swelled in my chest and I felt giddy all of a sudden.

"You can't get rid of me that easily, Wayland." I finished my sentence and hunched over coughing, my throat feeling like harsh sandpaper. I felt Jace wrap my fingers around a clear glass of water as he guided my head towards the rim to help me drink.

I realized how thirsty I actually was and gulped down the entire glass in one sitting, before slowly opening my eyes. I looked around the room for the first time since I regained consciousness and recognized the pale white walls of the infirmary. It was easily twice as large as my guest room upstairs and held dozens of hospital beds, all neatly filed in a row. All of them were empty, except for the one I was currently laying on.

My eyes returned to the chair beside my bed and I locked eyes with Jace. His expression was one of worry, hope… and dare I
I say love? His hand, which was still holding up my head, started stroking my hair softly. "I thought I had lost you. I saw Maxwell jump on top of you and thought that that was the last time I'd ever get to touch you, to hold you, to kiss you."

His distraught gaze traveled to my lips as he finished talking. I leaned in and met his lips with mine. He felt soft against my mouth and I felt my stomach twisting as I was reminded of how his kisses could make me feel. It was slow and drawn out, but it expressed all of the emotions that we had been feeling.

It was unfortunately cut short, when an oblivious Isabelle came barging through the door. "Hey Rebecca, I see you're finally awake! It took you long enough." She mumbled the last part under her breath and gave me an enthusiastic grin.

"How long have I been unconscious?"

"Hmmm, let's see. We went hunting on the 21st and it's now the 29th, so, eight days."

I felt my jaw practically hit the floor and my eyes doubled in size. "Eight days! How could I have possibly been asleep that long?"

Jace held my hand once again and used his thumb to draw reassuring circles on the backside of mine. "Maxwell injected you with a lot of venom when he bit you. It took a while for your body to get it out of your system."

I nodded numbly as the realization of Isabel's earlier words took full affect and fell back against the bed. I wasn't really concerned about Maxwell or the others. I knew that tomorrow was the 30th, the last day of the month. I had to tell Valentine my final choice, even though I hadn't fully decided yet. Should I choose to protect my loved ones, but kill thousands of innocent Downworlders? Or should I save the Downworlders and sentence everyone I know to death?

Ahhhh, snap! What's going to happen? I'll have a new chapter soon and you can find out! :-)

Note: My awesome Beta KelseyMasun16 is going back and editing Chapters 1-12, so I'll be replacing the old ones soon.