Chapter 2:
Clary's POV
"What do you mean 'who's Jace'?" I asked.
"I mean who's Jace? Is he cute?" Isabelle asked.
I nearly threw up.
"Izzy... he's your brother," I said.
"No... I've never had a brother named Jace," Isabelle said.
"Yes you have... you do. You know, about this tall, blonde hair, gold eyes, sarcastic," I said, listing off all Jace's features.
Isabelle just shook her head. "Never heard of him," she said with a shrug.
I just stared at her. Surely Jace made her do this because of what I did last night.
"Did Jace put you up to this?" I asked.
"I don't know what you're talking about," Isabelle said before walking off again.
I just shook my head and went down the hall to Jace's room.
I knocked on the door but didn't get an answer.
After a moment, I pushed the door open but found no one in the room. Heck, the room wasn't even the same.
Everything was different.
The sheets weren't the same as Jace's, there were no books in the room, no photo's, no clothes; nothing.
"What are you doing Clary?" Alec asked from behind me.
I jumped slightly and turned to face him. "Did Jace move to a different room?" I asked.
"What?" Alec asked, confused.
"Did Jace move to a different room? This was his room yesterday," I said.
"No one's been in that room for as long as I can remember. It's never been used," Alec said.
"What?" I said.
"You heard me," Alec said before walking down the hall again.
"Don't tell me Jace put you up to this too!" I said, following after Alec.
"What are you talking about?" Alec asked.
"Come on Alec, please don't play his games! Where is Jace?" I asked, grabbing Alec's arm.
Alec just looked at me but didn't pay any attention to that.
My eyes were fixed on Alec's arm.
His Parabatai rune wasn't there. "Where's your Parabatai rune?" I asked, looking up at Alec.
"What? I don't have a Parabatai Clary," Alec said, pulling his arm away from me before walking down the hall again.
I stared after him, completely shocked.
You couldn't really cover up a rune.
Isabelle had tried that before but the runes always showed through the makeup.
"No... no, no, no," I said, running back to my room.
I grabbed the picture frame off my bedside table again a stared at it.
Sure enough, it was still the same as before.
Only I was in the picture, staring at something in the distance.
I began searching my room for any evidence of Jace but I found nothing.
"This isn't happening," I said, pacing back and forth across my room, running my hands through my hair.
"I'm dreaming. That's the only logical explanation here," I mumbled, pinching my arm.
"Ouch..." I said.
"You're not dreaming," a voice said from behind me.
I stopped walking and spun around, almost falling over.
In front of me stood a woman with long, pale blonde hair. She wore a pale blue dress and a large, dark blue coat with a hood.
She reached up and pushed the hood off her head.
"Who are you?" I asked, stumbling back across my room.
"My name is Tara. I'm a warlock," she said, her bright blue eyes staring at me, watching my every move.
"What are you doing here?" I asked as I grabbed the dagger off my dresser and held it up between me and the warlock.
"I had a feeling you needed information," she said.
I just stared at her, not moving.
She held her hand out towards me and in it, she held a mirror.
It was gold and adorned with tiny swirling patterns.
The handle was covered in strange gold marks, barely visible against the gold handle. The marks were slightly darker than the rest of the mirror though, which was why I could see them. I didn't know what they meant though.
"Take it," she said, taking a step towards me, still holding the mirror.
Cautiously, I stepped towards her and took the mirror from her hand.
The mirror was so cold I almost dropped it.
I just continued to look at the warlock, not sure why she had given me a mirror.
"Look at it," she said.
I narrowed my eyes at her slightly but glanced down at the mirror.
It only showed my reflection. I looked back up at the warlock and was about to say something but she spoke before me.
"Just wait," she said.
Sighing, I looked back at the mirror.
The glass seemed to ripple and then it stilled and no longer found myself staring at my reflection. Instead, I was staring into a hall in the institute.
Suddenly, Jace appeared.
"Where are you going?" I heard Alec ask.
"Out. I'll be back later," Jace said.
"Angela will be here soon," Alec said, appearing in the hall behind Jace.
"I know. I told her to come over," Jace said with a roll of his eyes.
The mirror then went back to normal and I found myself once again staring at my reflection.
"Who's Angela?" I asked. "Is she that stupid blonde that Jace was kissing last night?" I said, my pain and anger surfacing again.
"No. Angela doesn't exist here," Tara said.
"What? Then why did Jace..." I trailed off.
"Jace doesn't exist here either," she said.
"What do you mean?" I asked.
"Last night you wished Jace didn't exist. You wish has been granted. Jace exists in another dimension or a parallel universe; whatever you want to call it. You don't exist where he is though and he doesn't remember you," Tara said, her tone serious.
"You're lying," I said, my heart pounding in my chest.
"No, I'm not. You wished Jace didn't exist and I granted your wish."
"I didn't mean that! I was angry at him and I was hurt!" I exclaimed.
"You should be careful what you wish for then," Tara said.
"No! Please! Bring him back!"
Tara just shook her head and went to leave through the portal near my closet. I hadn't even noticed it until now.
"Please! I need him! Please bring him back!" I shouted.
"Listen. How about this? You have two weeks to prove you regret making that wish. If you can prove you regret your wish, I will bring Jace back. If you fail to prove you regret your wish though, Jace will remain in a parallel universe with no memory of you. You will be forced to remember him though to remind you to be careful what you wish for. You can use that mirror to see him for the next two weeks," Tara said.
I just nodded. I would do anything to bring Jace back.
"I'll be watching you," Tara said.
With that, she disappeared and I was left standing in my room, clutching the mirror to my chest as tears silently fell down my cheeks.
"I'll get you back Jace. I promise," I whispered.