Chapter 9
When Alec woke, he was floating.
The weightless feeling that surrounded him was a strange one, unlike anything he'd felt before. It was as if gravity didn't apply to him, and he instead was held midair in a trance of lingering sleepiness.
But other than this weird sensation, there wasn't much else about the situation that was pleasant. Alec had no idea where he was, and as his consciousness became stronger as he woke and he tried to grasp his memories, a piercing headache split through his skull. He was afraid, but his instincts told him to open his eyes.
But when he did he was greeted with a blindness that stung his eyes, making him slam shut his eyelids before he could see a thing. Lashing out, his legs kicked and his hands came to cradle his head as another shocking headache hit him. Alec found that every move he made was slow, as if time had slowed and it was harder to move. It was like he was submerged in water, yet he could breathe perfectly.
Alec forced his eyes open again, ignoring the burning of his eyeballs as he did. He couldn't sit around in the dark for a second longer - he needed to know where he was and now. But all he saw when he opened his eyes was darkness, a strange sort of blurry mist that was somewhere between a murky green and a bluish grey.
Something was attached to his leg, something metal and tight, the material digging into his flesh. He tried to kick out, but the metal ring around his ankle was connected to a chain, supposedly bolted to the ground.
Alec had a panicky feeling in his chest, but swallowed it back before it could take over his rational mind. The last thing he remembered was leaving the Institute and setting off for Magnus' apartment, but anything after that was a blur. He couldn't fathom how he'd gone from walking down the streets to being trapped in this weird bubble of what he could only guess was water. Yes, that made sense - only water could make him feel so light and weightless.
But where he was was still a mystery, and every time Alec tried to delve too deeply into his missing memories, a sharp pain ran through his whole body. It was agonising, but he wasn't about to just give up.
Through all of this, as he fumbled around in his confused mind, Alec couldn't get a recent image to shift from his head: Jace, in the last second he'd seen him, with a cheeky grin and his golden eyes locked with Alec's. The mental picture was fixed, and stayed with Alec even when the world seemed cold and dark.

It wasn't until late afternoon the next day that Jace became worried about the whereabouts of his parabatai. Alec had left the night before and Jace hadn't seen him since. But what with the demons that he was obliged to fight and his sudden interest in his phone, Jace hadn't really noticed the absence of the eldest Lightwood.
The main focus of his day had been Clary. Isabelle had told him to apologise to her, and he was intent on doing just that. So much so that he had even given in to the mundane technology at his disposal and used his cell to call the redhead. Of course, she ignored him with every attempt, but Jace was still persistent. He finally understood Alec's obsession with his phone, as Jace now carried his wherever he went, waiting for Clary to hopefully call him back.
But it had been hours since he'd last called her, and every time he'd been greeted with nothing but her voicemail. Now, as Jace strolled aimlessly around the Institute with barely anything on his mind, he was struck with a sudden realisation that he hadn't seen Alec all day.
"Hey, Iz?" he said, catching the attention of his sister as she walked by. "Have you seen Alec today?"

Izzy looked up and frowned, shaking her head. "No. I thought he was out demon hunting with you."

Jace shook his head as well. "I haven't seen him all day."

"Neither have I." The siblings held a shared look, both thinking the exact same thing. Both were worried, but also suspicious, remembering who Alec had set off to meet the night before. Neither wanted to be the one to suggest it, but for entirely different reasons: Alec had been hurt by the warlock once before, and Izzy didn't want her brother to go through a similar heartbreak again. Jace, however, hesitated for more selfish reasons - he wasn't all too keen on his parabatai getting back with his ex just yet.

But they couldn't stand in silence forever, and Isabelle soon felt obliged to break it. "He went to see Magnus last night, didn't he?" Jace winced at the words and Izzy sent him a sympathetic smile. "I'll call him," she promised, "and try and get hold of Clary for you while I'm at it."

"Thanks," Jace murmured, before sulking off, all of a sudden struck with a terrible sense of dread. He felt strange - cold, as though he was standing outside in the autumn rain. But when he touched his skin, it was warm as usual, becoming steadily hotter the longer he was detached from Alec. He had a bad feeling that Alec wasn't with Magnus, and he was pretty sure it wasn't just a case of wishful thinking.

It wasn't long before Izzy got back to Jace, reporting that she'd spoken briefly with Clary and found that the redhead was out somewhere with Simon, "too busy to speak right now", but Jace had a feeling that it was just a convenient excuse.

"What about Alec?" Jace delved, and Izzy suddenly looked reluctant to tell him.

"Well, he's certainly not with Magnus," she said, and Jace indulged in a small sigh of relief, even though his heart clenched at the idea of Alec being missing. "Magnus was actually pretty annoyed at the idea that he might be there," Izzy continued. "He practically screamed down the phone at me. That guy has some issues."

"Maybe he was just drunk," Jace suggested. "It is Saturday, after all."

"Or heart broken," Izzy muttered, receiving a look from Jace. "What? It's true, Jace, whenever anyone even mentions Alec, he suddenly gets all defensive and quiet - it's not like him. I don't think you appreciate how much this is hurting him too."

The truth was, no, Jace didn't even want to think about how much the warlock might be hurting. He wasn't sure he was capable of feeling sympathy for both Alec and Magnus – he felt as though he was obliged to take sides, and in the end, Magnus had been the one to break things off.

Izzy was struggling with this concept to morality as well, although she hid it better than Jace did. Whilst she was annoyed at Magnus for breaking her brother's heart, and she was hesitant to trust him after such an unexpected betrayal. But she had to admit that Alec had been a little irresponsible with his actions. She'd heard most of the story from Clary, who seemed to be the only person Magnus was willing to talk to about Alec. Maybe it was because of her recent break up with Jace – or, at least, Izzy guessed they'd broken up, since Jace had been cheating on her – that Magnus felt they could relate. Whatever it was, Izzy couldn't help but feel just as sorry for Magnus as she was for her brother.

But now was not the time for dwelling on relationship mishaps, as Alec was missing and Izzy felt it her duty as a sister to find out where her brother was and if he was OK. Her and Jace's gaze locked and she said, "Tracking rune?" before Jace nodded and drew out his stele. Meanwhile, Izzy sprinted up to her brother's room to retrieve an item of his, returning with one of his thread-bare sweaters clutched in her hand.

"I should do it," Jace insisted. "I'm his parabatai – it will work better." Izzy nodded and watched as Jace carved the rune into his palm, holding onto Alec's sweater with his other hand. Once the rune was finished, a complicated swirl of thick lines and patterns, Jace placed his stele back in his pocket and switched the sweater into his other hand, gripping the fabric and slamming his eyes shut.

Instantly, without word of a warning, Jace was plunged into the depths of his subconscious, still standing but somewhere else entirely when he opened his eyes. All he saw was blue, a cloudy mist of the watery colour blurring his vision and stinging his eyes until he was forced to drop the sweater clutched in his hand and was flung back to his own reality, gasping due to a breath he hadn't realised he had been holding.

Izzy stood ahead of him, wide eyed and already questioning him on what he'd seen. "What is it? Jace, are you OK? Where is he?"

"I don't know," Jace said solemnly. "I couldn't figure out a location."

"What did you see?"

"Nothing – it was all blurry."

Jace rubbed his eyes, still sensitive after the ache that had encompassed them just a second ago, and Izzy sent him a look, apologies written all over her face.

"We need to get Magnus," she said, and even though he wasn't keen on the idea, Jace had to admit that it was the smartest idea. He had to find Alec, and quickly.

A/N: Ooh, spooky, huh? Can you guess who is behind the strange occurrences going on? Please R&R and I'll update again as soon as I can. Thanks! X