Chapter 13
Clary and Isabelle stood in the room that Magnus had described and waited for the others to arrive. As usual, Alec had been right: Magnus did have something to show them. Just as Clary began to grow impatient, the door opened and Maia came in.
"Hey," said Isabelle. "Have you seen Simon?"
Clary hadn't heard anything from him since the party began.
"Oh…Yeah." Maia said, her eyes downcast. "Jordan's taking him home."
"Why?" asked Clary.
"Well, he might have gotten a little bit tipsy."
"A little bit tipsy?" Isabelle asked.
"Actually, really tipsy."
"Alright!" Isabelle declared. " Simon has been the worst date ever! He ditched me as soon as we got here."
Clary sighed. Simon must have cracked; he had a lot on his shoulders. "Give the guy a break, Isabelle." She said.
Isabelle opened her mouth to say something, but before she could, the door burst open and Magnus, Luke and Alec strode in. Alec immediately went to stand next to Isabelle; Luke walked over to Clary.
"Alright, everybody," Magnus said. "I've found a way to find Jace."
"How?" asked Clary.
Magnus rummaged through his leather satchel and pulled out a small book bound in white leather: the Book of the White. He flipped through the pages until he found the one he was looking for. He handed the book to Clary, whose eyes widened.
"Mind-binding spell?" Clary said. "What's that?"
"This spell will allow you to communicate telepathically with Jace. You can access him anywhere, as long as you have something of his and something of yours to activate it."
Clary's hand immediately flew to the Morgenstern ring that hung on her neck. "Really? Why didn't you tell us this before? Why didn't we use this spell to locate him in the past?"
"Because," said Magnus. "It is extremely dangerous. It requires at least two warlocks to perform it, and both subjects will experience excruciating pain when it is first activated. Your minds will become connected, and while you can still have your own thoughts, you can also hear his. You can see what he sees, and vice versa—if the spell works, which it doesn't fifty-percent of the time."
"There isn't any other way?" asked Isabelle.
"Wherever he is, my regular tracking spells haven't been able to find him. But this one works anywhere." remarked Magnus.
Clary took a deep breath. As much as she liked being alone with her own thoughts, she knew that Jace would do the same thing for her. If this was really their only shot, she had to agree.
"Okay." Clary said. "I'll do it."
"No!" Luke exclaimed, put his hands on her shoulders. "You can't. What if it doesn't work?"
"Then you die." said Magnus.
"Magnus!" Clary said. "Not helping! Luke, I know you want to protect me. But I'm making my own decisions. And now, I'm deciding to save Jace."
Luke sighed. If Clary didn't know any better, she would have thought that she'd seen the beginnings of tears in his eyes. "You're right." he said. "You really are growing up."
"Wait a second." interjected Alec. "You said that this spell requires two warlocks. Who's the other one?"
As if on cue, the door opened, and a girl walked in. She looked about the same age as Clary, with dark brown hair and stormy grey eyes. She had an intelligent face, Clary thought, but that could have been because she was clutching a thick novel. She wore dark jeans and a turtle-neck sweater the same color of Alec's eyes.
"Hello," she said. "I'm sorry I'm late, I just—"
She broke off when her gaze landed on Alec. Her lips parted, and she said to him, "You look a lot like him."
As Alec cocked his head quizzically, Magnus laughed nervously. "Everybody, Tessa Gray. Tessa," he gestured to the rest of the group "Everybody."
Tessa finally broke her gaze from Alec and smiled at the group.
"Are you sure you want to do this, Clary?" asked Magnus.
"Yes," Clary answered.
"Clary." said Tessa, smiling at her. "I remember you when you were just a baby, just toddling about. My, how you've grown."
Clary blushed. It was weird for someone who looked her same age to say something like that, she thought. "You saw me when I was a baby?"
"Oh, yes." said Tessa. Her eyes saddened. "Your mother never wanted you to have this life."
"Oh." Clary already knew this, though. She took off the Morgenstern Ring and gave it to Tessa. "Well, I guess this isn't what she wanted. But please, do what you have to do to help me save Jace."
"Okay, then." said Magnus. "Clary, I will need something of yours."
Clary yanked out a strand of her hair and gave it to Magnus. Wordlessly, he took it and beckoned Tessa to a nearby table. Dropping the belongings and glancing once more at the spell, they took each other's' hands, forming a circle around the strand of hair and the Morgenstern ring.
Although she'd mentally braced herself for the pain, she couldn't have imagined the feeling that shot through her head. It was like a thousand knives were simultaneously running through it. She might have screamed, but she couldn't remember. She collapsed on the ground, her hands clutching her head. Her vision blurred as tears trickled down her cheek. Through the haze, she could see everyone running toward her, lips moving, but she heard no sound. Eventually, the agony became too much for her, and Clary faded out of consciousness.
"Jace?" said Rebecca. "Jace, are you alright?"
She knew it was no use. Jace had already blacked out.
Five minutes ago, everything had been normal. Well, as normal as things could be while in the custody of someone like Sebastian. She'd been sleeping in the twin bed in the room, and Jace had crashed on the couch by the fireplace. But then, Jace, who probably never screamed in agony, had cried out, clutching his head. Rebecca had run over to turn on the lights, and he'd carried on like that for at least two minutes, and then had fainted.
Even unconscious, he was breathing hard, sweat coating his face. Behind his eyelids, his eyes were moving rapidly. Rebecca bit her lip. How was she going to explain this to Sebastian? To herself?
She also worried about Jace's well-being. Despite his snarkiness, she kind of liked him. The only things that disturbed her about him were his inordinate beauty and his mysteriousness. She thought about his words from earlier today: I need you to trust me, no matter what. They probably had to do with his frequent meetings with Sebastian.
What was Sebastian planning to do with her, anyway? Of course, he'd tortured her for information, such as Jace's whereabouts and the Clave's plans, but after he hadn't gotten any, he'd pretty much left her alone.
"Rebecca?"
She looked up to see Sebastian cocking his head. He was wearing white flannel pajamas that buttoned down in the front. It made him look oddly innocent.
"Yeah," she answered.
"What's wrong with Jace?" he asked. "I thought I heard screaming."
"Screaming? Hmm, that must have been from somewhere else," Rebecca lied smoothly. "I think he might have a fever, though."
"Well, in the morning, tell him to come and see me." he said. " I've decided to grant you freedom to roam the palace. You might run into a few demons if you're not careful, but other than that, by all means, go ahead."
Rebecca nodded. She wondered why Sebastian had had such a change of heart, but decided not to question him. She needed to stretch her legs, anyway.
Clary could tell that she was unconscious. She wondered where her body was. Probably in the infirmary, she thought. But instead of dreaming, she witnessed part of Jace's life.
Clary sat on the bed and took in her surroundings. It's a nice room, she thought. Maybe Sebastian's treating him well. She looked over at Jace, whose body was crumpled on the ground. He still looked the same, with tousled blond hair. Although he was still wearing the bloodied formal wear, the wounds underneath it had healed.
Jace opened his eyes and sat up.
"Hey, are you okay?" a girl said. She looked a lot like Simon. A few moments later, Clary recognized the girl as Rebecca. "You kind of freaked me out there."
"Oh. Yeah. I'm alright." It was like Jace not to admit weakness. "I don't really know what happened."
"Jace!" Clary yelled.
Jace jumped and looked around. Clary expected him to see her, but his eyes grazed over the spot where she was standing.
"Did you hear that?" he asked.
Rebecca looked around. "Hear what?"
Jace, Clary tried to talk through her head. It's me, Clary. We're connected now.
Jace's eyes widened, suggesting that he'd heard her.
"Are you okay?" Rebecca asked again.
Try to talk to me, Clary said. In your mind. I can see you.
"Clary?" he said aloud.
Clary could feel him panicking, trying to figure out why he was hearing voices in his head.
You're not crazy. Clary said. Magnus did a spell to connect our minds. It was the only way to find you.
"Clary's not here, Jace." said Rebecca.
Jace slumped against the wall. Clary?
Yes. Clary nodded, even though Jace couldn't see her.
But she could feel herself fading away, drifting away from Jace and back to the infirmary, where her real body lay.
Clary opened her eyes. The sun had started to rise and she squinted, not used to the light. She peered into the back of her mind to see what Jace was doing. Apparently, he had gone back to sleep on the couch.
"You're awake!" a voice said. "I just came in to check on you."
She looked over to see Alec walking in, sipping his usual black coffee.
She smiled weakly. Her head was still throbbing a little. "Hi. Thanks."
He sat on the bed nearest to hers, a look of concern on his face. "How are you feeling? Did it work?"
She sat up, her head swimming as she did so. "I feel okay. It definitely worked."
"Is he okay?" Naturally, he'd want to know about Jace.
"I can ask him." said Clary.
Jace? Clary said in her mind.
Clary! Jace's voice boomed, sounding just as it did in person. I missed you.
"Tell him I said hi," Alec put in. "Also, where is he?"
Alec says hi. Clary told Jace. Where are you?
Hi, Alec. said Jace. I'm under Pandemonium. The real city of Pandemonium.
"Jace says that he's under the real city of Pandemonium. Also, he says hi." Clary said.
Alec's eyes widened. "What? That's impossible. No Shadowhunter has ever been there and come back."
Worry was plain on his face. He ran a hand through his hair and started to bite his nails.
"What is it?" asked Clary. "What's so bad about Pandemonium?"
"It's a demon city in the center of the Void." explained Alec. "As I said, no one has ever come back from there. How Sebastian managed to get there, I don't know. But this might change our whole plan."
All Clary could do was stare at Alec. She knew it was a longshot, but half of her expected him to say that he was joking, or exaggerating. Unfortunately, he said no such thing.
"What's the plan?" Clary asked.
"Come with me, and we'll tell you about it." He answered.
Clary hopped out of bed and followed Alec. He walked quickly, and she had to remind him of her short legs in order to get him to slow down.
She decided to give herself a little bit of pep talk. Could she make it underneath a Demon city? Of course she could. Could she somehow infiltrate Sebastian's demon security system in order to find Jace? Yeah!
She felt more confident with every step she took. Today was just another challenge like the ones she faced before. She knew that at some point, the magnitude of the situation would come crashing down on her, but for now, she needed every bit of fearlessness she could get.
The sun had risen, signifying the start of a new day. And hopefully, by the end of it, she'd be able to hold Jace in her arms once again. But first, she needed a plan. And now, she was going to get one.
I hoped you enjoyed it! I will try to write another instalment as soon as possible, but in the meantime, please review!
