Author's Note: This chapter contains mentions of torture and mentions of captivity.

Chapter Six

The room was charged with an awful tension.

A group of people stood around the large wooden table used for meetings, and they spoke in quick, panicked voices, filling the room with a constant and maddening buzzing. Alec sat off to the corner, his mind foggy, and blank. He knew he should be frantic, and eager to help them find Jace and Clary, but he was still too stunned to do anything. He had been so shocked at the news that Magnus had needed to drag him out the door and practically carry him inside once they arrived at the Institute.

Ever since Izzy had called to tell them what happened, Alec felt like his whole body had gone numb. When she'd told him, with a voice choked on tears, what she'd found, it had taken a minute to sink in, not wanting to accept that this wasn't all a dream, but now that he was here in the library, the reality of the situation was as clear as the bloody writing on the floor.

They were gone. And he hadn't been able to do anything to stop it.

His phone had been off, since he was planning on spending the weekend with Magnus, so as soon as the call from Izzy came through on Magnus' landline, he'd known something was wrong. And in the car ride over to the Institute, he'd realized that he'd known something was wrong days ago—he just hadn't paid attention.

The group they'd managed to gather was small. Besides Magnus and Alec himself, Jocelyn and Luke were there, along with a few of Luke's wolves, Maryse and Robert, and Isabelle and Simon.

All of them were there to help, and yet, there was nothing they could do.

They had notified the Clave, but they had only replied that they would have shadowhunters looking. This, of course, was of no relief to the distressed group. After nearly two hours of grimly discussing everything—what happened, what to do, arguing and trying to figure out a way to locate Sebastian—they had come up empty handed. And they were all looking the worse for it.

Jocelyn and Luke, at the middle of the table, were trying their hardest to appear collected and strong, but every few minutes Jocelyn had to turn away to hide tears. Luke was desperately attempting to comfort her, but he looked just as shaken himself. The pack members that had come with them kept to the edges of the room, looking anxious. Isabelle sat off to the side, clutching her whip as she purposefully avoided glimpsing the floor, looking shell shocked.

Simon ran around tirelessly, asking what he could do to help, though the nervous jittering of the vampire seemed only to put the group even more on edge. He looked horrible—paler than a clean sheet of paper and veins so dark they zebra stripped his skin, a clear sign he hadn't been eating.

Occasionally, Simon would freeze up, so still that Alec would have thought he'd fallen asleep if it weren't for his face twisting in pain and hunger. Multiple times Alec had to finger the hilt of his seraph blade to let Simon know he looked…feral. Not once did he go near Isabelle, and after Alec's warnings, he started keeping his distance from the others as well.

Maryse and Robert, at the head of the table now, seemed, outwardly, the least affected by the chaos. But the look in his mother's eyes told Alec she was thinking of what had happened to Max when Sebastian had gotten his hands on him, and the ghost of that memory seemed to shadow Robert's face as well. Still, they were doing most of the talking, rushing around doing god knows what.

Lastly, there was Magnus. He had already drained himself trying hundreds of different tracking methods, each of which had failed. The warlock paced uneasily now, never straying too far from Alec, his eyes tired but brow still furrowed as he tried to come up with another way to help.

Alec, alone in the corner and dazedly observing the room, wondered if the disorienting tightness in his chest was born of his own anxiety, or if it was a reverberation of Jace's. He thought back over the past few days, for what felt like the hundredth time, trying to recall when the aches had started, and felt his chest clench again, drawing his breath short.

He should have known. They were parabatai, after all, he and Jace.

But when he had started feeling the dull aches blossoming under his skin, and the little flashes of lightning through his muscles like a pinched nerve, he'd assumed he had just trained a little too rough. It wasn't odd for a shadowhunter to be a bit sore. It was only after Izzy had told him that he realized what those little aches really were.

Alec wanted to tell himself that it was nothing, just a coincidence—parabatai didn't normally share physical sensations, or emotions for that matter, or he would be wincing every time Jace stubbed a toe or took a blow. So what that meant, if these aches weren't his own, was that Jace was in such great pain that Alec could feel it through their bond. And though it was the last thing he wanted to admit to himself, he knew it was true. He could feel it, and had blatantly ignored it. If he had only said something earlier, maybe….

"Alec." Magnus' voice was quiet, but startled him from his thoughts nonetheless. "You haven't spoken a word since Isabelle called."

Magnus took a seat next to him, and Alec could practically see the stiffness of his muscles as he moved, tired from all the magic he'd drained trying to help. Why are you even here, Alec wondered to himself. He didn't really care that much about Jace and Clary, did he?

When he met Magnus' eyes, worried and expecting a response, Alec shrugged.

"See? Look, I know this is hard on everyone, but just because you think there is nothing to be done doesn't mean—"

"I can feel it, Magnus."

"What?"

"I can feel it," Alec repeated, looking up to see Magnus running a hand through his spiky hair in confusion. "Feel what?" Manus hissed, exasperated. In the corner, where there was less light, Alec could see just how dark the circles under his glimmering, cat-slit eyes were.

"I can…." Alec struggled to find the words, realizing he hadn't admitted it to anyone aloud yet. "...I can feel Jace," he clarified, eyes suddenly stinging. "I can feel what Sebastian is doing to Jace. Because we're parabatai. You…You can't see the marks on me but…." He trailed off again, frustrated and exhausted.

Magnus sat up straight, his eyes flashing with realization and concern. "Where?" He demanded, voice raspy, a hand coming up to grasp Alec's shoulder.

Alec closed his eyes, tried to orient himself in his mind for a moment, before dragging a finger in a long line down his chest. He traced across each shadowy sensation in his body slowly, each burning path that some weapon had surely taken on Jace's skin. His entire chest felt distantly like it'd been raked across coals, and his fingers traced several more lines there. He twisted and reached behind him to touch his back, long checkered patterns of pain, before lifting a trembling finger to his forehead and dragging it down the entire left side of his face.

When he opened his eyes, a few tears slipped out, and he felt a rush of embarrassment when Magnus' sorrowful gaze met his. Alec scrunched his face to keep from crying more as he raised his hand to trace more lines, but Magnus stopped him short with a crushing embrace, arms encircling him fully. He let himself be held, sniffling only for a moment as he buried his head in the warlock's shoulder.

"I am trying, Alec. I promise, I am," Magnus said, and Alec broke away, shaking his head rapidly. "It's not your responsibility to find them. You've already done more than anyone here. And…and it's my fault. I felt the pain days ago, I just—I just ignored it, I didn't think…and now he's…and its all my fault, I should've done something sooner, should've—"

"No. No, Alec," Magnus shushed him, and squeezed his shoulders again. "You cannot blame yourself."

"But I could feel everything."

"Even still," Magnus pressed, eyes stern. "Whether we found out they were missing the day they were taken or days after, it wouldn't have mattered. It is not your fault, you hear me?" Alec chewed his lip, feeling no less guilty, but nodded anyway to satisfy his partner, and looked down at his lap as he said, "I just wish there was something I could do."

Magnus sighed, and Alec felt warm, slender fingers slide under the neck of his shirt and across to his collarbone, stopping to trace his parabatai rune. It felt as though it was pulsing under Magnus' finger, a dull ache radiating from it and condensing where each wound was. Magnus' thumb rubbed into the mark soothingly, and Alec nearly jumped when the warlock jerked his hand away suddenly, eyebrows knitting.

"What? What are you thinking?" He asked, instantly recognizing the look on the warlock's face. Magnus brought his hand back to Alec's parabatai mark, tapping it with a finger.

"What?" Alec pressed, but Magnus only shushed him, not unkindly, as he pressed his palm flat to the mark, his other hand coming up to pinch the bridge of his nose. A long moment of baited breath passed as Magnus sorted out his thoughts.

"That's…that's it! It might not work but…it's worth a shot…."

Alec exhaled, hand coming to grab Mangus' wrist. "If you don't explain–"

"Your parabatai rune. It's never been done before, but I think we might be able to track Jace through you. Through the connection," Magnus said, his words rushing out. "It might take a while. And energy, I'll need more energy." He turned abruptly towards Maryse, Alec following behind him.

"Magnus, that's genius!" Alec exclaimed, and now the whole room was quiet, the nervous buzzing stopping as all eyes turned to them.

"Yes, but it will take a massive amount of mental strength—"

"You can use mine." Alec's offer was immediate.

"No, I need you for the spell, and it will strain both of us. Not just myself," Magnus replied, a bit hesitant, before motioning for the group's attention. Everyone save Isabelle, who was still frozen in place, regrouped at the table, and Alec watched their expressions shift as Magnus explained his idea, some from confusion to reluctantly hopeful, others to disapproval.

"It is not reasonable," Maryse declared, splaying her fingers against the table as she pushed herself up from her chair. "It goes against all the rules of the Grey Book."

"Do you have a better idea?" Alec snapped, before turning to the others, as if to challenge any other unspoken complaints.

"No, but—"

"We're doing it with or without any of you. So, who's going to help?" Alec rallied, and though he meant it when he said he would move forward alone with this if he had to, the truth was he needed them, as many as would help. For a terrifying moment, no one said anything, but then the vampire was stepping forward.

"I'm in. You can use my strength. All of it," Simon called out, raising a hand slightly. Alec watched as Izzy's eyes flicked up, along with the rest of the group, to take in the sight of him, clearly lacking in any strength.

"You won't help much, vampire," Magnus scoffed, only half jokingly. "You haven't fed in weeks by the looks of you."

Simon looked down abashedly, and Alec looked desperately around the room for more volunteers. Jocelyn was next to step in, dragging Luke with her. "Us too. Take our strength. Anything to find them," Jocelyn said, holding her wrist out as if offering her blood. Maia, who had come with Luke, followed suit, and raised her hand. "Might as well," she shrugged.

When Alec turned to his mother again, she sighed heavily. "Fine," she said, the begrudging tone slipping from her voice, "what do we do, Magnus?"

Isabelle finally stood, and came to stand next to Alec, her support unspoken but clear. He reached out and squeezed her arm, and she gave him a tired, half hearted smile, though it didn't reach her eyes.

"Robert, I need you to create a circle of holding runes on the floor. The area needs to be big enough for Alec and I to sit in. Simon, go grab some of that thick paper from the office. While you're at it, there's a spare bag of blood in the kitchen fridge. Isabelle, close all the windows in here, and blanket the ones without shutters. Luke, Jocelyn, and Maia, find me candles. Lots of candles. Maryse, go and get me a copy of the Grey Book."

The group split as jobs were assigned, and despite the initial reluctance, the room was set to go within ten minutes. The only light in the room was cast from twenty or so candles, which threw eerie shadows across the library; the gold threaded spines of books winked under the glow, only the room's inhabitant's breath to disturb the flames. They stood in a circle around the intricately drawn runes on the floor, traced carefully by Robert and Magnus from the Grey Book.

With all in its place, Magnus sent the last of the pack members who had come with Luke outside of the room to guard the door. It was not a spell that could be disturbed halfway through without grave consequences, Magnus had said. When the door clicked shut, Magnus snapped his fingers, and sparks danced across his palm before gathering into a small, wavering flame, no bigger than that of the candles spread through the room.

Magnus stepped up to Alec, now shirtless so his parabatai rune was easily accessible, and ducked his head to his shoulder. His breath tickled Alec's ear as he turned his lips to his throat, placing a gentle, private kiss there, before pulling back and speaking. "What I am about to do…it is going to open a passage in your soul—sever the connection that keeps you and Jace separate. It will be extremely painful. But it's the only way I can get a signal of where he is."

Alec swallowed, his throat suddenly dry, but nodded without a beat of hesitation.

"Understand, if there was another way, I…"

"It's okay, Magnus. I'll be okay. I trust you," Alec said, and realized in the very same moment that his words were unprecedentedly true. He trusted Magnus fully and completely, more than he did anyone else, maybe even more than Jace.

The swaying of the little flame in Magnus' palm ceased, as if it was frozen in time, and Magnus gave an almost sad smile as he nodded. Alec gave Magnus' free hand a squeeze, before stepping into the circle.

As soon as he crossed the line of chalk, a wave of air rushed upward, and Alec was held inside the ring by raging winds. His friends and family around him were blurred by the force of the air and he turned blindly in the storm around him, feeling inexplicably alone, and lost, and cold. The draining of energy that this spell would cause, as Magnus had explained earlier, would be mental just as well as physical, and Alec could instantly feel that it had begun.

Just as he thought something might be wrong, Magnus' still aflame hand breached the wall of air, somehow not extinguished by the wind, and then the warlock was within the circle with him. Alec could only faintly make out the sight of the group outside holding hands, could only just barely hear them chanting words off sheets of paper Magnus had given them.

And then Magnus was facing him, and it was as if they were the only people in existence. His green-gold eyes were stern and focused, as they always were when Magnus performed a spell, but they were no less comforting as they locked with Alec's. He stood straighter as Magnus pressed first his bare hand to Alec's left shoulder, and then the flamed one over his parabatai rune. Alec suppressed a flinch as the heat spread into the mark, and closed his eyes as Magnus did.

He listened intently as Magnus began to mutter, the chanting from outside the wall of wind growing as he spoke, and the whistling of the air and the words grew louder every second, until Alec could make out none of it at all. So intense became the volume of the noise that Alec felt his thoughts being drowned out, overlapped and erased by Latin and howling wind, and his eyes flew open as his body nearly crumpled. The winds tore at him, and the words whipped his ears, and he felt himself grow weaker and weaker, his knees trembling with how tightly he locked them to keep from falling. It was as if the words were sucking out his soul.

When Alec fell forward a bit and felt Magnus' hand gripping tighter at his shoulder, the other pressing firmer into the mark on his collarbone, he was grateful for the reminder of his presence, until a new feeling began to wash over him. Pain began to seep out of his parabatai rune and his guts twisted into a knot, cold flooding his veins. Alec groaned, feeling the sound in his throat more than actually hearing it, as his mind was stretched and tugged at by the spell.

"Magnus…." The words were torn from his mouth. "Hurry, I'm going…to…." His vision darkened all at once, and he lost sight of Magnus in front of him.

He could still feel the warlock's hands on him, burning against his now freezing skin, and he felt the one at his shoulder shift around to his back, until he was pulled nearly into a hug so that the palm was flat against his spine. The pressure in his body seemed to shift as the weight behind Magnus' hands pressed at him from the front and back of his torso, and he gasped, his mind trying desperately to slip away. A sudden rush of panic flooded him. He couldn't pass out yet. The spell wasn't done, he couldn't pass—

Magnus' hand on his back slid a final few inches further, so it rested just behind his right shoulder, directly across from the rune on his collarbone, and as soon as his hand slotted into place, there was a sting that drilled through his shoulder, like a needle was being driven through him, front to back at the sight of the rune.

The sensation was feeble and smooth, a mere pin prick. The pain that followed was unfathomable.

Fire coursed through his body and into his brain, and if he had had any breath, it would have been spent on a scream louder than the whirlwind itself. But as the wind ripped the air from his lungs in a choked exhale and he felt his body crumple into Magnus' arms, above the blanketing weight of the pain and the dark, he could see his parabatai run flaring like a fallen star.