Lost part 9

XVII

“Where is Jace?” Maryse asked Clary when she entered the room.
“He went home. He wasn’t feeling well and wanted to be alone for a while.” Clary replied as she sat down on a small space of unoccupied floor.
“Oh.” Maryse said. She didn’t press the matter but looked a bit confused.
Isabelle came to sit next to Clary. “Was Jace alright?”
“No, not really, but then again, after what happened last night I can’t say I expected anything else. He had a terrible night, woke up more than once from nightmares,...” Clary’s voice trailed off, not sure how much she could tell Isabelle. After all, it was Jace’s private business what happened and if he wanted to tell anyone.
“I heard him, yes.” Isabelle said. “I’m glad you’re there for him though. I remember him having nightmares before, but he wouldn’t let anyone in his room. I tried a few times but he always got so angry that I stopped trying.” She looked sad and worried.
“Don’t take it personally Izzy. Jace just doesn’t want to bother anyone else with his own problems. I think he wanted to protect you, and the only way he could think of to keep you away from it was by being mad. Not at you, but at the situation. I truly believe that he wanted to tell you, or anyone really, but he was too scared.”
“Why would he be scared?” Isabelle asked bewildered.
“I don’t know.” Clary said honestly. “I’m still trying to figure it all out. Because despite the fact that I can stay with him at night, that he will let me comfort him and be there for him, he doesn’t tell me anything. I don’t know what’s going on, I don’t know why there are still so many nightmares. I’m just there, helping him calm down and find his bearings, but I don’t have a single clue as to why these problems are there. I can only hope that at some point he might trust me enough to talk to me.
Isabelle nodded, her eyes thoughtful.
“But what if it’s not about trust? What if it is something else entirely?”
“Like what?”
“Could he be scared? You know, someone who might be putting pressure on him or something?”
“It could be, but I don’t know. I don’t think I know him well enough to figure that out. The only thing I can think of is that, when he gets home from tutoring, he’s always so exhausted.”
“I know, I’ve noticed that too, but then again, it is exhausting if you have to get extra classes after school, isn’t it?”
“You might be right, maybe it’s got nothing to do with it.” Clary said, looking down at her hands.
A moment later the room was almost in uproar since Alec had finally woken up. Clary stood, next to Simon at the edge of the room, giving space to the family to be close.

Jace was pacing up and down his room, his head a whirling mass of thoughts and ideas. From the moment he had seen the V shaped incision on Alec’s hand, he had been wondering if Valentine had had anything to do with the attack.
The text message confirmed that, and it had left him in a state of panic and rage. It had taken everything he had to get home safely, to keep his head together for as long as he was driving the car. After that he had gone up to his room and screamed himself hoarse, throwing his pillows through his room and nearly upending his desk in frustration.
He had to do something, he had to act. Valentine had really gone too far this time and he would make him pay.
When he calmed down enough to gather his wits about him Jace sat down at his desk and scribbled a note to Clary.
I went out for a while. Need to clear my head don't know when I'll be back. Don't worry about me.


Eventually Alec send everybody out, ordering them to go eat and drink something.
Clary was the last one to leave the room when she heard Alec call her back.
“Yes?” She said, and went back to the bed, gesturing to Simon that she would catch up later.
Alec motioned to her to come sit on the bed.
“Thank you.” He whispered.
Clary looked confused at Alec, wondering what he meant.
“For what?” She asked, when he didn’t continue.
“For taking care of Jace and Magnus. I heard flashes of it last night when you were in the room here with them.”
“Oh Alec, that’s nothing really. Anyone would have done the same.”
“Not everyone, but you did it. Not just for Jace, but also for Magnus, and you don’t even know him that well.”
“It just seemed so normal and natural to do it. They were distressed, they needed someone to comfort them.”
“I know, and I really want to thank you.”
“You’re most welcome Alec, really, and if you ever need a shoulder to cry on, let me know.” Clary winked at him, and Alec laughed.
“Auch!” He said, grimacing. “Don’t make me laugh Clary, my ribs hurt!”
“Oh, I’m so sorry!” she said. “Get some rest Alec. I’m going to find the others and get some food. We’ll talk again soon.”


When Jace arrived at Valentine's house he was completely out of breath. He had taken his bike instead of the car, thinking others might need it. He had regained some of his calm before he had left the house, but that all seemed gone again.
He paused a moment to take some measure of control again over his breathing and walked up to the door.
Jace had never before come to Valentine without being summoned. His heart was hammering in his chest, making it difficult to breathe.
He pushed the doorbell and waited. The lights were on, so he knew someone was home.
The door creaked open and an unfamiliar face showed up.
“Who are you?” The young man asked.
He was tall, had a strong, muscled build and, like Valentine, he had hazel eyes and dark brown hair, almost black, but not quite.
“I’m looking for Valentine.” Jace said.
“Ah Jace.” Valentine’s voice came from behind the young man and Jace saw the familiar hand appear on the shoulder of the stranger.
“Sebastian, step aside, let Jace enter.”
Sebastian moved aside and opened the door a bit further so Jace could step inside.
The unexpected appearance of Sebastian had thrown Jace off guard.
“Sebastian, please meet Jace, he’s one of my pupils.” Valentine introduced the young man formally. “Jace, this is Sebastian, my son.”
Jace looked from one to the other without speaking. Then he offered his hand to Sebastian who shook it. “Nice to meet you.” He said.
Before Jace could answer though Valentine interrupted their conversation.
“I don’t recall asking for you to come here today.” He said. “I thought you might have other things on your mind, Jace. How is your brother doing, by the way?”
It was the trigger for Jace. All the pent up emotion and anger of the past twenty four hours came spilling out.
“You!” He shouted. “It was you who attacked him! Or you ordered others to do it for you! Why? Why did you do it?”
Sebastian, Jace noticed, had taken a few steps closer to Valentine, like he wanted to protect him. Valentine however held the younger one at arms length and stepped forward.
“You needed a reminder, Jace. A reminder of our agreement.”
“What do you mean? I never told anyone!”
“Not yet, but you wanted to, didn’t you? You wanted to tell your pretty red haired girlfriend.”
“She’s not my girlfriend!” Jace yelled, also stepping closer to Valentine, which made them almost nose to nose. “And leave Clary out of this! She’s got nothing to do with it!”
“Oh but she does, Jace, she does. And you needed a reminder to make sure you kept your end of the bargain.”
Jace shook his head, trying to clear it.
“And be aware, Jace,” Valentine continued, “That this is just the beginning. You have no idea what I can do, and what I will do, to make sure you don’t stray.”
Jace lost it completely. Attacking Alec had been bad, threatening to hurt Clary made him see red. He advanced on Valentine, fists clenched, forgetting that the elder man was quite a bit taller than he was, not to mention far stronger. Jace just didn’t care. He flung himself at him, trying to hit every part he could reach. He punched his arms and felt his nails scrape the side of his face.
Valentine however caught him by the arms and when he wouldn’t stop wrestling, backhanded him hard on the side of the head.
Jace flew backwards, the force of the blow knocking him off his feet. He landed in a crumpled heap on the cold tiled floor and skidded away. He only stopped when his head banged against the banister and he blacked out completely.


As Clary arrived at the Lightwood house she noticed Jace wasn't there. Running up to his room she found the note he had left for her. Her heart rate dropped perceptible as she read the note a few times. Texting Isabelle to bring her up to speed she decided to go home for the night. She needed her mom now. As an afterthought she added to the text ~ Call me when Jace gets home. He might need me. ~
Clary took her car keys off the kitchen table and left.
Her mother was waiting for her when she got home.
“Oh Clary! Are you alright?” she asked, as soon as her daughter got out of the car. “Luke called to tell me what had happened. Why didn't you call us last night?”
“I'm sorry mom, there was just so much going on. The hospital had called the Lightwoods and I was just so caught up in the whole thing. I know I should have called you.” Clary leaned against her mother's shoulder, all the emotions and dress weighing her down.
““Don't worry about that now. Just go a clean up a little and come down for dinner. I made spaghetti Bolognese.”
“That sounds wonderful mom. Will Luke be home too?”
“Yes, he should be here any minute. Now go.” her mother said and pushed Clary to the stairs.


“Magnus?”
Alec was propped up in the hospital bed, pillows all around him to make his as comfortable as possible. Magnus sat in a stuffed armchair next to the bed, staring into space. He started a little when Alec spoke and looked up guilty.
“What? Do you need anything?”
“No Magnus, I don't need anything. But you were staring into nothingness for so long, I thought you had vanished to another planet.”
“Oh Alec, I'm sorry.”
“Don't be.” Alec said. “It have been a hard few days for us. I don't blame you for spacing out on me. But I would want you to talk to me though. You're hurting, I can see that, but you're not talking. And I can't help you if you don't tell me what’s wrong.”
“You are still recovering Alec, I shouldn't bother you with my troubles.”
“That's rubbish and you know it Magnus!” Alec said crossly. “Now you have just about five minutes to start talking before I get really mad at you. Yes I am still recovering, but worrying about you doesn't help.”
Magnus looked abashed.
“Alright,” he said, still looking at his hands rather than at Alec. “The past day has been one of the worst of my life. When I found you lying there, behind that dumpster, I thought I'd lost you. Truly you looked as if you had died. And despite everything I have seen and been through in my life, I can't remember ever feeling so helpless and distraught as then. I was truly afraid you wouldn't make it.”
Magnus had his head in his hands by now. Tears were dripping from his nose.
Alec took Magnus’s hand in his, holding it firmly.
“I'm sorry I made you feeI that way. Let's hope they find whoever did this so we can move on. But most of all let's be gratefully we are both still here, and that nothing worse happened last night.


Jace woke up, feeling dazed and sporting a murderous headache. He wanted to put his hands up to his head to feel the extent of the damage but found that he couldn't move his hands properly. They had been bound together with a length of rope that bit viciously in his wrists.
“You're awake.” Came an unfamiliar voice from his left. Jace turned his head to see who was there, but was rewarded by a starburst behind his eyes. He must have hit his head rather hard, he thought.
When he opened his eyes again he saw Sebastian, sitting on a comfortable chair next to him.
“Standing guard over me?” Jace asked, disgust lacing his voice.
“Just making sure my father's favorite pupil didn't sustain any permanent damage.” Sebastian replied. “Yet.” He added, almost as an afterthought.
Jace’s stomach clenched, partly as reaction to the words, partly because he felt really sick due to the pounding his head.
“It wasn't a very smart move to come here uninvited, now was it.” Sebastian continued. “You put yourself in a rather difficult situation. My father really doesn't like it when his pupils don't do a they're told.”
“I know.” Jace said. “I've got plenty of evidence for that statement.”
“Then you really are an idiot for coming here. Well, it doesn't matter anymore anyway. I'll go tell father you're awake, shall I.” And with that the young man left the room.
Jace tried to clear his head, to force himself to think clearly to find a way out. But his head was fuzzy, like it was filled with cotton wool. Any attempt at each would be futile anyway. His hands were tightly bound together and tethered to a metal ring in the floor. Looking around the room he notified that it was the room on the third floor. Images of the events of the last time he had been here flashed by and he nearly threw up. He felt bile burn the back of his throat and coughed.
It wasn’t long before Sebastian walked back into the room, followed by Valentine.
Jace looked up at both men, trying to measure them, find a hint in their behaviour as to what they planned on doing to him. But their faces were like mask and gave him nothing.
“Jace...” Valentine said, his voice soft, but as threatening as ever. “You came to my house, uninvited, barging in on time I wanted to spend with my son, and on top of that you make a scene and try to attack me.” His fingers touched three bright red lines on his face where Jace’s nails had drawn blood earlier.
“Now, what are we to do with you?” Valentine continued.
“You could just scold me and throw me out.” Jace suggested, trying to hide the creeping feeling of fear underneath a thick layer of sarcasm.
“No, I don’t think that will do.” Valentine replied, looking thoughtfully at Jace.
“Since he stole our time together, we might just as well have our fun with him, don’t you think father?” Sebastian cut in.
Jace’s stomach dropped and he felt himself go pale.
This wasn’t good.


It was almost ten, night had nearly fallen and Clary was lying in her bed, covers tucked up all the way to her nose. She had her phone in hand and was staring at the blank screen.
By now she had expected Isabelle to have called or texted her to let her know Jace had gotten home alright. But nothing had shown up. It could be, of course, that she had already fallen asleep and hadn’t noticed Jace coming home, but it didn’t really help Clary with the nagging feeling in her stomach telling her something was wrong.
It wasn’t really like Jace to leave her in the dark like this, and she was scared he would have done something reckless or stupid to get himself into trouble.
During dinner Luke had talked to Clary a little bit about the case of Alec’s attack, but they didn’t have a lot of leads.
Eventually Clary decided to put on her favourite audiobook to help her fall asleep. She was exhausted and waiting up to hear anything wouldn’t do her any good. She thought it might be better to get as much sleep as she could so she could be there fully the next day for Jace, Magnus and Alec.
She turned over, grabbed one of the stuffed animals to hold onto and closed her eyes.
It felt like only minutes later that Clary’s phone rang and she shot upright.
“Hello?” she said, still rubbing sleep from her eyes.
“Clary!” It was Isabelle on the other side of the line, sounding completely panicked.
“Clary! We need you to come over! NOW! Something is wrong with Jace!”

XVIII

It took Clary a minute to let Isabelle’s words sink in.
“Wait… What? What's going on?” she stammered
“I don't know Clary!” Isabelle said. “Just get over here! Quickly! Jace barred himself in his room, won't talk to any of us, but I heard him crying! Come on, Clary! We need you here!”
“Alright! I'm leaving right now! Tell Jace I'm on my way.” Clary replied while grabbing for some clothes she could pull over her pyjamas and trying to reach for her bag which had slid beneath her bed.
“I'm almost at the truck Izzy, I'll be there in five.”
She ran down the stairs two at a time, ignoring her mother's calls behind her. The truck was parked at the sidewalk and she lunged for the door, flinging it open and jumping behind the wheel.
She was on the road before her mother and Luke could appear in the doorway. Driving like the devil was chasing her from the seventh circle of hell she pushed her foot down cursing her car for not going fast enough. Despite the overwhelming feeling of panic, her mind seemed the remain fairly clear. She could think straight, drive relatively safe and even begin to think of a plan on how to reach Jace in case he wouldn't allow her in his room. Her phone buzzed on the seat next to her, but she ignored it. She was almost at her destination and the only thing that truly mattered right now was getting to Jace as soon as she possibility could.
As she turned into the street she noticed that the Lightwoods driveway was empty. Without thinking twice she steered the car onto it, slamming her foot down on the brake and skidding to a stop inches from the porch. She hardly noticed as she flung the door open and ran inside, straight up the stairs towards Jace’s room. Only when her hands were touching the wooden door frame did she look around.
There was blood on the wall, a handprint that was smeared over the light wallpaper, going from a dark burgundy red to faint almost coral red smudges at the end.
Beside her stood Jace’s family, Isabelle closest, her face blotchy from crying, her makeup smeared underneath her eyes. Simon stood next to her, his hand on her shoulder, trying to comfort her.
On the other side stood Jace’s parents, their faces white as paper, eyes profound with dark circles under them, indicating a serious lack of sleep over the past days.
“What is going on?” Clary asked, almost whispering.
“I heard him come home, about half an hour ago.” Isabelle said. “I didn't really think anything of it, it's not that strange, you know.” Clary shook her head.
“But when I kept listening I heard he was stumbling on the stairs, and he seemed to be gasping or crying or something. I was still half asleep so I didn't react so fast as I should have. By the time I got out of my room he had already gone into his room and locked the door. I went over, trying to talk to him through the door, but he just shouted at me that I had to go away, that he didn't want to talk to me. It was only when Simon came to me that I noticed this.” She pointed at the blood on the wall.
“I tried again to talk to him, but he wouldn't say anything. I could only hear him crying. Mom and dad tried too, but with no luck. After I called you I went to check the rest of the house, where he had been before he went to his room. I found blood at the front door too, and on the stairs.”
Tears were rolling down Izzy's cheeks now and Simon took hold of her, enveloping her in a warm embrace.
“Let me talk to him.” Clary said, putting her hand on Isabelle’s in comfort.
“Do you think you can get in?” It was Maryse who spoke, sounding sad and worried but remarkably collected.
“I think so, Maryse.” Clary replied. “I hope so. But I also think I should do this alone.”
Everyone nodded and turned to leave.
“Don't close the living room door. I'll call out if in need anything.” she said to Simon before he walked downstairs. Simon looked at Clary, his eyes full of sorrow and worry for his friends.
“I'll keep listening. Do you need anything now?”
“Some tea would be nice.”
“Pot of hot tea coming up. I'll bring it in few minutes. If you're already inside, I'll just leave it at the door.”
“Thank you Simon.” Clary said, and pecked a kiss on his cheek.



Jace could hear Clary talking to Simon before she came back over to the door. He wanted to talk to her so badly, but he was terrified. Valentine had managed to make his message come across very clearly.
“Jace?” Came Clary’s voice from the other side of the door. He didn’t answer, but shifted on his bed, trying to find a different, more comfortable position.
“Jace, I know you can hear me and I know you’re awake. So please, talk to me.”
He could hear Clary settling at the other side of the door, just waiting for him to open it. Jace got up from the bed, groaning as he did, and moved over to the door. He propped a pillow against the doorframe and sat down, leaning against the door, just to be closer to Clary. His whole body hurt, he could feel blood trickling down his back, soaking his T-shirt and the pillow he leaned against. He shifted his position and nearly screamed as the friction against his back shot agonising pain through his body.

Clary felt the door move and knew Jace had sat down at the other side, leaning against the door. She imagined him, his back bent, knees pulled up to his chest, arms around them. She saw his head, resting on his arms and his blond hair falling over his eyes. She wanted to touch him, her whole body yearned to feel him, hold him close, comfort him, yet the door stood in between and he was the only one who could let her in.
“Are you there?” She said softly, knowing he was so close to her he could hear her, even if she just whispered.
At that moment Simon came back upstairs, carrying a tray with a pot of tea, cups and cookies. Clary gestured at him to leave them at the top of the stairs and go back to the others. She didn’t want Jace to feel like there was anyone else listening in on their conversation. Simon nodded, put the tray down and left.

“Clary?” Jace said, putting his head against the door. It felt cool against his burning hot skin. “Are you there?”
“Yes, I’m here.” she replied. “Please talk to me Jace, or let me in.”
“No, you can’t see me like this.” He said, his voice sounding rough and cracked even to his own ears.
“Jace, I don’t care how you look. I care about you, just you. There is blood on the wall next to where I’m sitting, there is blood at the front door and on the stairs. Please Jace, something is seriously wrong. Please let me see you.”
Jace’s eyes flew open. He hadn’t realised he’d left such a trail behind. No wonder everyone was so worried. During the past hour he had hardly listened to what anyone had been saying to him or to each other. He had shut himself down, not wanting to hear anything, but just to sink away in oblivion, away from the excruciating pain of his body.
“I don’t know, I’m scared.” He said, and it was true. He felt more scared now than he had at age ten when he found his father dead at the bottom of the stairs. Even more than when his mother had vanished from the face of the earth not a year later.
“Why are you scared? Can you tell me?”
“Not really. I don’t want to involve you any further. What if something happens to you?”
“What on earth could happen to me?” Clary sounded a little taken aback. “What does this whole situation have to do with me?”
“You have no idea.” Jace replied. “Truly, you have no idea. And I don’t want you to know either. I just have to keep you safe.”

Clary heard Jace shift his position and a gasp followed hard and clear.
“Jace, for the love of all that’s holy, please open this door. You’re hurt, you shouldn’t be there on your own now! Just let me help you.” There was a note of desperation in Clary’s voice when she spoke. It hurt so badly to know that Jace was so close and yet she couldn’t help him.
“I’m not sure you can help me.” Came Jace’s voice through the door, and it sounded so defeated that tears sprang in Clary’s eyes.
“Neither am I, Jace, but at least I can try. Just turn the lock of your door and move aside a little bit. No one else is here right now, it’s just me and a tray with tea and cookies.”
“I’ll open up if you bring the tea and cookies along.” He said.
Clary let out a breath she hadn’t realised she was holding.
“Good, let me get the tea, it standing at the stairs.” she said and turned.
Behind her she could hear the lock of the door click.

Jace turned the lock of his door and shuffled back resting his head against the side of his bed. He saw the door open and Clary came in, holding a tray, just as she had promised. She put the tray on the desk next to the door and turned to face him.
“Oh Jace!” She exclaimed as she saw him sitting on the floor next to his bed. She came rushing over and dropped to her knees beside him.
“I’m alright.” He whispered as she put her hand on his arm.
“No, Jace, you’re not. Have you seen yourself? You’re a bloody mess, literally! And you’re as pale as a sheet. So don’t give me crap like I’m alright because I won’t buy it!”
Jace chuckled, this was his Clary, she always got angry when she was scared, and it made her so cute, he thought, although he’d never tell her that.
“So can you tell me what happened? I mean, everybody knows now that something is wrong, there is no hiding it anymore. And I know you’re scared, but maybe if you talk to Luke it’ll help you? Would you feel safer that way?”
“Maybe, yes.” Jace whispered, his head resting on Clary’s shoulder. “I’m so sorry I got you into this whole mess, Clary. I never wanted any of this. For years I managed to keep everyone out, and you of all people, the one I want to keep safe above anything else, you get caught in the middle.”
“Jace, you didn’t involve me, I did that myself. I’m the one who brought it up, who wanted to talk about it.”
Jace nodded into her shoulder. He was feeling faint and dizzy, like he was going to be sick at any moment. Swallowing hard and trying to breath through his nose he managed to regain control over his stomach.
“I know that what you say is true, but it doesn’t feel like that. I’ve always kept everyone at a distance because of this. No one could really get close to me. But with you, that just never was an option. There was just no denying what I felt for you. And just the fact that the nightmares stayed away for both of us when we were together meant the world for me. But now everything seems to collapse. Alec was attacked because of me, you were threatened, what the hell am I supposed to do?”
“You have to talk to someone who can help you, who can protect you and, if necessary, others too. Please, just talk to Luke, I’m sure he’ll know what to do.”
“I’m so scared, Clary, not really for myself, but for you and for my family.”
Jace looked up, his eyes sunk low into his skull, dark shadows running around them. He really looked like a mess and he saw tears in Clary’s eyes.
She leaned forward and placed a kiss on his lips, careful, but firm enough to make him sigh a little and lean into it.
When they broke apart he put his hand to her cheek to wipe away the tears that had rolled down.
“Don’t cry.” He whispered in her ear. “Please don’t cry.”
She nodded and ruffled his hair.

Jace shifted on the floor, his eyes on his hands, and groaned as the fabric of his shirt caught on a welt on his back.
“Let’s get you up on your bed first. I’m sure it will be more comfortable for you than here on the floor, don’t you think?” Clary said as she pushed herself up again and offered her hand.
“Just give me a minute.” Jace said as he tried to adjust himself so he could get up.
Clary took hold of his hand and place her free hand on his elbow trying to help him up. It all went too fast though and Jace felt everything around him fall away as darkness overtook him.

Clary caught hold of Jace as he fainted, just in time to keep him from hitting the floor face first. He was too heavy for her though and she nearly collapsed underneath his weight.
“Simon! Magnus!” She yelled as her knees gave way.
There was an uproar from downstairs and Clary heard everyone rushing up the stairs.
It was who reached her first and lifted Jace bodily off her. He carefully repositioned him so he could carry him bridal style to the bed and lay him down.
“What happened?” Maryse asked as she entered the room.
“He wanted to get back up the bed, but he fainted. Maybe he got up too quickly.”
“Or maybe he lost too much blood.” Said Magnus from behind her.
Clary spun around to find staring down at his hands. They were stained bright red with Jace’s blood.
“Isabelle, call an ambulance.” Robert said to his daughter, who dashed out of the room in search for a phone.
“Simon, call Luke, we need him. Try the landline if he doesn’t pick up his cellphone. I don’t care if you wake anyone up.” Clary said.
She had just noticed that she too was covered in blood where Jace had fallen against her. She felt sick and rushed to the closet to find clean clothes.
“I’ll be right back.” She said and vanished into the bathroom where she threw up violently before stepping into the shower. IIt took her a while before she got her breathing under control. She stood in the shower, leaning against the cold tiles, heaving. There was nothing left in her stomach and all that came up was bile.
Quickly she washed her hair and body, ridding it of any residue of blood.
Once she was done she stepped out from underneath the hot water, dried her hair and put it up in a bun to keep it out of the way. She threw on her clean clothes and walked back to Jace’s room.
Isabelle was standing in the doorway, talking to her father, Maryse sat at the side of the bed, holding Jace's hands whispering to him. Magnus and Simon stood at the window, looking out for the medics to arrive, Clary thought.
She walked over to the bed and sat down opposite of Maryse. She could hear what she was saying and to her surprise she recognized a prayer. Clary had never thought of the Lightwoods as a religious family, but then again, times like this, people often did things they otherwise never would.
Clary looked down at Jace, his face pale against the pillow. His breathing seemed to have eased a little, but the stillness with which he lay there was scary. He never was this still, not even while he was sleeping.

“Luke is here.” Simon said from the window. “And so is your mom, Clary.”
He stood up and went downstairs to open the door for them.
“Medics should be here soon.” Magnus said as he turned to look at the room.
Simon came back in, followed closely by Luke and Jocelyn.
“What is going on?” Luke asked, coming over to Clary and sitting next to her.
“Clary? What happened?”
“I don't really know, Luke. We don't know where he went tonight, but when he came back he was all bloody and beaten up. He locked himself in his room at first. It took us almost an hour to get him to open the door. He said he was scared, that what happened to Alec was his fault somehow, I don't know Luke. He was rambling.”
Tears ran down Clary's cheeks.
“Shhh” Jocelyn said and wrapped her arms around her daughter. “Things will be fine.”
Clary looked up at her parents, wanting so badly to believe them.
“Luke,” she said, “You have to find out who did this. They have to be punished!”
Luke nodded, his face grim. “I know sweetheart, I will do whatever I can.”
“Thank you.” Clary whispered and she turned her attention back to Jace, willing him to wake up.
The sound of sirens cut through the night and blue flashing lights lot the room through the open window. “They are here.” Magnus said and left to wait for the medics at the door.
A few moments later the room was full of people dressed in almost neon yellow suits, checking Jace, talking to Luke who managed to explain most of the situation to them without having to bother the family.
Clary stood at the far wall of the room, trying to give the nurses as much space as possible. Next to her she could hear Luke murmuring. He was obviously putting information together from what everyone had told him and the digging he had been doing over the past days.
Then Clary thought she heard him say a name that rang a bell.
“Did you say Valentine?” she asked.