Lost part 8

XV

It wasn't just Clary who froze. Jace just stood there, holding his shirt in his hand. His face had drained of all color, even his lips were completely white.
“Jace?”
There came no reaction whatsoever, he just kept staring straight ahead of him when suddenly all the strength seem to leave him and he collapsed on his desk chair.
Clary rushed forward and dropped to her knees beside the chair, throwing up her arms to prevent Jace falling over.
“Clary.” He said, his voice just barely a whisper.
“Clary, please leave.”
“Jace, no! I can't leave you like this. Look at you!”
“Clary, please, please just leave.”
His back was burning, blood still running in small streams from the welts.
Dizziness tended to overcome him and the side of his vision was already turning black.
This was not what he had expected, not at all. Clary wasn't supposed to find out, it would put her in danger and that was just about the last thing he wanted.
But her refusal to go, the adamant way she said it, made it all the more difficult.
“Jace!” Clary said, her voice clear despite the panic that had crept into it. “Listen to me, I'm not going anywhere. You can't do this, not now. You need me and you know it. Even if you don't say anything to me, if you don't want to talk to me. I don't care, but I'm not leaving you here.”
His resolve broke, it shattered in a million tiny pieces like a breaking mirror, and he simply nodded, his eyes closed, fighting against the tears that threatened to overwhelm him.
He heard Clary sigh in relief as she stood up. She brushed through his hair before taking hold of his arm and pulling him up.
“Sit on the bed, Jace.” She said, and guided him, as if she was afraid he might fall over again.
Jace sat down, dazed and hurting. He noticed he still held his shirt and looked at it, unsure of what to do with it. Seeing him staring at the piece of garment, Clary took it from his hands and put it on his desk, next to the first aid kit he had just taken from his drawers.
“If you turn around I can help you take care of your back.” Clary said while she rummaged through the box taking out disinfectant, gauze and bandages.
As Clary worked on cleaning the welts on his back all Jace could think about was just in how much danger she was now that she knew what was going on. Although, he thought, at least she didn't know where he went or who he was meeting.
He hissed when she put disinfectant on one of the deeper wounds and she apologized, working more carefully.
After she was done, she put the bandages on and helped Jace put on his shirt.

Clary had hardly spoken while she was busy. It had taken all she had not to ask more questions, to force Jace to talk to her about what had happened and who had done this to him.
But all the while she had helped Jace take care of the bleeding cuts on his back her mind had been on the note she had hidden in her diary. The note that held the address of where Jace had gone to a few weeks before. A plan had formed in her mind, a way to figure out who was hurting Jace.
By the time she was done, she knew exactly what she had to do. Whiteout saying much, they both crawled into bed and fell asleep.


“Jace, Simon and I will pass by my parents later today. Mom wanted to see him, so we're having lunch over there. Will you be alright?”
Clary and Jace were sitting at the kitchen table just after breakfast.
The night had been exhausting with Jace waking from several nightmares and being in a fair amount of pain.
“I'll be ok, don't worry. I'll probably try to get some extra sleep.”
“Sounds like a plan. Text me if you need anything.”
“I will. When do you leave?”
“In about an hour I guess. I haven’t seen Simon yet today, so I’ll give him a chance to wake up and have breakfast at least.”
Jace smiled, but his eyes were sad with dark circles under them due to the lack of sleep.
“Clary?” He said, and looked at her. “Thank you, for last night.”
“You don’t have to thanks me, honestly. All you have to do now is get better.”
“I know, but still I want to say thank you. I was afraid you’d run screaming when you saw what you saw.”
“Jace, I’ve known for a while now that it was far worse than I thought at first. Your wrist for one thing, and when you took a shower at my place the other day, I noticed there was blood running through the water. I never said anything, never asked, just like I promised I would. But I have known, and it worries me.”
“I know, and this may sound strange, but I’m glad you do. I can’t really explain it, but it does help me.”
“That’s a comfort for me, at least. Now, go upstairs and try to get some sleep. I’ll clean the kitchen up and come up if you want to.”
“That would be nice.” Jace said, and left the kitchen.


It was late that afternoon when Clary was finally able to set the plan she had made the evening before in motion.
She had to talk to Luke, privately, for starters.
She managed to intercept him when he went from the livingroom back to the garden.
“Luke.” Clary called from the kitchen. “A minute, please?”
“Sure Clary, what’s up?”
“I need to talk to you for a moment, privately.”
“Come to the living room, your mother is busy listening to all Simon’s stories, so she won’t notice we’re not around.”
They both went off and took place on the sofa.
“What’s up? Are you in trouble?” Luke asked, once they had settled themselves.
“No, I’m not in trouble.”
“Then who is? You look seriously worried.”
“I’m thinking Jace might be in trouble.” Clary said softly. Her heart was thumping in her chest and her hands were clammy with sweat.
“Why do you say that?”
“I don’t know, it’s just a feeling.” Clary replied, unwilling to explain the whole situation. That wasn’t up to her. It was Jace’s story to tell to whomever he wanted after all.
“But, could you check something for me? I found an address where he is going to regularly, and I kind of have the idea that that’s the place where things go wrong. I’m not entirely sure, but just…” Her voice trailed off.
“Clary, why do you think that?” Luke asked again.
“I can’t really explain Luke, I’m sorry. I just need to know the name that goes with the address so I can talk to Jace about it. He’s not particularly forthcoming and I need information to get him to talk to me or to anyone really, so this situation can be resolved. I know it sounds weird, but can you trust me Luke?”
“I do trust you, Clary, of course I do. But you have to understand that it’s a bit strange to just go digging after a name when there seems to be so little reason to.”
Clary looked at Luke and took a deep breath. Getting his cooperation would mean that she had to give him some reason to go for it.
“Luke,” she swallowed, her mouth dry. “I think Jace is being abused.” The words tumbled out of her mouth, almost inaudible, but just enough for Luke to understand and his eyes went wide.
It took him a moment before he could speak.
“Oh Clary, if that is true, then something needs to be done. This isn’t something you can solve for him.”
“I know that Luke, but I need Jace to come forward with what is happening. But he seems scared to talk. If I can make him see that I have some information that might help, maybe he will talk after all.”
“Alright, I’ll look into it. Do you have the address?”
Clary took the note with the address out of her pocket.
“This is it. It’s a big manor house, and it was a man opening the door. That’s just about all I know.”
“Thank you, I’ll look into it and let you know when I find something. I’ll see if there might be any connection between Jace and whoever is living there.”
“Thank you, Luke.” Clary said, and she felt a little lighter, like some of the weight that had been pressing on her shoulders had fallen off.
Most likely it would take Luke some time before he could get back to her, and she’d have to be patient, but it would be worth it, she hoped.


The next days passed in a relative calm. Clary spent most of her time at Jace’s, as did Simon, although his time was mainly spent in Isabelle’s room.
Since Clary had seen the state of Jace’s back, she had insisted on taking care of it for him, rather than him doing it by himself. The first days were hard on both of them. Jace had to trust Clary, let her get close to him and not being able to keep that vulnerable and hurt side from her. For Clary it was hard to see the extent of his suffering first hand. Although she had known for quite a while now that Jace was hurting one way or another, it was something very different to really see it. It was absolute proof and now there was no way black.

It was almost two weeks since Clary had talked to Luke. She hadn't heard back from him yet, but due to colleagues who were on holiday, there wasn't a lot of spare time that he could use to start digging.
“Clary?”
It was Magnus who stood at the doorway of the living room.
“Yeah? What's up Magnus?”
“Alec and I are going to the movies tonight aI we were wondering if you guys wanted to come along. I already saw Simon and Izzy and they said yes. How about you and Jace?”
“I guess so. Let me go find Jace and ask. I'll let you know later on.”
“Perfect! Movie starts at eight, so we'll see you there at seven thirty then!”
“Alright, see you later!”
Magnus left, his bright, happy, extravagant attitude leaving Clary smiling like always.
She took off to find Jace, who was most likely reading in the hammock they had put up in the back yard last week.
When Clary arrived she found Jace lying on his back, a book folded open on his lap and his eyes closed.
When she got closer though, Jace opened his eyes and smiled at her.
“Hi there beautiful!” he said, and stretched luxuriously.
“Hello handsome.” Clary giggled.
“You think I'm handsome do you?”
““Don't be silly, I just answered you in kind. But that's not why I'm here.”
“You're not here just to admire my good looks?” Jace said with a mock scowl on his face.
“Sorry to disappoint you. But Magnus asked if we wanted to come along to the movies tonight. Izzy and Simon are going too.”
“Sure, sounds good. So, how about you join me here in this awesome hammock till we have to go.” And fast as lightning he flipped over and pulled a screaming Clary into the hammock.


“Where is Alec?”
Izzy stood at the entrance of the movie theater, hand in hand with Simon.
Clary and Jace stood next to her and Magnus was looking around, being the tallest of the lot he could see a little over the heads of the crowd around them.
“He should have been here by now.” he said sounding worried. “I called him a few times already and he won't pick up his phone. That's nothing like him.”
“Maybe his phone fiefdom the way here.” Jace said. “I'm sure he's just running a little late.”
“You're probably right.” replied Magnus. “Let's get inside and save him a seat. He'll turn up in a bit like you said.”
He turned around and walked thigh the big double doors of the theater.


Luke was going through the files he had found regarding the address Clary had given him. When he had first gotten hold of the name, he had just wanted to tell Clary who it was. But then some flags had sprung up and he had started to dig deeper. “What has Jace gotten himself into?” Luke thought, his head in his hands.
There was a huge stack of papers in front of him and he simply couldn't make sense of it all.
He was pulled out of his reverie when his colleague, Sam, passed him.
“What are you looking into?” He asked, leaning over Luke’s chair to have a closer look. “Seems like a lot of work.”
“That’s ok, just checking on something for an older case. Thought I may have found a new lead.”
“Alright. Give a shout if you need any help.”
“Will do Sam, but for now I’m ok.” Luke replied and went back to work.


The movie had finished, but there was still no word from Alec. He hadn't shown up late to the movie, hadn't sent a text message to any of them.
Jace was looking around nervously, just as Magnus. Isabelle had taken her phone out and tried calling him again.
“He doesn't answer but the phone is ringing. This is really weird.” She said.
“Ok, let's split up.” Jace suggested.
“Izzy and Simon, you take the car and drive straight home. See if he's here. Magnus Clary and I will go in foot and retake the way he would have take to come here. Maybe we will find him that way. Keep your phones close and make contact as soon as you've found him.”
“Sounds like a plan.” Simon said. “Jace, you got the car keys?”
“Here you go.” Jace replied as he tossed the keys to Simon, who caught them, took Isabelle by the arm and walked away.
Jace put his arm around Clary and they started walking together with Magnus.
It was getting dark already and Jace walked at a brisk pace. Clary nearly had to.jog to keep up with his and Magnus’s long legs.
“Did he say where he was coming from, Magnus?” Clary asked.
“He said he went training before and he would come straight here after that. It didn't seem out of place so I made no point of it.”
“No, of course not. It doesn't seem strange indeed.” Jace said, without looking around.
All three of them kept waking, looking in alleys and around dumpsters.
Clary jumped when, after about fifteen minutes Jace’s phone rang.
“Isabelle?” Jace said when he picked up.
“No, we haven't found him yet. You neither it seems. Just stay home in case he gets there. We'll keep you updated.” and the phone disconnected.
“Nothing?” Magnus asked, worry coloring his voice.
Jace shook his head. “No, he wasn't at the house, but we'll find him, Magnus, I promise.”

Another quarter of an hour passed with not so much as a trace of Alec, when suddenly Magnus shouted from next to a dumpster in the mouth of an alley.
“Jace! Clary! Over here!”
Both of them spun on their heels and ran over to where Magnus was standing.
When they arrived Clary did a double take, nearly throwing up. And even Jace, tough, ever collected Jace dropped to his knees, his mouth open in what seemed a silent scream for his brother.

XVI

Isabelle and Simon were sitting on the couch, waiting anxiously for a phone call from the others. Simon had driven home like the devil was on his tail, skimming dark orange lights and nearly crashing into the gate when he arrived.
Once inside they had both sprinted through the house, checking every room, nook and cranny, but nothing.
They had called Jace, telling him the news and hoping that by that time maybe he had already stumbled upon Alec.
Nothing, however, and the flick of hope had died again when the call disconnected.

Isabelle was unusually quiet. She just sat there, staring ahead of her, her phone in her hand in case it might ring.
Every so often she tried calling Alec again, without success.
Simon sat next to her, his hand on her back, trying to be as supportive as he could. He knew what she was going through, having had the same experience about two years before when his sister hadn’t come home after a night out with friends.
He had sat with his siblings and mother for hours on end, waiting for a call from the police. And it was just that, the waiting, that made the whole ordeal nearly unbearable.
His sister had been found, three days later, passed out and hurt, in an abandoned building. Those had been, beyond doubt, the longest days of his life.


Jace had dropped to his knees next to seemingly lifeless body of his brother. Magnus sat at the other side.
“Call 911!” Jace shouted, at no one in particular, and Clary dived for her phone.
“I’ve got a pulse!” She heard Magnus call out behind her.
Alec looked terrible. He had been beaten viciously, his face was bloody, one eye was swollen shut and had a terrible bleu-purplish color.
Obvious bruises were already forming on his arms and there were defensive cuts on his hands.
“Alec? Alec? Can you hear me?” It was Jace, whispering, tears streaming down his face. Magnus remained fairly calm, although Clary could see from the jumpy movements he made that he too was shocked and trying his hardest to keep it all together.
“Ambulance will be here in a few minutes.” Clary said, sitting down next to Jace, putting her arm around him. “They’ll take care of him then.”
Jace just nodded, his eyes still on Alec.
“Someone needs to call Izzy.” He said as he fumbled for his phone.
“Take mine.” Clary said, stopping his hands, and she pushed her phone at Jace, Isabelle’s number already on the screen.
“Izzy? We found him.” She heard Jace say, his voice trembling.
“He… He’s…” Jace’s voice broke and Clary took over the phone.
“Jace! Jace! What’s wrong with Alec?” Came Isabelle’s screaming voice from the other side.
“Izzy, it’s me, Clary. Alec was attacked. We found him unconscious in an alley. He’s in a pretty bad shape but the medics are on their way.”
“Where are you guys? Where did you find him?”
“We’re just behind Chez Margauxx. Halfway between the movies and your house. That’s all we know for now.”
“I want to come.”
“Hold up for a second Izzy. We’ll be out of here before you can arrive. I’ll text you the name of the hospital as soon as possible and you can meet us there. I think I can hear them coming now, so they’ll be here any minute now.”
“Alright.” Isabelle sniffed.
Clary put the phone down and went back to Jace.
He sat, nearly motionless next to Alec, his hand wrapped around his brothers. He was whispering something, but she only noticed because his lips were moving. There was hardly any sound at all.
Clary took his free hand in hers, trying to offer comfort. She did the same for Magnus, who took it and looked at her gratefully.

A few minutes later the medics arrived.Clary, Jace and Magnus were pulled to the side while they worked on Alec, checking all the vital signs and putting him up on a stretcher.
Magnus was hovering close by, talking to the nurse, trying to explain how they had found him.
Jace stood back, leaning against the wall. His eyes were fixed on Alec, following every move that was made around him. His hands were clenched at his side and his arms were trembling.
He couldn't believe this was happening, not to Alec. The image of that first moment when he had seen him lying there seemed to be playing on a loop in his mind.
He felt Clary coming up to him and put her hand on his arm.
Jace wanted to do nothing more that to hold her, wrap his arms around her and bury his face in her hair, just to get away from reality. But he knew, if he did that, he would break down completely, something he really didn’t want to do right now. Alec needed him, he had to be strong now.

It was only a few minutes later that Alec was placed in the back of the ambulance and they all drove off together. Clary had texted Isabelle where they were going so the could meet up.
All the way to the hospital, Jace held Alec’s hand in his, silently praying for him. It had been over half an hour since he had been found and still he hadn’t regained consciousness.
“Jace?”
It was Clary. Apparently they had arrived at the hospital, and he hadn’t even noticed.
“Let go of Alec, Jace, they need to take him in for more check ups.” she said, and she pried his hand off of Alec’s.
Jace let go, albeit reluctantly and followed Clary to the lobby of the hospital where they were met by a frantic Isabelle. She took hold of Jace’s arm and shook it, vigorously, and fired questions at him that didn’t seem to take hold. He heard her talking, but couldn't put any meaning to the words. It all just seemed like nonsensical noise.
Suddenly Isabelle was pulled away from him and he felt strong warm hands on his arms that pushed him in a chair.
“Sit, Jace. I’m going to get you something to drink.” he heard Simon say.
Clary was talking to Isabelle, a litte way away from him and Magnus sat next to him, his hands in his lap, staring ahead of himself.
A moment later a can of soda was pushed in his hands by Simon.
“Drink this.” he said. “You look like you’re about to faint.”
Jace accepted it without speaking, but he nodded at Simon. He was right, Jace thought, he was about to faint. He felt heady and sick.
Jace hated hospitals, the smell of disinfectant, the hard white lights that stung his eyes, the uncomfortable chairs in the lobby. It all brought back memories he’d rather forget. He remembered coming here, after his father had been killed, having to wait for hours while cops and medical staff talked to his mother. He got lost at one point, because he had wandered off being bored.
He tried breathing through his mouth, but even that didn’t help. He seemed to taste, rather than smell, his surroundings, which made his nausea even worse.
“Jace, let’s go outside for a moment.” Clary said as she came to stand next to him. “You need fresh air.”
“No, I have to be here.”
“Jace, you come with me. Isabelle or Simon will call us if the medics come back before we do. Now let’s go.”
She took his hand, pulled him to his feet and rather forcefully walked him outside to a bench at the entrance of the hospital.
“I don’t want to be here, I need to be inside.” He said, and even to his own ears he sounded petulant and whiny, but it was exactly how he felt.
“You’re no good to Alec if you faint halfway through.” Clary said, looking at him. “Seriously, you look green, Jace.”
“I know.” He muttered, looking at his hands. “I hate hospitals, they bring back bad memories.”
“I’m sorry. I wish I could help you.”
“Just stay here, close to me. It’s the only thing that keeps me upright at the moment.”
Clary hugged him, wanting nothing more than to cuddle him, swaddle him in a blanket and protect him from the world.
“Have our parents been notified?” Jace suddenly asked.
“I think he hospital would do that. I heard someone talk about it earlier. So I guess they will have called them already.”
Clary’s phone buzzed and she looked at the message that had appeared.
“Let’s get back inside. Izzy’s asking for us.”


“How is he?” Jace asked when they arrived back in the lobby.
The nurse turned to him and said “He’s stable now. We’ve had some work with him, but he’ll make a full recovery. We have called your parents, so they are on their way home. They’ll be here in a few hours probably.”
“Can we see him? And what do you mean you’ve had some work with him?” It was Magnus who spoke, his voice soft and a little hoarse.
“Yes, I’ll take you to him. But please, he is still weak and needs time to recover. Don’t stay over long or ask too many questions. The police have been notified too, they’ll come in later to question you and your brother. As for what is wrong with him, he has a concussion, several cracked ribs, broken collar bone, sprained wrist and quite a lot of defensive cuts on his forearms.”
With that she turned around and all five of them followed after her.
When they arrived at the room the nurse left them.
“You go first.” Clary said to Magnus, Isabelle and Jace. “Simon and I can wait here for you. Five people at once will be too much I think.”
“I’m not going in without you.” Jace said, and gestured for Simon to take his place and support Isabelle.
“I can’t do this without you there.” Jace said to Clary.
“That’s alright. I’ll always be there for you.”

They waited, sitting cross legged on the floor across the door of Alec’s room.
After about ten minutes Simon and Isabelle came out.
“Magnus wanted a few minutes alone with him.” Simon said when they sat down next to Clary.
“Of course.” she said, “That only seems normal.”
“How was he?” Jace asked.
“He’s still out of it and he looks a mess. But his face is peaceful, so I don’t think he’s in a lot of pain right now.” Isabelle replied.
“Good.” Jace sighed and let his head rest against the wall behind him.
“I’ll go check on Magnus.”
Clary stood up and walked over to the door. She knocked softly, but there came no reply so she went in.
“Magnus?” she said quietly. There came no answer. Magnus sat next to the bed, his head bent, leaning on Alec’s hand. Clary could hear Magnus whispering, but didn’t understand him, it seemed like a foreign language. His shoulders were shaking, she noticed and realised he was crying.
In a few steps Clary stood next to Magnus, her hand on his shoulder. Magnus looked up, shocked.
“I’m sorry Clary.” He said, wiping his eyes with the back of his hand.
“Why would you be sorry?” Clary asked bewildered.
“You shouldn’t see me like this, I should be the one helping you guys, not bawling my eyes out.”
“Magnus! Please, you’ve been through as much as we have. He’s your boyfriend, I wouldn’t expect anything else from you than breaking down at some point. I mean, really, it’s not because you’re older than we are that you’re not allowed to have your emotions or to show them.”
“Thank you Clary.” Magnus said, and he smiled a teary smile.
“I’ll take my leave. Let me send Jace in.” And he left the room.
It was the first time Clary had time to take a look at Alec. He was sleeping.
On eye was completely swollen shut and there were several bruises coloring his pale face.
There were bandages all over his torso and arms. His hands, despite several cuts, were left free of wrappings.
She heard Jace come in and stand behind her. He put his hand on Alec’s, resting on the side of the bed. He was pale, looking a little sick.
Clary grabbed a chair so he could sit.
Clary watched Jace as he took in Alec’s appearance. His eyes raked of his brothers face, his arms, torso, hands, taking in every detail.
Suddenly he took hold of Alec’s left hand and looked at it, the little color his face still held, draining from it.
He looked at a small wound at the base of Alec’s thumb, stroking it lightly. Then he let the hand go, suddenly, as if it had scorched his fingers.
Tears dropped onto the blankets as the final wall around him broke. He cried, his whole body shaking with heartbreaking sobs. Clary held him tightly to her as she cried with him.

Magnus insisted on staying close to Alec that night. He promised that he would call Jace and Isabelle when their parents arrived and told them all to go home.
“There’s no need for all of us to be uncomfortable tonight. Go home, get some sleep and you can come back in the morning. I’ll stay so he won’t be alone in case he would wake up during the night.” he said.
“Call me if he wakes up.” Jace said, pleading clear in his voice.
“I will, but I’d rather you get some sleep first. You look like you’re about to crash.”
“That’s the pot calling the kettle black.” Jace replied, but he smiled nonetheless and shook Magnus’s hand.
“We’ll see you in the morning then.” And they all left.
By the time they were all home and ready to go to bed it was well passed one in the morning. Jace was exhausted but had the feeling sleep wouldn’t come easy tonight. Luckily Clary was there, so he hoped he’d find some rest after all.
He had taken a shower and set his blood smeared clothes to soak in the bathroom.
Clary was waiting for him in his room. She sat on the bed, a tray with strong tea and crackers next to her.


The next morning found Jace, Clary, Isabelle and Simon in the kitchen trying to get some breakfast in their systems. Neither of them was particularly hungry, but food just happened to be necessary. Jace had taken some clean clothes for Alec to take to the hospital just before they left.
Upon entering the hospital room they saw that their parents had arrived sometime during the night. Maryse was awake, sitting next to the bed. Magnus and Robert were asleep, both perched crookedly in some kind of a recliner next to the window.
“Mom?” It was Isabelle. She ran at her mother, flinging her arms around her, nearly overbalancing them both.
Maryse made shushing sounds and patted her daughter gently on her back.
Isabelle was crying, all the pent up emotions and mention flowing out of her. Clary and Simon had kept to the side of the room, not wanting to intrude on the family. Jace stood next to Clary, his hand holding hers tightly. His face was a mask, hiding any and all emotion that he might feel.
Maryse looked at him and gestured to come to her. Stepping forward Jace was enveloped in her hug, together with his sister.
Clary noticed some of the tension in his shoulders leave him.

The family spent most of the day in or close by the room. Alec drifted in and out of consciousness all day. The police came by and to Clary's surprise it was Luke who came to interrogate them. He spoke to all of them separately. When it was Clary's turn he put cup of hot coffee in front of her.
“I thought you could use this.” he said, pushing it to her.
“Thanks.” Clary accepted the cup graciously and drank deeply.
Like asked several questions about the previous night and Clary told him all she could remember.
“Has there been anything at all that came across as odd, out of character, for anyone yesterday?” he asked finally.
Clary though, going over the events of the night before in her mind.
“No, not really.” she said. But then she remembered how Jace had grabbed Alec’s hand and stroked the small wound at the base of his thumb. She told Luke about to and he nodded promising her to look into it.
“Luke?” Clary asked, before getting up. “Have you found anything about the address I gave you?”
“I'm wI on it Clary. Something came up and I have to check it first. Make sure there is nothing I might miss. I promise I'll give you anything I get as soon as I'm sure of the intel.”
“Thank you.” Clary said and left the room.

When she arrived back at Alec’s room she found that both Magnus and Robert were awake. But Jace, however was nowhere to be seen.
“Where is Jace?” Clary asked when she noticed his absence.
“He went outside for some fresh air.” Simon replied. “He asked for you to come when you got back.”
“Thanks.” Clary said and hastily left the room in search of Jace.
She found him at the hospital entrance pacing agitated from one wall to the other and back again.
“Jace? What's wrong?”
Jace started, he hadn't noticed Clary arriving.
“Nothing, I'm fine.” He said, but his eyes wouldn't meet Clary's. In his hands he held his phone and his car keys.
“Jace, please talk to me. You're upset, please, tell me why.”
Jace didn't stop his pacing and shook his head.
“I'm sorry, I need some time alone.” he said suddenly. “I'm going home, please tell my mom not to worry.”
“Alright.” Clary said, taken aback by this.
She stretched out her hand and took Jace by the arm. “Please be careful. Whatever it is you think you have to do, please try to take care of you. I can't lose you.”
Jace nodded and hugged Clary before walking out to the car.


Jace’s head was spinning. He could barely focus on the road before him, but he had to t home, and fast. His cellphone lay next to him on the passenger seat, the message he had received still visible.
~ How is your brother doing? ~