Asteriel | Alec Lightwood

Chapter 14

»»————-　Third Person POV ————-««

The air is humid, the light is low, and footsteps echo through the basement as well as drops of water. A tall man with brown skin and short black hair strides between fences and tables scattered with laboratory equipment and syringes, some filled with blue and green liquid. He stop in front of a silhouette sitting in a chair with his back to him, hidden in the shadows.

"Sir, the Heavenly Prophecy was finally mentioned again." The man states, chest open with proud of giving a good information.

There's a sharp creak of the chair turning, and the person finally faces the standing man. "Where?"

"At the New York Institute. As you know Clary Fairchild is there along with this girl who mentioned the prophecy, she is also a new Shadowhunter." The man is quick to inform, and the person sitting in the chair grins widely.

"And who is this new Shadowhunter?" A raspy low voice asks the man, resting his chin on his hand.

"Aster Hope."

»»————-　Aster's POV   ————-««

"The area's secure. Looks like he was the only assassin" Izzy appears panting right after Magnus took off through the portal.

"Magnus is right, we have to go." Alec states, already moving.

Once out of the club, I can tell Clary is shaken, since she halts her steps, breathing heavily. "Jace!" Izzy shouts, since him and Alec didn't notice us stopping to check on our redhead friend. They turn back to us.

"Clary, we have to move." Jace says stern. "I'm catching my breath." Clary retorts, clearly upset. I place my hand on her shoulder, and immediately regret, since all of her emotions comes rushing through me. I gasp, stiffening as I'm consumed by sadness and confusion.

Suddenly, Alec smacks my hand away from her, pulling me with him creating distance between me and Clary. "What happened?" She queries, concerned. I open my mouth to answer her, but Alec jerk his head towards Jace, still keeping me close to him. "You know what? This is great." He starts, sarcastically. "And not only did Magnus not get the girl her memories back, but we missed an opportunity to figure more about Aster. Plus, he took the necklace. This is fantastic." He harshly finishes, giving a sardonic laugh at the end.

"Alec, the girl name is Clary and I highly suggest you keep your voice down." Jace grits his teeth.

"Why?" Alec steps forward towards him, quickly retorting. "What? Are you afraid I'm going to upset her?" He asks, deadpanned. "We have risked our lives again and again for this girl, and where has it gotten us? All right? Nowhere. We're no closer to getting the Mortal Cup nor to find out what Aster is AND we've lost the Institute's necklace." He rants, scowling.

"Hey! I am right here!" Clary snaps at Alec, and continues, "I don't care about your damn jewelry, and I'm sorry about missing Aster's opportunity." She glances at me apologetically, and adds, "I'm sorry you're gonna look bad in front of your bosses, okay? But my mother is still missing and my last chance at finding her just disappeared into thin air." She barks at him.

"Clary, it's going to be fine." Jace tries to calm her down. "No, it's not! People are dying because of me. And Magnus? Magnus will never come out of hiding again while Valentine is still after him." She shudders, and a tear roll down her face. I try to move to comfort her, but Alec prevents me when he notices I'm going to touch her again. "Don't." He scolds, giving me a warning glare.

"Why- Why can't she touch me?" Clary stammers, eyes red from crying. Alec inhale deeply. "She's an empath, in other words, she can feel people emotions when she touches them. She doesn't control it, so since you're overflowing emotions, she will be affected by you and your mundane feelings." He explains blankly to everyone, jamming his hands in his front pockets, before I can even think about what to reply.