Forgotten Twin

Spy or Friendly Advice?

The five of the Shadowhunters arrived at a graveyard. "Whose grave is it?" Alec asked. "Mary Milligan, born January 10th, 1802. Died January 10th, 1878." Izzy replied, constantly checking her phone. "Died her birthday, harsh." Skylar muttered. "All right, Alec, let's go." Jace told Alec excitedly. "Wait, what are we looking for?" Clary asked Jace. "Cache of weapons stashed away in Mary Milligan's grave instead of her body or on top of her corpse, I assume." Skylar muttered. Everyone looked surprised that she was able to figure it out so quickly. 

"Why are there Shadowhunter weapons in a churchyard?" Clary asked. "Because all of the ancient religions recognize demons. Or at least they used to. That's what a lot of ancient times did, or at least something like it. Like the Ancient Egyptians and their tombs with treasure surrounding the dead bodies on emperors or pyramid builders." Skylar replied without looking at them. Alec nodded approvingly at her, not that Skylar saw. "We did. They forgot about the thread because we've been here to protect them. Typical mundane failure of imagination."

"Are you saying we did too good a job? You just can't let up, can you?" Izzy teased her brother. "You know what? Alec, why don't you go check out by the angel?" Jace turned to Clary and opened his mouth to say something to her when Skyla cut in. "No need. I found the grave." Sklar beckoned them over. Suddenly there was a chime and Izzy checked her phone. "Excellent. He's home. I'm outta here." And with that Izzy walked out of the cemetery. Meanwhile Skylar grabbed Alec's stele and drew the unlocking rune onto the lid of the grave and opened it up to find multiple weapons. Clary reached over to touch a blade. "Don't touch that. You don't know how to use it." Alec snapped.

"What, like at Pandemonium when I killed that demon?" Clary smiled smugly as she crossed her arms. Skylar scoffed. "Right." Skylar rolled her eyes. "You held the bloody blade like a fucking robot and stood there. I actually did shit and saved you. You didn't touch no demon and you ran the first chance you got. What a coward." Skylar shot back, voice laced with sarcasm and smiled in satisfaction when Clary's smile dropped and was replaced with a clenched jaw. "I'm gonna show her the right way to use it. Do you see what you need in here?" Jace interrupted before the situation could get out of hand.

"You're just looking for a chance to fondle her." Skylar scoffed.  "No. There's no bow here. I need one. I have to rune some arrows. That's back at the Institute. I gotta go. Skylar?" Alec offered his hand to the girl. Skylar shrugged and nodded her head. "Well, how are you gonna get back in the Institute?" Jace asked. "Go in the back. Won't bother us if we're alone." Alec replied. "Okay, good. Go. I can finish up here." Jace told Alec. Alec hesitated before turning back around to face Jace. "Hey... I understand what we need to do. And I trust you, parabatai, but don't even doubt me. No matter what I said." Alec and Jace shook hands and then Alec and Skylar left, back to the institute.

As the pair walked into the training room, Alec pulled open a shelf, full of weapons and grabbed a bow and arrow and began tracing runed onto them. "Want to try?" Alec asked, breaking the peaceful silence between them. Skylar looked at the runed and nodded and began to help. Just that moment Hodge walked through. "Alec, Skylar" Hodge looked surprised at the pair. Surprised, Alec turned around and placed the arrow on the table.

"Didn't know you were here." Hodge said awkwardly. "Yeah, no, I, uh..." Alec scrambled for an excuse. "He's teaching me how to rune arrows, because I do archery." Skylar quickly jumped in. Hodge nodded in understanding. 

"I'll leave you to it." Hodge replied. "Hodge, thank you." Alec called after the man. "You remind me of me, Alec. A loyal friend standing in the shadow of the chosen one. Hey... Don't make the same mistakes I did. Look where it got me." And with that Hodge left the room. Alec scoffed. Skylar's eyes narrowed. Either that was just some friendly advice or he was a spy and was planting seeds of doubt. "You're a terrible liar." Skylar whispered to Alec.

They walk back out of the institute to find Izzy close to the hotel in a red dress. "Izzy. I got your text. Where are we exactly?" Alec asked looking at their surroundings. "It's an old meatpackers' service entrance. If we go back there, we come up into the basement of the Hotel Dumort. Perfect, right? We distract the vamps, Clary and Jace have time to find Simon." Izzy responded. "Okay." Alec shrugged carelessly.

" 'Okay'? It was hard work interrogating Meliorn to get this intel." Izzy gasped with mock horror and annoyance. "Great job, Izzy. You have faerie dust on your dress. And I hate being the distraction." Alec shot back sarcastically. Skylar chuckled quietly. "I don't. You know, you'd be a lot happier if you weren't so freaking repressed. Alec, hello?" Izzy called after her brother as Alec checked the other room. The trio walked through an empty hallway. 

"You're really not gonna talk to me, are you?" Izzy asked, turning her head slightly to look at her brother. "That's because you have no idea what you're talking about." Alec replied looking ahead, cautiously. "But I do. You're hiding from yourself, not me. You have feelings, whether you like them or not, Alec." Izzy insisted as she lectured Alec as if he would listen. "This is not the time or the place, Izzy."

"I don't know. Looks pretty smooth so far." Izzy shrugged as they climbed a ladder into another room. "This must be the way." Izzy opened the door to reveal a group vampires waiting for them. Their eyes widened and they quickly shut the door. As soon as that happened. "Well, not that smooth.' Izzy said at the same time Sky stated "Any day now."

"Yeah, if you hold the door still, it might be a lot easier." Alec drew a rune on the door but it wouldn't work. "It's not taking it." Alec said frustrated. Skylar looked around and spotted a pipe. Without another thought she snatched the stele out of Alec's hand and cut the pipe. 

She moved in between the doorhand, blocking the vampires. "Whoever said, 'The pen is mightier than the sword', was an idiot." Izzy smirked. "When you're right, you're right." Alec shrugged carelessly as they backed away from the door.