Living Like Legends [Alec Lightwood]

{Chapter Ten}

Ashe

"This is all my fault." Ashe muttered. "If I hadn't come here, if I hadn't-"

"No." Alec reached for her arm. "Don't say that. You coming here changed nothing, Valentine still would have risen up. Our potential allies still would have turned against us."

They were walking back to the Institute, through a large patch of grass were there were no shadows for Ashe to transport through.

She sighed as they trudged along.  "First I kill the warlock, now I killed the vampire- if I keep this up I don't think you guys will have anything left to hunt."

Alec chuckled. "Well I'm sure a lot of people won't complain about the absence of a few Down-Worlders."

They fell silent as the large building of the Institute rose up before them.

Ashe paused at the door, "So are you going to tell Jace that we kinda killed all the vampires and ruined their party or should I?"

"You can take that one." Alec brushed past her.

"Yeah, but I'm the newbie, remember?" She followed him inside.

"So?" Alec shrugged off his coat.

"So, you should definitely be the one to tell him. Or maybe we'll get lucky and he'll be out somewhere." She pushed her hair away from her face and they rounded the corner.

"How did it go?" Jace was leaning against the table and stood up the second they walked in.

"Or not." Ashe muttered.

Alec elbowed her. "Good. It went well."

Jace raised and eyebrow. "Were they violating the Accords?"

"Yep."  Alec hung up his bow.

"And did you kill them?"

"Yep."

"And the leader?"

Alec didn't answer and Ashe cleared her throat. "He's kinda dead too."

Jace blinked at her for a minute and then just shrugged. "Alright."

Alec spun around. "That's it? No lecture on how we shouldn't have killed their leader?"

Jace just shrugged again with a sly smile. "I never really liked that guy. Remember I killed his favorite rat?" He chuckled and Alec just rolled his eyes.

Ashe shook her head at the both of them before turning to walk up the stairs. Padding down the large hallways, she headed for her room.

Suddenly Isabelle's head popped out in front of her. "How did it go? Did he like the shirt?"

Ashe jumped back, startled and then shook her head. "You scared me. And I really don't think Alec cared about what shirt I'm wearing, Izzy." She continued walking down the hall.

Isabelle fell into step beside her. "Believe me, guys notice. Did you pull it down like I told you?"

Ashe stopped outside her door and gave Isabelle a look. "Okay, I'm not going to try and seduce your brother by showing cleavage. That's just...weird."

"I do it." Izzy gave a sly smile. "And it works."

Ashe just shook her head. "I used the trick on a vampire."

Isabelle pursed her lips. "Eh some are okay and others are... not."

Ashe swatted Isabelle's arm. "I was distracting him so we could get into the back of the club not trying to go out with him."

"Oh." Izzy frowned then brightened. "Did Alec see?"

"Yeah... Why?"

"That's good! That means you made him jealous." She patted Ashe on the arm. "I've got to go. Keep up the good work!" And with that she flounced down the hall.

"Okay..." Ashe twisted the knob on the door and stepped inside her room. The drapes blew in the slight breeze as she walked into the bathroom. Turning the faucet, she let the shower run while she undressed and pulled her hair from its ponytail.

With a sigh she stepped under the warm water and let it wash off the dirt and dust from the club. Once she was finished she wrapped herself in a towel and glanced in the mirror. Her silver black eyes stared back at her, proof of what she was. Averting her gaze, she returned to her bedroom. After hunting around in the drawers she found a small black tank top to wear and white shorts. Flicking her damp hair over her shoulder, her eyes fell on the hoodie left on top of the dresser.
She'd had no idea it was Alec's or how it got into the room. Reaching for the fabric, she clutched it for a moment, smelling the cedar wood and evergreen scent.  Then with a shake of her head, she folded it neatly and set it back down.

Then she quietly laid down on the bed, even though it had to be only dinner time. The days events caught up to her in a rush and she slowly closed her eyes, falling asleep.

~

"Ashe."

Black, inky black, swirled around.

"Ashe."

Dust coated everything, choking out the light.

"Ashe!"

She jerked herself upright. Something was pinning her arms down. With a strangled cry, Ashe panicked, instincts kicking in.  Her magic flared before she heard a familiar grunt.

"Ashe, Ashe it's me. It's me, Alec."

She blinked and in the dark made out Alec's face hovering above her's. With a gasp she sat up, nearly knocking their heads together.  He quickly released his grip on her arm.  

"Sorry- I-"  She cut herself short, not knowing what to say. 

"No, it's my fault. It's just that I heard you- as I was walking by- I swear I wasn't spying on you outside your door-"  She could make out the faint tint of red in the hazy dark.  He trailed off before asking quietly, "Are you okay?"

With an awkward cough, she climbed off the bed and turned her back to him. "I'm fine.  Thanks... for you know, waking me up."

"I get them too, you know. We all do."

She turned to face him and he shrugged. "It's just a side effect of the job.  Of what we have to do.  What we see.  What we live with."  His voice sounded heavy.

"Then why do you do it?"  The question sprang from her throat before she had a chance to pull it back.

His shoulders dropped.  "We're born into it-Shadow Hunting.  We don't get a choice.  Besides it's an honor to be a Shadow Hunter, it's a pride."  But his voice told Ashe he was lying to himself.

"I understand."  Was all she said, before they fell into silence.  He stood and paced to the door, reaching for the knob and pushed it open.  It swung open on silent hinges, faint splinters of light falling on the carpeted hall.

"Alec, wait."

He paused and glanced back at her. 

"I don't want to be alone."

There was a silence for a moment, so intense, Ashe thought he'd gone after all.  But then there was a breeze like fresh mountain air of evergreen and winter and the bed dipped beside her.  She felt his warmth spread through the blankets as he swept and arm around her. They settled into the bed together, laying in the dark.

"Do you want to tell me about it?" He asked quietly, after a minute.

She shifted. "I don't remember. It was just dark and cold and-" She stopped and then shook her head. "It's only fragments. Useless shards."

"Sometimes they're like that. Sometimes you remember them in full detail."

Ashe thought about her other dream, where she had killed Alec. That she could remember completely.

They fell into silence and Ashe couldn't help but think that with Alec, she felt like she was finally home.