Brothers by Blood (Alec Lightwood twin)

Chapter 74

*At the Institute*

BEN'S POV

Alec, Izzy, and I were reading up on Duncan's file to see if there was anything there that could indicate why he hijacked the portal in the first place when Clary and Jace walked over to us. Alec put the file away and looked over at both of them.
"Any word from Magnus or Luke?" Jace asked.
"No. With Valentine free, the Downworld Cabinet has been holding secluded meetings at the Seelie Court." Alec explained.
"Well, that's not good." Jace said.
"You think anything good happens in the Seelie court?" Clary asked Jace. He gave her a look that I couldn't place, but I knew had something to do with their visit to the Seelie Court.
"The Clave isn't gonna let this go unpunished. The Inquisitor's sent an envoy to assess the situation. Chances are they'll be the ones replacing me as Head of the Institute." Alec said, almost as if he was accepting of the fact by now.
"Not if we can recapture Valentine. Sebastian and all available personnel are searching. We already know Duncan managed to hijack the portal." Izzy said.
"If he was Luke's accomplice, he could have been orchestrating the secret transfer all along." Jace suggested.
"Listen I appreciate the effort, but Valentine escaped on my watch. I deserve to take the heat for it." Alec stated.
"You know, not everything bad that happens is on you Alec." I said, putting my hand on my twin's shoulder.
"Ben's right Alec. This isn't your fault, it's mine. I was the one in charge of the transfer team." Izzy said, trying to shoulder at least some of the blame.
"Hey, we both were. Look Alec, you are a good leader. You can't just let Imogen fire you over something you didn't do." Jace said. Before anyone could say anything else, we heard a voice that none of us wanted to hear.
"Alec will do as he's ordered." Our father said. I looked over to see him completely bald and cleanly shaven. Why was he here?
"Dad? What are you doing here?"
"I'm the Clave's envoy. We need to talk." He said to Alec.

*In Alec's Office*

ALEC'S POV

"I never expected it to be you." I said, leaning on my desk.
"You're my son. I felt it was my responsibility to deliver your orders personally. Allowing Valentine's escape was a lapse in leadership, but our top priority is tracking him down. We believe he may still be in New York and I convinced Imogen that you know the city better than anyone in Idris. You'll remain Head of the Institute." Dad said.
"And that's it?" I asked. I honestly wanted him to leave because I was so furious at him, even though I wouldn't show it.
"For now, but Imogen is keeping you on a tight leash. Don't give her an excuse to give Aldertree his old job back." Dad warned.
"Well, I appreciate the help. But don't you think this makes up for what you did to Mum." I snapped.
"Alec your mother and I have always had a complicated relationship." Dad tried to explain, sitting down on one of the couches.
"It's not complicated. You cheated on her. There's a reason she returned to Idris as soon as you got here." She stated.
"I made a mistake. I never meant to hurt you but I fell in love. You of all people should know what that's like." Dad explained.
"Magnus isn't an affair." I snapped, feeling extremely offended about how he was comparing my relationship to his affair. "I shouldn't have said anything. We can argue all about family drama once we find Valentine, but until then, I have an Institute to run." I said seriously.
"Alec-" Dad began, but I cut him off.
"You can go." I snapped, dismissing him before he could continue. He sighed before getting up and walking out.

JACE'S POV

I was looking at a map of Idris to how I might be able to get there since the portal I had requested had been denied.
"You asked Alec to assign both of us to search Staten Island? Yeah, I needed someone I could trust. You're the one who said finding Valentine had to be a priority." I said.
"Yeah, but I didn't mean we had to search together." Clary said. She then noticed the map that was on the desk. "Wait...this is Idris."
"Yeah. You really think Valentine's in Staten Island?" I asked.
"No, but I'm pretty sure the Clave has Idris covered." She replied.
"Not if they're looking in the wrong place. Valentine used to take me to this cabin in Brocelind Forest when I was kid." I told her.
"And you think he's hiding there?" Clary asked, more for confirmation than for anything else.
"Probably not, no. But I bet you we find more in that cabin than we do in Staten Island." I explained.
"Jace, you need to tell someone." Clary said.
"Yeah? I did. The Clave denied my request for a portal." I told her. She looked at me with surprise.
"What about Magnus?" She suggested.
"Magnus is still in the Seelie Court with Luke. Unfortunately, portalling to Idris without approval isn't exactly sanctioned under the Accords. There's not a lot of warlocks stupid enough to risk it. I was thinking, if I could find a warlock that could get me close enough to the Swiss border I could hike it. It's only about 30 miles. It's a long shot, but it's the best I can come up with." I said. I looked up at her and she looked like she wasn't even paying attention.
"What if we don't need a warlock?" She asked, completely out of the blue.
"What are you talking about?" I asked. She got out her stele and began drawing a rune in mid-air. "What are you doing?" I asked. Without answering, she finished the rune and then pushed her arm forward, creating a portal.
"It worked." She exclaimed, not even acknowledging my questions or anything I was saying.
"That's impossible." I exclaimed, almost shouting over the wind that was encasing the room.
"Obviously it's not. You're thinking of that cabin, right?" She asked.
"Yeah. Look, just wait a second, OK?" I said, attempting to slow her down.
"C'mon the portal's about to close. I'm not sure I can open another one." She said before pulling me through the portal.
"Clary, wait! STOP!" I shouted as she pulled me through the portal.