Brothers by Blood (Alec Lightwood twin)

Chapter 75

*At the Institute*

ISABELLE'S POV

I saw Dad on the other side of the Ops Centre. I need to talk to talk to him about Max. Something just wasn't right about this. I walked up to Dad and put my hands on my hips.
"Dad, what's going on?" I asked.
"Nothing. Why?" He asked, completely clueless. I rephrased my question.
"Max missed his training session this morning because he wouldn't leave his room. He said you screamed at him, and told him to keep the whole thing a secret? You've barely ever raised your voice. What could Max possibly have done?" I asked.
"Nothing, it's just...look, with Valentine free I've been under a lot of stress lately, and-" He started rambling and I felt the need to put him back on track.
"Dad." I said.
"Max sure seems to have a talent for finding trouble. I caught him reading through a file of private fire messages that I had received from the Inquisitor and well, you know the rest." He told me.
"Private fire messages?" I asked suspiciously.
"It's not what you think." He said seriously. "Look, it's above your security clearance. I've said too much already. I should go talk to Max." He finished. He began to walk away and I watched him go, suspicious as to what he might be hiding. I need to tell Alec about this. I left Dad to go talk to Max and made my way to find Alec.

*A little while later*

ALEC'S POV

Izzy, Ben, and I were having a conversation about what Dad had said to me and
"Honestly, as long as Dad apologizes to Max, I don't care what the fire messages said." I said to both of them.
"I know you're still upset about the whole affair, but think about it. Valentine escaped under our watch, and yet Dad somehow convinced the Inquisitor to let you keep your job? What leverage could he possibly have to do something like that? Did he say anything?" Izzy asked.
"Not really. He said he was in love." I told her, the last two words of my statement laced with disgust. Suddenly, my palm started to hurt, like someone had sliced it. I clenched it briefly before looking down at it. There was no mark whatsoever so I knew that I wasn't the one who was hurt.
"Are you OK?" Izzy asked.
"Something's wrong with Jace." I told her. The three of us looked at each other, concern written all over our faces. We rushed to the room where we knew Jace had previously been.

*A few minutes later – arriving at the room Jace and Clary were in*

BEN'S POV

The three of us entered the room at relatively the same time and were all shocked at what we saw. The room was trashed, and there was what looked like broken glass spread out on the floor.
"By the angel." Izzy exclaimed, her voice sounding slightly breathless.
"What the hell?" Alec asked, more to himself than anyone else.
"What happened here?" I asked as we were all looking around the room. We made our way slowly towards the glass and knelt down next to it. Alec gently picked up a piece and looked at it curiously.
"Is that a lake?" Alec asked, looking through what looked like glass.
"What are these things?" I asked.
"They look like portal shards." Izzy replied.
"So Jace and Clary are at this beach?" Alec asked, more of a statement than a question.
"Assuming they went through together. But none of it makes sense. How were they able to create a portal inside the Institute?" Izzy said.
"Clearly, it wasn't a normal portal. Whatever it was, there's something strange about the portal for the wards not to recognize it." The voice of our father piped up. All three of us turned to look at him.
"That should explain these." Izzy said, handing him one.
"This isn't a beach. It's Lake Lyn." Dad said, handing the portal shard to Alec.
"The Lake Lyn?" Alec asked, more for clarification. "How can you tell?" He continued.
"Because Jace requested a portal to Idris this morning. He thought he might have a lead on Valentine, but the Clave denied it." Dad told us.
"Seems like he went anyway." Izzy said, more to herself than the other three of us.
"We need to help him. You have to get that portal approved." Alec said.
"I'll try my best, but the Clave-" Dad said, but Alec cut him off.
"I don't care what the Clave says. Jace is in trouble." He retorted. I could tell he was getting agitated very quickly.
"I agree, but as long as you're acting head of this Institute, you need to remain here." Dad said in a calm tone.
"Jace is family. You can't expect Alec to abandon his parabatai." Izzy exclaimed. I glared at Dad, knowing he had done exactly that to his former parabatai. Alec sighed in defeat.
"No. Dad's right. I need to put the Institute first." Alec said. Both Izzy and I looked at him in shock. "Listen I'm not abandoning anyone, I'm sending my best Shadowhunter to go and rescue them." Alec said, looking at Izzy. I knew this wasn't a jab towards me, because even I knew I am in no shape to go out into the field right now, but I do agree that if Alec couldn't go, he would definitely send either Izzy or I. Izzy turned towards our father.
"Get me a portal to Idris." Izzy ordered our father.
"I will, but there's something you should know about this Lake." He said seriously.
"What is it?" I asked.
"Lake Lyn has hallucinogenic properties and, without an iratze applied soon after consumption, could cause a person to lose their mind forever. You need to make sure that you don't drink any of the Lake water under any circumstances."  Dad told Izzy. All three of us looked nervous. What if Jace and/or Clary had swallowed some of the water and got separated? Did they even know?

*In Idris*

ISABELLE'S POV

I had just exited the portal finally provided for me by the Clave and came out on the shores of Lake Lyn. Honestly, it was beautiful, but I knew better than to touch any of the water. Now, all I have to do is find Jace and Clary.

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A/N:
Hi munchkins,
This may seem odd, but I wanted to tell you all something.
Views/Hits always make me smile because it lets me know people are actually reading my work and it's not going to waste.
Bookmarks make me happy because it lets me know people actually like my work and enjoy reading it.
Comments, on the other hand, are absolutely worshipped. They mean the world to me. Firstly, they tell me what you all think of my stories, and, secondly, it gives me feedback on what you like and dislike about them.
All in all, I just wanted to say thank you to everyone for taking the time to read my stories and I hope you continue to enjoy them.
~ Samantha