Brothers by Blood (Alec Lightwood twin)

Chapter 76

*In Idris*

ISABELLE'S POV

After a while of searching, I finally came across a blonde haired boy that I counted as my brother.
"Hey." Jace greeted me. "I'm guessing Alec got my message, huh?" He asked, showing me the cut on his hand. "I had to do something to get your guys' attention. Can I use your stele?" He asked.
"What happened to Clary?" I asked.
"Thank you." He said. He lifted up his shirt and activated his Iratze rune. "I don't know. One minute, we were looking for her stele by the lake; the next, she was gone." He told me, handing my stele back to me.
"You didn't drink any of the lake water, did you?" I asked, gingerly taking my stele from him.
"No, but Clary did." He told me. The look on my face must have "What?" He demanded.
"Lake Lyn has hallucinogenic properties. An Iratze should be able to cure her, but we need to get to her soon." I explained.
"Or what?" He asked, a concerned look on his face.
"Or she could lose her mind forever." I told him.

*Later - At the Institute*

BEN'S POV

I was currently with Alec. I could almost feel the worry radiating off him from not knowing whether his parabatai was safe or not.
"They'll be ok Alec. I know they will." I said, putting my hand on Alec's shoulder. He sighed, not meeting my eyes.
"I know, but that doesn't mean I won't stop worrying until I know that Jace is ok." He said.
Before I could reply, Dad knocked on the door. Both Alec and I looked towards him.
"I just got word from Isabelle. Jace and Clary are safe. They'll be in Valentine's cabin shortly." Dad said. I saw Alec visibly relax at that statement.
"That's good to hear. Hopefully they can recover something we can use to track him. Dad, Thank you. Izzy never would have made it to Idris without your help." Alec thanked our Dad.
"Alec, you and Ben and Isabelle and Max and Jace are the most important people in the world to me. I know I've lost your trust. I hope I can earn it back." Dad said hopefully.
"Then why are you still lying to us? You told Max to keep a secret about some fire messages." Alec inquired.
"Yes, but-" Dad began, but Alec cut him off.
"Whatever it is, just keep Max out of it." He said seriously.
"I sent those fire messages to Imogen to make sure that you would remain the head of the Institute." Dad explained.
"Oh, so you're protecting me because I'm a Lightwood?" Alec snapped.
"No! It's because I've always admired your courage, and your honesty. It's the stuff that great leaders are made from." Dad explained.
"Why should I believe you? What did you send to Imogen?" Alec demanded.
"The Clave is keeping a massive secret of their own, and I threatened to reveal it. I didn't tell you because I didn't want you to have to carry the burden of lying to people that you love. I know how hard that can be." Dad said.
"Dad." Alec said, interrupting him to try and get him back on track.
"Just tell us." I said.
"But you cannot repeat this secret to anyone, not even Magnus. Promise me. Both of you." Dad said seriously.
"We can't promise that. Either you trust me to be a leader or you don't." Alec said.
"The Clave lied about the Soul Sword. They never recovered it from Valentine's attack on the Institute. They don't have it. They never did." Dad revealed.
"Then who does?" I asked.
"We don't know, but our assumption is Valentine and his followers." Dad said.
"We'll get it back, hopefully before any conflict breaks out." Ben said. Both Dad and I looked at him with a skeptical but 'I hope you're right' expression on our faces. I hope we can find it soon.

*Later*

JACE'S POV

I was reading one of the many, many journals that Valentine had kept of both Jonathan and my progress as we were growing up. I looked up and towards the door to see a certain redhead standing there looking at me...just looking.
"What's up?" I asked curiously.
"Nothing. Um I'm just really glad that you're OK." She said. She paused for a moment before pointing towards the books. "Did you find anything in Valentine's books?" She asked, walking towards me.
"These aren't books. They're journals." I told her. "Valentine used to keep these on the highest shelf in the cabin. I remember trying to read one once, see what all the fuss was about. He got to me before I could even open it. That was the last time we went back to that cabin. Now I know why." I said. She looked over my shoulder to see the names on the page.
"Jonathan Christopher. These are about you?" She said, looking at me, surprised. I pointed towards the two names.
"Morgenstern...Herondale." I said, my finger gliding across the page, pointing to each name.
"You were...you were opposite ends of the same experiment?" Clary said in what seemed like realization.
"There are hundreds of pages of notes. It's years worth of research. These...these journals are...they're all that's left of my childhood." I told her.
"Wait. Jace, this was 10 years ago. Jonathan died in a fire when he was an infant. How could Valentine still be studying him if he was already dead?" She asked. She paused, looking straight ahead as if she were remembering something and had come to a realization. Without looking at me, she continued. "Ithuriel wasn't talking about you, he was talking about my brother." She then turned to look at me. "He's still alive." She revealed.
"We need to tell Alec about this." I said seriously.
If Jonathan is still alive, that means that he is a threat and could strike at any time. He could be anywhere. Has he teamed up with Valentine? Is he in the Institute? We need to find out before we can do anything else. I decided then that I was going to continue looking through these journals to see if there is anything we can use to track him down and stop him. It may take some time, but I am confident there should be something we can use. These journals are so detailed and have years worth of research and notes, there must be something here.