Angels and Warriors // A.L

Chapter 30

Alec reached for his phone, growling in frustration. He put it on speaker and Jace picked up after three rings.

"Where the hell are you?" Alec demanded.

"I'm going after Valentine," Jace's voice was muffled but his message was received loud and clear. "Go help Clary."

"You're acting crazy," Alec responded, "All right? Whatever Valentine's telling you, it's not true."

There was a pause on the other end of the line, "That's just it, Alec. It is true. He's my father, he taught me how to fight, not to be weak."

Alec looked to me helplessly and I took the phone from him, "You can't let him control you like this, Jace," I said firmly, "This isn't you!"

"It is me," He sounded defeated, "It's always been me. He raised me to be a killer. Now I'm gonna make him regret it. Go help Clary, she needs you."

"No, you don't have to do this. All right? You're not a-" The line rang dead. "Jace?"

"Dammit!" Alec cursed.

The sudden ringing of Alec's phone made us jump. Half expecting it to be Jace again, Alec picked up. "Jace you- Izzy?" He looked between Luke and I confusedly as she spoke into his ear, but the pair of us just shrugged. "Okay, we're on our way." He shoved his phone into his pocket, "Izzy said they've 'sort of' found the Book of the White, but they need our help."

"Where are they?" I asked.

"Magnus' apartment, headed for the Upper East Side, come on, lets go," Alec and I broke out into a run after agreeing that Luke should go and look for Jace.

"How's your shoulder feeling," Alec asked as we hauled ass up the stairs of Magnus' building. He had a strange tone to his voice - almost angry at the fact that I'd been hurt.

"Fine, fine, you can't blame Jace for it - he probably thought I was Hodge; it was reflex," I waved him off, trying to defend Jace. We reached the top and burst in, out of breath.

"The fuck is she doing here?" My comment slipped out in my surprise and Alec, Magnus and Isabelle tried to hide their amusement while Camille looked less than impressed.

"Where's the book?" Alec asked.

"I have it," Camille declared.

"And she's graciously offered it in exchange for her freedom," Magnus added.

Alec took a step forward shaking his head, "We don't negotiate with prisoners."

"Prisoner? I beg to disagree," Camille mocked, "You see, I'm your only chance at saving the world. You need me."

"Where's Clary?" I asked, rolling my eyes.

Magnus pointed to the hallway behind him. I found Clary and Simon in one of the bedrooms, sitting on the bed talking. "Sam!" Clary stood up when she saw me, "Did you find Hodge?"

I nodded, "Yeah, but Valentine has the Cup."

"What?" Clary exclaimed, "We're too late." She looked from Simon to me before asking, "Where's Jace? Is he okay?"

"He went after Valentine by himself. It's like he's totally lost it. Alec and I tried to stop him, but he wouldn't listen," I answered.

Clary looked stricken, "We need to find Jace. He's in a dark place, we don't know what he's gonna do." She started to run for the door but I grabbed her arm.

"Luke is out looking for him, Jace wants us to stay on mission," I looked at her pointedly, "That means we have to find the book."

Simon stood up and agreed, "She's right. We have to wake up your mom - it's our only way to stop Valentine."