Finding Each Other

Chapter 2

POV JACE:

Since I remember being a person, my goal was to be one of the best Shadowhunters. Shadowhunters, also known as Nephilim, are a race of beings who are humans born with angel blood. They have fought the demons that threaten the world and have created their own culture and civilization within human society over the years, at the same time keeping the Shadow World a secret from the mundane world while protecting both. Their angelic blood endows them with special abilities that allow them to achieve feats beyond what's humanly possible through the application of angelic runes.

The types of demons that exist are Asmodei, kuri, ravener, shax and then we have greater demons, like Asmodeus, azazel, belial, lilth, marbas, thammuz, valak and Yanluo.

My parents died when I was young and that's why I ended up at the Lightwoods' house, where Roberto and Maryse treated me as one of them. Both Izzy, Alec and even Max became my real brothers and so the day Alec and I became parabatai was one of the most special days in my life.

A parabatai is a pair of Nephilim warriors who fight together as lifelong partners, bound together by oath, regardless of their gender. Their bond is not reflected only in their closeness and willingness to lay down their lives for one another. The parabatai runes placed upon them enable them to draw on each other's strength in battle. They also maintain a strong connection between one another and are able to sense each other's life force. Like the marriage bond, the parabatai bond is broken, normally, only by the death of one of the members of the partnership.

One night, the three of us were on a mission when the suspect demon entered a bar. I had the rune of invisibility activated, that is, only the remaining shadowhunters can see us when I go against a girl.

- Look where you've been.

"Can you see me?" I asked, surprised.

- An apology was enough ...- said the girl's voice in the distance, because I decided that the best thing to do was to look for my brothers inside.

I know I should be focused on the mission I was on and protecting my brothers, but I couldn't get the girl out of my head. She must have been special or less one of us to be able to see me.

When I discovered her again, she had entered the VIP room and was terrified of what she had seen, of course, running out of here. I had the feeling that I should follow it and that's what I did and I'm glad I did. After I saved her from a demon who had abducted her mother, I took her to our institute.

Simon, her best friend, came into our lives that very night. Both he and I were upset at each other's presence. But it was obvious that he meant a lot to Clary, so I made an effort to endure his presence, which was not easy.

The days passed and Clary became more and more a part of our culture and to my displeasure also her irritating best friend, Simon Lewis. At first he was just a mundane, who with the help of the runes I drew on his shoulder, could see our world, but when Raphael brought his lifeless body in his arms, he knew that something serious had happened.

After we buried him in the special soil, we just had to wait for him to wake up, so Clary and I stayed on the lookout while Raphael went to get supplies for when he woke up. We were talking about mundane life when the earth started to shake and that's when I realized that he had finally woken up.

- Clary, what's going on?

- You died!

- Me what? What is this? - asked Simon taking the bags of blood that Raphael brought. - This is blood .... Are these fangs? I am a vampire?

"Yes," replied Clary, hesitating a little.

- Clary tells me this is not real ... Tell me this is not happening ... I am disgusting.

- Don't say that, Simon. You are still the same Simon I met when we were little, the same who loves comic books. The same one that carried me in his arms over the Brooklynn bridge when I lost my shoes.

"I'm not," shouted Simon.

- Yes, you are! You are my best friend!

- I'm not! I am nothing less than a monster.

- Simon, I ...- said Clary, trying to get closer to Simon.

"No, stay away, please," said Simon, walking away and running away from our shore.