Alec, after almost a day's rest, was back in Echo's room with his hand in hers.
"Do you think she can hear us?" Alec looked up at his sister.
Isabelle gave a shrug, "I don't know. Maybe."
Alec looked down at Echo, "She hasn't moved at all. Do you think she will ever wake up? What if whatever Valentine did to her, permanently damaged her?"
Isabelle sighed, "You can't think like that. She's going to be fine."
"Did Clary come to see her at all?"
Isabelle sat on the chair beside Alec, "Yeah, she's been bouncing between her mom and Echo."
Alec sighed, "Is there anything we can do to wake either of them up?"
Isabelle shook her head, "Time. That's all we can hope for right now."
Alec looked down at Echo as she started to slightly stir in his hand.
"Echo?"
Isabelle stood up, "Echo, can you hear us?"
Suddenly Clary and Jace were in the room.
"Is she awake?"
Isabelle looked up at Clary, "I don't know."
Echo gripped Alec's hand tightly and he sprang up, "Echo, hey, you're okay. You're safe now. Just open your eyes."
Clary stood behind Alec and hoped, but Jace stood at the edge of the room.
Echo let in a gasp and popped her eyes open with a shout. Just in the scream alone made the walls shake slightly. Echo fell back onto the mattress with a shallow breath. Alec, with his hands still in hers, leaned over her and they locked eyes for a moment before Echo looked around at the faces above her.
Echo could feel a plethora of emotions shouting at her; anger, love, fear, worry, anxiety, apprehension, guilt, hope.
"Echo?"
Echo looked over at Clary and swallowed painfully.
"Clary."
Alec let go of Echo's hand and let Clary take his place, "Hey, Ec. How are you feeling?"
Echo tried to answer Clary, but the pain from her chest wouldn't allow anything but a groan to emit. Clary looked up at Isabelle with worry then back at Echo.
"Sorry, stupid question." Clary shook her head, "But, I'm glad you are here and awake."
Echo could feel that there was something Clary wasn't telling her. Echo gripped Clary's hand in an angered squeeze and Clary pulled in a breath.
"Uh, we found mom. She's still unconscious, but she's here, in the institute."
Echo's eyes went wide for a moment before she felt a shift in the air. She glanced at Jace and Echo could feel his desire and disbelief. Echo swallowed and signaled to Clary to tell her the rest.
Clary sighed and gently looked at Jace before she spoke, "It's Valentine. He's Jace's father too." Clary saw the way that Echo's expressions were wiped clean, "Ec, Jace is your twin."
Echo suddenly let go of Clary's hand and was on the other side of the room, leaning against the wall, in the blink of an eye.
Jace, Alec, Isabelle and Clary all had different reactions, but it was Alec who rushed to Echo's side as she failed to grasp the wall. Echo looked over at Jace with a mixture of familiarity and disbelief. Echo leaned against Alec and shook her head, "No, you can't be."
Shockingly, Jace took a step forward, "Valentine glamoured himself as Michael Wayland. I'm sorry Echo."
Echo shook her head again, "This isn't real. I'm still dreaming."
Clary stood up, "You're awake Echo. This is real."
Alec felt Echo shake in his grasp and he somehow knew what was coming next, "Echo, calm down. You're going to make yourself weaker if you teleport."
"Teleport?"
Nobody had the chance to explain, because Echo was suddenly out of the room and being dropped onto the control room floor. Every Shadowhunter in the room looked over at Echo and it was Lydia who hurried up to her after a moment of confusion.
Lydia put a hand on Echo's shoulder, "What are you doing, Echo?"
Echo put her weight into her hands and looked up, but what she saw brought her into a sudden, brief flashback.
"Mom?"
Echo hastily pulled out of Lydia's grasp and almost crawled up the steps to the training room and to the floating green orb in the center of the floor.
Echo pulled herself onto the chair beside her mother.
"Mom?" Echo asked again. Echo hovered her hand over the orb and hesitantly reached in and grasped Jocelyn's hand.
Echo looked up when she heard a series of footsteps. Clary and Jace slowly approached her as Alec, Isabelle and Lydia stood on the steps.
Jace stopped his footing and folded his arms and Clary stood in front of Echo.
"Ec, what did Valentine do to you?"
Echo let go of her mother's hand, suddenly angry, "He ruined me." Echo coughed at the sudden use of her full voice. Echo held her burning chest and looked up at Jace.
"Jace?"
Jace turned at the sound of his name and looked at Echo. His eyes were a mixture of pain, anger and sadness.
"Do you believe what Valentine said?"
Jace shook his head and glanced at Clary, "I don't want to."
Echo felt the love and desire Jace had for Clary.
"Because of Clary?"
Jace gave a frustrated huff and walked out of the training room. As Jace retreated Echo could feel an invisible string break and she was suddenly on the ground. Alec and Clary hurried onto their knees.
"Echo? Hey, look at me."
Clary tried to get her sister to look at her, but Echo wasn't responsive.
Alec took Echo into his grasp and held her body close. Alec was clearly aware of the worry on Clary's face.
"She's going to be fine." Alec started out of the training room, "Eventually."
**
Echo felt her eyelids flutter before she opened them. The room was slightly dark except for the faint white glow. Echo turned her head expecting to see Alec or Clary, but to her surprise, Jace was sitting next to her. In his hands was a stone, which explained why the room had an eerie white glow.
Jace looked up from the stone and sat forward, "How are you?"
Echo mentally felt up her body, "I'm fine for now." Echo slowly pushed herself into a sitting position and leaned against the headboard.
"What are you doing in here?"
Jace set the stone on the nightstand, "I wanted to talk."
Echo's eyes flared, "Talk? To me?"
Jace nodded, "Yeah, uh, about what Valentine said."
Echo gave a slight shake of her head, but Jace continued, "I already talked to Clary about," He paused suddenly embarrassed, "Us. But that conversation was different."
Echo gave a sad smile, "You love her Jace. You forget that I can feel your emotions."
Jace; masculine, emotionally flat, demon fighting Jace, let a sudden tear escape from his lashes. The tear didn't get much further than his nose before he angrily wiped it away.
"I would have known if I had a twin."
Echo swallowed at the changed in the air, "Jace, the feeling I have when we are around each other, shouldn't be like this."
Jace looked up, "Like what?"
"Distant."
Jace clasped his hands together, "We've been separated for almost our entire lives. Of course we are distant."
Echo shook her head, "I don't know, Jace. Something just doesn't feel right."
Jace took his head in his hands, "None of this is right."
Anger flared over Jace, "Are you angry at Valentine?"
Jace shot his gaze up, "Of course I am! He pretended to be somebody I trusted and hid my twin from me! He screwed up everything I had with Clary." Jace's voice softened when he mentioned Clary.
Echo pushed herself away from the headboard so she was sitting on the edge of the bed; she put a hand on Jace's knee. Jace looked at the seriousness in Echo's eyes and was suddenly uneasy, "The Shadow World doesn't know how ruthless Valentine can actually be. Nobody has been in his grasp like I was. Jace, I know how screwed up Valentine is and I am just as angry with him as you are. Hell, Jace, I'm terrified of the man. He experimented on us, he tortured me and raised you to think that love was weakness!"
Echo could feel herself begin to get hot and took a breath. She looked up at Jace, "If we are going to do something about Valentine, we have to be smart. Have a plan, we can't go in blind."
Jace saw the anger and passion in Echo's eyes and he was suddenly pulling Echo into his arms.
Echo gasped when she was pulled into Jace's arms, but eventually relaxed into the hug. Echo's body was still drained and tired and Jace's secure arms around her made her feel safe. Echo didn't realize how terrified she was until that moment. Echo started to shake with fear and Jace pushed her away to look into her eyes.
"You're okay. Echo. Valentine is gone and you are here. He can't hurt you anymore." Jace was concerned at how terrified Echo looked. Jace wracked his brain for anything to help his newly found sister, "Hey, I'm going to go get Alec. Okay? Stay here."
Jace slowly pulled away from Echo and left the room. Echo sat on the edge of the bed alone, shaking. She hadn't registered what Valentine had actually done to her until her small rant to Jace. Echo could see the sick smile on his face as he injected her with the demon blood, but the feeling she got from Valentine she couldn't shake.
Alec was suddenly in the room pushing the door closed.
"Hey, Echo. You're okay."
Alec pulled Echo into his arms as he sat on the other side of the bed. Echo pulled in a breath and could suddenly feel a coating in her veins; it was as if Valentine was injecting her with another needle filled with demon blood.
Echo couldn't understand why she was feeling this way. She was a damn Shadowhunter; she should be shaking it off and getting back to finding Valentine. Echo knew she was acting like a weak mundane, but she couldn't help it. Echo felt vulnerable and overwhelmed.
Echo looked down at her arms when she saw sudden movement. She pulled away from Alec in shock and showed him her arms. All of her runes were disappearing and being replaced with pale ash tones. Echo's eyes widened and she shot up from the bed.
"No, no. This is not happening."
Echo looked at her figure in the mirror and watched as her skin went clear of runes and was replaced with pale ash. In front of Echo's eyes wasn't her room at the institute, but sudden flashes of images and memories.
Alec watched Echo's skin change right before his eyes, but he couldn't explain it. He slowly pushed himself from the bed and behind Echo. He put a hand on her shoulder and half expected her to jump, but he didn't even think she could feel his hand. He watched as Echo's gaze changed; she was no longer in the present.
Alec turned in his hands and grasped her shoulders tightly.
"Echo."
With no answer, Alec began to panic, "Echo!" He gave her body a sharp shake.
Alec watched as her eyes turned a startling green; dark and glowing.
"Echo! Snap out of it!"
Alec could feel Echo start to shake and for once didn't know what to do.
"Jace. Jace!"
Alec held onto Echo with a tight grip as Jace burst through the door. Jace took in what had happened to Echo and turned to Alec. Jace was surprised that Alec had a look of panic written across his face.
"Jace, I don't know what to do."
Jace hurried to Echo and Alec's side and took Echo's face into his hands.
"Echo, please. It's Jace. Just calm down."
Echo finally turned her distant eyes to Jace, but didn't actually look at him.
"The City of Dark greets you Shadowhunter. Valentine's son. Hmm, I would have imagined you different."
Both Alec and Jace were startled at how guttural Echo's voice was. Jace and Alec shared a glance before answering the ominous voice.
"Who are you?" Jace and Alec took a step back.
Echo's eyes, now coated in a frothy white, glanced between the Shadowhunters, "Tell me Jace Wayland, how is it that your twin possesses the demon, yet you do not?"
Jace folded his arms and swallowed, "She was hidden from this world for seventeen years. Perhaps that has something to do with it."
Echo gave a sly smile, "Ah, do you believe Valentine? That he is your father?"
Jace glanced at Alec, "I don't know."
Alec took a slight step forward, "Who are you? What is the City of Dark?"
Echo turned to face Alec, "Young Alec Lightwood. Pleasure to meet you."
Echo looked around the room before continuing, "Alorian. That is what they call me. I am simply a representative for the City of Dark. I'm sure you have heard of such a place?"
"No, actually. Care to elaborate?"
Alorian sighed, "City of Dark, a secret city that I was told that all Shadowhunters knew of. But, I guess I was told a lie." Alorian tisked and walked about the room, picking up many of Echo's things and examining them.
"Why are you coming to us, Alorian?" Jace was beginning to get angry, "Why possess a Shadowhunter?"
Alorian turned sharply, "This is not possession, Jace Wayland. Your Shadowhunter allowed me access when she entered the City of Dark."
"Hold on, when was Echo in the City of Dark?" Alec held up a hand.
Alorian looked at Echo's body then back up at the Shadowhunters, "Her mind entered the City of Dark, but physically she was here." Alorian pointed to Echo's unmade bed, "I have never seen such a thing before. No being has been able to enter the City of Dark through their mind."
Alorian shifted his gaze to Jace and Alec, "I have graced your presents because I bring to you an important message. Originally, this message was to be delivered to Valentine, but his son will do."
Jace clenched his fists, "On with it then."
Alorian slowly blinked, "There is a fourth Mortal instrument."
Both Jace and Alec were shocked by this revilement.
Alorian continued, "This instrument is more of a sacrifice. The blood of a demon, but not just any demon. A demon that is pure of heart. A demon that lives among the Shadow World." Alorian paused.
"This pure demon is your beloved Echo Fairchild. If her pure demon blood is mixed with the remaining three Moral Instruments, it will unlock a brutal dimension. A dimension that will eliminate this existing realm and replace it will dark and death."
Alec and Jace couldn't believe what they were hearing.
"Your saying that if Echo's blood is used with the Mortal Instruments this dimension will cease to exist?"
Alorian blinked, "Precisely."
Alec and Jace both ran a hand through their hair.
"What happens in this new reality?" Alec asked.
Alorian gave a tight expression, "Demons will overpower Shadowhunter and turn many against their own kind. There will be no order, no safety. Though, the one who uses all four Mortal Instruments to open the Dimension, will have the honor of becoming the Conductor of this new Dimension and once they have taken on the position, they will reign for the remainder that the Dimension is active."
"Is there anyway for the Dimension to be destroyed?"
Alorian shook his head, "No, once opened the Dimension will be active forever with the Conductor, that has been granted immortality of course."
Jace let out a breath, but didn't say a word.
"Do you accept?"
Alec looked up, "What?"
"Do you accept this message?"
Jace folded his arms, "If we do, will you leave?"
Alorian sighed, "Yes, now do you accept?"
Alec nodded, "Yes, we accept."
Alorian gave a single nod, "Very well then. The City of Dark thanks you for your cooperation."
And with one last breath, Alorian was gone and Echo fell to the ground. Alec hurried to catch her before she fell and just had time to catch her head.
Alec looked up at Jace, "Get Lydia."