Exile of the Clave

Exile of the Clave - Chapter 3

Alec blinked awake, his back twisted awkwardly on a couch with a little too much sag in the middle. Crackling flames burned in an iron wood stove to his right and the heat from it warmed the cramped space from 'freezing cold' to 'almost-tolerable'. A worn loveseat and a mismatched armchair were boxed in around him and he remembered how claustrophobic this room could feel. The feeling probably wasn't improved by having Jace leaning back against him from his place on the floor, his head throw back across Alec's stomach to snore in all of his open-mouthed glory.

The memory of flames racing through darkness brought him fully awake and he reached over to grip Jace's shoulder. His parabatai's eyes snapped open at once and his worried gaze fixed on Alec for a moment before a half-smile twinged his lips up. "You need to stop working out, Alec," he said, poking at his friend's midsection. "You're goddamned uncomfortable to sleep on."

Alec snorted. "Magnus never complains." He struggled against the sag in the couch to sit up, swinging his legs over the edge with unnecessary force to give Jace a good kick in the ribs, but the effort was ruined when he hissed in pain as the burn on his shoulder pulled at the still-tender flesh where it was healing.

Jace fended him off and then held up his hands. "And that is officially all I want to hear about that."

Dark blue eyes searched the tiny living room for any sign of the warlock, or anyone, really. "Where is he?"

"He's bringing the others," Jace answered. "Simon and Izzy are still in Malta on assignment, but they need to be here for Hunter." He saw the next question in Alec's eyes before the other man could ask. "He's going to Beijing to find Rafe and Max, too, and get them here safely."

Alec exhaled with relief. The Clave had a rather terrible track history of carrying out sentences on family members of the condemned if the guilty party wasn't immediately at hand to bear the punishment themselves. Everett might just be twisted enough to try to use their children against him for the escape from Alicante.

"Thank the Angel. How is Hunter? And where is everyone?"

Jace stood up and pushed his hands back through his blond hair. "He's okay, I guess. Still weak." His face tightened. "So's Aspen. She should be fine, but instead, she's just as exhausted as him. I don't know what happened between them, but I don't think it's right."

Alec had rarely seen his parabatai so serious. "We'll get through this, Jace, I promise."

Maybe it was the chill in the air that made him do it, but Jace shivered and nodded once before continuing. "Clary's gone out to the bunker with Aline and Helen. After you passed out and Magnus left, Helen started worrying about what that surge might have done to the wards."

Alec felt his heart sink. That's all we need right now.

A flash of blue light flickered in the darkness through the small window by the door and then Alec and Jace could hear voices. The door creaked open and cold wind blasted through, chasing away the bit of warmth that had been building.

"Oy vey iz mir! It's freezing here!" Simon exclaimed as he stumped through the door with Izzy on his heels, her hands clutching a leather jacket around her shoulders. Her eyes found her brother's and she crossed the space between them in two strides of her long legs to kneel at the edge of the couch.

"Alec!" She threw her arms around him and he bit down on the inside of his cheek as his shoulder screamed again. "Where's Hunter?"

He squeezed her back carefully. "They're in Helen and Aline's bedroom. They're going to be okay, Iz." Her long dark hair swished past him as she pressed a swift kiss to his cheek and then she vanished through the door to the left of the couch, closing it behind her softly.