Angels of Light

The Full Force of Heaven

   All Alec saw was darkness. The same kind of darkness that he had felt wash over him while he'd stood in the bathroom. The same kind of darkness that seemed to suck all the good out of his soul.
   Alec had only seen himself as if from a distance, watching as he had drove the knife into his skin over and over again, then as he'd stood on the roof, prepared to take the final step. The darkness was calling to him, tugging inside his stomach, urging him to just let it completely envelope him. He felt like he couldn't ignore it. Like his entire body was begging to dissolve into the darkness and only a tiny part of his mind didn't want it. And that tiny part was on the losing team. Alec felt the darkness now, settling on his soul and his mind. Everything was black. It was as though he was standing in a room that had been painted black and there was no way for light to get through.

   "Alec Lightwood." The voice came as a whisper, though how it came at all, Alec wasn't sure. This was his subconscious, so why could he hear other people speaking? Had he finally lost it? Lunacy was the only explanation for his earlier actions and for now hearing voices. And yet, the voice didn't feel like it was coming from his own mind.
   "Alec?" The voice came again. Alec tried to search the corners of his mind for the source of the voice but there was nothing there.
   "I need you to listen to me, Alec. I need you to wake up. Now is not your time. There is no spot for you in Heaven or Hell. If you don't wake up, you will be wrongfully trapped in Limbo. Wake up, Alec."

*

   The knock on Magnus' door nearly scared Clary half to death. She had fallen asleep in Magnus' living room with her head on Jace's shoulder, and when Jem and Tessa had returned to the apartment with the angel Elizabeth, Clary was half out of it. The sight of the angel in Magnus' living room scared Clary more than most things she had seen before in her life. She'd never seen anyone or anything look so unnatural and out of place. Elizabeth was beautiful. She had long brown hair and strange golden eyes somewhat similar to Jace's. Her face looked like it belonged on a billboard, and her body did not look suited for jackets and jeans. Clary could only picture Elizabeth in all her glory--the way jace had seen her the first time--with golden gowns and jewels and flowers. She didn't look like she belonged anywhere near a warlock's apartment in Brooklyn.
   Elizabeth surveyed Clary very briefly and gave a small nod in Jace's direction before following Jem and Tessa down the hall to where Alec lay broken in the bed.

   "Come on," Jace started, pulling Clary to her feet. She stifled and yawn and took his hand as he led her down the corridor to the bedroom. Tessa had resumed her place in the arm chair by the fireplace, while Jem had gone to stand beside Elizabeth at Alec's beside. Clary couldn't help but notice both Simon and Izzy gawking at Elizabeth who paid them no attention.
   Elizabeth leaned over Alec, and placed a hand hovering slightly above his forehead. Clary watched as a very faint golden light rippled through the angels hand and washed over Alec's face. No one spoke. Clary wasn't sure that there was anything to say. They were shadowhunters and warlocks watching a real life angel preform magic on their friend. Even Jace didn't have a comment for that.

   "Trickster magic is at work here. Presumably an angel of visions," Elizabeth declared when the golden light finally subsided and she removed her hand.

   "How do you know?" Jace asked, moving to stand on the other side of the bed opposite Jem and Elizabeth. She looked up at him briefly, surveying him with cool golden eyes. It wasn't much, and their locked gazes didn't last very long. Just long enough for Clary to notice.

   "I can see what he is seeing. Someone is casting a...glamour so to speak, that makes him see what most souls see when they die. Darkness. Only I am not there to greet him, and if he doesn't wake up, all he will see for the rest of his life will be darkness." She said it so matter of factly that Clary couldn't help but shiver. To Clary's recollection, angels didn't have emotions, but Jace and Jem had made it out to seem that Elizabeth cared about human kind and wanted to save them. But clary wondered if there wasn't something more to it. Were there reasons behind Elizabeth being there that had nothing to do with the savior of the Nephilim?