Hold On (➳Alec Lightwood) [1]

17. [➳anchors]

[Brielle]

"Toto, we're not in Kansas anymore." Clary said as we walked through a forest.

"We were never in Kansas in the first place." I said while looking around. You'd think it looked like a normal forest, but it didn't. It had this beautiful kinda fairytale touch.

"Welcome to the Seelie Glade, Brielle and Clary Fairchild. The remotest edges of it." Meliorn said as we continued walking.

"How did we get there?" Clary asked.

"There are entrances all through the mundane world." Jace explained.

"Of course there are." I muttered under my breath.

"You just have to know where to look." Meliorn said as he gave us a quick look.

"Why did we have to come here to find our father?" Clary asked Meliorn, confusion clear on her voice.

"Because of your necklaces. They're portal shards." Meliorn said while pointing to our purple necklaces.

"Tell us something we don't know." Jace mumbled with clear annoyance.

"How do they work?" Meliorn asked while tilting his head a little, waiting for an answer.

"When we touch the crystal and we think about someone, we can see where they are. It's creepy if you ask me, kinda stalker-ish." I said as I grabbed my necklace and took a closer look to it. I couldn't help but wonder, how did our mom get them?

"I'm curious, Shadowhunters, who know so much about portals, did you two ever wonder why these portal shards don't behave the way normal portals do?" Meliorn asked with a little bit of sarcasm in his voice.

"I did, I just never really talked about it with anybody." I replied.

"Normal portals can only take you places you've been. I guess I never really thought about it." Jace said as he crossed his arms.

"I see Isabelle is the smart one in the family." Meliorn said while turning to look at Jace. Jace clenched his jaw and glared at him. I repressed a smile, because indeed, Izzy was the smart one. "Your portal shards work the way they do because they are pieces of a portal of another dimension."

"Another dimension?" Clary asked.

I scoffed. "I'm not surprised they exist."

"You're saying there's a portal in some other universe, that can take us to anyone if we just think about them?" Jace asked.

"Creepy." I whispered.

"If you can find the only portal still standing in that dimension it will take you to your father." Meliorn said as he turned to look at us. Clary and I shared a look.

"These trees are where the alternate dimensions intersect the Seelie realm." Meliorn explained as we approached a bunch of trees that formed like an entrance.

"How is it possible that the Clave doesn't know about your dimensional doorways?" Clary asked.

"They are our most guarded secret. We are their protectors. Only seelies know about their existence." Meliorn explained.

"Why are you telling us then?" I asked raising an eyebrow.

"I owe you both a life debt. And I don't like to being indebted to anyone." He said as he turned to look at us.