West of Words (Alec Lightwood)

🗝 Chapter Fifty-One 🗝

Alec felt only slightly comforted when Magnus Bane walked in.

In the time that it had taken for the Warlock to arrive, both Izzy and him had been approached by Jocelyn Fairchild about a way for tracking down Jace, and despite the fact that Alec said yes he was adamant to wait.

The Adamis stone was pure, and cool to the touch in Alec's palm. He looked down at it with nearly astonished eyes, knowing for a sure fact that if Varian was here he'd be trying to pick away at it to turn it into something else. The young warlock had an odd interest in small stones and glass things. It was something that made Alec smile at the thought, despite the weight in his chest at the thought of the still missing Warlock.

"I've got a trace on his magic." Alec muttered to Magnus as he appeared at his side, motioning to the corner of the screen that was barely larger than an index card. "It hasn't found anything yet-"

Magnus squinted as he stepped forward, interrupting without meaning to. "It probably won't, he can disappear when he wants to." He smiled brightly, "There was this time when he was eight, we went to Paris for a month-long trip and he was gone for the first week. I found him in a library, he'd been living off of scones and sandwich's for the past week absolutely entranced by all of the old books and relics. He didn't want to leave."

The story put a smile on everyone's faces, despite the implications that informed the fact that Varian wouldn't be found unless he wanted to be.

"Then maybe we should move on."

Jocelyn's voice was harsh, and the anger that flared through Magnus almost made him snap. He held it back, ignoring the way that Varian's birth mother was so ready to move on from the search for Varian, though it almost made sense. She had so willingly given him up when he was just a few weeks old, the idea of having any other emotion towards the young Warlock other than indifference must have been foreign to her.

"Parabatai  bonds are like tethers of the soul." She grabbed at the Adamis stone in Alec's hand, before muttering that they should probably move to a more comfortable place. Alec glanced at the Warlock beside him, almost ignoring Jocelyn Fairchild as she tapped her toe in annoyance.

"I'll keep an eye on the scanner." Magnus mutters, looking back at the screen as he felt the boy leave from beside him.

Alec felt entirely awful as he left Magnus Bane in the ops room of the Institute, Jocelyn followed behind and Izzy behind her. Some part of Alec felt strange as he led the way up to his room, like he shouldn't bring this unwanted mother into the room that he had shared with Varian for the past few nights. The feeling was pushed away as he opened the door, doing as Jocelyn commanded and laying on the one side of the bed.

The stone was laid flat in his hand, and with a slight frown Alec avoided looking at either women and listened to the voice of Jocelyn Fairchild.

"There are some risks involved." Jocelyn starts, before continuing, "The parabatai  that initiates the contact, it can be taxing on his body, on his mind."

Alec could feel the tension immediately flair up in Izzy, and he spoke only to ease her mind. "Izzy, its fine."

Jocelyn smiled, proud of the way that Alec was so ready to do this. "I-"

"Wait." Alec interrupted, sitting up on his elbows as he fixed a glare on the woman. "What's your interest in me tracking Jace? You aren't going to try and hurt him." It was a statement, a threatening undertone under the words.

Jocelyn sighed, "Dorothea took my daughter to Valentine, I just want her back. I won't harm Jace." The look that both Lightwood siblings fixed on her made her speak despite her wish not to. "I promise."

It took Alec a moment to look away, and when he did it was with a nod as he resettled on his back.

"Right." She muttered, clearing her throat to speak just a little bit louder. "According to Luke, you need to stay near the surface. If you do to deep, nothing can bring you back."

Izzy slapped at her brothers shoulder, ignoring his snort and chuckle at the action. "If you go to deep, by the Angel Alec, I will kicked your ass when you get back."

Alec smiled in a way that was surprisingly soft and reserved for Varian mostly. The curve of his lips ever so slight as his blue eyes sparkled with an emotion Izzy did not catch. "I'll be alright." He hoped that it was true, before closing his eyes and resting his head on the pillow under it.

Jocelyn began muttering, Latin Izzy assume, her eyes locked on her brother as his forehead started to crevice. He relaxed suddenly, the hand gripped around the stone loosening, but the stone didn't shift. It seemed glued to his palm, and radiated a slight blue-black glow that Izzy was sure meant that it was working.

They sat there for half an hour before anything started to happen, and though Izzy wasn't sure what to look out for, she was sure that what was happening was not a good sign. Alec started to have an almost fit, sweat pooling on his forehead almost instantaneously, as he twitched in his sleep-like state.

Izzy's eyes flashed up to Jocelyn Fairchild, watching as her brow furrowed and the Latin stilled on her tongue. She swallowed thickly, looking concerned as she avoided Izzy's gaze.

"What's going on?" Izzy sounded near panicked as she spoke, hating how feverish her brother had gotten in just a few minutes of being under the spell of the Adamis stone.

The reply came almost instantaneously, and was entirely unhelpful. "I'm not sure."

"Jace!" Alec shouted, his voice echoing off of the walls of the room in a jarring way. Izzy flinched away from her brother without meaning to, covering her ears in an attempt to smother the sound if he were to do it again.

He stilled on the bed, but didn't wake,

An ominous feeling passed over the room, and Izzy knew he had gone to far without having to be told.

"Damn you Alec." She muttered, pressing a hand into her eyes to suppress the tears she felt rising.

Crying wouldn't do anyone any good.