Shadows | Alec Lightwood | Discontinued

Chapter 9

Chapter Nine

Adrian sat opposite Alec in a random empty room watching the teenage shadowhunter draw runes on arrows.

It turned out Alec didn't actually need him. Adrian didn't know why the other teenager had kidnapped him.

Jace was somewhere teaching his sister how to wield a seraph blade and when he asked about Isabelle, Alec just mumbled something about Seelie's and finding a way into the Hotel duMort.

Once Alec had finished drawing runes on the first arrow he passed it over to Adrian along with a second blank arrow.

"Copy the runes onto the blank arrow." Alec told him. Adrian nodded, having offered his help earlier.

The two had grown more distant after their previous conversation. Alec had blocked himself off and although Adrian didn't like it he didn't press it. He respected the other Shadowhunters space even if the tension was practically suffocating him.

Taking his stele out of his jacket pocket he carefully began to draw a range of runes onto the arrow making sure that they were perfect. He lost himself in the work drawing rune after rune until eventually all of the arrows were done.

"I'm going to go and do some school stuff before Izzy gets back." Adrian told Alec who nodded as he finished off the last of his pile of arrows. He probably would have left even if the other boy had tried to stop him. Adrian didn't cope well with tension. It played with his mind making him wonder what he did wrong and whether the person now hated him. He knew he was just overthinking things but he couldn't help it.

Besides he really did need to work on his art project. He hadn't even started the thing yet.

At this rate Adrian would be lucky to still be attending Brooklyn Academy of Art by the time this was all over. He'd already missed the past two days after being warned that if he missed any more school he'd be kicked out. He was behind on his project having planned to spend time on it the day after Clary's birthday but that hadn't really gone as planned.

Heading into his temporary bedroom he rummaged through his duffel bag until he found a sketchpad wedged at the bottom. Pulling it out he placed it on the desk and for a while he sat in front of it staring at the blank page.

He knew what he wanted to draw but he was hesitant. The topic was fantasy and as a male he was pretty much expected to draw skimpily dressed women like those shown to advertise games and role-playing websites. Anything other than that would draw attention to him, would make him judged.

Adrian frowned looking at the rune that peeked out from underneath the sleeve of his leather jacket and for the first time in his life it made Adrian realise that he didn't care.

He didn't care about any of the mundanes in that place. Most of them hated him anyway. So what if they judged him for it most of them judged him anyway. There were so many rumours about him in that place that nobody even knew what was real anymore. What more damage could a few more do?

Adrian gently placed his pencil to the paper and started drawing letting out all of his emotions from the past few days. Sadness, anger, fear, attraction, friendship, worry, happiness, confusion, envy, distrust. Even the emotions inside him that he couldn't put into words.

His hand flew across the page painting the picture in his mind onto the page in front of him. Every corner. Every edge. All the little details that stayed imprinted in his brain.

It was only when there was a knock at his door that Adrian stopped. He didn't dare look properly at the image. Instead he slammed the sketchbook shut shoving it in one of the draws.

"Isabelle." He greeted the female Lightwood with confusion as he pulled open the bedroom door. He wasn't aware that she had returned to the Institute.

"Izzy." The girl corrected him. "Are you alright? Alec told me he hadn't seen you in hours."

"Yeah. I'm fine. Why wouldn't I be?"

"Many reasons." Izzy shrugged not going into detail.

"I was working on a project for school. As fun as trying to stop Valentine is, it's not going to help me pass."

"Ok." Isabelle nodded not looking or sounding convinced. "Anyway, we need to go to the Hotel duMort now. I've found a way in."

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"Where are we exactly?" Alec asked Isabelle as the three of us walked up the metal stairs.

"It's an old meat packer's service entrance. If we go back there we come up into the basement of the Hotel duMort." Izzy replied sounding pleased with herself. "Perfect right? We distract the vamps, Clary and Jace have time to find Simon."

"Okay." Was Alec's only reply.

"'Okay?' It was hard work interrogating Meliorn to get this intel."

Adrian may have believed her if it wasn't for the fairy dust covering her dress.

"Great job Izzy." Alec congratulated her smiling his tone upbeat and happy. "You have fairy dust on your dress." He then added dropping the happy voice. "And I hate being the distraction."

Normally Adrian would agree but for once he didn't mind distracting. It would help to keep his sister safe as she looked for Simon.

"I don't." Isabelle shrugged following her brother. Adrian resisted the urge to sigh at the siblings almost playful squabble as he trailed behind. "You know, you'd be a lot happier if you weren't so freaking repressed."

The oldest Lightwood didn't respond.

"Alec? Hello?" Isabelle said dragging out the 'Hello' in an effort to get him to reply.

Alec still ignored her as he continued walking through the building. Maybe she hit a nerve.

Adrian was on high alert once they reached the basement of the Hotel duMort. The vampires probably already knew they were here.

"You're really not going to talk to me are you?"

"That's because you have no idea what you're on about." Alec finally spoke sounding annoyed by his sister.

"But I do. You're hiding from yourself, not me. You have feelings whether you like them or not Alec."

"This is not the time or the place Izzy."

"I don't know looks pretty smooth so far." Isabelle commented as she followed her brother up a ladder.

Adrian sighed before following. He felt confused by the entire conversation he'd just heard. Not only that but he felt as if he was intruding. Hearing something he wasn't supposed to. The Lightwoods seemed to have forgotten about his presence.

He followed the two as they headed over to a metal. Isabelle reached over to pull it open.

"This must be the way." She announced as she opened it. Down the corridor six vampires snapped their heads up looking right at the three of them.

Well, looks like Izzy wasn't wrong.