Runes | Alec Lightwood

1.13

Lydia was found unconscious. When she woke up, she only one word. A name to be exact. "Hodge."

"How's Lydia?" Clary asks me as I approach the team.

"Better. Magnus is doing what he can to help her, but it's bad. And the Cup is definitely missing."

"So is Hodge." Jace says.

"Maybe he was attacked, too." Izzy says while looking at the security cameras.

"Maybe he's the one who attacked her," Clary says.

I shake my head. "Hodge? No way."

"We've known him our entire lives." Izzy says. "He would never do that to us."

Izzy zooms into the security footage. Hodge did attack Lydia. Why would he do that?

"I led him right to the Cup." Jace says.

"We treated him like family." Alec looks at me. "How could he do this to us?"

The security footage shows Hodge placing a ring on his finger.

"That's how." Clary points at the screen. "What is that ring?"

"Looks like he's talking to someone." I say.

"And I can bet who it is. Valentine." Jace says.

Alec begins. "Well, that explains how he deactivated the Punishment rune, but it doesn't explain where he got the ring."

"You think someone smuggled it past the wards?"

"Maybe. Hodge wasn't the only ex-Circle member around here." Jace tells us.

"Look, I know I don't always see eye to eye with my parents, but I know they're not traitors." Izzy tells Jace.

"Really? Isn't that what you just said about Hodge? It'd have to be someone we trusted, but if there was an intruder inside the Institute, we would have found them by now."

"What about the Forsaken attack?" Clary asks.

"No. We killed that thing, and I didn't see a ring." Alec replies.

"He didn't have one during the autopsy, but maybe there's something in the footage." Izzy says and pulls up the security footage of the intrusion.

"So, it wasn't a random attack." I say.

"He was just the delivery boy."

"If he gives that Cup to Valentine, he'll create an army of Shadowhunters. With that kind of power behind him, he'll kill thousands." Alec says.

"He'll kill thousands just creating the army. Most mundanes won't survive that." I say.
"We won't let that happen." Jace says. "I'm gonna make sure of it."

➵➵➵➵➵➵➵

The plan was for Izzy and Clary to go to the Hotel DuMort to find Camille and get information on the Book of the White.

Meanwhile, with the help from Luke and his pack, Jace, Alec and I were able to locate Hodge. Jace would've almost killed him if Alec hadn't stopped him. I could definitely feel the tension coming off Jace, something's not right. We wait for Luke's pack to come. I notice everyone is waiting, except for Jace.

"Where'd they go?" I ask as I face in the direction where Jace and Hodge were.

Alec immediately called Jace. He said he went to look for Valentine. It came as a surprise to me when Jace said that Valentine was his father. And it was messing with Jace's head, making him believe that he was raised to be a natural born killer.

Izzy let me know that they've succeeded in finding Camille and that they were heading to Magnus' place. Alec and I went immediately there.

Walking inside, I saw Magnus and Camille kissing. I shouldn't have felt a twinge of jealousy overcome me, but I did.

"Well, this is awkward." Magnus looked at me surprised.

I guess Alec noticed my reaction and kept a serious look on his face. "Where's the book?"

"It's complicated." Magnus replied.

I raised an eyebrow. "Clearly."

Camille swiftly turned her head towards us. "I have it."

But of course, there was a catch. Magnus explained to us that she's offered to help us in exchange for her freedom.

"We don't negotiate with prisoners." I say stepping forward.

"Prisoner? I beg to disagree. You see, I'm your only chance at saving the world. You need me."

Camille's looked at me up and down before saying, "You certainly have a type, don't you Magnus? She's cute. Too bad it won't last."

I scoffed. "I don't have time for this. Where's Clary?"

Magnus points to the room in the back. Alec follows behind me.

"Did you find Hodge?" she asks us when we come to view.

Alec tells Clary that Valentine has the cup and that Jace has gone after him.

"Luke is out looking for him." I tell her. "Jace wants us to stay on mission. That means we have to find the book."

➵➵➵➵➵➵➵

Camille took us to her home. She informs us that Dot hid the Book of the White in her apartment and that she no idea where it is. How great. Turns out, the other piece of the bookmark was hidden inside of a cookbook.

We had to leave. Jace warned us that Valentine may be on his way. But it was too late. One of Valentine's soldiers held a blade against my throat. Everyone was defenseless. Jace was forced to go with Valentine. And when the soldiers let us go on Valentine's command, Alec, Izzy, and I instantly went towards Jace to stop him.

He pointed his finger and seraph blade at us. "Get back, get back. I mean it."

I stood there, watching him enter the portal. Clary was about to go after him when I stepped in and stopped her.

"What are you doing?" she asks drastically.

"Saving your life." I reply. "If you enter a portal not knowing where you're going, you'll be stuck in limbo forever."

The portal disappears, and Clary falls into my arms, crying.

➵➵➵➵➵➵➵

When we get back to the Institute, I see shadowhunters taking Hodge away. I look at him in disbelief, How could so many things have happened in the span of a couple of hours?

Magnus was able to wake Jocelyn up. Watching Clary reunite with her mother made me feel a bit envious towards her. Alec connected his hand with mine as I smiled at the sight. Clary had her mom back.

Alec and I retire to my room. I knew that, like me, he was somehow feeling guilty because he wasn't able to save Jace.

In his embrace, I looked up at him. "You know we're gonna bring him back, right?"

He kissed my forehead. "I know."

Despite losing my parents, I gained another family, The Lightwoods and Jace. So now it was time to bring Jace back home.