West of Words (Alec Lightwood)

🗝 Chapter Thirty 🗝

Varian's hand started to shake, and in an effort to appear calm, he gripped his sword with both hands and took a step forward.

"Ah-ah-ah Warlock, any closer and-" Valentine noticed his movements, and lifted his hand, the swords on his friends necked inched closer. Varian could barely make out the sound of Alec grunting in pain, it brought him close to loosing control.

"Let us go." Clarissa finally said, almost as if she was trying to reason with him. Valentine looked ready to laugh. "You can have the book, we won't be able to stop you without it."

Valentine shook his head, slowly walking closer to Clarissa, Jace stepped in his way, his sword lifting to touch Valentine's neck. "So like your mother." His words were directed past Jace, to Clarissa. "Willing to do anything for those you love. I'm touched, but I don't care about the book, that was never part of my plan. I want you to wake your mother up, you'll both join me eventually."

He smiled cruelly, turning and starting to walk towards the two Shadowhunters that his people had pined. "It's fated."

Varian wanted to call bullshit, but he held his tongue.

"If I go with you, promise me you won't hurt him." Jace finally said, Varian looked at him in a surprised way.

Varian knew that Jace knew that Valentine wasn't his father, he had trusted Varian when he had said it, so Varian couldn't understand why he was suddenly so willing to be Valentine's son.

Jace started towards Valentine, lowering his sword as he approached. Valentine put a firm hand on Jace's shoulder, smiling at him like a proud father would. Varian had been on the receiving end of that kind of smile hundreds of times from his baba, but this smile from Valentine was different, there was a hidden malice just below the surface.

"Jace, what are you doing?" Clarissa sounded panicked, and she tried to walk towards him, Simon held her back. "You can't be serious, Valentine is wrong! You're not like him! You're not!"

Clarissa's voice broke as she shouted for Jace to not go and Varian felt his heart break at the sound, but he didn't look away from Jace as he walked away from them and towards the standing portal that Valentine had.

"Let them go." Valentine's tone was dismissive, and his two Shadowhunter's shoved Alec and Izzy away, both stumbled but didn't fall.

Varian watched Jace as he went, waiting for a sign that Jace was kidding, that Jace wanted Varian to help him. 

He disappeared without a sign, and Clarissa sprinted towards the portal, crying and shouting as she did. Varian reacted, throwing a hand forward and catching her arm as she passed him. She tried to pull her arm free, but Varian held firm, pulling her towards him and wrapping his arms around her shoulders as he tried to comfort her.

"Let me go!" Clarissa beat her fists against Varian's chest, but he just held fast.

"If you enter a portal without knowing where you are going, you'll end up in limbo forever little red." Varian felt dazed, his eyes trailed around the room, catching Alec's, he smiled. Simon reached for Clarissa, and Varian passed him over, practically stumbling towards Alec and falling into his arms for comfort. Though he wasn't sure if the comfort was for him or for Alec.

"We have to get him back." Alec muttered and Varian nodded.

"We will, I promise." Varian sighed before stepping away from Alec.

He waved his hand, a portal forming in the center of the room as he did, the team slowly made their way through. Clarissa leaning on Simon for support with Izzy steps behind. Varian grabbed the Book of the White  from the desk in the room, wanting more than anything to burn the entire mansion down for the sole reason that it belong to Camille, but he refrained from the action.

Alec was gone next, before Varian finally followed through.

Varian stumbled on the other side, for the first time in a long time, but he dismissed it under the explanation that he was still adjusting to Ragnor's magic.

Everyone separated around the Institute, Varian stopped Alec by calling his name, smiling softly as the Shadowhunter turned. Varian lifted a hand up, pressing it to Alec's cheek before standing on his toes to kiss the man. It was just as heavenly the first time, and Alec leaned into it, his hands wrapping around the Warlocks waist.

Alec was the one to pull back, muttering about having to go to the ops room to start a trace on Jace. Varian watched him go, before hefting the Book of the White  just a bit higher on his hip and walking to the infirmary.

As he had already guessed, Clarissa was there, as well as Simon and Luke, all of them looked hopeful when Varian stepped in.

"We need to move her to a bigger space."  Varian muttered as he opened the spell book to the right page, letting Ragnor's memories guide his hands.

"Alright." Varian noticed the green anticipation surrounding Luke as he spoke. "I can call Magnus if you like? To perform the spell?"

Varian considered it for a moment, before shaking his head and insisting that he could perform the spell on his own. Luke looked embarrassed, and Varian realized he had already made the call. Varian shrugged it off, insisting that it would be alright and acknowledging the fact that he would be comforted by his baba's  presence with what was going to happen.

He let them leave the infirmary, feeling rather strange as he watched them go. "Clarissa." Varian called her name without thinking it through, she turned with an excited smile and stepped back into the infirmary. "I need to tell you something."

Her smile turned into a look of confusion. "What is it? Is it something with my mom-"

She continued to ramble, going on and on about how excited she was for her mother to wake up, and Varian found it harder and harder to tell the truth with every word. "Never mind." He finally said, forcing a smile on his face and motioning towards the door. "Let's go wake up your mum."

On the outside, Varian looked as though he was calculating every step of the spell, on the inside he was cursing his weakness, his inability to tell Clarissa the truth. He would have to soon, knowing for a fact that he would feel awful if she were to figure it out on her own.

Merde.