Addicted to you- Alec Lightwood

26- Live and Let Die...

Despite everything, Ethan was loving life. He had a parabatai, the best one he could ever ask for. Him and Alec may not have spoken about... the incident ... but they were still getting on well and neither of them wanted to risk it by bringing it up again. Ethan was bonding with Jace a lot more. Having a brother was even better than he dreamed it would be. There was only one thing that he would change.

Clary.

His sister hadn't spoken to him properly since she said those horrible things to him the night they went to the Seelie Realm. And whilst he wasn't pleased with what she said, he wanted his little sister back. But she was colder, more distant than she had ever been. Countless times he had chased her through the Institute, begging to know what he had done wrong, but she never answered, never gave him the time of day.

Eventually, he stopped trying. 

One day, he was sat in the library, surrounded by sketchpads and pencils, with the Gray book positioned in front of him. He flicked through the pages slowly, trying to memorise the runes before he attempted to draw them on himself. After all, a botched rune could do some serious damage to a Shadowhunter.

Izzy came in a few moments later, smiling brightly at her parabatai. 

"Hey, parabatai. How you doing?" she asked, grinning.

Ethan chuckled and tore his gaze away from they Gray book. 

"I will never get tired of hearing you call me that. I'm good, just brushing up on my rune knowledge. I'm going to draw some basic ones which should help me on missions"

Izzy's smile brightened. "That's such a good idea," she said, coming to sit next to him, "So I suggest starting with the Voyance rune; all beginning Shadowhunters get marked with this when they are twelve"

Ethan flicked through the book to find the Voyance rune. Once he had memorised the path he would draw, he took his stele out of his pocket and drew the rune delicately on his wrist. As he finished, Izzy smiled.

"You're really getting the hang of this! Okay, now you need Acceleration, Angelic Power, Stealth, Soundless, Stamina..." she said, listing all of the different runes he would need.

As Ethan worked through the extensive list his parabatai had given him, tracing the intricate runes on his skin, Izzy started up a conversation he really didn't want to have. 

"So... how's everything going with Clary? Has she spoken to you yet?"

Ethan sighed and shook his head, closing the Gray book gently and placing it on the nearest table by his head. 

"No... I don't know what I've  done to make her want to ignore me. I mean, her comment was bang out of order, but I forgave her for it. I don't think Alec has though"

Izzy giggled lightly at the memory of Alec standing up for Ethan.

                                                    ............................................

"Exactly," Alec said, his voice dripping with venom and returning to the same dangerous tone, "there's a lot you don't know about Ethan, so I suggest that you try to be there for him and learn more about him before you assume. And if you ever say anything like that again, I will personally make your life a living hell. You will be praying for Valentine by the time I'm finished with you"

                                             ..............................................

Izzy shook her head fondly "My brother's finest moment, defending someone he cares for. You know-"

"I'm in love with him," Ethan blurted out, leaving Izzy in a slightly stunned silence from the suddenness of this declaration. 

"E, I know," she said, rolling her eyes playfully, "Honestly, I think you and Alec are the only ones who don't seem to understand how perfect you are for each other"

Ethan sighed, running his hands through his brown curly hair. "He makes me so happy, Iz. He makes me so happy that sometimes I forget to breathe."

"I know!" Izzy repeated again, pointing to her parabatai rune and laughing, "I can sense it. Just tell him, E. Tell him and I promise everything will be right. The way it should be"

As Ethan smiled and thanked Izzy, Alec came running in, a frantic and sympathetic look on his face.

"E, come quick!" he said urgently, sounding breathless, "It's Simon"

                                                .............................................

Ethan swore he had never run so fast in his life. As he ran out the Institute doors, he was greeted with the most horrific sight imaginable. Simon. His best friend.

Dead. 

Ethan let out a low wail and ran up to Raphael, who was holding a limp Simon in his arms.

"Raphael, mi amigo. ¿Qué le pasó?" Ethan asked, tears pooling in the corners of his eyes as he caught Simon's wrist.

No pulse.

Raphael sighed and sent a sympathetic look to Ethan.

"Simon, por desgracia, tenía una pequeña dosis de sangre de vampiro cuando estaba en forma del raton. Esto le hizo creer que se estaba convirtiendo en un vampiro. Fue al Dumort a hablar conmigo, pero yo estaba en una reunión de Downworlders. El clan lo devoró. Lo siento, mi hermano"

Ethan sank to the floor besides Simon's head, now openly sobbing. Simon had been his responsibility. And now he was dead. His best friend.

"What's he saying?" Jace asked his brother.

Unable to say much more, Ethan settled for the abridged version of the story.

"He got eaten by vampires."

All of the Shadowhunters behind him gasped including Clary, who had come up behind him to kneel next to Ethan.

"I can't say goodbye to him, not yet" she sobbed, as Ethan wrapped an arm around her tightly, looking up at Raphael.

"Tiene que haber una manera de recuperarlo" Ethan looked at Raphael, practically begging.

"Lo hay. Pero no te gustará." Raphael replied, his voice soft with sympathy.

Ethan's eyes widened. "Bueno, ¿qué tengo que hacer?"

Raphael sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Entiérralo y conviértelo en un vampiro"

Ethan froze. A vampire. Either let his friend die. Or turn him into a vampire.

A/n- here's Spanish translations again if you want 'em.

Love ya,

kait-astrophe

Raphael, mi amigo. ¿Qué le pasó?- Raphael, my friend. What happened to him?

Simon, por desgracia, tenía una pequeña dosis de sangre de vampiro cuando estaba en forma de rata. Esto le hizo creer que se estaba convirtiendo en un vampiro. Fue al Dumort a hablar conmigo, pero yo estaba en una reunión de Downworlders. El clan lo devoró. Lo siento.- 

Simon, unfortunately, had a small dose of vampire blood when he was in rat form. This made him think he was becoming a vampire. He went to the Dumort to talk to me, but I was at a Downworlders meeting. The clan devoured him. I am sorry, my brother.

Tiene que haber una manera de recuperarlo- There has to be a way to get him back.

Lo hay. Pero no te gustará.- There is. But you won't like it.

Bueno, ¿qué tengo que hacer?- Well, what do I have to do?

Entiérralo y conviértelo en un vampiro- Bury him and turn him into a vampire.