Chapter 14 – How Sparkling Rain Protects the Sun

Why hello lovelies, long time no see.

Disclaimer: Cassandra Clare owns everything - including my sustained love of writing and her characters.

"Sorry, who are you?" Clary stuttered, still breathing quickly from the darkness she couldn't seem to shake from her head. Pictures painted and engraved inside of her head haunted her subconscious – and like she knew from the numerous, blotched, multi-coloured stains on her own clothing – paint could never be fully washed out.

"Tessa Gray," she smiled, wracking her eyes up and down Clary's distraught form, concern evident on her soft features. She blinked a few times, as if she were just remembering what she was supposed to be doing in that moment, and immediately began to work at the woven knots cementing Clary in the cool metal chair. Her delicate hands attempted to untie the bonds manually, before hastily realizing that her efforts were futile. She slung the short sword strapped on her hip and sliced the frayed rope encompassing Clary's hands and ankles. Clary chewed lightly on the inside of her cheek. Tessa looked oddly familiar, but Clary's mind couldn't quite place it.

Clary began rubbing at the raw, scarlet skin of her wrists before slowly pushing herself up from the chair; her hands pushing against the metal of the frame that now felt like knives stinging her skin. Her breathing had yet to slow down. She looked at Tessa with a look of confusion, squinting her eyes nervously at the red Endarkened gear that was sloping on her form. "That doesn't really tell me much," Clary whispered, not fully trusting that her voice would continue to not stutter. Clary's entire being told her to run, as fast as she could, towards the wide-open door directly behind Tessa, but when Clary even took one step forward – her legs gave out from underneath her, collapsing to the floor instantly like a tower of wooden blocks that was stacked too high.

She felt Tessa's small hands wrap around Clary's shoulders, heaving her off of the grimy floor and back onto her somewhat more stable feet. Tessa glanced at Clary's body once more from head to toe before letting her shoulders go, ensuring that she was fit enough to support her own body weight. "Look, I can spend the time we have telling you all about myself, and believe me, it's a really long story," Tessa smiled, chuckling lightly to herself, "or, we could focus on getting us both out of here alive before Jonathan notices."

"How am I supposed to trust you?" Clary shakily asked, fumbling with her hands on the sides of her dirty, black pants.

"I don't expect you to," Tessa replied, and for a moment, the knowing and wise expression that reflected on Tessa's face made Clary do a double-take. While the colour of their eyes was strikingly different, she couldn't help but be reminded of her mother and the ways in which she always knew the right words to say, something that came from years of life experience alone. "However, it might make you feel better to know that I am intrinsically tied to the Herondale family name, which is a part of that long story I told you that we don't have time to get in to at the present moment."

Jace.

"Okay, okay," Clary conformed, feeling as if a bucket of water had just been splashed over her head, waking her up through the use of three simple syllables. Clary gulped heavily before beginning to walk briskly behind Tessa's smiling form – only to halt suddenly at the entrance of her prison cell, as if a barrier had pushed her back into the room. There was only air though, and the silent screams inside of her mind that she knew no one else could hear.

"Clary?" Tessa stopped as well upon realizing that Clary's footsteps were no longer ricocheting down the gloomy corridor behind her. Her light brown hair fanned behind her body as she turned, like a tornado swooping across land in circular motions. "What's wrong?"

"I can't," she whispered, keeping her gaze glued to the floor as if looking up would cause her body to crumple to the floor. "I can't do it."

Tessa took two soft steps closer to the metal door frame, gently pressing one hand against the wall. Her soft features had returned as Clary peeled her eyes to look up at her understanding grey ones. "I know how it feels," Tessa whispered, "the sounds of your mind tearing apart your entire existence. To the point that you are quite actually positive that if you take one more breath your soul may shatter into a billion pieces, making it impossible to fully fit them all back together again. Trust me, I know." Clary's mouth parted slightly, trying to keep up with the words leaving Tessa's mouth. "I've lived through psychological and physical torture, much like you, and while I know that you never fully repair, we have to endure it."

Clary's hands clenched into tight fists at her side, inhaling a shaking breath as she did so. "What if I don't want to endure it? What if enduring it means that I lose everything I was before, what if it means I lose everyone I love?"

The corner of Tessa's mouth perked up, thoughtfully glancing at Clary as if nothing else was happening at the moment. "A really good book once informed me that 'vengeance and retribution require a long time' and that this 'is a rule'; something that we do not dare question. Yes, you have the right to be scared, even terrified, but the moment you let it consume you, that's the moment you lose everything you were before. Don't seek vengeance on the loss of yourself before you've even officially lost yourself." Clary harshly rubbed her dry lips together, closing her eyes and roughly grasping for air with the hope of building up enough courage to will her feet to move. "Besides, something about you tells me that you're a fighter. I think that enduring this is only going to prove that."

Clary nodded her head solemnly before gripping the door frame herself, forcing her feet past the invisible barrier of her mind. Tessa gripped Clary's shoulders once more, smiling, her eyes glittering as if the hardest part of their journey was now over. "Clary," Tessa said, her voice barely above a whisper, "don't let him win before he's actually won, because he hasn't, and you're going to demonstrate exactly why he hasn't." Tessa finished her statement with a strong gesture at Clary's heart, her index finger brushing past her collarbone.

Clary thanked her in silence, more confident in her eyes being able to communicate her appreciation better than her words were able to at the moment. Tessa squeezed her shoulders lightly once more before turning away from Clary to begin running down the endless hallway that was lined with cement scratches and indents. Clary inhaled deeply before begging her legs to follow. Tessa's words of wisdom did indeed have that motherly effect on Clary; a surety that everything was going to be alright. However, as Clary continued to trail Tessa's petite form, her red hair flowing behind like a path of fire in her wake, Sebastian's dark eyes seemed to etch every square inch of the corridor. She could feel tears begin to brim her eyes but hastily swallowed them down. You're fine. Everything's fine. You're going to save your friends and then everything will be back to normal.

What is normal?

Clary shook her head as she struggled to shut her mind off. You're fine, Clary. But if she was so fine, then why did Clary have a strange feeling that the cement imperfections lining the floors and walls weren't merely mistakes, but hollowed faces, brutally laughing at her?

Whither thou goest, I will go;

Where thou diest, will I die

but does anyone truly understand the finality of death until it smacks you flat in the face? Death was a pickup truck grumbling along the unpaved road, waiting for its deafening horns to deliver your sentence.

Alec saw the pickup truck – loud and clear, deep down in his core – as if Jace were the only thing connecting him to the concrete floor, anxiously waiting for the airbags to save him when the crash hit.

Alec pulled the chains encircling his wrists and ankles taught, drawing a sneering line of blood along one of his hands as he did so. He embraced the pain, as if the sharp sting could dull the deeper ache. "Jace," Alec cringed, glancing up roughly at his parabatai through hooded eyelids, "Don't do this, no one wins here, this isn't going to solve anything."

Jace's hands clenched at his sides, having yet to remove his concrete stare from Sebastian's dark holes. Alec noticed Sebastian slightly cock his head to the side, waiting for any sign of hesitancy within Jace's statured stance. Jace's mouth parted to inhale a shaky, silent breath. "He deserves this Alec – Clary deserves this."

"You don't know what Clary wants," Sebastian snarled immediately, not leaving any chance for Alec to interject. "I'm her brother, we're blood, that's the closest you could ever be to another human being."

"Blood means nothing when you're demonic," Jace whispered, refusing to raise his voice. Calmness washed over him like sparkling rain against a window – something to be adored from afar. "Blood means nothing if you refuse to capitalize on it in the ways that matter. And for some reason, that concept just doesn't click in your head."

"Jace–" Alec tried again before being harshly cut off, continuing to pull against the cool metal. He could feel the tension and distress radiating off Isabelle and Simon from where they sat. He glanced softly over at their bodies – their hands intertwined like a spider web, one second from being blown away.

"You're a monster, an absolute monster, if you still believe that Clary would ever love you after all the chaos you've caused."

Sebastian lunged sharply, his fist making a direct route for Jace's face. Jace dodged under before blocking Sebastian's clenched hand with his own. Bending low, Jace slashed his foot around in a whirlwind, knocking Sebastian's feet out from under him. Alec couldn't help but gasp with each action Jace took, desperately praying to the Angel that something – anything – would come through the bolted, grimy door to rescue him from his internalized nightmare. Feeling helpless was a thousand times worse than any pain that could be branded physically.

Sebastian grunted looking up at Jace from where he laid for less than a second before jumping back on his feet, re-clenching his hands in front of his pale face. "Clary's too good for you," he snarled.

Jace's face faltered, lowering his tight hands slightly, before his voice rose to just above a whisper, "you don't think I know that? She's too good for anyone – no one deserves her – but she sure as hell is lightyears better than you."

"You son of a bit–"

"Stop," Alec echoed, squeezing his eyes tight. He had finally let the pressure against his wrists go, relaxing into the feeling of the steel and burning blood against his skin. "It's always the same freaking script between you two. Clary isn't a prize to be won, she's a human being – a fucking human being. Stop bringing her into battles that are really between you two alone."

Jace paused. He removed his eyes from Sebastian and placed them on Alec's breathing form, fists still tightly raised. Alec was very aware of the unsteady frequency of his breathing, Simon's eyes pasted on his falling black hair, Isabelle's presence alone. Jace inhaled deeply, opening his mouth to say something, Alec presumed, but he never got the chance to speak his mind with the sudden creaking of the gritty doors flying open.

Alec couldn't help the itch in the back of his mind that wanted to know Jace's response.

Red hair was the first visible presence against the gloomy grey doors. Jace immediately dropped his hands, breathing out visibly before running towards her. He quickly encompassed her body with his own, and Alec felt a pang in his heart when he saw her cringe, flinch, freeze in the hands of the one person that should have made her feel safer than anyone. Jace gave her a quick look up and down, noticing the shakiness of Clary's body that she was desperately trying to conceal. She had a short sword clasped in her small grip and a stele in the zipper of one of her boots.

There was no mistaking the look in Jace's eyes – relief, love, concern – an indication that wasn't required in order to know that Jace loved Clary more than anyone else. Clary nodded her head lightly, the corner of her mouth lifting up ever so slightly as if to prove that she was really fine. Jace's eyebrows were still furrowed. Alec knew that if Jace could read anyone like an open book it was Clary; she was a novel that Jace had practically memorized – every word, every line of punctuation.

"Clary!" Isabelle exclaimed, pulling forwards before being slammed back into the wall. Alec didn't know if he could look at the coldness of metal the same way ever again.

Clary gave Isabelle a short smile, her palm slightly grazing the back of the hand that Jace had on her shoulder, before pushing softly past him. Alec could just barely see her empty hand shaking, while the one gripping her sword was firm and strong.

"Should I even ask how you escaped, or at this point am I just wasting my breath on you?" Sebastian sneered, shrugging his shoulders as he spoke.

Clary pursed her lips, roughly breathing through her nose. "You know, for someone who claims to love me so much, you have an awfully funny way of showing it."

"I'm making you stronger," Sebastian urged, taking a step closer to Clary's strong, yet breakable, form. Clary took a staggering step back, nearly knocking into Jace, who held his hands up to support Clary's back. Alec thought of how odd it was that Jace wasn't automatically pushing Clary behind him, protecting her in the same way he so often did in the past. Alec narrowed his eyes, while Sebastian continued speaking, smiling faintly from Clary's blatant reaction. "So that someday in the future, you'll be tough enough to take my side, where you truly belong."

Sebastian's smirk grew slowly, painfully, leaning forward so that his face was a couple of breaths away from Clary's glaring one. Alec waited in silence, the only sound that could be heard was the gripping of leather as Isabelle toyed with her tattered pants. "You're disgusting," Clary started before her voice slightly broke off at the end, turning into a startling whisper.

Sebastian paused briefly before he began chuckling, throwing his head back in unconcealed laughter, while the rest of the room remained deadly silent. Jace finally stepped forward and lightly wrapped his fingers around Clary's elbow – the arm that was slightly shaking – pulling her back so that he could easily cover her like a curtain, protecting inside eyes from the sun.

Alec didn't miss the flinch Clary had at the sudden pressure. He gulped, his continuously helpless feeling consuming his entire being. He looked to Simon and Isabelle, but their eyes were glued to the scene before them like a horror movie playing in black and white. He also peeled his eyes back to the scene playing directly in front of him, watching the psychopath in anticipation of his next move.

"I've finally done it," Sebastian whispered in glee, his eyes the brightest that Alec had ever seen them.

Jace still had one arm creating a wall between Clary and her brother. "Done what?" Jace snarled, while some of his blonde hair fell forward in front of his eyes.

Sebastian took another step closer, causing Clary to visibly inhale and tense sharply. "I've finally broken you," he smirked, pointing at Clary's freckled face. He silently chuckled again, his shoulders bumping up and down as if he were driving along a graveled road. "How does it feel little sister?" He asked, cocking his head to the side, while squinting his black eyes into slits. "To finally be as broken and empty as your big brother? As your dead father? Welcome to the family little sis, it's been awhile."

When Clary stayed absolutely silent, Jace decided to speak, averting his eyes to Alec quickly as he did so, "she's stronger than you, don't for a minute, think that you have the power to ruin her that easily."

"Really," Sebastian paused, furrowing his eyebrows, "then why isn't she speaking up for herself right now, like the Clarissa we all know and love?" He ended, gesturing around the room to all five of them. Alec followed his gesture – Simon looked like he was going to throw up at any moment, his eyes glued on Clary's quavering form.

Jace was the one to remain silent this time – his eyes stabbing knives into Sebastian alone.

Sebastian took another step closer to Jace and Clary, so close that Jace could probably reach his arm out in self-defensive if needed – or when required – Alec had lost all hope that this was going to end smoothly. "Do you feel her shaking under your touch?" he whispered to Jace, so quietly that Alec had to strain his ears to listen properly. "I did that," he declared, as if he had won first place in a competition and was gloating his accomplishments. "Did you notice the faltering of her voice? I did that. I bet you can even recall the way she flinched under your touch, angel-boy, her one true love," Sebastian gagged in disgust, mocking the term as if it were a falsity. "Well guess what little brother, I did that," he finished, jabbing his thumb into his chest, ruffling the fabric of his black t-shirt.

"I'm going to rip you limb from limb for touching her," Jace's voice grew, releasing his grasp on Clary to bring his fist up into the air. Alec clenched his hands, leaning forward against his metal restraints, when Jace was about to make contact with Sebastian's growling face a red uniform appeared in the doorway again.

"Excuse me sir," the woman said calmly – drone-like. Alec immediately recognized the figure as Amatis Graymark. "There is a commotion beginning upstairs that requires your attention."

Sebastian fumed, crossing his arms in front of his chest. "Can you not see that I'm a bit busy right now?"

Amatis stood absolutely still. Alec couldn't help but notice that she was unarmed; something alarming considering the fact that she was an Endarkened. "It's that woman with the red hair that you refuse to speak of and that warlock with the blue fingertips."

Alec froze. He felt like the walls were getting smaller, tightening in on his heart. He was struggling to breathe. He could now feel the cold metal wrapped around his neck, constricting his airway. Jace sharply glanced at him, lowering his raised fists ever so slightly in concern. Alec shakily nodded his head to let him know that he was alright, but he could tell Jace wasn't buying it. He could feel Isabelle shooting worried glances his way, but they didn't quite reach him with Simon's face blocking him from her view.

Sebastian roughly exhaled through clenched teeth, switching his gaze from Amatis to Jace's golden and tensed form. "Lock them up," he hissed, beginning to walk towards the escape route. "And if you even make one look in the wrong direction while she's doing so, I won't hesitate to take Clary on a little trip to the honeymoon suite with moi."

Alec could see Jace's jaw clench so hard that he thought his teeth might shatter from the pressure. However, Jace remained quiet, instinctively wrapping his hand around Clary's wrist – as if she were a lifeline rescuing him from the depths of his own despair.

Sebastian sauntered out of the dingy chamber at a slow speed, Alec thought, considering that his castle was under attack. I wonder what it's like to have so much power that you don't even waste your breath with worrying about your own destruction. There was something so terrifying to Alec about the thought of that much comfort.

As soon as the metal door swung shut with a large clang behind Sebastian, Amatis coldly glanced between the chains that were now in her rough hands, and Jace and Clary. Jace tightened his hold on Clary – her eyes glued to the floor, but before anyone could make a sudden outburst or distraction, Amatis' body began to blur.

Alec blinked, not quite sure he was seeing correctly. Amatis' physique changed rapidly, into the form of a petite girl, with light brown hair and grey eyes. Amatis' red gear hung slightly on her body and her hair was loosely tied in a knot behind her head. She dropped the chains immediately, the loud clanking sound reverberating off the cracked, egg-shell walls.

"No way! This is like every great movie plot twist ever," Simon breathed, his eyes popping out of his head, while raising his arms in the air in excitement. Alec slowly leaned forward, staring lazily at Simon, his tongue poking his cheek out in pure amusement. He could hear Isabelle's low giggling – something he hadn't heard in a while. Simon stared right back, raising his eyebrows, "what? You've obviously never seen Fight Club," he scoffed.

Alec shook his head, returning his gaze to the small woman, who had her hand lightly on Clary's shoulder. She was whispering something to Jace and Clary, but it was so low that Alec couldn't hear. Thank you, Simon, for diverting this conversation.

"As much as I love sitting on the cold floor with shackles tying me down, I have to say my ass has gone quite numb from the lack of furnishing," Isabelle said in a sarcastically sweet tone. Obviously, she was also annoyed at being temporarily forgotten when they had very limited time as it was.

"Sorry," the woman said, slightly out of breath, "My name's Tessa Gray, pleased to meet you all." She smiled, Alec felt like he had seen or heard about this woman before, but he couldn't quite place her name. "But I can explain in much more detail when we're out of here."

"Yes please," Simon nodded his head frantically, "I'm about done with the Silence of the Lambs vibe I'm getting down here."

"Could you last two seconds without making a random pop-culture reference that no one cares about?" Jace lazily asked. Alec didn't miss the fact that this was the first thing he had said since before Sebastian left the room. He also didn't miss the dead-look in Jace's eyes that Alec dreaded seeing; self-destructive Jace was definitely the worst version.

Simon made a face at Jace, while Tessa gave a reassuring smile to Clary, gesturing to the stele that was still firmly placed in her boot. Clary hesitantly bent down to grab the stele, quickly walking over to Isabelle, Simon, and Alec. As soon as Simon and Isabelle were free, they didn't hesitate to embrace each other, Isabelle's manicured hands gripping Simon's jacket as she shut her eyes tightly, inhaling Simon's being. Alec felt a slight ache in his chest, but if it was for selfish or selfless reasons, he was unsure.

Red appeared in his eyeline, as Clary knelt over him to speedily draw the open rune on the metal circles closed around his wrists. Once the locks snapped open, Alec placed his hand on Clary's retreating one – she glanced up slowly, emerald staring into blue. Her hair draped over her face, but Alec could still see her green orbs and the way she couldn't keep them focused on one spot for too long. "Thank you," Alec strongly whispered, putting as much sincerity into those two words than any other phrases he had ever spoken to her. Clary rubbed her chapped lips together, nodding her head slightly.

"Let's get out of here," Tessa said, motioning towards the blank wall as an indicator for Clary to draw a portal.

"Wait," Alec stuttered in urgency, "We can't just leave when our friends are upstairs."

"They aren't actually here Alexander," Tessa replied, smirking, "don't worry, Magnus and I have a plan." Alec was a little startled at the blatant use a of a name that was not often used with strangers but nodded his head numbly.

Blue, pink, green, yellow all began to appear, whirling in waves on the previously bleak wall as Clary created a portal with her stele. As soon as the portal had manifested, a vulgar bang was evident above them. "Looks like Sebastian just figured out what was going on," Isabelle murmured. "And I don't know about you guys, but I don't want to see his hideous face when he tries to smash us back against that floor, so I'm out – lets go," she urged, motioning them towards the portal.

Alec waited, letting Clary and Jace hop in; Jace lightly holding Clary's waist in support. He could physically feel Jace's pain mixed in with his own concern for Clary – it was suffocating. Isabelle and Simon followed, holding hands as the bright colours consumed them. Tessa casually walked through, smiling at Alec as she did so – this girl is so calm, considering everything that's going on. Alec didn't forget to thank the Angel before walking through himself – the last sound he heard was the creaking of the metal door slamming open as he was sucked through the portal in a sea of exploding colours.

By the Angel, I hope I never hear another creaking door for the rest of my life.