Jace's POV

"Clary!" I yelled at the top of my lungs and lurched forward to drive the demon away from her.

"Jace, no!" Alec shrieked and grabbed my arm, yanking me backwards. Clary and the Drevak Demon moved farther down the alley, but Clary was aware of our presence. She at least knew better than to let herself get distracted while in the midst of a battle.

I tried to pull out of Alec's grip, but his hold on me was too tight. "Alec, let go of me! Don't you see Clary needs my help!"

"Jace, no! Clary is perfectly capable of handling herself -but, I'll go with her as backup. You stay here, you hear me?"

"No, she's my girlfriend! Now, let me go!" I hissed before pulling away so hard that I managed to get free. As I began to run towards the sounds of Clary and the demon, Alec halted me again by grabbing my ankle. I fell forward onto the ground and Alec climbed on top of me, pinning my arms down.

"Jace, you're not thinking clearly. I get that you wanna save your girlfriend, but you're gonna get yourself killed. I promise I'll bring her back, but you need to stay here, Jace. You got me?"

I stopped struggling -well, for the most part -and nodded. I looked up at Alec. "Okay, fine. But, go! Hurry, please, Alexander!"

Alec nodded and ran in the direction Clary had taken off.

"Clary!" I heard Alec yell and Clary responding hoarsely where she was. I lay still on the ground, listening to the sounds of my girlfriend and parabatai taking down the Drevak, and I wondered what was taking them so long. That's when I realized that there was more than one demon against them.

By the distinct sounds the demons were making, I guessed that there were five. Alec was a great fighter and Clary was getting better each day, but I didn't think that they could handle five Drevak demons all at once.

It wasn't much of a debate on which course of action to take next -wait for my parabatai and girlfriend to possibly get themselves killed, or run to help them and then get my ass kicked by Alec. I went with the latter.

I hauled myself up off the ground and broke into a run towards the sound of the battle. I knew I would reach them before anything serious happened, but I pushed myself harder, not wanting to take any chances. I was still hoping for Clary to invent The Indestructible Rune, but I didn't think that was going to happen anytime soon.

As I arrived at the scene, I noticed Clary was busy fending off one demon, while Alec handled the other four. I could assume Clary wasn't too fond of that particular idea, but Alec was only doing it to keep her safe. For my sake.

Alec had his back to Clary and her demon, so I sprinted over to where Clary was, but made sure to stay as quiet as I possibly could.

I rushed up behind Clary and hissed in her ear to duck. She obeyed immediately, giving me space to leap over her. I jumped as high as I could and landed on the demon's back.

Momentarily confused, the demon turned in circles and I took that as my opportunity. I drove my seraph blade through its back, right in the spot that Valentine had taught me was the deadliest -through this point, you can sever the enemy's spine and pierce its heart all at once, killing it instantly.

I leaped down and Clary and I locked eyes for a moment, before I took her into my arms. I kissed her as deeply as I could within three seconds, because at that moment, I heard Alec scream.

"Stay here, Clary." I whispered before turning and racing towards where Alec was battling, now, only three, demons.

As usual, Clary didn't follow my orders, and rushed over to help with what she could as well. She appeared on one side of Alec while I appeared on the other. Alec glanced over at us and did a double-take when he saw me. His face immediately morphed into one of anger as he glared daggers at me.

"Surprise." I laughed shakily. "I'm here to help, bro."

"I am going to kick your ass." Was all Alec told me before turning back to the situation at hand. I swallowed nervously before working on destroying my own demon, but I couldn't help but glance over at Clary every so often, making sure she was doing okay. And that almost cost me my life.

"Holy shit!" I yelled as the demon shot a line of its black venom at me. I ducked and rolled to avoid it, but a bit of it got me on my shoulder -of course, I didn't even notice.

"Son of a -" I began, but was rudely interrupted when Alec knocked me to the ground.

"You little shit! Do you not realize the demons are shooting poison all over the Goddamn place! Pay attention and stop focusing on Clary!" Alec yelled before hauling me back up.

I shook my head to clear the fogginess I felt, and I threw my blade at the hissing demon, catching it in one eye.

"You will die." It hissed at me. "You are not supposed to be here, little boy."

I chuckled. "Yeah? Well, I'm gonna make sure you're not here much longer either." I leaped up high into the air, landing behind the Drevak and I yanked my blade out from its eye. I swiftly sliced the head off the demon and smiled when it shrieked in agony before its body vanished. I stood watching as my little redhead finished off her demon, shortly followed by my brother.

I opened my arms wide, inviting Clary in, and she immediately accepted the invitation. She leaped into my arms, her curly, red hair swirling around her. I lifted her up and kissed her for a very long time.

"Nice work there, baby." I told her proudly as I set her down on her feet. She flipped her hair back and smiled widely.

"Why, thank you."

I laughed slightly before turning serious a moment later after hearing Alec forcefully clearing his throat. I looked at him over Clary's head and gave him a sheepish grin.

"I'm guessing 'sorry' won't cut it?" I asked Alec jokingly while he continued to glare at me. Eventually, Clary got uncomfortable with all the staring and she awkwardly backed away from us, with the excuse of retrieving one of her daggers.

"Come on, Alec, say something!" I practically whined.

"Didn't I tell you to stay away from the demons? Didn't I tell you that Clary and I could handle it?" Alec admonished.

"I was only trying to help, Alec, and I did! I helped both of you with the Drevaks, and I didn't get myself killed either. Look, I'm sorry, I know I never listen to you, but I couldn't help it."

"Jace! I tell you to do things -or not to do things -because I want to keep you safe, not because I'm trying to boss you around. When are you gonna learn, Jace? You could've -" Alec stopped in mid-rant and I prepared myself for a blow that never came. Slowly, I opened my eyes, hoping that Alec wouldn't decide to smack me after all.

"Oh shit." He muttered.

"What is it, Alec?" I asked him curiously. Clary came back and looked at where Alec was staring, and I followed her gaze as well. My eyes popped wide open. My jacket and shirt-sleeve were torn and there was Drevak venom covering my left shoulder. How had I not noticed that earlier? Must have been the adrenaline.

"Jace, I told you to be careful! There's venom inside of you now, and it just so happens to be poison that can only be treated by a warlock!" Alec ranted before taking a breath. He closed his eyes for a moment before asking me unsteadily, "Jace, do you feel dizzy? Sick? Like you're dying? Please say no."

"No, I don't feel any of those symptoms… Just kind of groggy…" I answered and saw the concern in Alec's eyes immediately increase a notch.

"Oh man… Oh, Jace." Alec started muttering.

"We've gotta get him to a warlock -Magnus! We've gotta find Magnus immediately, Alec! But, what about Izzy? We can't let Jace die!" Clary rambled on but Alec didn't say a word back to her. He raised his gaze back to my face and looked into my eyes. I looked up into his blue eyes, waiting for his judgment.

"We need to find Magnus and Isabelle, or any warlock that we find on the way. Let's go. Now." Alec commanded. He ripped off a strip of his white t-shirt and tied it around my bleeding shoulder. "That should hold the blood for now. I won't draw an Iratze because it'll just trap the venom inside." He explained to me before pausing at staring at me for a moment. He unexpectedly grabbed me into a bone-crushing hug, but I didn't complain. He kissed my forehead and whispered, "You're going to be fine, Jace, I promise." before grabbing my good arm and practically dragging me back into the street, Clary following frantically behind.

As we continued walking down the road, I noticed that Alec was raising his emotionless shield again. He was like me in that way -we didn't usually show our emotions, even to the ones we love. I knew Alec was worried about me because he knew I could die, but I knew he was also angry. If I didn't know any better, I'd say he was going to let his anger fuel him until I'm cured -if I'm cured- rather than break down in panic and worry and love. I was right.

"Walk faster!" Alec ordered, squeezing my arm tighter and pulling me along faster.

"Ow, Alec, you're hurting my arm. Isn't it bad enough that I've already got ONE injured arm?" I half-teased, but Alec wasn't in the mood.

"You wouldn't have any injured arms if you had just done what I told you!" He raged and I cringed. I never liked it when Alec was angry -and now that he was an adult, he had a lot more power over Izzy and I, powers assigned to him by my adoptive parents.

"Besides, pretty soon you won't be having to worry about your injured arm or arms -in a matter of time, you'll be worrying about your injured backside instead. When are you going to understand that your safety means a shitload to me, Jace?" Alec muttered, almost too low for me to hear.

"Alec -" I began but stopped short when a girl appeared in front of us. The three of us halted in our tracks and breathed a sigh of relief as we took notice of who the tall girl with black hair and several weapons was.

"Thank the Angel you three are okay!" Isabelle exclaimed, relieved before taking in the injury my shoulder was sporting. Her face darkened. "Well, not so much as 'okay'…"