By The Angels (PJOxSH)

14

It was almost too much for Alec to process at once. He was used to the stress, not only as a shadowhunter in general, but due to all of the politics in the Downworldhe was used to navigating. But this, Alec didn't like this one bit, especially when there was nothing he could do about it.  

The first thing that happened, was him and Jace sprinting out of the doorway onto the roof, and the surprise that came with the fact that the door had been kicked from its hinges, a large dent in the middle of it.  Then there was the sight of Valentine himself, standing close to the edge with their missing girl in his arms, covered in her own blood. Nico was standing in the middle of the roof, white-knuckling his sword, dark eyes wide open in a combination of shock and horror. 

Then Valentine casually shoved Lou over the edge of the building. Nico's sword fell to the ground with an echoed clang, a starting bell. Then Nico lunged towards Lou.

"Nico! Don't!" Alec cried out, but there was nothing he could do, Nico was already over the edge. 

"Bastard!" Jace roared, seraph blade blazing as he charged Valentine. 

Valentine laughed, a sick sort of glee, as he withdrew his own sword, the black behemoth of a blade glistening in the distant city lights. Jace and Valentine clashed, and Alec snapped his bow off his back and fired a flare-like arrow into the sky. That was the signal for backup. 

Alec shifted gears, turning his bow onto Valentine, but careful to keep enough distance between him and the clashing pair. Jace with his angelic abilities was so closely matched against Valentine's own warped enhancements. Alec couldn't get a clear shot, not without possibly hitting Jace or missing altogether. He glimpsed a matching arrow fly into the sky from the other building. Signal received.  

The only sound came from Jace and Valentine,  as adamas met adamas. It would be at least another 3 minutes before Clary got to the top of the tower, and then another 5 for Isabelle and Simon. It all depended on how long Jace could hold off Valentine, which at the moment, was too close to tell. The physical fight could go on for either hours or seconds depending on when one of them slipped up, but there were other factors involved. A seraph blade, while good for fighting demons, wasn't the optimal choice against an armed opponent, especially one with a superior blade. Phaeshorores mix of adamas and gold, along with its weight and length, it gave Valentine a clear advantage, which Jace parried with extreme agility and speed, using his lighter, albeit more fragile blade to his advantage. But it would just take a few more hits from the giant blade to shatter the seraph blade. Then it did. 

The seraph blade died with a burst of light, forcing the two clashing forces apart, and blinding anything with eyes. Using the blast as a distraction, Valentine whistled using his fingers, a sharp, piercing sound that mimicked the burst of light. Alec took the moment of separation as soon as his vision allowed him to loose an arrow. 

The arrow cleaved through whatever Valentine was wearing, biting into flesh. He cried out in pain but tore the arrow from his shoulder just as quickly. 

"Why would you kill the person you're after!?" Alec demanded. 

Valentine barely spared Alec a glance. "And I thought he was so much smarter than that, especially with his skill. What a disappointment," Valentine hissed.

Jace charged again, but this time, Valentine was ready, and Alec could clearly tell Jace's head wasn't where it needed to be. 

"You killed Nico!" Jace shouted in rage.

Now unarmed, it was no problem for Valentine to simply kick Jace away, forcing Jace to stumble back, before trying to physically grapple with Valentine. A sword pointed at Jace stopped him from charging again. Alec saw something pass over Valentine's features. Animalistic rage overcame what was once a logical, although morally corrupt, man. He was undoubtedly going to kill Jace right then and there.