Isabelle stared at the warlock across the table, trying to figure out why he was there, and what he was currently thinking. It wasn't working out too well for her at the moment. For his part, Magnus wore virtually no glitter and much more somber clothes than Izzy ever remembered seeing him in. Though he had vowed to Alec he never wanted to see any of them again, here he was, because the crisis was just that serious. Unless, of course, he still cared…
Magnus had arrived ten minutes earlier, saying he needed to speak to them. Izzy had immediately sent texts to Jace, Clary, Simon, and Alec, but only the first two had responded saying they would come right away. Izzy knew Alec would not come – not that she had told him Magnus was there, because then he really wouldn't come – but because Alec had been recently spending his nights at clubs and bars and shirking his Shadowhunter duties. Not that Izzy could really blame him. She cocked a brow at the warlock.
"Jace and Clary are on their way. They were dealing with a few demons in Midtown. Simon has a vampire meeting tonight, and won't be around until later," she explained, carefully leaving Alec out of the conversation.
Magnus had other ideas, frowning. "And Alec?"
Izzy glared at him, "Alec is otherwise engaged."
"This affects him, too."
"Then I'll talk to him afterwards. Whenever he deigns to come home, that is," she added under her breath, but the warlock heard anyway.
He gave her a sharp look. "What does that mean, Isabelle?"
The Shadowhunter shrugged indifferently and inspected her nails.
When Magnus spoke next, his voice was so different that Izzy was too shocked to remember not to look at him. "Izzy, is Alex-Alec alright?"
After a moment of assessing him, and realizing that he was upset, Izzy's eyes narrowed. "Alec is passing over some of his duties in order to take advantage of his new relationship status. Not," she added darkly, "that it matters to you."
A look of pain entered Magnus' face, and his cat-like slits widened. He was about to respond to that when Clary and Jace came into the library, looking equally exhausted.
"Raveners," Jace muttered, slumping into a couch. Clary pulled off her jacket and settled into the seat next to Izzy. She gave Magnus a small smile.
"Hey, Magnus," she greeted. He inclined his head in response.
"I'm so not going to be up for dealing with Alec tonight," Jace mumbled from the couch, an arm thrown over his face. "Make Simon do it."
"Again, Isabelle, I ask if Alec is alright," Magnus inquired pointedly, his cat eyes growing dark.
Jace sat up on the couch, looked at the warlock, and then slumped back down. "Whatever you have to say, please make it quick. We wouldn't want you to think we see you as our pet anymore," he snarked.
Magnus looked furious.
"Enough, Jace," Clary said quietly. "Magnus, what did you have to tell us?"
After a moment of staring down Jace, the warlock closed his eyes, and responded in a tight voice, "As I'm sure you are aware, things are very unstable in the demon world right now. A battle is coming. Sebastian is gathering his forces. In the very near future, a battle will begin that determines the fate of this world and life as we know it." He opened his eyes and gazed off somewhere none of them understood. "The greater demons are coming. It may be time to start using the Mortal Cup."
The trio of Shadowhunters all stared at him in shock. Izzy was the first to recover.
"The Clave would have…"
"The Clave is most likely aware of this. But they have no idea how to approach it, so they have settled on lying in wait. I have followed their actions over the hundreds of years enough to recognize their position," Magnus interrupted.
"Why did you tell us, Magnus?" Clary questioned.
Magnus blinked at her. He opened his mouth once, closed it, and then again. "I have my reasons," he muttered, "But the only important one is that I live in New York, and I want New York to be ready for this. The Shadowhunters are usually the key figures in fights against demons."
"But even if you're right, what is our next step? We don't exactly have access to the Mortal Cup, or the authority to create new Shadowhunters. It's better to create a Shadowhunter out of a child, and then we'd have to wait for them to grow up," Jace said, his arm back over his face.
"All I came to tell you was what I know, and what I advise," Magnus replied coldly, "Nothing else. Be ready, Shadowhunters. This is all our fight this time." He stood, wearing a very closed expression, and pulling his long coat around him.
Izzy stood as well. "Thank you for your time," she said formally. She looked like she wanted to say more, but her phone rang, and when she looked at the person calling, she immediately turned around, bringing the phone to her ear.
"What's up?" she asked in a worried, low voice. Clary looked up at Magnus with a strange smile on her face.
"It was nice seeing you, Magnus," she said quietly.
He gave her a tight smile in return before gazing at her seriously. "Clary, these threats are not to be taken lightly. Just because the precious Clave has not informed you of what is happening, it does not mean nothing is happening."
She nodded slowly.
He nodded back, cast a look at Izzy's back, and then strode out of the room.
Clary walked over to the couch and stood in front of it. Not five seconds went by before Jace's hand shot out and pulled her down on top of him.
"That was awkward," she said as she settled into his arms.
He put his nose into her hair and breathed. "He wanted to see Alec."
She silently agreed with him.
Izzy threw her phone on the table in exasperation. "Simon said the vampires are waiting to see what everyone else is planning before making their own. Stupid bloodsuckers…" she ran her hands through her hair.
"Is he coming here now?" Clary asked.
Izzy shook her head. "He's going to find Alec and make sure he's okay. Because, of course, my brother is refusing to answer his phone again!"
"He was just dumped, Iz. Alec is allowed to act like a man-slut now that he's out and single and in Manhattan," Jace defended teasingly.
"He's also very young and very stupid. Drinking and partying and hooking up with strangers… He didn't come home at all two nights ago."
"Really? Go Alec…" Jace said in an impressed tone.
"No, not 'go Alec'!" Izzy said furiously. "He's acting like a child. Just because of Magnus…"
"If your first love took your heart and snapped it in half, do you really think you'd be hunky-dory right now?" Clary put in.
Izzy had the grace to look shame-faced, and Jace tightened his hold on Clary.
Simon sighed as he entered the fourth consecutive gay club of the evening. He really wanted to go hang out with Izzy and Clary, but the group had agreed to take turns keeping tabs on Alec, and tonight was his turn. The last three had been mundane ones, which Alec usually preferred. This one was Downworlder, and even though Simon was one of them, he felt a strange dread come over him as he entered.
As he pushed through the many bodies, he got many winks, and a few too many hands touching his arms and back. He struggled away from them and ended up at the back of the club, where a vampire and a werewolf were either kissing violently or fighting, a fae and a vampire were staring each other down over what looked like a mundane, and a warlock had a body caged against the wall, his mouth on the other's neck. Averting his eyes, Simon was about to head towards the bar when he did a double take.
Alec had his eyes closed and his hands in the warlock's bright blue hair. He pulled its face back up to his and they began making out. Simon was unsure of what to do, so he turned away, took a step forward, and called Izzy.
"Simon," she answered.
"Er- I found him. But… I'm not sure whether or not to interrupt."
"Just get him out of there! We have important things to discuss," she snapped.
"Okay," he said reluctantly, "But it's your problem to fix if I get turned into something unnatural."
"You're a vampire now, Simon. Magic is far less potent to you," she explained, irritated.
"Fine, fine. I'll get him," he sighed, ending the call.
When he turned back around, he let out a huge groan. Alec and the warlock were gone.
Alec let the strange warlock press him into the brick wall behind the club. The other looked nothing like Magnus. He had dark skin, and neon blue hair, and what looked like gills on his neck. For a small moment, Alec could forget. Especially when the warlock began his ministrations on the Shadowhunter's neck again. Alec moaned softly, dragging his hands over the other's chest. The warlock slid one of his hands down Alec's chest, not stopping until well past his belly button. Alec's breathing hitched. In his drunken state, this could go further than Alec had the courage to in daylight and soberness. Not that he cared. Anything to feel something. Anything to forget. Anything to…remember. Even if it he was tricking himself into believing it was Magnus. Just for a moment.
The warlock was starting on Alec's jeans when someone spoke behind them.
"As much as I hate to ruin the fun, Tristan, do you mind taking your hands off the Shadowhunter?" The voice dripped with venom. Alec's eyes popped open. He knew that voice. He knew that voice very well.
Tristan (So that's what his name was…) turned around slowly, his hands falling from Alec's waist. "You better have a damn good reason for interrupting, Bane."
Magnus stood half in shadows, and his eyes glowed brilliantly as he watched the two. "I'm calling a meeting. The vampires have made their decision, which affects us all."
Tristan growled. "I don't care what the bloodsuckers do."
"Don't we all wish they were irrelevant," the High Warlock murmured. "As it is, we don't have a choice."
Alec quickly checked to make sure his pants were buckled up before pushing Tristan back so he could step towards his ex-boyfriend.
Magnus had to stop himself from reacting to Alec's appearance. He looked both better and worse from the Alec he knew. The Shadowhunter's hair was styled with gel, and had been cut. He wore tight black jeans and a formfitting red V-neck, his marks very apparent. His skin was flushed and sweaty. It was his eyes that affected Magnus the most. The beautiful blue was rimmed with eyeliner, and perhaps a bit of eye shadow. But the eyes themselves were dark, as if the light inside had gone off. They were currently narrowed in suspicion at the warlock.
"Couldn't you have sent a text?" he questioned, his voice stiff, and his gaze slightly to the right of Magnus, so he didn't quite look him in the eyes.
Magnus noticed several hickeys dotting Alec's neck and chest – it was clear not all of them were from that night. "Both of you seem to have decided to ignore your phones tonight. Your sister has been trying to contact you," he explained.
Alec's brow furrowed. "How do you know?" he asked accusingly.
"Because I was at the Institute earlier this evening, dar-" Magnus stopped himself abruptly, looking at the ground.
Alec, who knew what the warlock had been about to say, stared at the warlock, his eyes round and confused and hurt.
Before Magnus could dig himself out of that hole, the sound of footsteps made the three turn to the mouth of the alley.
"Simon?" Alec asked in a confused voice.
"Hey, Alec. I have to take you home. Izzy is worried, and you have to hear what – Magnus?" Simon looked from Alec to Magnus to Tristan, to Alec again, openmouthed.
"What's going on here?"
Magnus stared at Simon blankly. Tristan rubbed his eyes, and Alec looked as if he might get sick. He leaned against the wall and closed his eyes.
Magnus stepped towards him before stopping himself. Tristan gave him a weird look before shock overtook his features.
"This is your Shadowhunter?" he exclaimed.
No one responded. Simon took a step towards Alec. "Are you alright?" he asked quietly.
Alec nodded once. "The tequila is hitting me a little harder than usual, due to circumstances," he responded. Simon snorted.
"How much did you drink, Alexander?" Magnus demanded. Alec's eyes shot open, and he glared at Magnus with such hatred that the warlock took a step back.
Simon grabbed Alec's elbow. "Let's get out of here," he whispered, leading him down the alley.
Magnus watched them go, a miserable look on his face. Tristan glared at him. "Thanks for that, Bane. He would have let me do anything if you hadn't arrived."
In the blink if an eye, Magnus had his lesser slammed against the wall, one hand around Tristan's neck with strength and force seemingly impossibly coming from the tall, thin figure.
"Never. See. Him. Again," he snarled out.
With a snap, the High Warlock disappeared on the spot, leaving his lesser massaging his neck and wondering what he had done to deserve this.