"Get out."
Magnus had been so hurt, and Alec had, once again, not known how to fix it. What kind of boyfriend did that make him? He had wanted to go back and talk but Mangus' doors were locked and he knew he wouldn't be allowed in for a while.
Although it didn't seem like their small fight was the only thing bothering Mangus. Alec hadn't missed the fact that the warlock's personal barriers were up, wearing more makeup and using it and his extravagant wardrobe as armor. He knew it had to be about what the Clave had done to him when stick in valentine's body, but Magnus wouldn't talk until he was ready, and now it didn't look like he wanted to talk at all.
Alec sighed, missing him already.
He was trying to think of some way to apologize when something caught his attention. His instincts were screaming at him, telling him something was wrong without knowing exactly what was making him feel that way. Like something moving in the corner of your vision. He couldn't pinpoint what it was but something was making his skin crawl.
He stopped walking, barely a block from Magnus' apartment. And took out his bow, notching an arrow and spinning slowly as he tried to figure out where the threat was. It was like the air was shifting slightly, telling him there was someone close by, but he didn't see anybody.
He heard something behind him, the shift of a foot on concrete, a foot that was trying very hard to be quiet, and he turned only to feel something pinch his neck. Alec grunted as a needle was slammed into him, as his bow was pushed aside with a firm hand, his own hands suddenly limp as he fell to his knees.
A dark figure was moving towards him, and he couldn't see who it was, and although his vision was filling with black spots, he knew he had to fight or be taken by the Nephilim murderer that had been carving out runes. Because this had to be them.
Too confident in their plan, the figure moved too close, close enough for Alec to swing his seraph blade at. The blade cut through the air, slicing the sleeve of his attacker, and leaving an angry green line in their arm. Green, that was strange.
The hooded figure let out a cry of indignation before kicking Alec square in the chest. His vision blurred white with pain as he felt his ribs crack, and toppled to the ground, holding his hands out to try and stop the attackers next blow. But the fist came towards his face, hard and fast.
Alec could no longer fight, his body giving in to the drug that was coursing through his veins. He needed help.
"Magnus!" He couldn't move, he was fading fast, and his voice wasn't loud enough.
"Magnus…please!" His cry for help was nothing but a desperate whisper and the hooded figure standing over him, tilted their head in inquisition before Alec's vision finally turned to black.
…
Lights… chains….cold. Alec squinted his eyes shut, trying to breathe through the fog in his brain. Bright beams of light flew past his face, screaming down from above in strobes as he moved…somewhere. Chains rattled and water dripped; it was cold and he was lying on something.
He tried to reach a hand up to his face, to shield his eyes from the lights, only to find himself restrained. And that's when the panic settled in.
He tugged at the cuffs around his wrists, grunting at the pain it elicited from his chest. Definitely broken. A voice echoed through the room as the metal table he was laid out on, was parked in a room, next to trays of horrid looking tools.
"Struggle all you like, I'm going to have fun carving into you either way. And that big rune on your neck? That's going to be fun. Although messy. Might have to save it for last, I wouldn't want to accidentally cut your carotid, or you'd bleed out too fast and miss all the fun."
…
"Just give me a list of everyone you already have and we'll go from the…" Jace blinked, shivering as he pressed a hand to his chest, where his Parabatai rune lived. Isabelle frowned and took his elbow.
"Jace? You okay? You're shaking."
He panted as he shook his head. "Something's wrong with Alec. I felt it before, like he was worried about something but I just figured he was having trouble convincing Magnus about the DNA. But something's wrong, he's hurt and… really scared."
He looked down at the goose bumps that had appeared on his skin and the way he was still shivering. "He's cold."
Izzy could barely breathe. "What if the killer got him. He would have been walking home alone, after talking to Magnus."
Jace's heart screamed at him at the thought and the way his Parabatai rune was aching. By the angel, Alec was in serious trouble.
"We have to find him. Call Magnus, we should use a portal to wherever we track Alec to, we might not have much time to stop whoever's got him before they…"
Izzy didn't wait for him to finish, already pulling out her phone and impatiently tapping her finger against the back of it as she waited for the warlock to pick up.
"Isabelle, if you're calling to plead your brothers case-" Magnus' tone was sullen but Izzy didn't have time to ask why.
"Alec's missing, we think the shadowhunter killers got him. We need a portal, he's in trouble, Magnus."
A pause, then a hurried voice and the sound of fingers clicking. "I'm coming to you."
…
Alec struggled in his binds, fully panicking now that the figure over him was picking out her tools. He was trained to be unafraid in battle, but this was no fight, this was going to be his murder and there wasn't anything he could do to stop it.
He would die in this damp, dark room, and his family would find his body dumped somewhere in the street. Izzy would do an autopsy and Jace would feel him die. Little Max had just come back home to start his training and Alec would never get to see his little brother grow up.
He'd never be able to apologize to Magnus for their fight, and he'd never be able to say I love you, to anyone, ever again. He was going to die alone, at the hands of some stranger.
His heart beat wildly in his chest, as his breathing escalated into hyperventilation, and he continued to struggle uselessly.
It was dark in the room he was in, wherever he was, and he could still hear water dripping. Although in this particular situation it wasn't unlikely that the dripping was actually blood. This thought did nothing to calm Alec down.
The hooded figure ran her fingers over the tools in front of her, sighing as she picked one up and admired it. Alec could see her long hair now, and the gentle curve of her fingers, knowing she was indeed female by her soft voice although it was lace with something sinister.
"I haven't gotten to use this one yet. I was waiting for someone special, and you, Alec Lightwood, are a big deal. One of New York's best fighters, I hear. And taken down by one seelie? How embarrassing. The Clave will remember how dangerous we can be, how powerful. They can't squash us under their boot like some ant."
If she was a seelie that would explain why her blood had been green. But why would she want to make the killings look like multiple downworlder attacks? How would that help her?
Alec knew that Jace had to be feeling his fear, the way his cheat and head ached, so if he could just stall, he might be rescued in time.
"Why are you doing this? It won't change anything, it'll only make it worse."
The woman turned around, lip curled in disgust as she ran the tip of the blade, lightly across Alec's arm. Not deep enough to cut, only make him shiver at the cold and touch of something so sharp.
"My brother was killed because of that stupid sword, activated by your Parabatai. Jace wasn't even punished, because he's one of you, and none of you really care about any of us. But you're his brother, he'll come looking for your killer, and when he does, I'll get him and I'll kill him. And I'll do it slowly."
Her sneer turned into a smile, as a lone tear trailed down her cheek. "Now, let's get started, shall we? I want to savor this."
She took hold of the front of his shirt, and sliced it open in one swipe, the knife sharp enough for the motion to be smooth and uninterrupted. Alec shivered harder as the cold air hit his bare chest, and he pulled at his restraints once more. Ig he didn't do something soon, he would die.
"Please, don't do this. He didn't mean to, it was an accident. He thought touching the sword would destroy it, he was trying to save you!"
The seelie woman ignored his protests and took a deep, longing breath, as she placed the tip of the knife on his skin, on his side, where his iratz rune lived. He didn't know if she was doing that one first on purpose, but if she cut into that one, it wouldn't be usable and he wouldn't be able to heal himself, even if he did manage to escape.
He could barely breathe as he felt the cold knife against his skin, and his whole body tensed and stopped moving, so as to avoid slicing himself open with it. But the seelie did that all on her own, as she pressed the blade into his skin, splitting him apart.
He grit his teeth to try and keep from making any noise, not wanting to give her the satisfaction, but she dug the knife in and started to carve and he couldn't hold back. A scream ripped from his throat as she cut him open, blood spilling and trailing down his side to rain droplets onto the floor.
He was going to die, but first he was going to suffer.