Disclaimer: I do not own TMI or any of the characters, they belong to Cassandra Claire and I only take credit for their actions in this story. This is my first fanfiction in 5 years and also the first for TMI so please Review me, should I keep going or just stop and crawl back to the cave I came from? Love you guys!
The curse of love
Prelude: A curse is cast
"Cruel is the curse of love, so luscious yet so dangerous".
-Floor Jansen
The day had started like any other. He woke up early but decided to lay in bed just a while longer, wallowing in his misery. Usually when he woke up feeling a little blue, he could count on a text or a call from Magnus to make him better, but that was out of the question now, he had ruined it with his insecurities and jealousy. You´ve got no one but yourself to blame for that Lightwood he told himself, though that didn't make the stabbing pain in his heart diminish. He rose from his bed, feeling hollow and nearly detached from his body, for the past few weeks living had felt nearly like an out-of body experience. He went to his bathroom for a quick shower and brushed his teeth afterwards, his unruly hair was a lost cause, so he didn´t even bother. He only took a quick glance at the mirror, enough to wash his face and dress quickly in his usual tattered clothes. He knew he looked terrible. His frame thin to the point of seeming sickly, his lips cracked and his eyes blood-shot and with eye bags. He looked like a homeless man on drugs and the worst part was that he couldn´t bring himself to care.
He strode back into his room and put on his old boots, the same ones Magnus had often said looked as if he had rescued them from a dumpster Don´t even go there Alec. You know it's no good for you. In one swift movement he picked up his gear from the chair near his desk and closed is bedroom door behind him, walking at a brisk pace through the halls of the institute in search of his siblings and Clary, who practically lived here now.
He found them in the training room, Jace was drilling his petite girlfriend about the proper handling of weaponry and basic escape maneuvers while Isabelle was using her whip against the unsuspecting, defenseless dummies they used for sword practice.
Three pairs of concerned eyes turned to him as soon as he entered the room. They had all been there to witness him falling apart, but had been kind enough to support him from the shadows, without prying, helping him find distractions in demon hunting or –and this still made him shudder, post-break-up depression or not- "social interactions".
"Morning Alec" said Izzy, giving him a small smile, she had not been too good at hiding her worry for him or the stunned surprise his breakup brought, Isabelle had been elated with the prospect of him finding someone to loved and be loved by in return, but now…
He gave a short, silent little sigh "Good Morning Izzy. And Jace and Clary too. Any plans for today? Are we going to hunt down some rogue vampires, or maybe a pack of ravenous iblis demons?"
"That's actually a pretty good guess" replied Jace, giving him a cocky grin "Some werewolves and faeries reported strange activity in Central park, in one of the bridges closest to the lake, but when they tried to get near all of them were attacked by some shapeless black shadow until they were forced to back out of the place"
Alec just snorted "Sounds promising, should we get going?"
"Just a moment" Replied Izzy "You and I still need to change into our gear Alec, and I believe Clary needs to apply some new runes".
Half an hour later the three of them were entering Central Park together, chatting and making contingency plans in case this "mysterious entity" got out of hand – well, Clary and Alec were planning, Jace and Izzy were too confident to bother with it-
Meanwhile, in the shadows of its hideout, a demon chuckled in pure glee.
They boy is here. Vengeance shall be mine, at last.
The demon kept waiting in the shadows, carefully biding his time, after all, what were a few more minutes compared to the decades of waiting, he would do a thorough job with this one, make sure that blasted warlock regretted ever messing with one such as he.
He heard voices in the distance, he was so close to his revenge, he could almost taste it like a distinct, pleasant flavor in his mouth.
"Well this is the place where we were told that thing was, but my sensor barely detects a shift in the demon energies around here" Jace's voice hinted at displeasure, this little demon energy meant that there would be no fun for him today, either the demon had left already or it was weaker that they had thought.
"I'm not taking any chances, especially with you and your devil-may-care attitude" Said Alec, scanning the surrounding area with the outmost care, it had happened before, powerful demons could hide their presence until it was too late, he didn't wan to put his family in danger, not if he could help it.
Has he paced the area, something caught his eye, a faint red glimmer of light hidden beneath the shadows of the stone bridge.
"What is...?" Before he could finish his sentence however, green-colored fireballs flew at the shadowhunters, being the closest to the action, Alec had a harder time dodging the flames and one of the fireballs hit him squarely in the chest, bringing about a searing pain that made it hard to move.
He heard Izzy scream his name, but by the time he scrambled to his feet his siblings and Clary were too caught up fighting a horde of spider-sized demons he had never seen before. He took out a seraph blade out of his weapons belt, and directed it to his lips, he was about to name it and run to help his siblings when he felt an ominous chill run down his spine.
"Wait a moment little shadowhunter, you and I have some things to discuss" The voice was too close to his left ear, whispering the words in a tone that sounded eager, almost…Happy.
Alec turned around suddenly, jerking away from the presence that was much too close for comfort, he swung the seraph blade at his enemy, only to realize that there was nothing there.
"Not so fast my Angel, I need to have some fun first"
An eerie giggle resounded around Alec and suddenly he was knocked backwards into the pavement, he felt the air leave his lungs and heard a sickening crack, he knew he most likely had a concussion but he couldn´t feel it, he was numb. He tried to stand up, looking around for the others, praying to The Angel that they were alright.
A shadow materialized in front of him, it looked like a cloud of black smoke except for the two shining red slits that Alec assumed were its eyes. "Your friends are fine, I just gave them some work so that you and I could have some quality time alone"
"What do you want with me?"
Alec heard his own voice as if it was coming from a tunnel or underwater and the sudden double-vision was starting to worry him. I must have hit my head harder than I thought.
"I am SO glad you asked" said the cloud of smoke in a cheerful tone.
"You see this is not so much about you as it is about that warlock you fancy. Magnus Bane"
Alec made a strange noise between a snort and a laugh "Of course it is, but you see, we broke up a few weeks ago, he and I have nothing to do with each other anymore"
The cloud closed in on him, fixing the shadowhunters eyes with its own disturbing red slits, when that happen he felt as if two strong hands had closed around his neck, making it impossible for him to breath.
"That is not completely true is it, young Nephilim" The cloud shifted and changed, enveloping Alec in its hot, suffocating presence that smelled like sulfur and rotten fruit.
"I am aware of the fact that you and that warlock are no longer together, but I have observed both of you, and I do not believe that you two have nothing to do with each other anymore"
Alec tried to speak, but the strange presence closing around his throat and the suffocating shadow-demon made it almost impossible, he only managed to choke out a few words.
"Don't…know him…well…enough…demon"
"Oh but I do, which is why I know that if you play your part well enough, this little game of mine will destroy him. It will be so much fun! We should get to it quick, before someone interrupts our quality time together"
The strange mass of darkness backed away from him, keeping a distance of about three inches between them, it also seemed to remember that Alec needed to breathe, since the force that was oppressing his throat ceased to torment him. Nonetheless, the lack of air and the hit to his head made him dizzy, making his vision slightly blurry around the edges.
Despite that, Alec watched intently as the strange demon changed again, long tendrils of darkness shooting from its center, he was caught of ward when said tendrils pinned him to the ground and no matter how hard he tried, he couldn´t seem to free himself from them.
"Let me go now! I told you, Magnus and I are not together anymore, nothing you do to me is going to affect him!"
"We've been through this Alexander, I don't believe that, I'm going to make Magnus Bane suffer and the best part of all is that all of your suffering and his will be a consequence of his own action. It will be beautiful"
Alec glared at the mass of darkness, making a derisive sound with his throat "Sure, and what are you going to do, kidnap me and ask for ransom? That would be incredibly predictable, and he would never fall for it".
The red slits the demon had for eyes narrowed slightly, probably annoyed at being looked down upon.
"No, that would far too easy and lacking in dramatics" the demon chuckled tightening the grip of the dark tendrils around Alec's extremities, the shadowhunter winced, but let no sound betray the fact that he was in pain.
"No, I had something slightly more…complex in mind, something that will make you wish you had never fallen in love with a downworlder. Something that will Magnus Bane scream and cry in impotence, wishing that he had no heart to torture him so, when I'm through with you he will beg me for death long before I grant him that request and his guilt when he knows the part he had to play in your demise will be the sweetest reward of all!"
"You are a sick lunatic! Just get on with it and leave me alone!" Alec screamed, and struggled trying to get himself loose of the demons grip but to no avail, the more he fought the tighter those tendrils closed around his wrists and ankles, it was starting to get too uncomfortable.
Yet another tendril shot from the demon's smoky form, this one looked sharp and deadly, stabbing Alec dangerously close to his heart.
"Agh!" The shadowhunter's vison went dark for a moment and in his agony, he nearly missed the demon's words.
"Both of you shall fell the power if my vengeance. I leave you with a curse, little angel. The curse of your love!"
Thou hast been given a fortnight
To change the course of your story
The curse of love is yours to fight
Like only angels can fight it
A vow of love will keep you safe
Yet scorn and pride will seal thine fate
Be sure to get thine love back
Unless you wish to suffer and die
.
When the demon was done chanting the curse Alec could feel the icy tendril of darkness that had stabbed him in the chest squeeze his heart, the pain was too much, and despite his best efforts he let out a pained gasp. His vision dimmed, the pain around his heart becoming unbearable, before he blacked out he heard a hoarse whisper against his ear.
"And now the game begins, shadowhunter. Die slowly and painfully, make your beloved warlock suffer and give me a good show".
He heard a short cackle, felt something cold brush against his cheek, like a ghostly kiss and passed out, letting the darkness take him away from the pain.
Alec was too far gone to hear his sister's panicked scream, or to feel three sets of arms lift him from the pavement and take him back to the institute.