AN: Thanks for all the lovely reviews on chapter one guys! They mean a lot to me.

Also, in the reviews I got several people asking why I choose to have Mammon as Magnus's father. I don't want to go to indepth, because that would take forever, but basically it has to do with a lot of the hints that Cassie has dropped about Magnus's lineage and who his father is. I specifically choose Mammon, rather than one of the other Princes of Hell specifically because he is commonly associated with greed which will play an important roll in this story, and you've already seen a little of that. So yes, there's the very basic form of my reasoning as to making Mammon be Magnus's father. Now, on to the story!


"You did the right thing. He'll be safe now. He'll be safe now." I chanted to myself, gripping tightly to the edges of my sink, staring into the reflection of my own eyes. "Mammon won't hurt him if he thinks you don't love him. He'll be safe."

I figured if I just said it enough, I'd believe it. I'd believe that I hadn't been stupid to fall in love again after what Mammon had done to the last person unlucky enough to carry the title of "Magnus Bane's Significant Other". A shudder ran through my body at the thought of that night, fifty eight years ago, when Mammon had found my lover of the moment. I'd been fond of Paul, but he was nothing compared to what I felt for my little blue eyed shadowhunter. Paul wasn't even a footnote in comparison to that. But he'd been close enough that Mammon had felt the need to torture him in an attempt to scare me. He had beaten and tortured Paul for three days, then left him on my doorstep to die in my arms. It had been an attempt to get me on his side, to show what he was capable of and what he would do if I didn't follow him. It hadn't worked, but it had hurt like hell none the less. And if that was what Mammon was willing to do with someone I only sort of cared about, what would he do to someone I wanted to spend the rest of my existence with?

"No." I shook my head, trying to force the thought out of my head. "Nothing is going to happen. Mammon won't do anything to Alec because he'll never know you loved him. He'll never know."

Convincing myself of this fact wasn't going very well though. No, my mind kept going back to the letter I'd received from Camile maybe a week ago now.

Dear Magnus,

Watch your little shadowhunter carefully. Rumor has it, your father has been seen recently. I don't know how long he's been around, but those of my coven who are still loyal to me believe it has been for some time now. And if he's here but lying low it can't be good. Be careful.

-Camile

It was a testament to how dangerous my father was that Camile was willing to write me and warn me. And if he truly had been around for as long as her Coven believed, there was a very good chance he knew about Alec.

"And he definitely knows exactly where you are." I mumbled at my reflection, clutching my bandaged side that somehow Alec hadn't noticed in the past two days.

Two days ago I'd been on my way home from walking Alec to the subway station when I'd been attacked by Mammon himself. That was how it usually went when he came after me. He would try to convince me to join him in taking down the Clave to spite the Angels that had banished him and when I said no he would try and kill me, which would fail, and then he would send someone else in to do the dirty work, which wouldn't work either, and then Mammon would be killed somehow and vanish for awhile before the cycle started again. I'd never been able to confirm it, but I was sure it must've been Angles killing him every time. If it was a shadowhunter they would've been worshiped as a hero and everyone in the world would've been made to know of Mammon's great defeat at the hands of a shadowhunter. But it never happened like that. He'd just vanish all of a sudden, never seen again until some poor fool summoned him.

Vaguely I wondered who he would send to kill me this time, now that he'd failed as he always did. Usually he'd send another warlock. A rouge shadowhunter once or twice in the old days when they were allowed to hunt downworlders for sport. He'd even sent a greater demon a few times. Those were the most effective ones, the greater demons, but somehow I had always managed to make it out the other side. But this time…well, I was already weak from being injured in the fight against Sebastian, as well as the fight with Mammon. And now I was drained from the struggle of pulling myself away from Alec.

"But it's worth it. It's all worth it to keep him safe." I chanted again, thunking my head against the mirror.

"That broken look on his face was worth it? Shattering his heart because he thought you really loved him was worth it?" A little voice whispered in the back of my mind.

"He'll be safe." I whispered. "It's the only way."

Snapping my fingers I summoned a bottle of strong whiskey, downing a huge swig in an attempt to drown out that little voice of reason in the back of my head. I was having enough of a guilt trip from my regular voice, I didn't need an extra one chiming in. Vaguely I was aware of my phone ringing out in my room, but I just took another swig and pretended I couldn't hear it.

"He's safe now." Swig. "He'll be okay." Swig. "You did the right thing." Swig. "He-hic-he'll be okay." Swig. Slide to the floor. Swig. "Safe." Swig.


AN: Sorry this chapter, and the last, were so short guys! They were basically my set-up chapters so they aren't to long. I just needed to let you know where the story was starting and lay the base for it. The chapters after this will be longer, I promise!

Read and review please!