"I still don't think you should be wearing those runes," Jace said, frowning as he led the way hurriedly along the street toward the police station. "The last time you did, things didn't exactly turn out very well, did they?"

"The last time Clary Marked me, I actually had something to fear," Alec said, keeping up with the group easily. He silently wished, not for the first time, that he could create runes as powerful as Clary's. His left hand still stung where Clary's stele had burned across it, but the Speed rune she had drawn there made his stride effortless. They walked fast, all of them, more out of habit than anything else – the glamours they wore made them invisible, and they weren't hiding from anything except mundanes. "Since when are you the cautious one, anyway? That's my role," Alec added jokingly.

"Well, seeing as you're now fearless as well as fast," Jace said, "somebody has to do all the worrying."

That was the other thing – apart from the Speed rune, she'd also Marked him with the Fearless rune.

Clary snorted. "You, Jace," she said, "are the last person anyone would expect to worry about anything."

"And it's just a Fearless rune," Isabelle put in. "I mean, apart from the fact that Alec is already almost incapable of doing anything dumb, it's not like Clary Marked him with Reckless, or Stupid, or anything."

"She didn't have to," Jace retorted sharply.

Alec winced. In part, Jace was right – the last time he'd been Marked with Clary's Fearless rune, he had come close to doing some extremely stupid things. He smiled sheepishly. "Don't worry," he said. "I won't do anything idiotic this time, promise."

"What does it feel like?" Simon wondered out loud, catching up to Alec. "Being Marked with that Fearless rune, I mean. I've only ever had this Mark of Cain, and it isn't even a proper rune. Not really."

Alec was quiet for a moment. "Strange," he said finally. "I mean, I don't feel much different than normal at the moment, but it kind of gives you a sense of detachment. And... confidence." He shrugged. "Figures, I guess."

Simon laughed. "So – kind of like being on coke," he said, turning a corner. The police station loomed into view, dimly lit and full of movement. "You have an addiction to fearlessness, which is almost exactly what snorting coke does to you."

"Addiction?" Alec looked bemused. "To, uh, coke?"

"Not Cola," Jace said, rolling his eyes. "Cocaine."

"None here, kids, sorry," said a familiar voice, and Alec spun around with everyone else to see someone trudging toward them, a rucksack swinging at his side. "Why, what are you up to now?"

"Luke! Hi," Clary said, blinking. "We're not up to anything. Is everyone already here?"

"Pretty much. Go on in and have fun," said Luke, waving an arm. "Don't go too crazy, will you? This must be the fifth party we've had, and it hasn't even been a month since the New Council was formed."

"Sure, sure," Isabelle said absentmindedly, already scanning the crowd. "Where's Maia?" she asked curiously.

"No idea," Luke said, shrugging. "Went off on her own somewhere." And he walked off.

Isabelle immediately tugged on Simon's arm. "Come on," she ordered, and Simon glanced apologetically back at them all before following her into the throng. Clary laughed. "Poor Simon," she commented, but she was grinning. Alec couldn't help seeing the funny side, too, remembering what he'd said so long ago about exactly how important he thought Simon was to his sister.

But that had been ages ago. At the moment, Jace and Clary looked like they wanted to be left alone – where Isabelle loved inappropriate boys, those two were still reveling in their newfound lack-of-forbidden – and Alec wanted to find Magnus. Fearless or not, he didn't much like parties. Besides, Jace and Clary weren't the only couple around enjoying newfound freedom.

Doing a quick three-sixty of his surroundings and not seeing the tall warlock anywhere, he reluctantly walked into the police station, which was dank and smelt of alcohol and sweat. There were no lights anywhere, but the full moon bathed everything in an eerie silver glow. He cursed as he put his foot into a viscous puddle of liquid, getting elbowed several times as he crossed the room. He saw Raphael and his clan in one dark corner, keeping to themselves and apparently having a good time; remembering what Magnus had said about the vampire motorcycle, he walked over to them, for once not pausing to think twice.

One of the vampires saw him coming and gave him a brilliant smile. She was tall and slender, wearing an air of ancientness and a wispy black dress that made her look more like a witch than a vampire. Alec was astonished to see that there was a large gray goose at her side, and that it was also eyeing him with curiosity.

She stood, picking the goose up in her arms, and tilted her head. "Shadowhunter," she said, by way of greeting. "What are you doing here?"

"Nothing," Alec said, trying to work out if she was hostile or not. "I'm, uh, just looking for someone."

"Serafina?" one of the vampires called, frowning. The vampire – Serafina – gestured at them to wait, and turned back to Alec. "Who are you looking for?"

"Magnus Bane," Alec answered. "Warlock. Tall, and, well, kind of glittery. Have you–"

"Ah! The glittery warlock," Serafina said, nodding. "Yes – nobody could miss him, if you know what I mean. You want to go over there, by the corridor leading off to the old offices. That's where the warlocks are." She smiled ruefully. "New Council or not, I think we will keep to our old divides for a while yet."

"Thanks," Alec said, not quite sure how to respond to this last remark. But Serafina was already gone, along with her goose. Alec turned away and headed toward the corridor she had indicated.

As he passed by one of the abandoned offices, he heard a low moan coming from inside. He shuddered, walking quickly past, not wanting to know what was going on there. Several other warlocks eyed him as he walked by, but they left him alone. He couldn't see Magnus anywhere. But then, Magnus was never where he should be.

He heard the moan again as he doubled back, louder this time and followed by a high-pitched whine. He stopped, frowning. Whoever was making the noise, it sounded like they were in pain. The whining came again, and Alec began to wonder if he should find Luke; the noises sounded like they belonged to a canine creature.

Acting on instinct, he slowly pushed open the door and peered through the crack, his mind and body alert, wary, but collected.

His eyes flew wide open, and he stopped breathing.

"What the hell–!" he choked, and then clamped his jaw shut as the creature – whatever it was – turned to look at him.

It studied Alec through narrowed yellow eyes, and then let rip a snarl, baring long, saliva-coated teeth. It looked human, only grotesquely misshapen, crouched over in a sort of fetal position. And it was covered in hair – ragged patches of it, dark brown and tawny.

The first thing that entered Alec's mind was demon, but he had never seen a demon like this before; the second thing he thought of was werewolf, except none of Luke's pack looked anything like this when they Changed. Before he had time to register anything else, it – whatever it was – leaped up and crashed out of the window. There was a deafening noise and shards of glass scattered everywhere, leaving a clean, wrecked window frame.

Later, Alec would always wonder why he did what he did then – maybe it was Clary's powerful runes, maybe it was sheer stupidity, maybe something else. But at that moment he didn't stop to think; pushing away a fleeting thought of Magnus, he leapt after the creature and gave chase.

He almost tripped at first, but quickly regained his balance, glancing incredulously at the ground blurring under his feet. He hadn't had the chance to fully accelerate before, but now he found out exactly how much speed it lent him. He was grateful that he was on the outskirts of the city, and running on one of New York's very rare patches of semi-wilderness, away from manmade obstacles and Mundane eyes. Disorientation quickly gave way to enjoyment as he tailed his quarry.

Then enjoyment quickly turned to a whole lot of pain when the creature – who, up close and moonlit, was almost certainly some sort of freak werewolf – whirled around without warning. Alec was going too fast to stop himself before he was in close range; suddenly there was hot breath on his neck and teeth sinking into his left shoulder. He yelled, fumbling frantically for his seraph blade; but before he could name it, the teeth were gone. The werewolf gave him another look, half bewildered and half vicious, before letting rip another howl, and turning tail.

Alec wasn't sure how long the chase lasted, after that. Everything had taken on a surreal feel; each moment blended into the next, the pain from the bite had turned into a dull ache, and his thoughts shut down, leaving him to his senses. Eventually he felt Clary's rune beginning to fade, and the moonlight fading along with it, giving way to the first lights of dawn; and the werewolf fell to the ground, whimpering pathetically. By the time Alec caught up to it, it had become a him – a boy of about his own age, breathing hard, his bright gray eyes wide and very bewildered. The ferocity had left along with the fur and teeth, leaving a wreck of what Alec realized must be a new werewolf. Getting cautiously onto his knees, he peered into the boy's terrified face.

Before Alec knew what was happening, the boy very suddenly picked himself off the floor and started to run again. Alec cursed and scrambled to his feet, wishing he still had the help of Clary's runes; still, a boy was both slower and less intimidating than a freak werewolf, and Alec kept up with relative ease. But the adrenaline high from the chase left him worn out, which was why the jolt of shock from running through a wall only hit Alec a second after he'd already run through it.

He did a double take and skidded to a halt, turning to gape at the seemingly solid wall behind him. He didn't even remember what had been on the other side. Then his head snapped around as he tried to regain sight of the werewolf boy. It was harder here – Alec found himself in the strangest city he'd ever been in, where people walked around wearing cloaks and robes, and even waving what looked like wands. Half-convinced he was dreaming, he spotted the boy again and followed at a distance, slower now as he dodged people and tried not to stare. Nobody gave him a second glance, to his relief, and the boy walked more slowly now, apparently convinced he had lost his pursuer.

What with finding the freak werewolf, chasing it, getting bitten, walking through a wall, and being in a city full of what might just be wizards and witches, Alec thought this must be the weirdest night of his life, dream or not. He wondered if he was crazy.

With a few furtive glances, werewolf boy let himself into a small cottage, which was lit by a single gnarled candlestick. Alec waited outside the door with bated breath and wide eyes, choking back a gasp when the boy pulled out a wand of his own. He pointed it at a dust-covered, ancient-looking fireplace.

"Incendio," he murmured, and a fire sprang to life.

The boy reached into a small cauldron of powder on the mantelpiece and threw it into the flames, which turned a bright acid green. Alec's eyes widened as he stepped calmly into the fire.

Werewolf boy opened his mouth.

Realization dawned on Alec's face.

"Diagon Alley," said the boy.

Alec leapt into the fireplace and clamped his fingers around the boy's hand.

He had one last look at the cottage's interior, now tinted with a green glow; the boy's face, wearing an incredulous expression; and then everything went dark.