"Magnus?" Alec tried to keep his voice calm. No one had ever bothered to explain the mysterious conversation between Magnus and Catarina, and all had been extremely calm for days. Now Magnus had transformed their apartment back into a dance floor, just as it had been the night Alec had passed out from the tumor.

Before Alec could ask another question, Magnus placed a finger on his lips as he held out his other hand. Alec sighed and gave in, stepping over to dance with Magnus once again. This time, Alec didn't dare close his eyes, wanting to take in every moment, wanting to be aware of everything going on between them. He wasn't aware that he was crying until Magnus bent down and kissed a tear off his face.

They danced for what seemed like mere minutes to Alec before Magnus stopped and began changing the apartment back. Once they were seated on the couch, Magnus began the conversation. Although it was the last thing he wanted to do, he knew in his heart that he would never be any more prepared for it.

"Alexander, darling. I did that because I simply wanted one more romantic moment with you. If I could stop time in that moment, I would. But I cannot, nor can I stop this conversation from happening." Alec stared at him, looking too shocked to form any sort of comment.

"I know you've been all but worrying yourself sick over my conversation with Catarina, and I'm sorry for that, but I needed some time to collect my own thoughts before I brought everything down on you." Magnus reached over to take hold of Alec's hands, and it was obvious that his own hands were shaking. Alec gently squeezed them, and Magnus softly smiled. Yet he couldn't seem to hold Alec's gaze any longer, and when he looked down at their hands, Alec saw a tear appear in his eyes.

"Magnus," Alec's voice was barely above a whisper. "You're scaring me. What's going on?"

Magnus cleared his throat and met Alec's eyes once again. "Catarina has informed me that there is nothing more she can do for me. No amount of magic or medicine can help me now. I have officially been deemed terminal."


Alec was no longer aware of anything Magnus was saying or of anything at all it seemed. His months of carefully maintained composure around Magnus came crashing down. He felt his hands reach up to cover his mouth, he felt Magnus's arms around him. He felt himself melt, he felt himself let go.

Impossibly, he registered what Magnus was saying next. "Alexander, please." His voice was drowning in sorrow of his own, and he buried his face in Alec's hair as he continued speaking. "I know this isn't fair. This is complete bullshit. All of it. But I –" his voice broke and Alec wrapped his arms around him, as though hoping he could make Magnus whole again. It was as though he could feel Magnus breaking, and in the moment he would have given anything to be able to put his arms around Magnus and keep the pieces glued together. "I really need you to be the strong one right now. I'm so sorry."

Hearing the desperation in Magnus's voice, Alec lifted his eyes to Magnus's again. Seeing the pain, the fear on Magnus's face, Alec immediately began to compose himself, and once Magnus realized this, it was his turn to fully break down. He collapsed into Alec, burying his face in Alec's lap this time, violently releasing all the tears he had been keeping inside.

They sat that way for hours, the only noise in the apartment being that of Magnus's muffled sobbing and Alec's occasional "I love you."


That day, neither Magnus nor Alec answered the numerous phone calls or texts they received. By the end of it, Alec has gotten somewhere around 40 texts, and they had both refrained from answering the door even when Jace began yelling.

They had only begun the conversation again when Alec suddenly realized that he was terribly angry. "You promised me." His voice had barely been audible, and Magnus had looked to him in confusion. "You swore to me that you would fight. And now you're just going to give up?"

Magnus was stunned, but he quickly formed a response. "Well, Alec. I do have another choice to make. Catarina says that I can either continue the treatment, in the hopes that something might give. Or I can stop and focus on becoming comfortable – until the end." He could feel the lump in his throat, he could feel how heavy his heart had become.

Magnus flinched away as Alec responded, he was practically screaming, and Magnus could tell that it was taking all of his control to not run out of the apartment altogether. "There has to be something else! There has to be. There's something we can do about it. I'm not giving up. We can't give up. Magnus, please don't give up. Please." Tears began streaming down Magnus's face once again as he heard the desperation in Alec's voice.

Slowly shaking his head, Magnus tried to let Alec down gently, hoping that Alec would simply accept the inevitable. "Please, Alec. I'm so tired. I don't want this to happen any more than you do. But there is nothing else we can do. We've tried everything."

Alec was spared responding when there was a sharp knock on the door for the second time that day. This time, however, the voice that accompanied it was not yelling, and it was not Jace. "Alec, Magnus, please let me in." It was Isabelle, her voice soft and gentle. "Everyone is so worried about you both. Just let me in; I want to help."

Throwing the door open, Alec turned on his sister this time. "Didn't you hear, Isabelle? There isn't anything we can do. You can't help us. No one can. So why don't you spare me the pity party you've come to provide and just get the hell out of here?" His voice was terribly sharp, the cruelty he was throwing at her obvious even in his body language, and Isabelle tried to remind herself that Alec was in pain.

"Alexander!" Magnus gasped, clearly shocked that Alec would treat her that way, no matter how much pain he was in. "She loves you. She's just trying to comfort you please don't do this."

"Comfort?" Alec was staring at Magnus now, his pain evident even in the way he was standing. "How can you possibly think that anyone in this world could comfort me now? You must be insane if you think I'll ever find comfort again. I won't, Magnus. Ever."

There was such a finality to his words that Magnus closed his eyes, willing this to be a nightmare, willing everything to simply disappear. He opened his mouth to reply, but Alec beat him to it. "Don't. Save yourself the breath Magnus. I'm not giving up." As he turned to exit the apartment, Magnus stopped him.

"Where are you going, Alexander? What do you think you could possibly do that Catarina hasn't already tried?"

"If Isabelle will kindly stay here with you, I am going to go see someone who is more powerful than you and Catarina combined," Alec replied without turning around. His voice was set, and Magnus had the sinking feeling that no matter how terrible of an idea this was, there was no convincing Alec to stop.

The feeling of doom continually growing, Magnus forced himself to ask the next question. "Who?"

Alec paused a moment before finally answering, before finally confirming Magnus's worst fears. "Your father."


Finding a warlock had not been the problem, finding a warlock who was willing to help him summon Asmodeus, a Prince of Hell, had been the problem. Eventually, Alec had found one just young enough, just dumb enough, to help him do so.

"What are you saying?" Asmodeus's voice was as cool as it had ever been, as though he were perpetually bored with the universe. He was currently examining his fingernails, as he was in the form of a man, the way Alec had seen him once before.

"You're not listening to me! I told you exactly what I needed!" Alec's voice came out a bit louder than he had intended it to, and Asmodeus wiggled a finger at him, an evil smile playing across his face.

"Now, now little Shadowhunter. Don't get snappy with me. You and I both know that this pentagram will not hold me, although I doubt you told your hired hand that little fact." Alec quickly pushed the guilt away, beyond caring what happened to him any longer. He turned just in time to see the warlock he'd hired running away. Good thing he didn't actually need anything after the summoning.

"You didn't have to do that, you know. He wasn't in any danger. Neither am I." Asmodeus raised an eyebrow, still looking down at his hands. He was daring Alec to speak against him, trying to get him to back down, but Alec held his ground.

Before he could speak again, Asmodeus finally resumed in his same, uninterested voice. "Let me see if I've got this correct then. You had a tumor, and my son was idiotic enough to take it from you because he claims he loves you. Now he's going to die from it; seems to me he's dying from the unfortunate condition of loving you. Love sick, if you ask me. But you want me to heal him? Ha." Alec winced as Asmodeus laughed. "You humor me, Lightwood. Why should I ever do such a thing?"

Alec squared his shoulders and pushed himself further into the nightmare that he knew Magnus would have killed him over. "You should heal him because I will give you whatever you want in return."

Asmodeus looked up from his nails at that, and Alec felt an insane rush of pride at getting the demon to become interested in anything at all. "Is that so?" His voice was still the same as ever, but Alec could see the gleam of intrigue in his eyes. "You're making an awfully dangerous promise there, Shadowhunter."

Nodding, Alec kept his voice steady as he answered. "I know how you work. I was aware of that before I summoned you. Either help me or don't, but I have nothing left to lose."

The smirk on Asmodeus's face only widened. "Oh dear, I wouldn't say nothing. One rarely has nothing left to lose, unless one makes to many deals with the devil, that is."

Alec felt his stomach drop. Was he making the wrong decision? Could he possibly have finally gotten way too far over his head? Asmodeus seemed to sense his hesitation and continued, smirk still in place. "I'll tell you what. I'll make a special deal with you. Something I've never done before. Because you're my son-in-law," he chuckled when Alec flinched at the term. "Because you're family, I will first tell you what I want in return. Then, you can have a couple of days to think it over. If you say no, I will leave you alone. You have my word."

Swallowing everything he had ever been taught, throwing all caution to the wind, desperate for absolutely any sign of hope, Alec answered, "Fine. What are your terms?"

Chuckling once again, Asmodeus delivered the punch, knowing that the situation was fully in his hands. "You and I both know that the only reason I am currently still in this pentagram is because of that silly rune Clarissa gave you mere hours ago. If it weren't for her, I would be out in this world already, administering as much destruction and pain as possible."

He paused, giving Alec time to incline his head, indicating that Asmodeus was not wrong. He had gone to Clary immediately, asking for a way to keep Asmodeus bound in the pentagram, a way to ensure that he would not be released back onto Earth. Magnus had once been painfully clear as to what would happen if his father ever set foot on Earth again. The thought had given Alec some of his first nightmares since childhood.

"I will heal Magnus, no tricks, no deception, and immortality fully intact, you have my word on that. But what I want from you, Lightwood, is my freedom. Release me back into this world once again, and I will do whatever you wish."