Authors Note: Hello! See I was much quicker this time, only one week! Finals are coming up for me (OH CRAP) so updates may be more infrequent then they already are. (But I'll try to update) This chapter is dedicated to Mayseal, another anon reviewer who is just positively awesome and reviews a whole bunch! Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter! Happy reading!

Seven

Alec watched Magnus inspect the dead warlock. He was a shrill boy, about Alec's age with an angular nose and eyes that were heavily lidded. He had a swatch of red hair on the top of his head and Alec saw that what marked him as a warlock were two very triangular ears sticking up through his hair. Alec though it must have been unfortunate to have that kind of mark, hard to hide.

"What's wrong with him?" Alec asked softly, putting a light hand on Magnus's forearm. He was not sure how he was going to react.

"Well… I'm not sure." Alec took in Magnus's furrowed brow. Although he tried to look young, and did most of the time his age was apparent on his face. Alec had found that whenever Magnus was feeling sad, or guilty, or missing old times his face would grow long and far away. You could almost see the emotions flash clean across his face. It made him look old.

"Well," Magnus took his eyes off the dead warlock and studied the cupboards and countertops across the room. "usually with young inexperienced warlocks the end up dying in the center of a pentagram, or by the hands of an angry demon. But this boy seems to have died of… I don't even know what to call it? Natural causes? It seems that his body just shut down."

"It just shut down?" Alec looked down at the boy studying his dark blue eyes and blonde lashes. It seemed so hard, so sad to say that a warlock died of natural causes, since it almost never happened that way.

"That's what appears to have happened."

Alec watched as Magnus looked back down at a boy and affectionately ran a hand throw his hair. He had never seen him so... Alec wasn't sure of the word, vulnerable, perhaps? But Magnus was always everything but.

Like a gust of chilling air Brother Abiezer came into the room.

I'm afraid it's time to go. He said, not trying much for politeness. Alec nodded as he walked past him out the door, but Magnus stopped. Looking into his scared, empty face he whispered "Thank you."

"Well," Clary said "that was a bit anti-climactic." She watched Jace scrap chunks of demon off the bottom of his boot with a knife.

"Tell me about it." Isabelle sighed twirling her whip around her wrist. "I was looking forward to a bloody fight. All we get is one sticking demon? Really? That's the best hells got?" Jace chuckled a bit drawing both of their eyes to him. He looked like he always did, strong, fast, loving, golden. It was hard for Clary to believe that just a couple of hours ago he had been in a demonic rune induced coma.

"What's so funny?" Isabelle asked defensively.

"Nothing Izz, just you begging for demons." Jace smirked at her and Clary's lips tweaked up. It was good to see him back to his normal, teasing self. Isabelle got up from where she was perched on a crate outside the front doors of the warehouse.

"I am not begging for demons. Don't act like you never just have the feeling of wanting to fight." She sat back down and crossed her legs contently.

"Of course I do. I just don't go begging for demons."

"You know what Jac-"

"Enough you two!" Clary jumped up in between them. "How did you even grow up in the same house?"

"It required a lot of earplugs." Jace said

"And a lot of pillows to punch." Isabelle glared at him. Clary looked back and forth between them. Maybe this wasn't exactly what she had in mind when she wanted Jace to get back to normal.

"Don't you think we should go and check out the inside of the warehouse? Maybe there's something hiding." Clary said putting her hands on her hips. Jace looked up at her, eyebrows raised as if the idea hadn't even occurred to him yet. Oh, he mouthed.

"That's what I was about to say!" Isabelle said and marched up to the front doors. They were now splayed wide open with demon blood spreading across them. The inside, though was dark.

Jace and Clary quickly formed a triangle behind her, flanking her sides and back. Jace gave her a little smile right before they ducked inside the room. She barley caught it, but was happy to see it there. As soon as it was though it was gone and they were inside. Jace switched on the lights and Clary could see a pentagram was drawn out in the middle of the floor. There were five tall statues surrounding its points. That was to be expected though.

What surprised them most was what was around the pentagram. Bodies of werewolves, vampires, fey and warlocks were sprawled in uncomfortable angles all around the room. Blood dripped down the walls. Puddles that were once vampires splotched the floors, tuffs of werewolf fur dotted the room, and bits of wings and leaves were swirling through the stark air. It was like nothing they had ever seen before. It could only be compared to one of the many battles that had involved Valentine. But this was so much more… gory, disgusting, and just completely unbearable.

Clary had to hold back the scream in the back of her throat.