Hey guys! Another update! Thank you thank you thank you for the wonderful reviews I love every one who reviewed and I really appreciate it guys! Okay, so at approximately 3,280 words, this is the longest chapter I have ever written in my entire life. I hope you like it.
Disclaimer: these wonderful characters aren't mine, they are CC's.
"Alright," said Magnus, "what can you tell me about the house?"
They were sitting in the local library, at one of the circular tables in the back of the room behind the large shelves of books. Magnus was relaxed in his chair, gazing at the two teenagers with cool interest. His arms were crossed behind his head, looking as though he were sunbathing in the fluorescent lights above him.
Clary and Sherman – Magnus was fairly sure those were the names, anyway – blinked back at him. They were making no attempt to answer him. Magnus sighed and looked over at his other companions. Catarina had brought her laptop, and was furiously typing at a different table a few feet away from Magnus; her eyebrows were furrowed in concentration. Ragnor leaned over her, watching contently.
At another table was Alec, hunched down over a book, his hair slightly in front of his eyes. He hadn't had any classes since it was 4:00 on a Friday afternoon, and had insisted he come along. Magnus mentally envisioned himself getting bored with these two kids (that part wasn't really imagination) and walking over and sitting down next to him. Magnus would suavely brush his hair back, earning a look of surprise and most likely an adorable blush. They would engage in small talk, their mission all but forgotten. The laugh that Magnus had gotten the pleasure of hearing occasionally over the past few days would make the boy's beautiful blue eyes sparkle and would echo in Magnus's ear. At which point Magnus would not hold back any longer, and lean in and…
He shook himself out of his little fantasy. He really had to control himself. Clary and Sylvester were looking at him funny. Magnus cleared his throat and composed himself, straightening up. "Well?"
"It's been there since…at least the 1800s," Clary said. "The house, I mean. It's big and scary, and no one ever goes up there." She shrugged.
"I totally knew it was haunted," said Sean. Clary dug her elbow into his ribs. "Ow! Okay, that doesn't really help – "
"We'd heard stories," said Clary, "all our lives."
"What were the stories?" Magnus asked, slightly distracted because Isabelle and Max had returned from exploring, going over to their brother. Isabelle sat down in the spot Magnus had sat in during his fantasy. They talked in hushed voices, and Magnus would give anything to be a part of the conversation.
"Some witch lived there," Sherman said. "She hung herself in that big black tree in the front yard. One of my friends told me she sacrificed her husband to Satan." He looked uncomfortable. Magnus felt the same way. He'd always felt uneasy when it came to sacrificial rituals, whether it was animals or, more rarely but not uncommon, people. He felt a shudder run through him.
"Magnus," Catarina called. He looked up and met her uneasy gaze. Ragnor looked the same way. Magnus gulped. "Come here."
Magnus got up slowly and walked to their table, stopping next to Ragnor and facing the computer screen. There was an old black-and-white photo of a big house in the woods, looking slightly ragged. Upon further inspection, Magnus realized it was Alec's house. The caption at the bottom read Hastings Residence, August 4th, 1829. "Wow," he murmured. "It was in worse shape even before it was abandoned. Does that say 1829?"
"Yes," said Ragnor. "That's when the picture was taken." He rolled his eyes, clearly annoyed that Magnus didn't have enough sense to figure that out.
Magnus blew out an annoyed breath. "I got that, thanks."
"Stop it, you two," Catarina warned. "Listen to this, Magnus." She pointed at the screen as she spoke. "It says that Elijah and Theodosia Hastings were found dead on August 3rd, 1829. They found Theodosia hanging from a very poorly tied noose in a tree in their front yard." She looked back at Magnus with something in her eyes that Magnus couldn't really place. Ragnor put a hand on her shoulder and squeezed. Interesting, Magnus thought, but that didn't really matter at the moment.
"Is…is that what you saw? The other day?" Catarina said nothing, and that clued Magnus in.
"Anyway," said Catarina, shaking herself off. "They found Elijah inside the house, his throat slit, and surrounded by different symbols and a lot of candles. There was a kitchen knife a few feet away from him." She scrolled down to a picture of the crime scene. It was black and white, but Magnus could still make out the different symbols. There was a body on the floor right next to a fireplace, and it looked like there were symbols on the floor under him. Actually, he looked as though he were lying on a pentagram.
Magnus shuddered. "Well, that proves that what Seamus was telling me is actually true."
Ragnor looked at him. "Who's Seamus?"
"Never mind that," Catarina snapped, her patience visibly wearing thin. "This isn't even the worst part." She gestured wildly at the screen. "Take a look at this." She scrolled down even further.
She came upon a picture of a man and a woman, dressed in old farmer's clothing, looking sinister at the camera, or whatever took the picture. The man was slightly taller than the woman. Even though the man had an arm around the woman's waist, they seemed distant. "Oh look," Magnus drawled. "They make such a happy couple."
"Look closer, Magnus," Catarina urged. Magnus leaned down to get a closer look. "Recognize anybody?"
Magnus gasped and grabbed blindly at the back of Catarina's chair, looking for something to brace himself. The man in the photo…the black hair (or at least Magnus assumed it was black)…the high cheekbones…the full lips… The man in the photo was…
"Alec," Magnus breathed.
Alec's sister squeezed his hand. His younger brother leaned his head on his shoulder. His adoptive brother leaned against the window, obviously wishing Clary was here. Magnus watched as no one moved, and it scared him.
He'd just told Alec what they'd found at the library. Alec didn't say a word; he only stared off into space. Isabelle looked up at Magnus. "Is that why he's being targeted? Because he looks like this Elijah guy?"
Magnus didn't answer. He kept thinking about that photo. They had printed it off before they left the library. Should he show Alec? Ask if that was the woman he saw? He dug around in his pocket and pulled out the crumpled up picture. He handed it to Alec, but Isabelle snatched it from his hand and unfolded it. She swallowed and handed the photo to Alec. He gazed at it for a long time, and Magnus really wanted to comfort him. Jace blew out a breath. "We need to get out of here. Just being here gives me the creeps. I told you, Alec, this was a bad idea."
"Jace," Isabelle said.
"No, he's right." Alec said softly.
"I usually am," said Jace. "Why you people never listen to me, I don't know."
Isabelle stood up and pointed a finger at her adopted brother. "Shut up, Jace. No one needs your snarky comments right now, especially not Alec!"
Magnus turned his head when he heard something go thump upstairs. It was probably Catarina and Ragnor, who were rooting around the rooms. It was close to dark now, and they had better either get going or set up for the night. But Jace was right (as much as Magnus didn't want to admit): the Lightwoods needed to get out of the house before something bad happens.
He heard the staccato thump of feet hurrying down the stairs, and Catarina's head appeared in the doorway, giving Magnus a look that said to follow her. Magnus gave a short nod and took a step forward. Alec must've caught either her look or his nod, because he got up and went out the door and started up the stairs. Magnus practically ran to catch up with him, grabbing his arm and pulling him backwards. "Are you sure you can handle what might be up there?" he asked in a low voice. Alec looked at him, but his eyes were unfocused. Magnus let go and he hurried up the steps.
Catarina and Ragnor were in Isabelle's room, standing around her vanity. Catarina looked up and handed Magnus a tiny black and white picture. "They had a daughter," she said gravely.
"But… The article didn't say anything about a kid," said Magnus, looking down at the picture. The girl was about seven or eight, in a little white gown. She was also barefoot. She did look rather familiar, though…
Alec leaned over Magnus's shoulder to look at the picture in his hand. Magnus turned his head slightly, his nose almost brushing Alec's hair. He smelled like soap and, mmm, mint. He heard Alec make a little sound, like a distressed cat, and bolted from the room. Magnus ran after him, dropping the photograph.
When Magnus finally caught up with Alec, he'd made it all the way down the hill, and was now sitting on the sidewalk, facing the road in the dark. Magnus paused a moment, looking at the scared boy in front of him.
Alec had his knees pulled up to his chest, his head resting on them. He was rocking slightly, and Magnus could hear little sobs. He went over to him and silently sat down on the sidewalk. For a long while they said nothing.
Alec's head became visible in the streetlight when he finally brought it back up. He looked in Magnus's direction and jumped back. Evidently, he hadn't noticed Magnus was there. This gave Magnus the odd feeling of being a creepy stalker.
"Sorry," Magnus said when Alec finally caught his breath. "I should've announced my presence." He chuckled, but it died when he saw Alec's expressionless face.
Alec shook his head and stared at the black road. There were hardly any cars going by, despite it being only about 7:00. "The picture…" Alec whispered.
"What about it?" Magnus asked. "It seemed to thoroughly freak you out."
"It just…" he blew out a breath. "It looked exactly like Isabelle when she was that age." He looked at Magnus. "Maybe I'm being stupid, maybe they don't have any relation, but…"
Magnus reached out, hesitated, but then put his hand on Alec's shoulder. It might've been his imagination, but he could've sworn he felt a shiver run through Alec's body. Or maybe it was his own…
"I don't know," Magnus answered honestly. "I really don't know how we're going to get you through this, but believe me, we are going to do anything we can."
Magnus looked in Alec's eyes, then let his own eyes travel down his perfectly chiseled face and rested on his full lips, parted slightly and so full of possibilities that could alter their future forever. Magnus didn't know if he was doing it, or if Alec was, but somehow their faces were getting closer to each other. Just when Magnus thought his fantasy was (more or less) coming true, Magnus's cell phone rang.
Alec jumped back. Magnus silently put a curse on whoever was calling. May their love life always be as complicated as his. He looked down and found that Catarina was calling. Well, even without a curse her love life was complicated, so mission accomplished. "What do you want, Catarina?"
"Magnus, you and Alec had better get back."
"What? What's going – " But Catarina was gone. She'd gotten into the habit of hanging up the phone without warning.
Magnus stood up, and Alec stood with him. "They need us," Magnus said shortly. Together they ran back up the hill to the house.
When Magnus opened the door, a picture almost took his head off. It smashed against the door, and glass trickled onto the floor. Alec made a little sound and pushed past Magnus to get inside. He went into the living room where the source of the screams was. Magnus jogged into the living room after him.
In the room, the people they had left were all cuddled in a far corner of the room. Ragnor and Catarina were in front of Jace and Isabelle. Max was hidden and couldn't be seen behind Izzy.
All around the room, things were flying by themselves. The cameras Ragnor had set up were smashing into walls. Pillows from the couch were whirling around, occasionally hitting Ragnor in the face. Under any other circumstances, Magnus would've thought it was funny.
Things started zipping around the room faster. The furniture started tipping over, and then slamming into walls. The TV came off its stand and smashed into the far wall, just over the terrified group's heads. Black shards rained down on them.
Alec started, but then was thrown back against the wall behind him. Magnus was sure he heard something crack, whether it was the wall or Alec's back, he wasn't sure. Alec had a pained expression, so it must've been his back.
"Alexander!" said Magnus, and tried to move into the room, but it was like there was a force field surrounding the room, blocking him out.
The flying objects seemed to be picking up speed for a moment, and then everything went still. The things in the air dropped to the ground, as if someone had just flipped the gravity switch. Everything was eerily quiet. Alec had slid down the wall, and was now on the floor, taking a moment to recover. Magnus found that he was now able to move, and went to help Alec stand. With a wince of pain, he stood, nodded thanks to Magnus, and went to his siblings, who had now come out of their tight little huddle.
Max immediately went for Alec, wrapping his small arms around his waist. Alec was talking in low voices with Jace and Isabelle. Catarina walked over to Magnus, pausing only to take a brief look back at Ragnor, who was looking mournfully down at his broken camcorders.
"What caused this?" Magnus asked.
Catarina shook her head. "I don't know. I guess it was Theodosia."
"What do we do, Cat? It is obviously getting more violent. We can't let this get out of hand. We need to do…something!" Magnus ran his hands through his hair.
Without another word to him, Catarina walked over to the Lightwoods. Magnus followed hesitantly. "Is everyone okay?" she asked gently. There were some nods. " I think, maybe until we get this under control, that you need to leave."
"Leave the house?" Jace asked.
Catarina gave a nod. "It would be safer. This…entity is trying to weaken Alec, make him more susceptible for possession. It seems it is going about that by trying to hurt his family. I think it would be best that you all leave. Tonight," she added. They glanced at each other. "I'll leave you to think about it." She turned and went to help Ragnor collect his broken cameras. Magnus could hear Ragnor sniveling, and wanted to slap him. This wasn't about him.
The Lightwoods conferred quietly among themselves. Magnus found himself thinking about he and Alec's almost-kiss, and found himself wondering if that opportunity would ever present itself again. He desperately wanted it to, sometime – but hopefully not too far – in the future.
Almost as if he knew Magnus was thinking about him, Alec looked up at Magnus. There was a question in his clear blue eyes. Do you think we should leave? they seemed to ask. Magnus gave a reluctant nod, making a mental reminder that if this is the last time he were to see Alexander Lightwood in the near future, track him down and ask him out. Whatever it takes, because Magnus is not about to let this beautiful broken boy slip through his fingers.
"Alright," said Alec. "Get your stuff. We'll check into a motel."
Then something odd happened. Right before Magnus's eyes, strands of Isabelle's hair began to rise in the air. Alec's eyes widened. "Izzy – " Jace said. He held out a hand to her, but she was out of his reach before he could get to her.
By her hair, she was dragged on the floor in Magnus's direction, but just before she got to him she was pulled sharply away, and slammed against the wall, her screams echoing through the house. She went flying to the back wall, over Catarina and Ragnor's heads. Everyone held out hands and chased after her. She was slammed into the far wall over and over again.
Magnus acted. He ran to the kitchen and scrambled about in the drawers, looking for something to cut her hair free. His hands found scissors. He ran back in to find Izzy's screams had gotten worse. Everyone in the room was holding her down, except Max, who was standing in the corner, scared as hell. Magnus felt for the poor kid.
He ran over to where Izzy was on the floor, and he gingerly but hurriedly cut the strands that were being pulled off. The hair fell to the floor, and Isabelle cried into her brother's shoulder. Everything fell quiet again.
Max took a step forward, but Magnus held out a hand. There was broken glass and things everywhere, and the last thing he needed was Max getting hurt too.
The next thing Magnus was aware of was a warm presence next to him. To his surprise, it was Alec. Magnus looked back at Isabelle. Tears were no longer running down her face, but her lip was trembling slightly as she talked with Jace. Magnus looked at Alec. "She's a fighter, huh?"
Alec said nothing, only picked up one of Magnus's hands. "You're bleeding."
Magnus looked down at his hand and found that he was, in fact, bleeding. There was a small cut on the back of his hand, and blood was running out of it. "Oh," he said, rather indifferent. "It must've been when I was rummaging around to find scissors." He shrugged. "It's going to take a lot more than a little scratch to kill me."
Pulling Magnus along, Alec walked out of the living room and into the kitchen, where he dropped Magnus's hand and went through a few drawers, looking for something. A few seconds later, he brought out a small little packet containing Band-Aids. He took one out and carefully put it on Magnus's hand. Magnus let out a little chuckle. "Thank you. You know I – "
Magnus was interrupted when Alec's hand went to his cheek, and Alec pressed his lips to his. He stood there, shocked for a moment that Alexander Lightwood was standing in his kitchen, kissing him, right after they had a freaking paranormal episode, or whatever it's called, Magnus couldn't form a coherent thought at this point. Alec started to pull away, maybe because Magnus wasn't kissing back. Magnus couldn't have that, now, could he? He kissed Alec back, his lips moving with Alec's, their teeth and tongues clashing together. Alec was maybe and inch shorter than him, and they fit together like pieces of a puzzle. Magnus placed a hand on Alec's chest, just above heart. He could feel it beating wildly.
Then just like that, it was over, and Alec took a small step back, but was still close enough that Magnus could feel Alec's warm breath blowing on him. "Thank you," Alec whispered quietly. Magnus swallowed, a little out of breath.
Alec slipped past him and went back into the living room, leaving Magnus standing there, frozen. He put a hand to his tingling lips, his heart at about the same speed as Alec's. What the hell just happened?
I feel a bit like Magnus when it came to this ending. I have no idea where it came from; that was not how I imagined the first Malec kiss for this story at all, but I just started writing, and I didn't stop. *bites lip and looks around* Really hope you liked the chapter. Review please (I'm at 35, and couldn't be happier. Then again, I could if I get in the 40s) XD
