I know. I'm sorry. I've had a staggering amount of exams and coursework recently.
Chest heaving, Chairman Meow fell into the over-stuffed armchair. He and Alec had run all the way from the Institute to the apartment and he was personally amazed neither of their legs had fallen off.
But then, he had seen the look in Alexander's eyes. Not even a hoard of Moloch Demons could have stood in his way.
From where he was slumped, Chairman could see through the bedroom door Alec hadn't had the mind space to close behind him. The dark haired shadowhunter had just run, focusing all his being on reaching his home and now he was there, standing in the dim glow of the lamp he and Magnus had left on in their rush that morning.
Magnus...
The flood he'd been holding back suddenly overwhelmed him, sweeping him away and his legs out from under him.
At some point Chairman Meow had shifted back into his feline form and managed to worm his way between the sequinned scarves and leather straps to curl around Alec's shaking bicep. But Alec stayed where he'd landed, cushioned on the small mountain of Magnus' clothes, until the sun began to filter through the fluorescent curtains.
Crash.
A plate slipped and brought Alec hurtling out of the bedroom, "Mag?" he cried frantically, scanning the room for the source of the noise.
"Sorry Alec, it's just us" Jace said, looking up from were he was crouched over the shards of one of Magnus' mismatched plates. Clary was stationed by the oven and Izzy was fiddling with a gurgling coffee machine.
"Oh, I thought..."
"We know Alec, we know Magnus is lost" Clary said softly, her expressive eyes watching Alec like she was expecting him to break apart.
But her expectations were disappointed. Right in front of them, Izzy, Clary and Jace saw a transformation.
His shoulders straightened, head came up, hands balled into fists and when his eyes met theirs for the first time since Magnus was taken, there was a fire in them that made even Jace wary.
"He's not lost. He's taken. And I Will Get Him Back."
"We all will Alec, you're not in this alone," said Izzy "you're not the only one who cares about him."
It was Clary who broke the heavy silence surrounding the small family. "We'll find him Alec, but you'll never be able to do it alone on an empty stomach. Eat. We made pancakes."
Alec hesitated, every cell in his body was screaming to get out and find his Magnus, but as usual his head over-ruled his body and so he sat down to eat the admittedly delicious pancakes.
Breath fluttering, Magnus struggled to maintain consciousness. His fingers fluttered against the ropes holding him and the steady drip of his blood onto the concrete was the only sound that reached his ears.
Lilith only knew how long he had been held, but the hunger pangs shaking his frame were the least of his problems.
Robert was smart. He knew how to torture, how to make a person feel as if their whole world had been reduced down to one sensation – pain.
The worst thing was that Magnus knew he would have given anything to make it stop – would have betrayed his closest friend to escape, but there was nothing he could give Robert. The man was delusional, he honestly believed that Magnus had put some sort of spell on his son.
Alexander...
Alec's electrifying eyes were all that Magnus could see from behind his swollen lids. All that had kept him going was the overwhelming need to feel his Alec in his arms again.
But he knew that possibility was long gone. Of course he loved Alec too much to doubt that his love would search for him, but he knew it was hopeless. What son would suspect his own father? It was true Alec distrusted his father, even hated him on occasion, but he wouldn't ever think to consider that Robert was involved. Especially if the evil bastard played his cards right.
The lack of any significant noise or colour unnerved Magnus. For all of his indecently long life, Magnus had surrounded himself with noise and colour as a way to distract himself from the silence eternity he faced alone. Now all he had was the silence. It surrounded him, consumed him and was driving him insane.
Why was this happening to him? All he wanted was to be happy with his Alexander for the too few years they would have together. Why would Robert want to destroy the happiness Magnus was so proud to have brought to Alec's life?
Jealousy? Magnus knew that Maryse and Robert, if they ever were happy, had lost whatever connection they had a long time ago and only stayed together out of convenience and some regard for their children.
No, that didn't fit. Maybe it was just as simple as racism, Magnus wondered. Robert Lightwood couldn't bear the thought that his son had 'betrayed' him by choosing to associate with the likes of Magnus. Add to that the embarrassment of Alec's hugely public 'coming out' and Magnus could almost see how Robert's twisted mind would construct such wild theories of enchantments and coercion to cope with what he saw as a family disgrace.
Magnus was pulled out of his thoughts by the slamming of the door. He snapped his head up, heart sinking to his bare feet as the harsh light was clicked on.
"Robert please..." his strained voice cracked as he wheezed, his throat was incredibly sore, both from the lack of water and the number of screams he had been forced to release over the last however many hours.
"No such luck I'm afraid" The lilting voice came, and as the door swung shut Magnus couldn't hold in his gasp of surprise.
"So Alec, what's our starting point?" Clary asked, leaning across the counter. Izzy looked up from the coffee table and Jace twisted his body from where he was washing up. Clarissa really does have him wrapped around her little finger doesn't she Alec thought. But then, I can't talk, I'd do anything for Mag. I will do anything to get him home safely.
Feeling a little uncomfortable with being the centre of attention, Alec started "Well . . . I think we should start here. As much as I want to get out there, maybe whoever attacked Mag left something behind, or took something."
"That makes sense," Izzy said.
"Yeah" Clary agreed, "we can each take a room, see if anything looks out of place or broken."
"Great. Clary, you look in here, Izzy, the bathroom, Jace, the hall and study and," cough "I'll take the bedroom." Alec instructed.
Sharing one last glance, they all split up to search the various annexes of Magnus' home. The shared thought that none of them would ever voice aloud was how on earth would they know if anything was missing? Magnus' home was a permanent paint spill wrapped in a train wreck.
So, please forgive me for the wait, and please please review. Reviews are an awesome motivation, and with the load of work I've got, Fan Fiction tends to get bumped down the priority list :/ Move it up a notch with a review :)
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