Sorry for the wait but I had a Spanish paper due :P. I tried to make this one long to make up for it. Thank you so much for the reviews! I feel loved. Really. ;)
Chapter 7
Maryse was surprisingly forgiving about Alec's failure to call. Her voice sounded calm, almost tired over the phone when she sighed, "It might be nice if you stop by today, though."
"What for?" Alec asked sitting down on Magnus's bed.
"I want to talk more about this warlock girl you found. Isabelle mentioned the girl was Magnus Bane's sister. I'd like for you to bring Magnus and the girl to the Institute later."
"I don't know if that's such a good idea just yet. Katherine's been under a lot of stress that she's not used to, and she's a little unsteady. It might scare her if we take her to the Institute. I think it might be better if we waited."
The phone line crackled as Alec's mother heaved a huge sigh. She paused for moment. "Then I'll come to her. I'll be there in half an hour."
The line went dead.
Alec's heart sank. The first time he'd spent the night at his boyfriend's house his mother decides to invite herself over to interrogate his boyfriend's adopted sister. He snapped the cellphone shut, squeezing it in his hand.
"Is everything okay?" That was Magnus's voice. Alec whirled around to find him standing in the doorway. Magnus's face was full of curious concern.
Alec ran a hand through his hair before explaining. "My mom is coming here. She wants to talk to Katherine."
That curious concern quickly changed to disbelief. "What? She's coming here?"
Nodding curtly, Alec slid his phone into the pocket of his jeans. He'd changed into jeans and a long sleeve shirt, intending to leave after he called his mother, but that plan was obviously winding down the drain like water now.
His finger massaging his temple, Magnus said, "Alright. I'll talk to her. I can't believe you want to interrogate my sister after we've only just been reunited! And she almost died last night, twice."
Uncontrollable agitation gurgled up in Alec; he blurted, "Well, what do you want me to do, Magnus? It's not like I want my mom coming here either!"
The slits of pupil in Magnus's eyes narrowed when his eyes widened. Blinking, he replied with an apologetic tone. "You're right. I know you didn't mean for this to happen." Rubbing tiredly at his neck, Magnus continued, "It would really mean a lot to me if you'd come with me to speak with Katherine. She trusts you. I think it'll make her feel more comfortable if you're there."
"Okay." Alec started toward the door, but Magnus didn't move out of the way. Instead, he snaked an arm around Alec's waist, pulling him closer. Closing his eyes, Alec rested his head on Magnus's bare chest. His partner's warmth made Alec feel unexpectedly safe. For a long moment, Alec felt as if there were nothing else in the world except him and Magnus. He was very reluctant to leave that gentle embrace. But sure enough, Magnus eventually pulled away, placing a tender kiss on the top of Alec's head before he did.
However, though he'd stopped the embrace, he kept hold of Alec's hand. They moved down the hall as a single entity. When they reentered the kitchen, Katherine was still seated at the table, picking absently at the leftover eggs on her plate. She looked up, suddenly full of life, when they came in. Her blue eyes gazed at Alec full of worry. "You didn't get in trouble, did you? I mean, I was the one who wanted you to stay. I'd feel so bad if you got in trouble because of me."
Magnus sat in the chair beside her, coaxing Alec down into the seat next to him. As he settled himself, he assured her, "Honey, you weren't the only one who wanted Alexander to stay last night." He winked at Alec who blushed furiously.
Alec turned his attention on the younger girl. "I didn't get in trouble. Don't worry. But, if it's okay with you, my mom wants to come over and talk with you for a little while."
A wary glint appeared in Katherine's eyes. "What about?"
"Just about the lab. She wants to help the others who are still in there."
At that, Katherine's face brightened. "Then I want to help too! I'll try to remember everything I can. I hope there are some things that I can tell you that will help. Some of the people in there are my friends…" She trailed off, lost in her memories.
Without thinking about what he was doing, Alec reached across the table and placed his hand comfortingly on Katherine's smaller one. "We'll get them out. I promise." He had no idea what made him say it, but the way the girl's expression looked, he just had to make her feel better. The other hand, still clenched in Magnus's grasp, got a grateful squeeze from him.
A few minutes later, Katherine vacated the kitchen to shower and change. When she left, Magnus turned to Alec and said, "I figured out why she collapsed last night."
Surprised, Alec asked, "What was it?"
"Do you remember when she was relating her story to us; she said that right before they put her in the vehicle they injected her with something?"
Alec fought to recall this tiny bit of information. "I think so. Do you think they wanted to cover their tracks by injecting her with a chemical time bomb?"
Magnus nodded, his sharp features full of certainty. "After you were asleep, I left to check on her. While I was in there I decided to do a quick, simple checkup of her health. Other than her malnutrition, I found nothing wrong with her except there were traces of the chemical that humans use to euthanize pets. The only reason it didn't affect her right away is because of the demon blood in her. It diluted the poison so that it couldn't take effect for several hours."
"Is there any way it could affect her now?"
"No. That potion you gave her cleared her system. She'll be fine."
Suddenly, a white blur exploded into the room, shot up Magnus's leg and came to rest in his lap.
Chairman Meow was clawing at the fabric of Magnus's pants to make them more comfortable. "Oh no you don't, you little devil. I swear, every outfit I own has a tufty little patch of threads coming out of it because of you," Magnus scolded. He cupped the kitten in one hand and set him on the table. A grin teased Alec's lips as he watched the pair. Magnus scratched affectionately behind Chairman Meow's ears as the little cat purred in satisfaction.
A few minutes later, there was a soft padding sound as Katherine walked back into the room. Magnus and Alec look around in unison, their jaws dropping. Katherine's almost-blond hair fell around her shoulders in oddly beautiful, wet straggles. The flowing, yellow sundress that hung nearly to her knees made the warm browns of her skin stand out, and the blue of her eyes seemed to have become clearer. She looked like the sun and the sky and the earth all bundled up into one. Alec may not have found girls to his liking, but he could still tell when they were pretty. At the moment, Katherine was beyond pretty. She was gorgeous.
Magnus stood up, letting go of Alec's hand, and moved to grabbed Katherine's instead. Bashfully she looked to the ground, but with one hand, Magnus turned her chin upwards. "You're beautiful. Don't ever hide that," he muttered wistfully. Chuckling lightly, he twirled her around, making her dress billow out like rays of sunshine.
"Am I really beautiful?" she asked quietly.
"You are radiant, Katherine," Alec reassured her. A blush seeped into her cheeks, making Alec smile fondly.
The moment was magnificent, but it had to end. The doorbell chimed, and Magnus's cat eyes flashed to meet Alec's.
Heaving an enormous sigh, Alec told himself, Here we go!
Rain pattered lightly on the concrete as Maia strolled through the Brooklyn streets. She'd decided against bringing an umbrella on her way to Simon's house; a decision which she now regretted. Her jeans, hair, navy blue jacket, and "I could be gaining levels right now" T-shirt were soaked through, making spasms of shivers rattle up and down her spine.
A white van splashed through a muddy puddle, washing her in dirty rainwater as it passed her and turned the corner. "Perfect," she grumbled to herself. Her day hadn't been the best, and Maia was ready to relax and play videogames with Simon.
Stepping out into the street, Maia felt the cellphone in her back pocket vibrate. As she fished her phone out, she looked at the caller ID. It was Simon. She flipped the silver phone open, her finger poised to press the answer button, and voice sounded just ahead of her.
"Could you help me, please?" The voice came from an older woman, in her fifties maybe. She was dressed all in black and held an umbrella low over her head, hiding her face. "Please. I seem to have dropped my glasses. I'm simply blind without them."
Pocketing the phone, Maia replied, "Sure, Ma'am. Did you drop them around here?"
"Yes. Thank you so much. You're such a dear."
Maia crouched down, searching the ground for the woman's glasses. "It's no problem, Ma'am."
"I feel so foolish. I took them off to clean them and they slipped from my fingers."
"Accidents happen, nothing to beat yourself up about—" Maia's voice caught in her throat when a very sharp something jabbed into the side of her neck, hard.
Before she could make a sound, her eyesight began to dim as she drifted into unconsciousness like floating on a river of ice.
