CHAPTER 8: READY TO RAVE
[S1E4 Raising Hell (Part I)]


The five Shadowhunters gathered around a large table at the center of HQ as Hodge stood in front of them, pulling up any and all information on Magnus Bane on the big screen.

Margo leaned against a support pillar whilst Alec and Jace both took seats and Izzy and Clary leaned against the table.

"Magnus Bane," Hodge started, running through some pictures of him. "He's over 300 years old. And, as you can see, he's not exactly shielding away from the pleasures of every century. His tastes are both exquisite and quite excessive."

Clary snorted, crossing her arms. "He looks like the Downworld's David Guetta."

Isabelle smirked, catching Margo's eye before turning to her new redhead friend. "Guetta's already a Downworlder."

"Vampire," Margo cleared up, causing Clary to turn and face her.

"Ever seen him in the daylight?" Izzy rhetorically asked.

Alec rolled his eyes at the girls. "Can you three focus? This is not a joke."

Isabelle's brows furrowed, as did Margo's, when the two glanced down at the older Lightwood. "Someone needs to get slayed," Izzy muttered playfully, winking at Margo.

Her parabatai beamed, pulling Alec's rolling chair out and plopping herself down on his lap. "She's right, you know? You look tense, Alexander."

His arms naturally found their way around her waist as she shuffled, finally finding a comfortable position. She glanced back at Alec, appreciating the pieces of hair by his forehead, framing his face. And, indeed, it was a nice face.

"Alec's right," Hodge informed. "Now, Magnus is one of the most powerful warlocks I've ever known. He has a deep mistrust of Shadowhunters."

Clary groaned. "Well, then why did he help my mom remove my memories? Isn't she a Shadowhunter?"

"Yes, one of the best. But help might not be the most accurate word. Now, did Magnus provide a service for Jocelyn? Perhaps. But more than likely, your mother paid Magnus handsomely for his magic. Warlocks usually require payment before they help anyone with anything."

Alec's index finger traced circles on Margo's thigh as he spoke up from behind her. "Word from the Clave is that most of the warlocks have gone into hiding since Valentine began hunting them."

Hodge hummed. "Valentine must be searching for the warlock. Where did Jocelyn-" He cut himself off, hissing as his rune burned.

Margo's heart raced. "Hodge, your rune. You okay?"

He nodded a bit.

"So, how do we find Magnus?" Clary asked.

Jace took over, leaning back in his seat and staring at the picture of Magnus on the screen. "We don't. Magnus finds us. We'll set up a meeting, somewhere protected. Lure him out of hiding."

"And I know exactly where we do it," Isabelle smiled smugly, taking the tablet away from Hodge and pressing a few buttons. A picture of a flyer for a rave showed up on the large screen. Hodge chuckled, shaking his head.

Margo's jaw dropped. "A Downward rave - I am so in!" she squealed, clapping her hands eagerly. "Parabatai, you did good," Margo complimented excitedly, catching Izzy's eye.

"And where'd you get that?" Alec apprehensively asked.

Izzy shrugged. "During my surveillance of the Downworlders. From what I hear, Magnus likes to party."

"So, I know you said he doesn't like Shadowhunters but Magnus Bane and I are going to get along just fine," Margo concluded, drawing parallels between her and the warlock.

The other Shadowhunters paused for a moment, thinking through this plan. Alec objected, as usual. "He'll never go for it. Not with Valentine trying to kill him."

"Of course he will," Jace saved the rave idea. "He'll blend in. Hide in plain sight."

Clary, however, seemed to be on Alec's side for this one. "I don't know, it seems-"

"Trust me," Isabelle cut off. "If Magnus is coming out of hiding, he's going to one of the biggest parties of the year."

"And so are we!" Margo still loved this idea very much.

Hodge smiled between the two best friends. "Never underestimate Magnus' hedonism. Or his greed," he warned the gang. "Come with me," he directed. Margo stood up from Alec's lap, holding a hand out to him before he took it and followed her.

Hodge led the Shadowhunters to a secluded corner with a rune on the floor. He traced over it with his stele before moving the tile and holding up the necklace beneath it. It was absolutely gorgeous, everyone could tell.

"Is that real?" Izzy whispered, never taking her eyes off the jewel.

Hodge nodded. "A four-karat, unheated Burmese ruby. And this necklace has special meaning to Magnus Bane as it was a gift from him to his then-lover, Camille Belcourt."

"Camille and Magnus were lovers?" Clary asked.

"Warlock gets around," Jace commented, sharing a playful look with the redhead.

Hodge continued, seeing the looks Margo, Isabelle and Clary all gave the ruby. "Magnus bought it in 1857 for the price of his London townhouse. Now, the jewel is enchanted by a spell that alerts the wearer to the presence of demons."

Isabelle held a hand out, outlining the ruby with her manicured nails. "It's so beautiful." She was in a trance, just as the other two girls were.

"Magnus has longed to reunite with this necklace. Offer it to him. He might just take the bait."

Jace nodded. "I'll send Magnus a fire message to arrange the meeting. We have to get to him before Valentine does." He walked away, leaving the others to themselves.

Isabelle grabbed hold of Margo and Clary, the former of whom had a hard time letting go of Alec's hand.

Her parabatai had eventually gotten her out of Alec's hold and into her room. Margo grabbed a chunk of hangers, all holding her party dresses, and made her way to Isabelle's room, where she was holding a pink dress out for Clary.

"Is that what you're wearing to the Downworlder party tonight?" Margo asked the redhead.

Isabelle raised an eyebrow at her best friend. "What's wrong with this?"

"It's very you, Izzy. It's not Clary." Margo's hands rummaged through her hangers until she landed on a sleeveless tight leather black dress. "Here. Try this on."

Clary took the dress from her friend's grip. "You realize, one of these days you two are going to have to tell me where and when."

"Where and when?" Margo asked.

"Where you guys get your spending money and when are you letting me go to a store?" The brunette and her parabatai chuckled.

Clary made her way behind the privacy screen, changing into the dress Margo had handed her. "This is kind of tight," she huffed from behind the screen.

"It's supposed to be," Margo blatantly told her. "Just put it on, Clary."

"Ugh, fine," the redhead puffed, revealing herself after changing. "I don't know, Margo, I think I'm more of a jeans and t-shirt kind of girl."

Upon staring at her friend in the dress, Margo did a double take. "Trust me, Clary, you definitely should be a dress kind of girl because you look hot!"

Isabelle sighed, taking a seat at the edge of her bed. "You're so lucky to have a flat chest," she told Clary, "I can never wear that without a bra." She then turned to Margo. "And you've basically got the best pair of boobs I've ever seen, Go. They're like the perfect size. Alec's a lucky guy."

Margo felt the heat rush to her cheeks. She closed her eyes, sighing as a smile found its way onto her face. "Shut up," she weakly retorted.

"Someone's looking badass," Jace spoke as he knocked on Isabelle's door before entering.

"She cleans up well," Isabelle commented, eyeing Margo, who was rummaging through her dresses for one that would be fitting for tonight. "Come on, Go, we can get ready in your room. Then, I'll go see Alec. He never knows what to wear to these parties either."

The two exited Isabelle's room, each holding a stack of Margo's dresses as they entered her room. After some thought, Margo held two final dresses up for Isabelle to choose. She chose the one on Margo's right, the one her parabatai was hoping she would choose.

It was a color-block spaghetti strap dress, adorned in black and a faded orange color. She matched the dress with a pair of black gladiator sandals.

Her parabatai had gone for a very different look. She wore a white sequined dress with a stylish headpiece and white pumps.

When the two exited Margo's room a half hour later, they were all glammed out and ready to party.

As promised, Isabelle went to see Alec afterwards, leaving Margo to wander the halls, eyeing Clary and Jace as she passed her parabatai's room. Her legs found their way downstairs and into the kitchen where a tub of cookie dough ice cream just happened to be resting in the freezer.

It had a small note on it.

Margo, for you.
- H.

Hodge always knew of Margo's crazed obsession with cookie dough ice cream. It was the first thing she had asked for once she'd settled into the Institute at the age of thirteen. It was what she asked for every week after that. It was the only constant.

As she took a seat at the island, spooning out some ice cream and shoving it into her mouth greedily, her mind explored its many crevices - specifically, the one regarding Margo and Alec's relationship.

It was strained, Margo could feel it. Though they were as close as could be, ever since Clary's arrival, Alec's been closed off to everyone, including his love interest.

Margo gave him space, lots of it, but somehow they kept finding their way back to each other. So, shouldn't that have been what mattered?

She knew that it should've been, but it wasn't. Margo missed their relaxed friendship. It seemed like all Alec cared about now were the rules and what the Clave would think and everything else bothered him. He always snapped at his sister, whether it was about his feelings or his attitude. Izzy didn't deserve that.

Margo's train of thought stopped when Isabelle tapped her on the shoulder, pulling her away from the tub of ice cream and towards the weapons area of HQ. Alec stood in front of a small table, runing arrows. He wore a denim button-up with the sleeves rolled up a bit, something completely different from his casual attire.

He eyed the girls as they closed the space between them. "Pick a weapon. I suggest your whip," he snarled at his sister.

Margo frowned, voicing her concern. "What's wrong with you?"

He looked over at the brunette, his brows furrowing. She'd never acknowledged his mood swings before. "Nothing."

Isabelle scoffed, crossing her arms before making her way to the seraph blades and daggers. "We're going to a Downworlder's rave. You should be a little more excited."

Alec glared at his younger sibling. "It's a mission, not a party."

Izzy shrugged him off, letting her fingers dance over the edge of her blade. "Before Clary got here, every day was the same: go on a mission, kill demons. Go on a mission, kill demons. At least how things are interesting."

Alec lost his top then. "Interesting? Valentine is alive and actively seeking the Cup. He threatens our entire world. And we're helping his daughter, who, by the way, we have no reason to trust. And who showed up out of nowhere. On top of that, we're going to end up overpaying some warlock who may or may not have information we need. So, no, Izzy... I don't find it interesting," he ranted.

Margo silently watched Alec as Izzy reacted. "Okay, whoa. Feel better now?"

"No, I don't," he denied before the smallest of smiles found its way to his face. "Okay, maybe a little."

Margo shook her head slowly, finding a lump in her throat when she tried to speak. This was not the same Alec whom she had fallen for slowly through the course of her time here. This was someone she barely recognized and it frightened her.

Isabelle didn't seem to notice her parabatai's dilemma. She instead advised her brother. "You can't keep bottling things up, Alec. It's only a matter of time before they explode. And not the fun kind of explode."

He ignored her, as he always did, and picked up his bow and arrows. "All right, let's go. And we're not going for the music," he grunted.

"That's what you think," Isabelle smirked before grabbing Margo's hand and following after her brother.