A/N: I love writing cliffhangers. Lucky for you, though, here's the next chapter, in the fastest time I've ever posted!

Special shoutout to forbesqueen, your review made me laugh :)It's so amazing to think of people getting that many emotions over my story. Thank you.

Disclaimer: I own nothing and nobody except Archer.

As the red bolt of light shot towards Magnus, he dropped down on his knees, almost to the ground with his head bowed. The bolt hit a demon who had tried to disobey Archer and sneak up behind Magnus, and the demon screeched in agony before exploding in a pile of dust.

After that, the world swirled in utter chaos as the Shadowhunters were revealed. They had used glamour runes to sneak into the building, probably through the still-partly-open door. Then again, maybe not. Knowing Shadowhunters, they most likely had come through the skylight just for kicks.

Dispatching several demons along the way, the Shadowhunters made their way to Lily, trying to reach her before Archer had the chance to –

Archer pulled on the metal rod.

The curtains opened and Lily let out an agonized noise. They were only open for the slightest second, but it was enough to cause her unbearable pain. She slumped over in the chair, passed out.

However, she wasn't dead. The metal rod had been knocked back into place by Magnus when he sprung at Archer. Archer dodged quickly, but his movement allowed Magnus to save Lily's life. The Shadowhunters, having reduced the demons to piles of dust, all went for Archer as well.

Unfortunately, they all went at him from the same side, the side furthest from Magnus, and so it was almost too easy for Archer to make a cage form, its Dark magic-enhanced bars ensuring the Shadowhunters were unable to escape - at least, until Archer was overpowered.

And that was a service Magnus would be glad to perform.

Archer recovered his stance and the two glared at each other, so different from whatever the last few weeks had been. The last few weeks had been lies, all lies.

Archer sneered at Magnus, the expression contorting his face. As horrible as it looked, Magnus almost preferred it to the calmness of before. It meant he had made a chink in Archer's emotional armour. If Archer was afraid, that meant Magnus still had a fighting chance.

They faced each other, neither daring to make the first move. Magnus would, except his recent brush with death at the hands of Archer's power had made him more cautious.

"So," Magnus began, not taking his eyes off of Archer's. "I believe you said something about a backstory? I, for one would really like to hear the reasoning, if there is any, behind this."

"Why should I tell you? I could kill you now," Archer said.

"Why haven't you?" Magnus challenged. "If you keep putting this off, you might as well tell me."

Archer seemed to rethink it, before deciding on the element of surprise, shooting another bolt of crackling red magic at Magnus. Fortunately, Magnus' years of experience served him well again, and he dodged it easily. Archer couldn't surprise him anymore.

Or so he thought. "I won't fail my father," Archer said. "I was born to serve a Greater Demon."

A Greater Demon? That was a shock. Magnus didn't think there had been any living warlocks born of a Greater Demon since him. But Archer said he had been born to serve his father...

"Were you hoping to win his favor?" Magnus said mockingly. "Even after knowing my own experiences with my Greater Demon parent?"

"You fought for the wrong side," Archer spat. "You fought with them!" He gestured to the Shadowhunters. "I am not so weak as to refuse Dark magic."

Magnus snapped, and the battle commenced, both warlocks fighting as best they could. The concrete floor underneath them cracked from the force of so much energy being thrown.

And despite Archer's newly found powers, his inexperience was his downfall. It seemed to take forever, but in the end, it was Archer who found himself pinned to the ground by Magnus.

"Going to kill me?" Archer breathed, and suddenly his eyes looked blue again. Magnus didn't know how he still had the strength to enforce a glamour. He looked even more tired than Magnus felt.

And the trick with the blue eyes? It almost worked. Almost.

But Magnus had fallen for Archer's tricks too many times before.

"No," answered Magnus coolly. "You don't deserve that."

And with that, he punched Archer in the face, a direct hit to the jaw. Archer's head fell back.

The cage evaporated, leaving only traces of black magic behind. Magnus slipped the White Book out of Archer's inside pocket, and felt the power he had been missing return to him.

The Shadowhunters ran to where they lay, and suddenly everything was blurry. Magnus had not expended that much effort in a long time, and there was nobody who would let him draw power from them. As strong hands propped him up and took Archer away, Magnus felt himself fade into blissful unconsciousness.

A/N: Only two chapters left. The next one's a long one – you'll see it later today :)