New month, new chapter! I really hope you like it! There's a new character, so let's see how that goes...

Psst...Read the end-notes ;)

Chapter 10

Alec was sitting next to Magnus, laughing like crazy at some ridiculous poem they had found in a book. Their relationship had improved considerably since the day they had played that silly dice game. They were more comfortable around each other, more at ease with one another.

They were with Raphael and Ragnor at Magnus's quarters. The other two pirates were lost in their respective activities. Raphael rereading Jonathan's book to see if something different showed up, and Ragnor looking for islands on the map in hopes of finding the one they were looking for.

"I'm telling you, Alexander, this guy really took it to another level." Magnus said. "I know that poets use metaphors because they have to describe indescribable feelings, but this guy is just ridiculous, like, who on earth uses the-"

Raphael snapped the book shut, interrupting Magnus. "We need to see a Sea Witch." He said.

"Raphael!" Magnus exclaimed.

Alec looked around, confused. Ragnor's eyes looked as if they were about to pop out of their sockets and Magnus's gaze was murderous.

"What?" Raphael said, shrugging as if he didn't know why Magnus was mad at him all of a sudden. "It's true, we told you a few days ago, but you would not listen."

Alec was confused. He didn't know what they were talking about and he needed answers. "What did you tell him? And why have you all been hiding things from me?"

"We-we haven't been hiding things from you." Ragnor intervened. "We just hmmm, weren't sure if what we thought this particular line said was true or not, right, my love?"

"Yeah, so we informed Magnus about it and he said that regardless of what it said, we would not visit any Sea Witch, what I don't get is why."

"I told Ragnor why." Magnus said. He sounded angry, as Alec had never heard him before.

"That's not enough reason." Raphael complained.

"What reason? Why don't you want to go see the Sea Witch?" Alec asked. He wasn't understanding anything. He felt as if he were being left in the dark—again.

"You just don't go and ask help from a Sea Witch, Alexander."

"Why not?" Alec and Raphael asked at the same time.

"Because asking for their help always means more trouble. Believe me, I know."

Alec frowned. "Why do we need a Sea Witch? Show me the line."

Raphael took Jonathan's book from the table and opened it where the story about Raziel's treasure was described, pointing to the very last line. "You don't read Latin, do you? Never mind...here. See?"

Alec leaned over to read. Of course he couldn't read it, for him, the line was just a bunch of letters and symbols mixed together.

"This line, we thought it said something different, but now we know that it says we can track the treasure with a potion brewed by a Sea Witch. There aren't many left, but fortunately for us, Magnus knows one."

"More like unfortunately." Magnus murmured under his breath.

"Then we have to go!" Alec exclaimed excitedly. "If we can track the treasure like that, then we must go!"

Raphael and Ragnor turned around to look at Magnus, who just kept shaking his head vigorously.

"Why not?" Alec asked tentatively. He had never seen Magnus so reluctant to do something.

"Remember the story I shared with you the first day we sailed together after we had that incident with the sword?"

Alec nodded, blushing a little.

"I told you Valentine had asked a Sea Witch for help," Magnus continued, "the only Sea Witch I know is the same one that helped Valentine. She betrayed me and helped that lunatic pirate contact hmmm, someone from the underworld...and that was how he got hold of the Danube. She's the reason I lost my ship in the first place."

Alec gave Magnus a sympathetic smile. Now he knew why the pirate was so reluctant to go. "Can't we go see another one?"

"As we already said, there aren't many available." Ragnor said. "Besides, consulting them isn't cheap, so unless you've brought with you enough gold to buy an entire fleet, I don't see how we're going to be able to pay for a potion."

Alec sighed. That was a problem because none of them had any money, what little gold Alec had brought with him when all this started was completely gone. He already had spent it all. "I know you're hesitant to go." He said, looking at Magnus. "And I understand why, I mean, she's the reason why Valentine was able to get help to steal your ship, and that's unforgivable. But think about this...she owes you, Magnus. If what you all say is true and Sea Witches aren't cheap, then she is our only option. She's indebted to you, you could convince her to make this potion for us for free. After all, it's the least she could do for you after what she did."

"Alexander…"

"Please, Magnus." Alec begged. "We've looked everywhere. We only have two weeks left before the solstice and the island could be on the other side of the world. We would never get there on time to catch Valentine if we find it last minute...please?"

"Fine." Magnus said, taking a deep breath. "Ragnor, please instruct the men. You know where we have to go."

"Right away." The pirate said, standing up and leaving the room.

"Thank you." Alec said.

"Don't thank me, I still think this is a bad idea." Magnus said, walking out of the room too.

"He's angry." Alec pointed out, when Magnus closed the door behind him.

"Ciertamente," Raphael shrugged, "but give him some hours and he'll come around, he always does."

o-o-o-o-o

Magnus was anxious. There were literally millions of reasons why he didn't want to go see that certain Sea Witch and now that they were close to her cave, he was remembering them all at once. He hadn't lied when he had said that asking a Sea Witch for help was always a bad idea, but what worried him the most was not that, but the fact that in going to see her, the truth that he had so adamantly tried to hide, could come out.

His relationship with Alec had changed in the last few days and it was true that Magnus cared about him more than he dared to express aloud. They had a connection, something that Magnus had never had with anyone before and he was aware that this little detour on their course could ruin it completely. If Alec learned the truth about the treasure, he would go and leave him, and Magnus was selfish enough to not want that...at least not yet. They still had to explore what was going on between them...right?

"When we arrive only Ragnor and I will go." He announced.

They were a few miles away from the island where the witch's cave was hidden. It was a very small portion of land that emerged from the water in the form a shell.

"I want to go!" Alec immediately protested.

"It's better if it's just us. She's very...manipulative. She plays with people's minds. Ragnor and I have some experience with her."

"You know her too?" Alec asked, looking at Ragnor.

"Not really, I met her once, when Valentine sold us after getting the Danube. He had to pay her with some souls or something. Fortunately, she didn't pick me or else I'd be dead."

"I still want to go." Alec said. "I don't care if-"

"Enough, Alexander! I said only Ragnor and I will go and that's an order." Magnus said. He had no time to waste arguing with this stubborn man. If he had to chain him to the ship to keep him away from that witch, he would do it.

"Fine." Alec said, rolling his eyes and storming out to his cabin.

"Keep an eye on him for me, okay, Raphael?" Magnus said.

"No soy tu niñera."

"Raphael...please."

"Fine, but if your boy toy does something stupid, don't blame me."

Magnus just nodded and headed toward the longboat that the men had prepared for them. Ragnor followed him, and together they started rowing toward the island. It was at a far distance, but they both had strong arms, and Magnus needed the time to collect his thoughts and relax a bit.

"You still love her?"

"What?" Magnus asked distracted.

"Are you still in love with her?"

"Me? No, of course not. I got over her a long time ago, I'm just resentful. She helped Valentine to get the Danube."

"Then, why the long face?"

"I-I didn't want her to tell anything to Alec about the treasure, god knows how much she already knows."

"You really care about him, don't you?"

Magnus didn't reply and just secured the boat near the mouth of the cave. The sun was setting, so they needed to have it close just in case things didn't go as planned.

"Does it matter?" He questioned.

"It matters if what you feel changes the plan."

"The plan is still the same." Magnus said. He was trying to come up with something to avoid sacrificing Alec, but until then, he knew it was best to follow what they had planned from the beginning.

Magnus and Ragnor entered the cave. It was as dusty and smelly as ever, and the familiar path of shiny rocks gave Magnus goosebumps. The last time he had been there, he had left with a broken heart and a promise to never set foot in there again.

Yet there he was, breaking his promise because a pair of beautiful eyes had said please.

"I knew you'd come back." A voice, coming from behind a curtain of small seashells, said. "How long has it been?" She asked, walking toward them. "A hundred years?"

"One hundred and ten." Magnus said, looking again at the face of his past lover: Camille Belcourt—the Sea Witch. She hadn't aged a bit, not that Magnus was expecting anything different, Sea Witches were immortal, but it was still a bit shocking to see her after all this time. Over the years Sea Witches tended to take many shapes, but Camille had always loved her human form. She was very pretty, Magnus couldn't deny that. Too bad he couldn't say the same of what was hidden behind such beauty. The woman was rotten inside.

"Well, one hundred, one hundred and ten...it doesn't matter. We're reunited at last."

"I didn't come here voluntarily."

"Aww, are you mad at me for what happened with the Danube?"

"What do you think?"

"It was all business, dear, nothing personal."

Magnus just rolled his eyes. He wasn't going to start arguing with her. He hadn't agreed to come for that.

"Ragnor." She exclaimed, finally acknowledging the other pirate. "It's been a while too. I see you're still loyal to your captain. You were in your teens when I last saw you. Years look good on you."

"Thank you." Ragnor said, blushing a little with the sudden compliment.

"And to what do I owe this lovely visit?"

"We need you to brew a potion for us." Magnus said, trying to shorten the visit as much as possible.

"Potions aren't cheap, darling."

"Well, thanks to you I have no means to pay."

"You know you could always pay me in kind, my bed's been a bit lonely in recent years."

"No, thanks. I'm allergic to fish."

"I don't remember you complaining when-"

"You owe me!" He said, recalling Alec's words.

"And why is that?"

"Because you made me lose the Danube."

"I didn't make you lose anything."

"Yes, you did!" Magnus snapped, clearly losing his temper.

"Magnus, mate…" Ragnor whispered, placing a hand on Magnus's back. Magnus knew that yelling at her wasn't going to help them, but he had been unable to help it. That woman always managed to get the worst out of him.

"You have to help us, Camille." He said, trying to use a neutral tone—not cold, but yet not friendly enough.

Camille looked at both of them and smiled. "Tell me what kind of potion you need and I'll think about it."

Magnus looked at Ragnor. There was a silent conversation going on between them. Both knew they had to tell her, even if it turned out to be a bad idea.

"We need a potion to track Raziel's treasure." Magnus said, expecting to see some surprise flash through Camille's eyes, but the Sea Witch hadn't even blinked.

"For that potion to work, you must have angel blood, and last thing I heard Valentine was on his way to break the curse. So either you have something up your sleeve or you're an idiot to think that you have something Valentine doesn't."

"I want my ship back." Magnus deflected.

"Evidently…" Camille said, pacing around the cave, "let me see the transcript of the legend. If you found out about the potion then you must have Jonathan's book."

"I don't have it."

"Darling, you've never been good at lying. I don't want the book, just the transcript. Come on, do you want this potion or not?"

Magnus looked at Ragnor and nodded. The quirky pirate reached into his pocket and took out a copy of the transcript.

"This is all we have, we couldn't translate more." Ragnor said, handing Camille a folded piece of paper.

Camille scanned its content and smiled. "I assume you have deciphered most of this?"

Magnus and Ragnor nodded.

"Valentine has the three boys, I don't think you can get to where he is on time."

"Three boys?" Ragnor and Magnus asked at the same time.

"Three forces, three boys." She said as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "And from them the owner shall rise."

"What?" Magnus asked confused.

"Seriously? Can't you read well or what? It's written here." She pointed to the transcript. "'The angel shall choose from his own blood the one who will be the owner of his treasure. He whose heart has been tempted but not corrupted.' That's why Jonathan could never get rid of the curse and died leaving only his book as proof that he once was cursed. He was not blessed with the angel's gift. He had no heirs, no one who could save his soul."

Magnus and Ragnor shared a look. This new discovery changed things a lot. Magnus was almost certain Ragnor was thinking the same as him—Alec could be the one. The owner of the most powerful treasure in the world.

"So...are you going to help us or not?" Magnus asked, returning his attention to Camille.

"I don't know," she hesitated, "where did you get the blood?"

"I never said I had it, maybe I'm on my way to get it."

"And how exactly are you planning on doing that? Valentine is on the island, he has the boys. Don't lie and tell me, where did you-"

In that moment someone entered the cave, interrupting Camille. It was Alec, with a soaking wet version of Raphael following right behind.

"What are you doing here!?" Magnus asked, quite irritated. He might like Alec, but he was more than willing to strangle him at that very moment.

"Who's this?" Camille asked, looking at Alec.

"No one." Magnus said, ignoring her. "I ordered you to stay on the ship, Alexander."

"Sorry, but you were taking too long." Alec said in self-defense.

Magnus rolled his eyes in exasperation. Could this man be any more stubborn? He didn't think so.

Magnus looked at Raphael. He had explicitly asked his friend to look after Alec.

"Don't look at me like that! I told you I was not your babysitter. I tried to stop him." Raphael said, pointing to his wet clothes.

"Alexander, please go back to the ship."

"What's your name?" Camille asked Alec. She had been circling him, eyeing him from head to toe.

"Alec, Alec Lightwood." Alec said, offering his hand to her in a polite way.

Camille ignored Alec's hand, of course, but Magnus saw her smiling. What he had been so afraid that could happen was happening, and there was nothing he could do to stop it, except pray that Camille kept her mouth shut.

"I see...nice to meet you Alec Lightwood. Now I see why Magnus had you under lock. He's never been good at sharing. When we were together that was a deal-breaker for us, wasn't it, darling? You couldn't stand the fact that I was a free spirit."

"Camille, please." Magnus said, practically begging her to shut up.

"Relax, dear, everything is fine. I have changed my mind about helping you. I'll brew your potion, but this…" she added, pointing to the folded piece of paper that she was holding. "...will be my payment. Do we have a deal?"

Magnus sighed. What other option did he have really?

"Deal."

o-o-o-o-o

Alec was regretting having disobeyed Magnus's orders. They were still with the Sea Witch who had turned out to be one of Magnus's many past lovers—Camille Belcourt. Alec knew he should be happy since she had agreed to prepare the potion and all, but for some reason, he couldn't stop thinking about the fact that Magnus and this...woman, had been lovers.

He felt something inside of him that he couldn't quite explain, but it was as if suddenly his blood were boiling and he had the impending need to kill something or someone. More specifically, the stunning mystical creature who hadn't lost the opportunity to flirt with Magnus.

Alec was finally understanding the look the boy from the Spiral, Imasu, had given him when they had met. It was jealousy and that was exactly what he was feeling. He was jealous and if he was jealous it was because he liked Magnus. He liked the pirate as he knew he shouldn't like him.

"I need seeds and roots from a red mangrove." Camille said, looking at Magnus and Ragnor. "Would you fetch them for me? You can find a couple of trees in the back of the cave."

Magnus and Ragnor nodded, walking out of the cave.

Alec felt uncomfortable in Camille's presence, but he was relieved that although Raphael was mad at him for what he had done earlier, the pirate was still-

"Where are you going!?" Alec asked alarmed when he saw Raphael making his way out of the cave as well.

"Don't go!" He whispered, but the pirate ignored him and left, leaving Alec completely alone with the Sea Witch.

"You're pretty cute." Camille said. She was mixing some ingredients in a large cauldron. "More so than the rest, but don't feel so especial. Magnus is hiding things from you too. He's always been like that. He's secretive, like the men who raised him."

Alec remained silent. He knew it was better not to start any kind of conversation with her.

"I can see what you feel." She said. "And you shouldn't trust him."

Alec turned around to hide his flushed face. He felt as if that woman could read beyond his soul and it was unnerving.

"He says he's a bad liar, and that's true," she continued, "but he's good at distorting the truth. If you don't ask the right questions you won't get the answers you're looking for. Besides, he's a pirate. He's selfish...he never acts out of compassion. He always has to get something in return. He's not the good person you think he is."

Alec tried to stop his head from shaking. That was not entirely true. Yeah, Magnus was a pirate, and he did bad things, but he was also different from the rest. Alec had learned to know him and he knew that Magnus was not a bad person.

"Did he ever tell you something about me?"

Alec shook his head slightly. Magnus had mentioned some of his past lovers, but he had failed to mention Camille.

"We had a really nice time together." Camille said. "He's very passionate, which I'm sure you already know."

Alec tried to shut his ears. Of course he didn't know it, how could he? But he didn't want to hear it from her.

"I loved it when he-"

Camille was saying when Magnus and Ragnor entered the cave again. They were carrying the roots and seeds that Camille had requested. Magnus was looking around the room, certainly looking for Raphael.

"Where's Raphael?" He finally asked.

"Outside." Alec said in a very cold tone. He hadn't intended it to come out like that, but he hadn't been able to stop it. He was angry. Why? Well, because he hated what he was feeling and Magnus was responsible for it. If only he were not so charming and intelligent and-

"Where are my roots and seeds?" Camille asked, interrupting Alec's train of thought.

Magnus handed her what they had collected. "Now hurry up, we have to go."

Camille rolled her eyes, gave Magnus a peck on the lips and went back to work.

Alec watched the exchange and his vision turned red. The bomb that had been ticking inside of him since he had learned that this woman had been one of Magnus's past lovers had finally exploded.

That's it!

He couldn't stay there any longer, so he turned around and without looking back, left the cave in a hurry.

You ask: It is coming?

I say: No spoilers, but yes!

See you on Tuesday ;)