Chapter 10

It was mid afternoon when Alec left Morag's house to go to the Institute. Magnus was still sleeping and the healer assured him she would take good care of the warlock while Alec was away. Once he arrived, it took very little time to finish the work he needed to do for his mother before going to the Institute Library. This was the real reason for his visit. He wanted to find out if there was anything here about the murders in 1888.

The Library was much more extensive than the one in the New York Institute which didn't really surprise Alec. Some of the books held here were very old, and in other circumstances he would have loved nothing better than to spend an afternoon looking through the volumes. There were several rooms opening onto one another with large floor to ceiling book shelves lining the walls. Arm chairs and tables dotted the centre of each room providing the ideal environment for in depth research, or a casual read depending on the requirements of the individual.

Alec lost no time in finding the section on London history. He pulled out several books that covered the period he was interested in and was about to take them to a table when something caught his eye. It was a small leather bound journal, and when he opened the first page, he saw that it belonged to Charlotte Branwell, head of the London Institute and the person who had summoned Magnus to investigate the Ripper murders in the first place. He added the journal to his pile of books and found a table to begin his research.

Alec started with the history books first, looking up the year 1888 and jotting down all the information he could find on the original Whitechapel murders. When he was done, he had a list of each of the victims' names, ages, descriptions, occupations and other pertinent details. As he reviewed his findings, Alec saw something that stood out as different about the last victim, Mary Kelly. The first four ripper victims were prostitutes between the ages of 42 and 47 living in the poorest sections of the East End in overcrowded lodging houses that let beds for pennies a night. The women sold themselves to procure alcohol and a bed, sleeping on the streets if they failed to earn enough or spent all their money on drink.

Mary Kelly was a pretty 24 year old Irish immigrant, with dark hair and a nice figure. She was better educated than the other women, meaning she could read and write. Mary had drifted into drink and prostitution after her husband was killed in a coal mining accident. Although she was living in Whitechapel at the time of her death, shortly before that Mary had been an upscale, West End prostitute. Alec was also struck by the fact that she had her own room, and was the only Ripper victim killed indoors. While all the murders were horrific, the killing of Mary Kelly stood out for its total savagery. Alec shivered, inured to violence by his years of hunting demons, what the Reaper had done to Mary Kelly was truly shocking. It was hardly surprising that Magnus had nightmares about it. Although Alec hated doing it, he tore the sketch of Mary Kelly from the book and slipped it into a folder with the rest of his notes.

Alec stood up and stretched, he had been working steadily for some time and was starting to feel stiff. He only had one more book to review, Charlotte Branwell's journal, and then he could get back to Magnus. Settling himself back in the chair, he opened the old leather cover volume. The paper was yellow with age and very fragile. Alec gently flipped the pages until he started to see dates around the time he was interested in and began to read….

October 1, 1888

Magnus arrived at the Institute! It is wonderful to see him again, New York seems to agree with him. The news today is awful, two more murders last night and we are still no closer to finding the madman, (or demon?) responsible. The Mundanes are frightened and pressing their police for action. The Government is afraid there will be riots in the streets over the living conditions in Whitechapel. They do not truly know what they might be dealing with, and even those of us who do understand, are feeling helpless. Magnus said it could be a Reaper demon, a servant of Lucifer. I spent several hours in the library today learning as much as I could about them. A formidable foe indeed, but Magnus is right, we must also find the summoner or all our effort will be for naught. Magnus has provided me with the names of warlocks in London who are powerful enough to summon a Reaper, though without his assistance I doubt we will get close enough to any of them to determine which one has done it. I agree with Magnus that it is unlikely to be the High Warlock, Emeris Westfalin, but I suppose no one can be eliminated as a suspect just yet. There is one name Magnus did not included on his list, a warlock who I believe is powerful enough, Morag Nightshade. She is a healer of course, but also a very fierce social reformer. It may be that these murders are a desperate attempt to shine light on the terrible conditions in the East End. I hope that Magnus' friendship with her has not clouded his judgement.

The journal dropped from Alec's hand as he stumbled back from the table, heart pounding. What if Charlotte Branwell was right? What if Morag had summoned the Reaper? Magnus was injured and alone with her at this very moment. Alec raced out of the Institute and hailed a cab. The traffic was heavy and the trip seemed to take forever but at last he arrived back at Morag's.

Alec entered the elegant, Georgian Row house that was Morag's current home and raced to the guest room where he'd left Magnus earlier that day. Morag was bending over the warlock and it was all Alec could do not to scream at her to step away. "Magnus!" Alec said much louder than he'd intended.

Morag started and turned to face Alec; "Oh, Alec, you scared me, I didn't hear you come in. Magnus is fine, just a bit tired, we had company today;"

Alec looked at the healer suspiciously before moving over to Magnus' bedside and taking the warlock's hand. Magnus was awake and looked apprehensively at Alec, wondering, no doubt, just how angry his boyfriend was about his attempt to face the Reaper solo.

"I'll leave you alone now;" Morag said softly; "Dinner will be done in another hour, I'll bring it in as soon as it's ready."

Alec sat on the edge of Magnus bed and without a word, gathered the warlock into his arms, holding him like he was afraid he might disappear if he let go. Magnus could feel the slight trembling in Alec's body, and knew just how hard this had been on the shadowhunter. He felt terrible.

"Alec, darling, I'm so sorry…" Magnus started.

"Oh God, I thought I'd lost you…" Alec murmured, tightening his grip on Magnus.

Magnus pulled away from Alec slightly confused; "Didn't Morag tell you I would be okay?"

"Yes, no… it's not that;" Alec stuttered, confusing Magnus even more.

Alec took a deep breath, he was not sure how to ask Magnus about Charlotte's suspicions, but somehow he had to. He could not leave Magnus here, weak and vulnerable unless he knew the truth. "Magnus, I spent the afternoon researching the Ripper murders at the Institute Library, I found Charlotte Branwell's journal. She wondered why you hadn't included Morag on your list of suspects. Charlotte thought she was powerful enough and that maybe her zealousness to bring relief to the East End had tipped her over the edge. She thought maybe your friendship had clouded your judgement."

Magnus looked shocked; "Oh Alec no! Morag is a powerful healer, but she doesn't have the magical strength or the necessary ruthlessness to summon the Reaper. All life is sacred to her. Morag was not on my list of suspects because I knew she could not have done it. Not because I was blinded by our friendship."

Magnus felt Alec's trembling increase, and he drew him closer. "I'm sorry I wasn't more open with you, I know now just what a mistake that was. Please forgive me." Magnus heard Alec's breath hitch in his throat as he tried to hold back the tears that threatened to overwhelm him. Magnus hand rubbed comforting circles on Alec's back wanting to help him deal with the emotional overload that this long, difficult day had brought.

Alec wasn't sure how long they stayed like that, Magnus whispering comforting words to him as he gently stroked his back. At last, however, he pulled away taking a deep breath and letting his fingers brush Magnus' face tenderly. "We are in this together, no more secrets; I would rather face death at the Reaper's hand than life without you."