Author's Note: Wow! The response from last chapter totally floored us! As always thank you so much for your reviews. Thanks to Clef for being awesome. And we hope you enjoy the next chapter!
~Chapter Twelve~
Alec refused to open his eyes. At the moment, Magnus lay spooned behind him, arm resting around his waist, his thumb rubbing circles on the exposed skin under his shirt. Warm and surrounded by the smell of sandalwood and Magnus, he did not want to get up. The warlock hummed a song that sounded familiar, but Alec couldn't remember from where.
If he lay like this, he could pretend the world wasn't in turmoil. He could pretend he hadn't been attacked by warlocks, again. He could pretend Magnus wasn't keeping things from him, lying to him. He wanted to sleep longer. His bruised and exhausted body sought the oblivion unconsciousness could provide, but his aching mind refused to let him rest.
Flashbacks plagued him in succession. Pleading with Magnus to not leave. The wrestling match with Kale. The unbearable panic when he didn't know if Magnus would make it back from meeting Magistrate Curse. The fruitless search. Being attacked by the crazy-haired woman with her claws and tongue. The black haired warlock with the slimy tentacles that bound him, and probably would have done other things if not interrupted. The pain. The excruciating, debilitating pain that came from nowhere. It had hurt like no other pain Alec had ever felt. Alec had no clue what caused it and that terrified him.
Magnus's fingers against his skin suddenly felt wrong. Like the scurrying of spiders. Alec shoved his arm off him. "Don't touch me." He rasped in a hoarse voice. He cleared his throat and instantly regretted the action. How could that be so loud?
The warlock's arm receded. He shifted behind Alec, resting on one elbow. "How are you feeling, darling?" Each sound hit Alec like a claxon blaring next to his head.
Alec curled away from the sound of his lover's voice with a weak groan. Covering his ears as he tried to roll away, his head swam. He did not try to move further, with the way he felt he'd end up on the floor.
Magnus chuckled. "Pretty dreadful, then."
Alec took a few deep breaths and opened his eyes. The darkness comforted him. He swallowed thickly. He would not throw up. He would not throw up. That would require getting up. His stomach rolled, empty. One small blessing, he had nothing to throw up. Cracking one blue eye open, he looked back at the warlock next to him.
Magnus smiled, a ghost of his normal radiant smile and raised a hand to touch his face. Alec stiffened. The hand dropped. Gently, his boyfriend said, "Sit up, if you can. I have something for you that will help."
Alec begrudgingly propped himself up on his elbows first, then up against the pile of pillows his boyfriend set up for him. His limbs felt heavy and uncooperative. The warlock passed a mug of something warm into his hands.
"Sip it slowly." He murmured, hands hovering close in case Alec dropped the cup.
Taking a tentative sip, Alec grimaced. The bitter liquid coated his throat on the way down, thick as honey without any of the sickly sweetness. His stomach roiled in protest but after few swallows it settled. It tasted almost like the concoctions Hodge prepared for them. With a sigh of relief, Alec melted back into the pillows. He stayed still, reacquainting himself with the idea of upright and thinking. He tried speaking, again. His voice dropped to a breathy whisper more suited to other requests. "Bring me my stele? It's in my bag."
"I don't see what use that will be to you." Magnus answered, but obeyed disappearing from the bed.
Alec closed his eyes and when he opened them again, the warlock, back at his side, held the pen-like object out to him. Alec plucked it from his hands without a word of thanks. He started to sketch on the only spot he could focus on: his forearm.
The warlock leaned over Alec, inspecting the mark. After a moment of awkward silence, Magnus asked. "Is that a new rune?"
Once finished, Alec sighed again as the throbbing headache retreated with his queasiness. "It's an anti-hangover rune… Clary created it for Jace." His body felt stuffed with lead alternating with cotton. Awareness of his injuries hovered at the edge of his mind, he wouldn't mind if they stayed there. One thing at a time. Hangover first, Magnus second, injuries later.
"Of course she did." Magnus said with undisguised bitterness.
Feeling marginally better now, Alec finished the mug of tea in his hands, ignoring his boyfriend. The air in the room thickened with tension. Briefly he wondered about curling back up and returning to sleep. The situation would still be there when he woke. Except with more time to stew, his mood and tolerance would only worsen. Sleeping also meant dreaming, and he didn't want to do that.
Magnus reached out to tuck some hair tenderly behind Alec's ear.
Alec batted his hand away, weakly. "I said not to touch me." He put as much distance between the two of them as possible on the King size bed. He could breathe more easily without being hovered over. He had a hangover; he wasn't dying.
"Are we having one of those mornings?" Magnus sighed in a voice tired. He looked tired. He must not have slept either. The warlock raked a hand through his unruly black hair; it matted to his head like it did when he forgot to shower. "Honestly, darling, this hot and cold behavior is starting to get ridiculous."
Alec set the empty mug on the bedside table and slid from the bed. He swore he put on an oversized sweatshirt and sweats the night before. Somehow that had changed to a thin, cotton t-shirt and boxers. He felt naked and exposed. The marks from the suction cups had faded to yellow-blue circles decorating his hands, neck, and waist. He padded over to his bag where it rested on the floor and sorted through it for clothing. Anything baggy that would cover him completely would do. He contemplated another long, hot shower. Avoidance, thy name is Alec.
"Darling." Magnus tried again. "Come here."
The young man shut his eyes and breathed, unmoving. He stuffed the desire to comply in a small corner of his heart and ignored it. Turning back to his bag, he sifted through the contents. Satisfied with a sweater, Alec pulled it on then continued to hunt for a pair of sweatpants, the heavier the better. He caught sight of his boots in the corner, caked in blood. He looked for the rest of his mangled armor but it was not there. He swallowed hard, ignoring the rising queasiness in his newly settled stomach. He spoke in a throaty voice, as if he hasn't used it in days. "I need bleach."
Magnus slid to the edge of the bed. "What do you need bleach for?"
"There's blood on my boots." The fact seemed so obvious to him. Simple.
"They can be cleaned later, Alexander. Why don't you come back to bed, you need to rest."
"No. I need to clean them." Alec answered, "The blood dried. Now it'll be impossible to get off." After a battle, one of the few things that calmed him was methodically cleaning his armor. He would sit on the floor and scrub, and wipe, and condition his armor until the adrenaline and images faded. He would need a lot of bleach for this one. He should have done it last night, but instead he sat on the couch and drank with Kale. Alec frowned, trying to sort through the rest of his evening. They watched a bad television program and then ...everything turned hazy.
Magnus sighed. "Come back to bed for now? I need to talk with you."
A rueful scoff escaped before he could catch it. For once Magnus wanted to talk. "About how you lied to me about where you were going yesterday? Or maybe about why you spelled me asleep so you could sneak away?"
His boyfriend winced. "I was hoping you wouldn't pick up on that."
"Spells leave residual effects, of course, I noticed." He snapped, defensive. With the insanity of the Coven meeting, plus the cloying demonic energy sticking to him from the warlocks yesterday, Alec couldn't ignore magic even if he tried. It pulsed through the healing injury in his leg. Shouldn't that have been healed by now? He shook his head not wanting to linger on it. "Well?" The Shadowhunter crossed his arms. "Let's hear your excuse."
Unfolding from the bed, Magnus slouched sheepishly and padded to him on the floor. He wore a simple pair of silk, golden yellow pajama pants. It made his sorrowful cat eyes look more yellow. "I'm sorry I misled you."
"You're not forgiven." Alec snorted. He knelt down and sorted through his bag so he wouldn't have to look at Magnus. His beautiful Magnus. Who lied with every breath like a politician and couldn't trust his boyfriend with anything important. Apparently accepting the warlock attack on London hadn't proved anything to him. Bitter and angry, Alec yanked his weapons from their sheaths and inspected them. Watching his hands trembling from exertion sparked an angry stream of cursing under his breath. He hated the muscle weakness that injuries wrought. Drawing runes on yourself when you were so fatigued from a fight barely helped. He needed Jace. He needed his parabatai.
"Alec." Magnus put his hands over his, stilling them.
Alec stiffened, but didn't move away. He kept his eyes cast downward, studying the carpet. "I overlooked the lie about the Coven meeting every hundred years against my better judgment." His voice was tight with the anger roiling within him. "I will not overlook another one."
"I don't expect you to." Magnus answered. He took a breath. "I didn't tell you where I was going because you would have insisted on coming with me." He said it as if it was the most sensible thing in the world.
Alec jerked his hands out of the warlock's hold. "You're damn right I would have! The warlocks openly attacked us. Going there alone was reckless, you know it."
"I would never forgive myself if something happened to you." Magnus reached for his hands again but Alec pulled back. His accented baritone held firm. "Right now this is warlock business; the warlocks will handle it. I shouldn't have involved you and for that I am sorry."
Alec left his boyfriend kneeling on the floor by his bag. "Tough shit. I'm involved now. The Clave is involved now. You took matters into your own hands and this is what happened. Had you come to be before…" He stopped himself. Placing blame was always pointless. "You can't just dismiss me; I'm in it until the end."
Magnus's jaw clenched. "I had to make a judgment call, Alexander." He stood to his full height, towering over his boyfriend. Having spent his life fighting demons that routinely stood taller than ten feet, Alec did not feel intimidated in the slightest. "This is not as black and white as you believe. Bringing you anywhere near the Magistrate at this point is like painting a target on your back. I can't lose you. I'm not going to put you in harm's way like that."
"Magnus, I'm a Shadowhunter. My life is spent in harm's way."
"I know that!" The warlock snapped. "Trust me. I'm reminded of that every bloody time you go storming off to fight some awful thing. Can't you have even a shred of compassion for me? How do you think I'd feel if something happened to you? Something I could prevent?"
Alec saw red. "The same way I felt searching all over New York trying to find you! Do you think it doesn't go both ways? Do you think I don't worry about something happening to you?"
"I'm an eight hundred year old Warlock, Alexander. Not some reckless Nephilim that goes storming into a situation without having orchestrated the entire event. That's what makes it different."
"Reckless Nephil-"
"Remember how we met? I had to come heal you from demon poisoning. Why? Because you recklessly went gallivanting off with Jace into a situation you knew nothing about." The warlock flailed his hands, angry blue sparks bursting from his fingertips. "And then you recklessly went storming into the Bone City to find Jace knowing something had killed the Silent Brothers. Jace's attack plan on Valentine's ship?" he muttered darkly. "You fell off, almost drowned, and wanted to go back into battle with a concussion. Need I go on? Curious how all your misadventures seem to revolve around Jace."
Alec carefully said each word dripping with venom. "Leave Jace out of this."
Magnus raised his hands as if that validated his point. "Of course, because clearly this has nothing to do with him! Nothing about you ever has to do with him. He is completely free of any blame. Where is he now, Alec? Hmm? Where was he when you really needed him?"
Alec raised his shaking fingers to his temples and pressed in harder than he meant to. "I am not dating Jace. We are not going to argue about Jace. Jace has nothing to do with our argument." He repeated for what felt like the hundredth time. "You've known what I was from the very beginning. You know what Shadowhunters do, what we are. Of course I got up and wanted to go back to the fight, that's what I do. Of course I walk into dangerous situations to investigate, that's what I do." He wanted to scream and yell, maybe throw something. He couldn't stop the hurt creeping into his voice when he talked about his parabatai. He'd betrayed his oath, his entire family, to protect Magnus. His brother and sister didn't have to come after him at all."You know exactly why Jace isn't here."
"I know you are raised to be soldiers, expendable." Magnus swallowed. "You have never been nor will ever be expendable to me, Alec. Never. I love you. I know you can take care of yourself. But you take risks you shouldn't have to if you approached things with more forethought and caution. You are precious to me. Irreplaceable. Why can't you see that?"
Alec's heart ached. "Magnus…"
Magnus's jaw clenched. His cat-eyes studied Alec. "I don't regret my decision, Alexander. The only thing I regret is that I wasn't there when you needed me."
"We handled it." Alec replied, his pride taking yet another hit. "If you'd told me where you were-or fessed up and convinced me to stay here-Angel, Magnus. If she had told me she was taking me to you, I'd've followed without a second thought." He studied his boyfriend's beautiful face. He picked the most beautiful people to love. First Jace. Now Magnus. "I don't want a savior, Magnus, I never have."
The warlock muttered something unflattering about self-righteous Nephilim under his breath. "You never seemed to mind me saving you and your stupid family from all the messes you've gotten yourselves into before."
Regret gutted all the anger from him. Alec blinked. He tried to form the words, but ended up making a sound of understanding. "Mmm…" He sucked in a deep breath, willing his vocal cords to work. "That's true. I took you for granted. I assumed you would be there. I assumed you would help. It never occurred to me that your feelings could be genuine and I used them. That's... what we've always done in my family." His parents did it enough times to him. "I am sorry for that."
Startled by his admission of guilt, Magnus licked his lips. His shoulders loosened, a subtle display of muscle and bone. Nothing like Kale's rippling muscles. Kale wasn't bad looking either, he could see why Magnus had liked him at one point.
Alec quelled that line of thought before it became an image.
The Nephilim shook his head clear. "I've stopped myself when I see myself doing it. I've tried to make up for it. I've given you my strength when I could. I've given you my unfaltering loyalty. I've given you all of my secrets. I don't know what else I can possibly give you, Magnus." He swallowed hard. "But I can't look the other way and ignore this, not when there is so much at stake. It's not fair of you to ask for it."
"I only ask for you to be safe." The warlock replied bitterly, glaring at something that only he could see.
Alec sat down on the edge of the bed, rubbing his hand across his face. "No, you asked me to always talk to you, to tell you everything and not hide from you. Do you remember that? That you don't want to spend our relationship second guessing what I feel and what I want," He slumped. "Why does that not apply to you?"
The warlock winced as his own words bit him in the ass. Magnus's innate ability to say the right things at the right moments usually got him out of trouble. Alec couldn't forget, not with the permanent memory rune. Perhaps Magnus hadn't considered the implications of his words. Or he hadn't meant them. The thought made Alec's heart ache.
"I do want all those things." Magnus eventually said, "But sweetheart-"
"You can't trust me."
"No!" Magnus stood up abruptly. "Do not put words in my mouth, Alexander. Of course, I trust you." He moved towards the bed, his eyes pleading, begging Alec for understanding he didn't have.
Alec shook his head. "No, you don't. You've never trusted me. Even before that mess with Camille, you never let me in. You never share your life with me. Why do you think I went to Camille to talk? Yeah, your immortality intimidates me, but I wouldn't take it from you... It's that she knew you. At one point in your life. She knew you, Magnus. She could tell me things about you, your favorite song, what made you love London, why your magic is always blue. She could tell me about you. All I've ever wanted was to be included. To be your partner." Alec touched his hand. "To be with you and share your life. Your past might be over but it made you who you are. I want to know you."
"It's not that easy, Alec."
"Why is it hard?" Alec rubbed his eyes, suddenly bone weary. "You have to trust me, Magnus. I love you. I know I'm not perfect. I screw up. But... I need you to let me in. Or... I can't do this..." He knew now from visiting other Institutes that in steady relationships, it did take two. Two people to work together for a common purpose. He couldn't put his whole self into the relationship if Magnus wouldn't meet him halfway. He blamed it on immortality at first, but that wasn't it.
"No." Magnus gripped Alec's hand to the point it actually hurt. "No, you are not breaking up with me Alec. We've only been back together for five days." He brought the Nephilim's hand to his lips and kissed the back of it. "This is not so terrible we cannot work through it."
"How can we work through something you can't even admit is wrong?"
Magnus dropped Alec's hand, betrayal shining brightly in his eyes. He opened his mouth to speak but then closed it again. His back rigid and shoulders tight, he turned away to stare at the wall. He shut down. Magnus slammed the door to himself closed. Angel forbid the thing was sealed permanently.
Exhaling shakily, Alec ran a hand through his bangs. This is not worse than dying of demon poison. He reminded himself as he slipped off the bed. He thought Magnus would argue. He hadn't expect how badly it hurt. Deep down he'd hoped for a different outcome. First his father. Then his job. His siblings. Now Magnus. This war took everything. And it hadn't even happened yet. Maybe this is worse than dying of demon poison. He rapidly blinked away the burn in his eyes.
For several long minutes the only sound heard was the stuffing of gear and clothes into a bag. As the bag zipped closed Magnus spoke. "What are you doing?"
"When you are ready to talk, you can come find me. But I wouldn't wait too long, I'm a reckless Nephilim, after all; who knows how long I will survive without you there to save me."
"Seriously?" Kale dropped the 12-pack of beer onto the floor as he took in the glitterless warlock splayed across the table. Empty bottles of booze scattered all around him, the man had devoured the entire liquor cabinet. Magnus only bought the good stuff. The apartment looked like an episode of Holmes on Homes, incomplete and half decorated. It needed a clear tarp and blue painter's tape, but the missing furniture and mismatched wall colors did enough. Even Magnus's outfit looked unco-ordinated and dull. How very unlike him. Kale noted a suspicious lack of angel cake. Unless the kid still lay unconscious in the bedroom, but he doubted it. Magnus wouldn't be out here turning the place into an eyesore if Alec needed him.
Magnus ignored his visitor, attempting to suck the last drops of brandy from the bottle. Giving up, he snapped his fingers. A new bottle of the most expensive cognac Kale'd ever heard of appeared in its gold and silver spiky glory. His friend fumbled with the pure silver cap. At least his magic still worked.
"You know, your couch is missing, right?"
No answer.
Kale turned a table chair backwards and straddled it, folding his arms across the back. This inebriated state meant only one thing. "Trouble in paradise?" He snorted. "I hope you don't intend on hugging the toilet all night." If anyone warned him how much of a fucking soap opera his life would become during this little trip, he wouldn't have believed them. Maybe Catarina would take pity on him and let him stay with her for the rest of his visit. He grimaced, not likely.
Magnus hiccupped, sparing a solitary glare across the table before returning his attention to his alcohol. "You had one job, Kale. To keep Alec"-Magnus's voice cracked at the name-"in the apartment until I returned. But instead you deliberately told him where I went and let him go storming off. This is your fault."
"Hey, woah-woah." Kale held up his hands. "I wasn't the one that lied to him. Maybe if you spent more time actually communicating instead of fucking like rabbits-"
"Don't pretend like you know him," The sullen warlock mumbled. "What I choose to disclose in my relationship is my business."
Kale rolled his eyes. "I don't have to be Dr. Phil to know what's wrong in that statement." He'd spent an evening with the completely inebriated Nephilim. An extremely insecure inebriated Nephilim. Drunken ramblings weren't exactly a telltale to issues, but they certainly helped one's case. With all the uninhibited, brutally honest confessions alcohol generally unleashed. Someone had screwed that kid up something awful.
Magnus dropped his forehead onto the table, moaning. "I've ruined it; I've lost him." He started to repeatedly slam his head against the hardwood. "It took me a lifetime to find him and now he's gone. Why, oh why is the universe so cruel?" He raised a fist to the ceiling and shook it.
At least the blame landed squarely on the guilty party this time, Kale thought. The drastic change in mood made him worry. "Yeah well, you can always keep him as a spoil of war and lock him in your room. Isn't that what you want?"
"That's not funny."
"Neither is wallowing like a depressed elephant in your own self-pity. We have too much shit to do and you're no use to me or Alec like this. Where is he anyway?"
Magnus pouted. He actually freaking pouted. Not as cute as his boyfriend, but damn, it stabbed Kale through his dead and buried heart, too. Sad little cat eyes and a put-out bottom lip on a face too old for it to be quite right turned to him. "I don't know…"
"Well, you better fucking find him before Sage does!"
That finally got the warlock's attention. "Sage?" He sat up. "What about Sage?"
Kale blinked. "Didn't you call Catarina this morning?"
"I was busy." Magnus replied snarkily. A good sign, because it meant he finally started coming back to himself. "What with my world coming to an end and all."
"Right. Whatever." Kale rolled his eyes. "Your boy toy took on Bev and Rhys. Rhys bit it. He would have killed Bev, too, if Sage hadn't stepped in. He is pretty pissed about his boyfriend lacking a head, the actual head with eyeballs, not the other one."
Magnus paled. "All three of them? He faced all three of them alone? Where the hell were you?" His face flushed as suddenly as it paled. "One day, Kale!" He swiped his arm across the table sending empty bottles clamoring and shattering to the floor. "He's not indestructible like you!"
"He's not as breakable as you think. Okay, Sage is out of his league, but he could handle the other two. Well, until the tentacle thing. Those surprise everyone." Kale shuddered at the memory. He eyed Magnus and prepared a defensive shield spell in the corner of his mind. "Your boy almost got raped. I'm pretty sure that was the intent behind their attack."
The realization that came over Magnus's face made Kale wonder. That information made a lot of sense to him, more than it should have. "No, no, no… they wouldn't…" He slapped a palm against the table. "How could I have not noticed? He didn't say anything…"
Kale raised a quizzical brow. "Dude… of course, he didn't; would you have said anything?"
"You didn't think that was important enough to tell me as soon as I got home?" Magnus demanded incredulously, once again throwing blame in his face.
The lights in the room flickered. Kale reminded himself to stay calm. Two angry warlocks in small confines would be bad. He closed his green eyes and took a slow breath. Someone had to be the adult. Relationships always fucked Magnus up too easily which by default promoted Kale. "You were too busy accusing me of compromising his virtue. You wouldn't have heard me if I tried."
Magnus looked like he wanted to argue. He opened and then closed his mouth. Kale suppressed his desire to smirk in his rightness. "You could've… told me this morning or something."
"What did the Magistrate want, anyway?" He changed the direction of the conversation, now that he had the other warlock's attention.
"Like you don't know." The accusation slapped into Kale's face. Again. "That was an underhanded spectacle even for you. Baiting Alec like that to get him out in the open so they could take him from under my nose. And after I've welcomed you into my home!"
"Hey! Woah. Woah." Kale held up his hands. "I swear to you man, I didn't know that was going to happen. I was just as surprised as Alec." He clenched his jaw. A flighty, mercurial Magnus Kale knew how to handle. He did not enjoy this temperamental, possessive Magnus. He'd only taken that one cute brunette for a spin. She wanted to go. He couldn't still be all pissed off over that. It had been centuries ago. "Mind telling me exactly what you are accusing me of this time?" He couldn't stop himself this time. The wine goblets hanging over the stove shattered, as well as the glass doors over the cabinets.
Magnus scrubbed his hands across his face. His normally pristine fingernails chipped. "The Breeding Program. It's been going on for years. Don't tell me you've known nothing about it." His fingers slid down so he could cast a withering glare at his friend. "And would you mind not destroying my kitchen?"
"You can afford to fix it." Kale snapped. "And what the fuck are you talking about? What breeding program? Breeding what?"
"They've been experimenting with demon and angel blood, trying to find the right combination to allow warlocks to reproduce. They don't want to go to war to take over, they mean to subjugate the Nephilim and use them as breeding partners. That's what they want Alec for, to provide a specimen for their latest set of trials."
Kale frowned. "You've got to be kidding me."
"I wish I were." Magnus replied, subdued now. "They found out about Tessa's children, now they want the same."
"Tessa's ...children?" Kale remembered Tessa; he'd met her once when visiting Magnus in London. Cute kid. Sad eyes. She told some amazing stories.
"She is half demon, half Nephilim. She kept her warlock powers and her children possessed Nephilim blood. They were mortal, though... I don't know if they ever developed any magic. Jiruko feels confident that with enough trial and error they can perfect it." Magnus frowned at him. "That's been your plan all along, hasn't it? To divide us and deliver Alec to the Magistrate?"
"Oh, please." Kale felt insulted enough that he grabbed the bottle of brandy and took a swig. He licked his lips, looking the label over. Magnus only drank the good stuff. He'd have to find this place and get his own stash. "If I wanted that kid I would just take him."
Magnus snapped his mouth shut, knowing full well the truth in that statement.
"Look, I don't give a shit about the Magistrate's breeding party. One of the bonuses of being a Warlock, I don't have to pay alimony. I just wanted to get in on kicking some Nephilim ass. Whole thing sounds skeezy to me. Believe it or not we're on the same side here, pal." He crossed his arms. "At any rate, I would suggest you get angel cake back here, Rhys had this purple goo coming out of those tentacles. Catarina couldn't fix everything because he'd lost too much blood."
Magnus buried his fingers into his hair. "Again. Why didn't you tell me this before?"
"I didn't know you two were going to have a spat! That kid should still be passed out in bed, not out in the city."
"He'll go back to the Institute… he has to." Magnus mumbled more to himself than to Kale. "He wouldn't be so careless, not if he knew he was being tracked."
"I doubt he knows; he never saw Sage."
Magnus stopped paying attention to him. His phone appeared in his hands and he tapped it. He held the phone to his ear for a moment before his face fell. "I love you. Alec. Darling, listen I know you are angry with me, but please, wherever you are, go to the Institute and stay there. Let me know when you get there, please? I love you…" He shut his phone. "He's not answering."
Kale rolled his eyes. "Then do your tracking spell."
The cat-eyed warlock cast him a suspicious eye. "Why do you suddenly care so much about Alec anyway? You wanted him gone."
"We bonded." Kale answered with a huff. "Or whatever. Anyway. Without him, you are even more of a pain in my ass; so it's better when he's around to distract you."
Magnus rose to his feet in a flourish that did not mirror how much alcohol he'd ingested in a very short amount of time. He followed his friend into the bedroom, watching bored as he searched amidst the rubble for something of Alec's. Why didn't use himself as the basis, Kale wasn't quite sure, they screwed enough that he should still have some bits of Alec in him. Magnus settled on a piece of clothing.
"So you find him, then what?"
"Beg him to take me back, of course."
"And the poison?"
"We'll get to it."
Kale shook his head. Magnus had no sense of priorities.
"You look like hell." Jace informed him as he slid into the booth across from Alec. After wandering the city unseen, the loneliness overcame his pride. He went to the one place that felt as close to home as the Institute: Taki's. Unlike going to the Institute, Taki's food didn't try to kill him.
Alec frowned. "I thought Isabelle was meeting me."
"She got tied up." His adopted brother announced, stretching his arm out over the back of the booth. "Don't look so disappointed. You know you miss me." The holy fire had receded to a fey-like golden skin tone. With the blonde hair and gold eyes, he started to look a bit like Zia Deprave, less metallic gold, though. Jace wore deep black leather gear instead of her deep black alien eyes.
Alec closed his eyes and sighed. "Of course I miss you." He admitted, against his better judgment. What would Magnus say about that? Nothing good.
"See? Now, tell me what's going on. Why are you here at Taki's and not with your boyfriend?"
Rubbing his hands over his face, Alec grimaced. His leg throbbed with the exertion of walking about the city. He supposed it served him right. After all, both Catarina and Kale warned him to stay off it. But shouldn't the healing spells have taken care of it? He should ask Jace to draw him a healing rune. "I don't want to talk about it."
Jace drummed his fingers on the table top. "I, the great Jace Lightwood, am here to help. If you don't tell me, I will beat it out of you. You already look like you've been through the ringer, so I'd rather not."
"Violence is your only solution..." Alec leaned his cheek against his hand with a sigh. He didn't like the pattern he saw with that statement. Violence seemed to be everyone's solution to everything. "Why don't you talk? I know where I've been the past few days, where have you been?"
Jace made a face. "Waiting to hear from you obviously… mister informant." At the awkward silence that followed, he added, "Look, you can keep whatever you want from the Clave, but not from me, we're Parabatai."
Dumping another sugar packet into his already overly sweet coffee Alec took his time answering. "Funny how suddenly that means something to you." Alec muttered, frowning into his mug. His stomach fluttered uneasily. He reconsidered the idea of drinking and set the mug back down.
Jace had the nerve to look slighted. "Hey, it's always meant something to me."
"When it suits your needs. Where is Clary anyway? Shouldn't you be following her around like lost puppy?"
The blond sneered at him. "For your information Clary is in Idris, with her mother for a few weeks."
"Ah." Alec raised his brow in understanding before dumping another packet into his coffee. The white powder swirled and quickly dissolved. He wished the queasiness in his gut would dissipate that quickly. Something didn't feel right. He couldn't explain it. He rubbed absently at the throbbing in his leg. His heart skipped a beat before pounding twice as fast. Sweat beaded on his brow.
"Alec." Jace said loudly, in the tone of having repeated it several. "Are you listening to me?"
Alec sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose. "I don't …feel good." He tugged at the collar of his sweatshirt. The restaurant became unusually hot.
Jace snorted. "You look like you are going to spew your guts on the table."
Closing his eyes and taking a deep breath Alec considered the option. Heaving himself up and staggering to the bathroom seemed like an exhausting feat. He couldn't imagine doing it.
"When was the last time you ate? Maybe you need to eat something."
Alec swallowed thickly. He dismissed any plan that involved eating anytime soon. "No." He croaked.
Jace's gold eyes widened in alarm. "What's wrong with you? Does this have something to do with what happened yesterday?"
Stiffening, Alec eyed his brother warily. "What?"
"I felt..." He replied, defensive now. "You can't tell me it was nothing."
Alec wanted to drop his forehead to the table. Now all of a sudden Jace felt things through their bond? Magnus would call that convenient. Maybe he'd use finger air quotes too. "It's nothing…." He insisted. "I just had too much to drink last night." He couldn't tell Jace he felt no closer to him now than any other Nephilim. Despite the rune that linked them together. He'd hoped, when they decided to become Parabatai, it would strengthen their relationship. Yet all Jace did was lie to him. All he did was keep him at arm's length. The only person Jace truly cared about was Clary. That knowledge used to hurt, but now he only felt numb.
The phone in his pocket vibrated. Speaking of liars... Alec ignored it. If it was Magnus he didn't want to talk to him yet. He was still too angry. If it was Izzy, she knew where to find him. The hope bubbling in his chest at the thought of it being Magnus made him feel worse. He needed to accept the possibility that Magnus might not come after him. For centuries Magnus lived his life the same way. What made Alec think that he deserved to have him change for him?
"We have a rune for that." Jace reminded him.
"I tried it…" Alec brought his hand to his face, dizzy now.
His parabatai went silent for a moment. "So if you're here then…does that mean you are ready to come home? Because Dad is gone. He went back to Idris for council meetings."
A spark of hope hit Alec like a breath of fresh air. "Council meetings? Are they convening about the warlock's demands?" Perhaps he owed his father an apology.
"What demands?"
Alec slumped. Of course not. "For reparations at kidnapping Ms. Loss. She wanted... her rescuers to be pardoned and the split the payment ...for the Mundanes killed."
Jace leaned forward, looming in and out of focus. "We can go to the Consul together, screw Dad and his political crap. We've done it before and we can do it again."
Not without Magnus. Alec wanted to remind him. A trickle of unease quickly built into knot in his throat. It took him a moment to be able to swallow. It felt like every eye in the restaurant was on him, even though when he looked it was mostly empty. He clenched his fists. Something was very wrong.
"Alec?" Jace waved a hand in front of him. "Maybe I ought to just get you home. Sleep it off? We can go tomorrow."
Alec gasped, eyeing the tiny restaurant warily. His pulse continued to quicken until Jace's voice faded out entirely. Images feathered in and out of focus. The sunlight streaming in from the restaurant windows shone so brightly it hurt his eyes. Then he caught sight of her. The medusa like braids that stuck out in all directions. She grinned at him, a promise, licking her lips.
Alec struggled to back away in his seat and would have collapsed to the floor if strong arms hadn't caught him. The room pitched to one side and warped. Focusing on anything long enough was painful. He needed to warn Jace about Bev. He needed to protect his little brother from her claws. And her friend. He couldn't let Jace be hurt; he was the only little brother he had left.
"Easy." Jace's voice was soft and soothing. "Easy, Alec." He put a hand to his parabatai's face. "By the Angel, Alec, you are burning up."
"There!" Alec forced out, pointing his shaking hand in the direction of the warlock, but she wasn't there anymore. "Wha?"
"Come on." Jace's arm secured itself around his waist. His brother shouldered most of his weight, shuffling them towards the door. "I've got you. It's okay, Alec."
The trip to the Institute went by in flashes. Flashes of trees, the honking of horns, the stink of the New York Streets and he could hear snippets of angry phone conversation. Alec couldn't focus on any one thing. Jace manhandled him into the Institute elevator, leaning him back against the side. "Just hang on a few more minutes, brother. I'll get you to bed."
Alec couldn't speak even if he wanted to. It took every ounce of concentration he had to remain upright. The pain in his leg continued to intensify to now an almost unbearable hot, searing pain. Someone had filled it with slag. He was sure of it. Like that warlock movie, the one with the claws and experiments and cool code names. Filling his body with molten metal, starting in his leg.
"Jace!" His sister's voice floated into the elevator as soon as the doors slid open. "By the Angel! What happened?"
Ducking back under Alec's arm, Jace helped him out into the hallway. "Help me get him to bed will you? He needs some healing runes. Lots of healing runes."
Isabelle appeared at his other side. The sweet smell of her lavender perfume assaulted him. "Welcome home, big brother." Her arm around him felt sturdy and secure. His siblings spoke back and forth to each other, about him, but he couldn't focus on the words long enough to understand the conversation. He recognized his mother's name, the Consul, and demon poison.
Jace lowered him onto the bed, checking his forehead again while Isabelle took off his shoes. "We're going to take care of you, okay?"
Then Alec remembered nothing.
