Chapter 12

It was a little after 8:00 pm when Alec got back to the Institute; he slipped into his training gear and went to find Josh and the others in the training room; all three young shadowhunters were already there and looked up with smiles on their faces as Alec entered;

"So you finally found your way back!" said Ian with a grin.

Alec chuckled, "It's easy to get lost with all these winding streets, not to mention the distractions of being somewhere new." It was a throw-away comment. He definitely did not want to discuss his experience of the last few hours with anyone at the Edinburgh Institute. It wasn't that he didn't trust Josh, Ian and Shivvy, but they were young and he didn't want to place them in the middle of what he was afraid could become a very nasty business indeed.

More than ever, Alec missed Magnus; his confidant, his lover, his best friend. Magnus would know how best to proceed. The warlock had a wealth of experience to draw from, and had proven time and time again that he would be there if Alec was in trouble...

"Earth to Alec!" Shivvy interrupted Alec's thoughts; "If we don't start soon, this will be tomorrow's training session."

"Don't be cheeky;" Ian chastised his sister.

Quickly re-focusing Alec sized up the obstacle course and made some changes that would challenge the others. He suspected it hadn't been done in awhile, and familiarity made it too easy. Jace changed things up at home almost daily, otherwise he got bored, Alec thought with a fond grin. Josh was impressed with the new configuration and mentally slapped himself for not thinking to do that himself.

After the obstacle course, sparring was next. Alec made sure he squared off with each of the young shadowhunters to give them experience with an opponent they didn't know, and couldn't anticipate. The last station to cover was Alec's personal favourite, archery. After shooting a few of his own arrows at the target, he watched the others, giving them pointers to improve their stance or aim.

At last the training was over; Alec had enjoyed the physical exertion and respite from his troubled thoughts. He had also enjoyed the company of Josh, Ian and Shivvy. They helped to ease his feelings of homesickness and missing Izzy and Jace. After wishing them goodnight, Alec returned to his room for a quick shower and change of clothes.

While drying off after his shower and dressing in a comfortable pair of black sweat pants and a gray t-shirt, Alec began to review the information he had gathered so far. The stories he had heard from Maeve and Aidan about downworld were conflicting, to say the least. He had liked High Warlock Aidan Briosag, probably as much as he disliked Maeve Cameron, but this was not about his personal preferences, this was about justice, and justice was supposed to be blind.

Adele believed she had been attacked by shadowhunters and had seen seraph blades. Alec had found the tip of what he thought was a sgian dhu at the crime scene. He decided his next step would be to search the Institute, if Aidan Briosag was telling the truth, there would be a trophy room hidden somewhere in the old church. With that in mind, and because he would not be able to search the place until much later that night, he decided to go to the library and see if he could find any information that might help narrow down his search.

When he entered the Institute library, Alec saw Maeve's husband Alastair sitting behind a pile of books almost as if he hadn't moved since Alec had been there the last time.

"Ohh, err…. A-Alec, awfully late for you to be about isn't it?" the older man said looking up from his work as Alec approached.

"A bit," Alec conceded; "I was having trouble sleeping and thought I would find something to read."

"Of course, there is a fine selection of books here;" Alastair said, as he rose from the desk and stifled a yawn; "Well, it is time for me to retire for the night." Just as he reached the door, he turned back to look at Alec; "I don't suppose you know any warlocks in New York?"

Alec was a little shocked by the sudden question, but before he could answer, Alastair spoke again.

"Oh never mind, it's just so disappointing not to be able to interview any live warlocks for my study.' He said with a heavy sigh and he left the room without another word.

Alec shook his head, and wondered how it was possible that a person could carry on with their daily lives and be so totally oblivious to the world around them. Then he turned back to the bookshelves and concentrated on the task at hand. The library was well organized and extensive, and he found just what he needed in the architecture section, a book on the old Edinburgh church that was now the shadowhunters' Institute. He grabbed it off the shelf and made his way back to his room to study it without interruption.

Alec spent the next hour reading about the old church, and reviewing a floor plan that had been included in one of the books. It seemed that at one time, the building extended beyond the small storage room he had seen on his tour with Maeve, so he decided to begin his search there. Yawning, he glanced at the clock on the bedside table, it was midnight, the witching hour he thought with grim humour, still a little too early to start his search. He decided to try and get a couple of hours sleep, so he set the alarm on his cell phone, lay down on the bed, and surprisingly, drifted off to sleep almost immediately.

The alarm went off at 2:00 am. Alec woke quickly; he had fallen asleep in his clothes so there was nothing to delay him beginning his search of the Institute. After applying runes for silence, agility and strength, he left the room. Alec moved quietly down the dark hallway, listening intently for any sounds that would indicate someone else was up. Hearing nothing he made is way to the small storage room where he planned to begin his search. Once inside he pulled his witchlight from his pocket and carefully examined the walls of the room. He was struck again by the draft that couldn't be explained by a poorly sealed window. Finally after several minutes of fruitless searching, he saw them, discrete hinges on one of the shelving units that meant it could swing out like a door.

Stretching in front of him Alec saw a long, narrow corridor and beyond that a large open space. He could feel the draft coming from the room ahead and it made him shiver as though ghostly fingers stroked the sensitive skin of his neck. Moving on until he entered the large room, Alec raised his witchlight to take a good look at his surroundings. The walls were lined with shelves and display cases, some of which appeared to be antique. A large round, oak table and chairs grounded the center of the room. Alec moved hesitantly to one side of the room and looked at the contents of one of the cabinets. The witchlight in Alec's hand began to shake as he saw the horrors displayed like priceless treasures before him. Vampire fangs, warlock horns, wolf skins, each item representing a life taken for sport and profit. The sight made Alec sick, this was no part of the Angel's charge to shadowhunters, this was pure evil. Alec took out his cell phone and began to take pictures of the exhibits, to document the evidence.

It was when Alec moved to the second cabinet he found what part of him had hoped not to find, Daniel's wolf's head ring and a sgian dhu with a broken tip. Carefully Alec took pictures of the items in the case before removing and wrapping them carefully. He placed the items in his pocket and prepared to move on. Here was the proof that shadowhunters had indeed been behind the attack on Adele and Daniel. Engrossed in his troubled thoughts and the work at hand Alec did not hear the quiet footsteps that crept up behind him. He did not hear the soft whoosh of the poker that connected with his head; but he saw and felt the burst of white hot pain, before the darkness overtook him.