A/N: Woop-de-doop!
I'msososofuckingsorry! It kinda just ... I
didn't register that it was Wednesday already, it just sunk in today! I AM SO SORRY FOR FORGETTING YOU GUYS! I AM A HORRIBLE AUTHOR.
Here, take a cookie and an extra long chapter.
I hope you still love me, because I sure do love you.
Cheers!
Xx
WARNING: THIS CONTAINS GRAPHIC VIOLENCE AND CHARACTER DEATH. DO NOT READ IF YOU CANNOT HANDLE EITHER OF THOSE THINGS.
Alec's POV
It's half past one in the morning when we sneak out of the house, tip-toeing down the stairs, shutting the door as quietly as possible, rushing down streets, hiding in the darkest shadows and avoiding the light at any costs. It's our inofficial agreement to neither be seen nor heard, and the whole plan kind of depends on making it to our meeting spot without getting caught.
I feel remarkably stupid, dressed in my black Shadowhunter gear and armed up to the teeth, with Magnus trailing behind me. He has made quite the effort, that's true; he's carrying weapons (if you count a pocket knife with a pink glitter handle and a pair of scissors as weapons, that is) and is moving as quiet as possible – well, after I kind of smacked him up the head for giggling and saying, „I feel like a teenage girl sneaking out for adventure time," repeatedly.
Also, I managed to talk him out of this horrid pink tee shirt he wanted to wear so desperately, reminding him of the possibility of blood staining the precious silk – so now he's dressed in black skinny pants and combat boots, as well as a knee-length, black coat that blows behind him in the night air dramatically. He did insist on a few strands of glitter in his hair and on his eyelids, though. Not to mention the ton of black eyeliner he's wearing.
It takes us eighteen minutes and twelve seconds to reach our meeting spot – an abandoned parking garage. I feel slight disappointment sink in, because quite frankly, I was hoping for something fancier.
„Why do our fights always happen at shabby places?" I mutter to myself, just to find Magnus smacking me upside the head and hissing, „Shut up! We're on a mission, and adventure time is not the time to talk!"
„I'll give you fucking adventure time if you don't stop-" I start, but interrupt myself immediately, all my senses coming alert. My eyes scan the complete dark for a second, but just when I'm about to relax, it happens.
A shadow loosens itself out of the darkness, stepping into the dim light cast by a broken lamp under the roof. The light only illuminates a circle of about one and a half meters around the entryway, leaving everything else in complete, utter darkness.
I squint, my eyes needing to adjust to the new light showing the person fully now. It takes me a second to recognize Simon, who looks quite – I can't deny it – badass.
He's wearing dark jeans, black Chuck Taylors, a V-neck shirt and a black leather jacket, his dark hair a unruly mop on his head, his fangs bared – he's almost scary.
„I've been waiting for you," he whispers in a sort-of hiss, giving us a clear view of his vampire teeth, a smile playing on his lips. I can't tell if it's meant to be scary or something, because I'm busy snorting.
„Don't tell me you didn't plan this," I say, stepping into the light myself. His grin widens.
„I sure did," he answers, letting his fangs retreat.
„Well, the smile kind of ruined it," I tell him, causing him to stick his tongue out at me.
„Oh, please. I was scary. You just can't admit it, Lightwood, because you're a fucking-"
„Good evening, Simon," Magnus interrupts him, stepping into the circle of light gracefully, his coat bunching up behind his legs like bat wings.
„Nice coat," Simon says, nodding approvingly. Magnus gives him a smile, a real, charm-fully-turned-on Magnus Bane smile.
„I liked your little show; the only thing it lacked was a bit of dramatic mist and glitter, but that's nothing we can't fix," he reassures Simon, fixing a loose strand of glitter-smeared hair.
Before Simon can say more, Clary and Jace walk up to stand in the light, too, dressed in Shadowhunter clothes and looking all ready to fight.
„Hey Alec," Jace smiles at me, and I can see an affectionate spark in his eyes when he turns to the others, nodding at them in a form of greeting. „Dracula, Beyoncé."
„I'm Beyoncé," Magnus adds hastily, causing Jace to snicker and Simon to mutter „Undoubtedly," under his breath. Clary's face twists into a smile, but it looks strained.
Jace glances at her, and then interlocks their fingers. Her features relax immediately, and I can't help but wonder if Magnus would have the same effect on me if he took my hand right now. Part of me wants to reach out and take it, but the other part restrains. We're in the beginning of a battle. Just about to start a fight. No time for that.
I ignore the voice in the back of my head telling me this might be the last time I'll ever get to hold his hand – if everything goes wrong.
Finally, Izzy rounds the corner, dressed up like Jace, Clary and I am, her whip in one hand and dragging Sebastian by the wrist with the other. It's clear he's struggling, but it's also clear he doesn't stand a chance. Not against Izzy.
„Sorry we're late, had to pry this asshole out from under the couch," Izzy says, coming to a halt. I can see she's wearing no make up and has her hair tangled into a messy bun, which is unusual for her. Normally, she'd dress up – especially for a fight.
„What were you doing under the couch?" Simon asks, frowning. „Hiding, because apparently, that little wuss is pissing himself," Isabelle explains, making Jace snort. Sebastian glares at everyone and whispers something that sounds a lot like, „Yeah, well, maybe because I'm not too eager to die," causing Izzy to frown at him. „Sorry?" she asks. „I didn't quite catch that."
„Nothing," he says hastily, not daring to meet any of our gazes. It's better that way, though, because I'm pretty sure that if he'll look me in the eyes, I'll straight out strangle him. Suddenly, a hand lands on the crook of my neck, warm fingers I recognize immediately, causing the tension I didn't know my shoulders held to go away.
„Relax," he whispers into my ear, „it's going to be okay."
„I know," I whisper back, both thankful and scared because of the way his touch is able to calm me down. So he does have that kind of effect on me.
„Well, if you two cuties are done yet, we can just get started with the plan and catch that motherfucking demon," Sebastian says, the first part of the sentence holding a sarcastic note while the second half sounds darker, more dangerous even. I notice a grim kind of excitement glowing on his features.
„Are you excited?" Simon blurts out, asking the question I just asked myself, too.
„Well, if I'm going to let Isabelle Lightwood drag my precious ass through the entire city to fight a stupid demon in a parking garage, I might as well enjoy it," he says, shrugging nonchalantly.
„Good, because your precious ass is sure as heck going to be the first to get grilled," Isabelle says, shoving him forward by his shoulders. „In."
I didn't even notice that Jace opened the side entry with his stele until now, but Sebastian disappears into the darkness, so I figure it must be open. We all hold our breath, listening to whatever noise he'll make, until we hear him shout: „It's okay! Dark, but I'm still alive, which is-"
„A clear sign that we did something wrong," Isabelle grumbles, following him in. We exchange glances, and then Magnus goes, followed by Simon and Clary, who seems to have restored her bravery by now. Jace and I look at each other, and then he gives me a brief nod. „Go, follow him," he says, and I can't help but feel my cheeks heat up.
„I -" I pause; there are so many things I want to say to him, but I don't know what to tell him first. He takes that choice, though, when he shakes his head slightly. „Don't. I'm going to watch your back."
„Are you sure?" I ask, taking a hesitant step in the direction of the door. He's my parabatai, and I want him safe.
A smile lights up his face when he says, „Always," and then gently nudges me in the shoulder, causing me to stumble through the hole that resembles a door, being embraced by darkness immediately.
I'm blind for a second, trying to orientate myself, fighting the panic that threatens to overtake me, but then my eyes adjust to the dim light and I relax.
Stepping forward, I take a moment to observe my surroundings. The parking garage is huge, a seven story house with a large, empty space in the middle, resembling kind of a hollow tower. The ramps that lead to the higher stories seem mostly intact, but there's also a staircase spiraling its way up the right wall of the building, looking rusty but safe. There are windows in the ceiling, and some on levels seven, five and three. The lamps are all dead, though, shattered glass littering the pavement underneath. I take a mental note to watch out for that later. The humming of the traffic is distant, but every noise echoes off the walls, making the inside of the building a thousand times louder than the city outside. A smell of wet pavement, burned wires and rotten wood hangs in the air, unpleasant but bearable.
Jace steps in behind me, scrunching up his face. „Man, this is almost as bad as that stupid pub Izzy led us to," he says, sounding disgusted. I can't help but grin.
„Oh, shut up and come over here; do something useful for once, Wayland," Isabelle calls over, rolling her eyes when her voice echoes off the walls dramatically.
My parabatai and I share another quick, knowing look before making our way over to the others, bustling about in the middle of the room. Isabelle takes the lead, telling us what to do and scanning every inch of the building permanently.
„Jace, you go check the upper levels. Simon, make sure there's no way into the basement, and that all other doors are sealed – except for the one we came through. Sebastian, you go check the supplies."
Jace and Simon wander off, both in different directions, but before Sebastian is more than a meter away, Izzy changes her mind.
„Actually, no. You might poison us or something," she says, twirling a loose strand of hair around her finger before shouting: „Simon! You go check the supplies!"
„Yes, Ma'am," his answer echoes out of the darkness, sounding through the entire building like a horn.
„And what do I do?" Sebastian asks, blinking at her.
„You stand there and don't touch anything," she commands, pointing a threatening finger at him. „If you move even an inch, I'm going to castrate you. Clary, Magnus, you draw the rune and perform every neccessary spell there is – and keep an eye on Sebastian. If you bother them, I'll castrate you, too," she warns him, turning to me.
„Alec, you and I check the doors and basement. Everyone hurry now," she orders, yelling the last part, causing all of us to flinch – and then she's stomping into the darkness.
I hurry, doing my best to catch up to her.
We do our work in silence, checking on all the doors, looking for hidden entries in the basement and finding nothing but rat feces and dust – and a tottery plastic chair with only three and a half legs.
„Let's take this," Isabelle says, bending to pick up the abandoned piece of furniture, but I reach out and put my hand on her arm, stopping her.
„Wait." I pause, not quite sure what to say, but then she looks at me, and the familiar gaze of my sister makes the words stumble out all on their own.
„Izzy, I-" I take a deep, shuddering breath before continuing, „I'm scared."
„Me too," she says, a soft smile playing on her features. „Me too, Al."
„Don't call me that," I snort, relief flooding my brain. She is afraid too. „It's so girly."
„No, and you're just trying to change the subject because you're shit at talking about feelings," she retorts, making me blush. She's right, though. The witch light in her left hand casts a bluish glow over both of us, making her features clearer, sharper – more predator like.
„Fear is a normal emotion, Alec. It's okay to be afraid. It's okay to feel," she says, and then she's hugging me, my head resting on her shoulder, her small hands on my back, the chair and the threatening danger that's still to come momentarily forgotten. We stand like that for a long time, holding each other, not speaking but saying so much more than words could ever express. Finally, we untangle ourselves from each other, and when I look at her, I see tears in her eyes.
„You're my sister, Isabelle," I say, touching her cheek in an attempt to comfort her, „Whatever happens. And I love you."
„I love you too, you moron," she sniffles, but her voice is full of affection and a strange, stiffling fear.
I swallow before turning around, picking up the chair and resting it on my shoulder. „We should go back," I say, „they're probably wondering where we are."
„They could've just checked on us if they were wondering," Izzy snorts, but we turn around and walk back, the witch light in her left hand, the chair on my right shoulder, her right hand placed comfortably in the crook of my left elbow.
... ... ...
We guide each other through the dark and up the stairs, sealing the door to the basement before walking back to the others.
„Ah, man," Sebastian sighs, leaning on a cement pole, arms folded over his chest, „and here I was hoping you got bitten by rats with rabies."
„Oh, go and die in a hole, Verlac," Isabelle says, letting go of my arm and walking over to Simon to help him with the food. I set the chair down, looking around for something to steady the fourth leg, when Sebastian walks up to me.
„Here," he says, handing me a large stone, „try this."
„Are you sure that's not gonna explode?" I ask, eyeing the grey clump suspiciously. „Because if it is, I'm gonna use you to steady that chair."
„It's safe," he says, and for some reason, I decide to trust him on this – I jam the stone between the stump of the chair's leg and the floor, noticing that, surprisingly, it seems to work. With a last glare in Sebastian's direction, I walk up to the others, standing in the middle of the empty space in the building.
Jace has a stele in one hand, a seraph blade in the other, Izzy carries a backpack which she earlier placed here, filled to the brim with food, and Simon holds on to a sixpack Coke and a bottle of water. They're all watching Clary and Magnus, who seem to be performing some kind of magical rite or something. Clary is drawing the rune in the center of the building, using something that looks like a mixture of ash with some dark fluid, and Magnus is busy strewing a circle of leaves around her, mumbling rhythmic chants to himself.
„What is this?" I whisper, not wanting to interrupt them.
„The rune is to get Martha here," Simon explains quietly, „and the herbal mixture combined with the spells is to guard us in one way or another."
„What's in those mixtures?" Jace asks, his voice low.
„Mountain ash and the blood of a white dove for the rune, and lavender, frankincense and white sage for the protectors," Simon answers, watching both Clary and Magnus with a spark in his eyes I can't quite name.
„It's supposed to make them stronger," he adds, due to our confused looks, but he misunderstood. That's not what I was wondering about. Isabelle asks what was really on my mind before I can, though. „How do you know?"
Simon blushes. „Well, I kinda like myths and magic rites and all that stuff," he murmurs, shrugging it off. I frown, but decide not to bug him about it.
Just then, Magnus and Clary finish their thing, walking up to us. Clary immediately takes Jace's hand, and I want nothing more but to take Magnus's, too, but he only offers me a smile. „Done," he says, looking at Isabelle.
Something about the fact he neither took my hand nor held my gaze longer makes me frown.
„What now?" Magnus asks. Izzy shrugs. „We wait," she says, looking at all of us, one after one.
Clary is the first to react. „Well, I was growing a bit tired," she shrugs, pulling her hand out of Jace's and making her way over to the provisory bed in the corner Simon set up earlier. „If you don't mind...?" she questions, looking at all of us, and when no one protests, she lies down, facing the wall – away from us – to catch a bit of sleep before shit goes down.
I should, too, especially given the fact I didn't sleep last night and not too well tonight until Magnus woke me up – the scars on his hips kept haunting me. But I know exactly that I'm too pumped with anxiety and pre-battle-fear that I won't be able to sleep.
We end up like this: Sebastian's leaning against the wall, sharpening a painful looking knife; Clary's fast asleep in the corner; Isabelle watches the East side of the building, Magnus is camping out with Simon, eating, drinking and talking quietly, and I'm near the door, not letting my gaze leave the empty frame for even a mere half of a second.
And so
We wait.
... ... ...
The night is almost over, and we've grown wary hours ago. Everyone has taken turns on watching out, eating, and sleeping – the only people who haven't slept at all are Iz and me. Right now, I'm sitting on the floor, with my back against the wall, taking a sip from a Coke every now and then and eating a cracker here and there. Isabelle is watching the door, Jace is sleeping, Magnus is on the opposite side, guarding the East side, Clary discusses something with Sebastian, their voices low, and Simon sits next to me in the chair, chewing on crackers and passing one to me from time to time. I wonder if he still likes human food, but I'm too tired to ask. A certain weariness has gripped my limbs, and I'm too busy trying to stay awake.
„What time is it?" Sebastian finally asks, him and Clary walking over to us. She flops down on Simon's other side, starting to eat something as well, but Sebastian remains standing, leaning against the wall a few feet away.
„Quarter to five," Simon says, checking his watch. I groan in frustration, pressing my back into the stone behind me, hard. It's what I've been doing the past hours; both the pain and and the coolness kept me awake – more or less.
„I don't think this is going to work anymore. We should go ho-" Sebastian starts – and then there's this explosion of noise and something comes crashing through the windows of the fifth floor.
We startle awake immediately.
„JACE!" Clary screams, jumping up and back into the shadows, a seraph blade lighting up in her right hand. Isabelle spins around, pulling out her weapons, and on the other side of the building I see Magnus take long strides toward us, blue flames dancing on the tips of his fingers.
Simon has jumped several feet into the air, as have I, but while I landed on my back, hard enough to knock the wind out of me, he's on his feet, crouching down and baring his fangs. Sebastian pulls out one of his knives calmly, eyeing it carefully as if he's got all the time in the world. And Jace – Jace is just a bundle of blankets, tangled in them, trying to wake up and comprehend what's happening and untangle himself from the sheets all at once.
The confusion is clear on his face, and then I see her – this thing, looking so much like the woman Magnus told me about but also not even human anymore.
There are claws on her hands instead of fingers, long and sharp, her teeth are so long they reach down to her chin, each one pointed like a needle, and there are bat-like wings spreading from either side of her ribcage to her wrists.
A screech escapes her mouth, and then she's moving toward Jace – and I do the only thing I can think of.
I reach out, pull the stone out from under the chair, sending it tumbling to the floor noisily, and throw the rock.
It hits her right in the back of her head, causing her to spin around with a hiss, now marching towards me. That's when I meet her eyes – pitch black, soulless, demonic – and all I can do is open my mouth and scream.
With a screech similar to my own, the demon lunges towards me, but before it's halfway there, something hits it in the side like a cannonball, bringing both the demon and the attacker to the floor, skidding and rolling several feet, tumbling over each other, shredding through the shards of glass strewn on the concrete.
It takes me a second to realize it's Izzy, having jumped into action immediately, now caught underneath the demon, who's recovering from the fall quicker than any of us ever could. I scramble to my feet, Clary offering me a helping hand, but it's Simon who reaches them first.
„Get. Off. My. Girlfriend!" he roars, gripping the thing that was once Martha by the shoulders and driving his fangs into her neck, deep. Another demonic wail fills the air, making me flinch; it's so high and loud it hurts. Simon and Martha tumble off of Isabelle, who rolls to her feet, and just when I think he's got her, a tail breaks out of her lower back, long and black and with a pointed end, reminding me strongly of a scorpion – and it's most likely poisonous, too.
„Simon! Watch out!" Clary cries, but it's too late. The demon drives its tail into Simon's shoulder the moment he turns around, and I watch in horror as he falls to the floor, lifeless, still, unmoving.
„SIMON! NO!" Clary screams at the same time that Isabelle does, and they're on their way to him as fast as possible – but not fast enough.
Jace is there before either of them make it to three meters distance. He draws his arm back, and then he's stabbing Martha with a knife – causing her to screech, spin around and swipe him cleanly off his feet, slamming him into the wall. He crashes to the ground, and then the demon turns to face us, throwing its head back and letting out a train of strangled noises. It takes me a second to realize it's laughing, honestly laughing, before it winks provocatively.
Anger blossoms in my chest, making my heart and brain burn with the desire to get revenge, to let her pay for doing that, to kill. I break into a run, and so do Isabelle and Clary, and we're all running to kill this thing for doing that to Jace and Simon.
Surprisingly, a shadow rushes past me, and before I understand what's happening, Sebastian slams into Martha, throwing her off balance and hacking away at her with a truly tremendous sword.
„I – NEED – HIM – YOU – FUCKTARD," he shouts, emphasizing each word by another strike. The demon, clearly as surprised as Iz, Clary and I are, cowers away, avoiding each blow successfully. Well, except the last one.
Sebastian draws his arm back, and then he drives the sword through the demon's upper arm, cutting it off cleanly. The now useless stump falls to the floor, spraying blood everywhere, and the demon howls in pain and disbelief.
I see the chance, and I take it. Sadly, Isabelle and Clary had the same idea, and the demon kind of picked up on our plan, so when we're running towards Martha and Sebastian at full speed, ready to jump, it spreads its one wing and rises into the air, flying onto one of the higher levels, swaying and crashing into a wall in the process, but successful nonetheless. Clary, Isabelle and I are still at full speed, and with our original target gone, it results in us trying to stop, sliding on the blood and crashing into one another, knocking Sebastian over, too. We crumble to the floor in a heap of bodies, something hits Sebastian in the head and he's out could – something I can not and will not feel sorry for, ever. S
omehow, Clary untangles us from one another, rubbing her temple and groaning.
„You okay?" I ask after checking to make sure that all my limbs are still there. They seem fine, despite from the bruises that'll no doubt form and the glass splinters that shreddered my right arm.
„Yes, just a little dizzy," Clary answers, squinting as if she's having trouble to focus on me. „Iz?"
A groan unwrenches itself from Isabelle's throat, and when she opens her mouth to answer, a wave of blood crashes out of it, hitting the floor and the front of her clothes.
„Oh, my god!" Clary cries, pulling out her stele to heal my sister. I only hear one thing, though: Magnus screaming my name.
„ALEC! ALEC! PLEASE! I – AH! AL-" Another strangled scream, then nothing but silence.
Before I think about it, I'm up and running – chasing up the ramps, level after level after level, until I hear him call for me so clearly it's like he's next to me.
„MAGNUS! NO! MAGNUS! WHERE ARE-"
„ALEC! I'M HERE! I'M OKAY! ALEC! STOP!" his voice interrupts me, and I come to a halt, my shoe soles slippery from the blood, skidding a few meters before finally stopping. I hear him shouting, again and again, but his voice is farther away and yet, it's right there, right next to me – I don't know what to believe, what to do, who to answer, so I slam my hands over my ears and scream, as loud as possible.
When I stop, the building is silent. Too silent.
„Alec," I hear him whisper, but it sounds like he's far, far away, „it knows where you are."
I look down, only to find that I'm on level four, and down there stand Isabelle, her face smeared with blood, Clary, eyes wild, and Magnus, staring at me with an expression of utter terror.
„I know where you are," says Magnus's voice, but it's not his voice, not really, and I turn my head, slowly, as if unable to move faster, fear keeping its iron grip on me. Right there, in front of me, less than two meters away, sits Martha, cowering on the railing, clutching her bleeding stump with one hand, wagging her tail, smiling at me through blood and god knows what else is smeared on her face.
I find that I don't have enough air left to scream.
She gets up, and I notice vaguely her feet turned into claws, too, before she balances over to me, slowly, teasingly. My brain is clogged with terror and the knowledge I'm going to die – and then, somewhere, deep in the corners of my mind, there's the thought Take the stairs. Run. As fast as you can.
The rational part of my brain tells me I'll never be fast enough, but I take a step backwards anyway – flinching when Martha raises with a screech, but rather to threaten than actually attack me.
It's then that the words the others are screaming reach my brain.
„Jump!"
„Alec! Please!"
„He'll catch you! He said he will! He's not going to let you die, Al, I promise-"
„JUMP!"
Within the half of a second, I make a decision. It's trust Magnus and jump, or run and hope. There's not really a choice to be made, I realize.
I made it a long time ago, coming back to him when I could've so easily stayed away after that first kiss. I chose him. And I'm probably always going to.
With a desperate cry, I haul my body over the railing, and then I'm falling,
falling, falling,
and all I think is
Shit. I should've taken the stairs.
... ... ...
Magnus's POV
I was just beginning to think I lost him when we watch him jump over the railing, rushing toward the floor, toward us with an almost impossible speed. Fear and relief make my throat grow tight, and I'm scared, heck, I'm fucking terrified, terrified of having promised too much, of not being able to catch him, of being the reason he dies, and then I run to meet him, and suddenly he's safely in my arms, embracing me for a moment. My knees crash into the concrete when he slams into me like a cannonball, but I don't care. I don't care about the stone scraping my skin, about my pants ripping, about the blood staining them, I don't care about the splintering feeling in my kneecaps or the shards of glass driving deep into my limbs, all I care about is him, and he's here, he's alive, he's in my arms.
He doesn't stay there for long, though, jumping out of my embrace and pulling out his seraph blade, ready to fight this final battle.
Right when his feet hit the ground, Martha's former body emerges from the darkness, lunging at him, a demonic cry escaping her mouth as she leaps at Alec.
Alec cries out, too, but he's screaming „CASTIEL!", the name of his weapon, and when Martha drives her extended claws deep into him, raking open his chest, he stabs the angel sword right through her body, the tip emerging from her back, and then they collapse in a heap of limbs and blood, unmoving.
... ... ...
I stand there, frozen, unable to move. I stare at the pile of limbs that was once my friend, and my boyfriend, and feel my throat tighten. This can't be happening.
It just can't be true.
Clary grabs Sebastian's arm, needing to hold on to something, anything, Isabelle cries out and shoves Martha's body off of her brother, and then Jace is there, and I don't have time to wonder about him because I'm too busy being worried right out of my fucking mind. He crouches down, every action causing him visible pain, and he places his fingers at the side of Alec's neck, bending down to press his ear to his parabatai's lips.
When he sits up, he's as white as a sheet of paper, and the words that come out of his mouth feel like a thousand needles in my heart, and I become breathless.
„He isn't breathing."