Author's Note: I don't own shadowhunters. He guys back you to everyone who reviewed I always appreciate the feedback. I hope you all had a good new year :) This chapter gave me soo much trouble. I desperately wanted to get it right so it ended up getting rewritten about a dozen times but I've finished it now and I hope you all enjoy it. The title, more song lyrics, yh i know I like my lyrics lol. This time its from SYML's Where's My Love, any stydia fans reading this will know this song very well. It fit this chapter really well so I had no choice but to use it. Anyway on with the story!
Chapter 14: If You're Scared, I'm On My Way
Alec's POV
He pulled on his shirt as he rushed out into the hallway after Lydia. They came to Robin's door first and Lydia began pounding on it furiously, uncaring who else she woke up in the process she shouted "ROBIN! WAKE UP, OPEN THE BLOODY DOOR!" Alec heard stumbling followed by a stream of curses coming from the room then Robin groggily opened the door dressed only in some loose jogging bottoms.
"What the bleeding hell is going on? Lydia? Do you have any idea what time it is?" He rubbed sleep from his eyes irritably.
"Never mind the time get to the Op's Centre I'm calling an emergency meeting. I know who took Magnus." Without waiting for him to answer she carried on down the hall towards Izzy's bedroom leaving Robin looking questioningly at Alec.
"Um, Alec...?"
Shaking his head he interrupted him, "Don't ask me, I've got no idea. She just woke up screaming then started going on about the Dark Lady." Robin sighed warily nodding his head he grabbed a hoodie and followed Alec.
Fifteen minutes later the group was gathered in the Op's centre. Looking around he saw that everyone had dark circles under their eyes and were wearing disgruntled expressions on their faces, clearly no one was happy about being pulled out of bed so soon. Lydia was standing in front of the group looking a little deranged if Alec was being honest.
"Ok Lydia start talking. What's going on? You said you knew who had taken Magnus and the other Warlocks?" Jace asked while he rubbed his forehead.
"It's the Dark Lady." Lydia answered confidently. Shocked silence met her statement.
"Wait... As in The Dark Lady from those old Warlock horror stories?" Caitlin asked with a shaky voice. "She's real?"
"Afraid so, we had a run in with her a while ago." Robin explained as calmly as he could. Caitlin suddenly looked terrified.
"So you think that the Dark Lady is back, that she's the one behind these kidnappings?" Clary asked Lydia bringing the focus back to the problem at hand.
"Yes."
"Why would you think that?" Izzy questioned looking as confused as everyone else. Alec could see that Lydia was starting to get irritated with all the questions. She rubbed her eyes before explaining.
"I saw her, just now in our room." A startled look ran around the group. Before they all turned to look at Alec.
"Did you see her?" Jace asked directly.
"No, I didn't." He answered truthfully; meeting Lydia's eyes he could see the frustration in them. The fear. "But that doesn't mean she wasn't there." Lydia smiled in return, thankful for his support. However the others looked sceptical.
"Are you sure she was there Lydia?" Clary asked gently. "Maybe you just had a nightmare?" Lydia just sent an annoyed look her way.
"Or it could have been a shadow, trick of the light?" Suggested Simon sounding half hopeful.
"I didn't have a nightmare." Lydia said through gritted teeth. "It wasn't a shadow, last time I checked shadows don't have glowing green eyes!" Alec could tell that she was past irritated now and verging on angry. "Besides I'm sure I sensed her watching me outside Magnus' apartment yesterday." Alec felt uneasy as he remembered having a similar feeling of being watched the day he had found the letter at Magnus'. He felt his stomach lurch with guilt as he thought about Magnus. Why hadn't he gone to London? Why hadn't he questioned the authenticity of that letter? He knew it was unlike Magnus. How could he let this happen? Attempting to push the guilt away he tuned back into the conversation.
"Lydia it's not that we don't believe you... It's just." Izzy was saying trying to placate her.
"It's just that it doesn't fit The Dark Lady's MO." Jace finished. "She likes to physically torture her victims then string them up to a pier. She's never gone around kidnapping people before."
"But she would if she was being paid to. We know that she has worked for Valentine before maybe she's taking them for him." Lydia replied tensely. "Besides, as much as she likes slicing people into shreds she enjoys psychologically torturing people more, believe me. This is just more of her mind games."
"Maybe, If. This is all just speculation. I'm sorry Lydia but there just isn't any evidence to suggest that The Dark Lady is involved, other than you've got a feeling." Argued Jace.
Anger flashed in Lydia's eyes. Alec sighed getting frustrated himself, they were wasting time and the more they wasted time the worse it was going to get for Magnus. Thanks to him they were already ten months behind. As Lydia opened her mouth to angrily retort Alec cut across her.
"Ok Lyd's why don't you go and get the case file on The Dark Lady from the office? We can look through and see if there's any more information that can help." He squeezed her shoulder in comfort. She gave a quick nod then left. Alec turned to the others.
"What do you all think?" He asked the group.
"I don't know Alec, there's not much to go on. I'm sure she believes she saw the Dark Lady but I'm just not so sure." Izzy said uncertainly.
"I think what Izzy is trying to say is that Lydia, like all of us, was very tired and stressed, plus she had just woken up and the room was dark she could have just imagined it." Clary reasoned as Jace nodded his head in agreement.
Noticing that he had been unusually quiet Alec turned to Robin. "And what about you Robin? What do you think?"
He took a beat before answering, when he did he sounded calm and reasonable. "I think the last time Lydia was acting like this, talking about The Dark Lady and acting erratic we all said that she was stressed and tired and needed to get some more sleep. But it turned out she was dead right about all of it and because we didn't listen to her..."
"She nearly died." Alec finished for him nodding his head.
"I think if Lydia is saying that The Dark Lady is back then we should listen to her." Robin looked around at them all. "We owe her that at least."
"Alright, 'spose it can't hurt to look in to it. It is the only kind of lead we've had." Jace conceded.
At that moment Lydia came back with the file. Soon after they had papers and photographs spread across the table as they searched for anything that might help them find Magnus and the missing Warlocks. Alec tried his best to stay focused and not let his thoughts wander to Magnus. It was a losing battle.
Magnus' POV
10 Months Earlier
Magnus' head felt heavy as he struggled to open his eyes. He quickly became aware that his wrists were shackled by his sides. He finally managed to drag his eyes open and slowly blinked as he tried to adjust to the gloom of the room. Looking around he realised that he seemed to be in some kind of laboratory. He was shackled by his wrists and ankles to a cold metal slab. The room was so dark that he could barely make anything out.
Then he spotted a figure shrouded in darkness moving towards him, their green eyes glowing. "Hush now Magnus." The Dark Lady whispered with her silky voice. She stroked his thigh as he struggled against his restraints. She picked up a tube attached to a long, very sharp looking needle from the table beside him. Gripping his arm with unnatural strength she pierced his skin with the needle taping it into place. Attaching the other end of the tube to a strange looking machine she then ran a finger over the mysterious markings on the top. The room was lit up red by the glow of her magic. Suddenly Magnus felt an intense burning in his chest that grew and grew until it was unbearable. The blue mist of his magic began to glow over his heart before it travelled down his arm and into the machine that was humming beside him. Magnus tried to focus on his breathing but the burning sensation only grew worse. As a scream of agony was ripped from him he felt the Dark Lady's hair tickle his neck as she lent forward and whispered in his ear. "You and I are going to have so much fun together."
It went on for days. At times the pain was so excruciating that he would pass out and over time the glow of his magic became dimmer and dimmer. It was three, maybe four, days later that the Dark Lady finally unhooked him from the device. He felt as weak as a new born kitten barely able to even turn his head towards her. But when he finally did he saw that she was wearing a self-satisfied smirk on her face. For some reason that made him angry.
"You... You won't get away with this. There will be people looking for me." He tried to put as much strength into his voice as possible. But The Dark Lady only grinned wider.
Leaning in close and looking him directly in the eye she said. "There's no one looking for you. I made sure of it." She let out a chilling giggle. "You should have seen the look on your precious Alexander's face when he read that letter saying how you had decided to leave and go to London after all. That you just didn't think he was worth fighting for anymore." She put on a fake pout. "He just couldn't believe you could do such a thing, abandon him right at the moment he had decided to choose you. That's why he was there you know." She continued mockingly. " To tell you that he wanted to be with you, left poor Lydia in tears back at the Institute. Her already damaged heart breaking all over again." She let out a phony sigh, sadly shaking her head while her eyes laughed. "Well I did warn her. Not that it matters anymore the first thing he did was go running back to her. Blisteringly angry he was." She lent her head on her hand as she carried on conversationally. "Though can you blame him? He laid it all on the line for you, hurt his wife, a woman he cares deeply for, risked the wrath of his parents and the judgement of his fellow Shadowhunters not to mention the risk of tearing his entire family apart, all to be with you. And then he got there just to find out that you really didn't even care all that much, you didn't even care enough to stay and say goodbye." She finished dramatically. After a moments silence she suddenly let out a manic laugh clearly delighted with herself.
Magnus could feel anger brewing in his chest burning worse than her magic had previously. "He'll know!" Magnus spat out. "He'll know it wasn't from me! He'll try and contact me in London and when I don't answer he'll figure it out! He won't give up on me that easily!" He said confidently his cat eyes burned a fierce golden in the dim light.
The Dark Lady just chuckled softly. "Oh come now Magnus you know Alexander better than that. It took every ounce of courage and strength he had to finally take the plunge and choose you. When he did he was humiliated by your letter..."
"You mean your letter!" He interrupted angrily.
"Well Alexander doesn't know it was from me." She laughed softly again before she shook her thoughts away and turned her eyes back to his. "The point is, his heart was broke and even if his anger subsides and he forgives you he's not going to be in a rush to set himself back up for that kind of pain again. Especially not now he's back in his safe little cocoon of his marriage to Lydia. Alexander is not good at taking risks with his heart, it's just part of who he is. You know I'm right." She whispered as she stroked his face and hair almost tenderly. And as she did all of the strength, all of the fight went out of him. Because he did know Alexander. He did know that it would have taken a lot for him to admit his own feelings and choose him. He knew that receiving that letter would have put all the progress Alexander had made back to square one. He knew that Alexander would find it hard taking another risk like that again.
"It's time to accept it Magnus. There's no one coming for you." The Dark Lady confirmed his fears while madness burned in her green eyes like wildfire.
Present Day
As he began to regain consciousness again Magnus was greeted back by the groans, cries and screams of his fellow captives. Over the months that he had been held captive The Dark Lady had gradually filled the room with Warlocks that she had taken from all over the globe. Each time Magnus regained consciousness there would be a new face twisted in agony as their magic was forcibly ripped from them. By now Magnus didn't pay much attention to what was going on around him. He could barely even manage to open his eyes most of the time. He was periodically visited by The Dark Lady who would hook him up to her torturous machine and he would scream in agony as his magic was drained away. Then after a few days she would return and unhook him, wait until his magic had restored then repeat the painful process all over again.
Nowadays though it was taking less time for his magic to be drained and more time for him to recuperate it. He began to worry how much longer it would be before he could no longer gain his magic back. Where was his breaking point? He knew that some of the Warlocks had already succumbed to the strain. The Dark Lady had taken their bodies and burned them to ash in an incinerator. Was that to be his fate too? To be burnt away as if he never existed at all?
Every moment Magnus spent awake was in excruciating pain. The skin on his chest had began to turn black and his arms were covered in ugly yellow, green and purple bruises. Every breath felt like someone was driving a dagger into his ribs, every muscle ached as if he had ran a marathon and his skin was flushed and hot with fever. He knew it would be easy to just close his eyes and let himself slip away. That he would be free from the pain, at peace. But every time the pain became too much and he felt that despair pulling him down into the shadows he remembered Alexander.
He remembered his smile and the way his eyes lit up whenever Magnus called him Alexander. He remembered the scent of his skin and the feeling of his hand in his. He remembered how his muscles rippled when he was pummelling the punch bag at The Institute. The feeling of his heartbeat speeding up whenever Alexander walked into the room. How his name sounded when Alexander spoke it. He remembered every little thing about him.
As he lay there surrounded by the sounds of pain and hopelessness he sent up a prayer to anyone who might hear and grant him his wish. Please let me see him again. He pleaded. Just let me see him one last time, that's all I ask.
Alec's POV
The Dark Lady's file had produced nothing useful. After spending hours pouring over all the information they had on her she still remained as much a shadow as she always had been. They still had no idea where Magnus or the Warlocks could be hidden. He was frustrated. The morning had been filled with nothing but arguments. At one point he had to stop Lydia and Jace coming to blows. He felt like hitting something himself. He could feel a thousand emotions roiling around inside him yet he was trying to keep them all locked away. He felt like he was going to explode.
"ALRIGHT! THAT'S ENOUGH!" He yelled over all the arguments. The room fell silent right away as everyone turned to stare at him. He took a calm steadying breath. "Look we're clearly not getting anywhere with this. We're just wasting time and the more time we waste the more Magnus and the others are going to suffer. So if you could all stop jack-assing around and actually be useful that would be great." He said angrily.
"Hey we're all trying our best Alec!" Jace retorted in defence. "I don't see you coming up with any better ideas."
Alec just ignored him and continued. "We need to get out on the streets and start asking around. Lydia go out with Robin and Caitlin start asking around the Warlock community, see if anyone has seen anything weird or out the ordinary. Jace, Clary go through our records see if you can find anyone who has been on Valentine's payroll at any point, start bringing them in, interrogate them and find out if they know anything. Simon contact Luke see if he can get a scent from mine and Lydia's room and if he can track The Dark Lady. Izzy same deal contact the Seelies see if they've got anything that can help."
"And what are you going to do?" Lydia asked curiously.
"I'm going to go back to Magnus' see if there's anything we missed." They all stared at him silently for a moment before there was a murmur of consent and they all got up breaking off into their groups and busying themselves with their tasks.
Alec let out a sigh and rubbed his forehead before grabbing his jacket off the back of his chair and heading for the exit. He kept a keen eye out as he made his way to Magnus' apartment. He didn't expect The Dark Lady to show herself but it was best to be careful. The sun was shining and he could hear the laughter and delighted screams of children playing in the park. It was so at odds with what he was feeling inside. He made his way solemnly up the stairs and entered the apartment.
The place seemed eerily quiet without its owner, lifeless. He began searching for clues, inspecting every inch of the place as he moved from room to room. He found little to help in his quest to find Magnus. On the surface everything looked normal. It really did look as though Magnus had just decided to walk out the door intending to return soon. His drink sat on the coffee table and his shoes lay by the chair. The only indication that Magnus hadn't been there in a while was the thin layer of dust that coated all the surfaces.
Alec made his way into the bedroom, the only room he had yet to search. As he stood in the doorway he had to take a moment to compose himself. Out of all the rooms in the house this is the one that most reminded him of Magnus. It was extravagant but elegant. Rich colours and plenty of metallics and glitter. Magnus loved glitter. Shaking the thoughts from his head he began to look around the room. As he had expected he found nothing. Sitting down on the bed he felt his hand brush against something. It was one of Magnus' jackets that was laying over the foot board. Slowing picking it up he studied the beige material and the black lace embroidery, he let his fingers trace the blue collar. He felt a stabbing pain in his chest and a lump form in his throat as he remembered that it was the same jacket Magnus had been wearing the day they had first met. He raised it up to his face and inhaled deeply. Magnus' familiar scent engulfed him and with it so did the comfort that Magnus always brought to Alec.
It was also what broke him. A sob was wrenched from his chest as tears prickled at his eyes before falling down his cheeks. All of the feelings he had bottled up; the guilt, the regret, the heartache, the pain, the grief, the hopelessness, the worry and the fear, all of it came spilling out. The sobs shook his body as he clung to Magnus' jacket like a lifeline. Please he begged silently, Please let us find him, let him come back to me. He gathered up the jacket closer to his heart as he relived a million moments that he shared with Magnus in his head. From their very first meeting and that jolt he had felt to his heart as their eyes had first met. Something had awoken inside him at that moment. It was as if his heart had been a heavy stone in his chest struggling to beat and then the moment he had looked into Magnus' eyes it had sprung to life. He remembered how it felt to hold his hand in his own. He remembered their last moments together. He remembered everything, every second they had spent together.
Alec didn't know how long he sat there clinging to that jacket but he was suddenly broken out of his trance by his phone ringing. Without looking to see who it was he answered. "Alec, it's Lydia come back to The Institute, we think we found something."
Lydia's POV
Lydia's eyes itched with tiredness in the mid afternoon sun. She could feel the energy draining from her. They had spent most of the day wandering New York talking to Warlocks but had very little to go on. All any of them could say was that for the last week of two they had all been feeling the same uneasiness. But other than that there was nothing to suggest that The Dark Lady was in the city and Lydia was beginning to feel the tendrils of doubt creep in. Maybe she was wrong and she wasn't here after all. Maybe the others were right and she did just have a bad dream or imagined that The Dark Lady was there. But she had felt so sure. She let out a sigh and rubbed her eyes.
She felt a hand gently rub her back and looked up to see Robin smiling gently at her, concern in his eyes. "Hey, how are you doing?" He asked softly.
Lydia shrugged. "I don't know, ok I guess. Tired." She answered as she looked back up at him. "Doubting myself." She admitted. He smiled and shook his head at her.
"Don't doubt yourself. You saw her, I know you did. You had these feelings about The Dark Lady before and you were spot on." He moved his hands up her arms to rest them on her shoulders. "Lydia, you have always been intuitive. It's what makes you such a good Shadowhunter. When you go with your gut instinct you always make the right decision. Even if it makes no sense to anyone else you're usually always right." He reassured her gently.
"I didn't make the right decision when it came to that Warlock in Rio. I followed my gut then and it was a disaster." She whispered as tears pricked at her eyes. Robin cupped her cheeks and made her meet his eyes.
"Listen to me Lydia. Despite what happened you made the right call." He sighed and dropped his gaze to the floor for a moment before meeting her eyes again she could see the guilt and regret shining in his own. "I know I blamed you for it, I know I reacted badly and you'll never know how sorry I am for that or how much I wish I could change it. But Lydia you were right when you said we wouldn't have been able to live with ourselves if we had gone through with it. As much as it hurt losing John and Arabelle I know that we would have all lost ourselves to something much worse than death if you hadn't made the decision you did." He gently pulled her into a hug as she nodded her head. She sank into his warm, closing her eyes and inhaling his familiar scent. He smelled like cinnamon and the Portuguese sea. He smelled like home. They stayed like that for a moment before drawing apart. As she met his eyes again she noticed he was gazing at her strangely.
"What?" She asked nervously.
"Hmm?"
"You're looking at me funny, like something is bothering you." He let out a sigh and lent back towards her.
"Come here a sec." He said distractedly as he raised a hand up to her hair. She suddenly felt her breath catch and butterflies erupt in her tummy at his close proximity. He gently tugged her hair tie, releasing her hair from it's ponytail and letting it tumble down her back and around her shoulders. "There that's better." He whispered with satisfaction as he brushed a few stray strands away from her face.
She raised an eyebrow at him. "Got a problem with my choice in hairstyle." She teased gently. He chuckled as he shook his head again.
"As a matter of fact yes. It doesn't suit you. Makes you look more severe, intimidating." He answered playfully. "This is much better. Makes you look more free spirited, more like the you I remember." He finished gently. She held his gaze for a few moments before she felt a blush creep across her cheeks and she cleared her throat feeling awkward all of a sudden. At that moment Caitlin approached them and Lydia took an unconscious step back from Robin.
"Hey did you find anything?" Lydia asked hopefully.
"I'm not sure. Maybe but its a bit weird." Caitlin answered while wringing her hands. Lydia noticed that she did that a lot when she was nervous or distressed.
"What is it Caitlin?" Robin urged her lightly.
"I was talking to a few Warlock acquaintances and found out that this feeling of uneasiness that they've been getting, its not just in the air of the city. There's this abandoned building not far from here. Apparently whenever a Warlock goes near it they get an inexpiable feeling of panic and fear come over them. It's like there's some kind of enchantment on it to discourage any Warlock from going in."
"Well it sounds like its worth checking it out." Lydia suggested. Robin nodded in agreement.
"I was afraid you were going to say that." Caitlin replied resigned. "It's this way." She gestured.
It didn't take them long to get to the building. It looked like an old warehouse. The nearer they got the more Lydia's skin began to crawl. She could feel her heart rate speed up to a thousand beats a minute. Her palms went clammy and she felt a nauseous feeling rolling around in her stomach. She looked over at Caitlin who was also clearly struggling. Her eyes were as wide as saucers and fear was reflecting from them. She seemed to be shaking and was once again wringing her hands. Then she stopped a few feet from the buildings entrance and closed her eyes tightly. Lydia could see that she was struggling to steady her breathing. "I...I can't do this please...I...I need to g...go." She pleaded in a trembling voice.
"It's ok Caitlin we can take it from here. Head back to The Institute, we'll meet you there." Robin assured her. Then Caitlin dashed away and Robin turned his attention to Lydia. "Whoa are you ok there Lydia, you look really pale?" He asked as he moved towards her.
She shook her head. "Can't you feel that?" She asked shakily. He seemed completely unaffected.
"No, why what can you feel?" He asked urgently gripping her arm to steady her as she stumbled a little. Before Lydia could explain she felt herself go lightheaded, shadows encroaching on her peripheral vision. Then her knees gave out. She was vaguely aware of Robin catching her around her shoulders before he slipped an arm under her knees and lifted her into his arms. Then she blacked out.
When she came to she was in the Infirmary at The Institute. The gang were standing around her looking down at her worriedly. Izzy was stroking her hair gently and Jace had her hand clutched tightly in both of his.
"Hey welcome back. How do you feel?" Clary asked as she smiled in relief at Lydia. Lydia groaned and brought her free hand to her groggy head before she slowly began to sit back up. Robin rushed forward and wrapped a supporting arm around her shoulders.
"What happened?" She asked trying to put the pieces of her memory back together.
"You scared the living daylights out me!" Robin answered. "You just collapsed when you got too near to that warehouse." Lydia gasped as she remembered.
"That's where Magnus and the others are!" She said confidently.
"Ok let's not jump too far ahead. It's definitely something and it most likely has something to do with The Dark Lady but we don't have enough evidence. We need more information." Jace reasoned. Lydia shook her head .
"No, Jace, I know that's where he is! I can feel it. It's like...like..." She locked eyes with Robin. "Like a gut instinct." He smiled back at her nodding his head.
"We should call Alec. Get him back here." Robin said.
"I'll do it." Lydia said feeling some excitement build in her chest. They had found him she was sure of it. Things would be better now, Alec would be ok. She pulled her phone from her jacket pocket and speed dialled Alec. "Alec, it's Lydia." She blurted out when she heard the phone connect. "Come back to The Institute, we think we found something."
Alec's POV
The warehouse looked grey and bleak, there was graffiti scrawled across the face of the building in black spray paint. All of the windows had been bordered up and there was ivy growing up the side. It looked completely and utterly normal, just like any other abandoned warehouse in the city. The only thing that made Alec think there was anything abnormal about the place was Lydia and Caitlin's reactions to it. Caitlin had come along very reluctantly at the groups insistence. They may need a Warlocks magic to get in. Whilst the others walked closer to inspect the building for a way in Caitlin had hung back staying as far away from the building as she could.
Lydia was standing next to her, also some distance from the building. Though not necessarily by choice like Caitlin. Lydia had been stubborn and insisted on coming despite everyone else's concern for her health. She was determined to help get Magnus back no matter the risk to herself, but that was Lydia for you. Always thinking of others before herself, Alec couldn't help but smile to himself a little. However when she had drawn near to the building the most curious thing had happened. It had terrified Alec to no end. All the colour drained from her face and she had began to shake. She looked as if she might be sick and she began to sway like she would pass out. Looking over at her now Alec frowned worriedly, she still looked quite pale. No one could understand why the building was affecting her like this. No one else was effected and that only made Alec worry more. It was clear The Dark Lady had some kind of hold over Lydia and last time she had shown an interest in her Lydia had nearly died, now she had Magnus and who knew what she was doing to him. What state he would be in? At that moment Lydia looked over and noticed him staring, she gave him a reassuring smile. He nodded and smiled back before studying the building again.
They had determined that there was only one way in, through the front door. Jace didn't like it, he said it was too dangerous to risk going in when they didn't know what was inside. But if Alec was honest with himself, he didn't care how dangerous it was. Magnus could be behind those doors and Alec was going to do everything in his power to get him back. He needed to get him back. So with a quick glance around at the others he walked towards the door and slowly reached towards the handle.
It felt cold under his palm as he looked back over his shoulder at the others to make sure they had their weapons drawn. He counted to three on his fingers. Then he gave it sharp hard tug and to his surprise the door slid open easily. Still feeling uneasy Alec pulled his bow from over his shoulder and nocked an arrow ready. They crept forward in to the shadows of the dusty old warehouse.
It was empty. The was nothing there at all. Alec felt all the hope drain out of him. But Lydia had been so sure. He had been so sure that this would be it. He looked at the others and could see the same disappointment and despair reflected in their eyes. He let out a shaky breath, trying to get a grip on the feeling of panic rising in his chest. "Let's search the room, there could be an entrance to another level somewhere." He ordered with steely determination. They all broke away and began to search the room. Alec started on the left and ran his hand along the wall searching for any hidden doors or entrances. He tapped the wall here and there, checking to see if it was hollow anywhere. When he finally made it around the whole room and back to the door without finding a single clue, he rested his head against the wall and closed his eyes, trying to hold back the tears that were threatening to fall.
He looked up at the sound of footsteps approaching. The others gathered around giving him sympathetic looks. "Alec, come on. We should go. There's nothing here." Izzy urged gently putting a hand on his lower arm. Alec just shook his head, desperately looking around the gloomy room again.
"He has to be here, they have to be here." He muttered under his breath grief-stricken. Then he made his way back down the warehouse searching for anything, anything at all. "It doesn't make any sense, why would they spell an empty warehouse?"
"It's probably just a diversion Alec, The Dark Lady most likely has several of them dotted all around the place to throw people off." Jace replied rationally as the others followed him to the other end of the warehouse where Alec had stopped. As much as Alec wanted to deny it he knew that made sense, that it was logical but he found himself shaking his head anyway.
"He has to be here!" He said fiercely. Then more quietly, hanging his head. "I need him to be here."
"I'm sorry Alec but he's not. Look around, there's nobody here. There's nothing here." Clary tried to comfort him while also trying to make him see sense.
"Come on mate, there's nothing more we can do here." Robin patted him on his shoulder before turning back towards the door. Alec nodded in resignation a feeling of numbness coming over him as he too began to make his way back towards the door. However he was barely halfway across the room when he froze. For some reason he suddenly felt like he was being watched, like he was surrounded. He tried to shake the feeling away. Taking in a deep breath he was engulfed in the soft, warm and familiar scent that was so uniquely Magnus. It was a woody smell, like sandalwood mixed with something else, something spicy. He turned on the spot trying to locate where the smell was coming from.
"Alec!?" Izzy called from a little further up the warehouse. "What is it?" She inquired as the group stopped and turned to look at him. He shook his head and stared at the spot to his left. He was sure it was coming from there.
"I'm not sure." He replied as he cautiously inched closer. There was nothing there. Nothing but dust and cobwebs. But still he couldn't help but call out. "Magnus!? Are you there? Can you hear me?" His voice echoed around the room. It was the only reply that he got.
"Alec come on you're starting to freak us out now." Clary pleaded looking uneasily around the room. She looked at him worriedly. "You can see for yourself Alec, there's nothing here." She reminded him again sensibly. Throwing one last look at the empty spot he sighed and rubbed his forehead as the tears he had held back finally broke free and rolled down his cheeks, before turning and heading back out into the sunlit street.
Magnus' POV
He could hear voices. Not the agonised crying and begging of his fellow captives but actual voices. They seemed so familiar to him. He tried desperately to place them. That's when he recognised Alec's voice. Raising his head off the slab he tried to make out what he was saying but it was too far away, too muffled. Maybe he was dreaming? He thought with a huff as he let his head fall back down and closed his eyes again.
But then he heard Jace's voice reply to Alec's. Then he heard Clary, Izzy and Lydia. He still couldn't tell what was being said but he was sure that he could actually hear them. He tried to figure out where their voices were coming from. As he looked around the room he noticed that a lot of the other Warlocks were also looking around.
"Can you hear that?" The Warlock next to him whispered weakly as she feebly tried to raise her head. "Those voices?"
Magnus nodded. "I know those voices." Magnus' voice was scratchy and hoarse from so little use. "They're my friends."
"Where are they coming from?" She asked looking around for them.
"Outside, I think." Magnus tried yanking and twisting his wrists, trying furiously to release himself from his restraints. He needed to get to Alec and the others. Suddenly the Warlock next to him gasped tears springing to her eyes. "What? What is it?" He asked urgently.
"That's Caitlin. That voice talking now. That's my friend! She's here!" Magnus could see happiness and hope light up in her eyes. "CAITLIN! CAITLIN! I'M IN HERE!" She was shouting herself hoarse. Magnus smiled sadly at her.
"I don't think they can hear us. The room is spelled so that no one on the outside can hear." He explained.
"Then we need to get untied, go out and let them know we're here!" She said urgently. He nodded his head and focused back on his own shackles. Trying to ignore the pain he began to attempt to dreg up some of his magic. But The Dark Lady had drained most of it away. He was too weak. He could feel beads of sweat begin to form on his forehead as he tried in vain to cast a spell strong enough to break the chains. He collapsed back onto the table exhausted.
All of a sudden light shone into the room, dazzling them all. Blinking rapidly Magnus looked over towards the now open door. And there he was, his Alexander. He was illuminated by the sunlight streaming in behind him from the doorway. Joy exploded in Magnus' heart at the sight of him. Never before had he looked more like an angel than in that instance. He noticed other shadowy figures moving behind him. They all moved forward cautiously into the room, their weapons drawn.
"Alexander!" He called tenderly as Alec lowered his bow and looked about the room.
"Let's search the room, there could be an entrance to another level somewhere." He called to the others. They all began to move through the room, seemingly looking for something.
"Hey! Guys I'm here. Can't you see me? Alexander! I'm here!" Magnus called to them all desperately. But not a single one of them looked up. It was as if they couldn't see them or hear them. Magnus could feel the desolation creep back into the room as others began to call out to them too; the room was again filled with begging and pleads. But it was no good, they were invisible to them.
Magnus couldn't take his eyes off of Alec. He looked thinner than Magnus remembered him. His skin was paler and there were shadows under his eyes. Magnus wanted so badly to reach out and touch him. To comfort him and make sure he was ok. Instead all he could do was watch as he walked around the room inspecting the walls before coming to a stop by the door. He watched as his shoulders slumped and he rested his head briefly against the wall before he turned back to the others in the group. All of them looked deflated.
"Alec, come on. We should go. There's nothing here." Magnus heard Izzy's voice float across the room.
"He has to be here, they have to be here." He could here the grief in Alec's voice.
"Yes I am." Magnus called in vain. "I am here, Alexander look please." He pleaded again although he knew it was futile. He watched as Alec made his way back down the warehouse further away from the door. "It doesn't make any sense, why would they spell an empty warehouse?" Magnus nodded his head in agreement with him even though he knew he couldn't be seen.
"That's it baby, you know this isn't right, you can work this out." Magnus encouraged him under his breath.
"It's probably just a diversion Alec, The Dark Lady most likely has several of them dotted all around the place to throw people off."
"God dammit Jace!" Magnus spat out in frustration. Sometimes he thought Jace was too good of a Shadowhunter for his own good, always thinking too much. Not even Magnus could argue that the theory made sense.
"He has to be here!" Alec spoke again filling Magnus with hope again. "I need him to be here." He felt his heart twinge at the anguish in Alec's voice.
"I'm sorry Alec but he's not. Look around, there's nobody here. There's nothing here." This time it was Clary being the voice of reason.
"Come on mate, there's nothing more we can do here." Robin patted him on his shoulder before turning back towards the door. Then Alec nodded and followed the others. Magnus felt tears begin to fall from his eyes as he watched them walk further away from him. The rest of the Warlocks were also crying and calling them back. Just when all seemed lost Alec suddenly froze right in front of Magnus. He seemed to take a large breath in before he began looking once again around the room.
"Alec!?" Izzy called from a little further up the warehouse. "What is it?" She inquired as the group stopped and looked back to Alec.
Magnus' breath caught in his chest as Alec turned to look directly at him. Confusion was shining in his eyes and a look of uneasiness was on his face.
"Magnus!? Are you there? Can you hear me?" He suddenly called out to him.
"Yes! Yes I'm here Alexander I'm right in front of you!" Magnus began begging again a feeling of panic erupting as his heart beat thunderously against his rib cage. But he knew from the disappointed look in Alec's eyes that he still could not see or hear him.
"Alec come on you're starting to freak us out now." Clary pleaded to him as she looked uneasily around the room before sending a worried look towards Alec. "You can see for yourself Alec, there's nothing here."
Alec looked back at him and Magnus looked deep into his eyes. He could see that Alec was reluctant to leave. Some part of him knew that Magnus was there. Magnus just needed him to see through The Dark Lady's enchantments. "Please Alexander. Please see me." Magnus whispered lovingly to him. For a split second he thought maybe he had done it, maybe Alec had seen him. But that hope was dashed when Alec turned and with tears rolling down his cheeks walked back towards the door and then disappeared into the sunlight. Magnus felt all of the fight go out of him as if it were an actual entity that had got up and walked out along with Alec. With all his strength gone Magnus slowly closed his eyes and let the darkness swallow him.
Alec's POV
The sun was blinding after the gloom of the warehouse. Alec could feel his heartbreaking. Little fissures spreading out across his heart like cracks in mortar. He looked up and met Lydia's eyes. He didn't need to say anything, she took one look at the tear tracks on his face and the empty look in his eyes and knew the truth. She rushed forward and wrapped her arms around him. "I'm so sorry Alec." She whispered as he buried his face in her neck. "I was so sure he would be here." She stroked his back soothingly as Alec tried desperately not to break down into sobs. He could feel the tears burning under his eyelids.
"I don't know how much longer I can be without him." He whispered to her brokenly. He heard her let out a sad sniffle as she tightened her arms around him. He squeezed his eyes shut again when suddenly an image flashed before his eyes. He could see Magnus shackled to a metal table. His arms were bruised and the skin over his heart was blackened. But he was looking at Alec intensely his eyes burning brightly. "Please Alexander. Please see me."
Alec snapped his head back up his heart suddenly pounding. He pulled back from Lydia as she looked at him confused. "Alec what's up?" She asked confused. Alec just shook his head unable to articulate into words what he knew win his heart to be true. He turned and raced back into the warehouse while the others called questioningly after him. He paused in the doorway and looked at the room, really looked at it.
Then he spotted it. A sort of shimmering see through curtain. It was a glamour. There was a glamour on the room. He turned and yelled to the others, "Come quick. You too Caitlin we need you!" They all rushed forward. "Look it's a glamour." He said excitedly. He saw hope return to each of their eyes as they each in turn spotted it.
"Caitlin can you break it?" Robin asked urgently.
"I'm not sure if I have the strength. The Dark Lady's powers far out match my own." She answered biting her lower lip in frustration.
"What if you took strength from us?" Alec inquired. Caitlin looked at him and her face broke into a smile.
"Yes! That might just work." She replied happily. "But it will take a lot out of everyone. We'll all be weakened for a while." She informed them, wringing her hands again. Alec looked to others who in turn were looking at him, waiting to be told what to do.
"It's up to each of you, I can't force any of you to take the risk if you don't want to."
"Of course we're all on board, Magnus is our friend we'll do anything to get him back." Izzy replied fiercely as the others nodded their heads in agreement.
"Ok everyone stand in a line, three on either side of me." Caitlin barked out taking charge. "Link hands. It's really important that no one lets go whilst I cast the spell." Everyone moved into position and took each others hands. "I should also warn you all that it could get rather painful." She cautioned them all. "Last chance to back out." Nobody moved away and Caitlin nodded her head then closed her eyes and began to chant in a strange dialect. Her hands lit up blue and her magic began to spread through them all.
Alec could feel the tug of his strength being drawn out of him. It wasn't too bad at first but then an uncomfortable burning sensation started in his chest. It grew worse and worse until he grit his teeth and closed his eyes tightly against the pain. He felt Lydia's hand tighten around his and knew she too was experiencing the same pain. He suddenly felt worried for her. She had already been weakened by the magic surrounding the building, would she be able to cope with the strain of this spell to?
He quickly reopened his eyes and turned to look at her. Without warning there was a flash of red light, swiftly followed by a flash of blue. Then the entire room was alight; sizzling and sparking, sometimes red and sometimes blue. The colours mixed together to form an eerie purple glow. Then the light dissipated.
The room was suddenly filled with people. There were rows of metal tables and to each one a Warlock was strapped. Many of them were calling out to them feebly. After a moments shock they all leaped forward starting to break the shackles with their seraph blades and helping the Warlocks out and to safety. Alec however began to weave his way through the room searching frantically for Magnus. He was vaguely aware of Caitlin following him calling out her friends name.
He once again smelled the familiar sandalwood scent and rushed forward to see Magnus laying still with his eyes closed. He moved to his side quickly as he heard a cry of joy from behind him.
"Lilian! Oh my god it's you, it's really you! We found you!" He turned to see Caitlin wrapping her arms around a sobbing and badly bruised girl. He couldn't help but smile at the scene. He turned and looked back down at Magnus. He reached a shaky hand forward and gently stroked his hair away from his pale face.
"Magnus, hey come on. Open your eyes for me." Alec begged him. But Magnus remained still. Alec began to feel the panic return. He placed a hand to his neck checking for a pulse. Relief surged through him when he felt Magnus' heartbeat flutter against the skin of his fingers. It was a little weak but it was there. "Come on Mags open your eyes, look at me please."Alec pleaded again. When there was still no response he shook Magnus' hand. Then after a moments hesitation he lent forward and placed a light, tender kiss to his forehead.
As he drew back a little to look at him, Alec noticed Magnus' eyelids flutter. His heart skipped a beat and then a warm feeling spread from his heart throughout his body to his very fingertips, as Magnus' beautiful warm chocolate eyes slowly opened and met Alec's.