Disclaimer: All Characters Belong to Cassandra Clare

Chapter 23: An Inch Away

The hiding point was disguised as a mountain lodge when Alec followed the other members. As he arrived, the gap on the ward closed and the shadow of Catarina disappeared within. Without talking, Magnus opened a hole on the ward as well, but by his shaking fingers and clenched teeth, it took him great effort to do so.

"Thanks," Alec said as he jumped through it.

"Watch out!" He shouted when Magnus was nearly caught in the middle of the ward closing.

Magnus stumbled and was on four on the ground. He stayed like that for seconds and Alec thought he was hurt somewhere; quickly he crouched to inspect.

"Are you hurt?" Alec asked and tried to find any sign of wound.

"No, sweetheart." Shook his head, Magnus laughed a little before he continued. "But it was close. The ward they set up is strong and to near perfection. I can feel my magic slipping away quicker than usual."

"You should wait here for the backups," Alec said. An uneasy feeling settled in Alec's stomach.

"What?" Magnus looked at him with disbelief in his eyes.

"You should stay. You are too weak without the magic – "

"Are you saying I am incompetent? That without magic I am nothing?"

Magnus stood tall, and Alec stepped back a little as the aura of power radiated.

"No." Alec fisted his bow. "You are the High Warlock of Brooklyn. Of course you are powerful enough to handle this. This is too dangerous. I can't…"

As if sensing Alec's emotion, Magnus softened and took a firm stride.

"You don't have to worry about me. I can take care of myself. You just have to focus on finding Max." Magnus said.

"Yeah," Alec nodded, and he pointed towards the small lodge. "Let's go."

The years of training had not gone to waste as Alec sensed the heavy lingering aura of different magic from outside the lodge and it was suffocating. Warlocks must have purposely left their scents so strong to serve as a warning to keep people off. His body tensed and got ready for battle.

They approached the lodge cautiously and were relieved when they saw the others through the opened door.

Alec looked around the small lodge – it was neat and cozy, but everything was clean and perfect as if they were not used but displayed. It was like a museum.

"What the hell?" Jace said.

Others were confused too at the sight in front of them. Their magical scents were so strong that it was like they were there with them. However, there wasn't anyone else.

Frustrated, Jace cursed and slammed a fist on the table, making the ceramic tea cups fell onto the floor. Clary shared his anger and joined in kicking things around the house.

Alec had not felt the rage. He simply couldn't feel as he was overwhelmed by despair and hopelessness. He stood there watching: Magnus and Catarina discussing what caused such phenomenon, Sebastian trying to get Jace and Clary under control. Their voices were distant. A few words were caught by his ears, but they turned into a mess when they got to his brain. The view before him blurred and he blinked quickly, but his vision flickered with blackness.

"How is this possible?"

"I am sure…"

"Breaking things is not going to help."

"There is nothing we can do! That Daray bitch. If I see her next time – "

"I will kill her. Make it a painful death."

"Here, little one. We have to go."

"They must be here, somewhere. I can feel them. I just can't tell where they are!"

"Magnus, are you sure?"

"Don't fight me. You can't fight me."

"I can feel them too. They definitely have someone more powerful than us."

"Daray, just take the damn baby. He can't understand you and we have to leave before they get here!"

"He understands. That's why he is special. I can't let him hate us, it will do us no good in the future. Anyway, it is going to take them time to figure out how to solve the puzzle."

"Stop!" Alec shouted as he dropped onto his knees, hands covering his ears as he attempted to block those voices out.

"Alec! What's wrong?" Sebastian hurried to his side. Everyone was looking at him now.

"I can hear her – talking. They are going to take him away!" Alec shut his eyes. He felt like he was going crazy, hearing voices from nowhere. He couldn't hear them now, replaced by ringing buzzes.

"What did they say?" Magnus asked worriedly, and had knelt next to Alec.

"They say they are taking him away. I don't understand…" Alec muttered in anxiety.

"You could hear them? That's unheard of." Catarina said.

"Just tell me what we can do!" Clary exclaimed.

In the chaos, Magnus hushed and everyone fell silent, as his contemplative expression showed he was trying to understand what had happened. In the eerie quietness, they waited for an answer. The one answer that would raise their hope from the death.

"It is something only extremely powerful Warlocks can do. We had similar situation before, remember? During the Downworld Council meeting, it was like we were lost in a maze." Recalled Magnus.

"Creating a new dimension of space within one. In this house, there is another space existing other than ours. That's where they are." Catarina explained.

Alec gulped. He remembered that night at the Council meeting. How he felt trapped and the panic of never getting out of space created by a Warlock. The Downworld Council was aware of this experiment. Even if they didn't, there were spies among the council members. Wondering how deep and complex the organization was, he was shaken out of his thoughts by Magnus.

His cat eyes focused on him with care. "I can solve this. Last time they did this, now I won't let them do it again. I know a spell can create a portal between the dimensions."

"Is even going to work? All these dimension things." Sebastian was confused, still trying to grasp the concepts of spaces.

"Yes. A portal is required because the creator of the other dimension has been keeping it up. Once we let the Warlock cancel the spell, where we are standing will disappear and reveal its true nature." Magnus replied.

"But we don't know for sure. How are we going to get out from that?" Catarina demanded.

Her rationality seemed crazy in the eyes of Circle members. They did not have absolute idea on what was going on, but they never lost confidence in themselves. They always fought their way out, and it worked out just fine for years. It didn't occur to them their cocky ego would cause them death. They simply believed they could handle whatever was being thrown at them. The possibility of death did not bother them.

Perhaps he had stayed with them for quite some time, Magnus had started not to care. He cared of course, but not his life – Max's, the innocent baby and the experimented children. He knew he should have sympathy to them since many Downworlders, like Ragnor, were killed by their bloody hands. However, his tie with Alec and Max was a bond he couldn't get rid of easily.

"Magnus, we have helped enough." Catarina said. Her reserve had not moved Magnus. Instead, he dismissed her.

"It is too late to stop now." He said lowly, and he told everyone to stay away from a distance. Ancient words coming from his glossed lips, he chanted a spell that would clear vision for them.

Magnus, Alec breathed, and he watched the delicate fingers waved in the air to conjure magic.

Magic was a taboo in the Circle – Alec himself was once terrified by it. Yet, Magnus's magic fascinated him. It didn't feel like a threat or danger but there was a calmness that warmed him from the inside. His blue eyes traced the lines of magic as they created tiny explosions, like they were fighting something invisible.

Magnus took a deep breath and with another wave of hands, a shockwave exploded and everyone was forced few steps back. Alec had turned to shield himself slightly, and when he looked back, blue and red dots were hanging above the air like dying fireworks. In the middle was a hole with the size of a door.

He could see another dimension through it. From his angle, he only saw a white wall.

"So this is it," Sebastian said.

"Come on!" Clary signaled others to go through the portal, and jumped right into it with Jace before anyone could stop them.

"Clary!" Catarina shouted with exasperation. "What the hell are they thinking? Please, Magnus. I can't lose you too!"

"We need to go," Alec said, as he noticed how hard Magnus was keeping the dimension open.

"Damn it," Sebastian went behind them.

Magnus cringed his teeth. "I can only hold it up for a while. If you are coming, Cat, go in now!"

"No!" She cried out in despair.

A new portal popped outside the house as her voice dropped, and the three of them alerted. They only let out their holding breaths when Jonathan Morgenstern walked right in with his seraph blade and Alec couldn't help but notice there was small drips of blood on the tip of it.

"Jonathan?" Alec whispered, "what are you doing here?"

Jonathan wiped the fresh blood off with his shirt. He was not in battle gear but some holsters for stele and some other blades. "We got the message."

Magnus exhaled a large breath and he urged them, magic draining from him in an impressive speed. "Talk once we are in!"

Jonathan headed in right away. Alec stepped halfway in, and held out his hands to Magnus who looked rather pale.

"Magnus," Alec called, and the Warlock quickly grabbed his offered hand and let the dimension closed behind him. The hole disappeared with a shush. Catarina had not followed them, Magnus sadly noted to himself.

"Alec," Jonathan's voice made Magnus quickly withdrew his hand. Alec spared a look at Magnus, his blue eyes spoke of hurt and rejection. Yet the Shadowhunter's attention was directed to their surroundings once Jace and Clary started to look through the stuff in the room.

A nursery.

Alec swallowed hard as he walked towards the crib. The crib was messy. There was no doubt that Max was here. This was where they kept him.

"I will get him," Alec jumped when a hand touched his – he locked eyes with Jonathan.

"I will get him back to you." He said and his eyes drift to the shelves that were filled with toys.

Alec couldn't say a thing because for the first time he felt like it was him again. He was looking at the man he had fallen in love with. But he quickly discarded the thought and drew his hand from Jonathan as he noticed the stare from Magnus. The Warlock's face was unreadable.

Sebastian blocked himself between Alec and Jonathan to separate them. "What are you doing here?"

"We got the message," he replied.

"Where are others?" Magnus asked, and Alec saw some doubts and confusion from his cat eyes. He understood where they came from. Jonathan shouldn't be here. He was supposed to stay back at the house. If there was backup, it should be anyone but him or Isabelle.

"They got in my way."

Magnus gasped. "What did you do? Is that why there was blood…"

"I want to come but they wouldn't let me," Jonathan shook his head and his eyes drifted to the empty crib. "I didn't hurt them badly. A small wound. That's all."

His calmness surely didn't provide any comfort. Alec too, tried to control the fright and not to startle Jonathan. His temper was too unpredictable.

"Okay?" Jace asked with annoyance. Clary and he obviously wanted to carry on searching for Max as Clary had unlocked the door to the corridor already.

"Jace, at least wait a moment for us to get a plan." Sebastian ordered.

"I am sick of you, Seb." Jace countered and he moved towards the door, which Clary had opened and was waiting for him from the outside. "I am done taking orders from anyone. We will get them down ourselves and you can talk about plans if you have so much time. Alec, come with us."

Sebastian was obviously upset by his words, but he remained silent. He looked at Alec for guidance. A decision.

"It is better if we split into two groups." Magnus suggested, though he seemed troubled by all these unexpected turns of events.

"Sure." Alec nodded.

"We have six people. Three and three?" Sebastian said and he instantly stood by Jonathan's side.

"I am staying with Alec," said Jace. Clary understandingly looked at Magnus with her fierce eyes, and went to be with her brother.

"We leave once we get Max," Alec said, "I don't need anything more. I just want Max back."

Everyone nodded, and they headed opposite directions once they exited the nursery.

Burnell was packing his papers into a small suitcase. They contained statistics and results of years of experiments. He took a quick glance at the other two Warlocks who were busy at their own tasks.

"How long does it going to take?" He asked, and Daray shot him a glare as she tried to soothe the crying Max in her arms.

"This child is pulling my hairs and destroying my eardrums. He must have sensed something."

Radulfus had been sweating, sitting in the center of the room. He was chanting, attempting to fix the dimension since there was a breakdown by another Warlock. The dimension was unstable – and it took great strength to remain it intact. Otherwise, with the disappearance of this dimension, they and the Shadowhunters were going to end up in the little hut in the forest, face-to-face. And they did not want that.

"Shut him up with a spell so that I can focus!" Radulfus roared.

The Warlock looked rather human-like except for the random feathers of rainbow colors sticking out from his face and skin. He tried to be patient. The child was their most valuable asset. If he continued to cry, he Radulfus must snap his little head off.

"You two are only making things worse by shouting out loud," Daray said sharply, but her hands were gently patting Max's back.

The small child was whining, tiny hands swinging in the air. It seemed like he had unlimited energy since he had been like this an hour ago. They weren't sure of any special gift of Max yet, one thing they can be sure though was his stamina.

"How many things do you have to pack? They are coming to us. I can feel it."

Radulfus was anxious as he felt the movements within his dimension. Two separate units were running around like crazy. They were so fast that he worried they might find them before they could create the portal to another safe spot.

"Daray, let me help," Burnell finished his packing and the suitcase was sitting beside the undone portal.

"Thanks," She said. Her magic was disturbed by Max constantly and it was better to leave the work for Burnell.

"Be quick." Radulfus commented, and he held the Shadowhunters back by adding more rooms and security doors in the corridor. It would stall them a bit, and he hoped it would be enough to get them out before the Shadowhunters stopped them.

Sadly, Burnell was not an expert in portal magic. Before they could get it done, the Shadowhunters announced their arrival.

A/N:

This is not proofread by anyone. If there is any mistake, please forgive me.

Thank you for reading this.