"Thank you for coming on such short notice," Maryse said. Her voice was tight and strained, and her hair was slightly disheveled. Alec was eyeing his mother critically.

"What's going on, mom?"

"There was a demon attack in Los Angeles," Maryse said, placing her hands on the heavy desk in the Institute's library, as if the weight of her words were too much to bear. "Half of the LA conclave has been killed."

Magnus gasped. "What happened?"

Maryse turned her stern blue eyes on him. "There was a report of heavy demon activity on the hill near the 'Hollywood' sign. A large number of Shadowhunters from the LA conclave was dispatched. There were no survivors. That's all I know."

Alec swore under his breath. His mother turned to face him, her expression mirroring his own.

"The Clave has asked if you would go investigate," Maryse said, all business-like now.

"Me?" Alec said. "Why me?"

"I think she means 'us', don't you Maryse?" said Magnus, correctly interpreting the look Maryse had given Alec. Maryse nodded. "That's Malcolm Fade's territory. Shouldn't he be investigating?"

"We tried to contact him, but he is indisposed. Time is of the essence. We cannot wait for him to be located."

"Oh. Alright. Tell the Clave we will be there within the hour," Magnus said, taking Alec's hand and turning to leave.

"Thank you both," Maryse said. "And, please be careful. We have no idea what we are facing in this matter."


An hour later, Magnus and Alec were standing in front of an old, run-down, Spanish-style church composed of adobe walls and covered in a browning stucco finish. The roof was made of terra-cotta tiles that were chipped in many places. The gutters hung lazily against the sides of the building, and had separated from their anchors in a couple of spots. The grass and weeds grew high behind the decrepit chain-link fence surrounding the old churchyard.

Magnus and Alec, of course, were able to see past the glamour to the modern structure it concealed. The Los Angeles Institute was a massive building, much newer than its New York counterpart. This building couldn't be much more than a hundred years old and was constructed of grand stones with numerous arched stained glass windows. The entry consisted of a sweeping, curved staircase with twenty foot solid mahogany doors atop it.

Alec's Nephilim status guaranteed the couple entrance to the Institute, but since they were in need of speaking with its leader, they opted to ring the bell. A loud gong reverberated through the building and, moments later, a harried looking man opened the doors and ushered them inside.

Arthur Blackthorn, current head of the LA Institute, showed them through the corridors of the Institute, past the usual tapestries depicted the Angel Raziel and the Mortal Instruments, down dimly lit halls, to the grand library.

The library was a magnificent room, with floor to ceiling bookshelves of the same mahogany as the entry doors. The seating within the room was more modern than the Institute in New York, and more plentiful owing to the increased number of residents here.

Alec and Magnus paid little attention to the furnishings of the Institute, however. They were here to do a job, and they needed information from Arthur Blackthorn more than they needed to see how accommodating their habitat would be for the next few days. Arthur gave them all the information he had, which was little more than what Maryse had already told them before they left New York. Approximately thirty members of the LA conclave had perished in the attack. There were no survivors and no demon parts to help them identify what sort of demon, or how many, had been responsible for the attack. The most pressing issue, of course, was why had the attack occurred in the first place? Had the conclave members been ambushed? Was someone, perhaps someone with a grudge against the Clave, behind the attacks? Or had they simply stumbled upon a demon stronghold?

This is where Magnus's capabilities as a warlock would be most effective. After the debriefing, Magnus and Alec wasted no time beginning their investigation. As it turned out, Alec was really only needed as backup and lookout for Magnus to do his work. Alec sat perched on an enormous boulder, his bow in his hand, watching the tree line for signs of unwanted movement, as Magnus searched for the best place to employ his spell.

The entrance to the demon lair was not difficult to discern. There was a large opening in the earth just behind the 'Y' in the 'Hollywood' sign, and there was the smell of rotting garbage emitting from the hole. The odor had diminished since the demons were eradicated three days previously, but it still hung in the air like a thick, heavy smog.

Magnus didn't need to get close to the lair to work his spell, thankfully. He stood some 50 feet away from the opening, chanting incessantly in a language Alec could not interpret and making strange circular motions with his long, slender arms. Blue flames emitted from his fingertips at intervals, some wafting through the air like smoke, some becoming solid and unmoving. Alec had no idea what to make of any of it, but was relieved an hour later when Magnus was by his side, running his hand through his hair and shaking his head.

"The demons are definitely gone. I'm not sure what they were. The spell should tell me, but it's not," Magnus said. He seemed agitated that his magic wasn't performing to his standards. "It was definitely a colony though, and by the looks of it, a big one. But I'm not getting anything that tells me it was a planned attack. All signs point toward the conclave stepping into their territory undermanned and the demons wiping them out for it."

"Right," Alec said, trying not to let the shock of Magnus's words color his speech. He was relieved that there wasn't anything sinister going on, but thirty Nephilim had died none the less. It was a staggering number for such a brief attack.

Magnus gave him a crooked, slightly weary smile. He knew what Alec was thinking, and how these deaths would effect his husband. "Come on," he said, extending a hand to help Alec to his feet. "We need to report to Arthur, and I want to get out of here before it gets dark. Demon lairs in the dark are creepy, even if they are empty."

Alec smiled up at him, accepting the proffered hand, and Magnus winked at him. Alec stowed his bow over his shoulder and replaced the arrow he was holding into the quiver before turning to leave.

Magnus spent the next hour relaying his findings to Arthur Blackthorn. Arthur seemed both relieved and worried, which was to be expected since he was responsible for the Institute as well as the actions of the conclave. There was a terrible sadness about the balding man, sadness for the loss of life sustained in this attack, as well as the personal loss sustained by his own family several years ago. Alec couldn't help but wonder if this demon attack had opened the old wounds for Arthur.

Magnus agreed to file the necessary paperwork to report his findings to the Clave. He was just about to shake hands with the older Shadowhunter when a small noise sounded behind them.

Alec whirled around, not sure where the noise had come from, or what he expected to see behind him. He knew there were many children that still lived in this Institute, especially the youngest of the Blackthorns. He believed that Julian Blackthorn and Emma Carstairs, though now of age, still resided here as well. Because of this, there were plenty of noises to be heard through the Institute, and rarely a dull moment.

What Alec did not expect to see was a small playpen resting in the corner of the room. He knew all the Blackthorns were too old to be contained in a playpen anymore. He also wondered how it was possible he had missed seeing the playpen when they entered the room. It was not exactly hidden from sight.

As he watched, a tiny form pulled itself up, hanging on to the side of the pen. Alec found himself staring into a pair of deep blue eyes that were nearly the same shade as his own. The child had porcelain white skin and a shock of black curls framing the round cheeks, and seemed immensely pleased to be standing unassisted.

Alec did not recognize this child. He turned to Arthur with a bemused look on his face. "Who is this?" he asked.

Sadness flared in Arthur Blackthorn's eyes as they drifted toward the small child. "That is Elizabeth Grayhawk. Her parents called her Ellie." He smiled fondly at the little girl, whose face split into a grin as she made a soft cooing sound.

"Called?" Alec said. "As in past-tense?"

Arthur nodded his head. "Her mother, Natalie, was one of the members of the conclave that perished."

Alec caught Magnus's expression, which he felt was likely a mirror of his own. His heart hurt for this little girl he didn't even know.

"What about her father?" Magnus asked, turning back to Arthur.

"He died shortly after she was born," Arthur said, a darkness clouding his face.

Magnus and Alec exchanged a look of uncertainty. "What happened?" said Alec.

Arthur cleared his throat as if hesitant to tell them. Finally, he said, "Her father was the leader of the local werewolf pack. One of the pack members became disgruntled when he wouldn't step down after marrying Natalie. It seems he believed that Mike was unfit to lead the pack while living with a Shadowhunter, so he killed Mike one night and took over as leader of the pack."

Arthur looked disgusted, and Alec couldn't say that he felt any better about the situation. This random pack member had destroyed a family, and now was partially responsible for leaving a little girl orphaned.

Alec crossed the room to where the playpen stood. He knelt down in front of the little girl. Ellie looked up at him with her wide blue eyes and made a soft sound that tore at Alec's heart. This poor child, left alone in the world without anyone to care for her. It was hardly fair.

Without pausing to think, Alec held out his hands to Ellie, and she cooed to him. He scooped her up, unable to resist twining one of her perfect curls around his finger. She reached out and squeezed his nose in one of her tiny fists, making him chuckle. Then, she wrapped her tiny hand around his pinky finger and gave it a light squeeze.

Alec's eyes widened. It was the cutest gesture, and something his little brother, Max, had done so many years ago when he was just a little baby. The memory was bittersweet. Alec turned to Arthur and said, "What will happen to her?"

"That is for the Clave to decide," Arthur replied. "Most likely, she will go to Alicante to be trained as a Shadowhunter."

Alec felt sick at the thought of the Clave being responsible for this little girl's upbringing. After all the pain and suffering they had caused Alec in his ten year relationship with Magnus, he was not as keen as he once was on the Clave. He sat Ellie back in her playpen, tousling her hair and crossing the room back to Magnus. He couldn't resist taking one last look at Ellie before leaving the room behind.

To be continued…