For Cha, who was the only one who guessed, or at least the only one to mention a little something I've been working towards... you'll see what I mean in this piece.
To say that this piece got insane is probably a bit of an understatement. Still, I'm incredibly proud of it. Took me forever! Only finished writing on Thursday and was still doing some editing yesterday. I might have missed some things, like I said, I didn't have much time. But I hope you'll enjoy it. A lot happens in this one. There's a lot of worldbuilding and head-canons, I hope you'll like them.
Dreamcast: Emily Browning as Silbhé, Tom Hiddleston as Lucas, Astrid Berges Frisbey as Tessa Gray, Ni Ni as Lily Chen, Jose Zuñiga as Max Triggs, Martha Higareda as Xochiquetzal, Wilder Valderrama as Carlos Angelborn.
Between Heaven and Hell
Magnus goes missing on a perfectly ordinary Wednesday afternoon. There's nothing special about the day. And truth be told, they might not have realized right away that anything happened, as it isn't exactly uncommon for Magnus to decided to pop to another country at the drop of a hat; his reasons are plenty, but now with his boyfriend's daughter, and newborn niece (what everyone agreed Silbhé and Lucas's daughter is to him)… it wouldn't have surprised anyone if he decided to drop by Paris, or Milan, or some other place and bought new clothes, dolls, or anything else for the little girls they're all entirely enamored with. However he's no longer the man he used to be, he has friends and a family who notice his absence the moment he doesn't drop by to see one of them how he usually would. When some quick texts confirm that he's not with anyone else, they know for sure that something's gone wrong.
In less than an hour the shops are closed and the Banes are gathered together in the sitting-room of Magnus's place. And it's not just them anymore. After some calls and several portals Ragnor, Catarina and Tessa are all there, Raphael too, and he brings his second: Lily, with him. Meliorn is the only seelie, which surprises no one, ever since Chris and Ava's relationship blew (no one knows what happened exactly, at least no one other than the siblings, they only know it was bad and better not asking about) seelies have kept their distance from the Banes. The last arrivals are two werewolves, first is Maia, a fairly new wolf (she hasn't been one for even a year yet) and Clary's girlfriend; though the true shock is when none other than Luke arrives with her.
"Clary?!" Luke cries out when he sees her. "Wha… What's going on? What are you doing here?"
"Wait, you know each other?" Maia asks turning to look at each of them, surprised.
"Remember how I told you how my mother had an old friend who was a wolf?" Clary asks her.
"Ah…" Maia nods, then winces. "Sorry. When Ric heard about your dad going missing he insisted that someone come with me and Luke was the only one free right now."
"Your dad?!" Luke cries out. "What does Valentine have to do with anything?"
"That monster has nothing to do with us!" Chris snarls, loudly.
Luke blinks, looking at Jonathan, then at Clary, clearly at a loss.
"We weren't talking about Valentine." Clary states. "Chris is right that he's a monster and neither he nor I will ever acknowledge him as anything of ours. Maia was talking about Magnus. He's our papa." Then, to make the point stick, she adds: "I'm Clary Bane nowadays."
"You… How do you…? You know…?" Luke babbles a bit, confused.
It's clear he has no idea what's going on, or how to ask. Clary cannot help but find the whole thing painful in a way she never expected. She knew that the chances of her coming face to face with Luke eventually were high. With both of them being part of the NY Downworld, especially when conflict broke out in the local pack and Alaric Rodriguez became the new alpha, choosing Luke as his second. Even more so when what started as friendship, with Clary being there for Maia, helping convince her that even if she'd changed in some ways, that didn't mean she stopped being herself. She was the one who convinced Maia that becoming a werewolf didn't mean she had to give up on things. Eventually what started as friendship turned into more and the girls were exploring dating. Neither of them would say they were in love with each other exactly, not yet, but they were giving it a chance, they certainly liked each other a lot.
"I know Luke." Clary tells him gently. "I know who and what I am. I know about my mother's actions, her lies. Have known for a long time."
"How long?" Luke dares ask.
"Does it matter?" Clary asks in return. "It won't change anything. Not about her lies, her choice to leave me ignorant, vulnerable. Her treatment of… pretty much everyone. Yourself included."
"What are you…?" Luke starts.
"Lets… lets not do this, not again." Clary cuts him off swiftly, but still gently. "I know you love her Luke, I know you do and… and there was a time when I really hoped that one day she'd give you a chance, you know? When I was a little girl, you were always there, and I wanted so badly for you to be my dad…"
"I wanted that too, you gotta know that kiddo." Luke murmurs quietly.
"I know that," though it changes nothing, she doesn't say that though he knows he picks up on it. "She's the one who didn't."
"Did you know she's missing?" Luke asks abruptly. "Has been missing for months! Do you even care?" He regrets the last part as soon as he says it. "I'm sorry…"
"Don't you dare…" Clary trails off, forcing herself to calm down, she knows Chris can feel her turmoil, for he makes to join her, until she signals for him that she's okay, he doesn't fully believe her, but lets her keep a semblance of privacy for her conversation with Luke. "I know. I know she's officially missing. I also know Dot is dead, which I actually find more pressing…"
"What…?" He's clearly not expecting that. "Clary, your mother…"
"Chose to leave." Clary cuts him off. "You were there the day I moved out Luke. She wasn't there. I've no idea where she was, but she couldn't be bothered to be there for me. It's been years since she showed any real interest in anything to do with me!" She shakes her head. "Still, I am aware she is my mother. So Chris and I did a little tracking. Chances are she's on the move. We know she's alive, and free, we just don't know where she is, exactly. Magnus thinks she was probably out when the Circle broke into the building and ended killing Dot; then when she finally arrived, she saw the mess and decided it was safer to go on the run."
"What about…?" Luke doesn't finish the question, not daring to.
"Me?" She finishes for him. "No idea. She doesn't know where I live exactly, but it's not like I've changed my phone number. And of course, there's always you. Even if she doesn't know my actual address, I did tell her more than once that I'd be living in Brooklyn. If she cared for finding me, she could. A word to Magnus would have lead her straight to me. But that's just it, she doesn't care. She hasn't cared about me in a long time…"
"Clary…" Luke's still trying so hard to protect Jocelyn, preserve her image, an image Clary hasn't really had of her in years!
"In any case, that's not what really matters." Clary cuts him off before they can start the old argument again. "Mother made her choices, as I made mine. I am Clary Bane, daughter of Magnus Bane. And we're here because he was taken…"
She trails off, the memory of what's going on, Alec was going nuts trying to find a solution, her brother balancing on a knife's edge, ready to burn the world if the situation wasn't resolved, fast. She herself wasn't taking it well either.
"Hey, hey sis…" Chris is at her side in an instant. "Easy, take it easy. We're gonna find Papa. We'll find him and we'll make whoever took him regret it."
"Wait," Luke calls to him. "Do I know you? You seem so familiar…"
Chris doesn't bother to answer him as he guides Clary to where everyone else is waiting, though when he looks over his shoulder to see that Luke's still staring at him, he allows his eyes to go black, just for a moment… he knows that'll be enough, whether Luke remembers him from when he was a baby, or just remembers Jocelyn telling him about her baby. It'll be enough.
"Wherever he is, traditional tracking's not working." Tessa points out.
Behind her Catarina's still trying, while Ragnor has gone basically nonverbal in anger at his inability to find his old friend. Thus far they've been able to track Magnus's power to the places where it's left a big enough mark, like where he's set strong wards (Pandemonium, the building that holds the shops and the apartments, the New York Institute…), but not where the man himself might be. So they've decided it's time to pull out the big guns… metaphorically.
"Parabatai tracking?" Alec suggests.
A number of those in the room turn to look at each other, contemplating possibilities.
"Which of the pairs?" Lucas inquires.
"I think we should all try it." Silbhé offers.
She has a feeling she's not the only one with a feeling as to where Magnus might be, exactly. But whether she's right or wrong, they'll need confirmation.
"Agreed." Chris and Clary say at the same time.
Alec steps out of his and Magnus's bedroom carrying a scarf, which he throws at the siblings; while held tightly in his own hand is one of Magnus's rings: a silver band with a golden-green apatite, the exact shade of Magnus's cat eyes, it even has a cat-eye effect. It's Alec's favorite of Magnus's rings, and while he has no idea why his lover wasn't wearing it that day, he chooses to ignore that detail, instead just holding onto the ring, using it as an anchor.
"Ready parabatai?" Silbhé asks softly as he approaches her.
That, they, are a bit of a new development. For the first few months after his exile, after the loss of his parabatai bond to Jace (which actually happened a few days before his exile), Alec did his best to just… deal with it, until he couldn't. Tessa was the one who had the answer: because the parabatai bond was meant for battle, was essentially a manifestation of the ideal of blood-brothers from ancient warrior cultures, it could only be truly broken in one of two ways: the death of one or both of the nephilim involved, or one of them betraying the other. The latter was a very traumatic way to break a bond, and it tended to lead to lots of complications, as Alec's case showed. His parabatai bond was essentially an open wound, one still bleeding. It was draining his energy, both physically and emotionally.
As it turned out, both Tessa and Magnus had friends in all sorts of places. One of them was a Silent Brother. Zachariah was willing to help heal Alec without letting the Clave know. What took everyone by surprise was when Silbhé stepped up and offered herself as parabatai. As it happens, forming a new parabatai bond was actually easier, and helped heal the nephilim more and better. As his soul was by now more used to being connected to another than to being alone. Silbhé and Alec had become really good friends by then, and while Alec would have never asked, he was happy to have her as his parabatai…
Their bond was still pretty new, as they'd waited until two days after Rosie's birth to form it, yet it was pretty strong anyway. Certainly strong enough to track a man they both loved, if in vastly different ways (she as a sort-of uncle, he as the love of his life…).
Clary comes out of the trance cursing in a language that no one but Alec seems to understand, though all nephilim-blooded cannot help but wince every so often as, even without knowing the actual words they somehow know it's bad, and cannot help but feel it's just… wrong.
"Clary, stop cursing in Angelic before someone has a stroke." Alec instructs even as he flinches slightly at her next choice of words.
Chris for his part doesn't curse, doesn't even hit anything; instead he's standing still, unnaturally so. Alec knows that's actually worse. Even worse than Clary's choice to curse in the language of the angels (which most people would say should be impossible, but then she's nothing if not creative…). Because the redhead can be dramatic, but good sense tends to prevail with her; Chris on the other hand, he's explosive; they need to give him an outlet before it's too late.
"What now?" Silbhé asks, though she's looking at her parabatai.
In fact, as Alec soon realizes, pretty much everyone's looking at him, which actually takes him by surprise, enough he cannot hide his reaction.
"Don't be so shocked Alec," Raphael is the one to speak up. "You're as good as Papa's match by now. We know, most of the Downworld knows it as well. One day when you finally decide to make it official…"
Alec's face does something indefinable, enough to make the vampire trail off, even if he doesn't know what it is exactly, until they all watch Alec slip a hand into his pants' pocket, pulling out a small sphere which he pops open with a smooth motion, revealing inside a ring: a golden signet ring, with a 'T' on top and intricately engraved wings on the sides. The Trueblood family ring…
"Was planning on dropping by the Dumort in the next few days, ask you for your blessing." Alec says quietly. "I already talked to Clary, Chris, Cat and Ragnor."
No one says anything for several seconds, enough to make Alec raise his head, looking away from the ring and to everyone, to the soft smiles (Tessa and Silbhé), pride (Chris, Catarina and Madzie), outright grins (Clary and Maia), approval (Lucas and Meliorn), exasperation (Ragnor), Lily seems to be about to start jumping and giggling, Luke has no reaction but then he's not as close to Magnus, or any of them, as the others, and Raphael…
"Stupid nephilim…" He says, in a tone that Alec can almost swear actually sounds fond. "As if I could ever not give it. Haven't you understood yet, Alec? You make Papa happy. Happier than he's been in all the time I've known him. The only thing that could actually make it better would be you somehow guaranteeing me that you'll never leave him. That you'll stay him him to the end of his life, rather than to the end of yours…"
"I… I'm working on it." Alec admits quietly.
That throws even Raphael for a loop.
"Okay!" Lucas calls loudly, clapping his hands. "We're all happy about the coming engagement. But seeing how we need to get Magnus back in order for him to even get engaged… how are we going to manage that?"
It's almost like a bucket of iced-water as they're all abruptly reminded of the situation.
"We cannot go to war," Alec begins, then revises. "Well, strictly speaking, we could. And while I'm fairly certain we'd win, considering the ever lessening numbers of shadowhunters, and the fact that the Mortal Cup seems to be forever lost… However, the Clave being what it is, they'd never surrender, they'd fight us to the last man, woman and child. Killing all shadowhunters helps no one. Not us, and not the mundanes. Also, us declaring war on them wouldn't just affect us, but the entire Downworld and…"
"We get it, no war." Chris cuts him off. "So if I'm not going to get the chance to burn everything down, tell me what I can do, what we can do to get Papa back."
"The Clave likes to portray themselves as the ultimate authority, as all-powerful, and sometimes I think they even believe it themselves." Alec says, seemingly apropos of nothing. "It's like they forget, or blind themselves to their own dependency on others. The fact is that all the Clave is and does, they cannot do on their own. They need others: the Downworld in general, and the warlocks in particular: for information, potions, special healing, portals, wards…" As Alec goes on with the speech, the expressions of those around him change, as one by one they begin to understand what he's talking about. "I think it's high time they're reminded of these very important things."
"And how do we do that?" Clary asks, sounding almost eager.
"The fact remains that whatever we do, it will have consequences, not just for us here in NY, but across the entire Shadow World." Alec reminds them. "We must not rush and end up doing something that may cause a war; but neither can we risk doing nothing, for that'd send the entirely wrong message. Leading the Clave, and the Shadow World as a whole to believe that either we cannot or simply aren't willing to defend our own."
"I hate politics…" Ragnor spits angrily. "You're the boss boy, what do we do now?"
"I…" Alec takes a moment more to consider it before getting to the point. "Would it be possible for me to get an audience with at least some of the other High Warlocks?"
That throws everyone for a loop, Catarina though seems to be the most shocked.
"Are you serious?" She blurts out.
"Do you realize what you're requesting boy?" Ragnor asks instead.
Alec knows that from the warlocks present, he's the only one who might have an idea of what he's planning, if only because he's been there, as the former High Warlock of London. Alec might not know the whole story, but he's managed to put together enough, from half-told stories and backhanded comments: Ragnor was the High Warlock that ruled over the European territory, once, many years ago, until the tragedies and the losses became too much and he abdicated his position; Alec also has the theory that that was when the warlocks decided to leave Western Europe for the most part.
"We're only going to get one shot at this." Is Alec's answer. "Our move, when we make it, needs to be big and strong enough to really make the Clave stop and take notice. To make them give in, rather than try and escalate."
"You have a 'move' in mind." Tessa says, it's not a question.
She might not have all the knowledge, or political savvy of those like Alec and Ragnor, even Raphael; what she has, is experience with the Clave, both from within and without; and while it might have been quite some time ago, she knows the Clave have never been that big on change. Also, she has a feeling she might know what Alec's 'move' is, and if she's right… if she's right, and if he manages to pull it off… well, she has a feeling that one way or another, the Shadow World will never be the same again…
xXx
The first fire message goes to Izzy. It's simple and to the point: "You can still stop this before it gets worse. Let Magnus go and we'll forget it happened." Izzy's still staring at the message when Jace arrives, sees it, and immediately takes it from her hand and straight to Maryse.
"What are we gonna do?" He asks hotly.
"Nothing." Maryse answers, tearing the fire message up and throwing the pieces into the trash.
"What do you mean nothing…" Jace is already getting himself worked up.
"How do they even know we have him?" Izzy asks right then.
"They don't know." Robert denies. "They cannot possibly know. The warlock was alone when it was taken. There were no witnesses, and no sign of the abduction was left behind."
"Well, Alec sounds pretty sure in that message…" Izzy begins.
"Enough!" Maryse cuts her off, half-shouting. "It doesn't matter. They're Downworlders, nothing more. And don't mention Alec, he's dead."
"How do you know?" Izzy presses. "We've never found the body?"
"If he had any honor left he died like a nephilim ought to." Maryse snaps. "If he chose to be a coward…" She shakes her head. "Doesn't matter. He's not a Lightwood. He's nothing to us."
"Jace, start making arrangements to transport the warlock, the sooner that creature is in the Gard where it belongs, the better." Robert orders the blonde.
The blonde says nothing, just nods and walks out of the room. Izzy behind him.
"I don't even know why you brought Alec up." Jace murmurs as they walk.
"What do you mean why?" Izzy asks him.
"Alec is dead Izzy, you need to accept it." Jace tells her quietly but strongly.
"No, he's not!" She retorts. "There's been no body, and trust me Jace, I've looked. Besides, who else do you think even sent that fire message? You must remember how close he was with Magnus Bane back then. He probably still is with him."
"Alec Is Dead. I would know if he were alive Izzy."
"Why? Because you were parabatai?" Izzy practically spits at him, forcing him to stop in the middle of the hallway, her voice hard and cold. "Please!"
"What's that supposed to mean?" Jace demands, not liking her tone, at all.
"Really Jace?" Izzy rolls her eyes at him. "When was the last time you really got anything from your bond? When was the last time you were there for him at all? When you kept using your status as parabatai so he'd clean up your most recent mess? Or when you told him that maybe mom was right and His Best Just Wasn't Good Enough?!"
"Yeah? When was the last time you were any sort of sister to him?" He throws the words back at her, walking away before she can even think of a retort.
The worst part is, even after a long while, she still cannot think of one.
A second fire message arrives exactly an hour after the first, this one directly to Maryse: "Second warning. Let Magnus go, unharmed, before midnight and you can still salvage this situation. You will not get a third." Maryse destroys it as quickly as she did the first. When an hour passes and no more fire messages come she tells relaxes infinitesimally. When midnight comes and goes and nothing happens, no more messages, no people showing up, not even alarms of any kind, she looks at Robert and points out that she knew they were nothing more than empty threats. Then they step out of the Head's Office and head to the Ops Room, only to find an absolute mess.
"Order!" Maryse actually has to yell to make herself heard. "What is going on here?!"
For all answer a lot of the shadowhunters scramble to get out of the way, allowing her to see what's on the screen, or rather, the screens… all of them: It's Alec, standing tall and proud saying… something. He's dressed in black, covered enough that only the deflect rune on the side of his neck is visible, yet it's enough. He's also not alone. There are people at his back, four close enough to be clearly visible: on one side two redheads: a boy in dark clothes and a girl in jeans, a dark top and a red leather jacket; on his other side a tall brunette man in a blue shirt and gray suit, and a rather short woman in a pink dress. None of them seem to have any runes, which means they're probably Downworlders, and Maryse is so angry… Wasn't it enough for Alec to have shamed them once? He has to keep doing it?! And it's not even just those four, there are others in the back, though far enough that they're out of focus.
"Turn it off!" She snaps.
Alec's saying something, she doesn't know what, doesn't care. She just wants for it all to end…
"Already tried," Lindsay admits from one of the stations. "We can't."
Maryse really, really doesn't like that.
"That's not the worst part." Raj adds from one side.
And really? What can be possibly be worse than this?! She doesn't actually ask the question out loud, but she's sure her expression says enough.
"It's not just us." Raj elaborates. "The same video is apparently running in every single Institute."
"Idris too." Duncan pipes up from one of the stations.
Maryse doesn't know what's worse, her shame, her horror, or her absolute fury… It's also about then that she starts actually paying attention to what Alec's saying, realizing that the video's actually in a loop:
"I am Alexander Gideon Trueblood, Nephilim, Protector of the New York Shadow World, lover of Magnus Bane, the High Warlock of Brooklyn. And on this day I'm standing here to demand justice. Two days ago members of the New York Institute assaulted my lover and abducted him. They're keeping him prisoner. They haven't pressed any charges, there has been no call for witnesses, or for a Defendant, no date set for a trial. The Clave is illegally holding Magnus Bane prisoner. This isn't the first time they've moved against a Downworlder for no reason, but it shall be the last. Too long has the Clave been allowed to act as they wished, without accountability, without there being any repercussions for their own crimes. Only remembering the Accords when convenient. The Shadow World has had enough of this. Shadowhunters have forgotten that they do not exist in a vacuum. You need us, as much, if not more, than we might need you."
"This is no longer a matter of blood, or of you believing yourselves superior to everyone else in the world. This is a matter of justice. So, this is what's gonna happen: Magnus Bane shall be released, unharmed, before dawn in New York. If that doesn't happen, I'm allowed to tell you that the High Warlocks will declare a moratorium on all 'services' to the Shadowhunters. No more 'requests', no more 'hiring warlocks', for anything. If noon comes, and Magnus Bane still has not been released, all standing portals will collapse. And if come midnight, you keep denying us, it will be your wards. The wards on every single Institute. Do not doubt us. It can be done. After all, they were erected by warlocks… If you believe this is a lie, that it cannot be done, call our bluff. Shadowhunters have forgotten just how much they depend on the rest of the Shadow World. It's high time you remember."
xXx
Dawn comes, and nothing happens. No one comes out of or into the NYI. Teams of werewolves and seelies are taking turns keeping watch over the building (the vampires having handled it during the night, and until an hour before dawn). It's not just that there's no sign of Magnus, but there's nothing at all. Not even patrolling shadowhunters.
"Bet it's a party in there." Maia quips at her girlfriend, who's with their group, keeping watch.
Clary just snorts. Things are going absolutely insane, she knows, and not just in NY. They have received fire messages, phone calls, and even video calls from friends and acquaintances in many different cities around the world where the shadowhunters are clearly going out of their minds. In some places, particularly small, rural outposts, everyone seems to be nervous about what might be coming. Then there are those cities where the Institutes happen to actually have an, if not good, at least somewhat cordial relationship with the Downworld: like Beijing, and Mexico City; the shadowhunters there seem to be actually trying to distance themselves from what's happening in NY, going as far as sending representatives to Downworld markets and sanctuaries to try and 'reassure' the locals that they want nothing to do with what's going on. Xiao Lang, a Chinese warlock who's actually the match of the High Warlock of Tokyo, Sakura, says he feels a bit bad for the shadowhunters in Hong Kong, as they've never had any issues with them, but they'll all stand behind Alec, for Magnus.
In Idris things are crazier. It doesn't take even ten minutes for calls to start coming in. Most things are rather simple, non-emergencies: shadowhunters from various Institutes complaining about how this or that warlock hang up on them while they were trying to hire their services; and it's not even just warlocks, but werewolves, vampires and even seelies, refusing to take calls from the local shadowhunters. Some shadowhunters in Kyoto even report being 'persuaded' to leave the nightclub they were having fun in (turns out the owners are seelies).
Maryse has a hard time trying to justify her refusal to release Magnus, insisting that they 'cannot give in to the Downworld-filth', that doing so will only make them look weak…
"And how will you look when shadowhunters start dying because we have no magic help, no portals, and no wards?" Aline challenges the woman.
"Aline…" Jia Penhallow, the Consul's aid and the girl's mother tries to cut her off, but Aline's not having it, not this time.
"If Alec's right there's not even a reason to keep Magnus Bane imprisoned…" Aline begins.
"When have we ever needed a reason?" Malachi Dieudonné, the Consul, scoffs. "He's a warlock, demon-spawn. That's enough."
Aline blinks, clearly not having expected that. It's not the first time she's heard such comments, truth be told, but it's the first time she actually stops and thinks about it; about what it means, for the highest ranking shadowhunter to think such things, so say them, and for no one to be speaking against it, against him. It's the first time she's forced to truly look at her own family, at herself, and question if she's really where she ought to be, if she might not be on the wrong side of this conflict… She used to believe that she was good, that shadowhunters were good, they were the children of the angel, the ones who protected the world from the demons, they had to be the good guys, right? She's not so sure anymore.
"Beasts cannot help but being beasts." Imogen Herondale, the Inquisitor adds, tone hard. "Sooner or later their blood will show true."
"Besides," Patrick Penhallow states. "If we give in, in this instance, they will never stop taking."
"Is our pride really worth more than the lives of our people?" Aline asks quietly in the end.
There's no answer forthcoming and that… that tells her more about the people surrounding her, about her people, her family, that she ever really wanted to know.
Their resolve holds until a little more than an hour before noon, when a call comes from Abd Al-Rashid, the Head of the Tehran Institute, requesting immediate assistance from the Silent Brothers as several of their shadowhunters are badly injured, poisoned, after a confrontation with a Greater Demon. It's urgent. Iratzes and amissios are doing nothing, they even tried calling in help from local warlocks, of all the ones they tried only one even answered the phone, an old friend of the Head's uncle, and it was only to let them know of the moratorium. That's when it finally hits the Clave, just how bad their current situation is, and how much worse it might yet get. As they can in fact still send the Silent Brothers to help in Tehran, but what will they do if the portals do fall? Maryse insists that such a thing won't happen, cannot happen, but some people, the Penhallows included, just aren't so sure anymore.
xXx
Shortly before noon Ragnor opens the portal that will take them all to an alley just a block away from the New York Institute. Alec feels the need to be there, either to get his beloved back, or to give the signal to bring down the permanent portals, the remaining High Warlocks, and many other warlocks who have since found out about what's going on and volunteered to help, are ready to act if it becomes necessary.
He's just stepping out when a fire message practically slams into his hand. He doesn't think much of it, has been communicating a lot through fire messages, with a great many people, in the last couple of days; and then he recognizes the wax seal: mountains… In a fraction of a second he's breaking the wax-seal and unfolding the message.
"Alec…?" Silbhé approaches him slowly, clearly able to feel his turmoil through their bond. "What's wrong?"
Alec says nothing, just passing her the message. Even as his tactical mind works a mile a minute on what he just read, the possible implications, and how to best handle things. The moment she reads the letter she pales, enough for it to be noticeable even with her light skin. She turns to look at Alec and even without a word, they know each other enough.
"I have your back, parabatai." She doesn't need to say it, he knows, and yet saying the words somehow helps settle them both.
One minute before noon, the doors of the Institute open. Two shadowhunters step out first, they seem to be carrying only single weapon each, lances, and they take position each at one side of the door, almost as if serving ceremonial roles more than anything else. Isabelle and Raj step out next, and Alec cannot help the pang of regret, seeing his sister dressed head to toe in black, hair in a tight braid falling down her back, all that remains of her usual attire are the knee-high stiletto boots she's wearing. Alec wishes he could go to her, could promise her everything will be alright, but it won't, will it? She's not even looking at him, keeping her gaze in the opposite direction; Alec might even believe she hasn't even noticed him, if it weren't for the fact that she never looks elsewhere. While she might be on-guard, she's also intentionally refusing to look at him. The lightest brush from Silbhé's hand against his wrist brings him back to the present, to what's truly important right now. Much as he might regret what might be going on with his sister, he made his choices… and apparently so did she.
Maryse Lightwood is next, she steps past the guards, both ceremonial, and not, to stand on the very edge of the top step. Alec takes a deep breath before stepping forth, out of the shadows of the nearby trees, heading straight for the gates of the Institute, which open at his lightest touch. He doesn't go in though, being respectful of the fact that, blood of the angels or not, he's not a shadowhunter anymore. Clary and Chris join him, each at one side of him. Silbhé, he knows, will have sought high-ground, probably climbing a tree, while Lucas will want to stay close, to guard his wife, just in case. Catarina is back at the loft with the girls, for her safety as much as theirs (with her being the only decent healer among all of them, it's better if they don't risk her ending up hurt). The wide front-yard that remains between the two groups seems almost like an entire world, no man's land…
The tension's so thick it can almost be touched. Clary looks to be almost vibrating, so tense she is; while Chris is the whole opposite, holding himself unnaturally still. Alec knows that if Magnus is in anything but perfect condition both are liable to snap, in which case he's not sure he'd be able to stop them… or want to.
"Bring the prisoner out." Maryse orders stoically.
When Magnus steps out of the Institute… Chris loses all composure just for a fraction of a second and snarls. He's back in control at a touch from his sister behind Alec's back, yet that's enough. Not so much for the sound that abandons his mouth, but rather the aura that comes with it: light with an edge of the darkest, deepest shadows, sharp enough to make all angel-blooded in the vicinity (all bar Clary) flinch. Alec and the others on his side recover rather quickly, but the shadowhunters… they're the most affected, staring at the siblings' at Alec's sides warily.
Alec barely pays attention to any of it though, most of his attention focused on his beloved. He studies the warlock from top to bottom. He looks a little worse for wear; Alec can tell by the way he's still wearing the same clothes he left the apartment in on Wednesday, and the way his hair hangs limply instead of being in his usual spiky up-do; by the shadows under his eyes and the pallor of his skin, that he hasn't had access to a shower, or any decent food since his capture. Thankfully, while Alec does catch some signs of bruises, they don't look too new. He knows that's not absolute; he's all too aware that nephilim can inflict some of the worst tortures without any visible damage; yet, ironically enough, most of those methods, like the agony rune, cannot really be used in Downworlders, as that'd kill them. So he's fairly certain that Magnus has at least been spared that (knowing as he does just how horrible that rune is, if he so much as believed his beloved might have been subjected to it, that'd have broken his heart…). He's finishing his study of Magnus, when he finally notices it: the metal collar wrapped around his neck…
"A magic-suppressing collar…" Clary hisses, clearly noticing as well.
"Go." Maryse orders Magnus.
The warlock says nothing, walking down the steps and then down the path towards the front-gates in absolute silence.
"Wait, they're not taking it off first?"
Alec doesn't know for sure who says it. He knows that a good deal of werewolves, seelies, as well as Tessa and Ragnor are standing nearby. Close enough to help if necessary, but not so close that they might end up presenting too tempting a target. Even Raphael is nearby. Though he at least is making sure to stay out of sight of both shadowhunters and security cameras, no need to let any of them in on the secret, the fact that the leader of the New York Vampire Clan is a Daylighter… Even Alec doesn't have all the details, he just knows that it happened during the last confrontation against Camille, the previous Vampire leader. She took revenge against Raphael for working against her, came close to killing him; the Banes barely got there in time to save him, and somehow, in between all that, something changed in Raphael and turned him into a Daylighter (he's quite sure the Banes know exactly what it was that did it, he also respects their choice to keep that information to themselves). That was the same night Camille died, making Raphael the new Clan Leader.
"I can break it." Clary says under her breath.
Alec has no doubt she can. It's taken him a while, and quite a few talks with the redhead to fully understand what Valentine's experiments did to her, exactly. Saying she has 'extra angel blood' is easy, truly parsing what that means is another thing entirely. Much like with Chris having demon blood. Theoretically that should make him either a warlock, or a seelie, but while he has a 'demon mark' and some magic, he isn't actually either of those; he's actually more nephilim than anything else. He does seem to have certain… impulses, and a preference for violence as a way to solve his problems, but then Alec has known nephilim that prefer to punch their way out of things too (Jace, for example), so blaming that on his demon blood would be ridiculous.
One of the first things they realized, where Clary's concerned, was regarding her knowledge of Angelic. It's… Alec is a Trueblood, he's, according to the family journals, descendant of the True Nephilims, those that were born from the union of a human woman and an angel. While it's not longer quite as obvious, he knows some deeply angelic traits remain: like his need to protect, his commitment to fighting demons (though he does know the difference between demons and downworlders), his absolute loyalty and devotion… for most of his life the latter two were aimed at his family and the Clave. Nowadays, it's all for Magnus, Madzie and their odd, mismatched, yet absolutely wonderful family. Clary, he knows, shares most of those traits, as well as one the Truebloods seem to have lost at some point: the instinctive understanding of Angelic. While Alec knows the language, he had to learn it (it's Trueblood tradition, knowing it, teaching it to each new generation, it was a requirement for him to be the Heir); Clary never needed to learn it, from moment she saw her first rune, she understood not just what the rune as a whole meant, but also what each part of it was about. It's what's behind her ability to seemingly 'create new runes'. It's not about that at all. It's about her understanding the language of the angels enough to call on its power in ways others might not know, because while all shadowhunters might know what their runes do, none of them really know Why… most don't even seem to care to.
"Have you noticed there are no nephilim artists?" Alec remembers Clary asking him once.
"What…?" He had no idea what that had to do with anything.
"No nephilim artists." She repeated. "No writers, aside from those who write chronicles, history books; no painters, sculptors, no composers… there are musicians, yes, but they all play melodies written long ago, none of them Create."
He'd never thought about it, but once she mentioned it…
"I think it's the angel blood." Clary told him. "I think it's… angels were created to, well, to obey the orders of God, right? It's like you've said before, Angels are devoted, they're obedient, they're loyal. Free-will is a human thing. And well… we're half-human so we have free-will. But shadowhunters aren't exactly trained to use it much, are they? I think that being raised like that, only ever to follow orders kind of… shadowhunters lack creativity. They lose the impulse to create, if they ever had it. That's why you have no artists. Granted, there might be those who paint portraits and such, but it's much like the musicians, it's only ever about reproducing what already exists. There's no impulse for creating new things…" She made a pause before adding, more quietly. "I wonder if it isn't done on purpose."
"What do you mean?" Alec couldn't help but worry about the mere idea.
"Well, I cannot know for sure, of course but… I have this feeling, that the things I do, the runes I create… I don't think the angels like it much. Not like I'm about to summon one and ask them or anything, and there's a reason I don't have the enkeli at all but it's… They're the ones who gave shadowhunters their runes, right? They gave them specific runes, the ones in the Gray Book. I have this… this feeling that it was done that way intentionally."
"What, like giving us just enough for us to do our duty? Just that and no more? Why?"
"So we'd never forget. That as much as we might be nephilim, we're not angels. So we'd never forget our place…"
Alec didn't want to believe it, he really didn't, and yet… isn't that what the Clave does? To downworlders, to mundanes, even to other shadowhunters, the angelborn and any others not born to high-ranking families? Constantly emphasizing their supposed superiority, wanting so much for everyone else to 'remember their place'…
When the attack comes Alec practically senses it; it's more that he can practically sense the shift in the wind, hear the whistle of the arrow flying, rather than see it coming. It happens so fast he knows he can either bring out his bow, or move himself, but not both. He makes his choice…
"Alec!" Several voices cry out at the same time.
"Alexander…" Magnus spins around the moment he realizes his lover is no longer before him.
Instead Alec's behind him, hand raised, and through his palm is an arrow.
Alec says nothing, but his eyes go unerringly to the archer on the west tower, his figure enough in the shadows for most of him to remain unseen, though his mismatched eyes can somehow still be seen, almost glowing with a hint of gold, the same as the runes on his skin…
"Proditor…" Alec hisses in Latin, his voice not so loud for the archer to hear him, though he knows he'll be able to read his lips just fine.
The archer flinches, almost violently, stepping back, further into the cover of the shadows.
Alec turns his attention to the nephilim still standing at the Institute doors.
"An arrow to the back, like cowards, is that really the best you're capable of?" He asks, even as he very pointedly pulls the arrow out of his hand, dropping it at his own feet.
Behind him he can tell the exact moment when Clary uses her stele to break (rather than just unlock) the collar around Magnus's neck; can how his beloved's magic washes over him. It lessens his tension at least a bit, knowing that Magnus is no longer defenseless. He can also sense that his beloved wants to heal him, but Alec shakes his head minutely, not yet.
"That's all a filthy warlock like him deserves." Maryse snarls.
"Really? Mari, is this truly who you've become?" A new voice calls. "Mama would be so disappointed. I know I am…"
Maryse turns in the direction of the voice instinctively. Mouth dropping open in shock as she mouths a single name, not quite able to say it out-loud: Max…
"No, it's impossible." All present are more than a little shocked by the way the Lightwood matriarch loses her composure. "You're dead!"
"Am I?" A man with tanned skin, brown eyes and brown hair, knows by most as Max Triggs, Nephilim Professor as the New Salem Academy, asks. "I feel pretty alive…"
"You betrayed us…" Maryse snaps.
"I fell in love!" Max retorts, and by his tone it's clear that it's not the first time he's had that argument (or one much like it), or heard that particular insult. "And you sanctimonious shadowhunters decided that there was something wrong with that! Why? Because my beloved Ella is human?! I could have had it all. You are the ones that made me choose."
"You were supposed to choose us!" Maryse snarls. "We were your family! True Blood!"
"She's my heart, my soul…" Max declares, voice turning quieter yet harder. "Besides, from what I've heard you're not a Trueblood anymore. You're a Lightwood. My nephew on the other hand… He's a Trueblood, and having taken his offer, so am I once again, as well as my wife, and our children! So now we're truly who we are meant to be. The True Blood of the angels…"
Maryse looks like she might be about to have a stroke.
Alec for his part says nothing. He never intended to confront Maryse about any of it, though he does believe that his uncle Max has the right to do so, if that's his choice. He'll never forget when he heard Clary tell him the story about her old nephilim professor: Max Triggs, the moment he connected it to that of his own uncle: Max Trueblood. He wasn't sure about going to see him, not wanting to bother him, or for him to feel like he owed Alec anything. Still Clary insisted that Alec at least send him a letter, explaining who he is, and he did. It took a week before he got a response, but once he did… Alec didn't go into things expecting to get a new family, or anything like that; Madzie and the Banes were more than enough for him. And yet he'll never regret it. Beyond the idea of family, knowing that there's someone who understands him… Ella Trueblood might not be a warlock, but her brother is. And regardless of the specifics Max gave up his life as a shadowhunter to be with her. Alec himself might have been exiled but the reasons for it… he went into things, he freed Madzie, knowing exactly what the consequences of his actions would be. So some might say that he made his choice as much as his uncle made his…
"Kill them!" She practically snarls. "Kill them all!"
Yet again, Alec senses more than truly sees the attack coming.
"Parabatai!" He calls loudly.
Isabelle, hesitating on the steps of the Institute, seems to flinch at the call. It only gets worse when several arrows to come flying out of the branches of a nearby tree, one after the other, each hitting the half-dozen arrows shot from the high windows of the Institute at the perfect angle for the bolts to end up scattered in the empty yard. Several eyes seek the new archer, finding the small girl they saw in the video with Alec's speech. She's still wearing the same coral-pink dress as in the video, with a black collar and black ballerinas on her feet, standing on a branch of a tree just on the edge of the Institute's grounds; in her left hand a bow made of white ashwood, on her back a quiver full of off-white fletched arrows, in her right hand already an arrow. And at the foot of the very tree she's on, stands a man in a mundane heather-gray suit with a light-blue button up, holding a pair of long daggers.
"I'm here parabatai," Silbhé calls out intentionally, so there's no doubt left on that front.
"That's impossible!" Izzy calls. "Alec! She's gotta be lying! Jace is your parabatai!"
Alec turns to her, saying nothing. He doesn't see the point. If they haven't yet realized what they did wrong… what would the point be in him trying to explain it to them? Alec's finally in a place where he's stopped trying to justify his siblings' actions, all the ways they refused to cooperate with him, to help him, all the ways they kept making things harder for him, kept going against orders, making a mess of things, and still expected him to make everything right, to cover for them, to clean up their messes… He's finally come to see things from the other side and realized that He was never the problem… It took a long time, long, hard talks with the people he loves, and who love him. But thanks to all that he's at peace now. It doesn't change what he's lost, the job, the friends, the family… but at least he no longer feels like it was all his fault.
Maryse seems to decide to take advantage of the distraction to attack herself. Though the biggest surprise, to all except perhaps Alec himself, is that she doesn't try to attack Magnus, or any of the others, no, she goes for Alec… She never reaches him though, instead slamming against some kind of invisible barrier, which then seems to hold her captive. It's all made clear when Magnus steps forward, to stand by side with his lover.
"You won't lay a finger on him!" The warlock practically snarls at the shadowhunter.
With that, Maryse goes flying back, hitting the column in between the two big, sturdy wooden doors of the Institute, hard enough they can all hear at least one bone breaking, and she's unable to stop herself from sliding down to the ground.
"Mom!" Izzy calls out, horrified.
"That's Enough!" A new voice calls out, loud and full of authority.
It's Jia Penhallow, and she looks about ready to lay down the law, probably believing she can still spin things in the Clave's favor. Alec decides to disabuse her of the notion, quickly.
"I couldn't agree more." He says somberly. "See, Madam Penhallow, we gave you a chance. Many chances in fact. Were willing to look the other way, to pretend you didn't break the Accords, again. Didn't attack us for no reason, again…"
"You? You're a shadowhunter." She tries.
"No, I'm not." He shakes his head. "You exiled me, remember? I may be nephilim, I will always be nephilim. But I'm not a shadowhunter, and that was your choice, not mine."
"You could always come back," She tries to tempt him.
There's a part of Alec that wants to laugh, ridiculous and counterproductive as he knows that'd be. Clary certainly doesn't hold back from doing exactly that, and even Chris snorts, loudly.
"This isn't about what I am, or am not." He says diplomatically. "This is about your crimes. About the fact that you abducted a Downworlder, abducted Magnus, for no reason…"
"No reason?" Raj snaps. "He's a monster!"
"Please Alec," Izzy calls almost at the same time. "We know he's done something to you. Something to take you away from us. Let us help you. You can still come back…"
This time Alec definitely cannot hold back, he laughs… though it's not exactly a nice laugh.
"Really?" He eventually recovers enough composure to ask. "That's what you're going with?"
"Alec, please…" Izzy insists.
"Why would I want to go back Isabelle?" He asks, a bit harder than necessary. "And back to what exactly? To parents that will never see me as good enough? To a parabatai who didn't even notice when our bond broke? To a sister who claims to love me, while at the same time continuously making my job harder than it needs to be? To people who keep breaking the rules and then just expect me to clean up their messes? People who'll never accept the fact that I am gay, that I love a man, and a warlock at that? That I have a daughter who's also a downworlder?" He falters, just for a moment, until the very light touch of Magnus's hand on the small of his back reminds him he's not alone, gives him the strength to keep going. "You claim Magnus has done something to me… and you know what? He did. He set me free. Free to be myself, to love myself. Everything I am is thanks to him, and to the rest of our friends, our chosen family, who've taught me that who and what I am is enough! Why would I ever want to go back after that?"
Even Izzy seems to have no response for that.
"Magnus Bane, is an abomination." Maryse snaps, as she finally manages to push herself to her feet. "He's a danger to the entire Shadow World. He's an agitator, threatening war…"
"No." Alec cuts her off, not interested in listening to her tirade. "You've always been afraid of Magnus, of his power, of his potential. But see, in the end, he wasn't the one who brought us all to the edge of war. You did that, when you went and abducted him, held him prisoner for two days! When you tried to shoot him in the back, like the cowards you are! If there's a war, it will not have been us who started it, but you."
"Mr. Trueblood, let us not be hasty…" Jia tries to de-escalate things, but it's too late for that.
"Hasty?" Clary scoffs. "Would you be so quick to try and dismiss things if you were the one to have been kept prisoner?"
"Of course not." Chris continues before Jia can even think of a reply. "She'd already be ordering all downworlders involved dead."
"She wouldn't even need to order it, others would have done it already." Lucas offers.
"It's too late for you to try and make this seem any less than what it is," Magnus states.
"And what do you believe this is?" Jia challenges.
"An overture of war." Alec declares, as he steps forward, his still bleeding hand held out in front of him, blood dripping down to fall on the ground. "May this be the last blood spilled senselessly in these lands. The Shadow World sees you, and finds you lacking. We do not want you here anymore. You have twelve hours starting right now, to vacate the territory of New York."
"What…?!" It's clear none of the shadowhunters expected that.
"You were so afraid that Magnus Bane would one day unite the Downworld against you all." Max points out from where he stands at the back of the group. "And guess what? That's exactly what you yourselves did, when you chose to kidnap him, to hold him captive, threatened him and his whole family for a crime he hadn't even committed yet, might never have committed, really. From where I'm standing, if Magnus had wanted to unite the Downworld against you all, he'd have done it a long time ago."
It's the truth, and they all know it.
"In the end, all you've managed to do is almost cause the so-called war you were supposedly trying to prevent." Alec says soberly. "And yet, we're not like you. We're not interested in attacking and killing innocents simply for existing. We just want you gone."
"You cannot do this." Maryse insists. "This is not a decision you can make on your own…"
"And who says I'm on my own?" Alec challenges.
"Alexander Trueblood has the backing of us nephilim." Silbhé calls from her position still on the branch of a tree. "We might not be shadowhunters, but we're still Children of the Angels."
"He has the backing of the werewolves." Alaric announces as he steps forth, Maia and Luke at his sides. "The Children of the Moon stand with Alexander Trueblood."
"He of course has the backing of the warlocks." It's Ragnor who speaks up. "And be aware, shadowhunters, that all High Warlocks are in accord on this. Soon you might find a great number of doors are closed to you… permanently."
Isabelle inhales sharply, as she realizes that in their attempt to prevent something, they just might have ended up causing it.
"He has the backing of the seelies," Meliorn announces, surprising everyone. "By order of our new ruler, the Seelies stand with Alexander Trueblood."
"He has the backing of the vampires," Raphael reveals himself. "The Children of the Night stand with Alexander Trueblood."
And there it is, the alliance the Clave never wanted to exist, which they so feared, which they themselves caused… the Downworld stands together, behind one that should have been one of the Angels' own, and he is, he's just not one of the Clave's…
xXx
Alec wakes up after a drugged sleep. He wants to be angry, yet he cannot. He really needed to sleep. He didn't close his eyes longer than what it took to blink since finding out about Magnus's abduction. Using (and abusing) alertness, stamina, nourishment and several other runes to keep himself going, unable to even think about resting when angel-knew-where his beloved might be, or what he might be going through. So someone (Catarina being the most likely culprit, or perhaps Clary) made him sleep. The first thing he sees when he wakes up is the time, making sure it isn't midnight yet (if he missed the deadline, after being the one to make the declaration against the shadowhunters, that would have been an embarrassment the likes of which he'd have never recovered from!). Or rather, no, that's the second. The first thing he sees is his beloved, curled up into Alec's chest, as if trying to bury into the nephilim, Alec's own limbs wrapped around and in between his as if, even unconscious, he sought to be as connected as he possibly could be to his beloved, make sure no one would ever be able to separate them again. Seeing Magnus there, in his arms, sleeping peacefully (for the most part) settles something deep inside Alec. Enough that even though there's a part of him that feels he ought to be on the move, making sure everything's in order, that they're ready to deal with the consequences of the choices made… the bigger part of him cannot even think about leaving his lover, so he stays exactly where he is.
It doesn't really take long for Magnus to wake up. Alec can tell, in the way his breathing changes, becoming less deep, faster; then there's the way he tenses, his eyes still closed and tightening along with the rest of his body. He's afraid, afraid to wake up, afraid to see where he is.
"I'm here, my love, I'm here…" He whispers straight into Magnus's ear, placing light kisses on his temple, his hear, the edge of his ear. "We're home, in our room, on our bed. You're in my arms. We're together, and I swear to you Magnus, I swear on Raziel, Ithuriel and all the Host, I'm not leaving you, not ever…"
"Aku cinta kamu, selama-lamanya (I love you, forever)…" Magnus practically sobs the words into Alec's neck.
They stay some time in bed, just laying there, holding onto each other. Eventually they're ready to face the world. They shower together. There's no sex, as they wash each other's hair and help soap each other's backs. Even when their bodies react, they're neither of them looking for an orgasm, not right then, it's about more than that. It's the love, the intimacy, the connection. The knowledge that they're together, and that's how they're going to stay.
A surprise awaits them when they finally make it to the main area of the loft, beyond the wide array of breakfast foods arranged on a table on the balcony. Alec sees her first: she's petite, with golden skin, chocolate eyes and ebony hair cascading down her back; she's wearing a long forest-green skirt, an off-white peasant blouse with colorful flowers embroidered, tanned-leather sandals on her feet. When she turns in their direction… Alec can almost feel a weight settle on him, like her presence alone, her mere attention being on him, is heavy. From the corner of his eye he sees Magnus half-stumble before he bends in the deepest bow he's ever seen from his beloved. That's enough for him to understand who it is that stands before them.
"My lady…" He whispers as he bows respectfully as well.
"Please, call me Xochiquetzal." She requests with a gentle smile.
"It's an honor, ma'am." Alec hurries to reply. "I am Alexander Trueblood."
"I know who you are, Piltontli (child/boy)." Xochiquetzal tells him kindly. "Just like I know Magnus Bane as well. The pleasure is all mine, young ones."
Xochiquetzal, the High Warlock of Tula, the warlock who governs over most of Latin-America (everywhere the warlocks haven't chosen to vacate entirely due to the organized crime and the danger it means not just for mundanes, but for everyone). She's also, according to rumor, over fifteen hundred years old and the oldest warlock still alive…
"We're immortal, but that just means we do not die of old age, of things mortals do, it doesn't mean we cannot die at all." Magnus told him once. "There's a reason why you don't see warlocks thousands of years old going around, people who might remember the Roman Empire, Babylon and the like. It's… it gets tiring, after a while, the prospect of going on forever. Immortality's not an ideal to pursue, Alexander, despite what a lot of young-adult literature might claim. It's not a gift, it's torture. It's going on and on, never being done, never able to rest. Having to see bad things happen and knowing that no matter how much power you might have, a lot of the time there's just nothing you can do…"
Alec can still remember Magnus's words quite clearly. Though they don't change what he told Raphael. He's searching for a way, and he will find it, because even if immortality might in many ways end up being a burden, it won't be a punishment, because he won't be alone (he hopes). He'll have Magnus there, to make it better for him, and he'll endeavor to do the same for his beloved in return.
The three of them eat together, and when the food has been consumed, Xochiquetzal conjures what looks like a very old clay tea set, which she uses to serve some flowery tea with thick golden honey, handing a cup to each of them, and keeping one for herself. Alec's curiosity is almost palpable. While during Magnus's unlawful imprisonment he communicated with all High Warlocks, with most of them it was done indirectly. Having been with Magnus for several months already, he'd met a couple of them before and could reach to them confidently: Sakura, the High Warlock of Tokyo, and Wong, the High Warlock of Nepal. But with most of them the contact was achieved through messages. Clary and Chris knew Ardeth Bay, the High Warlock of Nubia, Roux, the High Warlock of Danube, and Manaia, High Warlock of Polynesia. Ragnor was the only one who knew how to find Korak, the High Warlock of Boma and Mulan, the High Warlock of Mongolia. While after much talk it was eventually revealed that Tessa alone knew how to get in touch with Xochiquetzal, High Warlock of Tula.
According to Tessa, Xochiquetzal hasn't been known to leave Choloakoyan, the Refuge and Sanctuary that has existed in Mexico for over a thousand years, and which Xochiquetzal is said to be the lone guardian of. According to the legends, the place was built by both her and her match, in a time when the line between the Shadow World and the Mundane one wasn't quite so defined, where supernaturals walked among humans and were seen as heroes and gods by them. According to Tessa herself, most of the mundane mythologies concern stories of members of the Shadow World that have been preserved in some form, even if the humans never knew the full truth about the individuals and things they saw.
So Alec knows that Xochiquetzal being at their loft is huge, probably in more ways than his nephilim understanding can possibly comprehend. He's burning with curiosity, but doesn't want to embarrass Magnus or anything, so he does his best to stay calm. Clearly not enough…
"You may ask, child." She tells with with a small smile.
Normally, if it were almost anyone else calling him child he'd point out that at twenty-three he's anything but a child… though he supposes that compared with an immortal, especially one who's lived over fifteen centuries, he must seem like a baby…
"Apologies, my lady." He bows his head, flushing a bit in embarrassment.
"For what, young one?" She actually chuckles a bit, not mocking but gently. "There is nothing wrong with being curious. You have done nothing that may require an apology on your part."
"I just… I am curious." Alec finally admits.
"About…" She prompts him.
"About what brings you here." The nephilim finally blurts out, only for his blush to darken as he realizes how that sounds and does his best to back-pedal. "Sorry, I don't mean that you shouldn't be here, my lady, I just…"
"Worry not, that is a fair question to ask." She assures him. "Tell me something, piltontli, do you realize what you have done?"
"I don't… I don't know what you mean." He's done a great many things, some he's proud of, some not so much, but the fact remains.
"Shadowhunters have existed since the 11th century, however, you don't believe that demons only started showing up in our realm, attacking mortals, at that point, do you?" She points out.
That… had actually never occurred to Alec. Or at least, not with the emphasis Xochiquetzal seems to be giving the matter. He knows nephilim existed for generations before what's known as the beginning of the shadowhunters, it's basic history of the Truebloods, after all. So it should come as no surprise that there had been demons before as well. And yet Alec never before stopped to ponder on what that meant. There having been demons, means that there had to be someone to fight them, to keep humans safe, otherwise… well, humanity wouldn't have survived without someone to protect them…
"All the legends are true." Xochiquetzal quotes with an almost mischievous smile. "Nephilim love using that phrase, but I think sometimes even you all forget what it truly means. It's not just some of the legends that are true, it's all of them. The legends about angels and demons, about heavenly warriors and monsters… about gods and mortals… The stories known now might not be the absolute truth, but they're the truth as the people from the time understood it. To them, a man capable of calling down lightning from the sky, one with superior speed and strength, a woman able to heal, or to change into a wolf… words like warlocks, seelies, and the like didn't exist in their vocabulary. So instead they called them, called us, gods: worshiped us, because we kept them safe from the monsters they could never fight, some they couldn't even see!"
"If you could do that, why were the shadowhunters necessary at all?" Alec asks, confused.
"Because even gods can die." The goddess says quietly. "Not easily, maybe, but even the most incompetent of demons can get lucky once."
"That's all it takes." Magnus agrees grimly.
"And that's only where violent deaths are concerned." Xochiquetzal goes on. "Depression, tiredness, apathy… we're none of us immune to them. They're what kills immortals more often than not. When we just… grow tired of this world, this existence." She looks straight at Alec. "I am the oldest living warlock, not because I'm any better than any of my brothers and sisters, than my match. Most of them didn't die in battle, or in any violent way. They simply… let go of that which made them immortal."
"But you didn't." Alec cannot help but point out.
"I didn't." She agrees. "Because more years ago than you might be able to fathom, I promised my match that I'd always watch over our children."
"Children?!" Alec cannot help but blurt out.
"Not of our blood, of course not." She dismisses the thought easily. "But our children regardless. The ones we built Choloakoyan for… the wards that keep our refuge safe are tied to me, to my immortal life-force. If I were to die, it'd all fall apart. All our children, abandoned… I could never do that. And it's not even just because I promised him, though I did, and to that promise I shall forever hold. But also… I love our children. All of them. Warlocks, part-seelies, vampires, werewolves, even mundanes. They're my children and as a good mother I'll love them, and I'll protect them, for as long as I possibly can."
"Why are you telling us all this?" Alec asks softly, because he has his suspicions, though more than suspicions they're almost… a wish, a hope he's almost too afraid to have.
"Being immortal isn't easy, piltontli, but neither is it as impossible as most seem to believe in this time and age." She declares.
Magnus lets out a wordless eep, looking like he wants to ask so many question, demand answers and explanations… yet at the same time doesn't dare to.
"Tell me, little angel, do you know why your Clave forbids shadowhunters from using magic?" She asks in what seems like an absolute non-sequitur.
"No," Alec answers immediately, before squirming a bit and adding: "I have my suspicions, but no way to prove them either wrong or right."
That calls Magnus's attention, as even he knows nothing about that.
Xochiquetzal says nothing, waiting for Alec to elaborate.
"I've noticed that, from all the factions in the Downworld, the only ones who actually wield magic, are the warlocks and the seelies." Alec starts explaining his theory. "Both have another things in common: they're immortal. Well, for the most part. I know that some of them, like Lucas, if they're far enough removed from their seelie ancestor can be mortal; and it also happens that their magic is much weaker. So I think there's a correlation there. Either wielding magic somehow makes them immortal, or being immortal is what gives them magic." He shifts a bit this way and that before adding: "In training we're often told that shadowhunters are incapable of magic. And yet, the Shadowhunter Codex states that shadowhunters are forbidden from using magic. That's not the same thing. And on that same vein, both the Silent Brothers and the Iron Sisters possess certain powers, things that, while never called magic, I do believe are exactly that. They're also immortal." He exhales. "And well, we get our powers from the angels, right? And angels are very much immortal."
"That's correct." Xochiquetzal smiles at him, like a proud teacher… or mother. "See, to use magic you channel energies, some from this plane, some from others. You essentially make yourself into a conduit. While it is possible for certain mortals to wield magic, they're known as Sparks, their skills are very limited, and more often than not they'll die young, as their attempts to use bigger and stronger magics ends up burning them from the inside out. The solution for that is to have a body that can endure being a conduit of such energies, to be able to heal from whatever damage, and learn to endure. That's truly the basic of what immortality's about. The ability to heal the damage to your own body, heal it to the point where you essentially stop aging. That's why being immortal isn't the same as being invulnerable. We can still die… it just isn't quite as likely, unless…" She takes a deep breath before saying, more somber: "Unless we choose to give up our immortality."
"You… what?!" Alec's breathless with shock. "You can do that?!"
"We can, it's not… it's not an easy choice to make, but it does happen." Xochiquetzal nods. "I told you, piltontli, even gods die. When they grow tired of this world, of watching time pass. When it all becomes too much, they may choose to give up their magic, and with it, their immortality, become mortal. If they do that, they'll age very rapidly to their real age; which in the case of those who've lived centuries, it means they'll die very quickly. Many have made the choice. All who, after a certain point, decided they had no reason to keep on living."
Not like her. She endures, because she promised her beloved, and because she loves her children enough to want to stay.
"Is it that easy?" He asks very, very softly.
"Yes and no." She nods, with an expression that tells him she knows exactly what he's asking, and why. "It's not just a matter of you choosing to do a spell, and that's it, you're done. It requires preparation, mental, physical and emotional. Tell me, what makes Silent Brothers and Iron Sisters so special? So separate from the rest of the shadowhunters?"
"They have special training, and they also undergo rituals, and take oaths." Alec enlists.
"That is correct." Xochiquetzal agrees. "But truth is, very little of that is about them being able to do magic. A lot is, in fact, about the secrecy. If you believe that all those rituals and oaths are needed to be able to use those magics, then no one else will try." She changes tracks abruptly. "Have you ever heard about ambrosia? Ambrosia, amrita, the peaches of immortality, the elixir of life… from ancient times mortals have believed there to be something that may grant immortality. Because it was easier for them to believe that the power lay in an object, in something physical, rather than in potential that already existed in the blood, and a choice…" She picks up the little jar with the honey used to sweeten their tea. "I could tell you that this is ambrosia, that you've drunk it, that you've become immortal. And maybe if I'm especially convincing, you'll believe me, and that'll be enough. But nowadays it's rare for any person to believe in another so strongly for them to have no doubts when told something this huge. And in any case, it was never about any drink or food, it's always been about three things: the potential already in your blood, which you have because you have the blood of the angels; the knowledge that such potential exists, how to utilize it, and most importantly, what it all means, what it means to be immortal, to not age, to not die, this is in many ways the hardest of all because most mortals do not actually understand what immortality means, and without that you cannot become immortal; and finally, the choice to make use of that potential, to take that step and become more than you were born as…"
Alec opens his mouth, then closes it again. He can barely believe what he's hearing, and yet it makes so much sense! Angels are immortal, so why shouldn't nephilim be as well? "So we'd never forget our place…" He remembers Clary's words, and it's the same, isn't it? The same as with her creating new runes. It's the potential they all have to be more, potential the Clave (and the angels) don't want them to know about. He remembers also her comments about free-will, about the enkeli rune and the bond to Raziel… which at least explains why other shadowhunters haven't at least thought about becoming immortal in the past. And also… could they even do it? Can most shadowhunters even come close to understanding immortality? When they're raised from a very young age with the knowledge that they'll die, and most likely young. It's unlikely that most of them have ever even thought about something like living forever, aside from that being something that beings like warlocks and seelie do… Even Alec himself, he never had any thoughts on immortality before meeting Magnus, before coming to love him. Does he understand everything about immortality? Probably not. But he does know one thing: that being immortal, means having a chance at forever, at forever with Magnus. And that… that's something that he wants more than anything else in the world…
He raises his head as he reaches that conclusion, noticing that Xochiquetzal is looking straight at him, as if waiting for something, some kind of response? Acknowledgment? Beside him he can feel Magnus, he's tense, probably worried, about what? About Alec wanting immortality? About him rejecting it? They haven't really talked about it. About any of it. But he's heard Magnus, heard his love declarations… Aku cinta kamu, selama-lamanya (I love you, forever) And didn't Alec swear, on Raziel, Ithuriel and all the Host, that he was never leaving Magnus?
Alec has a not inconsiderable amount of knowledge about magical theory. Magnus isn't just a warlock, he's also an inventor; while the portal might be his crown jewel in many ways, that for which he's better known, it's far from the only thing he's ever created. He's also… chatty. Magnus likes to talk about things, about magic, especially while he's in the process of either improving or creating something entirely new, says it makes the process better, more organized. At first he tried to keep himself from doing it around Alec, not wanting to bore him or something. When the younger man realized what his boyfriend was doing he put a stop to it immediately, and to prove that he truly didn't mind, he did his best to actually engage with his boyfriend during those times. At first only a little, only small, simple questions; he didn't want to bother Magnus, only to show to him that he was okay with the warlock being himself. As it turned out Magnus liked Alec asking questions; and the more Alec relaxed, the more they realized that even without being a warlock himself, they were good questions. Alec had always been one to think outside the box, and while he at first might not have known much about how magic worked exactly, the more he learned, the better his questions got; and then their talks went from simply reassuring Magnus that he could be himself, to actually helping with his creative process. Magnus's latest creation, a personal ward meant to conceal an individual by diverting the attention of others so they simply wouldn't be noticed (invisibility spells, which had already existed beforehand, only worked if the individual using them didn't move) he insists only exists thanks to their long talks and all the ways Alec kept challenging Magnus's view on the usual concealing spells.
So Alec knows a fair amount about magic. Until now it's only ever been about magical theory. Because magic wasn't something he could do, because he isn't a warlock… except that isn't entirely true, is it? He's always known about the Clave's stand on magic, about shadowhunters being forbidden to use it, yet he never stopped to consider that for something to be forbidden, it means it's possible. They might not like the consequences, and maybe in the past Alec himself would have refused to even consider such a thing, but he isn't that person anymore. Alec Lightwood was someone who obeyed parents who never loved him, was devoted to siblings who never appreciated what he did for them, loyal to a government that never let him be himself, part of a society where he was never good enough… he isn't that Alec anymore. He's Alec Trueblood, lover to a gorgeous warlock who loves him as deeply as Alec does him, father to a delightful little sorceress who looks at him like he hung the moon, with a chosen family that's there for him as much as he's there for them. He has everything he's always wanted, yet never dared dream of, never thought he could have.
And now… now, he decides, it's time he get one more thing. So, with that in mind, Alec takes a deep breath, he recalls several of the talks he had with Magnus early on, about the basics of magic; then he focuses on the little sphere that must still be inside the pocket of the pants he was wearing the night before, which are probably still on a chair in their bedroom… Alec can feel it, the warmth that starts somewhere in his core, that extends from there, through his chest, down his arm and to the hand he raises almost on instinct. His eyes snap open in time for him to see something that looks first almost like embers and then… dark-golden sparks dancing at the tips of his fingers, to gather together in the middle of his open palm. He closes his hand into a fist instinctively, feeling a warmth that goes from ethereal to solid. When he opens his hand once again the sparks are gone, and there, in the center of his palm, sits a silver sphere, the same he showed to Raphael and the others the day Magnus was taken.
He turns to Magnus, his boyfriend is looking at him with wide eyes, mouth slightly open, clearly in shock. He stares straight at the sphere on Alec's hand, then at Alec himself.
"Alexander…" He murmurs, seemingly not knowing what else to say.
"I love you." The nephilim says, in a voice that sounds almost helpless. "It… it sounds so simple and almost casual. Nowhere near enough to encompass all I feel for you. And yet at the same time there are no better words to explain what I feel. Any other words would be insufficient to truly explain the way I lose my breath every time you enter a room, how my heart beats faster when you walk by, how my skin just tingles when you stand close enough for me to feel your breath…" He's blushing, and yet he doesn't stop, pushing through with his speech. "When you walk into a room, there's a spark in you. It's not, it's not about your magic, it's more than that. Your mere presence is enough to light up everything and everyone around you. You bring light into my life, a light I never even knew existed until I met you! I fell in love with you because you're wise, and you're generous, and you're brave and… and you're incredible! You're the best thing that ever happened to me Magnus Bane. I… I don't know if I could ever live without you, what I do know, is that I don't want to. I would love nothing more than to spend forever with you, and not my version of forever, but yours, ours… So I'm gonna ask you one question, and I'd like you to really, truly think about it before you give me an answer…" With smooth motions Alec stands from his chair, turns just enough to face his boyfriend before dropping one one knee at the same time he raises the sphere and twists his hand just right to open it, showing Magnus the ring inside it: "Magnus Bane, light of my life, my love, my match… Will you marry me?"
Magnus just sits there, staring at the nephilim for several very long seconds, as if not quite able to believe it's all truly happening… It's not just the marriage proposal, though that's almost enough to leave him thoroughly shocked; but also… his beloved just did magic, right there, in front of Magnus, after having heard from Xochiquetzal what it all meant, what the consequences would be if he were to do so. It's… he cannot even ask Alec if he's sure. And it's not that he wants to doubt his lover, or imply that he doesn't know his own mind but… in almost four hundred years of life Magnus has never found someone who could stand him for long, who ever wanted to just stay, stay with him, not even for the length of a human lifetime, and now Alec is before him, on one knee, declaring his love and promising to stay not just for his life but forever… There's a part of Magnus that wonders if this is how his beloved feels, being offered the one thing a part of him has always wanted, deep down, but the major part of him always believed he could never have: a true, eternal, love… a match.
"Yes." He blurts out after what seems like forever, tears are falling down his cheeks yet the wide smile and the way his green-golden cat-eyes are almost sparkling is more than enough to show that he's happy, more than that, he's positively gleeful. "Yes Alexander, I will marry you…" He waves a hand, and a ring appears in the middle of his own palm. "But only if you marry me too."
It's the 'cat eye' ring. The very same Alec has always find himself fascinated by, his favorite of all of Magnus's rings (because they remind him of his beloved's true eyes).
"Yes, of course yes." Alec says immediately. "Forever."
"Forever." Magnus agrees.
Xochiquetzal actually claps, not loud, but still clearly delighted. The two men actually turn to look at her, blinking a bit, they'd almost forgotten she was there!
"Congratulations," She says, in a most heartfelt tone. "I'm so happy for you."
"Thank you," Alec tells her, and he doesn't need to explain what he's thanking her for, exactly, they both know.
"The pleasure is all mine, piltontli." She smiles beatifically at him.
"Is this…?" Alec isn't sure how to ask the question. "Is this why you came?"
Is it a coincidence, that just two days after he revealed he was seeking for a way to attain immortality, to be with Magnus forever, she comes into their home and they have a conversation that leads into him getting exactly that?
"Not exactly," She admits calmly. "Though I assure you that I'm happy for this development. I'm happy that you have each other. It's rare, seeing individuals with the kind of… more than just love, but the trust, the devotion you have for each other. The kind of love that has the potential to last till the last star falls out of the sky…" She exhales, closing her eyes briefly before turning a bit more serious. "Do you remember what I asked you at the beginning of our conversation?"
"You…" Alec has to actually stop and think about it for a moment. "You asked me if I knew what I'd done?" He cocks his head to the side. "Then you told us those stories, about the time before shadowhunters. About the gods and the heroes."
"Indeed." Xochiquetzal nods. "I told you, there was a time when gods walked among men, when it was them who kept humanity safe from the monsters. Truth is that while humanity might have benefited for many years from the existence of shadowhunters, that doesn't mean they cannot survive without them. Mortals have always endured, they've always found a way. And it's not like we're going to turn a blind eye on them, is it?"
"No, of course not." Magnus agrees immediately.
"Maybe it's time gods walk once more among men." Alec offers.
He knows that's the point she's trying to make. That the shadowhunters might be leaving, but that doesn't mean humans in NY, and anywhere else they might end up vacating, will be defenseless. The Clave might make claims to them being all that protects the world from the forces of hell, but it's not like it'd be the first time they lied about something. If they think that they can walk away now and return in a few months or a few years, that eventually NY will be begging them to come back and save them… they're so very, very wrong.
"Thank you." Alec tells her some time later, as Xochiquetzal is about to depart.
"I told you piltontli, the pleasure is all mine." Xochiquetzal tells him.
Just before she walks through a portal back to her home she waves her hand, as a small bouquet of red and lavender roses, primrose, orange blossom, myrtle and peony wrapped in ivy appear in Alec's hands. They're a blessing, he knows this instinctively, even before finding out that they represent love, enchantment, an inability to live without the other, eternal love, happy marriage, wedded love and fidelity. The flowers are special, drenched in Xochiquetzal's magic, as long as Magnus's and Alec's love proves true, they shall never wilt…
xXx
All eyes seem to go straight to the rings, the moment Alec and Magnus cross the portal from their loft into Clary and Chris's apartment.
"Daddy!" Madzie practically squeals as she dashes past everyone else and jumps straight into Alec's arms, knowing without a doubt he'll catch her.
"Hey sweetheart, have you been having fun with everyone?" Alec asks softly.
"Yes!" Madzie answers with an enthusiastic nod. "Auntie Silbhé and Uncle Lucas say Rosie's too small still to play with me but when she's grown a bit, she'll be ready. So I've been playing with Clary and Chris, and we've been having lots of fun!"
"That's wonderful sweetie." Alec nods, then breathes deeply. "Hey Madz, remember what we talked about before? About family?"
"You said you wanted Uncle Magnus forever, to be your… your husband, forever and ever." Madzie points out.
"That's right," Alec nods.
"You finally asked him?" The little girl asks, imperiously.
All around them everyone's watching the exchange very attentively, very interested. Most of them cannot help but laugh at the little warlock girl's question, but even more than that, her tone as she asks, like she's been waiting forever… just how long has Alec been planning on proposing to Magnus exactly?
"I finally asked him, yes." Alec nods with a small smile of his own.
"And what did he say?" She asks, eagerly.
"Why don't you ask him?" He suggests, twisting the both of them so Madzie can look straight at Magnus, who's still standing right beside him.
"So?" The little girl demands, looking absolutely adorable, looking straight at the warlock. "Are you gonna marry my Daddy?"
"Would you like that?" Magnus asks, a sliver of a doubt, because what if Madzie doesn't want him? The last thing he wants is to cause trouble between those two, Alec loves the little sorceress so very much and…
"Very much," Madzie's answer halt Magnus's dark thought.
"Good, because I told him yes." Magnus finally announces, raising his hand to show-off the Trueblood ring on his finger.
Magnus feels absolute glee as everyone starts play-fighting as they try to get closer, to get a better look at the ring; it only gets better when Clary notices the ring on Alec's own hand and makes a comment about knowing that he planned something for that ring since he commissioned it from Lucas. Alec flushes all the way as he realizes that Magnus had the ring custom-made, probably because he knows how much Alec loves his true-eyes…
"Does that mean…?" Madzie's hesitant voice calls everyone's attention back to her. "Can I call you Papa now?"
"Is that what you want sweet pea?" Magnus asks softly.
"Yes," the girl nods repeatedly.
"Then I'd love it if you called me Papa." Magnus tells her.
"Yay!" Madzie practically shrieks in glee as she throws herself out of Alec's arms and straight into Magnus's. "Papa! I have a Papa!" When Clary approaches her Madzie immediately turns to her. "Clary, Clary, I have a Papa!"
"I know, and you know what else?" The redhead asks her. "He's my Papa too. And Chris's. Which means that we're now your siblings…"
She's about to add that it's only if she wants, when the little girl's smile seems to grow even bigger as she turns to look at the two redheads with excitement.
"I have a sister!" She calls out in delight. "And a brother!"
Madzie's joy is such that everyone else can do nothing more than be happy for her, and with her. It's the perfect moment for their ever-growing, somewhat-insane and absolutely perfect family.
xXx
Eventually the twelve hours pass. Alec knows that, as the one to issue the ultimatum, he has to go to the Institute and make sure that Maryse and her people are truly gone. And because his family are… well, them, the insist on accompanying him. Even Madzie refuses to stay behind this time. Lily offers to babysit Rosie, to allow Lucas and Silbhé to go as well (Silbhé insists that as Alec's parabatai she must be with him, and Lucas refuses to let his wife to go into a potentially dangerous situation without him at her back). While they know how things must be, that doesn't mean Maryse won't have planned something, there's the chance that she's refused to surrender, has chosen to make a stand and fight them, despite the consequences that'd have, on a global level. There's also the possibility of them having left, but there being a trap of some sort in the Institute, or elsewhere. They must be ready.
Clary opens one of her portals to an alley down the block from the NYI. Alec's at the front of the group, Clary and Chris flanking him. Magnus and Madzie are behind them, the older warlock continuously rolling his eyes at the rest of his family's insistence on protecting him from any possible traps; though he says nothing because deep down he does understand (and he'd be the same in their place). Silbhé and Lucas walk behind Magnus; and behind them are Tessa, Cat, Maia, Alaric, Luke, Meliorn and Raphael, who insist on following the family into the Institute.
First the Institute's gates, and then the main doors open easily at Alec's lightest touch. Making use of his newly activated magic Alec sends out an exploratory pulse throughout the old, repurposed cathedral. What he finds is both what he expected and not.
"What is it?" Magnus asks, he too having felt the magic pulse.
"The place isn't empty, at all." Alec announces.
Everyone reacts instantly, Lucas and Silbhé drawing their weapons, Clary and Chris each have a blade in one hand, magic sparks dancing on the other; Magnus for his part orders Madzie to stay behind him, blue magic with red edges glowing around his palms, while he mentally berates himself for letting his sweet-pea accompany them when they knew there might be danger. The others are on guard as well.
"It's not, it doesn't feel dangerous exactly…" Alec admits, considering his options before he stops in the middle of the foyer and, with a tone of voice strong and full of authority and in a pitch made to carry, he calls out: "Come out, whoever you are! I am Alexander Trueblood and I demand that whoever is in this building presents themselves."
For several seconds nothing happens and then… they see the shadow before they see the person. A tanned man dressed head to toe in black steps out, hands raised and no weapons on his person. Alec barely manages to move fast enough to keep Chris from attacking him on principle alone.
"We mean no harm," The man calls out, keeping his voice soft and calm.
"Angelborn, what are you doing here?" Alec asks, being the only one to recognize the man.
"We chose to stay, sir." Carlos tells him evenly.
"'We'?" Clary repeats, noticing it's not the first time he uses that specific pronoun.
"We." Carlos confirms.
As if the word were some kind of signal, more figures start coming out of the shadows. Both men and women, some in dark leather, others in more comfortable, casual clothes, though the dark runes on their skin show that they're all shadowhunters. What's more, Alec recognizes every single one of them: Andrew Underhill, Matthew Keytower, Lauren Greenlaw, Duncan Armstrong, and many others. Alec is almost speechless with shock.
"What… what are you doing here?" He eventually manages to ask.
"We're your people, sir." Andrew speaks up for them. "Where else would we be?"
It's not the response Alec expected, at all. It's not that he has no appreciation for his people, because he does, a lot. He has the utmost respect for them all, men and women. All who've been by his side, as he'd to learn on the job, when his parents began with their long trips to Idris, as they focused on their political careers and left him to deal with the Institute, despite Alec being so young and in no way ready for it when their trips started. They were there for him, in any and all ways they could. In ways even his own siblings never were… Some, like Frederick Townsend, who was too old and with chronic pain in various parts of his body to be an active shadowhunter, yet knew so much, and he was more than willing to share that knowledge with Alec. Or Chandra Patil, the eldest child of the Heads of the Delhi Institute, who fled their family, ending up in NY; while not having wanted to be the Heir, Chandra knew a lot about the position, thus being able to help Alec a lot. And like the two of them, each of his people have their own stories. Alec knows them all, respects them greatly. And the mere thought that they (or at least some of them) chose to stay behind when Robert, Maryse and the rest of them departed…
Going to stand beside him, Magnus places a hand on the small of his boyfriend, no, his fiancé's back, a reassuring gesture that gave Alec the confidence to look straight at his people.
"Are you sure about this?" He asks them.
"Kinda late to be regretting things, don't ya think?" One of the women asks with a snort.
It's true, but Alec still needs to be sure they know what they're doing, that they won't come to resent him for not being able to join the rest of their brethren, in Idris. The shadowhunter nation is beyond Alec's reach now, NY is his home…
"We made our choice, sir." Andrew assures him. "Each of us. We considered our options, and in the end we decided we'd rather stay here, in NY, under your leadership. We all respect you, we respect what you've been trying to do; all the things you tried, and the things you never could, because the Lightwoods never allowed it. We want to be here, with you, to help you build the kind of world we, like you, believe in. Let us work with you, sir."
And really, what other response could Alec give:
"It'll be my honor, ladies and gentlemen."
And so a new age begins for New York…
So... what do you think? I'm particularly interested on what you might think about my worldbuilding and headcanons. Things like the High Warlocks, the growing alliance, Xochiquetzal's past, the effects of the extra angel blood in Clary, the immortality thing... I'm throwing so much worldbuilding into this series, I'd really like to know what works and what doesn't, what people like and what they don't (mainly in order to decide what I should keep using and what I should probably never used again). I don't think anything's been quite as insane as the whole 'shadowhunter immortality' from "Blood of the Angels", but still.
I'm also incredibly curious what you all might think about what I did with Max Triggs/Trueblood. I know at least one person saw it coming. And while I originally just threw him in there as more of an afterthought than anything, in the end he became an actual thing. I like it. Like the way he helps bring all my worldbuilding together, but I do wonder what other people might think. Same about Xochiquetzal and her story, my twist to the whole "all the stories are true"... Thoughts?
Would anyone like to guess what's coming next? If anyone guesses correctly I'll gift them a fanart, shadowhunters, either a character of ship of your choice (as long as it doesn't go against my preference of Malec).
As always, I give blanket permission... you know the drill.
Hopefully I'll be finished with the next piece in a week. If not I'll still post it as soon as I possibly can.