Alec sighed on the balcony and activated his stamina rune. The morning sun shone brightly, Magnus was still resting in his room, and Ragnor Fell had yet to arrive. Alec decided to make coffee since he couldn't go to sleep with the wards still damaged.
As the coffee percolated, he noticed a hand-written note on the kitchen island counter. The words covered the paper in a fancy, looping script. It was addressed to "My dear little cabbage".
Noting the nickname as odd but not wanting to invade privacy, he set the piece of paper back down without reading it and went back to his thoughts. The warlock's mood swing from closed off and angry to relaxed and gentle still surprised Alec; he was as intrigued as he was confused.
It was just after the coffee pot finished perking that he heard the front doors open. Instantly, Alec's hand went to his bow before an older, horned warlock emerged from the entry way.
"Easy there. What is a Shadowhunter doing in my friend's lair?"
"Who are you?" Alec tested.
"Ragnor Fell, in the flesh. Now answer my question, lad." Ragnor ignored the arrow aimed at his head. He seemed busy trying to sense out the wards, his hands floating in front of a nearby wall.
"I've been assigned by the New York Institute as security detail for the High Warlock of Brooklyn until the matter of his magic depletion can be resolved." Alec reported and lowered his bow.
Ragnor frowned as he looked around to examine the invisible magic curtained around the premises. "He wasn't kidding. The state of these wards is rubbish. They all need to be replenished… And where is our high warlock this morning?"
"He's still sleeping. We were attacked here last night. Croucher demons penetrated the wards. Magnus used the last of his magic fighting them and … pulling me from a fall."
The warlock's head snapped to attention. He closed the distance between them and moved to stand in front of Alec. "What did you just say?"
Alec looked confused. "The wards failed last night-" he began again.
"No!" Ragnor waived his hand impatiently. "What was it you just called him?"
"Magnus."
Ragnor stared harshly into Alec's eyes as if trying to decipher something. "Where did you hear that?"
"Um, from him?" Alec answered, unsure if it was a trick question. "He told me that was his first name."
Ragnor's lips parted in surprise. A small glint appeared in his eyes. "He told you?" Ragnor parroted with a short laugh.
"Yeah. Last night, he asked me to call him Magnus."
Ragnor laughed again, harder this time. A relieved tilt to it. "Well, well, well. This is quite a development." He sounded fascinated.
"What do you mean?"
"I haven't … I haven't spoken to my dear friend Magnus in a hundred years."
"I'm not sure I understand. Your name is programmed into his cell phone," Alec explained matter-of-factly.
"Yes, and what does that have to do with anything?"
Alec glared with confusion and annoyance. "He's your friend, but you haven't spoken in an actual century, and yet he has your cell phone number?"
"That's right. It's not as if he's been available. Bane's made that quite difficult."
Alec sighed in exasperation, turning to poor himself a cup of coffee. "Would you like some? I definitely need a cup. Now."
"No, thank you, Shadowhunter. What is your name?" Ragnor asked, before catching sight of the letter on the counter.
"My name is Alec. Look, I don't know what's going on, but his wards…" Alec trailed off as he caught sight of Ragnor holding the note in his hands.
"My dear little cabbage…." Ragnor's voice quivered as he read it out loud. "Oh, sweet Magnus, you really did come back." He sniffed a tear away and quickly read the note.
… Thank you for coming. Though I fear I may not be here when you arrive. I need your help, dear friend. Get him me to trust Alec. This Shadowhunter… I don't know how, but I think he is part of the reason I'm here. ~ Magnus
"Ragnor, thank you for coming," a tired voice sounded from across the loft, startling both the warlock and the Shadowhunter.
Alec noticed Ragnor quickly folding the note away and shoving it into his vest pocket just before the other warlock came to stand in the kitchen with them.
"I see you met my bodyguard."
"Good morning, Magnus," Alec greeted, only to see the man's face fall in shock.
"I know you're still new here, but it's Bane." He glared first at Alec and then to Ragnor with accusatory eyes.
Ragnor glanced at Alec, who sipped at his black coffee, eyes wide in confusion. Of course, this must have been like whiplash for him. He saw the Shadowhunter lower his mug and open his mouth to speak, but Ragnor jumped in before he could question anything. "Young lad, why don't you step out for a bit?"
"I shouldn't leave," Alec replied hesitantly, stepping out the way as Magnus Bane moved to pour himself a cup of coffee.
"Nonsense. I'm here for now," Ragnor insisted. "Take leave for a little while. I'm sure your time spent with our dear friend Bane has been… quite the endeavor." He smirked at the eyeroll he received from the other warlock for his remark.
Alec ran this hand through his hair and nodded, observant enough to know Ragnor wanted to speak to Bane alone. "I'm going to check on my siblings back at the Institute and grab something to eat. I'll be back soon."
"No rush," Bane offered in lieu of a goodbye, pouring an obscene amount of cream into his mug.
Alec shook his head as he set his own cup down and left the apartment, still bewildered and now more than a little concerned that the high warlock had gone mad. Who would go by two names and insist others call them by one or the other depending on which one matched their mood?
Ragnor glowered at Bane after the front door closed. "Why must you insist on being so unapproachable?"
"And yet, here you are. And, I haven't scared the Shadowhunter off yet either so spare me your lecture. I can't help it if his proximity to me gives me a headache."
"Oh, don't be so dramatic," Ragnor scolded. "Now really, how are you doing? You don't look well."
"I'm fabulous," Bane replied sarcastically. Though, he lost his dry humor and immediately tensed as soon as Ragnor's hand came to rest on his shoulder.
Ragnor felt his friend stiffen at his touch. He mournfully released his grasp and took a step back to give him space.
Bane quickly forced down the remorse that bubbled up from his reaction to a simple touch and changed topics. "Alec called me Magnus. He could only know about that from you. I'd appreciate you keeping stories to yourself. You know I'm Bane to the Shadow World now."
"Yes, of course, my obstinate friend," Ragnor played along. So, Bane wasn't aware that Magnus had made an appearance last night.
"He's a Lightwood, you know. I don't need that family in my business any more than they already are."
"The lad seems trustworthy for a Shadowhunter. It comforts me to know you have him here right now. Demons attacked here last night? Your message last night did not come across as urgent as it should have."
Bane sighed and rubbed his temples as he strode out of the kitchen. "Yes, I'm sorry. I didn't want to worry you. Thank you again for coming."
"I will set to work on replenishing these wards right away. It will take me some time, but then we can catch up."
Bane nodded and made his way to the couch with a rather large spell book. He had done extensive research in the last week but still couldn't solve the mystery of his depleted magic. None of the warlocks he had spoken with had heard of an occurrence as such had happened to him; everything so far had led to a dead end.
He steadied himself as he sat down to read, carefully controlling his thoughts to focus on nothing more than the book in his hands.
When Alec returned to the institute, Izzy quickly bombarded him. She wanted to know how spending the night with the High Warlock of Brooklyn had gone, but he couldn't verbalize his first impression of the warlock.
Alec had not been around warlocks much before. Perhaps they all suffered side effects in those rare occasions where their magic was depleted and that could explain the odd behavior. He didn't know how else to explain the mood swing he witnessed in the pre-dawn exchange on the balcony. He didn't want to worry Izzy so he couldn't talk about the demon attack.
"There's nothing much to say," Alec decided on.
Izzy huffed, disappointed. "Alec, give me something."
He shrugged but tried again. "Nothing really happened, Izzy. His magic is really off. Another warlock, Ragnor Fell, is with him now. He's re-fortifying the wards to his loft."
"We haven't detected any fluctuation in Bane's wards here at the Institute. That's strange."
"Maybe Ragnor should still inspect them. To be safe," he suggested as he started to lead her down the hallway to the cafeteria. "Now let's go; I'm starving." He was determined not to miss pancake day.
When Ragnor finished with the apartment's wards, he made his way back to the living room to find the younger warlock nodding off to sleep on the couch. His heart lurched in fondness for his long-time friend. He took the book that was falling off his lap, which caused Bane to stir.
"What are you doing?" he asked suspiciously before he regained his bearings.
"I'm finished with your wards, and you should go to bed. You need rest."
"I-I need to figure out what's wrong with me. That's what I need," he snapped, rubbing his eyes.
"And you will. I will help. But for now, you need to replenish the magic you do have. Do you fancy some tea?"
Bane sighed. "Tea won't help. Sleep won't help."
"I insist, my dear."
Bane rolled his eyes but bit his tongue. Instead of arguing further, he stood up and retreated to his bedroom silently, his shoulders sunken with dejection. Ragnor wanted to tease him for his petulant mannerisms, but teasing was too much like old times, times that this version of Magnus had buried long ago.
By the time Ragnor entered the bedroom with a cup of chamomile tea, Bane was already asleep. With a soft sigh, he set the tea beside the bed, casting a small spell to keep the liquid hot until the other warlock was ready to drink it.
"You know," Ragnor whispered to the sleeping man before him, "you're not as dark as you want everyone to believe. Even as you are now. One day soon, I think you'll figure that out."
Alec returned to the loft and was startled when the front door opened before he could knock on it. He spotted Ragnor on the couch. "Didn't you fix the wards?" Alec questioned as he made his way further into the apartment.
"Don't be daft. Of course, I did. They're built to recognize you. You may enter at any time while you are here to protect Magnus."
"So, it's Magnus again?"
"What?"
"What should I call him? Bane or Magnus?"
"I guess it depends on who you're talking to."
"I don't know if warlocks are always so obscure and full of riddles, but I'm lost here."
Ragnor didn't respond immediately. Instead, he took a moment to quell his irritation. He knew it was wrong to expect the young Shadowhunter to understand what was happening.
"Sit, please."
Alec obliged, coming to rest on the same blue chair he had last night.
"Look, I trust you because he trusts you."
"Bane told you that?" Alec questioned, incredulous.
"No, but Magnus did - in that note he left me."
Alec scoffed; it began to almost feel like he was having a conversation with a Seelie. "They are the same person, right?" He had been sure they were, but now he was starting to doubt.
Ragnor nodded. "Yes, but not in the way you'd think."
"I need you to explain it to me then."
"This isn't my place," Ragnor continued, "but there is something you need to know if you are to adequately protect him until his magic returns to normal. You cannot share this information with anyone else. Anyone."
"Go on," Alec urged, but Ragnor still seemed hesitant.
"Am I right to trust you? Are you loyal to your word?"
"I am. My duty is to protect Ba- Magnus. I'll keep whatever it is you tell me private."
Ragnor nodded and sipped at his tea, wondering where to begin. "Right. Well, simply put, Magnus and Bane are indeed the same person. What you witnessed are not simply mood swings, though."
Alec stared intently. "What are they then?"
"Memories can be a most horrendous source of torture. We cope with them in different ways, especially warlocks who endure for centuries. Magnus, that clever bugger, found a rather creative approach to dealing with his own darkness."
"How?"
"A little over a hundred years ago, something happened to Magnus – exactly what is not my story to share, but what's important is that it broke him in a way that would have destroyed most other warlocks. You have only just met him, Alec, and at a point where his power has forsaken him. But make no mistake, Magnus Bane is one of the most potent warlocks this world has ever seen. And because of it, he found a way to survive when lesser warlocks would have given in and calcified."
Alec absorbed the information, filled with a sense of awe.
"Magnus is also wickedly smart. He invented the portal, for heaven's sake. Sometimes, he's too smart for his own good, though…" Ragnor narrowed his eyes and stared out at nothing at all. "I still don't know how he did it, but he found a way to control his feelings like a light switch. The problem is that the switch is broken. He can't access them, and they are all repressed."
"I'm not sure I follow."
"He designed himself, this version of himself, to be alone. If he has nothing to lose, he has nothing to fear – no pain to feel. Bane is not who my dear friend is. It's who he thinks he needs to be to survive."
"Last night when he asked me to call him Magnus. He was so different. He was … happy."
Ragnor smiled wistfully. "I'm jealous you got to see that, actually. I haven't seen my friend happy in all this time. Since he started to go by Bane and closed himself off to all emotions."
"I still don't understand."
"Alec, I guess it's easiest to consider Bane and Magnus as two different people. At least, in his mind, they are. And Bane doesn't realize Magnus has reappeared. He thinks I told you about him and that's why you called him by his first name."
A lone thought snapped out of Alec's subconscious, landing on the tip of his tongue as all the puzzle pieces he had been given clicked into place. "So, he has a split personality?" he questioned in a hushed voice.
"Something like that, it seems. Magnus has kept his emotions under lock and key for so long now, that I thought his true essence had disappeared long ago. I thought this angry, arcane side of him was all that remained. Until this morning…"
"That's what you meant when you hadn't spoken with Magnus in a hundred years?"
Ragnor closed his eyes for a moment to blink away the sorrow in his expression before he continued. "I don't understand how or why, but the side of him that he bottled up a century ago, along with his first name, has just emerged for the first time and you were the only one to witness it."
"That makes no sense. I didn't do anything. I just met Bane last night. I'm nothing to him."
"Regardless, I need you to see this through. Protect him from harm. Don't be deterred by his dispiteous tendencies. It's nothing but a coping mechanism. Magnus despises letting anyone know he cares, so he goes out of his way to make one feel like he cares about nothing at all."
Alec gave a perfunctory nod. The thought of abandoning his duty to the warlock had never crossed his mind. "Ragnor, are you able to check on Magnus' wards at the institute? They're still strong, but I want to be sure that nothing's amiss after what happened here."
Ragnor nodded. "Yes, I had already planned on stopping there before I returned home."
"Good. My sister, Isabelle, is expecting you. Don't seek out Robert; I'd rather not call Magnus' wards into doubt."
Ragnor's eyes gleaned with a small sparkle of surprise as he stood up. He recognized that Alec's intent was to protect Magnus' reputation, and the thought comforted him.
Alec stood and followed to the door.
"I will return to my home in London after meeting your sister, but I want you to have my phone number in case you need to reach me. I have some research to do if I am to help figure out what's gone awry with Magnus' magic. I fear there's greater demon activity at play."
Alec took down Ragnor's number.
"Here, save this number too. Catarina Loss is a warlock who lives in the New York area and is another close friend of Magnus'. I will ask her to visit soon with some potions for you to have on hand. They will be helpful when his magic is depleted."
Alec nodded again, thankful for Ragnor's guidance.
"Oh, and one more thing, Alec. Since it appears that he doesn't realize his alter-ego has surfaced … I think it's best not to bring it up to him. If he were to know of the sudden return, it would unsettle him. And, I don't want to afford him the opportunity to rebury that part of himself."
"I think I understand," Alec answered, but he was betrayed by an uncertain crack in his voice.
"Just know that either way, he is Magnus. Even if he asks you to call him Bane. There's still light in him, Alec. He just refuses to let himself feel any of it."
With that, the horned warlock portaled away and left Alec by himself in the silent apartment.