Demon Infested world

HEA!Alec POV

"So it's like sex magic then?" Alec asked suspiciously. Magnus cackled beside him. "Why in the world would a summoning spell require sex!?" Alec was sitting in the little nook he'd made for himself in the library. He'd happily found someone's discarded clothes in one of the many abandoned rooms, and was now sporting an over sized grey comfy sweater and black jeans just slightly too short for him. Magnus had rolled his eyes but refrained from making comments, Alec figured his facial expressions were probably a factor in why Magnus said nothing. Soft sweaters made him happy and his husband could just deal. His boots were by the door and his weapons on the desk in the event they became necessary, but he was about as relaxed as he ever was in the institute.

"Summoning spells in general are something I'm quite familiar with, and believe me more than half the recorded spells have some sort of bodily fluid required, but you're right it's a bit strange for full on sex to be required. And it's not precisely sex, it's almost like it's asking for a bonded pair."

Alec's eyes went wide. "Like Parabatai?"

Magnus shook his head, "No, your people are adamant that Parabatai bonds are not romantic, and this is asking for a romantic bond."

"Maybe it's because we're summoning Gabriel and one of the ancient legends about him is that he hands souls to the angel of conception. Maybe this is some sort of link to that."Alec scrunched his brow, "we can't actually do the baby thing though, so maybe not?" He looked over at Magnus and his husband was giving him a "seriously" look, Alec giggled and Magnus laughed. He lightly slapped Alec's head and pulled another book from the table.

"There are four pages of notes from Ragnor's library on summoning Gabriel…" Magnus opened the book and laid it on Alec's lap pointing to one of the paragraphs. "There's no known written summoning of this angel, he's only ever provided visions, and it's been categorically married couples every time. Well that we even know about. Four pages is not a lot to go on."

"Catarina was furious with you for going to Ragnor's lair by the way." Magnus hummed at him, but shrugged his shoulders. Alec looked around and after seeing no one lurking about he snaked his arm around Magnus' waist and pulled him into his lap shoving the book to the side. His husband made a huffing noise but turned to kiss him on the cheek.

"Alexander, focus." He said imperiously, but Alec was done. There came a point in every Nephilim's studies where he had to throw his hands up and say enough is enough. Especially if that Nephilim was married. Especially if his husband was Magnus Bane. And most definitely if said husband was currently only wearing his silky pajamas. It was driving him to distraction and he was about done with pouring over dusty old books. Magnus took note of the gleam in his eye and leaned down to press their mouths together.

Alec pushed forward to deepen the kiss, but Magnus pulled back. Alec was in no way ashamed of the full on pout he directed at his husband. Magnus kissed him quickly with a grin. "This angel is not going to summon himself darling."

Alec rolled his eyes. "Why not just put the summoning circle together like the vision, and then we can see what happens?" Magnus pulled out of his arms and off of his lap and began pacing around the table.

"It's not that the idea doesn't have merit," he began a troubled crease in his brow.

"But.." Alec prompted when he looked like he wasn't going to say anything else.

Magnus shrugged, "I can't predict the outcome Alexander. I don't know what will happen if we do that and I…"

Alec stood and marched up to his husband, "What did you feel when you saw the summoning?"

Magnus crossed his arms over his chest, "Wonder, confusion, but mostly a determined kind of purpose."

Alec nodded, "I have a feeling that if you do this summoning a lot of our questions will get answers, and I don't think they would have gone to the trouble of sending you to that world to see the vision if it wasn't world shatteringly important." Magnus' description of the horned angel and the halo'd demon had made Alec question every lexicon, every single text, every bit of historical knowledge his people passed down. Magnus said the spiral labyrinth had no entries of the two as far as he was aware, but he wasn't a historian. However, it seems like a pretty huge thing to let fall from memory, the fact that angels could have demon features. Or was it demons that could have angel features. Alec was dying of curiosity.

Magnus sighed, "You're right of course, I'm just being overly cautious I suppose. Let's get started shall we."

8∞8∞8∞8∞8∞8∞8∞88∞8∞8∞8∞8∞8∞8∞88∞8∞8∞8∞8∞8∞8∞8

Demon Infested world

HEA!Magnus POV

It took Magnus less time that he had imagined to put together the summoning circle, and a big part of him wanted to banish Alec from the Library. Worry for his husband and all the ways this could go wrong made him bite the lip gloss from his lips. However, the vision had shown a warlock and a Nephilim, so he didn't have a choice. The items for the circle were easily summoned, and he carefully drew out the runes for Alec to draw in the pentagram. The finished circle was more like a glyph than a summoning circle, but Magnus just shrugged and got in position. Taking Alec's hand he took a deep breath and said the words he heard in the vision.

A punch of power rocked him back on his heels, and it was all he could do to keep Alec's hand gripped in his own. This. This was what the research Ragnor had done was alluding to. Magnus felt every single wall he'd ever built in his mind shred as they were savaged by the power exploding from the circle. Alec jerked him closer and he could see by the look of pure horror on his husband's face it had happened to him as well.

Their minds were completely exposed to one another. Magnus could see every fear, every pain, every joy, all of it written like a book he could read. From the look on his husband's face, it was the same for him. Magnus surged forward and kissed Alec, desperate for some sort of affirmation. Weak and vulnerable they clung to one another as the power pulsed three times, shaking the walls of the institute and surprising Magnus that no one came rushing to inspect the commotion.

The power leveled out and a golden light enveloped them soothing away the ravaged shredded feeling from before. Gasping he completed the spell and Alec gripped him tighter. Both of them were shaking with the vulnerability of having their minds torn apart. "Alexander." Magnus said with a hoarse groan.

"Ssshhh" his husband whispered into his shoulder where he'd dropped his head. "Hurts."

Magnus ran a soothing hand across his back.

From the ground an inky black mist began to drift from the runes until it blanketed the circle in a cloud. White flickering shocks of magic floated around the cloud like a thunderstorm, sparking here and there with bursts of glittery white fire. As the golden light faded, a new weight dropped on both of their shoulders, wind whipped around the room. Alec squeezed Magnus tighter and asked him if everything was okay. Shouting over the forceful winds blowing about.

Magnus tried to answer, but Alec couldn't hear his words. A screeching wail had erupted from the ground, the white fire exploded blinding the warlock and the Shadowhunter. When the black spots in his vision cleared, Magnus finally saw movement within the circle. A man was crouched, entirely naked in the center of the circle surrounded by the black smoke like clouds. His black shaggy hair was hanging limply in clumps, and he had long jagged scars over his entire body. The scars were blinding on his porcelain skin.

Magnus stepped back pulling Alec with him, but he couldn't escape the circle. The magic built into a crescendo of pressure and pain. Alec wrapped his arms around Magnus, and a moment later his ears popped. With it, all of the magic drained from the circle, the black smokey clouds dissipated, and all that remained was the pale skinned naked man in the circle.

He looked up from his crouched position, and Magnus had to draw in a deep breath of fascination. His eyes, shaped like Magnus' phoenix eyes, were a galaxy. Stars and planets floated in his gaze, twinkling and drawing Magnus into an abyss.

The being blinked.

His eyes were glamoured into a soft brown.

Magnus felt his heart shatter with both grief and pain. Tears streamed down his face. His husband stood by him bewildered. "Magnus, what's wrong? Are you okay?" Running his hands over him looking for any clue as to why his husband had suddenly burst into tears. His fingers gently wiping away the tears and making soothing strokes down the back of his neck.

Magnus shook his head unable to put words to the grief that had come from the angel's eyes hiding the world from him. It was as if he were looking into a fountain of knowledge for a brief second, only to have it torn away from him. "I'm fine darling." He said with a sniff, and a comforting pat to Alec's arm.

The Angel waved his hand, in a move reminiscent of Magnus' own gestures, and clothes appeared on his body. Black. If Magnus didn't know any better he'd say the man took items from Alec's wardrobe. He quirked a brow seemingly knowing exactly what Magnus was thinking.

"Magnus." His husband snapped losing his patience, wanting his attention and more than a flippant assurance that he was fine. Alexander took his safety very seriously.

He finally took his eyes from the Angel before him. "Sorry darling. I'm sorry. I just…" He trailed off, not really knowing how to explain to his husband that the creature standing before them held power unlike anything he'd ever felt in his life. It was like standing in the presence of pure unaltered magic. Not demonic. Not angelic. It was unlike anything he'd ever witnessed. And, the part that utterly bewildered him was that this being was familiar. Magnus was trying to delve into his memory, for the Angel to be so familiar surely he had met him before?

"Magnus Bane." came the melodic voice of the Angel in the circle, then he did something Magnus had to gape at, the ancient creature of untold magic dropped into a courteous bow. He turned, "Alexander Lightwood." He bowed again. Magnus was suffused with a deep confusion.

"I am Gabriel, Archangel of Souls and the left hand of God. Please follow me." With those words he turned with a smooth glide of his heels and walked away from the both of them. His wings didn't make an appearance, but Magnus recognized his face from the statue in the desert world. He looked over at his husband, and Alec was getting more and more tense by the minute. Taking off with a purposeful stride, Alec followed after the Angel who was currently making his way out of the institute.

"Wait a minute" he yelled at the back of the retreating Angel, but Gabriel did not pause or slow down, just kept walking. Every time Alec would get close the Angel would suddenly be out of his reach again. Magnus followed realizing that magic was carrying them somewhere. He looked around him when the Angel finally slowed and realized they were in a cavern of sorts.

The angel stood still, the darkness of his clothes made him somewhat difficult to see in the dim light of the cave. His voice still sounded like a beautiful sonata,"Magnus, do you know what this is?" The Angel gestured toward the ground but Magnus could see nothing so he shook his head. Gabriel nodded, "the power is almost completely dried up. It's an angelic ley line."

Magnus' gaze snapped back to the crevice in the craggy floor below him, but still there was nothing. He still took a careful step back. The ley line energy was unpredictable, and he was still the son of a demon.

Gabriel stood with his arms over his chest, a severe look in his brown eyes and said gravely, "I need you to restore it." Magnus blinked, but before he could get a word in, Alec had slipped between him and the angel again.

"He's not doing a damn thing until you answer some questions." Alec snarled, and Magnus held his breath. Wanting to shout at his husband for antagonizing a being with more power in his pinky finger than Magnus had seen….well ever, but at the same time warm all over because Alec was defending him. Gabriel raised a brow and looked passed Alec's shoulder to Magnus. He couldn't be entirely sure, but he thought he saw a brief flicker of amusement in the Archangel's eyes.

"I see." He nodded his head. "I don't suppose it occurred to you that if this world loses it's angelic magic source you'll die." The arched brow of superiority made him think of Maryse of all people, but more directly it had the distinct flavor of Lightwood and Magnus began to suspect. Clearly, this Angel knew how to express his opinion but why was it making Magnus flash back to every Lightwood he'd ever met.

Shaking his head and rolling his eyes at the posturing, Magnus stepped forward. Alec spluttered behind him, but Magnus was intrigued. "What do you need me to do?"

"Damnit Magnus."

The angel was sincerely amused, and wasn't really trying to hide it. He huffed a bit and dropped into a crouch then motioned for Magnus to crouch down beside him. His silk pajamas were not faring well against the rough stone, but needs must. Gabriel lowered his chin until Magnus could only see the top of his dark head. "You need to break the roots here, can you feel it?"

Magnus squinted, not really understanding, but holding his hand out and pulling his magic to the surface. "I don't feel…."

The angel cut him off, "patience." His hand came to rest on Magnus' shoulder, and then stroked down the length of his arm to his wrist. Alec made a strangled noise beside them, and Magnus had to make himself not turn to face his husband. "Focus". The angel's whisper soft words made Magnus' head spin, and then he felt it.

Roots were exactly right, they were twined down below the surface of the earth, dry and thirsty. "What do I?"

The angel stroked his fingers over the back of Magnus' wrist again magic swirling between them, "Break through the tangle, and feed it." Magnus didn't understand at first, but then he realized that the angel meant for him to syphon his power into the ley lines. Why didn't the angel just do it himself, why did he need Magnus as a conduit?

Before he could ask if the being was out of his mind, Alec placed his hand on the Angel's hand currently wrapped around Magnus' wrist. "If you don't get your hands off of my husband…"

Gabriel turned sharply and faced Alec head on, his eyes were blazing, the glamour dropped and for some reason Alec wasn't nearly as drawn into them as Magnus had been. In fact he looked like he was about two seconds away from beheading the powerful angel.

Before it could escalate Magnus stood up and backed away from the Angel, grabbed the pale wrist and pulled the angel's magic, a bright cerulean blue, from the being and let it flow into the earth. The whole thing was over in less than a minute, but his husband's face was thunderous.

"Delightful, your husband will live another day." Gabriel said with a sarcastic smirk shot towards Alec, but the Shadowhunter wasn't having it. He shifted his stance and pulled his seraph blade from behind him and had it at the angel's neck in less than a heartbeat. Magnus wasn't proud of the tiny shriek he let out.

"If you so much as think about…" Alec was in a full blown fury, and Magnus was struggling to understand why. His husband was not this uncontrolled, hell this was closer to something Jace would pull. He wanted to reach out and snatch the blade from Alec and rail at him for being an idiot, but he was afraid to step between the two of them. Alec was surrounded by an aura of golden light, and the Angel's blue power was pulsing out of him.

Gabriel stepped forward, breaking off Alec's words, heedless of the sword at his throat, and whispered something in his ear that Made Alec's eyes go so wide they looked in danger of popping from his head. Then the pale hand rose up to touch Alec's cheek, and the Nephilim deflated in an instant. Magnus was beyond confused, and the throbbing power of the Ley line was beginning to give Magnus a headache and he really just wanted to get out of here.

Gabriel turned to look at Magnus, a soft smile playing on his lips, "back to the institute children, we have much work to do."

8∞8∞8∞8∞8∞8∞8∞88∞8∞8∞8∞8∞8∞8∞88∞8∞8∞8∞8∞8∞8∞8

Home world

Jace

Slipping from the bed he shared with Clary was difficult, but the pounding in his head was making him see stars. They were still in the Fae realm and no closer to understanding the tree, and every hour it grew more and more. Branches heavier and longer, the twinkling lights brighter, and the flowers blooming as big as his fist. The Queen still hadn't let anyone back in close to the thing, but they watched it all through enchanted mirrors.

Jace walked down the hall, careful to keep his steps silent, they were all exhausted and he didn't want to disturb anyone if he didn't have to. Clary had fallen into their bed and gone to sleep immediately, but Jace had been restless for hours. He thought he'd felt a surge, something in his Parabatai bond, but it was there and gone so quickly it could have just been a phantom imagining. His need for Alec to be returned was making him twitchy. He deserved every last bruise Alec had dished out, if he had felt anything like this when Jace had disappeared. Watching the pattern in the floor, he wondered if Alec was struggling like he was? If he was okay?

Jace sighed and looked up from the floor, then cursed himself for a complete idiot. He'd been distracted by the patterns, and somehow wound up beside the door that led to the garden where the tree was. He turned around to head back toward the kitchen, but he couldn't. His feet were stuck. Jerking back and forth he tried to free himself, and just as he was about to shout for someone to come release him when he saw something through the branches.

Clary.

She sat on one of the larger branches coming off of the trunk, in a white gown he'd never seen before. Her hair was hanging in fiery red curls down her back. Her eyes were closed and Jace could tell something was wrong. He surged forward to get to her, without any thought to having left her in their room, and the magic released him. Sprinting he crossed the glade and threw himself on the tree, the minute his hand landed on the trunk his world went white.

He was lying in some kind of milky pool that wasn't wet, a soft kind of aromatic fog surrounded him. Crawling towards him on all fours was Clary. She slid herself up his body and straddled his waist, clenching her thighs around him. "Jace?" She whispered. "What's happening?"

The flickering lights, the magic fairy dust looking stuff floating around them, Flowers bloomed in every direction. Off of his periphery, too far to make it out, was a darkness creeping into the vision of white. He tried to shake his head, to lift up so he could look around, but all he could do was stare at Clary. Captivated. Hypnotized.

Fuck.