*-*-*-*-*-*SlightlyEvilMagnusUniverse*-*-*-*-*-*
Chapter 3-
Common Ground in an Uncommon Place
Summary: ***Chapter Complete!***Magnus and Alec come to an understanding…
Notes:
Kay, So I said this chapter would end up with 3 sections but the 2nd one ran away with me so Magnus apparently took over the entire chapter…
Oh well, doubt it'll be the only time that happens, lol…
*~********~*~********~* Magnus-Magnus-Magnus-Magnus-Magnus *~********~*~********~*Magnus turned, closing the portal with a quick snap. He slipped out of the alleyway, making his way down the street towards the crime scene. He'd materialized the portal about three blocks away, it was going to be a bit of a walk, but that was for the best.
He'd been unable to put off leaving, eager to begin the case, to hopefully find out what was going on (and with any luck find something that'd disprove his first theory…he was really hoping it wasn't a Hanfod lladrata.) He couldn't put it off, however Simon knew he'd woke him up. It might be rather suspicious to show up ten minutes after the call.
The walk would add another ten minutes. Even that might seem a bit quick, but he could play it off well enough. He figured it'd also help center him, which he was sure he'd need today; he really must stay focused-
On the case, not the gorgeous detective he'd be working with.
Magnus took the last turn, spotting Alec's car parked in front of the taped off alleyway. He paused at the entrance to the alley, spotting Simon and Alec standing over talking to what looked like some kind of CSI tech.
Wow…he looked even better today…
His suit was still dreadful- the dear truly seemed either greatly impaired or totally indifferent so far as fashion was concerned. There was one up side to it today however. It seemed perhaps Alec had that suit for a while, or maybe he just settled on a jacket that was not quite the right size. It was a bit tight…which really emphasized the detective's shoulders…and arms…
Hmm…maybe the suit wasn't SO bad after all
His hair was rather mussed, almost as if he'd just rolled out of bed, or he'd been running his fingers though it (both of which instantly sent Magnus's mind somewhere decidedly NOT crime scene appropriate).
Okay…he was kind of remembering why he had such trouble focusing yesterday…but he could today…
He thinks
Probably…
Oh for heaven sakes get it together! You're the High Warlock Of Brooklyn, one of the most powerful beings in the supernatural world.
You're not going to let some pretty, overly serious detective with a sexy voice throw you off.
You won't.
And anyw-
Oh crap, he's looking over here!
While Magnus's mind was…doing whatever the hell that was, Alec and Simon had finished their conversation with the tech, Alec looking up, spotting him. He turned back to Simon, quickly saying something before nodding over to where he was standing. Simon glanced up, sending Magnus a quick smile and faint wave. Alec turned from his partner, making his way over. He stopped just in front of him, pulling the police tape up for Magnus.
He slipped under, couldn't help turning to him, quirking his eyebrow, giving the detective a faint smirk, leaning in just a little,
"My, my, how chivalrous, ever the gentleman.
Morning gorgeous…figured after yesterday I'd simply wait here. Not that I'd necessarily mind you hauling me in for questioning, being all forceful and firm again…but I suppose all things considered we really don't have time for the fun stuff today."
Alec shook his head, rolling his eyes slightly, a faint blush tingeing his cheeks, before sighing,
"We really don't. And…umm…a-about yesterday…" he hesitated, scratching nervously at his neck, glancing up, meeting Magnus's eyes.
Magnus felt a bit of a flutter in his chest, suddenly rather breathless.
"Magnus-I wanted to apologize; I was completely out of line in the interview, it really wasn't like me. I was rude, disrespectful and just all around unprofessional. That really isn't who I am; I hope you'll give me a second chance?" He paused, giving him an apologetic smile
Magnus was absolutely shocked; he swallowed, shaking his head faintly. Alec's face fell slightly, Magnus reached forward, catching his arm, giving him a slight smile,
"Sweetheart, you have absolutely nothing to apologize for. If anything I do. I was teasing you the entire time, purposefully baiting you, pushing…I was far too over the top. You were working; trying to solve a case, trying to catch a murderer, and I just couldn't stop throwing the most embarrassingly desperate lines at you I could think of, and all but calling you out at near every turn.
It…I mean, not that I am in anyway required to remain 'professional' but it was about the farthest from professional you can get." He paused, giving a slight chuckle, and a faint shrug
"I do apologize darling. Honestly that was totally out of character for me as well, probably even more so than you were."
Alec tilted his head curiously,
"So you don't usually flirt all the time?"
Magnus gave a slight chuckle,
"Oh, no I do that…I'm just usually quite a bit better at it."
Alec gave a surprised laugh, before glancing around, realizing it was rather loud for a crime scene. He blushed faintly, stilling for a moment, a thought seeming to occur to him, he looked back at Magnus,
"Umm…so, why were you pushing me so much? I mean, I figured the flirting was just the easiest way to get a reaction, but…why?"
Magnus quirked his eyebrow, shrugging,
"Honestly? People don't talk to me like that, they don't react to me like that…and I cannot remember the last time I had someone- with the exception of Raph or Clary- call me out on something.
It was refreshing…and kind of thrilling, and I'm afraid I seemed to get rather carried away. But that is no excuse; the fact of the matter is I was out of line, and I do apologize."
Alec blinked a couple times in surprise,
"Umm…why don-…." He paused, shaking his head
"You know…I'm not going to ask…this case isn't about why people would be hesitant to call you out on anything…I don't think...right?"
Magnus gave a slight breath of a laugh, eyes bright and slightly playful,
"No darling."
A flicker of something slipped across his expression before he just took a deep breath, giving a faint nod. He looked back up, meeting Magnus's eyes,
"Okay, cards on the table? I know you're into something that is probably not legal.
I know you're a hell of a lot more than just a bored club owner, and there's probably a really good reason why when I brought you in over half the people in the precinct reacted as if I'd walked in with a tiger or some other predator-"
"Detective, you're mistaken I-" Magnus started, but Alec held his hand up, shaking his head,
"No, I'm not. But right now I really don't care about that. There is someone murdering people in my city; branding them, taking their lives and leaving them posed and staged like some kind of prop.
I really don't care whatever else you're into right now; this needs to stop. Two bodies in two days is far faster than any of the others…if the killer's ramping up, we need to as well. We need every bit of help available.
I get the feeling whatever you are into gets you access to things, information, and people that we just don't have, maybe even things connected to this case. I won't ask what it is; I'm just asking you to do whatever you can to help us make the people of this city safe." He trailed off, not really sure what more he could add, he glanced up, then froze,
"Alec; Brooklyn is my home, this is MY city. Something, someone threatening it is not acceptable, and must be dealt with, no question.
I will help in any way I can." Magnus said in a calm, rather disquieting tone, eyes sparking dangerously, magic flaring up, seeping in, lending a melodic resonances to his words.
Alec gulped, blinking a couple times,
"Uhh…o-okay…thank you…
I think." He trailed off hesitantly, clearly looking like he was already rethinking this truce thing, wondering exactly how Magnus thought the thing should be 'dealt' with.
Magnus chuckled softly, pulling his magic back, reaching over, lightly resting his hand on Alec's arm,
"Don't worry gorgeous; I'll play nice. This is your case; it will be dealt with as any crime investigated by the proper authorities. Just think of me as a little extra back up."
Alec gave a slightly breathless half laugh,
"I get the feeling you're a lot more than just a 'little extra' back up."
Magnus smirked, tilting his head, eyes sparking with interest; he reached up, lightly tracing his finger along Alec's cheek, Alec seemed to unconsciously lean into it,
"That, my darling detective, is because you are as clever as you are gorgeous…
Mmm…I do believe you may be trouble, detective."
Alec flushed brilliantly, glancing away,
"Yeah, I'm the trouble here."
Magnus gave a delighted laugh, and a flirty wink, leaning in closer,
"The important thing is you admit it."
Alec bit his lower lip, giving a faint smile, drifting closer, before seemingly realizing something, glancing around. He took a deep breath, stepping back, shaking his head faintly,
"Umm…w-sorry, we really don't have time for this…"
Magnus sighed,
"You are right darling, my apologies. I'm afraid I got rather side tracked, yet again…as I said in the interview; you are rather distracting gorgeous."
Alec shrugged, scratching at his neck,
"Not nearly as distracting as you…but we really can't afford distractions right now. We now have six cases to solve and a killer that seems to be ramping up; we really need to stay focused."
Magnus nodded,
"I completely agree. We are both intelligent, strong willed, level headed, adults…we can remain professional and stay on track.
Right?"
He looked up meeting Alec's eyes, extending his hand. Alec reached forward, taking his hand in a strong, firm grip, shaking it decisively.
"Right."
Magnus squeezed once more, lingering a moment, before letting go, nodding faintly, turning to begin examining the scene…
He told himself the slight breathlessness and fluttering in his stomach was just anticipation of the case…
*~********~*~********~* Magnus-Magnus-Magnus-Magnus-Magnus *~********~*~********~*"The Victims had his wallet, name was David Decker. He was thirty two, a paramedic. A couple teens on their way to school heard his phone ringing, came to check it out, and found him. They were pretty shook up, they're down at the station giving statements now, but I don't think they know anything more about it. The officer at the scene called the number back- it was Decker's boss, apparently she'd talked to him last night and he'd agreed to fill in for a 6am shift this morning. She was rather irritated at first as when she'd called him he was at a club-"
"Did he happen to mention which one?" Magnus interrupted
Alec paused, shaking his head,
"No, he didn't say, she just remembered he'd had to step outside to take the call as it was very loud- said she could barely hear him over the blaring 'disco' music. The call was just after 10:30, the coroner thinks that he was killed between 11 and 1am."
"Huh…She specifically said disco music?" Magnus tilted his head consideringly,
Alec quirked his eyebrow
"Umm…yeah, why?"
"Xander's over on 38th street has theme nights. I believe yesterday was 70's…it's three blocks over. That could be where he was when he received the call."
Alec blinked in surprise, giving a slight nod,
"That seems like a definite possibility. We'll definitely have to look into that."
Magnus gave a slight shrug,
"Hey, I know the night life around here."
"Have to keep an eye out on the competition, huh?"
Magnus smirked,
"Oh sweetheart, I have no competition."
Alec rolled his eyes,
"Anyways, we'll definitely have someone go over and ask around, maybe see if we can get the security cameras…if that's where he was it's possible he met the killer there. You said it's on 38th?"
Magnus nodded
"Decker lived on Oakhurst; it's ten blocks in the other direction. If he had a shift at 6am he'd of probably been about ready to call it a night, I'm not sure how he ended up here though…"
Magnus shook his head
"That is rather odd…also there are two clubs closer to this area…and dozens of alleys between here and there.
Why here? Like you said, if he was supposed to be at work at 6am I couldn't see him staying much longer. I suppose he could have met someone and decided to go home with them, which would explain the rather random location. I'd assume whoever he left with was the killer…
But what I don't get is again why here? If they're planning on doing…whatever it is they're doing that's killing them clearly they're not going to take them home… why specifically lead someone three blocks to a seemingly random alleyway, when you had to have passed easily a dozen near identical alleyways on the way?" he trailed off, looking between the two detectives,
They both shrugged, Simon tilted his head consideringly
"Huh…maybe we need to look at the locations, see if there's anything special about them, any links. You're right it is awful strange that they'd lead them three blocks away.
I guess they could have been trying to cover where they picked the victim up…but you're right, there were plenty of other places between Xander's and here." he froze eyes widening, bouncing lightly on his heels, pointing excitedly,
"Oh! And the markings would indicate they chose this location first!"
Magnus and Alec both nodded
"That's absolutely right. If the locations are chose before hand, then there has to be a reason. We'll have to really go over them, look for a connection. Any possible way to link them
Also, yesterday I had gone to clubs that were closest to the scenes, but if Decker was at a club three blocks away we'll need to expand our search criteria." Alec paused, a smirk flickering on his face
"If he walked three blocks he had to have passed a few security cameras. We'll have officers go around to businesses along the routes from the club to here- he's sure to have been caught by one of them."
Magnus gave him an impressed smile
"Very good sweetheart"
Alec shrugged, reaching over, resting his hand on Magnus's shoulder, squeezing, Magnus tried to ignore the fluttering in his stomach-
They were working a murder case, the suspect in which was a demon- or working with/possibly being controlled by a demon- this was hardly the time to get butterflies in his stomach…
Also he was the High Warlock Of Brooklyn, not a thirteen year old girl with a crush…
That didn't stop him from leaning into the touch just a bit,
"Wouldn't have figured it out without you. Anyways, clearly we need to search the scene thoroughly. We will need to be sure to check everything…
Speaking of which, the prelim on the body should be done later today, but the M.E.'s been running full, broad spectrum toxicology reports and triple checking everything on these, so it's likely she won't have the entire workup ready until tomorrow morning."
Magnus tilted his head curiously,
"That seems rather a long wait when time is of the essence…"
Alec sighed, shrugging
"I know it is, but with us not knowing what is actually killing them she wants to be sure nothing is left unaccounted for. Everyone's getting a lot of pressure for this, but she refuses to rush the evidence. She insists it's better to go a bit slower and be sure you get everything rather than end up rushing through and missing something entirely."
Simon nodded,
"Yeah, Izzy's awesome; she really won't let anyone push her into anything. Like, she actually said 'I will not rush the work and risk missing something just to make sure you don't lose a few voter points' directly to the mayor when she called her, trying to push her along…Luke's not even brave enough to do that! She's kinda a badass."
Magnus quirked his eyebrow,
"My, she sounds quite impressive…do I detect a bit of a crush?"
Simon blushed faintly, shaking his head,
"Umm…no, well, yeah, for like my first two weeks at the station. I mean, that's kinda hard to avoid; Izzy's great, super smart, beautiful, and really cool, and everything…but she's also totally uninterested in guys. It's probably for the best anyways. We're way better as friends. She's a great wingman, and really great to just hang out with…plus she's kinda scary before she has her coffee."
Alec gave a sharp scoffing laugh
"She's not 'kinda scary' she's a holy terror in the mornings. I've had her throw her own phone at me, then yell at me for breaking it!"
Magnus's eyebrows rose
"And you said you were unprofessional the other day…"
Alec chuckled, shaking his head
"Well, that wasn't when she was a Medical Examiner- it was back in high school…" he paused shrugging,
"She's my little sister. She's grown up a bit since then, though she's still horrendous in the mornings, if she ever has to be in her lab before eight I never go anywhere near it without a Venti mocha with a triple shot of espresso."
Magnus chuckled, nodding,
"Hmm, good to know. I'll remember that for tomorrow morning.
Well, as it seems the body is in quite capable- if rather aggressive- hands, I suppose we should show we can be just as thorough with the scene, yes?" he glanced between the two detectives, they both nodded,
"Yeah; we'll spread out, check the entire scene. I already checked, the same markings are present here that you found at the last scene" Alec paused, giving him a slight smile
"Like I said, it really was a good catch, after we finish up here I'd like to go back to the other scenes, and see if we can find out what's so special about these sites."
Magnus felt a bit of a thrilling buzz at that smile, he tilted his head in agreement,
"Yes, of course darling; whatever you want."
Alec flushed faintly, biting his lip, glancing away,
"Umm…tha-uh…okay, let's get started here. W-we're just gonna start over here." he stammered out, gesturing awkwardly over his shoulder,
Magnus couldn't help a bit of a smirk,
"Whatever you say, I am more than happy to follow your lead, gorgeous."
Alec huffed out a faint embarrassed laugh,
"Will you stop that?" he grumbled
Magnus chuckled, shrugging
"Sorry, I am afraid I can't…don't seem to be able the help it, darling. Don't worry; I'm sure after a bit you won't even notice it."
Alec scoffed, shaking his head
"Yeah, no way that's gonna happen…"
Magnus gave one more faint chuckle, reaching over, resting his hand on Alec's arm, patting lightly,
"In that case, I suppose I will just do my best to behave. Though that's never really been my strong suit…
Still, just for you, my darling detective, I will try."
Alec rolled his eyes,
"Thanks."
Magnus shot him a flirty wink
"No problem gorgeous."
Alec shook his head, fighting off a faint blush
"Let's just get to work, please?"
Magnus gave a bit of a flourishing gesture and a slight bow,
"As you wish, darling."
Alec shook his head once more, turning away beginning over towards the left wall.
Simon chuckled faintly, giving Magnus a slight smile,
"Thanks for coming Magnus, we really do appreciate the help, you've already helped us figure out where the victim was likely before he was killed…" he glanced over at Alec before lowering his voice, leaning a bit closer
"Besides I think having you here might be good for Alec. He's always so serious but this case is really getting to him. And if you could catch those marks I doubt there's too much else that'll get past you.
Thanks again."
Magnus shrugged
"It is no problem, as I told Alec; this is my home, my city…Someone hunting in it, killing innocents in it…that is unacceptable. It needs to be stopped, as quickly as possible. I am glad to help."
Simon blinked a couple times, before giving a quick, relieved nod, glancing around the scene
"You're right about that…but I think with the four of us working it we'll be able to figure it out."
Magnus nodded, reaching over, resting his hand on Simon's shoulder,
"You are quite right sweetheart. We have this."
Simon nodded once more before giving a slight wave, wandering over by Alec, leaning in to examine one of the enchantment runes. His gaze drifted back to the head detective, lingering momentarily.
Magnus startled, taking a deep breath, shaking his head,
Alright, enough distractions:
There's a demon hunting humans in HIS city, it needs to be dealt with, there was no way around it. Right now that was his priority, not the gorgeous, exciting, already far too addicting, detective.
The demon took priority.
Once they had that dealt with he could go back to playing with the pretty detective.
He knew the whole 'private detective agency' thing was a lie, a way to get on the case and get a reaction from Alec, but the more he thought about it, it could actually be quite useful. If anything this case showed just how quickly humans could began to panic, to take notice of the supernatural…
A private Detective agency specializing in Unusual/ possibly supernatural cases would be the perfect way to keep an ear out. It would allow him to find out what Supernaturals in his territory were drawing too much attention and put a stop to it before it got to the point of panicking the public…
Also, it would give him an excuse to see/talk to/flirt with the gorgeous detective quite often.
He was already planning…
But that would have to wait till later.
He shook his head once more, coming back to the case at hand. Glancing around he caught sight of Alec and Simon standing close to the back of the alley, by the left wall, examining the second enchantment rune, seemingly comparing the marks.
Magnus took a deep breath, closing his eyes, rolling his shoulders, quickly repeating the spell from yesterday in his head. He blinked his eyes open, the colors of the alley fading, though he slowed it before it began to effect sound, only allowing the spell to take effect partway- he wasn't alone and it wouldn't do to be unaware of his surroundings with two entirely human detectives examining the scene at the same time. Besides this way he could still talk to and interact with them without it seeming too off- also if he didn't go all the way under coming out of it was far less uncomfortable.
He blinked once more, the red splotches once more shimmering into focus, everything coming into sharper detail. He turned his head slowly, taking in everything. This time the last Mark was on a mail box, situated at the end of the alley. Just a bit to the side of it he saw a faint scuff, there was something odd about it…almost as if someone had stumbled, or perhaps was pulled a few steps, it was just at the edge of the alleyway.
Hmm…so the victim was likly led for three blocks…in the opposite direction from their home. He supposed the human could just be a real sweet talker, or very attractive, able to convince the victim to follow them. However, if someone was supposed to be at work at such an early time- much less at a rather high stress job in the medical field, they probably wouldn't just follow some random stranger for three blocks for a hook up.
His mind drifted back to what he found yesterday. There was a human working with the demon. He didn't want to jump to any conclusions, but, thinking back to the marks- they'd been fainter than the rest…it was likely they were made by the human, yet they still showed up with traces of the demonic energy.
That would only happen if the demon gave the human some abilities. It would stand to reason- and unfortunately it fit right in with a hanfod lladrata. A human summoning a demon to help them become more powerful, more attractive, have more sway over others would be practically textbook.
If the human had a bit of demonic sway, all it would take is a simple touch- it would work similar to the enchantment runes, though not as powerful, dampening the humans senses and instincts, making them more agreeable, less suspicious.
The faint scuff marks at the beginning of the alley would suggest that they hesitated there…a bit of their instincts cutting through the demonic sway. It wouldn't be unusual- most humans can't sense Supernaturals, however in dire circumstances they will almost always sense the threat, even if they can't pinpoint why it's a threat.
So the human led the victim here for the sacrifice… the Victim hesitated, but the human pulled them past the barrier. Once they crossed over the enchantment runes they would have totally been helpless.
However the question remains,
Why here?
There were dozens of alleyways and the like on the route from the club to here…and for that matter, why this specific person?
He hadn't heard of any precise qualifications for sacrifices, any human should do…
Why lead a specific human three blocks to a specific alley?
This was planned, every part of it…
He'd taken a bit of extra time before heading out, quickly brushing up on what was known about the demon. A hanfod lladrata needed a set amount of sacrifices to manifest in the human world, it was anywhere between three and thirteen, depending on the inherent power the demon already possessed- More powerful demons needed more energy to cross over.
As the killings were still just absorbing the humans' energy it would stand to reason they hadn't got enough yet…
Thankfully…
Though the more it took the stronger the being trying to cross over was…
It was kind of a catch twenty-two…
It bought them more time, but meant what they would be facing would be quite a bit stronger.
Even so, it seemed there was more in play here than a demon trying to manifest in the human world.
Now he just had to figure out what that was.
He tilted his head, letting his gaze slide over the alleyway, looking for anything more that stood out. The pale red marks were on the walls, just as before, he could see the garish glowing red area where the body had crumpled…
Once more he could see the imprint of the demonic writing, it was a deep, glowing, ominous red, leaning forward he tried to make it out, but the words weren't making sense- as they were an imprint they were backwards…he wasn't familiar enough with the language to be able to translate it like this…
Hopefully when they went to see the M.E. he'd get a chance to look over the body- if he could see the original he'd be able to read them.
That would help a-
Wait…what's that?
Looking down another mark caught his eye. He knelt down to get a closer look. There was some dust kicked over it, clearly intentionally, but he could see the faint glow.
Leaning closer he flicked his fingers, magic glittering, blowing softly the dust scattering, revealing the shimmering red mark…
"Oh, that is not good…"
"What's not good?"
He startled, glancing up seeing Alec and Simon standing next to him, looking at him inquisitively,
He must have went a bit further into the spell than he'd intended, he hadn't even heard them come up,
"Did you find something? You've been so quiet for the last hour we almost forgot you were here, we've already been over the rest of the place, but you seemed pretty focused."
Okay, he was definitely further into the spell then he'd meant to be if he'd lost nearly an hour.
He sighed, nodding, indicating the mark on the ground, right in the center of the alley.
The other two men knelt down, trying to get a closer look,
Alec tilted his head curiously,
"What is it?"
Simon shrugged
"I don't know…but it's definitely purposeful." He tilted his head, glancing over at Magnus,
"Do you know what it is? You said it wasn't good…"
Crap…can't really back out now…
He sighed, nodding faintly,
"It's a summoning sigil."
Alec's eyebrow quirked up,
"Umm…I don't know what that is…but I get the feeling it's not really going to help cut down on the crazy theories and concerned calls."
Magnus shook his head
"I am afraid you are quite right detective.
A summoning sigil is used in occult and other magic rituals, said to be a way to summon spirits, dark energy, demons and basically anything else that you probably shouldn't try to invite into this plane of existence."
"Oh, great…so our killer is trying to summon demons and dark spirits…because that'll go a long way to calming the public." Alec muttered, rubbing his temple,
Simon tilted his head, looking closer with interest, before glancing back at Magnus,
"So…if it's a summoning sigil, are the killings maybe sacrifices to whatever they're trying to summon?"
Magnus blinked in surprise
Wow…kid was pretty quick…
Magnus tilted his head curiously, Simon shrugged
"I have the complete run of Buffy, Angel and the first five seasons of Supernatural- before it got too complicated to follow- along with several others. What can I say? I'm kinda a nerd-
But it does have its advantages."
Magnus gave him a slight affectionate smile, nodding
"So it would seem. And yes, that would be my thinking as well."
Alec shook his head
"Okay I get Simon knowing this stuff, how do you? No offense Magnus, but you don't exactly strike me as the type to sit at home binging scifi/fantasy shows…"
He chuckled, shaking his head
"Actually I believe I'll take that as a compliment. You are right on that darling, though I do have very wide and varied tastes and interests…you'd be amazed at just how much random knowledge I have."
Alec's eyebrows rose
"And one of those interests is Summoning demons and ritual sacrifices?"
Magnus gave a surprised laugh, shaking his head
"No darling…my tastes are pretty varied, but not that varied. A dear friend of mine has an occult shop…she's exceptionally well versed in this kind of thing and I spend quite a bit of time at her shop…truthfully it's one of my favorite places in the entire city."
Simon brightened, bouncing on his heels a bit
"Hey, do you think she'd be okay with us coming in, having a look around…maybe she could look at the marks see if she could tell us anything else about them?"
Magnus hesitated,
Alec gave him a curious look
"Would she have a problem helping with the case?"
He sighed, shaking his head
"No, not at all, she's a dear girl, very empathic- she would love to help protect people, I've no doubt she'd do near everything she could…"
"So…why don't you want us to go see her?"
Magnus shrugged,
"In truth, she's the reason I got involved in the case in the first place. Someone vandalized her shop-
Nothing major, threw a rock through her window, scrawled cruel, hateful things on the walls, broke a few things."
Simon gasped
"Is she okay?"
Magnus gave him a gentle smile, nodding
"Yes, the girl is remarkably strong, but it still rattled her."
Alec tilted his head
"That's a relief, at least she's okay…did she file a report? We c-"
Magnus shook his head
"No she didn't…she feels the culprits were just terrified by the murders, by the rumors it's something supernatural. She thinks they panicked and lashed out at the one connection to the supernatural they saw.
She's annoyingly forgiving." He grumbled,
Alec nodded
"It sounds like it, way more than I'd be, that's for sure…
Well, I get why you don't want to drag her into it, but if we're finding odd symbols and things to summon something it would really help to have an expert on the subject.
Could you maybe just call and ask her? We won't take up much of her time, and it could really help?" he asked hopefully
Magnus sighed, looking between the two detectives,
Ugh…how the hell was he supposed to say no to that look?
Either of them…
Seriously Simon? How does a human even have eyes that big and bright? It's like the guys a living anime character! He wonders if the kids somehow part Ci-dyn…
No human should have puppy eyes that good…
And Alec?
God, the man is just so damn sincere…if he'd of just been a stern, pushy detective like yesterday Magnus could have blew it off, said she's out of town or something but, hell…
There was no argument for that expectant, vaguely hopeful, oh so genuine look.
It was worse than Simon's puppy eyes…
Finally he huffed, rolling his eyes,
"Oh very well, I'll give her a call, see if she's free...god, no wonder Luke said you're his best…who the hell can say no to that." he grumbled mostly to himself, turning slightly, pulling his phone out, quickly clicking Clary's number.
"Hey Mag's…wow…up before noon, everything okay?"
He chuckled, shaking his head
"Good morning Biscuit…I know it's rather early for me, but apparently crime refuses to wait for a decent hour."
"Crime?! Magnus what are you doing! I told you not t-"
"Sweetheart, relax, breath…I'm investigating the crime, remember yesterday? I said I would help."
She sighed
"Oh thank goodness…have you found anything yet?"
He nodded
"Yes, actually we have."
She paused,
"We?"
"Yes…As I was investigating yesterday one of the detectives working the case spotted me at the scene and took me in for questioning-"
"What!? How the hell d-…oh, he's really hot, right?"
Magnus chuckled, glancing over at Alec, gaze lingering
"You know me so well biscuit…and yes, he's absolutely gorgeous."
Alec sputtered, flushing brilliantly
Magnus grinned
"Particularly when he blushes" he added winking
Alec flushed more, glaring, making a hurry up motion
On the phone Clary huffed out a slight laugh,
"Mags I can hear him fuming over the phone, stop tormenting the poor guy, he's just doing his job."
Magnus gave an exaggerated gasp
"I am not tormenting him!"
"Yes he is." Both Alec and Simon chimed in, perfectly in sync
Clary giggled on the phone, Magnus rolled his eyes at the lot of them,
"In any case…we're at the latest scene and found some unusual markings…they look to be summoning sigils. The detective was hoping we could come by and you could have a look see if you could tell us anything."
"So…you got distracted by the cute boy, said something unintentional, and had to cover by saying you knew about it from my occult shop, and now they're pushing you to come see me because they need an expert in the occult and a wiccan running an occult shop is probably a more creditable expert than what is supposed to be a normal club owner?"
He gave a relieved sigh
"Exactly…but if you don't want to I-"
"Don't be ridiculous, I'll help in any way I can, bring them on over."
He huffed faintly
"Of course you will…Thank you darling, we'll be over in about twenty minutes, we'll just come around to the emergency exit, I know the front is still boarded up from yesterday…I trust there was no other trouble? Though I was sure to put the excess paint under the sink in the storage room just in case."
"And you told them about the break in…I'll make sure the place smells like fresh paint and remove the window pane…
Don't worry I'll be ready."
He smiled to himself…
The girl really was quite intuitive…it really did come in handy in these types of situations…
"Wonderful, see you in about half an hour biscuit." He finished, ending the call, slipping the phone back into his pocket, glancing back at the detectives.
"Well…I believe we've found everything we can here, how about we make one more pass than we can head on over to the shop?"
The two detectives nodded, Simon got an eager smile
"I've never been to an occult shop before…sounds kinda cool."
Magnus smirked,
"It's absolutely Magical."
Simon gave a surprised laugh, shaking his head
"Dude, and I thought I made bad puns…I have a feeling we're gonna get along pretty well."
"I have a feeling you're right darling." Magnus said, slipping his arm around the young man's shoulders
"I have a feeling I'm gonna end up ditching you two somewhere before the end of the day." Alec muttered, rolling his eyes at the two others
Simon scoffed, shaking his head
"Dude, no way that's happening, Magnus has a friend who's an expert in occult stuff and I have an encyclopedic knowledge of like, every supernatural/fantasy show known to nerds. You're knowledge of the occult and supernatural is limited to like, picking costumes for Halloween parties you were dragged to growing up and the times Jace used a Ouija board when you guys had sleepovers as kids…
It'd take you weeks of binge watching to get caught up…
Face it dude, you need us."
Alec scoffed, shaking his head
"I can't believe I'm working a case where a trip to an occult store and binge watching Buffy is considered 'investigating'…"
Simon reached over, slipping his arm around Alec's shoulder, patting firmly,
"Well you are partner…it's okay though…I totally got you covered on this one. Been studying for this practically my whole life."
Alec huffed, rolling his eyes, snipping back at the other detective.
Magnus shook his head in amusement at the other two. The three of them beginning making their way around the alley for a final pass, Magnus shaking off the spell, blinking a couple times, rolling his neck, glancing out the mouth of the alleyway, before turning back to the other two men…
It was ironic…
Had Magnus still had the spell in place he'd of easily been able to spot the near smoldering, reddish orange mass in the far window on the fourth floor…
Spot the wide, dark eyes trained on the three men below, how the man crouched down, just barely peeking over the window sill, looking in fear at the strange man with the shimmering electric violet sparks snapping and sparking about his hands and up his arms…at the brief glimpse of brilliant gold, feline eyes that seemed to catch the light, nearly glowing.
He ducked down, shaking his head in fright
Oh god…
One of the monsters was looking for him now…it was working with the police. He didn't know what the man with the cat eyes was, but it seemed stronger than the others. It'd found the mark to call the angel…he'd seen the detectives looking at the marks on the walls. No one else had found them.
The angel had assured him it was safe, that they would not be found…that he could mask the marks from the others…
How did this thing find them?
If he could find that, what else could he find?
Would he be able to find him?
His sister?
Oh god…he wished they could move faster…
Tomorrow was the Harvest moon…when the final sacrifice had to be made…
Tomorrow it would all end…the monsters would be gone,
The humans race would be safe…
One more day…
He just had to make it for one more day…
*~********~*~********~* _End Of Chapter Notes_ *~********~*~********~*Ci-dyn = Dog-Man
(FYI I was bored the other day and was just going through making random ones of these…I have a feeling I'll be throwing a lot in…
This one makes me laugh because for some reason I just get a mental image of someone shape shifting into like a poodle…
It makes me giggle, so I figured I'd work it in…
Okay, so I meant for this chapter to have them going to Clarys shop too, but I have a feeling that's gonna be fairly long, and this chapter's already pretty lengthy…that's just gonna move to the next chapter…
I know the end just shifted perspectives randomly but I think it kinda works…
What do you guys think so far?
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