Note 1: I am so so so SORRY this took so long to get done! I suffered from the flu for about a week and then had to do a presentation for school and then a bit of writer's block got in the way too… But thankfully all of that is over now!
Note 2: Thank you SO MUCH for all the kind reviews, you guys, it means the WORLD to me, seriously! I don't really know how to express my gratitude better, so here it goes: *makes heart eyes at you the way Magnus makes them at Alec*
Note 3: We are finally beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel now… Or are we not? I don't know, read it and you tell me! ;)
Chapter 15 – Don't Trust A Mad Warlock
"What the hell is this? Are you stripping now?" The tall Shadowhunter approached Magnus with a confused look on his face.
Magnus was just tired of wearing the same damn outfit for twelve days straight now. So he had just taken off his black blazer and thrown it across the room rather dramatically, catching the five guards' attention with the gesture. Magnus raised his eyebrow at the confused Shadowhunter in front of him, not fully aware of his intentions. Then he let his head fall back and burst out in mocking laughter. The fact that the Shadowhunter had assumed he would actually strip in front of them amused him. The Shadowhunter obviously didn't like that reaction which only fueled Magnus's need to irritate him. He stopped laughing and let out a sigh before turning to him all serious again.
"You wish," He answered provocatively.
The Shadowhunter was about to reply, but Magnus didn't let him say a word. He raised his hand to quiet him.
"You don't want Valentine to find out you've been disturbing me now, do you?" He threatened, finally making him back off with only a hateful look.
Magnus turned back to the portal with a self-satisfied smirk. I might be the prisoner here, but you Nephilim are all my bitches now, he thought as he continued to work on the portal. After the little incident that had happened three days ago with those bully Shadowhunters Valentine had made it clear he didn't want anyone engaging with Magnus in any kind of communication, because it was slowing his work down. Allowing Magnus to get away with murdering one of his soldiers and torturing another was very humiliating for Valentine and many Shadowhunters of his army wanted Magnus punished for it. Magnus knew the portal was the only thing keeping him alive; as soon as he was done with it Valentine himself would turn against him.
But Magnus had a plan to escape before it came to that. In fact, he had a plan not only to escape, but to also make Valentine suffer for all the pain he'd caused him and the Downworlders. And he was very glad to be left alone to work on the portal, because it had become an essential part of his plan and his work flowed much better without the constant interruptions. He had made great progress during the last two days, since the night he had succeeded in visiting Alec in his dream.
It had never occurred to him that Alec could be missing him or he would need Magnus before that dream. But Magnus had sensed that despair clearly emanating from Alec by the way he looked at him and kissed him. Those kisses were everything Magnus had to hold on to, and they ignited so much power in him he didn't even know he still had. Despite his thirst for revenge, Alec was still Magnus's strongest motivation. He longed for Alec with such intensity it made everything else irrelevant. Also hearing rumors about Valentine planning an attack on the New York Institute served as more motivation; he had to stop Valentine from doing that. Magnus had to survive for both himself and Alec and he was going to do everything in his power to succeed.
For the next couple of hours all Magnus focused on was the portal, with the guarding Shadowhunters watching from a safe distance. And when he was, once again, on the edge of running out of magic, he began to feel this connection between him and the portal, like it was trying to communicate with him. He'd never done anything like this before, so he didn't know exactly what to expect from the other side. But when the freezing, empty breathtaking sensation cut through him, Magnus knew that he had accomplished his first goal. The portal was finished and the world behind it was ready to take in anything from this world.
And Magnus knew it was time to act.
He fell on the floor, breathing heavily. The blue ball that had been the growing portal until then had expanded into a pulsating transparent blue fog with flecks of yellow sparks all across it, making the air in the small room vibrate in every direction. The portal was eager to be opened for the first time. Magnus leaned on the wall by his side and got on his knees as the Shadowhunters took a cautious step towards the portal. They gazed at the scene with awe. They didn't even dare to speak.
"Tell Valentine…" Magnus spoke in whispers between sharp breaths. "That his portal... is ready."
The Shadowhunters slowly fell out of their haze as Magnus's words registered in their minds. One of them rushed out of the room to find Valentine, while the others stood there, staring into the blue fog almost mesmerized.
Everyone remained in silence until Magnus heard hurried footsteps approaching. Then Valentine marched in, followed by a crowd of ten, all heavily armed. Valentine stopped and held up his hand ordering his companions to stop where they were. He stared at the blue fog for a few seconds before directing his attention to Magnus.
"Open it," he ordered.
"I can't…" Magnus exhaled the words weakly.
"I said open the portal!" Valentine yelled at him impatiently.
"I can't! Not in here!" Magnus attempted to yell back, but all that came out of his throat was a hoarse and desperate voice. "I'm not sure what I created…. But it's too powerful. If I open it inside… the whole cave will crash and we all die in here!" He concluded dramatically.
That was only half a lie. The portal contained so much power Magnus knew it wouldn't be smart to mess with it under the ground. If things got out of hand it could be dangerous to all of them. And Magnus really wanted Valentine to believe the worst would happen if they stayed in there; so he was depositing all his energy into his lying skills now. It seemed to have an immediate effect on the Shadowhunters at least; they all exchanged nervous murmurs at the new turn of events.
"Silence!" Valentine yelled without taking his eyes off Magnus and they stopped talking immediately. He narrowed his eyes at Magnus suspiciously, trying to read him.
"I don't have much magic left," Magnus continued with the same weakness and despair. "If you want it open we should go to the surface and fast." Magnus closed his eyes and leaned his head on the wall, like he had no energy left to hold it up. He hoped he was sounding weak enough to fool Valentine. Manipulating Valentine into getting him out of the cave was the first part of the plan. In order for it to work, it was essential that he got to the surface where nothing could limit his powers. Blocking magic was only possible in closed spaces. Nothing could stop Magnus once he was under the bare sky again, something which Valentine was perfectly aware of. Valentine stared at Magnus intently, trying to determine whether Magnus was telling the truth or not and if he represented a real threat in the moment.
And Magnus was doing his best to appear completely weak and harmless in Valentine's eyes. Because if Valentine didn't believe him, if he could see right through his intentions, all was lost.
There was so much tension in the nerve wracking silence, it felt like everyone in the room would lose their minds any second, until Valentine finally said the relieving words.
"Let's go," He ordered.
Magnus repressed a triumphant smirk and closed his eyes. He retrieved the portal back into a large vibrating blue ball with his hand and let a strong Shadowhunter pick him up from the floor.
They carried him out of the magical room, across the dark halls straight to an old, mine-like elevator that Magnus had never seen before. He kept the portal right next to his hand the entire time. Many curious eyes followed them as they got inside the large elevator. Only fifteen went up with him and Valentine on the seemingly endless elevator ride to the surface, but Magnus knew there were about a thousand more of them down there.
They had kept Magnus in the dark, miles away from the surface for so long and now that his imprisonment was coming to an end Magnus felt his body shake with excitement. In response, the portal started to pulse faster and Magnus had to keep his emotions in check.
When they finally reached the surface, Magnus had to hold up his hand to protect his eyes from the intense sunlight. It was the first time he'd seen the sun in twelve days; it felt like a burning miracle. They stepped out of the elevator and slammed Magnus on the floor. He sat up and looked around as his eyes adjusted to the light. It was sunset, the sky was clear blue and they were in the middle of a hot desert. Not a single soul beyond them could be seen anywhere. All the eye could see was the treeless desert with red, cracked ground covered with dry, sharp edged bushes that made small scratches through Magnus's skin as he leaned on them, and a large rocky hill they came out from. The fifteen Shadowhunters have formed a half circle around him and Valentine, and Magnus could see their hands were primed to grab the handles of their seraph blades at a moment's notice, should he do anything underhand.
Alright, Magnus… You only have one shot at this. So you either succeed or you're a dead man, Magnus thought as he estimated how much magic exactly he had left; it wasn't a lot. He felt anxiety from the adrenaline rushing through his body as he stood up and faced Valentine. He allowed his body to drop slightly, continuing the illusion of weakness.
"Open the portal," Valentine ordered again.
Magnus shot him an annoyed look as he launched the portal up in the air with a tossing hand gesture. It shot up before coming to a sudden halt around 6 feet away from the ground. The portal expanded into a solid shiny blue color – Magnus's signature - with yellow sparks twirling across it, as it drifted towards the ground, hovering opposite to the line formed by the Shadowhunters. Magnus admired his work; the roughly eight feet tall portal was magnificent, even though no one else would recognize the masterpiece for what it was. Magnus was snapped out of the state of admiration by Valentine's smug voice.
"Now, walk in," He said with a smirk on his face. Apparently he was very pleased with how things were going. He finally had his portal and he thought he was going to get rid of Magnus too. But he was terribly wrong. Magnus was not going to make things easy for him.
"Oh…" Magnus said with an innocent, almost apologetic smile. "I have no intention of going in there." He gestured at the portal.
"I don't think you have a choice," Valentine replied coldly.
"Actually, I do," Magnus said firmly and he finally dropped the act he'd been pulling, straightening his back and looking Valentine directly in the eye, subconsciously readying his magic for the fight he knew was coming. "I don't have to do anything you order me to do anymore. I did what you asked and there's nothing else in that contract I have to obey, except for not hurting you, of course," Magnus smiled at Valentine sweetly, purposely antagonizing him. The shock momentarily paralyzed everyone but Magnus was prepared to fight.
"Well then in that case," Valentine said, his voice tinged with was disappointment that barely disguised his anger as he turned to his disciples and gave the final command: "Kill him."
They attacked with everything they had. What none of them expected though was Magnus fighting back. He had no problem using his magic now; he could easily throw the Shadowhunters away from him with flicks of his hands and when arrows were pointed his way, he transformed them into black feathers with a casual wave of the hand as they flew towards him. All of the Shadowhunters' efforts of subduing him were foiled easily and Valentine watched the scene, his expression livid, unable to believe that he'd been fooled by a warlock.
Despite the confident exterior, Magnus felt that his magic was evading him faster than expected and he realized he wouldn't be able to keep this fight up for much longer. So he lifted his hands up above his head and slowly opened them and let them down by his sides drawing a small protective dome around himself. Some of the piled up Shadowhunters got up and tried to attack Magnus again, but they couldn't get through the protective shield.
"You…" Valentine said with such rage, he could hardly say any more or even breathe.
Magnus felt a stab of gleeful satisfaction to see Valentine like that and his soul craved for more. He may not be able to hurt Valentine himself, but he could still make him suffer for wronging him.
"Yes, me," Magnus smirked at him with glowing yellow eyes, the pupils narrowed to slits. Valentine's slight recoil as his eyes flashed did not pass him by. "I'm afraid I have some bad news for you," he continued with an smug smile. "This portal is only going to work once. I designed it specifically so that it would destroy itself after it was used. By the way, you don't want to be anywhere near it when that happens."
"Then you're breaking the contract!" Valentine fumed at him.
"Not really," Magnus replied with confidence and explained. "I'm not breaking any of those rules. I mean, could you, theoretically, send all the Downworlders of the world into the portal? Of course! Are you going to have the opportunity to do so? Now that's an entirely different subject, isn't it? One that was not covered by your precious little contract," He finished smugly.
Magnus never planned to allow Valentine to send any Downworlders through that portal. When he created the portal he had to make sure he'd never get the chance to use it, so he designed it as a one-time use only portal. Once something or someone entered it, it would close down and explode, releasing all the magic that was used to build it – and that was how Magnus intended to execute his revenge plan. He didn't possess nearly enough power now to succeed on his own, but having all that free magic available to him to use as he wished… that would help him to do all the damage he wanted. The portal had been a part of his escape plan since the beginning.
to Magnus's satisfaction, Valentine was left speechless. It hadn't occurred to him that Magnus could turn the tables on him like this. But of course, he had always underestimated the Downworlders, treating them like lesser beings without considering the possibility that they could be just as cunning as him, or fight back in any way that could be considered a real threat. And Magnus wanted him to realize just how big the mistake of underestimating him had been.
"Oh, don't look so surprised." Magnus rolled his eyes at Valentine. "You know what they say, after all…" Magnus added playfully. "…Don't trust a mad warlock."
That said, Magnus held out his hand and with a flip of his wrist, he lifted two Shadowhunters off the ground and directed them towards the portal.
"You can't!" Valentine yelled at him. Magnus stopped the movement and now the Shadowhunters were floating in the air, desperate.
"You wouldn't! They have families, people who count on them!" Valentine was trying to reason with Magnus, but Magnus had heard too much of Valentine's infamous exploits to be fooled. Valentine didn't give a damn about his followers, only that they did what he wanted. He also didn't know that Magnus's heart was pumping vengeance into every part of his being and he couldn't care less about Valentine's army or their imaginary families.
"I'm sure they do," He answered with a serious nod. "Just like the Downworlders you forced me to kill must have had too. Or the hundreds of Downworlder families you've torn apart. But you never cared!" Magnus's fury was out in the open, shocking the injured Shadowhunters and Valentine. As they looked up at him he seemed like a wrathful God; unstoppable and merciless. He was going to carry through this plan, even if making Valentine suffer would be the only good thing left for him; even if it consumed him. He threw the screaming Shadowhunters across the portal without thinking twice about it. And after those two, he picked up the rest of them one by one and threw them into the portal as well, and all Valentine could do was watch in horror.
When it was only the two of them left, Valentine let himself fall down on his knees. He looked like he'd been worn out from a war, even though he hadn't done any of the fighting himself.
"Why don't you throw me in there too and be done with it?" Valentine asked him dejectedly. But Magnus saw right through his intention of making Magnus slip and break the contract. He shook his head as he thought 'Who do you think you're dealing with, you fool? I wasn't born yesterday. You can't trick me that easily.'
"I want you to watch. Because I'm not finished yet," Magnus said rather cruelly, causing Valentine to open his eyes wide open, fearing the worst.
Magnus turned the palm of his hand and opened a regular purple portal about two feet behind himself without turning back. He had to secure his way home before running out of magic. He was ready to leave. But not before finishing what he had started. Losing fifteen Shadowhunters out of an army of a thousand wasn't punishment enough for Valentine.
So he clapped his hands together to finally close the portal. And when that happened Valentine had to jump away, because he noticed all the energy contained in it was about to leap out. Magnus watched the beautiful and colorful explosion of the portal. It sort of reminded him of a supernova. The blue and yellow blended together, forming a massive bright ball of light that exploded into the air, releasing endless amounts of magical sparks. All of Magnus's hard work in the past twelve days was concentrated there, causing strong vibrations in the air. Valentine had to turn away from the blinding light and Magnus took a step back. He had never had so much magic at his disposal in one go, and he knew the hardest part of his plan was just about to begin.
He held up his arms like he intended to hug all that magic and focused on gathering it together before it could escape. He closed his eyes and started absorbing the magic into his body. The more he absorbed the more it burned him inside, and the more he strained to keep it contained. He felt the magic run through his arms and reach his chest then directed it down his torso to his legs. His body was shaking and Magnus started to worry the magic might make him explode. It would have already destroyed any less experienced warlock by now, but Magnus was no inexperienced novice.
I can't hold this anymore… what was I thinking? Thoughts of agony were running through Magnus's mind; the burning sensation was too much to bear. He couldn't keep up the protective shield around him anymore; he absorbed it too and with that extra push of magic he managed to concentrate it all on one foot, ignoring the unbearable hot agony in that one limp, which he then stomped firmly on the ground.
With that stomp, all the magic that had been concentrated in his body was released and passed on to the sandy ground. He gasped shakily in relief as the pain vanished, leaving his limbs like jelly and his heart pounding. Magnus only kept enough magic in him to keep him from passing out, and he tried to recover himself as he felt the magic get diffuse into the ground, causing small tremors in it at first. The cascade of tremors moved away from Magnus and Valentine and became gradually more intense as it propagated in waves, creating a cloud of dust and shaking the ground violently.
"No…" Valentine whispered in terror as he realized what was happening.
Magnus had summoned an earthquake directly above the caves where his Shadowhunter army was hidden like a litter of naked mole rats, and there was no stopping it now. The small hill behind them crushed into big chunks of rocks and everything in a two-and-a-half-mile radius was turned into rocks and dust and broke down the labyrinth of caves, crushing every single thing, living or not, that happened to be underneath it.
A few minutes later that piece of the desert and Valentine's army of a thousand had been completely destroyed. Valentine was still at his knees, gazing into the mess, unable to move, save the dusty coughs that racked his body. Magnus felt hot from his performance and tucked up the sleeves of his black button up shirt to the elbows.
Magnus gave a defeated and broken Valentine a look of disdain. I hope this teaches you a lesson, he thought as he eyed Valentine.
"This is for all the friends of mine that you killed," He said bitterly, his voice charged with such hatred that Valentine blanched. He rejoiced in Valentine's pain for a couple of seconds. He had waited for so long for this triumphant moment he wanted to cherish it and fix it in his memory forever.
Magnus's plan had worked out perfectly and now it was time for him to go home. He turned his back to Valentine and faced the purple portal that had been waiting for him this whole time. He pictured the New York Institute in his mind as he stepped into the portal.
Valentine let out a cry of anguish, unable to stand watching Magnus escape, so he took his knife off his belt and threw it at the portal before it disappeared.
Magnus wasn't on the other side yet when he felt the piercing pain in the middle of his back. He gasped as he stepped out of the portal and landed right in front of the stairs the led to the Institute's entrance. The sharp knife was sticking out of his back and he fell on his knees shaking. It wasn't night time yet, but everything became black and Magnus collapsed on the stairs, completely drained after sending up the last drop of magic to his wound, hoping it was enough to keep him alive.
A/N: Yep, so THAT happened. Please don't hate me, guys (ok, I know you can't help but hate me right now and you're right, I'd hate me too!). I'm planning to post chapter 16 soon, seriously, no more waiting 2 weeks for an update. And leave your reviews, pretty please! If we could get to 100 reviews before the next chapter it would be too freaking awesome and I would love you to death and back. :D