Hello again! I know it's late, but this chapter took me a long time to write (+5K words). Anyway, I really hope you like it. I'm kinda nervous about it tbh. Anyway, enjoy it and please don't kill me. I'll see you all on Friday.
Chapter 17
Alec and Elias had been hiding in the back of the cave for more than an hour. After Alec had returned from the Danube, he and the pirate had decided to explore the cave to find a place to hide and be able to see when Valentine and his crew finally entered.
The cave still had some water inside, so it smelled like sea water and there were even some coral reefs here and there. From the moment they had stepped inside for the first time, Alec had noticed why Raziel had chosen it as a hideout. It was perfect. It was hidden by nature in every possible way, it was large for a cave and it even had a rock formation in the center that acted as a platform. It hadn't taken Alec long to figure out that that was the place the Angel had chosen to place the three instruments.
The minutes passed and passed without them hearing anything other than their own breath, until a group of men started to enter the cave. They were cheering and talking, making too much noise as they made their way inside. Elias and Alec looked at each other. Valentine's crew was quite numerous, they already knew that. They had been watching them for days, but it wasn't the same to see them all scattered in a camp, than all gathered here in the now somehow not so large cave.
"Where's Captain Morgenstern?" Elias whispered, and Alec pointed to the entrance of the cave.
There, carrying the three instruments in his hands, was Valentine Morgenstern in the flesh. Alec had heard many stories about him, people considered him very handsome and good-looking, and now that he was looking at him for the first time, he knew why. Valentine was tall and built, he had a strong jaw and very intense black eyes. His head was shaved and he had a very distinctive tattoo of two red circles on his neck.
The pirate walked to the rock formation and stood there, looking at his crew and waiting for them to finish cramming the already crammed cave.
"Where's your brother, captain?" Elias asked.
"I don't know." Alec said, trying not to show the tremor in his voice. Suddenly he was afraid that Valentine had already killed his brother and the other two boys, but he tried to calm himself down. That idea made no sense. Jonathan's text implied that the blood had to be spilled on site, and he was almost certain that Valentine would not ruin his only chance by killing them all before time.
Valentine cleared his throat to get the attention of his crew. The group of pirates immediately stopped talking and looked at their captain.
"The time has come!" Valentine exclaimed, raising his voice and making it resonate through the cave. "After years of searching in all Seven Seas, I finally have everything I need! It's time for me to lift this curse and recover the power that was taken from me!"
The crew cheered in unison, and Alec and Elias just looked at each other. They could hear the pirate's madness even in his voice.
"It's time I pay my debt to the Angel and let his blood to wash away my sins!" Valentine continued. "Bring the boys!"
Two men entered the cave pushing the prisoners. Alec saw that they all were blindfolded and had their hands tied behind their backs.
"Bring them to me!" Valentine said.
The pirates placed the three men on the platform next to Valentine, kicking and beating them in the process. Alec had to count to ten to avoid jumping before it was the right time.
"Twenty years ago." Valentine said. He was circling around the three boys. "I took the treasure of all treasures and condemned myself to a life of misery. Today, thanks to the Angel himself, I have the chance to change that. The chance to change my odds and rise again. Rise again as the greatest pirate that's ever crossed the seas!"
The crew cheered again and Alec was surprised to see how loyal they were to their crazy captain.
"See the faces of the men who are going to save me." Valentine said, ordering some of his men to uncover the boys' eyes. "See the men who will bring me glory and eternal forgiveness!"
The crew burst into applause, and Alec tightened his grip around the hilt of his sword—the time was near.
Valentine walked to the first boy, the one Jace had said was Michael Wayland's son, and put him on his knees at the center of the platform, placing the mirror in front of him. Two men of his crew did the same with Jace and Valentine's own son, putting the sword and the cup respectively in front of them too.
"Behold!" Valentine exclaimed.
Alec knew what was about to happen, Valentine was going to kill them all at once. The three boys were kneeling with their heads down, so it wouldn't take much, just a single stroke with the sword and the three boys would be dead within seconds.
Alec took a deep breath, exchanging a warning look with Elias. This was the moment they had been waiting for. They just had to wait for Valentine to draw his sword and when the pirate was about to kill them, they would come out of hiding and surprise him. Elias had a sack with extra weapons that he would give to the boys so they could fight with them. The plan was simple, they would kill as many men as they could and then run. Alec would stay there as a bargaining chip and Elias would make sure that Jace and the others could escape on the Danube. Alec had embraced his own death the day he had read the full text, so he was ready. It was how he had planned it, it was how it was supposed to happen.
But it didn't.
Valentine drew his sword alright, but just as Alec and Elias were about to jump, someone entered the cave, ruining the moment and making them all to turn around in confusion.
"Stop, stop, stop!" The man exclaimed.
Alec knew that voice like he knew his own soul. It was Magnus's.
"Magnus…" He whispered, unable to contain the surprise and yeah, the excitement in his voice. He didn't know what the pirate was doing there and how he had found the island in the first place, but Alec couldn't tear his eyes away from him. It had only been a few days, a week, since the last time he's seen him, but he had missed him. He had really missed him. And now the pirate was there, he was really there...Magnus had found him.
Suddenly, the idea of dying wasn't as appealing as it had been for Alec a few minutes ago. That was another reason why he had left Magnus behind, without him there, Alec could walk to his own death without remorse or hesitation, but with him there...well, everything changed.
"Magnus Bane!" Valentine exclaimed, eying Magnus from head to toe. The entire crew had their guns and swords aloft, pointing at the pirate's head.
"I knew you had survived, like your old man, you're a hard nut to crack." Valentine continued. "I can't say I'm surprised to see that you haven't aged a bit, but you do look different. Did you do something to your hair?" He asked in a mocking tone.
Magnus didn't reply. Alec saw that he was just looking at Valentine with a smile plastered on his face. Alec wished he could read minds just to be able to know what Magnus was thinking at that precise moment.
"But tell me." Valentine continued, getting closer to Magnus and pointing his sword right up against his heart.
Alec wanted to jump to protect him, to do something to keep Magnus as far away from that madman as possible, but he was frozen in place, watching the exchange from his hideout.
"To what do I owe the pleasure of this inopportune visit? Did you come to see me get back my former glory? I can't say I blame you, not every day you see the most powerful pirate of all time to come back to life from the ashes."
"Hmmm, actually, no. Don't flatter yourself, it's pathetic." Magnus said. "I'm here because you have something that belongs to me."
"Your ship? Please, Bane!" Valentine exclaimed, lowering his sword and laughing uproariously. "That ship was handed to me by your own father, the Blue Danube is no longer yours."
"Well, technically it is still mine. The Danube wasn't my father's to give."
Alec frowned in confusion. He was not understanding anything. As far as he knew Magnus's father was dead. The pirate had said so himself, his father had drowned himself in the middle of the ocean.
"It doesn't matter." Valentine said. "The ship wasn't yours either. I know that your story about Poseidon building it for you is a sham, you're a liar, Magnus Bane, and you won't get it back, not while I'm alive."
"Oh, but I will." Magnus said sure of himself, causing the crew to burst out laughing.
"What is he doing?" Elias whispered.
"Improvising." Alec replied. He wasn't sure about Magnus's plan just yet, but he knew him too well to know that he was just buying them some time.
"And, how are you so sure about that?" Valentine asked, raising his sword again and pointing it against Magnus's throat. "You're planning on killing me? You may be immortal, Bane, but you're not invincible. In fact, I could prove that to you right now and kill you, as the cockroach you are."
"I wouldn't do that if I were you, mate." Magnus said. "Because if you do, then you will never know the other thing I came here to tell you."
"And what makes you think I care about what you have to say, huh?" Valentine said in a mocking tone, causing the crew to burst into laughter again.
"Because otherwise you will die and you don't want that, do you? Isn't that what all this fuss is about? To avoid certain death? If I were you, I would listen to what I have to say."
"Okay...speak."
"First we need to make a deal, mate." Magnus said. "You know that."
Valentine smiled wickedly and made a small cut on Magnus's neck. Alec moved as if to jump, but Elias stopped him.
"What if you speak and in exchange I spare your sorry life?" Valentine said.
"Alright," Magnus agreed, "I've always liked your negotiations techniques. Very effective, you know what you want, you're-"
"Speak, Bane! You're wasting my time!"
"Well," Magnus said, making a long pause before speaking, "the Clave is here." He announced without further ado, and Alec stopped breathing.
o-o-o-o-o
Magnus had lied about the Clave being there. He had just come up with it as a way to distract Valentine. He hadn't seen the entire crew before, so as soon as he stepped into the cave and saw how many they were, he knew there was no way they could defeat them, not even with the men Alec could have aboard the Danube. They were outnumbered by ten to one, so in a moment of despair, he had thought about the Clave. They were in the Caribbean after all, so it was a partial lie.
"What!?" Valentine asked surprised.
"What you heard. I saw them sinking a ship on the opposite side of the island. They destroyed it completely, there are no survivors. Then I saw them disembarking. They are exploring the island as we speak." He lied. Perhaps Alec's little trick with the Avenger could be useful for his lie.
Valentine pondered the information and then smiled, finally lowering his sword. Magnus took those seconds to take a deep breath and look around, trying to find Alec. He hadn't seen him yet, but he knew he was there. Maybe it was a bit cliche to say it aloud, but he could feel it in his heart—Alec was there.
"If I find out that this is some kind of trap, I swear that I'm going to-" Valentine said.
"It's not. I am a man of my word." Magnus lied again. "Send your men and you'll see that I'm not lying. I saw them. There are at least three vessels carrying the insignia of the Clave. This place..." he added, pointing to the cave, "is a deathtrap. If the Clave finds out you're here, they could knock down the cave and we all would die trapped here."
Valentine looked around. Magnus knew the pirate was not stupid, he was mad, but that didn't diminish his intelligence. It was obvious to anyone that this was, indeed, a deathtrap.
"Okay, then." Valentine said. "I guess I'll have to wait a bit longer."
"A very smart decision." Magnus added.
Valentine ignored him and just looked at his crew. "Malachi!" He called a man Magnus assumed was his Quartermaster. "You know what to do."
The Malachi guy nodded and immediately instructed the crew to leave the cave and attack the Clave. Magnus looked around while the crew, like ants, started to move around and follow their captain's instructions. They were cheering and groaning, clearly excited about the upcoming battle.
Magnus couldn't believe that his plan had worked. Now the odds weren't that bad for them. Only ten men had stayed behind: two at the entrance guarding the cave, four at the base of the platform, two behind Valentine and the two who had their pistols pointing at Magnus.
"Well," Magnus said, "I have fulfilled my part of the bargain, so I would be very grateful if you could ask your men to stop pointing their guns at me."
Valentine looked at him. "Lower your guns, guys, he's harmless. He never had it in him."
Magnus tried not to let Valentine's words get into his head. He knew he couldn't lose control, at least not until he knew Alec was safe and on his way back to Alicante.
"So, are these the boys?" Magnus asked, walking around the platform and looking at the three boys. The poor men were covered with dirt and they all were severely beaten.
"Aye."
Magnus eyed them. "Is this one yours?" He asked, pointing to the guy with the platinum blond hair. The boy looked exactly like the old pirate when the latter was younger, they even had the same look of resentment on their faces.
"Aye, Jonathan Christopher Morgenstern." Valentine said.
Magnus just nodded, and moved to look at the other two boys. "And these are Robert and Michael's sons, I presume?" He asked.
"Aye, Jonathan Wayland and Jonathan Lightwood. How did you guess I needed them too?"
"Rumors…" Magnus lied, "hello again, Commander." He said, locking eyes with Jace. He saw recognition in the blond's eyes and a flash of confusion. Magnus knew Alec's brother was certainly wondering how he had gotten out of jail in the first place.
"You know him?" Valentine asked confused.
"A bit." Magnus confessed. "He captured me a few months ago when I saved a gentleman in distress, but I got away."
Valentine laughed. "Well, you won't have to worry about him any longer. He's going to die very soon."
"Good." Magnus said, standing behind Jace and carefully placing a knife in the boy's tied hands so he could free himself while Magnus kept distracting Valentine. "And, do they all have the same name? Jonathan?"
"Aye, I guess we all named them after the man who brought us here."
"How original." Magnus muttered and moved, stepping down of the platform and walking to explore the cave.
"But tell me, Bane." Valentine said. "How's your father doing? Have you talked to him? He was of great service a few years ago."
"No, I haven't talked to him since he decided to sell his soul." Magnus said. His father was something he didn't like to talk about. He liked to think that he had actually died all those years ago and not sold his soul for his stupid ambition to power.
"Tsst, tsst, a son who resents his own father...that's unheard of." Valentine mocked, making Magnus to chuckle.
"I can't say I blame you, Bane. Asmodeus is an asshole, but he holds an important position in the underworld, did you know that?"
Magnus shook his head, because he didn't know. Since his father had abandoned him when he was just a kid, he hadn't heard of him, and when he had, it had been just because the bastard had helped this man to steal his ship.
"Well, he is one of the big ones."
Magnus shrugged. He didn't know what to say. He didn't want to keep talking about his father, but at the same time he also knew he had to keep Valentine distracted. It was vital that he didn't notice that there was no sound of battle outside whatsoever, and that what he had said about the Clave had been nothing but a big-fat lie to make his crew leave and give Alec and his brother a chance to escape.
Boom!
The roar of a cannon was heard and Magnus's eyes widened with surprise.
"My men are surely sinking their ships at this very moment." Valentine said relaxed, but Magnus couldn't just relax, no one else was on the island, so, why were they shooting guns? What was really happening outside? Suddenly Magnus couldn't stop thinking about Raphael and Ragnor and he prayed they were alright.
"But tell me, Bane." Valentine said, apparently he wanted to keep talking. "How did you find the island? What were you really doing in these waters? I don't think you came here just for your ship. It's been years, if you cared so much about the Danube, you would have tried to do something before, so why now? What were you really doing here?"
"The truth?" Magnus sighed. "I found it by accident, I was following my other half."
Valentine burst out laughing. "Don't tell me you're one of the romantics."
Magnus faked a laugh. "You used to be one...before this happened, of course."
"Love destroys you, Bane."
"Yes, but it also keeps you alive." Magnus said. "Isn't recovering what you lost what's driving you to do this? Love makes us do crazy things." He confessed not because he wanted to share his love life with Valentine, but because he hoped Alec might be listening. The boy had to know what he really meant for him, he had to know that all he had told him when they were still together was true.
"So you have found the one...is it a he or a she? I recall you liked variety."
"A he." Magnus said, he was still exploring the cave as he spoke. "He was where I least expected him to be, but I'm glad I found him. Since I met him, my life hasn't been the same. He's everything to me, he's-" He said, and stopped for a second.
There, at the far end of the cave were a pair of eyes looking back at him. A pair of eyes that he knew so well. "He's the best that's ever happened to me." He said making each word count.
Magnus kept his eyes fixed on Alec's just for a couple of seconds. He didn't want to draw much attention to him now that he knew where he was. He just wanted him to know that he was there and that he would try everything in his power to get him and his brother out of this.
"Captain! Captain!" One of Valentine's men came into the cave. He was drenched in his own blood. "They took the Danube!"
"The Clave!?" Valentine asked, there was anger in his voice.
"No, sir." The man said. He looked very weak, as if he were about to lose consciousness at any time. "His people." He added, pointing at Magnus before collapsing lifeless against the rocks.
"My people? I didn't bring any people. I didn't do anything!" Magnus said immediately. He had brought two, but he doubted that they were the ones behind this mess.
"You liar, son of a-" Valentine said, drawing his sword and charging against him, but before he could reach him, Alec jumped from where he was hiding and crossed his blade with Valentine's.
"It wasn't him." Alec said, surprising everyone, including Magnus. "It was me."
o-o-o-o-o
Alec barely had time to register what he had done before the battle began. When he had seen Valentine charging against Magnus, he hadn't thought twice and he had simply acted on impulse, drawing his sword and stopping Valentine. Now, the cave was a mess of blades and gun shots.
Thanks to the knife that Magnus had given Jace, his brother and the two other boys were now free and fighting with whatever they had at their disposal. Valentine's son had taken possession of Raziel's sword, so he was using it to defend himself, but Jace and the other boy were just fighting with their fists.
"Elias!" Alec shouted, and the pirate immediately ran to assist the boys, throwing them swords and some pistols while Alec kept crossing blades with Valentine.
"And, who are you, boy?" Valentine finally asked.
"Nobody!" Magnus exclaimed. He had drawn his sword and was fighting alongside him.
Despite the trick that apparently Magnus had set up with the lie about the Clave and the wise intervention of his crew, Alec knew they were still outnumbered by two to one, and that was why they were all fighting in pairs, Jace with Elias, Valentine's son with Jonathan Wayland, and Magnus with Alec.
"Is he the one you mentioned earlier?" Valentine asked intrigued, directing his question to the pirate.
"Him? No, he's a nobody, he's-"
"He's the one. You've never been a good liar, Bane." Valentine said, crossing his sword with Magnus's in a very aggressive way. He was laughing as if he found the whole situation extremely funny and Alec wanted to kill him. He had never wanted to kill anyone before as he wanted to kill that mad pirate at the moment.
"Get away from him!" Alec said, putting himself between Magnus and Valentine for the second time.
"You have guts, boy, I give you that...and you look familiar, have we crossed paths before?"
"I sincerely doubt it!" Alec said, using his best moves to try to beat Valentine, but the pirate was a very skilled swordsman. He knew he would need a miracle to defeat him, maybe if Jace helped him things could change.
Almost as if his brother had heard his thoughts, Jace joined him, stepping in front of Valentine and taking the pirate by surprise. Together they fought against him as they had been fighting since they were kids. Jace at the front and Alec watching his back.
"You're old!" Jace exclaimed, in the heat of the battle.
"I may be, but I still can beat you." Valentine said.
Alec seized while Valentine and Jace exchanged words to scan the cave and find Magnus. The pirate had stayed a few steps behind, fighting with some of Valentine's men. He was surrounded, four against one. Alec wanted to go and help him, but he couldn't leave Jace alone with Valentine.
"Go help him." Jace said, almost reading Alec's thoughts for the second time. "I got this."
Alec nodded. He trusted his brother's skills with the sword. He was the best swordsman in all Alicante, he hadn't been appointed Commander of the Clave in vain. He could handle a pirate, even if it was one as crazy as Valentine.
Alec rushed to Magnus's side as fast as he could and fought by his side. The familiarity between them helped them feel comfortable in each other's spaces. Alec could read Magnus's movements even before the pirate made them. They were the perfect team just as Magnus had said since they had met.
"Please." Magnus said, while they kept trying to beat the four men surrounding them. "I don't know what your plan is, but whatever you do, please, please, don't reveal your real identity, okay?"
"Why?"
"Because that's the only thing we still have in our favor."
Alec nodded. Magnus was right, this wasn't going as planned, so they would have to change a thing or two, and that included not revealing who he was, they still had to see how things turned out in the end.
"Okay," Alec nodded, taking advantage of their proximity to ask in a low voice. "What you said about the Clave was a lie, right?"
He was asking just to confirm his suspicions. He had guessed it when Magnus had mentioned the sunken ship on the other side of the island. The ship that Alec himself had sunk.
"Yes, it was a lie," Magnus said, ducking to avoid the blade of a sword, "I suppose your men are the ones who are behind the cannon explosions?"
"I guess they are." Alec confessed, disarming one of the men and knocking him down.
"Magnus?"
"What!?"
"I need to know something." Alec said, charging against the man he had knocked down. He had stood up and pulled out a gun.
"What!?" Magnus said, giving him a look that left Alec with no doubt that the pirate couldn't believe that he wanted to have a conversation given their current situation, but Alec really wanted to know. Things could go wrong for any of them and he wanted, no, he needed to know.
"What you said about me...is it true?"
"I'm not a liar, you know that."
Alec gave him a look, as he finally killed the man, slicing his throat.
"Okay, well sometimes I lie, but I've always been honest with you." Magnus said, also killing the man in front of him. "Except for that one time, but you know why."
Alec rolled his eyes, and moved to keep fighting with the other two men who were still there. He noticed that Elias was helping Jace with Valentine, and Valentine's son and the other boy were fighting against the other men who still remained in the cave.
"What about your father?"
"Are we seriously going to do this right now?" Magnus asked, ducking again so that Alec could kick one of the men.
"Yes." Alec said, almost out of breath.
"Fine, I lied about him too, okay? He's alive...well, sort of." Magnus confessed. "Long to explain...anything else?"
"Yes, how did you find me?" Alec asked. That was the question he had been dying to ask.
"I can explain later," Magnus said, looking at him, "but know that as long as my heart beats, I'm always going to find you."
Alec couldn't help but smile. He liked the idea of that. It made him feel special but most of all loved.
"Are you going to kiss now, or what?" The pirate fighting with Magnus said in a mocking tone. "I could give you a few seconds before killing you both."
"There's no need, mate." Magnus said, charging against him and killing him instantly.
Alec barely had time to see that before the other pirate was practically upon him.
"Ready to die, pretty boy?"
"Not yet." Alec said, striking the man with his sword and knocking him down. "And never call me pretty boy." He said, stabbing his sword into the pirate's abdomen to incapacitate him.
Magnus looked up from where he was now fighting some other men and smirked at him. "I've called you pretty boy before." He stated.
Alec rolled his eyes in a playful way. Of course he had. Alec remembered it perfectly. The first time had been when he had rescued him from those smugglers, and then, when Alec had helped him out of prison.
"Well, you always seem to get a free pass with me." He admitted.
Magnus laughed and kept fighting, not without first warning Alec to watch his back, there was a man approaching him.
Alec turned around just in time to block a stroke from one of the other men. He pushed him with all his strength and continued fighting, noticing that Michael Wayland's son was now wounded. He was leaning on the platform, putting a tourniquet on his left leg. The wound didn't appear to be lethal, so he did not worry much about it and just kept fighting.
The battle continued and for what seemed like hours all Alec could hear was the roar of both battles, the one that was happening outside, and the one he was currently part of. He couldn't deny that Valentine's men were very skilled and they certainly had more experience in battle than all of them together, including Magnus.
"This fight is useless." Valentine suddenly said. He was standing on a rock with Elias knelt at his feet. Jace was busy fighting two men on his own some feet away from them. "Nobody will ever be able to stop me. I'm cursed, but I'm still powerful." He said, thrusting his sword into Elias's back and killing him instantly.
"No!" Alec gasped. He had learned to like that man in all the weeks they had sailed together, but he couldn't allow himself to think too much about his death. The man had known the risks and he had agreed to them when he had decided to follow him, so with a heavy heart Alec sighed and kept fighting.
The battle continued and there seemed to be no clear winner yet. Alec didn't know what was going on outside, but it was obvious that they had not yet managed to overcome Valentine's crew or else, Alec's crew would be there helping them. And they weren't there despite the fact that they needed them desperately, they-
Another explosion rocked the cave and Alec slipped, losing his sword in the process. He tried to grab it, but he moved too slow. Someone was already stepping on it, preventing him from taking it.
Alec looked up, it was Valentine. The man was looking at him with a wicked grin plastered on his face.
"Any last words?" He said, pointing his sword against Alec's heart.
Alec stopped breathing, watching his life pass before his eyes. He saw his parents, his sister, his little brother, Jace...Magnus.
His eyes scanned the cave, looking for the pirate. Magnus was on the other side, already rushing toward him. There was sheer terror in his eyes and Alec knew why. They both knew what was about to happen, they both knew this was the end. This was it, and neither of them could do anything to stop it.
They looked at each other and Alec mouthed the words he hadn't dared to pronounce yet, but that were the truest thing he had ever said in his life.
"I love you."
