Chapter 3

As soon as the bank opened the following morning, Luke was the first through the doors, brandishing his badge at the single teller and asking for the manager. He was directed to an office in the back corner where a woman in a crisp business suit was sitting behind a computer. She looked up at his entrance.

"Good morning, ma'am. I'm Detective Garroway." Luke produced his badge again and gave her a disarming smile. "There was an incident reported in the area last night and I'm trying to verify some things. Do you mind if I look at your ATM camera footage from then? Just the one pointed at the street."

She frowned. "Oh. Um, sure."

Luke smiled warmly, relieved she hadn't asked if he had a warrant. There was no way he'd be able to get one for a case that didn't exist, nor did he have probable cause when the bank wasn't the victim in this situation.

The bank manager stood up and led him to a back room with a computer monitor queued up to the camera feeds.

"Everything's digital and saved to a cloud, but I can pull up last night from here," she said, turning on a second monitor and typing in a password. She then pulled up the requested footage.

"Thanks," Luke said. "I won't keep you from your busy schedule."

She shifted her weight as though uncertain, but eventually nodded. "Okay. Let me know if you need anything else."

Luke inclined his head in appreciation, and then sat down in front of the computer once she left. He backed up the footage of the street several hours, through the part where his own SUV had pulled up at the mouth of the alley in response to Clary's phone call. The shadowhunters, of course, didn't show up at all.

Luke rewound the counter more until he spotted a couple speed walking backwards out of the alley. He hit play, slowing it all down. The woman had to be the vampire, as evidenced by the dress she was wearing that had been on the mummified remains. She was laughing and smiling to the guy walking next to her. He had an arm draped across her shoulders.

Luke stiffened as the face turned just enough to be captured. That lying bastard…

He frantically pulled out his phone and called Alec. The line rang five times before going to voicemail. Luke cursed as he hung up. He pivoted sharply and stormed his way through the bank toward the doors, his wolf side growling from deep down. Only years of practice and control kept his eyes from turning a preternatural shade that reflected the beast within.

Because the Alpha did not like his people—or his friends—being in danger…

Alec closed his latest book and reached up to rub his forehead. They'd been looking through spell books all night with nothing to show for it. He'd checked in with Jace and Clary several times, but they hadn't had any luck patrolling, either. His phone's battery had run so low that he had to plug it in by the balcony doors.

"No luck?" Nathaniel asked.

Alec had to resist the urge to shift in discomfort at how close the warlock was standing. His respect for personal space had been gradually decreasing over the past few hours, leaning over to snag a book instead of asking for it or simply reaching for one from another pile.

"No," Alec replied tersely. "You?"

"Afraid not."

Alec's jaw tightened. He didn't know why, but he was starting to doubt Nathaniel's usefulness or resolve here. Sure, he'd been going through the spell books, too, but for the ones written in demonic languages, his focus seemed…less. Or false.

But since Alec had no idea why that might be the case, he'd ignored it in favor of his own concentrated research.

Except, they were running out of books. And while Nathaniel's earlier suggestion of searching for the spell that mummified the victims had some merit, Alec had no intention of letting anyone see that section of Magnus's collections without the High Warlock's monitoring presence.

Nathaniel was still standing annoyingly close, when the warlock suddenly leaned in and brushed his lips across Alec's.

Alec jerked away, eyes wide. "What are you doing?"

"I'm sorry," he sputtered. "I thought…"

"I'm with Magnus," Alec said forcefully.

"Right, of course," Nathaniel replied, looking flustered. "I'm sorry."

Alec put another foot of distance between them. "Maybe you should go."

"But we haven't found what we're looking for."

"We've almost exhausted the books," Alec said, using his Head of the Institute tone. "I'll finish up. Thank you for your assistance. It's been very helpful."

Nathaniel didn't say anything or move. After a prolonged moment of awkward staring, something in his eyes shifted.

"No."

Alec instinctively tensed. "Excuse me?"

"I don't take orders from shadowhunters."

Nathaniel raised a hand suddenly swirling with green magic, and Alec pivoted with a roundhouse kick to knock the warlock down before he could cast a spell. Nathaniel hit the floor, and Alec drew his seraph blade. He deflected the first ball of magic shot at him, but the move left his side open for just a second, enough time for Nathaniel to cast another spell that slammed Alec back against the wall. Cords of green magic suddenly lashed around his arms and torso, holding him in place.

Alec struggled against the crackling bonds, but they didn't give. He couldn't even get his blade up. "It's you, isn't it?" he gritted out as Nathaniel picked himself up off the floor. "You killed the vampire and werewolf."

Nathaniel wiped the back of his hand across his mouth. "Yeah, it was me."

Alec clenched his fist tighter, focusing all his energy on moving his blade. "Why? They were fellow downworlders."

Nathaniel stalked toward him, pausing to kick the seraph blade from his hand. The adamas receded into its hilt as it clattered on the floor. Alec flinched as the magic sizzled around him, almost constricting his breathing.

"It's every downworlder for himself out there," Nathaniel replied. "There's a war coming, and I need to be ready."

Alec's brows furrowed. "Valentine's dead; there is no more war coming."

Nathaniel sneered. "There's always war brewing. Valentine may be gone, but there are those who feel sympathetic to his cause, his ideals. And with half the Downworld allying themselves with you shadowhunters, well, I can't trust my own people these days."

"Is that why you murdered them? Because Luke and Raphael are allies with us?"

"No. I needed their strengths and abilities to make myself more powerful." Nathaniel paused, and his eyes started to glow an olive shade of green. "I hadn't thought of stealing a nephilim's strength before, but when you guys almost caught me, it seemed something worth considering, biding my time for."

Alec's cheeks puffed as he strained harder, to no avail.

Nathaniel's lips split into a macabre grin of anticipation, and he started to lean in. Alec was momentarily caught off guard when the warlock kissed him. There was so much wrong with that, and Alec wanted to wrench away from the invasion. Then in the next instant, he felt a shock rip through him like lightning, shooting his eyes wide and seizing his muscles. Alec could feel his energy start to siphon out of him like liquid fire coursing through his body. He couldn't break away, couldn't fight. Every nerve ending was on fire and Alec wanted to scream, but his breaths were paralyzed as well.

Several loud pops suddenly shattered the air. Nathaniel abruptly jerked away, and the magic cords dissipated. Alec slid down the wall to the floor as stars exploded across his vision.

Luke stood in the doorway of Magnus's apartment, gun still smoking where he had it held up and aimed at Nathaniel. The warlock lay on the floor, having been shot five times center mass. Blood was already pooling on the carpet.

Luke lowered his weapon, but then Nathaniel let out a groan, and started struggling to sit up. Luke could only gape in astonishment as the warlock's eyes flashed sickly green and what sounded like a growl ripped from his throat.

Then Nathaniel was pushing himself up and sprinting for the glass doors to the balcony. Luke whipped his gun up again, but didn't get a shot off before the warlock had crashed right through the glass and launched himself from the balcony. Luke darted for the ledge and looked over in time to see Nathaniel hit the ground—and keep going. He was fairly certain that wasn't in a warlock's typical bag of tricks.

But Nathaniel was too far away to fire off more rounds, and Luke wasn't prepared to chase after him. Instead, he spun back around and rushed to Alec, who was convulsing on the floor. There were gray veins running through his face and chapped lips, and an ashen tinge to his color.

"Alec." Luke grabbed the nephilim's shoulders, trying to brace him, but Alec was unresponsive, eyes frozen open and chest hitching with spasmed breaths.

Luke pulled his phone out and called Magnus. The line rang five times before going to voicemail. Luke muttered darkly as he switched to a text thread and typed out a harried message to "get home NOW."

He then called Clary, holding his phone with one hand while the other gripped Alec's shoulder.

"Luke," Clary answered after the fourth ring, sounding upset. "I'm sorry, I can't talk right now. Something's wrong with Alec."

That answered his question of whether she was with Jace.

"I know, I'm with him at Magnus's," Luke replied. "Nathaniel attacked him."

"What? We're on our way."

Not five seconds later, a portal opened up in the middle of Magnus's living room, except it was the High Warlock himself who came rushing through. Magnus's eyes widened at the sight of Alec, and he quickly dropped down next to him.

"What happened?"

"Another warlock attacked him," Luke explained. He wasn't quite sure how to describe exactly what Nathaniel had been doing; he just knew the moment he'd barged through the front door that it had been unwanted and destructive.

Two seconds after that, another portal whooshed into existence and Clary and Jace barreled through.

"What happened?" Jace demanded in echo of Magnus a moment ago, trying to get close. "Is he okay?"

Magnus finally wrenched his gaze away from Alec and directed it at Luke. "Help me get him into the bedroom."

Luke gave a sharp nod, and reached down to lift the shadowhunter, with help from Magnus's magic to manage Alec's weight. Together, they carried him into the back bedroom and laid him on the ornate bed.

Magnus waved his hands, sparking blue fire in his palms, and moved them over Alec's now still form. "This is some kind of magical attack."

"Nathaniel's the one who killed Kevin and the vampire," Luke informed them. "I found security footage of him leading the last victim into that alley. I can only guess whatever spell he used on them, he was trying to do the same here." Luke hesitated. "He was, uh, kissing Alec."

"I'm sorry?" Jace snapped.

"Not like that. It looked like he was sucking the life out of him. I shot him several times, but he got back up and jumped off the balcony. Landed on his feet, too. Which is something I've seen a vampire do, but not a warlock."

Magnus looked up sharply, a haunted expression flitting through his eyes before he returned them to Alec. "Sounds like he was stealing life essences."

"Life essences?" Clary repeated. "Meaning what?"

"Meaning he would take in all the strengths and abilities of his victims," Magnus explained. "Such as speed, strength, and invulnerability to lead bullets."

She sucked in a sharp breath. "And Alec?"

Magnus continued to wield his healing magic over the shadowhunter. "His system is in shock, but Nathaniel wasn't able to drain him enough to cause irreparable damage."

"You know this Nathaniel?" Jace asked Magnus sharply.

"No." His tone darkened. "But I will find him. Later, though. Right now I need you to be quiet and let me work."

Luke caught Clary's gaze and indicated they should step outside. She nodded, and took Jace's elbow, trying to nudge him into leaving. Jace resisted for a second before following. Luke closed the door halfway behind them.

"I'll call Isabelle," Clary said, and moved away to deliver the news.

Jace ran a hand through his hair, pacing the room. He stopped when he spotted the blood on the carpet. Luke watched a myriad of emotions cross the young man's face, watched the muscles in his jaw and cheek twitch. He looked on the verge of breaking down.

"Jace," Luke said quietly.

"I should have been here," he snapped. "I shouldn't have stayed out on patrol. It was a useless search when I could have been here helping Alec research that tracking spell."

"You had no idea Nathaniel was the real killer. None of us did."

Jace shook his head in mounting agitation and began to pace again. "No, I should have known. It was too suspicious him being at the crime scene."

"We followed protocol," Luke said evenly. "All of us did."

"And Alec almost died!"

"But he didn't. Alec is still alive. And we will find Nathaniel."

Jace's jaw visibly tightened, but he at least stopped his fretful movements in favor of sinking onto the couch.

They would find Nathaniel, but for now, they had to wait and see if Alec would be all right.