This is a little confusing. I did not think it out well. This chapter takes place after Magnus' dream, but before the scene at the Institute. It will make more sense after you read it. I hope.

Sorry this took a while. It's too hot to sit in my room and type. And my brother wouldn't let me use his computer.

So far "longer" is winning by a few votes. Since it's so close, I'm going to let you guys keep voting. Convince me! For another chapter, it could go either way. This story now has the most reviews of any Alec/Magnus fic! Yay!

Disclaimer: I only own Nerissa. Unfortunately.

"But then, shall I never get any older than I am now? That'll be a comfort, one way -- never to be an old woman -- but then -- always to have lessons to learn!" —Alice in Wonderland

Magnus didn't know what he expected to find at Bow Bridge. All he knew was what he did find.

The sky was rich and dark as velvet, sprinkled with stars and wispy gray clouds. The moon was slightly more than half full, the shape of a football. The trees swayed gently in the cool breeze, their branches like skeletal hands waving, their leaves crinkling like old paper.

The river sloshed along beneath his feet, licks of icy foam leaping up to play with his fingers. His footsteps rang, like the solemn tolling of church bells. Clang, clang, clang.

Suddenly a ghostly figure appeared at the other end of the bridge, making Magnus' heart skip a beat. It was a girl, dressed all in white, with long blond hair turned scintillating silver by the moon. She raced towards him, her hair flying out like a banner behind her. Her footsteps made no sound.

"Nerissa?" Magnus asked, looking over her shoulder at the woods. There was nothing there. Yet.

"Magnus!" she gasped, coming to a stop a few feet away. Stumbling, her hand reached out to grasp the railing. She screamed and let go, a red weal drawn across her palm, welling blood. "Iron," she grimaced, bunching her hand into a fist. "I was afraid you would not come."

"I almost didn't," Magnus said, frowning as blood bubbled up between her clenched fingers, making twirling lines like crimson rings. "What's going on?"

"There is no time to explain," she said, her eyes darting back and forth. There was a deep cut along her cheek, dripping blood onto her dress and arms. "Here, take this." She shoved a bloodstained crystal bottle into his hand. Inside it swam pale, rainbow-shot liquid.

"What is it?" he asked, holding it up so that it caught the light.

"I stole it from the Queen's chambers." Magnus looked at Nerissa with a newfound respect.

He shook the bottle experimentally. Nerissa glanced back towards the woods. "What does it do?" he asked, following her gaze. There was still no one there.

She looked back at him, and her dark eyes glowed. "It will make you mortal."

Magnus' hand tightened on the bottle. "Mortal?" He half-choked on the word.

Nerissa rolled her eyes and gave him a withering look. "I did not stutter." Then her face softened. "Yes, mortal. You will be a mundane."

He ran through a list of responses before he simply spat out, "Why?"

"Do you really have to ask?" She smiled, a sad, heartbreaking smile. "I am giving you the chance I never had."

"But, I—"

Nerissa's eyes went wide and she held up a hand, silencing him. "Do not speak," she hissed, and her head tilted towards the trees. Magnus heard just the faintest of rustlings. "Go, flee."

Magnus started to take a step back, and then stopped. He gestured to the bottle. "I don't know how to thank you."

"Thank me by giving him all you have to give." The smile touched her eyes for just a second. "Love him, Magnus. Bring a little bit of right back into the world." Nerissa half-turned and her lips fell into a frown. "And running wouldn't hurt either."

"What about you?" he asked.

"I am through with running. With this world. It's given me nothing but pain. The guilt of what I did, it tore at me, fixing me to the physical world." She waved her hand at him, at the potion in his hand. "Now I can rest in peace."

Magnus was confused. "But faeries don't die."

Shrugging, Nerissa swept her hair back from her face. "We can fade. We become shadows, memories, dreams. Drifting on the edges of existence. It is easier than this."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, I am postive." And sure enough, the edges of her figure began to blur, like an old photograph bleached by the sun. "Now go, Magnus, before everything comes to nothing." Just as the knights came running onto the path, Nerissa disappeared, leaving nothing behind but the gleam of her smile. Just like the Cheshire Cat.

"You! Stop!" called the leafy-haired knight, pointing with his bow.

"So articulate!" Magnus yelled back. And then he did the smart thing. He tucked the bottle inside his pocket and ran like hell.

Branches flew past on either side, swiping across his face, gouging shallow scratches in his cheeks. Leaves fluttered through the air and landed in his hair, sticking to the gel residue. The potion in his hand sloshed violently against its crystal prison, shimmering with all the colors of the rainbow.

He knew the faerie knights were behind him. Even if he couldn't hear their footsteps, he knew they were there. He didn't know how he knew. He just did. And that was enough to keep him running.

Magnus burst out onto the path, his boots slapping thunderously against the smooth asphalt. Breath wheezed in and out of his lungs, his throat burning. His legs ached, his eyes stung.

The park was deserted except for a dark figure walking in the opposite direction. Right towards the knights. Too bad for him, Magnus thought, and weaved not-so-nimbly around him. The air smelled like blood, sweat, and citrus soap. Alec. Magnus screeched to a stop.

The figure turned, a pale face wreathed in curly dark hair. The sweater and jeans he wore were the color of ink. He would've looked like an extension of the sky had he not blotted out the stars. "Magnus?" It was undoubtedly him. Alec.

"Alec?" Magnus hissed. His voice was scratchy and faint. "Run!" At the edge of the forest the two knights appeared, their sickly purple armor shimmering against the trees. Instinct told Magnus to run. So he did.

"Magnus! Wait!" Alec called, and Magnus forced himself to stop and turn. Alec was looking at him with pleading eyes, his head cocked to the side. Absently, Magnus wondered what he was doing in Central Park this late at night. But it didn't matter. What mattered was that he was. And the knights were coming their way.

"Get out of here! It's not safe!" Magnus longed to wrap the Shadowhunter in his arms and tell him he was sorry, but there was no time.

"Wait!" Alec said, jogging up to him. Magnus put his hands against the boy's chest, keeping an arm's length between them. It took all his self-control not to let his hands slide up and over Alec's shoulders, pulling him closer so Magnus could… No. There's no time.

"Ale—" Magnus started.

He was cut off by the press of Alec's lips against his. Caught off guard, Magnus found himself kissing him back, his hands reaching up to wind in the Shadowhunter's hair of their own accord. He didn't tell them what to do. They already knew.

Alec's hands danced down his back, lingering against the nubs of his spine. Magnus flinched and closed the last of the distance between them, feeling the beat of Alec's heart through his shirt.

How could he have given this up? How could he have walked away? How? This was all he wanted. This was everything. He needed it. He needed him.

Magnus would have stood there kissing Alec forever. He wanted to. But fate doesn't ask what you want. It doesn't give a shit.

Alec broke away with a gasp. His eyes went wide; his irises rolling back in his head, leaving only heavily veined whites. Sweat beaded on his pale skin, gathering in the folds of his forehead. His fingers dug into Magnus' shoulders, his nails carving shallow half-moons into the warlock's skin.

"ALEC!" Magnus yelled, shaking him. Something hard and cold pricked against his stomach. Looking down, Magnus saw the tip of a knife poking through Alec's shirt. Red blood welled around the blade like a rose blossom; it's edges jagged and spreading.

Alec slumped forward, his jaw slack. "I love you," he whispered, and then collapsed against Magnus' chest, streaking the warlock's jacket with blood. Unprepared, Magnus' arms went slack, letting Alec fall to the ground with a sickeningly dull thump.

No. No. No. No. He might've whispered the words, or he might have just thought them. He didn't know. No. No. No. No. Like a mantra. No. No. No. No. Like if he said the word enough times, Alec would get up and smile back at him. No. No. No. No. Like Tinkerbell. I do believe in fairies, I do, I do.

No. No. No. No.

"ALEC!" Magnus screamed, dropping to his knees. He ran his fingers over Alec's neck and wrists, searching for a pulse. He found it finally, weak and fluttering.

Icy metal pressed against his neck. Twisting discreetly, Magnus found himself looking up at the green haired knight, the moon lighting up the stray locks of his hair dull silver, like an angel's halo. Magnus thought horns would've been more appropriate. "On your feet warlock," he said, his voice as sharp and frozen as the sword he held to Magnus' throat.

Reaching into the pocket of his jacket, Magnus flipped open his cell phone and tapped in the first number that came to mind. Jace. He answered on the first ring with a click and a static wheeze of breath. "Shadowhunter. Central Park. Bow Bridge. Now. Bring a car." Hanging up, Magnus returned the now-bloodstained phone to his pocket, wincing as it clinked against the bottle.

"Up!" the knight commanded, but Magnus held up one finger. He ducked his head, leaning down close to whisper in Alec's ear.

"I love you Alec," he said, his heart racing against his ribcage, adrenaline pounding through his veins. I won't lose him. I won't. I can't. "Stay with me. Fight."

Magnus got to his feet and quick as a flash of lightning, shoved the knight backwards, putting himself between the faerie and Alec's limp form. The leaf-haired knight was nowhere to be seen. That couldn't be good.

Summoning the magic to his fingertips, Magnus ignored the ache that exploded inside his skull and let the sparks fountain from his beneath his nails. Gritting his teeth, he conjured a pair of axes from the shower of blue fire, the light of the streetlamp making the gilded edges glow and sparkle. The pain flared as he forced them to hover at shoulder height, making them sway back and forth to his whim. He didn't have long before his magic ran out. Jace had better hurry.

"Now," Magnus said, grinning like an idiot. It was a disturbing grin, filled with hate and madness. "Off with your head."

And he swung.

I figured this fic needed an epic battle sequence, because I'm just a violent person like that. Long or short, this is the start of the climax, so there will be much action from here on out.

No one guessed the whole mortal thing. I kinda figured someone would considering the title. Oh well.

Don't kill me. Please? Kill me and you pretty much kill Alec yourself.

Anyone get the Tinkerbell thing? Lets all say it and bring Alec back to life. I do believe in fairies, I do, I do. Come on, someone tell me they got my lame joke.

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