Hey readers! Long time, no posting! So this story was supposed to end a chapter ago, but I could not stop myself from writing more. I'm too in love with these characters! I really hope these events will pique your interest! I really want to thank everyone for their support with this story! You guys rock! So thank you for reading, following and favorite-ing! Also, thank your for every review! As always, I would love to get more! Anyway, without further ado, here is Chapter 14! I hope you enjoy it! :) Happy reading! Side note: This chapter is all in Magnus's POV.

The ground trembled beneath me. An ear-splitting crack cut through the hum of the quaking earth. There was a brilliant white flash and a bolt of lightning bit into my arm. The unexpectedly mild blow throbbed, but did not burn. Another flare and another bolt, but this time it struck the ground. A figure lingered in the dark haze left behind. The familiar build and black hair were unmistakeable.

Alec.

I moved forward, reaching out for him. His head was lowered, eyes shadowed by his hair. When I placed my finger under his chin and raised his face, he blinked up at me, unsmiling. He looked expectant, waiting for me to say something, but before I could speak, a cry, soft as the caress of a summer breeze, drifted towards us. Alec looked away, searching the darkness for the origin of the noise. When he turned back to me, I recoiled from him, frightened by the thick ooze of dark blood flowing from his eyes. He cocked his head, oblivious to the crimson rivers flowing down his cheeks.

I backed away from him and into the open arms of rumbling thunder and blinding lightning...

"Ow!" My body jackknifed into a sitting position, and I rubbed the tender spot on my leg where Alec had kicked me. "By the Angle, Alec-"

I threw myself out of bed as I looked over. Alec's body was thrashing wildly, the seizure rolling his eyes into the back of his head. His jaw was clamped shut but he still emitted strangled whimpers and choking noises. I stood at the foot of the bed watching in horror, my state of shock rendering me immobile.

A final spasm wracked Alec's body and he went limp, his head lolling to the side. I crawled back onto the mattress and knelt over him, scanning his slender frame for any visible injuries. A thin trickle of blood dripped from the corner of his mouth, splattering against the pillow under his head.

"Alec?" I gingerly pressed my palm against his chest.

He sucked in a sharp gasp of air and opened his eyes. I slid my hand under his far cheek and gently turned his head towards me, locking gazes with the glassy blue depths of his eyes. He searched my face, brow furrowing.

"Magnus?" His voice trembled. "What happened?"

I cupped the side of his face in my hand. "I think you had a seizure."

When Alec tried to sit up I gently pushed him back down against the mattress.

"Just relax for a minute." I pressed the back of my hand to his cool, clammy forehead. "Has this ever happened before?"

"No," Alec said, closing his eyes and drawing in a shaky breath. "I've had plenty of nightmares, but never one that resulted in a seizure."

"You were having a nightmare?" Inexplicably, a shiver crept up my spine, raising the hairs on the back of my neck.

Alec nodded, clenching fistfuls of the bed sheets tightly. I wiped away the light smear of blood in the corner of his mouth with my thumb. Shifting into a sitting position beside him, I carefully pulled his body into my lap, cocooning him in my arms and resting my chin on top of his head. Ever so slightly I began to sway from side to side, rocking him until his tension drifted away.

"Do you want to talk about it?" I asked.

"It was dark," Alec murmured. "Someone was screaming over and over. I couldn't see anything, but I thought I heard someone banging their fists against something hard, too, like a door or a wall."

I tightened my arms around him, thankful he could not read my expression. "It was just a dream."

"It felt so real," Alec whispered. "The noises were so loud, Magnus, and the panic was so intense...if I didn't know better, I would have sworn it was me screaming inside a casket."

I pressed my lips against Alec's hair, pushing away the urgent alarms blaring inside my head like sirens. My confidence in the shield I had placed inside Alec's mind suddenly wavered. Surely it was not faulty? Had the shield somehow been cracked and now Alec's dark memories were creeping through the fissures, disguised as nightmares? Impossible. Aside from my own spells, nothing could penetrate the block inside his mind.

Alec peeled my arms away and slowly sat up, groaning softly, and turned to dangle his legs over the edge of the bed.

"Where are you going?"

"I need a drink of water."

"I can-"

Alec held up his hand, silencing me. "I'm all right. I can do it myself."

The moment Alec stood up, he released a sharp cry and plopped back down on the mattress, tucking his legs into his chest.

"By the Angel..." he hissed.

I leaned over and glanced down at the floor. The lamp from the bedside table had been knocked over, shattering into jagged shards both big and small. My mind drifted back to the crashing I'd heard in my dream. What I'd thought to be shrill cracks of thunder had actually been the lamp smashing against the floor. I snapped my fingers and, after the mess vanished, turned to Alec. I grabbed his ankles and swivelled him around so I could get a better look at his feet. The left had only suffered a few cuts, but there was thumb-sized fragment embedded in the soft curve of his right arch.

"Hold still. This may sting," I warned, pinching the shard between my fingers.

Alec grimaced and looked away as I carefully pulled the glass from his foot. He expelled a breath as the fragment came free and I set to work healing the cuts on both his feet. When I finished, he wiggled his toes.

"Thank you," he said, smiling crookedly.

I smirked and waggled my eyebrows. "You owe me one."

Alec's eyes glittered as he promised me his quick return and got up from the bed. My eyes roamed over his body as he strode towards the door, drinking in every muscle that flexed in his naked back and the tantalising narrowing of his hips. The way his pants hung low on his waist made my pulse jump, but when my gaze captured the two burn scars branded into Alec's sultry skin, I could not help but think what demons were lurking inside his head: tortured memories, wraiths, slashing furiously at Alec's shield, burning him, shattering him. Worst of all, Alec was unaware that the darkness inside was feasting on him, sinking its fangs deeper and deeper into his flesh.

As if sensing my eyes on him, Alec glanced at me from over his shoulder. He flashed me a smile that melted my heart, but my blood became frosty with ice when my eyes drifted up to his. In a matter of seconds, his irises switched from blue to black. I blinked. Were the shadows and my own drowsy mind playing tricks on me? When Alec's eyes returned to glittering like sparkling sapphires, he turned and continued on his way to the kitchen, leaving me alone and bewildered in the bedroom.

I dropped my face into my hands. Get a hold of yourself, Bane. You're imagining things. The shield is intact and Alec is fine. What you did was done to protect him. He is safe. Nothing can hurt him.

In the far corner of my mind, another voice whispered, You cannot protect him from everything. You know there is malice festering somewhere inside him. You chose this. Love is selfish. What is the price you are going to pay for your choice, Magnus Bane?

Alec was in the kitchen again when I awoke several hours later. As I strode from the bedroom, my eyes feasted on the ingredients for omelettes that were spewed over the countertops. Grinning, I crept up behind the Shadowhunter and snaked my arms around his waist, pulling his back against my front.

"Are you making me breakfast?" I whispered into his ear.

Alec leaned his head back against my shoulder. "It's my way of saying thank you for being my knight in shining armor last night."

"And I'll eat it as a thank you for being my damsel in distress."

Alec snorted and wiggled free from my arms, rummaging through the cabinets for a cutting board. He began rinsing the tomatoes and green onions in the sink and placed them on the board afterwards, drying his hands on his pants.

"Are you going to help me?" he asked. "Or are you going to stand there and watch me with that stupid grin on your face?"

I crossed my arms and leaned against the counter. "I think I'll just stand here. I like making you nervous. You look sexy when you're edgy."

Alec grabbed a knife from the drawer and started chopping the vegetables, dicing them with the ease and confidence of a practiced chef. I stole a cube of tomato and popped it into my mouth, ignoring the cold glare he gave me.

"So are you feeling all right today?"

Alec shrugged. "Still a little in shock, I guess. But physically I feel fine."

"So does that mean I can give you a list of chores after breakfast?"

The rhythmic chopping came to an abrupt halt and I grinned, waiting for Alec to playfully punch me on the arm. When nothing happened I turned to look at him, worried I had offended him, but Alec was not paying the slightest bit of attention to me. He was holding the knife up in front of his face and staring at the blade, mesmerized. The silver glint of the razor sharp edge reflected in his eyes.

"Alec?" Anxiety clawed at my stomach.

Without a word, Alec flipped his free hand over and pressed the tip of the knife against his palm. He pushed down and began to cut a thin line diagonally across his hand.

"What the hell are you doing?" I cried, lunging for the knife.

Alec easily stepped out of the way. Eyes now fixed on the blood welling in his hand, Alec dropped the knife to the floor. He bent his elbow to make his forearm vertical and watched, transfixed, as blood began to spiral down his wrist. To my utter horror, he bent his head forward and grazed his tongue over the wound. He closed his eyes in ecstasy as he swallowed the blood. When his eyelids lifted, Alec's eyes were black as coal, just like the night before. His lips pulled back into a grotesque smile, revealing bloodstained teeth.

Before I could stop myself, I lashed out with my arm. My hand struck Alec squarely in the cheek. He stumbled slightly, but steadied himself against the counter. When he straightened, the black in his eyes had once again been replaced by blue. He blinked furiously and a fog in his gaze seemed to lift. We stared at each other, neither of us knowing what to say. When Alec looked down at his shaky palm, I peered at the red mark spreading across his cheek and jaw. Guilt roiled inside of me.

"Alec..."

"Why am I bleeding?" he asked.

I gaped at him. "You cut yourself."

Alec's eyes, wide with confusion and terror, found mine. "I don't remember that."

"Do you remember what you did after you cut yourself?"

"I-I don't know. One minute I was chopping vegetables and the next I'm staring down at my bloody hand."

You cannot protect him from everything. You know there is malice festering somewhere inside him. You chose this. Love is selfish. What is the price you are going to pay for your choice?

I put my hand on Alec's shoulder and gave him a light push in the direction of the bathroom. "Go clean yourself up. There are bandages in the cupboard."

"You're not going to heal it?" Alec's voice quivered.

I offered my most convincing smile. "Honey, how will you ever learn if I heal it for you?"

Alec did not return my smile. "What are you going to do?"

"I'm going to clean up this mess," I said, bending down to pick up the knife, "and then we're going to the Institute."

Jace greeted us in the entryway of the Institute. He stood from his seat on the stairs as we walked through the doors and approached us, but his smile faltered when he noticed my expression. Recovering quickly, he gave his parabatai an enthusiastic clap on the shoulder.

"Back so soon? I thought I could finally move my stuff into your room."

"Alec," I cut in before he could respond, "would you mind going upstairs? I'd like to speak with Jace privately."

"Oh." Hurt flashed across Alec's eyes. "Sure."

I waited until he had trudged far enough up the stairs to let out a heavy sigh. I rubbed a hand over my face. A million different emotions pulsed through my veins. Where to begin?

Jace pointed his thumb at the stairs. "Was that a hicky?"

I rolled my eyes and rubbed my temple. Here we go. "Excuse me?"

"There's a red mark on Alec's face," Jace clarified. "Did you give him a hicky?"

"I slapped him."

"Well that would explain why he looks better and worse at the same time."

I decided to cut to the chase. "I put up a block in his mind."

"And then you slapped him?" When I glared at him Jace added, "Did Alec ask you to?"

My silence was answer enough. Jace nodded and raised an eyebrow.

"I thought you were opposed to fiddling with peoples' memories without their consent?"

"Don't lecture me, boy," I snapped. "You should be damn grateful for my efforts to help him recover."

Jace held up his hands in surrender. "Sorry. Geez. Don't get you panties in a knot."

I groaned, my patience stretched to the limit. "Jace, we have a serious problem."

"Are your panties already in a knot?"

I grabbed the Shadowhunter by the front of his shirt and pulled his face close to mine, my blazing eyes reflecting in his golden surprise of his. "One more snarky comment and I will fry you extra crispy."

"What's wrong, Magnus?" Jace demanded, his face now serious.

"I don't know exactly," I admitted, releasing him. "I put up a shield around his memories and last night Alec had a seizure. He told me he'd been having a nightmare, which I think was the trigger. The nightmare he described to me sounded an awful lot like his memories of being sealed inside Sebastian's container."

"So is the block defective?"

"I highly doubt it," I sighed. "But it doesn't end there. Alec was making breakfast this morning and we were having a normal conversation, but all of a sudden he completely shut down. He just stared at the knife in his hand...stared at it the same way he stares at me. Almost lustily. Then he sliced his palm open and proceeded to lick his blood."

Jace cast his mortified and appalled expression at the stairs. "You can't be serious."

I pierced him under my intense stare. "His eyes turned black."

Jace ran his fingers through his hair. "What the hell do we do, Magnus?"

"I don't know. I'm not even sure what we're dealing with."

"But you have an idea," Jace stated, narrowing his eyes.

It was my turn to glance at the stairs. I wished the Shadowhunter I had fallen in love with would come rushing down them and into my open arms. I wanted to protect him in my embrace, and I wanted to feel safe in his, but how were either of those things possible when I was becoming steadily more afraid of him?

"I think," I said slowly, locking gazes with Jace again, "there is something demonic inside your parabatai."