Chapter 10

"Let us go!" Rafael cried.

Thanks to Rafael's knowledge, they had worked out that what had lured them to their capture was an Eidolon demon and they were now in a cage asking three of them to let them go. Max had finally given up on what felt like an hour of crying and decided to just sit in the middle of the cage, whereas Rafael was determined to get out, but no matter what he did or said, the three demons only snarled in reply. Max knew that they'd be found eventually, it was just a case of their parents finding them in time before things got any worse. It was like playing the most dangerous game of hide and seek, but this time, Max was happy to be found. The basement they were in still had the slight scent of sulphur, the walls were white but stained with brown and red, the metal counters had what looked like spell books on them, there was a black door with a 'DO NOT ENTER' sign on it and Max could see in one of the many cupboards that there was a box saying 'hot chocolate'.

"Papa and dad will come." Max said patiently,

"How do you know?" Rafael turned to him, "what if they never find us? I don't want to be alone again,"

"You're not alone; you have me!"

The happiness that still lingered in Max despite being held prisoner was the only thing stopping Rafael from bursting into tears. He admired the constant positive spirit his brother possessed, but mind haunting events stopped him from having that much hope. The young Shadowhunter could picture every possible thing that could happen to them- being sold, homelessness, death- but not being found. As he thought to himself, Max shuffled next to him and looked up to him with the eyes of a puppy.

"Is this my fault?" Max asked with a soft voice.

As a joke, Rafael would usually say yes to such a question, but this was no laughing matter. Max's face reminded him that he wasn't the only one who had the risk of losing another set of parents which made him continue to plead to be let out. As he did so, one of the demons became fed up of listening to Rafael and went into the room behind the 'DO NOT ENTER' door. Rafael went quiet when he saw a faint red fog slowly seep out of the room with the sulphuric smell creeping in with it. He moved around the cage and strained his neck to attempt to see what was in the room and all his movement paid off when he spotted what he recognised to be a forsaken, but the demon in Alec's form closed and locked the door with a grin before turning into a blonde man with a red sweater.

"We're never leaving," Rafael said,

"Maybe if you say 'please'," Max suggested,

"I shouldn't have to," Rafael started to get frustrated,

"Dad says to always say it, so do as he says,"

"Let us go please," Rafael asked politely this time.

The demons snarled and ghoulishly howled with laughter, giving Rafael his answer: they weren't leaving the cage or the basement for a long while. As he sat next to Max, his mind started to tick. Eidolon demons would rarely work without some sort of master, they had put them in a cage instead of killing them straight away and they were just standing there with blank faces as if they were waiting for someone.

"You need us," Rafael realized, "you're under the control of someone- most likely a warlock, porque eres demasiado estúpido!"

Though he was speaking Spanish, the demons seemed to know that he was insulting them and they snarled as they began to come closer to the cage. However they were stopped by a raspy French female voice saying, "What a clever boy."

Both Rafael and Max stood to attention and looked at the stairs to see a woman strut down them. She wore black leather boots with heels that could easily pass as stilts, fishnet tights, black high waisted shorts and a black leather jacket with golden spikes on the back, shoulders and cuffs. Her hair was a prominent orange and her black lips matched the darkness that was evident in her eyes. Max knew a warlock when he saw one; it was clear in the unnatural colour of her hair, yet it looked like it belonged and when he looked closer, he realized that her skin was a pale green. He felt an energy full of evil, pain and despair radiate off of the woman, making him grasp Rafael's hand and hide slightly behind him. A warlock wouldn't hurt another warlock would they?

"What is a warlock doing with a nephilim child?" the woman knelt down next to the cage and glared at Rafael,

"We're brothers and we'd like to leave please," Rafael said as he tried to keep his voice stable,

"I wasn't talking to you; I was talking to the blue one."

Her expression was one that didn't hold any emotion which only frightened Max even more. The only time it changed was when she looked at Rafael and her face morphed into one of disgust. He didn't know where from, but Max soon found courage to talk and stepped out from behind Rafael.

"Can we leave please?" he asked innocently,

"No, you see, I need Magnus Bane and you're the only way I'm going to get him," she said monotonously,

"What do you need him for?" Rafael asked,

"I don't answer to you,"

"What do you need him for?" Max repeated,

"Have you ever met your grandparents on his side?" she grinned sinisterly.

Max looked back at Rafael and then shook his head.

"Well, hopefully you will, even if it does cost daddy's life."

The woman began to walk away as she cackled, but her last words made Max angry and he reached out in her direction. He concentrated on her, willing for her to come back and explain what her plan was and soon she slowly began to be pulled closer against her will. Max usually felt weak if he did this for longer than a couple of seconds, but this time, he felt slightly more powerful and blue started to surround his hands. Rafael looked at Max with astonishment as he grinned slightly with pride. The woman was so close to touching the deadly red bars of the cage, so Max let her go out of the kindness of his heart. With his great feeling of power, he became more serious.

"What are you going to do with my Papa?" he asked with what he thought was a stern voice,

The woman made her twisted laugh, "your 'Papa' is going to help create a world where powerless Shadowhunters beg us Downworlders for mercy, so don't get used to your adopted brother,"

"People like you always get killed so keep dreaming," Rafael threatened.

In anger and partly for her amusement, the women pulled Rafael into the bars and roared with laughter as he cried in pain. Max knew he didn't have enough strength to pull Rafael away from her, but the cage began to shake the longer she held him to the bars. He summoned the energy to create a ball of blue fire and when he threw it between the bars, it hit the woman in the chest and she fell to the ground at the same time as Rafael. Max shook him frantically and said his name repeatedly, but he didn't move or say a word.

"Please, Rafe, please get up," Max felt tears fill his eyes.

He put his hand on his face, hoping his touch would wake him. Rafael's skin was still hot from the charge of the bars that ran through him and though his body began to shake slightly, he remained unconscious. As he begged for him to wake up, Max's fingertips glowed with blue and he was able to feel the amount of pain his brother was in as well as how distressed he felt. This made Max cry even more as he wished he could help him and he shared his sorrow. As he felt his Rafael's feelings flow into him, he began to hear Rafael's trembling voice clearly tell him that he wanted to go home, but when he looked at the demons and the woman who had now gotten up, he noticed that he was the only one that could hear it. Soon, a groan came from Rafael and he pulled himself up. Max hugged him with relief and then turned to the woman.

"You're mean!" he exclaimed,

"You're…strange," she replied.