Chapter 12

"Listen, Biscuit, if you don't get here in the next fifteen minutes with my sons, I will give you snakes for hair and turn your teeth as green as your eyes. Do you hear me, Clarissa Adele Fairchild?! I will make your life much worse than hell!" Magnus threatened over the phone.

Clary had messaged everyone telling them that she had found Rafael and Max and that they should meet her at the Paris Institute. But that was half an hour ago and though Magnus, Alec and Isabelle had returned, there was no sign of Clary, Jace or the boys. The concoction of worry, fear and dread made Magnus's stomach do somersaults and he couldn't even vaguely remember feeling this way about anything in the past. If the job of being a parent meant having regular moments of panic despite usually being very calm about everything else, then he most definitely deserved a pay rise. He had resorted to pacing the library to stop him from going mad with worry, but this only made Alec and Izzy feel even more irritated.

"Please sit down," Alec begged for the third time,

"Yeah, you're making me nervous," Isabelle commented,

"You should be nervous!" Magnus declared, "Your nephews- our sons- have been snatched from us like a man plucking candy from a baby. They could be starving to death, hurt or even made to join the circus,"

"There's worrying and there's plain ridiculous. Why would they be forced to join the circus?" Izzy asked,

"Unless you're an acrobat, the outfits are so hideous that it should count as torture."

Magnus continued to pace the library until the doors were opened and two giggling mischievous bundles of joy ran in. He instantly got to his knees and spread his arms out allowing Rafael and Max to tumble into him. As Max snuggled into Magnus's chest, Alec joined the giant hug with their arms creating a protective circle around their sons. Magnus didn't think he would ever let go; hours without them felt like days and he wasn't prepared to let them go just yet. When they finally broke the circle, Magnus noticed burns down Rafael's face and arm and quickly healed them.

"How did this happen, Rafe?" Alec asked,

"The woman put us in a cage and pulled me into the hot bars," Rafael sniffed as Magnus put his arms around him,

"What woman?"

It was then that the door opened again with Jace shoving a warlock woman into the room and on to her knees. Max grabbed onto Alec's hand at her entrance and the icy expression on the woman's face made Magnus feel uneasy.

"We decided to kill two birds with one stone," Clary said as she stood behind the woman, "it took a while, but she finally told us that her name is Ember and she's responsible for the demons around here."

Ember grinned sinisterly at Clary's words as if she was telling a vile joke. Rage flashed over Magnus and he became tempted to punch the twisted woman as hard as he could, but he couldn't do it in front of his boys. He slowly walked up to the kneeling woman and looked over her in hidden disgust. Only someone completely psychotic would merrily steal and harm two innocent children and Magnus had a feeling that her fun wasn't done.

"You're very lucky that I have empathy," he snarled at her,

"Empathy is overrated," she replied,

"Would you like to explain why you kidnapped my sons?"

"Technically, I didn't do the kidnapping,"

Magnus sighed, "You're one of those. I'll rephrase the question, what do you want with them?"

Ember began to cackle like a demented witch and her hair turned as black as her nonexistent heart, making Max become even more terrified and hide behind Alec. It was the type of haunting laugh that would give you a headache after just one second of it, adding to the many things Magnus already detested about her.

"You really should invest in a new laugh," Magnus said, "and you haven't answered my question,"

"I don't need them, though the blue one may turn out useful after what I've witnessed," Ember said as she looked at Max with great curiosity, "but what I truly need is standing right in front of me, cliché I know, but true,"

"Well, you're not getting him," Alec insisted.

As Magnus walked back to stand by Alec, he saw Ember look at him as if he was some sort of prize to be won. He could only think of two reasons why she needed him: either she had a monumental and understandable love for him, or she craved his power for something that he knew he didn't want to be a part of. Alec was right; she wasn't getting him; not just because he was in a happy loving relationship, but because she most likely couldn't afford his services.

"Has Theo and Esme told you what to do with it?" Alec asked as he gritted his teeth,

"They want us to lock her downstairs for now," Clary replied,

"Throw away the key por favor," Rafael said as he yawned and snuggled up to Izzy.

While Rafael's words made everyone laugh, Ember was clearly not amused and her hair became red to replicate the rage in her face. As the laughter continued, she slyly created a red burning ball of fire behind her back and directed it towards Rafael with lightning speed. Fortunately, Magnus was faster, caught it and made the fire fizzle out in front of Ember with his cat-like eyes glowing and a grin on his face.

"Wait until I get my hands on you. Je vais te tuer, tu peu, gluant, répungnant-" Ember's threat was cut off by a wave of Magnus's hand rendering her unable to make a sound,

"Arrêtez. You're starting to bore me," he sighed and signalled for Clary and Jace to take her downstairs.