The evening wind tangled Alec's dark hair, whipping against his pale skin as he dashed across the empty field, right hand lingering steadily on the bow at his side. A flash of gold and a flicker of red just ahead of him, through the scarce grove that circled the derelict farmhouse, alerted him to where the rest of his group had continued on to, but he made no move to catch up to them. He had no desire to be any closer to the other two than was strictly necessary.
Anger thrummed through his veins as his foot caught the edge of the grove and he barely paused to check his surroundings before he continued on, keeping his pace distant from the front two. Flashes of moonlight – pale in the newly established evening, fell on the ground through the new leaves in an almost ludicrous show of fabricated beauty. There was nothing beautiful in this night – only the ugly blackness that had enclosed him since speaking to his father.
Disgust bit into his anger, at the thought of his father. It was him that made it so Alec would have to participate in this farce. He should have been home, he wanted to be home. He wanted to wrap his arms around his children and whisper to them. He wanted to, in turn, be enfolded in his lover's arms and be told sweet nothings all through the night. He did not want to be here, forced into action, aiding the murder of a child.
Flashes of blue eyes, vibrant against the pitch black of their slitted pupils, fought their way to his subconscious and he increased his pace, moving silently through the night as his emotions ran rampant across his mind. He pushed the images away viciously; there was no point in these thoughts. No matter what he thought, he would have to fight as if he believed in this war, just like any soldier should.
Alec reached the edge of grove, pointedly ignoring his brother's stare. He did not want to speak to Jace or to the small red-headed figure at his side. The memory of Jace nodding so absolutely before leaving Alec to his father flashed through his mind on repeat and he found he could not look at his brother without the feeling of immense, irrational betrayal that now accompanied it. He could not look at Clary without thinking of Isabelle, who had ostentatiously remained at the Institute. Had this been a normal evening, Isabelle would have been their third and Clary would have tagged along with another group, probably with more experience than them to combat her own inexperience.
"Robert wants us there," Clary's voice rose, quiet but carrying in the silent night, and Alec spared a glance to see she was pointing to the leftmost window on the second floor. "We need to get there once the signal goes. We'll have to move fast because he's afraid the witchlight will alert whatever demons are in the house, so we should probab-"
"We know Clary, so just shut up so we can concentrate on how we are going to get up there!" Alec snapped softly, relishing in the stung silence that followed. It was petty he knew, but Alec had not felt such satisfaction from putting the young redhead down since he had foolishly thought he was in love with his Parabatai. He ignored Clary's puzzled, slightly offended expression in favor for scouting the upper windows and the ground beneath. It looked quiet enough, as empty and deserted as it was reported to be. But Alec knew without the help of his Sensor that demons were present. There was an acrid feel to everything around him, as it all of the Earth's pollution was concentrated on this small space. The air smelt burnt, heavy and hot, and the wind had turned harsh, whipping his short hair abound more forcefully.
"Drop down," he said, kneeling onto one knee immediately. Jace and Clary both followed suit without hesitation. Alec was the elder and although Jace was most likely to be thinking of some asinine comment, he knew enough to keep quiet. "You feel it Jace?" he murmured, peering at the dark house through the thick bramble of bushes that marked the end of the grove. His emotions had dulled as the battle honed instincts instilled into him took over.
"Black magic," Jace confirmed just as quietly, an inch from Alec's ear.
"A summoning," Alec replied. He recognized the stench although he had smelt only once before, during the search for Jace.
"Summoning?" Clary questioned softly and Alec bit his anger back. He was still incredibly furious at it all. Now was not the time for intrusive emotions, he reflected, as Jace responded.
"Most of the time Downworlders take care to hide their illegal actions from the general populous. Drug trafficking, illegal potion markets, demon summoning – these are all things generally frowned upon. Some one here summoned a demon, most likely an upper tiered one, and did not bother to cover up the stench. That can only mean one thing –"
"They know we are here. It's a trap." Alec finished quietly, dread filling his body. He hadn't wanted to be here, hated his father for making him fight this battle, despised every person who had agreed to this farce of justice, but he still felt dread for them. They were his people and right now, they were all in major danger. He stood, taking care that his body was still shrouded in the shadows of the trees, "We have to warn Father, before he gives the sig-" A pinprick of light, no bigger than a finger from the distance, flashed momentarily before once again being swallowed by the darkness.
But it was enough. Alec watched with horror as several dark figures made their way swiftly through the open lawn beyond the copse. "How do they not realize it's a trap?" he called quietly, watching his brethren crouch their way across the lawn.
"They won't know it's a – summoning you said? When the hell did you attend a summoning? Don't answer that, it's not important right now, we'll talk later. The point is not every run of the mill Shadow Hunter is used to the horrendous stench that is this summoning spell. So they don't realize what's going on."
"But we do, and we have to stop them," Clary said. Before either boy could fully react, Clary was darting through the thicket and sprinting through the open grass beyond it. Jace cursed creatively and shot after her, leaving Alec to stand alone in the thick bushes. For a split second, Alec hesitated as he watched the golden hair whip around in the air as his brother sprinted. But then there was movement beyond the doors of the old farmhouse and within seconds, the doors had been blasted open by an unseen force.
Alec watched as the leading Shadowhunters were thrown back from the blast. A large, dark creature stood in the doorway, its black body shining midnight in the pale moonlight. It looked like a Ravenger, but larger, more vicious looking than any he had come across. Its stinger was massive, as sharp as any knife forged by the Iron Sisters, and twice as deadly looking.
Alec found himself drawing his bow without thinking, arrow notched and ready to fly. He knew it would take more than one to bring down such a large creature but one well aimed hit could very well send it scurrying back into the house. But he hesitated; another figure, much smaller than the first stood beside the great beast of a demon. A dark haired, dark skinned woman – an Eidolon, most likely. It wasn't her, however, that made Alec's bow lower, but the small shape in her arms. A child, he could tell from the dangling feet, although the face and torso of the young one were covered by a dark overcoat.
His fingers slipped as his breath escaped. He was no longer standing at the edge of a copse, in a line of overgrown bushes, but in the hallway leading to his own apartment. Magnus stood before him, not the woman, and he was shielding two small forms. The twins, Alec realized as one shyly peered from between Magnus's legs. The twins, not as they were, but as they will be, at four years of age. Magnus was pushing them inside, shielding them from seeing into the hallway, and Alec felt his heart lurch. Instead of the normal smile – mixed with honest love and petty mischievousness – Magnus's face was guarded, cold. Afraid, Alec realized.
He wasn't alone, anymore, with only Magnus at the end of the hallway, but surrounded by other shadowhunters, his brethren. There was murmuring – angry, vicious murmuring, the very same that had permeated the walls of the Institute, and Alec realized what must have happened. They had been found, caught out by his kin, and now they had been sent here to terminate the problem. That was why Magnus looked at him in barely concealed terror, why he hid the twins behind him. He thought Alec was going to kil-
A scream ripped through the air and his thoughts and his eyes barely took in the sight before him. The larger creature had attacked someone, indiscernible in the darkness but for the feminine scream and the shock of vibrant hair. Clary.
Alec's heart lurched, he lifted his arms again, no hesitation. The taunt string twanged as the arrow flew straight across the darkened sky. The animalistic scream that tore through the air made certain that he had made his mark but his eyes were no longer on the large creature, but the woman. She was smiling now, as if the roaring was the music to her favorite band, but that wasn't the odd part. She was staring straight at Alec as she smiled, small child held firmly. He notched another arrow. Her smile deepened. He pulled his arm back. For a split second, her eyes flashed red. Then she was gone, along with the bloodied creature. Alec's arrow slammed into the wall behind her.
The shouts took a few more moments to reach him. His body was numb, shocked. The she-demon and her monstrous counterpart had escaped, along with the hybrid child, and Clary –
He was running then, over the lawn, towards the crumpled form. Jace was already there, cradling her head in his lap, strangely silent amongst the shouts of the others. Her form was unmoving, and for a split second, Alec feared the worst. But her chest rose, slowly, barely, but it was constant at the very least. A large gash ran down her arm and Alec could see where the poison had already seeped into her skin, shading the veins along her hand a deep, ugly purple.
"Poison," Alec whispered, dropping to his knees beside her brother. All the anger had drained in light of the attack and a cold fear had settled into Alec. If Clary died tonight, and the last words he had said had been out of an anger that didn't even involve her, he did not know what he would do.
"Yeah," Jace said, voice hollow. He wasn't looking at Alec, his long tanned fingers traced along Clary's fair cheeks, where the poison had not yet reached. "I wouldn't ask this Alec," he spoke, voice faltering as his hand finally made rest cupping Clary's cheek, "if it wasn't important. But she will die," Jace looked up then, tawny eyes intensified with the shock of emotions, "We need Magnus. He's the only one that can save her, and iratze won't work and that demon wasn't like anything I've seen before. Only Magnus can help her, Alec." Jace's voice was pleading, and Alec found himself nodding despite himself.
"I know. I'll send a message, he can get –" he lowered his voice, catching slightly only the words, "them out. Tell everyone we are sending her there." Alec turned without another word, registering that his brother was shouting but not catching the words. Blood thudded in his ears as he walked away. He had known it would happen; he had been there to help create the hidden doorway after all, but he had never thought it would happen so quickly.
By the time he had sent the message, alone in the darkened, scarse grove, tears were falling silently. Not for Clary, lying as still as death in his brother's arms, but because he knew when he got home, his family would be broken.
Hey, sorry for the wait, I leave for college tomorrow and the last couple weeks have been really hectic. Hopefully it will get a little better after I'm settled in. Once again, a very large thanks to A Really Gay Spider for betaing. I hope you liked and I will try to update again as soon as possible!