Espérons Inutile

A Mortal Instruments Fanfic

Disclaimer: I don't own Mortal Instruments. Any familiar names, places, etc. are property of Cassandra Clare.

Chapter 6: Votre erreurs

Watching the city go past, Alec was tempted to fall asleep. For someone who spent nearly all of his time hiding in an abandoned church, Aaron had a surprisingly comfy car. The seats were made of some sort of soft material, and Alec half wanted to curl up in the shotgun seat and fall asleep. He probably would have done so if not for the bow digging into his shoulder blade, the stele and seraph blade on his hip, and the talking shadowhunters in the backseat. Not to mention Aaron had a soft spot for loud punk music.

There were lots of things that didn't quite make sense about the shadowhunter who was driving them through the streets of Sydney. Alec hadn't met anyone quite like him, but if he had to compare him to someone in his old life, it would have been Hodge. Aaron had that same sort of reassuring quality, and he was very intelligent. There weren't many similarities after that, though. Aaron loved reading, but half the time he didn't have the patience for it. He wouldn't be able to live cooped up like Hodge had for so many years. He would probably have killed himself after a couple months.

Aaron had done a lot in his lifetime, and Alec only knew about a bit of it. All he knew for sure was that, in Aaron's eyes, there was the sort of calm, collected, analytical yet wise person that took years to develop. They were much too ancient for his face and age of thirty-nine. And, taking his age into account, Alec had to admit that there were few people who grew as Aaron did. People were like wines, he'd once told Alec, they can get better or worse as they age. Well, Aaron had certainly become good with age, even Alec could tell. Alec valued his opinion quite highly.

He looked out the window again, watching people walking down the sidewalks. He watched as they passed a grocery store, and grinned. Unlike Isabelle, Jace had eaten the Vegemite. Alec could tell he hated it, but he refused to spit it out as Isabelle had. The look on his face was priceless though. Alec imagined he'd thought it was sort of like Nutella. It was almost enough to feel sorry for Jace. Almost.

"Are we there yet?" Jace's voice said from the back. Alec sent a scowl back at him.

"What do you think, Jace?" Alec didn't hear the retort that Jace muttered, but he saw Clary elbow him afterwards, and Alec decided it would be best to ignore them.

After he had bravely taken on the Vegemite, Jace had informed them that Magnus had already spoken to his friends, all of whom either had no idea where Celior was, or, in one case, who he was. That left them at least seven warlocks to question the hard way. The first one lived in Chinatown, so they were slowly driving there. Alec recalled how Miguel had wanted to come with them, but Ziyi had insisted that he stay and help her with the shadowhunters tracking system. While the group of six, Alec, Aaron, Jace, Clary, Isabelle, and Magnus, traveled to actually meet the warlocks, they still maintained a constant lookout for Celior.

Alec watched as the shops on the streets changed from the small shops, boutiques, and various other New Age shops in Glebe to the bright colours of Chinatown.

"We turn here?" Aaron asked him. Alec looked down at the map before him and confirmed it. Aaron turned the last street and quickly parked the car. As the group got, out, the three back passengers took in the street around them.

It wasn't as busy as Alec had seen it many times at night, but there were still a fair amount of people bustling through the streets. The buildings surrounding them were tall, but so much as to be intimidating. With the lingering smells of various Asian cuisines in the air, vibrant signs written in differing dialects, and familiar, curving architecture, Alec suddenly realized how much this place reminded him of New York. It wasn't so much that it looked the same. This looked much neater than Chinatown in New York, actually. No, it was the little things that caught his eye. Various characters stood out to him, as some of the signs were written in Cantonese, and Alec wondered if any of the signs back home were also written in Cantonese.

"It's different," Isabelle decided. Alec raised an eyebrow, causing her to shrug. "It just feels a lot different from the one in New York."

"So," said Jace, who didn't seem that interested by the streets around him. "Where's Magnus?" For Magnus had not actually come with them. He'd called in his information, along with the residence of the first warlock they should try and a promise to meet them there.

"I'm not sure," Aaron admitted. "We'll have to wait-" but stopped as soon as the jet black Exelero pulled up to the curb. Aaron blinked a few times in surprise. Alec couldn't help himself from smirking wryly. Well, at least it wasn't the Phantom.

Magnus stepped out in a long grey trench coat. The entire coat was dusted with glitter and the shoulders were covered with silver spikes. The shirt he wore was black, with very small pink stripes, and it was worn with metallic silver leather pants. It could have been worse, Alec thought.

"You're late," Jace said to Magnus when he walked up to the group.

"Don't be ridiculous," said Magnus, his voice a little brighter than it had been the first day. "You're all just very early."

He led them over to one of the buildings on the left side. Initially, all Alec saw was the restaurant, including the Chinese woman trying to get them to come in, but then he noticed it. It was a small door, the kind that led up to an apartment space above shops or restaurants. The shadowhunters all exchanged uncertain looks, but Magnus stepped right up to the door.

"He knows we're coming. No point dawdling," Magnus drawled, sounding a little annoyed at their slow pace.

Alec was getting a little annoyed at Magnus. He was trying to forget about last night, and so far, it was working. Alec had already known that he would be seeing Magnus a lot lately, so he'd just have to suck it up and pretend that nothing was wrong. He could treat Magnus like a total stranger if the need be.

The group hurried through he door and up a small staircase. It was such a cramped space, they had to go up one at a time. Magnus reached the door at the top first, and he looked back at his companions.

"Shall we?"

Aaron was the one to nod and say, "We shall."

So Magnus rang the doorbell. Absolutely no noise could be heard from behind the door, which made Alec wonder if this warlock was even home. From what he could see, the door at the top suddenly opened, seemingly of it's own accord. He heard muttering, and then the line moved forward. They all walked up and through the front door.

The warlock was there, holding the door open. He looked a bit like a dwarf in Alec's opinion. He was very short (he probably was under five feet tall) and he had long frizzy hair that looked as though it once was the colour of amber, but had begun to fade over time. Alec found it easy not to stare, as he'd seen too man odd things in his lifetime. Instead, Alec looked around the apartment they were now in. It had the look of an abandoned project, as if someone had intended to paint all of the walls, but only finished one and half; as if someone had meant to get those rips in the sofa repaired, no, to get new sofas, but the thought had slipped their minds; as if all the furniture in the room, varying from countless styles, could have been tied together to create a sort of theme. No, it was quite a mess. And that wasn't just the large amount of books, coats, talismans, and other bizarre objects strewn all over the place.

"Deimus," said Magnus. "We're glad you could speak with us so soon." Everyone found a place to settle, and took the time to consider this dw- warlock.

"No problem," the man muttered in nasally voice. "No problem at all."

Magnus turned to the shadowhunters. "Nephilim, this is Deimus de Neige." They all nodded

"What was this business you wished to discuss?" Alec felt a strong urge to laugh as the tiny man regarded them all with tiny eyes. Add in the voice and the hair, the man looked like a large, elderly chipmunk. However, knowing that this was a warlock with very strong magical powers and not a chipmunk kept Alec from laughing. Magnus turned to Aaron, who briefly explained the issue with Celior.

As soon as Aaron was finished, Deimus tut-ed. "Not good, not good. Oh, Demetri…"

"You knew this man?" asked Isabelle.

"Knew him?" said Deimus. "He and I were good friends once. Won the bowling tournament with him. Look," he said, pointing passed Alec and Jace to a large trophy. Alec considered the golden figurine on top that appeared to be swinging a golf club.

"Mr. de Neige," said Clary. "Did Celior ever have a grudge against the Clave?"

"Caves? No, never been north-"

"Not caves," Isabelle said with some force. "The Clave. You know, shadowhunters, Nephilim." She pulled back her right sleeve to show him the faded runes on her arm. At that, Deimus gave her an exasperated look.

"I know what the Clave is," he said as picked a coat up off of the floor and placed it in an open space on the nearest bookshelf as though it was a book. "Demetri was never interested in the affairs of Raziel's children."

"You never noticed him getting sulky or frustrated whenever the Accords came around?" asked Jace.

"He never cared for accordions," Deimus muttered. Magnus shot Jace a look that basically confirmed that the man meant "no".

"If you don't mind me asking," started Magnus "How did you find Demetri?"

"Oh, he found me," Deimus explained. "Met him… few centuries ago. Nice boy, nice boy. I believe he was searching for something… oh, what was it?" The man tapped his chin thoughtfully before snapping his fingers. "Yes, I remember. He was looking for the Key."

They all stared at him.

"What key?" asked Clary.

"The Key! The Key!" he looked around at them, as though he hoped one of them would catch on. "The Weapon? Surely you've heard of it. Satan's Key?" As he said it, Magnus seemed to catch on.

"I do believe I have heard of that." And Deimus smiled.

"Good, good. Demetri would have been pleased. Always looking for more believers, you know. It meant so much to him." Deimus smiled fondly. "He'd always tell me how he was getting closer. Closer to finding it."

"Do you know where Demetri is now?" asked Aaron.

Deimus thought about it before saying, "I've no idea. Last I heard he was… somewhere in Africa." And Alec heard Jace sigh beside him. He knew that there wasn't much more they could get from this man, especially considering that he now held a sort of ear trumpet in his hands and was stroking it like a kitten. Alec swore he could hear the man purr when he wasn't speaking.

"Thank you for telling this to us," said Aaron. "Please tell us if you hear anything else."

"Of course!" shouted Deimus. He pulled off his shoe and pressed it against his heart. "I swear on Natas' cage."

"Who's Natas?" muttered Clary. Alec could tell she didn't mean to ask him, but, out of all the things they'd said, this was the one the man would hear. He launched into a story about what a close, personal friend Natas was as Aaron was trying to get him to stop so they could leave.

As Alec stood, ready to leave as well, he saw Jace examining the… sport trophy behind him. Alec hissed at him, "Don't touch that!"

It was pointless. Jace reached out to poke the figurine on top, and the trophy tipped. Alec barely managed to catch it before it hit the ground. He turned back to see that Aaron was still trying to convince Deimus to stop talking. He placed the trophy up again, glaring at a grinning Jace.

They all moved quickly to get out of the apartment. Alec was quite grateful when he was back out on the street.

"Well that was a waste," said Jace. Magnus shook his head.

"This was probably the best tip we've gotten so far," Magnus said, and Aaron raised an eyebrow.

"Is this about that key he was talking about?" asked Aaron, to whom Magnus nodded.

"I'm sure you all know about Satan," he said as he looked around at the group (Alec carefully looking at the ground). "Well, there's always been plenty of satanic legends among warlocks. Some say he's actually a very powerful demon. Some say there isn't an actual Satan; rather that it's a state of mind. The legend about Satan's key is definitely one of the most popular though.

"Supposedly, Satan's locked away in Hell with no way out and not much to do. I suppose you could think of it as a cage. That's what he meant by "Natas' cage". Natas is Satan spelled backwards. According to this legend, Satan only actually tempts people when they are of use to him. He spends all of his time searching for the key to his cage via the eyes of devoted servants."

"What's so important about this key?" asked Aaron, and Magnus chuckled.

"This key is supposed to be the only means of freeing Satan from his prison. Of course he'd want it, so he's always looking for it. The legend varies, but supposedly the key enables Satan to escape. And once he's out- well, I'm sure you all know about the dreaded Apocalypse. The reason Deimus referred to it as a weapon as well is because this key is supposed to be his method of gaining his worshipers."

"So now it's religious?" asked Jace. Magnus nodded.

"There've always been people who've looked into this business. Plenty of people have actually gone searching for this key, though it's never very specific as to what the key even is."

"So we know from Deimus that Celior believed in this legend," said Clary. "Do you know where that search might take him?"

"Now that," said Magnus. "Is a good question."

The group decided to split up after that. It was getting kind of late for Isabelle, Jace, and Clary, all of whom were starting to show signs of exhaustion. Aaron and Magnus, who didn't seem to be effected by time zones, were going to see another one of the warlocks to see if there was anymore information they could find on Celior's whereabouts. The other four would head back to the Institute.

"Maybe we could have dinner first," suggested Clary.

"Lunch, actually," said Alec, who looked at his watch to see that it was almost eleven thirty.

"Sounds good," decided Isabelle, who was looking around the street, gazing at some of the Chinese restaurants. Alec considered the place around them, then thought of a good place to go.

"Come on, I know a really good place," he told them, and they began to walk along the streets. It was actually rather odd for Alec. He'd grown used to walking these streets, most of the time with Haal, and it was odd suddenly having his family and friends with him now.

The streets of Chinatown and Haymarket had become very familiar to Alec by now. It was often the meeting place for him and Haal, as they lived on opposite sides of the city. Alec took in the streets around him. If he tried hard, he could easily attach many memories to this place. He could easily say that they'd been to that restaurant there, regretted going to that one over there, and the shop on Dixon street that was owned by a very loud Spanish man who'd screamed at Alec once for… well, Alec still didn't really know what he'd done. One of the better memories was when he and Haal had looked at another shop on Dixon, this one Asian. Yes, it had been one of those odd little gift shops, but even Alec had to admit that the little necklaces they'd sold in there were, for lack of a better word, pretty.

Alec still wore it to this day. The style was similar to that of a rosary, long with a small string at the end. The beads were a mix of black, jade, and carnelian, though the largest bead at the end wasn't a cross. Made out of silver, the pendant on the end of the chain was simply the Mandarin character for hope. It had been four years, but there was no way Alec would stop wearing it now. There was something oddly calming about the constant feel of the beads against his skin.

Alec chose to remain fairly quiet as they walked down the streets. The other three were talking quite a lot, only asking Alec about certain buildings every now and then.

"So where are you taking us?" Isabelle asked a few minutes later. Alec pointed down to the end of the street.

"It's, um, a Malaysian restaurant. Mamak. The line will probably be long, but I think you guys would like it."

"So you like Malaysian food now?" she said, raising an eyebrow.

"This place is only for special occasions. Again, the queue-"

"Alec," she interrupted. "I have no idea what you've been doing for five years. I think you should at least tell us about life here."

"I did."

"We all figured it was different. Jace has probably been keeping an eye on the toilets to make sure the water doesn't spin in different directions." Alec smirked and rolled his eyes.

"You know it doesn't."

"Tell Jace that."

Alec grinned, suddenly feeling much lighter.

"Come on, Alec," Isabelle said. "Five whole years! You have to tell me something. Have you seen a kangaroo? Do you still eat Asian? Do you still keep a ruler by your bedside table?"

"IZZY!"

"Kidding, kidding." She looked around at some of the shops as though she was considering going in, then said, "What about Antonio?"

Alec glared at her. She shrugged her shoulders. "Well, you know I haven't changed."

"No kidding," he said, bitterly, yes, but he was internally grateful that she hadn't. "Well, neither has much else. We hunt demons. We train with each other. We eat our weight Chinese food every other night."

"We were never that bad, Alec," said Isabelle, though Alec could see her grinning. "But it's not the food I want to know about." She looked expectantly at him.

"Weather?"

"You know what I'm talking about," she said, determined. "I'm talking about Guillermo."

"That's a name?"

"Alec, please tell me." She seemed truly sincere, but it was Isabelle.

"I already told you everything worth knowing."

"Not everything!" she insisted. "How long have you been together? What exactly happened when you hooked up?"

"I told you already," Alec said, feeling a little flustered. He definitely did not want his sister knowing about what went on with Miguel. "Miguel and I are not a couple."

He said it firmly, and by the time he was saying it, they were already at the end of the line to get into the restaurant. They were lucky this time; if they'd come any later, they'd have been waiting for hours. Izzy seemed determined tog et every detail out of Alec, and she was ready to keep going. But as she opened her mouth to continue, someone else beat her to it.

"Alec!" called the last voice Alec needed to hear right now. He turned to see Haal walking down the street.

Perfect. Just perfect, Alec thought. Alec Lightwood, you have the worst luck in the world. Though he didn't show any of his misgivings. Instead, he smiled and waved. Haal came over to them and Alec knew that he must look very mundane. It never bothered Alec, but Haal's style was the embodiment of the word. Alec carefully stepped away from his family to give Haal a quick kiss.

"What are you doing all the way down here?" Alec asked, careful to keep his voice light.

"I was just visiting a colleague," he said, obviously cheered by the happiness he was sensing from Alec. "What about you?" As he asked, he noticed the three people standing behind him. Alec was almost afraid to turn, but he did.

"Haal, this is my sister Isabelle, my brother Jace, and his girlfriend Clary – oh, no, his fiancée. Guys," Alec said nervously, "this is my boyfriend, Haal." They were all very nice about it. They nodded, and Isabelle was kind enough to shake hands with him.

"It's great to meet you all," Haal said in a very polite voice; he pulled it out whenever he met someone new. Again, it was very "Haal".

"You too," offered Isabelle. Alec was then spared having to continue when the man in line behind them told them to move forward.

"Um… I'll see you later?" Alec said.

"Course," Haal said, kissing him again, on the cheek this time. He said goodbye to the others, very politely, and was off. As soon as he could, Alec hurried inside. He didn't bother to look back at the other three, though he could feel them staring at his back. There was no exchange of words as they came in and sat down. Alec could practically hear them judging him. Of course they knew, anybody could put together the pieces. Alec reckoned the only reason they weren't speaking was because this – using two guys – was so not like Alec. If only they knew…

"You're not seeing Santiago," said Isabelle.

"No."

-Break-

Alec walked along the halls of the Institute, thinking about Haal, Miguel, and his family. His mind was sketching out a bright colourful picture, one that was filled with the bright red of shame, the grays of regret, the deep blue of misery, and the deep green of self loathing. The colours seemed to form odd splattered shapes that seemed to ask Alec every question of doubt he'd ever asked himself; it was the kind that usually plagued him before he did something stupid: Do you really want to attack that demon? Should you really sleep with Miguel? Is it smart to pretend like you like Haal? Added into the bright mess were all the intricate patterns of what ifs: What if he'd been straight with Miguel or Haal? What if his family hadn't shown up here? What if he never left New York?

In the end, it made for a very messy internal picture and a very confused Alec.

Confused Alec walked into the kitchen, not noticing for a moment the glittery warlock sitting at the table. Alec had already pulled his jug of milk out of the fridge when he took in the fact that the warlock in question was sitting barely five meters away from him. And. Staring. At. Him.

The very thought of Magnus set his mind into motion again, creating another image of equal complexity and colour. In fact, this picture seemed even more detailed, filled with every emotion Alec had ever felt about Magnus; hurt, pain, regret, longing, love, desire, lust, anxiousness, uncertainty, confusion, guilt, and too many others that didn't even have names.

Alec could just remember those six months they had been together. After the whole fiasco with Jace, Alec decided he was ready to be in love. And it worked. They spent so many nights together. Once upon a time, Magnus had been the only person Alec ever wanted to be close to. Of course he had been Alec's first time, and he had been so gentle and sweet with Alec that night. It filled Alec with feelings so strong and deep it almost overcame him; he never wanted to let go of Magnus.

Alec took a deep breath, wishing more than anything that Magnus would STOP LOOKING AT HIM!

"Alec?" he heard from behind him. Alec took a deep breath before turning.

He had never been needy. There'd never been a time when Alec clung onto him like a child, though that wasn't saying that the opposite was true. He didn't push Magnus away like he had in the first few weeks. He welcomed Magnus whenever he could, whenever it was acceptable. And Magnus had always accepted it. For all the trouble Alec had caused when he was still in the closet, they made a very even couple. They balanced each other out perfectly, Alec had thought.

"What?" Alec asked quietly. There was a small bit of nerve left in him, so he looked up at Magnus as he said it.

That had been the first half of the relationship, the happy one. The second half, well, it was a little harder to label this one. Everything happened so quickly. It had started slowly, yes, but it still came too soon. In the beginning of it, Magnus began to put less effort into their relationship. Yes, he still kissed Alec, but it was shorter, and Magnus pulled away with the same carefree expression he'd had before. Nothing about Alec seemed to faze him. Magnus started to forget to call. Oftentimes Alec was the one to initiate contact, asking Magnus out on dates, pulling him to bed afterwards.

"I want to look into these legends. Maybe if we can find out what Celior is looking for, we'll find him."

Alec nodded slowly. "What do you need me to do?"

Alec had been more than willing to dismiss the little things that were off about Magnus. He was happy to see Alec, he was just too tired to throw himself into it completely. And Magnus had surely meant to call Alec, but he'd been too busy with work to do so. That was how Alec kept himself happy and sane for the most part. He allowed himself to believe that Magnus was still as in love as he was. Love… it was so confusing. Alec had often wondered, if Magnus really loves me, why doesn't he show it like he used to? Was Alec boring him? Magnus had been alive for eight hundred years after all. Maybe he just didn't want Alec around. Whenever he thought like this, Alec felt nauseous and dizzy and he didn't want to think like this. Magnus loved him. He did.

"I picked out a few things," Magnus said, gesturing through a stack of books resting on the table. He reached out and plucked a couple out. "Just look through them. There has to be something. I've become all too acquainted with this cult in the past; I know there's something about where."

Alec nodded and took the books.

It happened so quickly. Maybe if Alec had accepted the changes around him, he would have noticed it, like a ball rolling down a hill, slowly gaining momentum. But Alec wanted to feel happy and good, so he let himself believe that nothing was wrong. In hindsight, it was really stupid to go along with it. Ignorance really was bliss, but it gave Alec no preparation. Instead of the watching the ball slowly gaining momentum, Alec was forced to watch it drop out of the sky without so much as a warning.

Magnus stopped calling. He barely spoke to Alec when they were on the phone, or in person. Whenever they were in public, Magnus seemed to pay no attention to him, as though he was trying to make it seem like he wasn't with that whiny little Goth kid. There had been a few times when Alec had gone over to Magnus' place, hoping to get some time alone with him, only to find one of Magnus' signature parties in full swing (All that had been missing from the chaos was the police raid.). Too many times, Alec had arranged a date, only to spend about an hour waiting for Magus to show, and only the next day was there a slight chance Magnus would call telling him that something important had come up. Once and only once, someone else had been the reason that was more important than Alec.

"You really think there's going to be something in here that will help us find him?" Alec asked. Magnus shrugged.

"I really don't know. I'm not expecting to find a neat little treasure map where "X" marks the spot- or, key. But I'd keep an eye out for those cryptic messages these old writers were so fond of."

The ball in question, the one that was falling from the sky, hit rock bottom all too quickly. Alec had been going over to get answers out of Magnus. He wasn't going to take any of this anymore. Alec knew then that he would probably never stop loving Magnus, and that he wouldn't give up on them without a fight. Well, that had been half-right. When Magnus had told him that day that it was over, Alec had been crushed. He'd glanced down at the floor as he left, wondering if bits and pieces of his destroyed self were lying around anywhere. There hadn't been, he'd been in one piece. But he left without a fight. He'd accepted his fate all too easily. Magnus didn't want him anymore. That was pretty much all he'd said. He didn't even care enough to make it easy for him. Or, perhaps he did, which was why he'd made it quick and easy (and supposedly painless). Of course it hadn't been painless. It had torn Alec apart. Trapped inside his own hurt-filled mind, Alec's blood was emotionally spilled everywhere. Over there, that was his stomach and beside it, his kidney. His muscles had been shredded into tiny pieces and thrown all over. His brain, frozen and numb, was over there, still covered in blood. And that, in the corner, was his heart, split into two distinct pieces, and still covered in tiny flecks of glitter.

Stop.

Stop.

Alec closed his eyes. He didn't want the memories to flow any further. He didn't want to relive the memory of their breakup for the hundredth time. It was the past. Why should it matter anymore?

Trying to keep that thought in his mind, Alec opened the first book. He started to read a few lines, but his view of the book was suddenly obscured by a torn piece of notebook paper. Alec looked at it, noticing the writing on it. He read it.

I understand that you don't want to talk about us. So how about we write about it?

Alec scowled. He looked up at Magnus, who was still looking at him. The warlock shrugged. Alec quickly wrote:

Passing notes? What are you, eight?

Hundred, was the reply Alec got.

Alec's scowl deepened. It wasn't fair of Magnus to do this while Alec had so much on his mind. He couldn't talk (OR WRITE) about it, and between his boys and his family, Alec didn't have the heart or the energy to care about this. Or to resist it. Magnus had made Alec wait and hope and pray that he could still keep things the way they were. Well, now it was Magnus' turn to try and convince Alec to care about them. And, if Alec was strong enough, he would get as much as Alec once had.

Alec looked up to see Magnus looking at him expectantly, and Alec glared back at him, crunching the piece of paper up in his right hand.

AN: Whoa. That was long. Over five thousand frickin' words. I'm exhausted. But not done, so here goes. I'm sorry about the ridiculous length. I love long stories, but this is a lot, even for my liking. I just had so much I wanted to say. I've planned this part out thinking, this, this, and this has to happen. Finish it in this chapter. I'm thrilled I actually finished it. I'm really sorry about the wait as well. About the first part, I couldn't help but make the guy weird. Though I have to admit, the weirdness didn't work out as well as I'd hoped. Also – hey! Did anyone see that? Was that… a plot? I… wait… no, it must have been my imagination. ;) There really isn't any legend about "Satan's cage", but there is a lot about what he's gonna do when he gets out. So, I'm gonna say there is.

I hope I cleared everything up as to what happened beforehand. I got a few comments about that, so I realized I'd have to bring it up. Just remember it people, it will eventually be important information. Now I've got some little details I want to put here. For anything that you haven't seen before, Lord Google shall be your saviour.

a) In this chapter, Magnus drives a Mercedes Maybach Exelero. It's a luxury car (the Mercedes might've tipped you off) and I think that it might be good enough for Magnus. Of course he needs a cool car, but I wasn't about to give him a pink Punchbuggy (I think Barbie has one). I wanted to give him a different sort of "flashy" car.

b) He also has a Rolls Royce Phantom. It's another uber fancy luxury car (that Magnus owns. Of course.) . Costs around $400 000; I believe Simon Cowell has one.

c)A rosary is a string of beads often used for praying. As far as I know, it's used in the Christian faith. But I have to say, the necklace Alec has isn't a rosary, it's just similar to that style of beading. Let's just say Alec's views on religion are similar to Jace's.

d) In this chapter, Alec describes the necklace that Haal gave to him as having the Chinese character for hope on the end. I should say that there are a lot of different characters that would work here, but they one I'm going for is 愿. The pinyin is "yuan" and it uses the fourth tone. I know I said Alec speaks Cantonese, but the thing is, I speak Mandarin. They're two different dialects, but Mandarin is a bit more official.

e) As for the gems on the necklace, jade is a light green stone and carnelian is sort of an orange colour. I have an unused Deviant art account, so I may just put up a picture of this necklace for you guys. It doesn't actually exist. I think. So I can draw a picture if you want. I've been told I can draw really well, so it'll be pretty good.

So there. I'm sorry if you guys already knew all that, but I just felt the need to say it. I don't want to sound totally weird when I say that I really want Magnus' car. If you really liked this chapter, tell me if you want Magnus' cars. Or if you want something else… hmm. Never written a lemon before. I wonder…

I should also say, I tried Perrier for the first time today, but I didn't know it was just water. It tasted terrible, so I threw in Crystal Light. It tasted okay, almost like wine, but I'm still not sure if that was safe. If I don't update this story again, it is because I died a slow, painful death of bubbly water and powdery sugar. I am completely serious (I almost wrote "I am dead serious.").

Thanks for reading my ranting. Please review! Hint: Reviews may give me inspiration to write something hot further on. Just saying.

Thanks for reading!

Thinking: Would they review if I started up a contest? Reviewers get the chance to win one of Magnus' cars? *sees people staring* I was kidding! It's mine...