Chapter 40

The courtroom was now silent and dark, long since emptied of the tense, excited crowd that had come to witness an extraordinary trial. The crowd, the witnesses, the judges, the accused, all had gone, their own individual lives calling them back to more personal and pressing matters, all but one. In a small office tucked away from the bustle of the busier corridors sat Asher. He had spent the intervening hours since the end of the trial finishing up his notes on the proceedings and packing up his files. He would not be sorry to leave the cramped, nondescript little offices assigned to all advocates who were appearing before the Court of Assize. His own office at home was much more opulent.

Asher was glad to have had this short time to himself, it had been a stressful trial, and despite his customary air of confidence and calm, he had by no means been sure of success. If he had failed, it might well have meant the execution of Magnus Bane, perhaps one of the strongest and most important warlocks in existence. His death would have sent shockwaves through the downworld, especially if it had been at the hands of the Court of Assize.

It seemed to Asher that this acquittal might actually be a sign of greater understanding and acceptance between the different groups that comprised the shadow world. Though, being a member of the highly political Seelie Court, he knew better than to allow himself to get carried away by flights of optimism. Old fears and frustrations were always at risk of being fanned into the flames of hatred and persecution. Still, today had been a victory and Asher would take those when he could. The Court of Assize had done its job, and justice for the shadow world was served. No witches had been burned on his watch.

Idly, the faerie wondered what news had reached his client, that necessitated such an abrupt departure? Some peoples' lives were just brimming with excitement, Asher supposed. The intrigue of his Queen's Court was more than enough of a headache to deal with in his books. She would be very interested in the outcome of this trial, and he would need to be very careful how he presented the facts. One never quite knew what would trigger her mercurial temper. Sighing, the faerie lifted his box of files, turned off the lights and headed out of the building into the early evening crowds in Angel Square. The street lights were beginning to glimmer, as the restaurants did a brisk business. Strains of music, carried on light evening breezes from the open windows of neighborhood pubs, gave the place a festive atmosphere. Asher thought he might as well stop for dinner before returning to Court, a good meal and perhaps some champagne to mark the occasion…

~~~~!~~~~

Nightfall had also reached Edinburgh where Magnus Bane, directed by Wren, arrived at the entrance to the underground. Turning to his intrepid guide Magnus said; "This is as far as it is safe for you to go."

"B-but I want to help…" The girl began, frustration written large on her expressive face.

"You have done your part." Magnus interrupted, a hand raised to forestall further argument. "Your bravery in getting the information to Jenny Bone will not be forgotten. I am more grateful to you than I can express. It is time however for me to take up this fight. Return to Jenny's cottage, word will reach you there, I promise."

Reluctantly, Wren nodded her head. She knew when it was pointless to argue. "I will pray for your success High Warlock!" And, with that slipped away into the darkness.

Magnus entered the Edinburgh underground. Almost immediately he saw signs of the heavy fighting that had occurred, stone rubble remained where store fronts had once stood, as well as bodies from both sides of the conflict. There was no time, however, to think about the tragedy implicit in these awful scenes. He had to get to Alec and Aiden, and prayed he was not too late.

Magnus quickly made his way through the ruins of the underground guided as much by the sounds of battle as his knowledge of the place from previous visits. At last he arrived at a large open area, at the far end of which stood the home of Aidan Briosag, which served as both a dwelling, and meeting place where civic issues were resolved. The site of that stone building wrenched at Magnus' heart. His son was there, and it was all he could do not to ignore the chaos in front of him and race headlong into the building.

In the space of the next second, Magnus' eyes found Alec, the shadowhunter and his parabatai were heavily engaged with several of the hellfire club, mostly vampires and werewolves, but there were a few fellow shadowhunters in the mix. It struck Magnus, not for the first time, how seamlessly Alec and Jace worked together, each anticipating the others' next move; an intricate, deadly dance. Again, he had to resist the urge to race to Alec's side. This was not where he was most needed.

At last, Magnus eyes focused on Aidan Briosag, and the battle that would, in all likelihood, determine the outcome of this day. He saw a clearly exhausted Aidan still bravely squared off against the greater demon, Belial. The high Warlock was flanked by the healer Catarina Loss. Neither warlock looked to be making much head way in the battle, but at least they were keeping the demon's focus off the rest of the combatants. At the sight of Belial, a huge fury swept over Magnus born of fear for his son and Alec, and from the sense of helplessness he'd suffered during his recent imprisonment…

At the far edge of the battle ground, stood the dark figures of Vladimir Druganin and his second-in-command, Dante Serpens. Neither man had noticed the arrival of Magnus Bane, or they might not have been as sanguine about the prospect of an imminent victory.

"Briosag can't hold out much longer." Serpens said, voice raised so he could be heard over the din of battle. The warlock had stepped away from the fighting, feeling that things were well in hand, Belial would finish Briosag shortly, and could then turn his formidable attention to the rest of the battle.

"High time, too;" Druganin snarled. "I had thought Briosag would be more reasonable, when there was no chance of success. The New York shadowhunters were a bit of a surprise, but in the end even they could not change the outcome. I do wish Belial would stop playing with his food and get on with it though."

Suddenly, an enormous blast of bright blue magic erupted sending Belial to his knees.

"What the hell…." Druganin shouted, his eyes widening as he focused on the source of the blast. "Bane! No! How can this be! The Clave should be planning his execution! Come Dante! It is time we put an end to these fools once and for all!" And with that the tall, ancient vampire waded into the fiercest fighting intending to cut a bloody path to Belial and shore up his greatest weapon. Their way, however was suddenly blocked by two powerful shadowhunters, a supernova and his dark star…