Hello there! So I have decided that I'm going to try to post new chapters of this story every week, either on Saturday or Sunday, depending on the week. But that being said, I am going to try, so there may be weeks where it doesn't get up until Monday or it doesn't get up at all! Bear with me, as my personal and professional schedule even for summer makes me cringe.

But I hope you enjoy this chapter! Please let me know what you think of it! I really enjoyed writing this, and I'm hoping that this chapter will take us deeper into the story! Can't wait to hear from y'all!

Not for the first time that week, or even that day, Alec began asking himself what on earth he was actually doing. Here he was, having lunch with Magnus Bane, again, not for the first time. Here he was, laughing at a stupid joke Magnus had made, completely disregarding the fact that the joke had nothing to do with the business they were supposed to be discussing. Alec became acutely aware of the fact that several people in Taki's were staring at them, but he also became aware of the fact that he simply didn't care. He understood that since Taki's was predominantly a Downworlder restaurant, the other patrons were simply shocked at seeing a Shadowhunter who was not accompanied by other Shadowhunters. He normally came here with his siblings, but this was the kind of conversation that called for a bit of privacy, at least privacy from other Shadowhunters.

So Alec allowed himself to shut out all the other people in the restaurant, focusing on his conversation with Magnus. They'd met for lunch for the simple fact that they needed to discuss the Downworlder case. It had been a month since they'd met at Pandemonium, and despite their best efforts, three more Downworlders had died and two more had disappeared. Alec had decided that it was time to pool their information and resources to see where they stood. If there was one thing Alec had learned from a month of working with Magnus it was that the warlock had nearly infinite sources and informants. And it was Alec's hope that going through their list of information yet again might jog Magnus's memory of an informant they hadn't yet spoken with.

Over the past month, they had met no fewer than three times a week, going through every possible piece of information they could find. They had visited all of the crime scenes possible, they had exhausted all the resources the Institute itself held. They were running out of options, and yet they had barely made any progress. "So what exactly do we know so far?" Magnus finally asked, begrudgingly pulling them back into reality. Alec sighed, knowing that he had to get ahold of himself before things got out of hand. The last thing he needed to be thinking about was the nature of his relationship with Magnus. At least not when they had two more missing Downworlders on their hands. Not when he had been sneaking around for weeks, hiding these meetings from his family and pushing the limits of just how many lies he could tell them.

"We have absolutely no information about the Downworlder deaths," Alec said, going over the information they'd gathered in his mind. "There's no pattern with the deaths. There's no discernable order as to which species of Downworlder dies when; there's no pattern as far as the victims' ages or genders. There's not even a pattern as to what day of the week or time of the day." Alec held back a smile as he realized Magnus was making his "thinking face" which simply amounted to his brows furrowing and his lips pursing while he stared into space. Alec found it endearing, but Magnus absolutely hated it when he pointed that little fact out, so he tried his best to ignore it and continue with the topic at hand.

"The disappearances, however, do have a slight pattern," Alec continued, retracing the facts in his mind. "For the past four and a half months, there has been one disappearance every two weeks, usually on the weekend. And the disappearances are rotating the Downworlder species." Magnus's expression changed then, growing much more serious than Alec had seen him in a while. "The first victim was a werewolf, then a vampire, then a faerie, and then a warlock. Then the cycle started over again, always in that order." Alec mentally winced as he reached the next set of facts. "And each victim has been no older than seventeen," he finished, wondering yet again what kind of person would target children. The youngest victim was thirteen, and her parents were still holding onto the hope that she was alive. But Alec was less than optimistic.

From here, Magnus decided to take over, apparently trying to jog his own memory as much as Alec was. "There have been no witnesses at any of the disappearances, though a few have showed signs of struggle," Magnus said, his voice absent and critical, as though he was trying his hardest to distance himself from the reality of the situation. "And none of the victims have been found, dead or alive," he concluded, his voice so eerily final that it made chills run down Alec's spine. "Whatever or whoever is taking them is doing so with a purpose." It was then that Magnus met Alec's eyes for the first time since they'd begun hashing out the details of the case, becoming clearly uncomfortable in a way that was completely foreign to him.

"Most of the Downworld seems to think that the disappearances are being caused by Shadowhunters," Magnus admitted, his nervousness now clicking in Alec's mind. The warlock didn't want Alec to think that he was questioning him personally, and somehow, that was endearing in and of itself. "There's been no sign of magic at any of the crime scenes as there would likely be with a warlock or faerie perpetrator. There would be more sign of struggle if it were a werewolf. And some of these disappearances have occurred during the day, so it can't be a vampire." Magnus sounded utterly logical about the entire situation, and Alec knew the other man had gone over the situation a million times. "But each disappearance has occurred in the same way, and with this type of pattern, it has to be the same person each time." Alec had to admit that this was making sense to him, but he was struggling to find a reason as to why a Shadowhunter would ever do such a thing. He knew there were Shadowhunters who thought of themselves as being far above Downworlders, but to blatantly kidnap Downworlder children was taking it to a level he hadn't thought possible. Not to mention the fact that the Accords were so clearly being broken.

Alec didn't notice Magnus's silence as he slipped into his own thoughts once more, a shiver running down his spine. His only thought at the moment was of Max, and he couldn't keep himself from shuddering every so slightly. Shadowhunters and Downworlders died every day, more often in battle with demons than not. But these were children, and they had done absolutely nothing to deserve being taken in this way. Alec couldn't even begin to imagine how frightened they were. If anyone ever even thought of doing such a thing to Max - "That's it!" Magnus exclaimed, pulling Alec out of the anger he was slowly developing. "An old friend of mine has been in New York for the past month and a half," Magnus continued, seemingly not noticing Alec's continual change in mood.

"His name is Malcolm Fade," Magnus said, finally remembering that Alec didn't have any idea of what he was talking about. "He can regularly be found frequenting both the mundane and Downworlder black markets. I hate to admit it, but if there's anyone who could possibly know more about what's happening in New York at the moment, it's Malcolm." At that, Magnus signaled their waitress, quickly paying their bill and telling her to keep the change. It was clear that he was now on a mission and nothing was going to hinder him any longer. It wasn't until they were a couple of blocks away from Taki's before Alec realized that Magnus had paid for his lunch without thinking anything of it. And Alec knew that he shouldn't think anything of it as well, but he couldn't help but glance over at Magnus as they walked toward wherever their destination was, wondering just how the hell he was going to get himself out of the hole he seemed to be digging.

"By no means do you have to go with me," Magnus had said about a million times before they'd actually reached the upscale apartment Malcolm was currently inhabiting. "I know that I'm known for being weary of Shadowhunters, but I have nothing on Malcolm," he had explained, and Alec could tell that he was growing worried about the impending meeting with Malcolm. "He despises Shadowhunters for reasons that are still a mystery to me. I have no doubt that we can get the information needed, but he will be very cold with you, likely nasty at times." But Alec had explained that he simply didn't care. Downworlders were cold and nasty to him constantly, and most of them had a very good reason for being so.

But even Magnus's warning or his past experiences with Downworlders' hatred hadn't truly prepared Alec for meeting Malcolm Fade. The first thing Alec noticed about the warlock was his strikingly purple eyes. The second thing Alec noticed about Malcolm was the fact that those eyes were staring at him as though the warlock was considering snapping his fingers and blowing him up on the spot. After several painfully long seconds, Malcolm seemed to finally get his wits about him. In one swift motion, Malcolm reached up to slam the door in their faces, but Magnus was much quicker than Malcolm had likely suspected. To Alec's surprise, Magnus refrained from using Magnus to keep the door open, simply wedging himself between the door and the doorframe before Malcolm could close it. Alec idly wondered if the lack of magic was a sign of respect between the two warlocks, and he made a mental note to ask Magnus about it later.

"He's a Shadowhunter, I know," Magnus said, and Alec could hear the tension in his voice despite the fact that he was clearly trying to keep himself under control at the moment. "I know how you feel about Shadowhunters, Malcolm. But Alec here has spent the past month of his life working his ass off to help me save Downworlder lives. We think you might have information that can help us. So let us in." Alec was slightly surprised by just how cold Magnus's voice had become. Sure, he hadn't known Magnus for very long, but he'd never imagined that the warlock could become so harsh in seconds. Yet Alec trusted that Magnus knew what he was doing. If anyone could get information out of Malcolm, it was going to be Magnus.

At first, Alec thought that Malcolm was going to tell them to go away. Or make them go away. But neither of those things happened. In fact, nothing else happened for several seconds, and Alec almost began to wonder if Malcolm was okay. When Malcolm finally spoke again, however, his voice was slow and hard, as though he was assessing the situation and carefully picking his words. "Do you trust him, Bane?" was all he asked, and Alec couldn't keep himself from automatically looking toward Magnus. He suddenly found himself worried about Magnus's answer, holding his breath as the warlock seemed to consider the question. It took several moments for Alec to realize that Malcolm was studying his face as he fretted over whether or not Magnus trusted him.

He tried to shove himself back into the "arrogant Shadowhunter persona" that Malcolm likely thought he held, but he simply couldn't do it. He knew that Magnus's answer carried no weight in his life, or at least it shouldn't. But here he was, entirely too anxious about what Magnus thought of him. "I would trust Alec with Ragnor's life, if it came down to it," Magnus finally said, his words careful and calculated. It wasn't until Alec was stepping through the doorway that the weight of Magnus's words truly hit him. It hadn't taken Alec very long to understand that Magnus and Ragnor Fell were essentially the warlock equivalent of parabatai. Alec was unsure that there was anyone in the world Magnus cared about more than he cared about Ragnor. That he was willing to trust Alec with Ragnor's life was the highest compliment Alec could think of at the moment.

It took a while to get the information they needed out of Malcolm, but from Magnus's demeanor, that was apparently to be expected. Malcolm seemed to talk in circles, and Alec could scarcely keep up as the warlock dropped Downworlder terms and names he had never before heard. Magnus listened intently, apparently following Malcolm around the circles he was creating, carefully playing the game the other warlock was inventing. "Surely there has been a witness to at least one of these disappearances or deaths. There have been so many that it's statistically impossible for someone to not have witnessed at least one of them." Malcolm seemed to turn this thought over in his mind, almost as though he was wondering just how much information he should give to Magnus and Alec.

"I've heard of one, yes," he said, and Alec wanted to interject a series of questions. But Magnus glanced at him in the most silencing of manners, apparently knowing that Malcolm would continue on his own time. So Alec all but bit his tongue, trying his best to keep from blurting out the thousands of questions he was keeping in. Magnus almost looked pleased when he realized just how much trouble he was having with this, and Alec easily realized that it was very clear he had little experience when it came to not being in control of situations with Downworlders. And Magnus was clearly enjoying watching him squirm. "A friend of ours," he said to Magnus, pointedly ignoring Alec, "Saw the last of the disappearance victims as she was being dragged off down an alleyway. And she was able to describe the person dragging her off."

Alec held his breath once more. They were finally getting somewhere with all of this. After a month of no leads, they were gaining information that could turn into something more. "I do not know the man's name, but I do know that he was once in the Circle," Malcolm continued. Alec wasn't too surprised to hear that a Shadowhunter was at least aiding in taking these Downworlders. He wished he could deny the fact that so many Shadowhunters simply hated Downworlders, but the fact of the matter was that Shadowhunters were the most likely culprits. "The warlock who spotted him could easily see his Circle rune, even after all these years."

Alec repressed the urge to shudder. Yet in all of their investigation, the Circle had never even become a thought. But Alec knew that they'd been fools to not think of the most obvious answer. Alec tensed as Magnus gave a low chuckle, realizing that he'd muttered the words, "Occam's razor," very much out loud instead of saying them in the depths of his mind. "Our friend described him as having dark hair and strikingly dark blue eyes that she could even see in the dark of the alley," Malcolm continued, and Alec began trying to put the pieces together. "When she described the man to me, I must admit that I had no idea of who she was speaking of. She described the shape of his face and many other things that I deemed insignificant. But looking at you now," Malcolm said, his piercing eyes finally returning to Alec, "It is like my entire mind has been cleared."

It took Alec several seconds to wade through what Malcolm was saying. At first, he thought Malcolm was implying that Alec himself had been the Shadowhunter that was kidnapping Downworlders. But that was utterly absurd on so many levels that Alec couldn't count them all. Alec slowly began putting the pieces together, clicking things into place as Magnus's concerned gaze fell on him. If the culprit had a Circle rune, it meant that he was in the generation of Valentine Morgenstern. Which was also his parents' generation. Alec's mind started spinning out of control and there was nothing he could do to stop it. He knew that he shared his father's features. He'd often been told that he looked uncannily like his father had "back in the day." But what Malcolm was implying was absolutely impossible. He would have known if either of his parents had been in the Circle. Not to mention the fact that his father would never do anything to harm Downworlder children.

When Alec's eyes finally met Malcolm's once more, the warlock was smiling at him in a way that made chills run down Alec's spine. "What is it, young Shadowhunter?" he asked, his voice dripping with amusement. "Have you not been made aware of your father's more wild years? If I remember correctly, and Magnus can vouch for me on this one, Robert Lightwood was one of the Circle's more ruthless members." Alec was aware of the fact that he was shaking his head, his eyes narrowing. There was absolutely no way that any of this was true. His father was such a gentle person. His father was the person he had look up to for as long as he could remember. His father was his hero. "Truly. If you don't believe me, simply as Magnus for clarification," Malcolm concluded, folding his hands in his lap as if to say that his work was done for the moment.

Alec whirled on Magnus despite the fact that everything in his body was telling him to slow down and remain calm about the situation. At first, it seemed as though Magnus did not want to get mixed up in the current conversation. But he eventually sighed, shifting his weight in a way that showed he was visibly uncomfortable. "Your parents and I first met when the Circle decided to raid and attack werewolf family that had not broken the Accords," Magnus admitted. Somehow, hearing these words from Magnus made them even worse than Alec had imagined. "Your father flung a dagger at me and looked particularly disappointed when I did not die," he said, and Alec was suddenly on his feet.

Being a Shadowhunter, Alec was out of the apartment far before Magnus was, and the time it took Magnus to catch up with him gave Alec the time he needed to sort through his thoughts ever so slightly. What Magnus had said simply didn't match the man Alec knew. If his father hated Downworlders so much, then why had he initiated a mission that would allow Alec to acquire information that could help save Downworlder lives? And if he was the person causing the disappearances, then why would he want Alec investigating into their cause? But more than that, Alec simply couldn't reconcile this new information with what he knew of his father. All of Alec's life, Robert had been nothing but gentle and kind. Alec had never seen a trace of hatred in any of his father's actions. So how could any of this be true?

"Alec! Please slow down!" Magnus was a few steps behind him, and Alec finally did slow down, fighting back laughter as he realized just how out of breath Magnus really was. "I meant nothing by it, but I spoke the truth," Magnus said as soon as he'd sufficiently caught his breath. "People change, and I would be the first person to admit that your father has changed dramatically since the first time I met him." Alec finally glanced at Magnus then, the question in his eyes. "Your father has made himself an ally of Downworld over the past few years, but Malcolm seems to think that he has done so in order to become inconspicuous." Alec looked away from Magnus at that, the disgust clearly written on his face as he made no point of hiding it.

For a moment, Magnus was silent, but when he spoke again, he was much calmer than Alec would have thought. "I do not pretend to know what is going on with your father, but there is one thing that I do know," he said, causing Alec to glance toward him once more. "Whatever you think you're going to do needs to be stopped right now. You cannot walk into the Institute and interrogate your father on the matter. If he really is the culprit, you could be digging yourself a hole that you will never be able to get out of." After all the things he'd heard that night, Alec was fairly certain this was what disgusted and wounded him the most. The thought that his father would ever be capable of hurting him, much less willing to hurt him, was appalling to say the least.

"You know nothing of my father then," Alec coldly responded as they stopped in front of the Institute. "For you to think him capable of Downworlder disappearances is one thing," he continued, registering the surprise in Magnus's expression but ignoring it. "But even if this were my father, I can assure you that I would be completely safe in asking him about the situation." Alec's eyes leveled with Magnus's, and for a moment, Alec could easily see the anger mixed with fear in the warlock's eyes. "I am going to question my father no matter what your thoughts on the subject are. My father has always been open with me, and there is no reason to think he would be otherwise now."

As soon as Alec had said it, he realized his error, but there was no taking his words back now. But what surprised him the most was Magnus's response, the warlock's voice so much colder than Alec had ever heard it. "Open?" he asked, his voice hinting at the irony of the situation. "Just like he was open with you about being in the Circle?" At that, Alec turned and stepped into the Institute's gate, slamming it behind him. Who did Magnus think he was to question their family in this way? One interaction with Robert almost two decades ago and he suddenly thought himself an expert on the Lightwoods? Alec heard Magnus call after him, but it was too late, the Institute's doors were already closing, and Alec slumped against them, leaning on the safety of the fact that Magnus could not follow him. Yet it took Alec several seconds to realize that his father was now standing directly in front him him, his arms crossed in the most disapproving of ways.

Magnus cursed as the Institute doors closed behind Alec. He never should have taken Alec with him to Malcolm's, but then again, he'd never imagined that Malcolm would have that kind of information for them. And he'd also never imagined that the Lightwood children were still in the dark about their parents' past. But Alec was clearly very much in the dark. Magnus tamped down his fear as he turned away from the Institute. There was no point in simply standing outside when he could not follow Alec in. Sure, there had been a time when he'd regarded Robert Lightwood as one of the most dangerous Shadowhunter the Circle had to offer. But times had changed, and he no longer imagined Robert as anything other than the most loving of fathers.

Yet Magnus couldn't deny the facts, and he couldn't keep himself from being worried for Alec. Questioning Robert could turn dangerous for Alec in a matter of minutes, no matter how much the young Shadowhunter wanted to deny it. Magnus ran his hands through his hair as he realized that he was utterly powerless to help Alec no matter what happened. The questioning would either go well, or it wouldn't. But either way, Magnus was stuck on the wrong side of the Institute doors. He idly began wondering just when he'd become so concerned about Alec. After spending a month working so closely with Alec, Magnus had to admit that he hadn't taken the time to filter through his feelings for the Shadowhunter.

Alec was infuriatingly beautiful, made even more so by the fact that he had no idea of it. But he was still a Shadowhunter, and Magnus knew that he simply couldn't afford to get caught up in Shadowhunter business in that way. But Magnus was self-aware enough to understand that he'd spent the past month counting the moments until he could see Alec again. Another fact that made him angry, only it made him angry with himself. He all but kicked in the door to his own apartment, his mind such a maze at the moment that he was working on autopilot. It wasn't until he was already through the door that Magnus realized the wards around his apartment had been broken.