Hi all! I hope you enjoy this week's chapter! We're finally going to be getting into the story so to speak and beginning the action!
So I'm at the point in my summer where the time to write is very very little, so this is the point where I begin to make no promises about how close I can stick to my schedule! Hopefully I'll be able to post at least on Sundays, but we'll see!
As always, let me know your thoughts on this chapter! I love to hear from y'all! Enjoy!
"Take this and drink it," Magnus said, though his tone of voice was pretty far away from being an order. "You need it," he added as Alec looked up to see him holding out a mug full of freshly brewed coffee. Alec couldn't help but smile at the gentleness of Magnus's voice and the way he was absentmindedly rubbing his thumb back and forth across Alec's shoulder. He knew that Magnus wouldn't stop worrying until he actually drank the coffee, so he took the mug and watched as the warlock came to sit down across the table from him. It had been three weeks since their meeting with Malcolm and their subsequent confession of feelings. But that meant that yet another Downworlder had disappeared, and if the pattern held, another person would go missing the very next week.
But what had brought Alec to Magnus's apartment this late at night was the fact that two more Downworlders had died within two days of one another. Yet again, there was no pattern, and yet again, there seemed to be no way of predicting or preventing these deaths. So Alec had showed up at Magnus's, both of them ignoring the fact that Alec was trying to appear as though he wasn't worried. Both of them knowing that this was a very blatant lie. In the end, despite both of them knowing that Alec was only really there because he was worried about Magnus's safety, they'd decided to go over the cases again. Alec simply couldn't stand the thought of losing any more Downworlders, and even if they were getting nowhere, at least he felt like he was doing something productive that might eventually lead somewhere. "Have you talked to your father yet?" Magnus asked, turning Alec's thoughts to an entirely new side of the case.
Alec involuntarily sighed, reaching to run a hand through his hair. He'd promised Magnus almost a week ago that he was going to talk to his father, but every time he tried to do so, he lost all resolve. Alec had spent weeks overthinking the entire situation, and the worst part was that he was very conscious of this. And he was also conscious of the fact that having that conversation with his father could easily give them the leads they'd been looking for. But no matter how hard he tried, Alec simply couldn't take his mind out of the equation. Either his father was or wasn't involved with the Downworlder disappearances. But even if he wasn't, Alec couldn't erase the thought that the very conversation would hurt his father. So he'd gone back and forth for weeks, unable to gather the courage to do absolutely anything about his suspicions. He'd even thought of following his father until the situation was cleared up, but that was a level that Alec simply couldn't stoop to. "No, not yet," he admitted, not meeting Magnus's eyes because he was afraid of the disappointment he would likely see there.
They both knew that this conversation could potentially save lives, but Alec knew that Magnus was too kind to actually voice this to him. "Let me see if I have everything correct," Magnus said, and Alec braced himself, feeling as though Magnus was finally going to let him have it. "Your father, the person you're closest to, has been hiding things from you all of your life, but you have yet to confront him about that." Alec simply nodded, still refusing to meet Magnus's eyes. But then Magnus's hand found his, and Alec couldn't help but look up at the other man. He'd been so sure he knew where the conversation was headed, but now he wasn't so confident. "And you don't want to talk to your father about this because that would guilt you into coming out to him, since you've been hiding that from him for years. But you feel you can't come out to him because you're afraid you'll lose him," Magnus finished, his tone entirely matter of fact. "Am I anywhere close to correct?"
Alec couldn't help but move to lace his fingers through Magnus's. He couldn't have said any of it better himself, and he began to feel slightly guilty for his surprise over that. Of course Magnus understood him in this way; he was stupid to think that Magnus wouldn't. "That's exactly it," he breathed, his voice barely above a whisper. At that, Magnus gave his hand a very gentle squeeze, and Alec returned it. They didn't need to say anything else for each of them to know what the other was thinking. Alec knew that Magnus was trying to tell him that he understood and would be there for Alec no matter what. So Alec simply returned to his work, quickly reviewing the new disappearances with Magnus, their fingers remaining intertwined. Yet even as they waded through the new information, both of them seemed to understand that nothing new and useful was going to come out of it.
Yet Alec forced himself to walk through each case once more, taking things just as slowly as they ever had. Maybe even slower if he was being completely honest about it. They had only gotten through four of the cases when Magnus suddenly stood up, finally separating their hands. He quickly walked over to Alec with the easy grace he always held, the sort of grace Alec had come to adore. "Dance with me?" he asked, holding out his hand to Alec once more, the smile on his face full of more emotions than Alec cared to wade through at the moment. At first, Alec glanced down at the papers in front of them, concerned that they would fall behind in some way, though there was nothing to fall behind in since they were making absolutely no progress. "We need a break, Alexander," Magnus continued, his voice far too enticing. "Plus, we haven't danced together since the night we met, and I must admit that I wish to know that feeling once more."
As Alec finally stood up, Magnus waved his free hand and music suddenly filled the apartment. Slowly, Alec realized that he was smiling, realized that just the thought of sharing this sort of moment with Magnus made his heart race in anticipation. As soon as he was in Magnus's arms, the rest of the world faded away. Nothing else mattered in that moment, and Alec couldn't find it in himself to so much as wish that anything mattered. In a matter of seconds, Alec felt himself relax so completely in a way he hadn't in weeks. He leaned into Magnus, allowing the warlock to take the lead this time, allowing the sound of the music and the feeling of Magnus's arms around him wash over him. It took several long moments of dancing before Alec realized that Magnus had played the same song they had shared their first dance to. He looked up at Magnus in surprise, his heartbeat racing once again at the soft smile that was spread across Magnus's face. "What?" Magnus asked, his voice an almost breathless whisper. "Did you think I'd forget to soon?"
Alec smiled back at him, moving in a way that allowed him to quickly and softly kiss Magnus while still keeping their dancing in time with the music. "No," Alec replied as soon as they'd pulled apart. He smiled when he realized just how much Magnus hadn't wanted their kiss to end, all but chasing after Alec. "I just didn't expect you to be such a romantic," he confessed, laughing as Magnus feigned shock. "You know, I always imagined the High Warlock of Brooklyn as this badass hero who would never so much as have time for such trivial things as love and romance and awkward Shadowhunters," Alec continued, resting his head on Magnus's shoulder. He heard Magnus snort, and he felt the warlock's shoulder rise and fall in quiet laughter, and for some inexplicable reason, Alec felt a happiness so strong well up in him that he wasn't exactly sure how to handle it. So he simply closed his eyes, easily allowing Magnus to lead him around the room, his Shadowhunter training allowing him to keep up with Magnus's elegant grace.
After several moments of silence, Alec suddenly felt Magnus kiss his forehead, a gesture so unimaginably gentle that it caused Alec's heart to race in an entirely new way. "You are anything but trivial, Alexander," Magnus finally responded, his voice impossibly soft in a way that Alec had never heard. He'd thought that Magnus would respond with a joke about how he was, indeed, a badass hero, but the warlock had gone in the opposite direction, opting for a gentleness that Alec simply hadn't expected. So Alec allowed himself to drift there, feeling himself relaxing more and more with every second that passed. It almost felt as though something had finally clicked, and he realized just how perfectly he fit into Magnus's arms, almost as though they were neighboring pieces of a puzzle. Alec smiled even more as he felt Magnus relax as well, something he was entirely sure Magnus had been unable to do for weeks.
And then Alec's phone was suddenly ringing and the music stopped and the moment was irrevocably ruined. For a moment, they simply stood in the middle of Magnus's living room, staring at each other as though they were daring one another to ignore the ringing phone and carry on as before. But then Alec realized that it was the ringtone he'd assigned to his father, and he forced himself to go back to the kitchen table and answer his phone. Alec involuntarily sighed as Robert asked him how quickly he could be home. "I know, I know," Robert said, and Alec could hear the amusement in his voice. "But I need to send you on a mission tonight, and I need you home so that I can give you all the information. Hodge thinks he may have found demonic activity that may be connected to the Downworlder situation." Alec snapped to attention at that. This could be the lead they had been looking for.
"I'll be there in fifteen minutes," Alec promised before hanging up. He quickly filled Magnus in, explaining that he had to leave because this could be their first real break in the case. Before leaving, Alec asked Magnus to check the integrity of his wards, something that earned a chuckle from Magnus. But Alec couldn't help but ask this of him. They still hadn't figured out exactly who had taken Magnus's wards down, and Alec had been having trouble falling asleep on the nights that he remembered this little fact. He was slightly surprised when Magnus did so without any complaints, clearly wanting to put Alec's mind at ease as much as possible. Alec watched as Magnus worked the spell needed to check on the wards. He knew that Ragnor had helped Magnus reinstate the wards, and both warlocks had promised him that the wards were much stronger than they had been before. But Alec couldn't help but wonder if they were strong enough to keep Magnus's intruder out.
Before finally heading home, Alec slipped into Magnus's embrace once more, hoping that the memory of Magnus would be enough to last him until he could see the warlock again. "The wards are stronger than they've ever been," Magnus said as he wrapped his arms around Alec. Despite his best evaluation, Alec couldn't find a hint of deception in Magnus's voice, so he forced himself to believe that Magnus was completely safe tonight. "Now go off and save the world, Shadowhunter," Magnus finished, and Alec moved to quickly kiss the smile off of his face. But before he could be pulled back into the feelings they'd earlier shared, Alec forced himself to let go of Magnus and head home, promising himself that he would spend much more time like this with Magnus as soon as they solved the Downworlder cases.
Magnus couldn't help but pour himself a glass of wine almost as soon as Alec left. It was going to be a long night, but Magnus had been expecting a long night with Alec. Now he was alone, unless you counted Chairman Meow, and he still had work that he'd been avoiding for days. He'd told Alec that his wards were stronger than ever, and that was the truth. But Magnus couldn't shove aside the sinking feeling that "stronger than ever" simply wasn't strong enough. The list of people Magnus had deemed strong enough to take down his wards was dangerously short. There was Ragnor, but of course it hadn't been Ragnor. There was a number of High Warlocks all across the world, but he'd quickly made short work of that particular list. Every single one of those warlocks strong enough to do the job had alibis that checked out.
Magnus had racked his brain for days, trying to come up with as many alternatives as possible, but he was finally down to one group of people. If you could call them people. The only beings left in the world that could have taken those wards down were Greater Demons, if you didn't count angels, and Magnus didn't because he doubted any angel would care enough about the dealings of people on earth. And Magnus only knew one Greater Demon that would be interested in him enough to go to the trouble of so much as visiting him, much less taking down his wards. He'd scoured his apartment, but in the end, he' been unable to detect anything that might be missing. So why would his father have taken down his wards and left, leaving his apartment untouched and de-warded? It certainly hadn't been because Ragnor had showed up on the scene. Magnus knew from experience that even the most powerful warlocks, like Ragnor, were no match for his father. But Magnus also knew that if it had indeed been his father, no wards that Magnus could put up would ever keep him out. The only wards he'd ever known to keep his father out were those around Alicante, and even those just barely made the cut.
Yet the problem was that Magnus wasn't afraid of being on his father's radar. When your father made his home in his own personal corner of hell, as Asmodeus most certainly did, you were always on someone's radar, and that was a fact that you simply got used to. But the problem was that Magnus knew that Alec could very easily be put on Asmodeus's radar as well, if he wasn't already. Magnus sighed and put down his glass of wine, knowing what he had to do, though it was the absolute last thing he actually wanted to do. Demon summoning was something he hated with everything he had, but there was one particular demon he could always count on to know his father's whereabouts, and right now, that was the one thing he needed to know the most.
So Magnus began to set up the pentagram he would need, knowing that the demon he wanted to summon was far too weak to need any heavy duty sort of bindings. He couldn't help but curse as pain shot through his arm, just as he was almost done with the summoning. He would have to start all over, and he only had his soulmate to thank for that. Runes of surefootedness and stamina were beginning to carve themselves into Magnus's arm. He had the fleeting thought that those were the type of runes Alec would likely be applying before his own mission, but he quickly shoved that thought aside. There was no use in dwelling on thoughts that boiled down to nothing more than wishful thinking. The fact that Alec was about to go on a mission had nothing to do with the fact that Magnus's soulmate was applying runes. Shadowhunters went on missions and hunts constantly, and they applied runes even more often.
Magnus told himself there was no use in getting worked up over such coincidences. His soulmate could be preparing themselves for absolutely anything at the moment. So Magnus turned his attention back to the summoning, starting over, going through the motions that he knew a little too well. The demon who eventually showed up was not at all surprised to find that it was Magnus who had summoned it. In this world, the demon couldn't take a physical form, so Magnus simply looked away instead of trying to find a face to focus on in the whirling mist that was the demon. "Let me guess," it said in the same voice that never failed to give Magnus chills. It always sounded like nails on a chalkboard. "You want information about your father?" it asked, and Magnus could have sworn he heard a hint of amusement in its voice.
At first, Magnus nodded, but then he realized just how ridiculous that was since the demon didn't actually have eyes to see him with. "I want to know where my father was the last time he was on earth," Magnus said, making sure to be more specific than most people would have thought of. With demons, you had to ask for the exact thing you wanted. Otherwise, you never knew what you were going to get from them in return. "If he's not here now, that is," Magnus added, knowing full well that his father spent most of his time on earth. Over the years, Magnus had tried to become accustomed to that little fact, but the thought was still as terrifying now as it had been the first time he'd had it. His father was a force to be reckoned with, and that was something he wouldn't wish on his worst enemy. Or at least, he wouldn't have if his worst enemy wasn't actually his own father.
The demon seemed to try to laugh before answering, only causing Magnus to wince. "If I remember correctly, it seems Lord Asmodeus was in this very dwelling the last time he graced earth with his glorious presence," it finally replied, confirming Magnus's worst fears. He had the fleeting thought that his father being royalty made him royalty as well. But the last thing Magnus would ever want was to be recognized as a prince among demons. He would much rather be a pesant among angles. Which was part of the reason that he'd been on his father's radar for so long. Demons didn't have such powerful children without the thought that their children might one day work for them. Time and time again, Magnus had rejected his father, and each time he did so, that only made Asmodeus angrier. And Magnus wasn't one to be scared by people's anger, but when it came to his father, just the thought of Asmodeus's wrath made him flinch.
He'd often wondered why his father hadn't simply killed him yet. It wasn't as though Asmodeus didn't have the power to do so. But after several years of research, Magnus had discovered that he was the only one of Asmodeus's children to ever turn him down on his work offers, and he had long suspected that Asmodeus enjoyed the challenge that Magnus presented to him. Which had always been fine with Magnus. Staying out of his father's reach seemed to be easy enough, and the danger was something he had quickly gotten used to. But that was before he'd fallen in love with a Shadowhunter. Sure, he'd been with tons of people over the centuries, but the fact of the matter was that Asmodeus would be fascinated with the idea that his son was dating a Shadowhunter. And where Asmodeus was concerned, fascination was the last thing you wanted him to feel.
Magnus wanted to be relieved at the fact that his father was not on earth at the moment. He wanted to feel safe because of it, but he simply couldn't allow himself to do so. Just because Asmodeus was not on earth, that didn't mean that he wasn't plotting and building up power. Magnus wanted to send the demon back to where it had come from, unable to stand any more gushing about his father, but suddenly, the demon's eerie laugh jerked Magnus out of his thoughts. "Does your father know what's going on with your magic?" it asked, laughing again when Magnus assured it that he had no idea what it was referring to. But even he could hear that he was trying to convince himself of that more than anything. "You're tiring more easily; you're growing weaker in general. Or have I misinterpreted your aura?" Magnus didn't respond. They both knew the answer to that question.
For weeks, Magnus had been noticing changes in his magical abilities. It had begun slowly at first, and Magnus had ignored every single sign he'd been given. He'd thought that he was just tiring faster because he'd been doing more magic getting less sleep. But then he'd gotten several days of rest, and he'd still found himself tiring after spells that used to give him no trouble at all. He was growing weaker, the demon had that much right, no matter how long Magnus had been lying to himself about that. But Magnus didn't want to admit this to anyone at the moment, much less an inconsequential demon he'd summoned for information. So he sent the demon back to where it had come from without another word, knowing that it likely wouldn't be long before the demon found Asmodeus and told him about this highly interesting turn of events.
Just the thought of his father finding this out made chills run down Magnus's spine. Asmodeus had never made a move on him because he believed that Magnus could eventually be useful to him. His father had spent years chasing after him, so to speak, trying to find ways to convince Magnus to work for him. And Magnus had always believed that this was what had kept him safe for centuries. But if his father knew that he was losing power, then his father would eventually come to the realization that Magnus was losing his usefulness. And if Magnus lost his usefulness, then he would also lose his safety. For centuries he'd held onto that safety with everything that he had. Magnus had seen first hand what his father was capable of, and he'd always thanked his lucky stars that he'd found a way to keep out of his father's reach. But now Asmodeus certainly had a reason to close in on Magnus, and if demons of the lowest class were beginning to notice the change in Magnus's magic, then it was clearly not something Magnus could ignore for much longer.
But Magnus forced himself to keep from dwelling on that, and he returned to the papers he and Alec had spread out in the kitchen. The most puzzling thing about the entire case was that, despite the fact that he and Ragnor and one of the Silent Brothers had analyzed several of the Downworlder bodies, no one could pinpoint a cause of death for any of the Downworlders. And Magnus began to wonder if this had anything to do with his father. Yet just as Magnus had no idea why his father would be searching his apartment, Magnus had no idea why his father would be kidnapping or killing Downworlders seemingly at random. Before long, Magnus shoved the papers aside, picking up Chairman Meow as he made his way toward his bedroom, hoping that he would be able to fall asleep without worrying about Alec for too long. He shoved away thoughts of just how tired he truly was, and just how much energy it was taking for him to keep his glamours up. As much as he hated to admit it, the demon he'd summoned had had a pretty solid point. And Magnus didn't know how much longer he could go without consulting someone like Ragnor about his personal situation.
Alec was entirely sure that his night couldn't get any worse. He'd been planning on staying at Magnus's as late as possible, but he couldn't ignore the fact that his father was right in saying they needed to investigate some specific demonic activity. Robert had sent them to Pandemonium yet again after catching them up on the fact that several mundanes had recently gone missing from the club. They had no idea if this had anything to do with the Downworlder disappearances, but it was close enough to warrant concern. Which was why Robert wanted them on the case instead of a team the Clave might send in. So they'd gone out into the cold in search of any clues that might at least lead them toward the right track. It hadn't been snowing when they'd left the Institute, but Alec knew that a storm was coming before the night was over, and he wished he hadn't been forced to put gear on instead of one of his many sweaters.
It hadn't taken them long to find the demons responsible for the mundane disappearances, and to Alec's disappointment, it seemed as though this was purely a demonic case that had nothing to do with the Downworlder disappearances. So Alec had assumed that this would be a routine mission, but naturally he had been dead wrong as he was currently staring at a mundane girl, trying to figure out what to do since she was screaming her head off at the sight of Jace's weapons. All of the logic within Alec told him that no mundane should be able to see them, especially not when they were so heavily glamoured. But here she was, putting herself in the middle of Jace and Izzy's fight with the demon, almost as though she was trying to protect it. Alec could hear Jace trying to explain to her that the demon was not actually a human being as she likely thought it was, but the little redheaded girl wasn't buying it.
As always, Alec was working the perimeter, making sure that he would be the first to know if another demon came out of nowhere and tried to attack Izzy and Jace. But what Alec hadn't been expecting was for the demon they currently had on the ground to get up enough strength and courage to launch itself at Isabelle's leg. And it was clear that Izzy hadn't been expecting it either. She hit the ground with a sickening thud just as the redheaded girl's nerdy mundane friend returned to her side, and Alec forced himself to stay in position, reminding himself that Jace and Izzy were competent enough to handle a surprise attack. Yet Alec didn't have time to analyze the fact that the boy couldn't see them becuase he was suddenly on the ground as well, grasping at his leg in surprise and pain. "Simon!" the girl yelled, looking to Jace for help. But thankfully, Jace was already in action, moving to Isabelle's side faster than Alec had ever seen him move. Alec didn't need to hear Jace to know that he wanted Alec to step in and keep the mundanes out of the situation.
So Alec moved to step in front of the girl, putting himself between her and the struggle with the demon, holding his breath as he realized that some sort of demon blade had sunk itself into Isabelle's right leg. Alec groaned when he realized that Simon was holding onto his right leg in the same exact spot that the blade had entered Isabelle's, blood beginning to ooze out from between his fingers. Of course Isabelle's soulmate was a mundane because nothing could actually get any worse or any more confusing at the moment. Trusting Jace to finish the demon off, Alec quickly took his glamour off, bending down to tear Simon's pants away from the wound. Taking a piece of Simon pants, Alec quickly wrapped the wound as best he could, knowing that the flow of blood was far too fast for this to be of any real help. Not to mention the fact that Simon's wound wouldn't heal until Isabelle's did as well. "How can you see us, little girl?" Alec asked, looking up at the mundane as he held his hands to Simon's wound.
It amused Alec ever so slightly that Simon seemed to be in too much shock to actually ask Alec anything at all. But then Alec realized that they already had several mundanes staring at them, and Alec knew that it wouldn't be long before someone was questioning why Simon had a knife wound. "My name is not little girl, it's Clary," she replied, her fear evident in her voice though Alec knew she was trying to seem calm and collected. "And I don't know the answer to that any more than you do. I don't even know what you really are," Clary said, which sparked a conversation between her and Simon as to what they might be if they weren't humans. Ignoring them, Alec signaled for Jace. He'd just finished applying healing runes to Izzy, but Alec could tell without asking that they weren't working. There had clearly been some sort of poison on the blade, as was the case with many demon blades. Alec took several deep breaths, attempting to slow his heart rate down as fear for his sister began to overwhelm him. He didn't have time for this kind of fear right now.
Alec locked eyes with Simon for the first time that night, knowing that there was no way they were going to get out of the situation at hand without complicating matters even more. "Can you walk?" he asked, and Simon slowly nodded, as though he was trying to convince himself that he could more than he was trying to convince Alec. So Alec simply looped an arm around Simon, helping him stand and ignoring the fact that there were several mundanes who seemed to be on the phone with the police. Instead of speaking to Jace, he simply motioned toward the exit, hoping that they could make it outside without attracting much more attention. Despite the fact that many mundanes had called the police, no one moved to keep them from leaving, and Alec was incredibly thankful for that. As soon as they were outside, he applied a glamour that would allow him to glamour both Clary and Simon simply by touching them, hoping this would buy him enough time to figure out exactly how to proceed.
"We can't leave Simon here, not when he's wounded like that," Jace said as he came up behind Alec, Isabelle unconscious in his arms. Alec wanted to protest that as soon as Isabelle was healed Simon would be fine too, but he knew that Jace was right. Even if Simon was going to end up healed, they certainly couldn't leave Isabelle's soulmate out in the cold. She would kill them if they did that. But more than that, both Clary and Simon had seen them, and Alec knew that meant they were now in danger or seeing more of the Shadow World, which would likely get them killed. So Alec simply nodded and followed Jace, trying his hardest to ignore the fact that Isabelle's breathing was becoming more ragged with every second that passed by. They would get her to Hodge and she would be absolutely fine. Or at least, that was what Alec had to tell himself in order to keep himself upright and walking toward the Institute, especially after Simon himself passed out and had be carried the rest of the way.