Red Hell
"Just a few more steps, Alexander, and we will take a break," Magnus said, imbuing as much encouragement as he could into the words. He half carried and half-dragged a limping Alec along, pushing past the exhaustion that seized his own muscles. The arm that Alec had wrapped over Magnus' shoulders was hot and slippery with sweat and his body felt unusually heavy and tall against Magnus' body. When Alec stumbled on a rock, Magnus had to tighten his grip around Alec's waist to avoid them both falling on the dry and scorching sand. The movement caused Alec to gasp in pain, the air making a wheezing sound as it entered his lungs. By the time they reached the small crevice in the rocky face of the mountain, Alec's head sagged against his chest and his eyes were barely open. As soon as they were inside the small shelter, Magnus helped him lean against the rock and slide down to a sitting position on the ground.
Magnus examined Alec more carefully then and saw with apprehension the red and angry burns and blisters that covered his face and arms, and the deep cuts that had ripped his shirt and the skin on his chest and back. Telling by his difficulty breathing, Magnus suspected that Alec also had at least one broken rib. When he lifted the right leg of his pants, Magnus saw with unease that Alec's right ankle was terribly swollen and bruised, likely the result of a fracture from when one of the demons Alec had been fighting grabbed him with its sharp and strong talons.
"I cannot heal you or ease your pain right now, Alexander," he said, his voice full of anguish. "We need all my powers to make it to the exit point and get out of here. Can you manage?"
"I will be okay, Magnus," Alec said, his voice as reassuring as he could manage considering the pain and exhaustion he was feeling.
"I know you will. You are tough and strong." Magnus rested his hand against Alec's soot-covered cheek and smiled, admiration and concern coloring the smile. He wanted to kiss him, tell him how glad he was to have found him, how much his heart was bursting with joy now that he could look into his eyes and touch his face, but he restrained himself. The memories of the terrible desolation they had just witnessed was still fresh in his mind and if he was going to kiss Alec, he didn't want to do it in this place or while holding those memories. Besides, they were far from safe, had still some distance to go, and were bound to find even more perils on their path.
"I knew you would come for me," Alec said, his voice strained and his breathing shallow, yet his eyes were still warm and gentle. "I saw it in your eyes when I fell down that hole. I knew you couldn't be that mad at me to leave me here."
"Of course, I was going to come for you," Magnus replied as he sat beside Alec and took his hand. "And, I am not mad at you. Even if I was, I could never be mad at you for long, you know that."
It had taken a couple of attempts for he, Catarina and Tessa to figure out the right spell and the correct configuration of the pentagram that opened the doorway through which Magnus came into the Seventh Circle. Even as he stepped into the flaming pentagram they had drawn on the floor in the center of the room, Magnus still remained uncertain whether this one would lead him to the correct destination.
"You know what you have to do," he had told Tessa and Catarina, reminding them of their plan, hoping his friends' powers would not fail them at the end. The last thing he had seen right before the orange flames became a wall of fire and the gateway opened into this barren, hot and crimson landscape, was the anxious faces of the two women.
Magnus had entered the Seventh Circle at a point in which the barrier that separated this realm from the mundane world was at its weakest, a spot located near the petrified trunk of a long-dead tree about a kilometer from the foot of a tall rocky mountain. As soon as he had stepped through the doorway, Magnus had looked around and had instantly known that he had arrived at the correct destination. The endless sky was a deep and scorching scarlet, completely devoid of sun, moon or stars, the red interrupted only by occasional black clouds. Between the clouds, winged demons flew in circles searching for pray. The ground was a similar tone of red, covered in sections with loose hot sand while in others, the parched hard soil was cracked in long and deep furrows that were a hazard to anyone walking through them. Rivers of boiling rock and lava scorched the terrain as they flowed down from the mountain. The rivers, together with the rock formations and the skeleton of burned trees scattered around the immense landscape, were the only landmarks that distinguished scarlet ground from crimson sky. Overall, the landscaped was an endless wasteland. The air was so dried and hot that Magnus' eyes felt like they were cooking in their sockets and his throat and lungs burned every time he took a breath.
Magnus had taken a moment to get his bearing, trying to figure out where a Shadowhunter might seek refuge in this interminable and inhospitable place. He had surveyed the sky once again and had seen that, far in the distance, in a place between what looked like a riverbank and a rock formation, a flock of demons flew in circles like vultures circling dying pray. Every so often, one or more of the demons dived down while the others continued their macabre dance of death. Suddenly, one of the demons issued an agonizing cry of pain which the rest of the flock echoed with cries of their own before renewing their attack on whatever target was putting up a fight on the ground. Something had told Magnus that that was the place where he would find Alec, that if Alec found himself in a place surrounded by demons, he would never go down without a fight.
With nothing else but that speculation to support his decision, Magnus had adjusted Alec's bow and quiver across his back and had set off at a run in the direction of the demons, hoping, first, that his hunch would pay off and, then, that he would arrive on time. Before leaving, he had cast a simple spell to mark the place where he hoped he would be able to reopen the doorway that would take him and Alec home. The spell was tied to his own magic and was designed to act as a homing beacon guiding him back.
Magnus was unaccustomed to carrying weapons, having always relied solely on his magic, and while the bow and quiver remained closely fasten to his back, he still felt their weight and bouncing every time his feet hit the ground. Tessa and Catarina had questioned his decision to carry the weapons, but he had argued that Alec would need them to help him fight their way out of the Seventh Circle. He had known all along that Asmodeus would not let them leave without a fight and that he and Alec would have a much better chance if they were both properly armed. Besides, he doubted that Alec would simply stand aside and let him face his father alone, and he, Magnus, would feel much better if Alec had a means to defend himself.
He had run as fast as he could through open terrain, trying to avoid being detected by either the winged demons or any other creature lurking or rummaging on the ground. He had known that if he was going to succeed, he needed to remain undetected by his father or the members of his court for as long as possible. For that reason, he had relied exclusively on his physical prowess, avoiding using magic for fear that his father would detect the variations in the energy field that the use of warlock magic was bound to create. He also knew he would need all his powers to get himself and Alec out. He was in good shape but after a while of running in the almost unbearable heat, through uneven and hazardous terrain, and without magic assistance, his muscles had begun to scream for a break.
Magnus had kept a close eye on the ground to void stumbling and falling on the sand, or breaking a foot, or worse a leg, on a crack or rock. But every few moments and in order to make sure he was going in the right direction, he had looked up at the gleamingly crimson sky and at the winged demons that remained locked in the battle with whom Magnus hoped was Alec. After what felt like an eternity, he had finally reached the massive rock formation behind which the demons were intensifying their attack. Keeping his back flat against the rock, Magnus had begun to slowly follow its curb hoping the demons would not detect his approach.
And there, at the other side of the rock formation, Magnus had finally found Alexander Lightwood, his Alexander, cornered between the rock and the riverbank, locked in battle with a flock of murderous monsters. Alec held a long makeshift lance in his hand made from a tree branch and what looked like sharp stone pieces tied at both ends with strips of leather from his Shadowhunter jacket. With swift, sinuous and powerful movements that were elegant despite his fatigue and injuries, Alec swung the lance back and forth, alternating between blocking and charging with all his strength. His back was to the rock face, which, Magnus suspected, offered Alec protection from attacks from behind.
Despite his swift movements, Magnus had clearly seen the exhaustion and pain in Alec's expression. His face was covered in a mixture of dirt and sweat, and his hair stuck to his forehead and to the back of his neck. He was also injured. Deep scratches crisscrossed his chest, shoulders and back. The skin in his arms and face was also covered in red and blistering burns, and as he moved from side to side, he limped. Still, he fought fiercely and with unnatural agility, a look of determination, concentration and ferocity in his deep brown eyes.
A quick survey of the terrain had told Magnus that Alec had, so far, had some success. For the bodies of at least two monsters were strewn on the ground, ichor seeping from deep stab holes and staining the ground black. At least two of the flying demons also exhibited holes in the membranes that covered their leathery wings.
Magnus had barely had enough time to let go of the breath he had been holding ever since he had seen Alec fall through his father's demon trap, and to ascertain that, while Alec was fierce and brave in battle, he was also weakening fast. Careful not to distract the Shadowhunter, Magnus had taken the bow and quiver from across his back and, using magic for the first time since he had entered the Seventh Circle, jumped atop the rock and set off at a run in Alec's direction. If Alec saw his approach or felt his presence, he didn't give any sign of awareness or surprise, focused as he was on repelling the attack of a demon that was trying to sink its enormous talons in his shoulders.
As soon as he reached a spot atop the rock that was directly behind Alec, Magnus had snapped his fingers and had sent a powerful surge of magic that instantly dispatched the demon intent on grabbing Alec. Immediately after that, he propelled himself off the rock, and as he summersaulted in midair, he sent the bow and quiver in Alec's direction with a short burst of magic, before firmly landing on the ground right between Alec and the demons.
Alec had let go of his makeshift weapon and, extending an arm over his head, had caught his bow and quiver in midair with surprising agility and accuracy. In a swift and practiced moment, he had then wrapped the quiver around his back and nocked an arrow.
As soon as his feet touched the ground, Magnus had allowed himself the briefest of glances back towards Alec. Alec had rewarded him with an equally brief smile and nod, before coming to stand beside Magnus and turning once again towards the demons, and arrow already trained on their enemy.
Anyone watching Alec and Magnus in action would have been surprised by how easily and fluidly Alec moved with Magnus' powers, how sinuously and harmoniously magic and arrow moved together. It was as if Shadowhunter and Warlock were locked in a dance they had memorized so well that each could anticipate the move of the other a split second before it happened; as if they could read each other's minds and bodies to such an extent that they could predict the direction of their thoughts and the movement of their muscles.
Over the next handful of minutes and in quick succession, Alec and Magnus had dispatched three of the demons, their arrow-pierced and magic-burned bodies hitting the ground with loud thuds amid the cry of their comrades. A fourth one had attempted to, once again, grab and lift Alec by sinking its talons in his shoulders before Magnus turned and sent a stream of red hot magic into its midsection, causing the demon to explode in thousands of burning pieces. When the biggest of the demons dived down, its enormous wings fully deployed, and its sharp talons fully extended, Alec had released an arrow that Magnus propelled with hot streams of magic in the direction of the demon's chest. The monster issued an agonizing shriek when the red-hot arrow pierced him from side to side. It then exploded, and his body hit the ground with a loud crashing sound. The remaining of the flock had flown away amid cries and screeches, either in swift retreat or in search of reinforcements.
Once he was sure the monsters were sufficiently far away to no longer pose immediate threat, Magnus had turned just in time to see Alec fall on one knee, an arm wrapped around himself, obviously exhausted and injured. "Alexander!" Magnus had called as he run at full speed towards the Shadowhunter arriving just in time to stop Alec before he completely collapsed to the ground.
"Magnus," Alec had said, between wheezing breaths, "You sure know how to make an entrance."
"I've got you," Magnus had responded and smiled, happier and more relieved to look into Alec's beautiful eyes than he had been in a long time. Alec had begun to cough, his breathing coming even more raggedly as the last of the adrenaline in his system burned out. Magnus had patted him on the back while he tried to catch his own breath. He considered using some of his powers to ease Alec's pain, but realizing the uncertainty of their situation, had decided against it. "We have to go, Alexander," he had said after a moment of surveying the sky. "The demons are bound to come back with reinforcements, and it is likely that Asmodeus already detected my presence. Can you walk?"
"Yes," Alec had said, his voice a ragged whisper and as he stood, the expression of agony on his face breaking Magnus' heart. "But I cannot run. We need to find cover, or we will be too exposed."
They had agreed to head straight for the shelter of the mountain's shadow and from there walk along its foot towards the spot where Magnus had opened the gateway. Their progress had been slow and hazardous, each step bringing Alec more intense agony and increasing his reliance on Magnus for support.
As they slowly and painfully made their way, Magnus, who had previously been singularly focused on finding Alec, had had a first chance to look around. What he saw filled him with horror and dread. For there, across the dry and hot terrain, hundreds of bodies were walking along, half-naked bodies that were no more than shadows, exhausted and emaciated, their skin marked by the scars of horrible burns, the bones in their back and shoulders sticking out, their eyes sunken, the expression in their faces vacant and listless, the sparkle of life completely gone from them. They dragged their feet along the crimson landscape aimlessly and seemingly without destination, apparently no longer caring about what they had left behind or what awaited them, pushing along towards nowhere and coming from nowhere, completely and utterly resigned to their fate. Magnus couldn't say whether those poor souls were alive, for they had already crossed the threshold that separated life from death. Yet, neither could he call them dead for death was supposed to bring a relief that they had been denied.
"This is hell," Alec had quietly said, as he observed Magnus' anguished expression. "These are the souls that get trapped here: torturers, rapists, murderers and serial killers who have been condemned to endless wondering through this terrible place."
Suddenly, one of the shadows had detached itself from the crowd and had half walked and half stumbled towards Alec and Magnus, her eyes brighter and more focused and her clothes less ragged than that of the others. "Help me!" she had pleaded extending her arms towards them, reaching for Magnus' hand or perhaps the hem of his shirt. "I don't belong here, I don't know why I am here, please take me with you. Please, I just want to go home. I will give you anything!" she begged between desperate sobs.
Seeing the look of hesitation and compassion in Magnus' eyes, Alec had squeezed his hand, recalling his attention. "We cannot help her," he had said between gasps of pain. "Trust me, Magnus, I have tried. We would only call more attention to ourselves," he had added when Magnus turned to look at him, an uncomprehending and pained expression on his face. Alec had smiled, a smile so sad that it tugged at something deep in Magnus' heart. He had then gently coaxed Magnus to move away and continue walking.
A moment later, a loud shriek had echoed in the sky and when they turned and looked up, they had seen a demon dive down, its talon extended towards the woman. The woman had issued a loud cry of terror and cowered on the ground. "Please, don't let it take me," she had begged, looking at Alec and Magnus with a desperation that had yet to turn to hopelessness, and Magnus had recognized in the expression the last remnants of the sparkle of life.
Magnus and Alec had crouched close to the ground trying to blend in with the terrain. "Help me please! Don't let it take me!" the woman had cried out again as the demon sank its talons on her shoulders and lifted her off the ground, taking off with quick and powerful flaps of its leathery wings. About a hundred meters out, the demon had let go of the woman and as she plummeted towards the boiling lava of one of the rivers, she screamed, a scream of agony and terror that overpowered all other sounds. Yet none of the other souls had looked up or seemed to notice as they continued their drifting going nowhere and coming from nowhere.
"We need to keep moving," Alec had said calling Magnus' attention back to him, and when Magnus had looked into his eyes, he had seen more experience and knowledge there than anyone, not even a Shadowhunter his age should ever have. Magnus had realized at that moment that Alec would leave a major part of his innocence in this terrible place, and that he would forever be changed by his ordeal. He just hoped he, Magnus, would have enough years to fill Alec's life with joyful memories that could perhaps sufficiently obscure these ones, even if he could never erase them.
Now they had finally reached a place where they could allow themselves a short reprieve. As Magnus sat beside Alec inside their small rocky shelter and held his hand, he kept a close eye on the rhythm and frequency of his breathing and hoped that, no matter how much the Seven Circle marked him, Alec would at least get a chance to come out of it alive.
"How much longer Magnus," Alec asked, his voice betraying all the exhaustion his body felt.
"About a kilometer," Magnus replied, the spell he had left to mark their exit point tugging at his magic with increasing intensity. "But from now on, we have to proceed across open terrain. The spot is about a kilometer from the foot of the mountain."
"Okay, but you must promise me that you will keep going even if I fall behind, that you will take the exit even if I do not make it."
"I will promise no such thing," Magnus replied, outrage winning over exhaustion in his voice. "You know very well, Alexander, that you would never make such a promise either. Either we both leave, or neither of us leaves."
Alec's reply was a loving smile and a simple nod, and the smile and the nod soften Magnus' expression and warmed that place deep within him where he kept his most profound feelings for the Shadowhunter. At that moment he knew the two of them were entering into an unbreakable pact, a pact that bound Alec to push beyond his human strength, and Magnus to carry him as far as was needed until they both made it to the finish line.
"Now Alexander, I need you to picture something," Magnus said and gently patted Alec's hand a couple of times. "Do you remember the night of Izzy's birthday?" The smile that rose to Alec's lips told Magnus that the Shadowhunter remembered perfectly. "Do you remember what we did and where we went that night?"
It had been a memorable night. It was also the first and only time Magnus had taken Alec to his treehouse by the sea. Izzy had decided to celebrate her twenty-fifth birthday with a sushi and cocktails party on the terrace of a fashionable restaurant in Manhattan: a place run by Downworlders but that also catered to mundanes and that overlooked a stunning view of the city. Izzy had invited many of their Shadowhunter and Downworld friends and, at the beginning, the Nephilim had been reluctant to mingle because many of them were unaccustomed to associating with Downworlders. But as the music played, the alcohol flowed, and the food cheered people up, the gathering had become lively and even raucous. Alec who was usually reserved and rather serious, and who rarely engaged in public displays of affection towards anyone, not even Magnus, had had a few too many sake martinis and had soon been laughing openly, and his hand had several times reached for Magnus' hand.
At one point, feeling a little drunk himself and searching for some quiet, Magnus had wondered off towards the concrete and glass balustrade that surrounded the terrace. Alec had joined him there a few minutes later. He had approached in his usual quiet and stealthy manner and had wrapped his arms around Magnus, resting his chin on Magnus' shoulder. Magnus had leaned against Alec's tall and strong body, and Alec had tightened the embrace trapping Magnus between his body and the railing. After a minute in which they both had looked towards the distance, and completely unconcerned about anyone who might be watching, Alec had kissed Magnus on the spot where his neck met his shoulder and had then began an enticing and exiting journey upwards planting kisses as he went. "I would make love to you right here right now, if I could," he had whispered when he reached Magnus' ear.
"Wouldn't that be a scandal, what would you mother say?" Magnus had responded in a teasing voice, glancing towards the lively gathering, and seeing Maryse Lightwood there. He had then turned his face searching for Alec's lips, the taste of alcohol mixing with the unmistakable taste of Alec making the kiss all the more seductive.
"Take me someplace secluded then if you don't want scandal," Alec had said when their lips momentarily parted.
Magnus had not thought about twice. In fact, he didn't think he had thought about it at all. As Alec continued exploring his mouth, his tongue inviting Magnus' tongue to dance, his body so strong and close, his hands slowly starting a journey under Magnus' shirt, Magnus had reached for the medallion around his neck. By sheer instinct, he had turned the dial, producing the portal and puling it close, as one dons a coat or a cloak, the portal engulfing them. They had left the party without even taking a step in any direction, and as soon as Magnus could no longer feel the balcony's railing against his body, he had turned and entangling the fingers of one hand in Alec's hair, and the other in his shirt, he had given himself completely to the sensation of Alec's body awakening against his own. He had stepped backward pulling Alec along until he felt the edge of the bed against the back of his legs. He had then turned them both and had pushed Alec's gently onto the bed. That night, Alec had lighted the match and Magnus had caught fire and they had become lost to the world, just two bodies rejoicing in the incredible sensation of being young, free and in love; two bodies locked in a dance as old as time itself, searching together for the most sublime and sweet of ecstasies.
Hours later, a bumping sound in the darkness had awoken Magnus, a bump followed by an ouch in Alec's unmistakable voice. "Alexander, what is going on, where are you going?" Magnus had asked as he fumbled in the darkness searching for the light switch on the night table. When he had not been able to find it, he had given up and instead had snapped his fingers and created a flame that bathed the room in a soft blue light.
"I am trying to find the door to the bathroom. Where are we Magnus?" Alec had asked looking around the room with an expression of confusion, his voice thick with sleep, his eyes half closed.
"We are in my cottage," Magnus had replied. "The bathroom is through the door at other side of the room. That one leads to the closet," he had added with a sleepy smile. Magnus had finally found the light switch and had flip it on and had then observed as a naked Alec walked with sleepwalk steps towards the other side of the room and then through the door leading to the ensuite bathroom.
"I didn't know you had a cottage," Alec had said when he came back to the room and climbed back on the bed a few moments later. He had scooped behind Magnus and had wrapped his arms around him, Magnus jumping a little when he felt Alec's cool and still a-little-wet-hands against his skin. "Sorry, I washed my hands with cold water," he had added in a whisper. "How did we get here?"
"Don't you remember? You asked me to take you someplace quiet. It doesn't get any quieter than this."
"Yeah, but I thought we had gone back to your apartment."
"You were obviously distracted," Magnus had said with a coy smile as he snapped his fingers to turn off the light. He had then wrapped Alec's hands in his own and had brought them up to his lips and kissed them, the feel and taste of his cool skin refreshing and enticing.
"That is your fault, warlock. You were the one distracting me," Alec had whispered in his ear and had then kissed him gently but oh so seductively on his neck, the feel awakening every cell his lips touched on Magnus' skin and sending shivers down his spine. Alec had freed one of his hands from Magnus' gentle grasp and had run it with feather-like fingers along Magnus' chest and abdomen, drawing enticing and maddening circles as it slowly made its way down and down and down Magnus' naked body, giving indescribable and infinite pleasure with each millimetre of the path it travelled. As he did, Alec planted a string of kissed up and down Magnus' neck, his breathing sending a gentle freeze against his skin.
Magnus had gasped loudly when Alec's hand reached those places in which Alec knew he felt the most pleasure and had leaned even further against Alec's body, wanting to melt into the strong body of the Shadowhunter, surrendering to the exquisite sensation of Alec's hands and mouth exploring him. The sleepiness of a moment ago was all but gone, replaced by the incredible feeling of every cell of his body responding to the pull of Alec's desire.
"Oh Magnus," Alec had exclaimed, the words interrupted by loud intakes of air passing through his lips. "You are so delicious, especially in the middle of the night. Having you in bed just like this, naked and wanting me feels… I have not words to describe it." He had then enticed Magnus to turn his head, so he could claim his lips for a deep and passionate kiss, parting his lips and inviting Magnus' tongue to claim his mouth.
"Alexander, you never cease to amaze me," Magnus had replied a long while later. "I don't know how you do it, but you do it every time. I can never have enough of you." Almost by instinct, Magnus had begun to move against Alec, slow and blissful undulations that enticed Alec to relinquish his self-control at the same time than Magnus let go of his own. In moments, they had been moving at unison, completely unaware of their surroundings, of the stars that had momentarily peeked between the clouds and looked down on them through the skylight above their bed. Magnus had called Alec's name, loudly and full of passion and devotion, and Alec had done the same as they both had come undone in each other's arms, each of their orgasms breaking like waves against one another. Afterwards and as their breathing settled, they had laid on their backs and gazed through the skylight at the night as it slowly began to turn into morning.
"Do you remember that night?" Magnus now asked as he looked at Alec with a loving and caring smile. He fixed his eyes on the exhausted eyes of the Shadowhunter, enticing him to recall. "You said that you would love me even after there was no life left in the world and the oceans and rivers run dry."
"And you said," Alec added returning the smile, his voice barely disguising the exhaustion and pain that seized every inch of him, "that you would love me even after there were no longer moon and stars to shine in the sky."
"That's right," Magnus replied with a sigh of relief, his smile becoming even wider. "It is imperative that you remember the place where we went that night Alexander. Picture it as clear as you can in your mind, as if you were there right now. We need to get back there," he added. He didn't mention the cottage, or its location, because he didn't want his father where they were going. Standing up, Magnus wrapped one of Alec's arms around his own shoulders and pulled him to his feet, each inch of movement an agony. Not for the first time, Magnus wished that Alec had a stele, so he could draw a healing or strength rune on himself, even though he knew that angelic magic did not work here.
They were soon walking away from the mountain, and as they advanced, they picked up speed, pushing beyond exhaustion and pain. Alec kept an eye on the sky surveying for any threat, painfully aware that there were now completely exposed. Meanwhile, Magnus searched for the petrified tree he had first seen upon entering the Seventh Circle, the magic homing signal calling to him with increasing intensity.
"There," he said a while later as he pointed to the skeleton of the tree that stood about two hundred meters away. He pulled Alec along with even more determination, eager to close the distance between themselves and their exit route, almost tasting freedom. When they were about thirty meters away, he swiftly snapped his fingers and began to send a series of short bursts of magic, silver and white, into the middle of the tree trunk, following the sequence he, Tessa and Catarina had agreed on, signaling to his two friends that he and Alec were ready to go home.
"Here we go," Catarina said at that moment, as she stood up from the armchair in which she had been keeping watch and looked up at the faint blinking lights that come out of the pentagram and momentarily shone on the ceiling.
Hearing the pronouncement, Tessa approached Alec's inert body on the sofa, and bringing to his lips the fortifying potion that Catarina had prepared, poured it into his mouth, using magic to ease its passage down Alec's throat.
Alec's body was in bad shape. The blisters, bruises, fractures and deep cuts that had been appearing on him for the last several hours gave painful testimony to the punishment that his soul was enduring. Using a damp cloth, Tessa dried the perspiration from Alec's brow as she sent a final prayer to the Angel asking for Alec's body to remain strong through the remaining of his ordeal. When she was certain that the potion had begun to take effect, she took a step back and extended her arms wide, seeking and searching for the forces of nature that fed warlock magic, pulling the threads of magic she found towards herself as she absorbed the vital substances they carried, hoping to build enough power to perform the incantations needed to pull Alec's soul out of the Seventh Circle and back into his body.
Meanwhile, Catarina lighted the dozens of white and silver candles scattered around the room, keeping one in her hand as she waited for the moment in which she would light the mixture of black power and magnesium with which she had delineated the shape of the pentagram. She knew she would need to be quick, that the success of their plan depended on bringing Alec and Magnus out almost at the same time. She just hoped that Magnus and Alec would be the only ones to get out, that no demon, and certainly not Asmodeus, would try to hitch a ride.
"A few more meters," Magnus said as he lent more and more of his strength to Alec, prompting him to keep going, to not lose hope.
"Did you really think we would let you leave our realm with the Nephilim?" came Asmodeus' already familiar drawling voice from somewhere behind Magnus and Alec. The words and the voice sent a chilling shiver down Magnus' spine and he had to stifle the gasp that rose to his lips. Without letting go of Alec, and still supporting the majority of his weight, Magnus turned. There, no more than five meters away, stood the man, or rather the demon, that had once fathered Magnus, the monster that had once given Magnus' mother a gift so terrible that she had cut her own life short just to run away from it.
"Keep going Alexander," Magnus whispered just loud enough for Alec to hear. "Just a few more meters and you will be home free. I will be right behind you."
But Alec refused to go. Instead, he mastered all remaining strength left in him to take a step away from Magnus, remove the last two arrows left in the quiver that Magnus was again carrying strapped to his back and take a defensive position, his feet firmly planted on the ground, one arrow in each hand as if they were blades, ready to defend or attack. At that moment, they both remembered the promise they had made, that they would escape together or not at all.
"Alec and I are leaving this godforsaken place," Magnus stated, his voice firm and full of conviction, his arms in front of his body ready to call on his powers. "You cannot stop us, father." The word father seemed to get momentarily caught between Magnus' clenched teeth.
"Do you really think that we would not notice your presence?" Asmodeus asked in a mocking tone, seemingly unconcerned about the threat that an exhausted warlock and an injured Nephilim might pose. He paced back and forth, one skeletal hand behind his back, the other on a silver cane at his side. He no longer wore a cloak but rather an impeccable black suit that accentuated even more his gaunt features. Despite the black glamor he had donned on, his eyes retained their evil glare. "We felt your presence the moment you stepped into our realm," he added. "We could have stopped you sooner, but it was just so entertaining to see you holding on to hope that we wanted you to hold on to it until the last possible moment. The more you embrace that silly human sentiment, the sweeter our vengeance when we take it from you."
"We are leaving," Alec stated firmly and, putting a hand on Magnus' elbow, pulled him backwards. "Come on Magnus."
"Ha, and how do you intend to do that Angel's child?" Asmodeus asked looking at Alec for the first time, a malevolent grin on his face. "Do you really think that your angelic body will accept your soul after it has been irremediably tainted and spoiled by hell? Neither of you is going anywhere: Magnus because it is our desire that he shall return to our side, and you, Nephilim, because, through you, we will regain our freedom. Just imagine the havoc that the demonic poison circulating through your body is wreaking, and that is just the beginning." Asmodeus' face was full of glee and his body seemed to vibrate with anticipation. "It will soon be completely in our control. Just one more blow…" Asmodeus trailed off as, with a swift movement of his hand, he sent a blast of blackened red energy in Alec's direction.
Reacting on pure instinct, Magnus took two blindingly fast steps and came to stand in front of Alec, his magic already alive between his fingers. With one rapid movement of his own arm, he blocked the blast and redirected it back towards Asmodeus. Asmodeus took a step to one side to dodge the blast and the ball of magic flew past him and hit a rock, the heat melting it into lava.
Anticipating the demon's move, Alec swung an arm back and threw one of the arrows in the direction towards which Asmodeus stepped, knowing that as soon as the arrow left his hand, Magnus would fortify it with magic. The arrow flew through the air – a purple and red tail trailing behind it – and lodged itself in Asmodeus' chest. Before the arrow even hit its target, Alec grabbed Magnus by the back of his shirt and began to pull him backwards towards where a blue and silver light had begun to shine on a spot on the ground near the tree trunk. They moved at unison, careful not to turn their backs on Asmodeus.
"Stupid boy," Asmodeus said as he looked down at the arrow in his chest. He then pulled it out and broke it in two, the two halves falling on the ground at his feet. "Do you really think that you can injured a prince of hell?" He propelled himself upwards, wings unfolding as he took flight, his eyes no longer black, but a burning red, his body half demon and half man. As he did, he began to release a rapid succession of magic blasts in their direction, blasts that Magnus blocked and redirected with blinding speed and dexterity, as Alec continued guiding him towards the exit.
They were no more than five meters away from their target, when Asmodeus, using both hands, released two separate blasts of deep red demonic energy. One of them hit Magnus directly in the abdomen and he felt on one knee; the other caught Alec in the chest, lifting him a meter off the ground and propelling him backwards. As he fell and hit the ground, Alec felt like every cell in his body was catching fire and that a blast of electricity was burning every nerve ending and knocking the air from his lungs.
Magnus allowed himself the briefest of glances back towards Alec, just enough to ensure that he was still breathing, before turning back to his father. Still on one knee, he brought his hands closer to the ground, tapping on the energy flowing through the soil, allowing it to build and flow within him until he felt like a volcano ready to explode.
"Get up Alexander," Magnus spoke, his voice a command, his eyes still focused on his father who at that moment was circling above their heads, his expression full of satisfaction. The demon could have finished them right there and then, but Magnus knew that his father needed them alive as long as possible. He also knew that it was in his father's nature to extend the agony of his victims, that to him, Alec and Magnus were no more than play things. That was, after all, Asmodeus' most enduring weakness.
Hearing the warlock's voice, and after a moment that felt like an eternity in which he laid on the ground unable to move or breath, Alec called on all the remaining strength left in him and got back on his feet. In a no-so-gracious movement, he stood, his legs shaking and threatening to give out, his breathing even more difficult, a persistent burning covering every inch of him.
"Your arrow Alexander," Magnus instructed once he saw from the corner of his eye that Alec was back on his feet. He then locked eyes with Asmodeus and began to speak the words that three centuries ago his stepfather had made him repeat over and over as he tried to exorcise the demon from the child Magnus had once been. "I banish you, Satan, the inventor and master of all deceit."
Upon hearing the words, the smile froze on Asmodeus' lips and a look of surprise, disbelief and perhaps humor rose to his eyes. "Humble, demon, under the powerful hand of god," Magnus went on as the energy building under his hands reached an all-time high and threatened to overflow. "I invoke the secret and terrible name of god." Magnus stood up, his voice gaining in volume and power.
He half turned and gave Alec a quick glance. Reading the command in Magnus' eyes, Alec lifted above his head the hand that held the arrow, and as one throws a lance, he released it with surprising speed in Asmodeus' direction. In movements that were almost blinding in their velocity and dexterity, Magnus did two things at once. With one hand he sent a stream of red hot magic in the arrow's direction locking its course and directing it towards his father; with his other hand, he sent another torrent of blue and silver magic towards Alec, the blast hitting the Shadowhunter in the chest, propelling him backwards and up towards the red sky, pushing him out of this terrible place.
"By the divine power of god, whose name makes Lucifer's children tremble and coward, I expel you Asmodeus, my father." Magnus finished the incantation at the exact moment in which the arrow penetrated his father's chest. Without turning, he took a single step back and into the circle of silver flames that delineated the pentagram that had just appeared on the ground. The last thing Magnus saw right before the gateway opened and swallowed him was his father's chest exploding, the force of the vanishing spell and of the magic contained in the arrow banishing Asmodeus to an even deeper level of hell.
Alec fell himself pushed backwards with such incredible force that he thought that his chest would cave in and crash his heart and lungs against his back. For a moment, he saw Magnus' diminishing figure as the force of the magic blast propelled him up towards the red sky. But then the ground disappeared and Magnus with it, and only red filled his field of vision, a red that quickly turned pink and then silver as Alec was swallowed up by the void. Soon, Alec no longer felt the push from Magnus' power, and the sensation of weightlessness and vertigo overtook him.
Mastering all his concentration, Alec closed his eyes and pictured the images from the memory Magnus had asked him to call: Magnus sitting in a white sofa, a smile on his lips, a cup of coffee in his hand, black silk pajama bottoms and a silk robe the color of deep red wine, open and showing Magnus' muscular chest and abdomen. He pictured the faint morning light that filtered through the floor-to-ceiling windows that surrounded Magnus' cottage, the sound of rain falling on trees and of the ocean in the distance. And, he pictured himself sitting next to Magnus, placing his own cup on the coffee table, turning to the warlock and kissing him, his hands itching to touch the soft skin on his chest. With all the love he had in him, he recalled the taste and scent of Magnus, the feeling of his soft skin, the quickening of his breathing. Alec recalled those memories as if they were his most precious possession, as if he wanted to carry them into the next world, as if he could forever live in them.
For a moment that felt like an eternity, Alec floated weightless and adrift in a silent void, no longer feeling the pain, just the memory for company. But then the streams of magic that Tessa had cast like a fishing line towards the void that separated the world from the infinite beyond, caught Alec on the back and pulled him with immense force. As Tessa reeled in her powers, Alec felt the strength of a thousand tendrils pulling him, as if he was, in fact, a fish caught on a hook. He then began to plummet towards the ground, unable to stop or break his fall. Suddenly, he jumped, gasped and his lungs filled both with air and with intense and agonizing pain, the pain spreading towards every cell and nerve ending. Startled, he opened his eyes, and for just a moment, Tessa's familiar face came into his frame of vision before oblivion swallowed Alec once again.
For a long time, I have wanted to write about what I think hell would look like. I hope I have done a passable job. And, I hope you are as glad as I am that these two have found each other.