To Come to Thee and Be Thy Love
"You are such a distraction Alexander," Magnus said as he tried to catch his breath and stop his heart from jumping out of his chest. His forehead rested against Alec's and his fingers were entangled in his hair. He could also hear and see the Shadowhunter's efforts to settle his own breathing and heartbeat.
"A good distraction, I hope," Alec replied with a smile that tried to be apologetic but that came out smug instead.
"Yes, but how am I going to get any work done if you keep messing up my work space?"
Alec had one arm firmly wrapped around Magnus' waist and with the other he was steadying himself on Magnus' worktable. Magnus could still feel the last of the delicious tremors that run through Alec's body. Alec's expression told him that he could also feel the shudders that were running through Magnus as the last of the aftershocks of their powerful climaxes made their way through their systems. Suspecting that Alec felt as lightheaded as he did, Magnus tighten his hold on him, just in case his knees decided to give out.
Alec looked around at the sheets of paper and the bottles of potions and herbs that, a few minutes ago, had laid in neat and organized piles and groups on the table, but that now were strewn all over the floor. Some of the bottles and jars that had managed to remain on the table after Alec swept things aside to make room for Magnus were laying on their sides, some of their content spilling onto the wooden surface.
"I am sorry I messed up your desk," he said turning to look at Magnus again, his smile now a bit more apologetic than before. "I hope none of this is dangerous. I don't fancy being turned into a toad."
Magnus leaned in and kissed Alec gently and tenderly, and then gave him an indulgent smile. "Shadowhunter, since I've known you, I have learned to take precautions and keep my most dangerous and volatile ingredients high up on the shelves."
"A good precaution," Alec replied, and it was now him the one to swiftly kiss Magnus. "Still, I am sorry if I interrupted your work."
"I believe I very enthusiastically welcomed the interruption Alexander."
In the last four weeks, both Magnus and Alec had come to appreciate the pleasures and advantages of sharing a life with someone else. At the beginning, Magnus had thought that living with a Shadowhunter would be complicated, especially considering their distinct jobs and habits, and the fact that Magnus' warlock activities some time took him dangerously close to the boundary of what Shadowhunters considered acceptable or even legal.
Yet, from the very beginning, living with Alec had been easy. The day after they returned to New York, Alec had moved into Magnus' apartment without much fanfare, carrying what Magnus thought was a rather small duffle bag containing an assortment of grey and black jeans, t-shirts and hoodies and a few books. The bulkiest of his possessions were his Shadowhunter gear, his bow and arrow and the few weapons he carried. But Magnus had emptied the closet by the entrance for Alec to store them. Anyone looking at Alec would think that Shadowhunters were spartan and unostentatious, but Magnus, who knew Izzy and Jace and had known many Shadowhunters across history, knew these were just Alec's qualities.
Since childhood, Alec had lived the life of a soldier: tidy, disciplined and ruled by orders and laws. He had shared home with his family and other Shadowhunters, but he had always protected his private space, the space in which he guarded his secrets and insecurities. Alec had been nervous about living with a glamorous warlock with a reputation for debauchery, flamboyance and chaos. Yet, he had quickly learned that Magnus was tidy, clean and adept to house shores, qualities that Alec shared and appreciated a great deal. Furthermore, despite his reputation, Magnus enjoyed quiet dinners, evening walks through the city, and peaceful evenings at home. He liked parties too, of course, and him and Alec often went to bars and hang out with their friends.
What was most surprising for both of them was how caring and affectionate they both were. They showed those qualities in many small and no so small details, like Alec making breakfast before leaving for work, bringing Magnus coffee when he was working, wrapping a sweater around Magnus' shoulders when it was cold. Magnus corresponded with similar caring gestures of his own, making sure Alec ate a good meal after a long day at the Institute, mixing him a drink when he came home, ensuring the fridge was stocked with things Alec liked to eat.
In the process, Alec and Magnus had gotten to experience some of the ordinary things mundane couples usually did, things that Magnus had done at different times in his life when he had tried to live more like a mundane, but that to Alec were foreign. Magus had teased Alec the first time they went to the supermarket and Alec had to choose what brand of bread to buy and figure out the value of US currency. When Magnus asked, Alec explained that Shadowhunters did not do groceries, that at the institute food was delivered, usually by a downworlder working for a Downworld company.
Magnus constantly marveled at how easily they have gone from singular to plural – our favorite cereal, our favorite restaurant, our favorite laundry detergent – and how easily two lives that were so distinct had intertwined. Some might say that this was because they were still in the honeymoon stage of their relationship. Yet, something told Magnus that their relationship was strong and that the care and love they felt for one another would survive the bumps they were bound to encounter along the way.
And then, there was the intimacy: the nights in which they did not make love but still went to sleep in each other's arms; the times when one of them awoke in the middle of the night and reached for the other under the sheets, and the other responded even in his sleep and, in no time, they were making passionate love. There were the mornings when Magnus walked into the bathroom, took off his pajamas and stepped into the shower after Alec, and then saw Alec run off a while later, his hair still dripping wet, a half-eaten toast in his hand, halfheartedly complaining that Magnus had made him late for work. There were the furtive encounters when without prearrangements they came together seeking the bliss of coming undone in each other's arms. And, there were surprises like today, when Alec came home, walked with assertive steps into Magnus' office, carelessly dropping his jacket on the back of a chair along the way, and without a word or preamble, grabbed Magnus by the waist and pushed him against his worktable, claiming his lips and his body with the intensity and impetus of a whirlwind. Magnus could not help but surrender to the hurricane of Alec's desire and in no time that desire was carrying them along with such passion that they did not even have time to remove all their clothes before they were lost.
"I'll help you tidy up," Alec now said but he did not relinquish his hold on Magnus. Instead, he leaned in and ardently and tenderly kissed him again and the mess did no longer matter.
An insistent ringing tone suddenly and rudely irrupted in their moment and, without breaking the kiss, Alec began to search in his pockets for the culprit phone. A chuckle escaped Magnus' lips and Alec joined in. For whomever was trying to reach the serious and highly competent Head of the New York Institute could not imagine the compromising position in which Alec found himself at the moment. Reluctantly, Alec had to relinquish his possession of Magnus' lips and, crouching down, he retrieved his phone from where it laid under a sheet of paper on the floor.
"Shoot, I need to go Magnus," Alec said looking at the message on the screen. "I came to ask you out for lunch… Now I feel bad, maybe I can call and tell them that I am busy..."
"Go do your job Shadowhunter," Magnus interrupted and then kissed Alec on the forehead.
"Dinner then?" Alec asked.
"Yes, I have to go see a client this afternoon, but I should be back by then."
Alec stepped back and began to rearrange his clothes and, getting down from his worktable, Magnus did the same. "I am sorry your glamorous shirt is all wrinkled now Magnus," Alec said stepping closer and trying to smooth the warlock's white linen shirt with his hand.
"I think this makes us even Alexander," Magnus replied smiling and steading Alec's hands with his own. "If my memory serves me right, in your office the other day, I had to magically reattach some of the buttons on your shirt."
"Good times" Alec said, his smile broadening and his eyes sparkling, "I am glad there are no security cameras there." He then kissed Magnus one last time – the kiss both a reminder and a promise of things to come – before stepping away and grabbing his jacket. "Do I look okay?" he asked from the door, looking at himself to make sure he was sufficiently presentable.
"Like a respectable Shadowhunter," Magnus said.
"I am sorry about the mess, Magnus," Alec said, his hand in the doorknob, and his tone was now truly apologetic.
"Nothing that a little magic cannot fix Alexander. Besides, it was worth it."
As Magnus brought order back to his worktable, he thought, not for the first time, how wonderful it was to be young and in love again; how amazing it was to explore with someone you love the things that made you and them scream from pleasure; and how fortunate he felt to be the one Alec had chosen to accompany him in his own journey of self-discovery. All along, Magnus had been pleasantly surprised to discover that Alec was a passionate man, a perfect combination of loving, gentle, generous and demanding. Furthermore, as today exemplified, he was adventurous and even audacious. Alec was a man of contrasts, Magnus thought with a smile: reserved, serious and even shy in public, but demonstrative and full of fire and passion in private.
"Are you sure that you guys are a couple?" Jace, who never wasted an opportunity to hold Clary's hand, put his arms around her or kiss her in public, had asked during one of Magnus' visits to the Institute. "I mean my brother is so serious and uptight."
"Well Jace, you know what they say about the dangers of apparently calm waters," had been Magnus' only reply and Alec, who had been listening to the conversation, turned as red as beets.
The analogy was spot on, thought Magnus, their relationship was in many ways like the surface of a lake that by all accounts seemed tranquil, but that underneath concealed strong currents. Magnus and Alec never touched, kissed or expressed affection in public. When Downworld and Nephilim business brought them together, they both acted in the upmost professional manner. Alec was cordial and not uncaring, but he never showed favoritism or partiality towards Magnus, and Magnus was more than capable of disagreeing with Alec or expressing his opinion in regard to any aspect of Nephilim-Downworld politics. However, when they were in private, they were fire and flames, and the passion of their love seemed to know no end. They were also affectionate, tender and caring. They were not hiding; in fact, everybody knew that they were in a relationship and that they lived together. They simply thought that their love was the kind of treasured emotion that should be expressed in the privacy of their home and bed.
Yes, thought Magnus as he grabbed his leather bag and began to wave his arms in the air, calling on the forces needed to open the portal that would take him to his business meeting, being in love was wonderful and rejuvenating. He hoped he and Alec would get to enjoy being in love for a long, long time. Later, he would think that perhaps the happiness and novelty of being in love had blinded him to the signs that were already there. He would think that if he had not been so engrossed in the sensations and the delight of starting a new adventure with someone he loved like he never thought possible to love anyone, he would have paid more attention. But love makes us all naïve.
A few hours later, Magnus was wrapping up a meeting with the high-level executive of a transnational corporation that had hired him to help in a new business venture. After apologizing to the tired-looking woman for the time difference between New York and Osaka – which required them to meet in the dead of night – Magnus headed out towards the elevator. He was thinking about stopping to pick up a box of wagashi before portalling home, when the ring in his finger began to insistently vibrate and then burn hot against his skin. Surprised, Magnus looked at it for a second. The ring commonly vibrated softly every time Alec distractedly gave a gentle turn to its spinning inset, and the sensation told Magnus that Alec was thinking of him. He was certain that Alec's ring gave similar vibes at least twice a day. However, this was not that kind of vibration; this was insistent and alarming, and as the heat emanating from the metal increased, the gold and silver spinning inset began to turn of its own accord.
A second earlier in New York, Alec had walked into the gym where Izzy was waiting for him. He was feeling tired and the increasing pressure in his chest was making him feel more than a little dizzy. But as he had done every time that, in the last four weeks, he had felt that energy in his chest threatening to break free, he had gone in search of some physical activity, something to tire him out and quiet the buzzing, burning and itching he felt in those scars that refused to go away. Today it had proven to be a particularly challenging day, perhaps the result of his busy schedule, but he had hoped that an hour or so of sparring with Izzy would calm him enough to be able to go home and keep hiding the scars from Magnus.
As he walked into the gym, the room suddenly begun to spin out of control and he felt that a burning hot rock had lodged itself in his chest. The rock then cracked and broke, and what he could only describe as hot lava began to pour out of it, spreading throughout his system, burning organs, veins and skin. The pain was unbearable, heating and freezing as it reached his nerve ending, and a sensation of utter panic gripped him. Alec bent down, unable to catch his breath and, knowing he was about to lose consciousness, reached for the ring in his finger. Before darkness finally took him, Alec gave the ring a decisive full turn. The last thing he saw before losing consciousness were silver white lines running through his skin.
Magnus' heart skipped at least one beat and the hair at the back of his neck stood on end, but realizing what the vibrations and heat meant, he quickly jumped into action. He stepped into the elevator and, as soon as the doors closed, he swiftly waved his arms around, not caring that the energy from the portal he was opening would likely shake the building and make the lights go off. When the whirlpool of energy finally acquired coherence, Magnus stuck the hand with the ring through the event horizon and then stepped through, knowing that the ring would portal him to wherever his lover was now urgently calling for him.
Magnus emerged from the portal in the Institute's gym and the first thing he saw was that the lights were flickering and that the room seemed to be shaking as if from an earthquake. But Magnus had no time to think about those things. His eyes quickly swept the room and stopped when they found Alec lying unconscious on the floor, silvery energy flowing in lines along his skin and illuminating the runes visible on his neck and arms. Izzy was kneeling beside him and insistently called for Alec to wake up.
"What happened!?" Magnus urgently asked as he approached and too kneeled beside Alec. His first instinct was to lay a hand on Alec's chest to feel for a heartbeat and send a stream of magic that might wake him. But, seeing the silver lines of energy running wild through Alec's skin, he halted. Touching Alec with his magic was likely a bad idea at this moment, especially considering the little he knew about what was happening and the effect that mysterious force had had on his own powers before.
"I don't know," Izzy replied in an alarmed voice. "We were going to train but then Alec clutched his chest and fell on one knee… and then, something happened Magnus," she added and turned to look at Magnus, her eyes wild and her voice uncomprehending. "His skin glowed and some force bent him backward…it lifted him up. He floated for a second before falling… The whole building was shaking… I have never seen or felt anything like that before."
The panic and the shock were making Izzy sound almost incoherent. Magnus tried to master his own panic before turning to look at Izzy and give her what he hoped was a calm and reassuring look. "It is okay, Izzy. We will figure this out."
Still reluctant to touch Alec, Magnus began to run his hand a few inches above the Shadowhunter's body, tentatively feeling for Alec's life energy and trying to ascertain whether it was safe to touch him. The sensation was like touching a live wire, as if the energy emanating from Alec was wild, untamed and raw. Magnus looked at the floor around Alec and saw what he could only describe as tiny filaments of energy reaching from Alec towards the floor in search, Magnus suspected, of soil in which to discharge pent-up energy. He knew what that meant, he had known for a while, but he still refused to believe it.
Suddenly, Alec gasped, his chest expanded, and his back arched against the floor, before falling down once again. Magnus perceived a shift in the silvery flow, as if the excess of energy that had been accumulating in Alec had finally found much needed release. He looked back at the face of his lover and called for him in a gentle voice, willing him to open his eyes. After a moment and as if he had heard him, Alec opened his eyes and when they looked at Magnus, Magnus saw the last remnants of quicksilver fading from Alec's pupils. Alec looked at Magnus with eyes full of agony before he lost his frail grasp on reality and felt unconscious once again.
"We need to get him to the infirmary Izzy," Magnus stated and making a superhuman effort to keep his own magic from reacting and causing an explosion when it came into contact with Alec, he wrapped his arms around him. He gestured for Izzy to do the same and together they half carried, and half dragged Alec out of the gym and next door to the Institute's infirmary. Alec was a tall and muscular man, which meant that he was also heavy, but at that moment, Magnus did not feel strain, effort or exhaustion.
"What happened Magnus? What is going on with Alec?" Izzy asked, her voice full of puzzlement and persistent panic.
Thankfully, Magnus did not have to answer, for when they were laying Alec on one of the hospital beds, Izzy's phone began to insistently buzz. "It is Clary, something happened to Jace during their patrol," Izzy informed Magnus as soon as she got off the call.
"Go help your other brother," Magnus instructed, his tone even and reassuring. "I will take care of this one. And Izzy," Magnus added putting a hand gently on Izzy's shoulder, "let's keep this between us for now, until we know more. We do not want to worry the Shadowhunters under Alec's command."
"This is what happens when you try to suppress magic," Tessa declared a while later, as she sent a steady stream of soothing energy directly into Alec's chest, the silver glow on his skin slowly abating.
Magnus' breath caught in his throat and he closed his eyes in a gesture that was equal parts agony, despondency and desperation. For Tessa had just said the word that Magnus had been trying so desperately to ignore since that very first time Alec's marks glowed, and his eyes turned the color of quicksilver. In one word, Tessa had captured the truth that Magnus had been staunchly denying since that night he felt the familiar pull emanating from Alec's chest. All this time, Magnus had thought that if he did not say the word, that if he did not even think it, then what he knew in his very heart could not be true.
"Oh, come on Magnus," Tessa said, her tone one of admonishment, her eyes on Magnus full of fire. "Do not tell me that you did not know what was happening to Alec. Catarina and I shared our suspicions with you."
"Alec did not say anything to me; I did not know that he has been trying to suppress his powers," Magnus replied, his voice almost a whisper. Yet, now that the word was out and floating in the air between them, he could not ignore it any more. He had to recognize that the signs had been there all along: Alec's look of exhaustion that Magnus had attributed to long working hours and ongoing demon threats; the look of loss and even pain that crossed Alec's eyes sometime; Alec's politely declining an invitation to portal to Paris for an evening, saying that he preferred a quiet dinner at home.
"Do you mean to tell me that he has been trying to deal with this all on his own since you came back to New York?" Tessa's tone was now one of outrage. "No wonder he almost exploded and brought the Institute down with him. I thought you had talked to him Magnus! I would not have gone to Brazil if I had known!"
Magnus' friend had arrived, as if by pure chance, a few minutes ago. A Shadowhunter had escorted her to the infirmary and announced that Tessa was there for her three o'clock meeting with Alec. Magnus had welcomed her at the door and had informed the Shadowhunter that Alec had twisted an ankle during training and that he would meet with Tessa in the infirmary. Thankfully, the recruit had not asked any further questions and no one else had interrupted them since. Izzy had called a few minutes after leaving to help Jace and Clary, to inform Magnus that Jace had experienced sudden dizziness while on patrol but that he seemed fine now. Magnus had instructed her to stay with Jace, just in case, and had reassured her that Alec was okay, that he was taking care of her brother, and that Alec would explain later.
When he asked, Tessa informed Magnus that she had contacted Alec the day before to tell him that she was back for a short visit and wanted to see him, and they had agreed to meet today.
"You guys," Tessa now said, her voice becoming angry, angrier, in fact, than Magnus had ever heard. "You are made for each other you know. Neither of you wants to worry the other and, in the process, you make things worse for everybody involved. Communication, Magnus. That, more than great sex, is the secret of a good relationship. Take it from me who was married to a Shadowhunter for decades. Do you remember what happened when my powers first started to manifest? If I had not had you and Will I would not have made it."
Magnus did not argue; he simply listened to his friend's well-deserved chastising. Tessa was right, he should have talked to Alec, pay more attention, ask more often how he was feeling. But love makes fools of us all, and he was probably the biggest fool of all. "How bad is it Tessa?" he asked, his voice heavy with anguish. Once again, he wished he had paid more attention to healing spells, specially spells meant to fix magic.
"He is fine," Tessa replied with a sigh that was half exasperation and half resignation. "The excess energy had been released. His vitals are good; he just needs rest."
"We must do something," Magnus said, and he run a gentle finger along Alec's forehead, brushing aside a lock of hair. The memory of his lover smiling and apologizing for messing up his worktable was such a contrast to Alec's now pale face. "We have to find a way to fix this."
"There is nothing to fix Magnus," Tessa said, and her voice carried the weight of a death sentence. "If it has not gone away already it is because it is not going away. I told you the last time we spoke, Alec will adapt and so will you. You have to accept it."
"How can I accept this? I am the one responsible for what happened! How can I expect him to forgive me?"
"Magnus, you are not responsible," Tessa replied. "Neither you nor Alec could have predicted what happened. He has shown you that he is capable of going to the very depths of hell – quite literally – for you. You would do the same in a heartbeat. He will adapt and so will you. This is just a hurdle."
"This is more than a hurdle! I cannot let this just happened without a fight," Magnus said and with the fingers of one hand wiped away the tears that were running down his cheek. "I have to stop it."
"Would you have tried to stop my powers from manifesting Magnus? What would you have said if Will had asked you to stop me from becoming a warlock?"
"But this is different," Magnus replied, even though he was not sure his argument held water. "You were born what you are."
"And Alec is becoming whatever he will be," Tessa interrupted. "These are mysterious forces Magnus, forces not even us can fully understand. But as I have proven, there is nothing that says that a Nephilim cannot also be a warlock."
"I do not want Alec to become a warlock; that is not what he wants for his life."
"Oh honey, after three hundred years, even you have to accept that we rarely have the life we plan," Tessa said, her tone no longer angry, but sad and compassionate. "Did you plan to fall in love with a Shadowhunter, did he plan to fall in love with you?"
It was already dark outside when Alec finally opened his eyes, and when his eyes met Magnus', they were their usual rich and deep brown. Magnus smiled lovingly, and holding Alec's hand, lifted it to his lips for a gentle kiss. He then held it firmly as he asked Alec how he was feeling.
"I feel like a truck just run over my chest," Alec replied. "I am sorry you had to leave your meeting to come help me. I don't know what happened."
"It is okay," Magnus reassured him, swiftly shifting his eyes towards Tessa and then back, his friend's expression one of relief and a little reproach. "Tessa is here, and she has been most helpful. You know how bad I am at healing."
"Hi Tessa," Alec said turning to the other warlock. "I guess you arrived at the nick of time." Alec closed his eyes once again because the room seemed to still be spinning, even if less violently than before.
"Rest some more, Alec," Tessa instructed. "You need to build up your strength. Magnus and I will be here."
"I am sorry Magnus…" Alec said but did not finish the sentence because his eyes were heavy, and he was drifting off to sleep once again. However, Magnus did not need to hear what Alec was sorry for; he already knew. Alec had not wanted to worry him, but by keeping his secret, he had had to face the changes he was undergoing alone and likely scared. Magnus thought that he was the one who was the sorriest; for he had miserably failed Alec; for he had not protected him; for if he had not come into Alec's life all those months ago, Alec would not be paying such a hefty price right now.
As soon as he was certain that Alec was asleep once again, Magnus grabbed his bag and headed for the door.
"Where are you going Magnus?" asked Tessa, who at that moment was walking in with a newly mixed fortifying potion for Alec.
"I am going to have words with my father or one of his minions," Magnus stated, his voice a knife that cut the silence of the room.
"Come on Magnus don't do anything stupid," Tessa pleaded.
"I must at least try Tessa, or I won't be able to live with myself."
As Magnus walked along the Institute's corridors towards the roof, he thought about the times when he would not have been allowed past the sanctuary or the Institute's Head's office. So many things had happened since that night Clary and her new Shadowhunter friends crashed his party, so many things that had resulted in him getting to know and feeling more comfortable at the New York Institute than in any other of the Institutes he had visited in his very long life. As a result, he now knew most of the nocks and crannies in the enormous and ancient building, including what part of the roof was the most remote and secluded. As he climbed the stairs, he was thankful that he always carried in his bag the tools of his trade, especially those tools needed to summon a greater demon.
"My lord Asmodeus warned me you would be in touch demon son." The demon that now looked at Magnus with a derisive expression had been Asmodeus' right-hand man when Magnus and Alec were trapped in his court, the one with the powdered wig and the jaundiced eyes and skin.
After more than an hour of unsuccessfully trying to summon his father, Magnus had realized that Asmodeus was likely too deep in hell, too far out of Magnus' reach for his powers to pull him out. So, instead and determined to get answers at any cost, Magnus had decided to modify the summoning spell to catch any of his father's followers.
"You finally got your father's gift, didn't you?" the demon asked, an evil smile disfiguring his features even more.
"Of what gift do you speak demon?" Magnus asked. With a twist of his wrists, Magnus made the flames from the black candles surrounding the pentagram burn hotter and closer to the demon, tightening the trap in which Magnus had caught the ugly creature.
"The one he put inside the Nephilim boy, of course," replied the demon and his evil smile showed several rows of rotting teeth. "The one you activated with your own magic, warlock."
"Speak plainly," Magnus ordered, his voice dead serious and authoritative. "Or you will find out what the powers of my blood can do."
"You did not count on your father's hatred and desire for vengeance, did you demon son? He knew you would try to save the Nephilim boy. He knows that you are and will always been a hopeless romantic in addition to a traitor." Despite the restrictive trap, the demon seemed to be enjoying himself immensely at Magnus' expense. "He put something, you see, a seed inside the boy and with your magic, you made that seed open, germinate and grow."
"Why would my father do such a thing? How does that help him escape hell?"
"It doesn't," the demon replied, and he made a dismissive gesture with his hand. Magnus thought that the smug look did not improve the demon's sickly appearance. "But it does help him take vengeance on you."
"What kind of vengeance is that?" Magnus asked and when the demon refused to answer and, instead, sardonically snickered, Magnus twisted his wrists once more, making the candles burn even hotter and closer to the demon. "Answer me!" he ordered.
"Asmodeus knew that you hate the demon blood that runs through your veins," the demon finally replied. "Now, the same blood runs through your Nephilim's veins. Poetic justice, don't you think, to give to the one you love that which you most hate about yourself?"
The demon's voice and posture grew more menacing with each word and his demonic power began to violently push against the magic restrains with which Magnus had him trapped. The pressure and the demand that the trap made on Magnus' magic was beginning to weaken him and his magic was draining rapidly. He suddenly realized that this demon was stronger than he had originally thought, stronger, in fact, than most demons he had ever known, perhaps as strong as Asmodeus.
"There must be a cure, a way to reverse the curse," Magnus said, trying to disguise the strain in his voice. "You will give me that cure."
"Stupid child," the demon now said with a snarl that had none of the deceivingly calm tone of a second ago. "That is the beauty of my lord's vengeance," he laughed. "There is no cure, the transformation once triggered is permanent and unchangeable. Do you have any idea how many demons Asmodeus destroyed to arrive at the right combination of demonic blood?"
As the demon's voice grew angrier, more powerful and booming, the ground began to shake and the light bulbs illuminating the roof exploded, throwing sparkles in all directions and plunging the roof in deep darkness.
The demon's words felt like a bucket of freezing water dropped down Magnus' back, but he had no time to fully take stock of their meaning. For he felt the demon increase his resistance against the magic restrains, and he had to commit even more of his powers to maintaining the creature trapped within the pentagram.
"I do not believe you," Magnus stated, "You will tell me how to reverse the curse."
The demon who had been looking straight at him, suddenly shifted his gaze towards somewhere behind Magnus, but not wanting to lose even more of his hold on the pentagram, Magnus did not dare look back.
"Will you love the Nephilim now that he is tainted and contaminated with our blood demon son? And do you think he will still love you when he learns what he has become because of you?"
The demon gave an abrupt and violent push against his restrains and, for a moment, Magnus thought he was lost, that the demon would finally break the trap and would get lose. But suddenly he felt a hand on his shoulder and when he looked, Alec was there standing beside him. Alec looked at Magnus and smiled, his expression completely devoid of judgement. He then gestured to Magnus' other side and when Magnus turned, Tessa was also there.
"What do you say Shadowhunter?" the demon asked, his voice growing in volume at the same rate that he exerted pressure against the forces that kept him trapped. "Can you love that which you have been trained to hate?"
"There is nothing about Magnus that could ever change my feelings for him," Alec stated, his voice strong and certain. "Asmodeus has failed miserably; for I love everything about Magnus and, as a result, I can never hate what I am or might become because of him."
The demon screeched loudly and, extending his arms, pushed against his restrains, forcing the magical field to expand as if it was a balloon with too much air and that was about to explode. Magnus extended his arms even wider and resisted with all his strength and powers, trying to contain the demonic energy that threatened to break out of the pentagram. As his power crashed against the demonic energy, Magnus felt like he was trying to contain a hurricane and, hadn't been for Alec who was supporting him, he was sure the force would have thrown him back a few meters.
"Together Magnus; take my strength," Alec said softly and when Magnus turned to look at him, his eyes were gentle and full of love.
Alec had shared his strength with Magnus before and, since then, Magnus had learned to recognize the feel of Alec's life force. The sensation had always felt natural and effortless, as if him and Alec were made to share not only love and life, but also strength. Now, when Magnus tapped into Alec's energy, what he felt was not only Nephilim life force, but also a power, an energy that was pure and good, an energy that made him think of the crystalline waters of an unspoiled river. As Alec allowed his own power to flow into Magnus, he too got to experience the warmth, strength and goodness of Magnus' magic and the sensation was both familiar and surprising.
Alec turned and, with a determined expression, looked at the demon who at that moment was growing in size and power, pushing with unbelievable strength against the borders of the pentagram. "I banish you, demon, the inventor and master of all deceit," Alec said, remembering the words of the old vanishing spell that Magnus had said to his father in the Seven Circle, a spell he, Alec, had had to memorize as part of his Shadowhunter training.
"I invoke the secret and terrible name of god," Tessa continued from the other side of Magnus, her voice also full of determination, a stream of blue magic shooting out from her fingers.
"By the divine power of god, whose name makes Lucifer's children tremble and coward, I vanish you!" Magnus completed the incantation. He directed a powerful stream of gold and silver magic towards the demon, a stream that resembled the interlocking design in the rings he had made for him and Alec.
The demon staggered, and he hit the magic barrier behind him, and before he could regain his footing, Magnus and Tessa released another surge of magic that hit him in the stomach. He seemed to crumple and fold, as if he was a piece of paper being squeezed by a fist until he was not more than a ball. Before he disappeared back into hell, he issued one last high pitch cry.
Magnus fell on one knee and if Alec had not been there to support him, he would have collapsed all the way to the ground. "I got you Magnus," Alec said, wrapping his arms around the warlock.
"You should be in bed Alexander. What are you doing here?"
"Saving your hide apparently," Alec replied. "I woke up and you were not there and then Tessa told me what you were planning to do, so I came to help."
"Who was that nasty demon?" Tessa asked. "I don't remember ever coming across one so powerful."
"The bearer of my father's bad news," Magnus replied.
"Can we leave the explanations for later?" Alec interrupted. "Every alarm just went off downstairs. The whole institute is likely to be here any minute. We need to clean up this mess." Alec gesture at the broken glass and the electric sparkles that were still shooting out from broken light fixtures, as well as the burning marks left by the pentagram on the stone ground.
"Magnus, you and Tessa portal home," Alec said, after, in a flurry of activity and with no small amount of magic, they cleaned as much as possible the mess left by the demon. "I have to stay a bit longer and come up with an explanation about what happened, an explanation that can put my people at ease."
"I did this," Magnus said, knowing perfectly well the punishment for summoning a demon in Institute property. "I should stay and face the consequences."
"Absolutely not," Alec replied, his tone not leaving any room for protest. "I will handle this. Besides, the least my people know the better."
"But Alexander, are you feeling well enough to stay?" Magnus asked.
"I am fine Magnus, really," he replied. "I can handle a short report. You order us some dinner in the meantime. I am kind of starving and we should at least feed Tessa."
"Come on Magnus," Tessa said putting a hand on Magnus' arm. "Let's leave Alec to do his job."
"I am here for you," Tessa told Alec a minute later and before she stepped through the portal Magnus had just opened.
Magnus gazed at Alec with eyes that conveyed feelings that Magnus could not yet find words to express, feelings of guilt, pride, fear and love all mixed together. When he turned and took a step towards the portal, Alec stopped him by grabbing him by the arm and gently pulling him back. Surprised, Magnus turned, and his eyes met the deep brown pool of Alec's eyes.
"Every word I said to that demon is true, Magnus," Alec said as he lifted his other hand and placed it against Magnus' cheek. "I love everything about you because you are a good and beautiful soul. If I am ever fortunate enough to be just a little bit more like you, I will love myself better for it. I hope you can love and accept me the same way."
"Alexander," Magnus said and lifting his hand placed it against the spot where he knew Alec's mark glowed silver, "you must never doubt my love for you, for it is infinite and eternal. Tonight, you have filled my heart with pride."
Alec leaned in and kissed Magnus deeply and tenderly, and Magnus thought his heart was bursting from all the love that filled it.
"I will see you at home soon," Alec said as Magnus reluctantly let go of him and stepped through the portal.