The records of Fey trails were surprisingly slim, a bulk of them having to do with a incidents occurring centuries ago. But the one or two that actually fit in their timeline were practically empty, just the names of the officials who presided at the trial and the criminally accused. But they did find Dae-Jung's name in the bottommost file, his picture stamped in red with the word "pending" in the bottom corner. He was decent looking, for what he was, thick rope-like locks of crimson-tipped ice-colored hair falling in his face, deep-set eyes of solid blue gazing thoughtfully ahead, though both Alec and Magnus knew that his eyes would be darting around like flies. His teeth were triangular like tiny shark teeth, his silver-lipped mouth permanently stretched into a repugnant grin that spans both sides of his face. His skin was powder white and had the consistency of moldy cheese, rotten away to show the reddish muscle underneath.
"It says here that Dae-Jung was the son of the head of the Seoul Unseelie Court," Magnus read the page aloud for Alec, "until he was banished from Seoul."
"But he's a Dullahan, and they're Irish." Alec knew that without having to even think about it.
Magnus read on, "His father was on a rocky standing for taking a foreign bride, so he had his son banished on falsified charges. His first crime came in the form of revenge - He killed the entire Court."
"His first crime?" The Shadowhunter had the feeling where the trail ended, but he remained hopeful that this man had nothing to do with his daughter.
The warlock skimmed on from there, "Attempted assassinations, various suspicions of conspiracy, and demon associations..."
"Any involvement with the Nephilm?" Alec hadn't heard of these incidents, but they could have been a contained incident.
"None... Isabelle appears to have been right. But what I fail to understand is that if these records are public, why weren't the Nephilm involved?" He was more concerned than he let on, but Alec didn't have to wonder why.
Blue eyes ablaze, he rubbed the other man's shoulders comfortingly, "He is what we feared, isn't he?"
Cat-eyes cast down, he nodded, "The last charge was murdering his pregnant wife."
"Pregnant wife? But this can't be - " He stopped talking when he saw his wife's name.
Devon Grey.
"He must have faked their deaths, but why?" Magnus thought of Devon, wondering just how much she actually knew about her husband.
XxX You Think You Love Me XxX
After running to Central Park and collapsing near the entrance to the Seelie Court, Nexus looked up at the sky, storm clouds gathering for one last shower. The sky had been temperamental that day, raining on and off, but she could tell that the rain was going to leave soon, that there would be a storm before it left. She wasn't sure how she knew that; she just felt it in her bones. But this wasn't the time to think about the weather! She had to think about what more important things, like what she was going to do now. She knew that she should go back to the Institute, if only to apologize to her aunt for running off like she did, but she couldn't move her body if she had actually wanted to. Falling face-first into the ground, she curled in the fetal position and cried.
The Queen of the Seelie Court watched the girl run into her domain, balling up like a squirrel just outside her palace. The girl was familiar in the dim light, so she went to gaze upon her for a closer look. Standing just feet from the girl, she realized who it was, or rather, whose daughter she was. Oh, this was just too much! The beloved child of Magnus Bane and Alexander Lightwood, here of all places, and at all times! Smiling cruelly, the Fairy saw a chance to some good.
Hearing a tinkling laughter, she looked up as a slim hand reached into her face, the Queen of the Seelie Court smiling down at her, "It is time."
Confused by what she meant, Nexus remained where she was, moving only her lips to speak, "If I might inquire of her most glorious Majesty, time for what?"
The Queen smiled, "Such a polite child, even in the wake of such tragedy. Nexus Bane, you have been having nightmares of a most frightening nature, have you not?"
"Your point, kind lady?" Nexus was wary of the fair folk, "Nothing comes for free."
"Nor should it..." She curled her lip, "I wish to show you something."
Nexus had the feeling that she should run the other way, but her limbs were heavy, and she had no place to go, so she carefully said instead, "You say that you wish to show me something when not moments before, you say that nothing is for free. And you know of my... Plight. What is it that you want?"
The Queen, most unexpectedly, gently brushed her cheek, "Child, came with me, and you will understand everything... Even those dreams that haunt you."
XxX You Think You Love Me XxX
Ben stalked away from Nexus and Patrick, seeing (in red) nothing but Nexus, that she was wrapped in someone else's arms. Was she using Ben the entire time? Or was she using Patrick to get back at him for what had happened with Ash? The more likely scenario with anyone else would have been the second, but Nexus... He honestly had thought that she was above something like that. The Nexus he knew would never have used anyone, not her friends. Her friends... What was he to her? When they were children, they were nigh inseparable, until the accident that had left her scarred. Even at that young of an age, he never wanted to hurt her again, so he became, for lack of a better word, an asshole. He did everything in his power to keep her away from him, but in the end, it had all been for nothing, because they were still drawn to each other, like a moth to flame, a vampire to the sun.
"Ben!" Ash had come jogging up behind him, forcing him from his thoughts.
"Ash?" He had hoped that Nexus had come after him to explain herself, but it was only Ashley.
She stood her distance, almost afraid to be too close to him, not that he felt any different, "You shouldn't let her - "
He had said it so often now, it felt as if the words had become his catch phrase, "What? Let her get to me?" He snorted, "That's asking a fish not to swim, a bird not to fly, a butterfly to live after being touched. Every little thing she does... It gets to me."
"Then why did we ever make-out?" Ash shook her head as if that could erase the memory.
He looked at her as if seeing her for the first time, "Was that all we did?"
"Don't you remember?" She sighed, "I guess I'm not so surprised... You were completely hammered... Well, I remember it at least. You were shit-faced, and I was depressed becuase my boyfriend had just broken up with me, and it just kinda happened... We made out for about half an hour, or less, and you fell asleep. That was all."
He could smack Ash sometimes, "So we only made out! But why did I think that something happened?"
She shrugged, realization dawning on her face, "Because Nexus thought that was what I meant! She thought that we... God, I'm such an idiot!"
"Yes, yes you are." He wasn't being malicious, he was merely pointing out a fact.
"Ash! Ben!" Simon called out to the teens from just outside the restaurant, locating them near the edge of the parking lot almost instantly with his keen night vision, "Your dinners are getting cold!"
Ben looked at Ash seriously, "You know, your dad really doesn't seem like a father... Must be the fangs."
Simon grinned sheepishly, "I'm not the only one with fangs around here."
Vampire or not, Ben liked Simon. He wasn't about sides, and whenever lines were drawn, he would side with Isabelle and the Shadowhunters, unless it something petty, then that was up in the air. Being Clary's best friend and his aunt's on-again off-again boyfriend, one would think that he wouldn't spend any time around the sixteen year old blood sucker, but actually, he really looked up to him.
"Have any of you seen Nexus? Patrick said that she ran off crying, so I thought that one of you might know." Isabelle stood next to Simon, her black hair and champagne-colored dress standing out against him, nearly making his casual attired self invisible, looking a little frantic, her eyes filled with dread.
Ben and Ash exchanged glances, "No."
Izzy looked as if she had swallowed a brick, "Alec and Magnus are going to kill me..."
Ben patted her hand, tearing off to find Nexus, "I'll find her."
A/N:
I wasn't liking the whole Ben-and-Ash thing, so this is me fixing that... Speaking of Ben, to clarify, the whole love-hate thing he and Nexus had at first was becuase of his guilt at hurting her. And Yes, Simon is Ash and Max's father. For one, Simon's a daywalker, and two, it is unclear about whether or not vampires can reproduce... (I'm not sure how). But their deal is that Izzy's the head of the Institute (which Simon can't enter), and Izzy is Izzy after all, so things are difficult for them. Oh, and I got my info on Dullahans from Wikipedia...
