Chapter 4

"What time is it?" Alec asked.

"A quarter to midnight," answered Maureen.

They came to an empty corner in Brooklyn, or so it seemed. Alec peeled away the glamour and the spot revealed itself to be a dark crevice between two broken buildings. They walked through the crack and headed down a dark walkway. It sloped downward, towards something unknown. The walls were slippery and grimy, and the only light was from a small crack in the ceiling; moonlight barley streamed in. The earthy ground was uncomfortable through the thin soles of his sneakers.

The eerie silence disturbed Alec. "Where are we going?"

"To see some friends of mine," said Maureen.

They came to a sharp turn. The pathway widened to a large clearing. They were well underground now, and the circular walls looked as if they were made of dirt. Standing as if they expected someone were the men that Alec had seen at Taki's. They looked to be in their late teens, but there eyes conveyed old age.

Maureen greeted them formally. "Benjamin, Vincent. I brought what you asked for."

Alec turned around, ready to run. But to his dismay, two other vampires had appeared, now guarding the entrance.

"Step forward." the ginger-haired one ordered.

When Alec didn't budge, Maureen shoved him forward with supernatural strength.

The brunette nodded. "Yes, Benjamin. He'll do just fine."

Maureen had moved to stand slightly in front of them. "I knew you'd come. A weak-minded individual like you wouldn't know better. Regardless, we need you. And you will comply."

Alec tried to remain calm. "Why do you need me?"

Vincent nodded. "Your friend, Simon Lewis, he is a daylighter, is he not?"

Alec nodded.

"Can you tell me how he came to be that way?"

"I can," Alec answered. "But I won't."

Benjamin chuckled. "I would like you to look around. What do you see?"

Alec remained silent.

"I guess I will have to answer that. Next to me are two vampires. One of which, admittedly, is barely a fledgling, but the other and experienced vampire, who is hundreds of years old. Now, look behind you. Guarding the only exit are two other vampires."

Vincent said, " What he is trying to say is that you have no chance, young Nephilim warrior. You are clearly outnumbered, and you have no weapon."

Vincent was wrong about that. In the lower pocket of Alec's jeans was a dagger he always carried around, just in case.

"Yeah, so you better talk." said Maureen.

Behind her, Benjamin rolled his eyes. Alec could tell they didn't like taking orders from a fourteen-year-old, and they weren't going to keep her around for long. Unfortunately, Maureen's imperceptiveness would lead to her downfall. If only I could get her to see that, Alec thought.

"I will ask you one more time," said Vincent. "How did Simon come to be a Daylighter?"

Alec pondered his answer. He was always a terrible liar. "Umm, I don't know."

They moved towards him. The guards by the door stepped forward and pushed Alec to a kneeling position. Then they held his hands firmly behind his back. Vincent stepped behind him and held Alec's head firmly to face Maureen. Benjamin pressed two fingers to a spot on Alec's neck. Maureen stood in front of them, watching it all.

"Do not lie again." said Benjamin. "Here's how this will work. Maureen will ask the questions, and you will answer truthfully. If you lie, your heart beat will quicken, and I will feel it on your throat. I will give Vincent the signal, and he will snap your neck, killing you instantly. Do you understand?"

Alec grimaced. "Yes."

"Then we may proceed." said Vincent.

"One more time," said Maureen. "How did Simon come to be a Daylighter?"

"He drank Jace's blood." Alec said.

"So it is true then," said Benjamin. "All we need to do is drink the blood of a Shadowhunter and we too will be able to walk in sunlight."

"That's right, isn't it?" said Vincent.

Alec closed his eyes. He needed to find a way out of this. He needed—

"ISN'T IT?" Maureen yelled.

"Yes." said Alec.

"Then there is only one more step." said Benjamin, withdrawing his hand from Alec's throat.

Maureen giggled happily. "Finally."

She sauntered towards Alec. He tried to run, but Vincent's grip was still firm on his head. He felt Maureen teeth sink deep into his neck. Something else impaled the other side of his nape. Benjamin. Alec's head pounded as they drank heavily. He began to feel dizzy, and started to see spots. Just then, every vampire in the room was pushed backward by an invisible force.

Maureen slumped against the wall. For a moment, Alec thought she was dead. Slowly she raised her head and squinted. "Who are you?"

A blue skin lady stepped forward. She had snow white hair, or so Alec thought. He might have been hallucinating from the blood loss.

"I'm Catarina."

That was the last thing he heard before sinking into darkness.


Jace stood with Simon in front of Magnus's apartment. As he stuffed his hands in his pockets, Simon rang the doorbell. Jace could hear it echo throughout the vast dwelling. Moments later, a booming voice rang out through the intercom.

"WHO DARES TO DISTURBE THE HIGH WARLOCK OF BROOKLYN?!"

"Uh…."said Simon. "Simon and Jace."

This time, the voice was a lot friendlier. "Okay, you can come in. Hold on."

Magnus opened the door. He looked as if he'd just dragged himself out of bed; his hair, which was normally up in spikes, fell in a tangled mess to his shoulders. He was completely free of makeup.

Jace stepped inside. "By the angel,"

The place reeked of old food. The normally clean carpet was littered with wrappers and boxes.

Simon glanced around. "Is Alec here?"

"Not anymore," said Magnus. "He was just outside of my apartment, just standing there. What a lost soul he is. Luckily, I concealed it from his view."

"You sound pissed." said Jace. "Were you two in a fight?"

"You could say that,"

Jace stared at Magnus intently, in a way that he knew brought most girls to their knees, and some guys, for that matter.

"We broke up." Magnus blurted.

"Oh….." said Simon. "So that's why you're depressed,"

"I am not depressed," asserted Magnus.

"It's pretty obvious you're depressed." observed Simon. After an awkward silence, he added, "I'm sorry though. I know that you….loved him….and all."

Wow, he really sucks at this, Jace thought. He quickly returned to the subject at hand. "Do you have any idea where he is?"

"No," said Magnus. "I severed all ties with him as soon as we broke up."

"Well, would you help us find him? "asked Simon.

"No. As I told Alexander, I'm done being your pet warlock. I did everything for you all. I pulled you out of every silly situation you found yourselves in, and all for him. And what did he do? He tried to shorten my life!"

Magnus slumped on a nearby sofa and put his head in his hands.

"He did what?" Jace was astonished.

"He said he wasn't going to do it," Magnus's voice was muffled. "But I didn't believe him."

"Why would he do something like that?"

"He'll have to explain that for himself."

Simon sat down next to Magnus. "Look, I get that you're upset. But don't think you're not hurting anyone by bowing out like this. We need you, more than we ever have. You said that in one hundred years, it's just going to be you and me. And I'm never going to forgive you if we lose the war because you went through a tough breakup."

"I don't need your forgiveness," said Magnus. "But I'll think about it. In the meantime, I'm going to start packing. I might head to London while this whole thing blows over."

Jace tried this time. "I know you're still in love with Alec. And if something happened to him, you'd be devastated. I don't exactly know the context of his actions, but something tells me he wouldn't do that with poor intention. But don't punish the world for his actions. Come and help us. And at least answer Isabelle's calls."

Magnus thought about this. "Wait just a second while I get dressed."


Isabelle was worried sick when she heard a knock on the institute's door. She had been in the library trying to read, while Clary illustrated her thoughts into her sketchbook. Isabelle fervently texted Jace.

R U outside?

A second later, he replied.

On my way.

This time, the door bell sounded. They both got up and answered the door. Isabelle screamed at what she saw.

Suspended in the air was Alec, blood trickling from both sides of his neck. His head lolled forward, his eyes closed with sleep. A shocking blue figure stepped out from behind him. Catarina.

"He's alive," she said. "And I tried to slow the blood flow."


"What happened?" asked Clary.

They were in the infirmary, gazing upon Alec. They'd pulled up chairs next to his bed while Catarina explained.

"I don't know exactly. When I found him, two vampires were feeding on him." Catarina said.

"He has no Marks. Why would he put himself in that position with no Marks?" Isabelle said.

"He probably wasn't paying attention. When I touched him, I could feel that he has experienced a lot of pain in his life, some of which was very recent."

Isabelle could see Catarina staring at him. "He's a handsome one," Catarina remarked.

"Yeah well, he's taken." said Isabelle.

"Not anymore," said a familiar voice.

Isabelle turned around. Magnus leaned against the doorframe, Simon and Jace behind him. From far away, he looked like he always did: spiked up hair, and a glittery outfit. But looking closely, he appeared sad and lonely.

"You can have him." he continued. "Though I'm not sure you're his type."

Caterina turned an even deeper shade of blue.

"Magnus! What are you doing here?" asked Clary.

"Yeah, and what do you mean he's not taken?" added Isabelle.

Jace shoved past Magnus. "Magnus has agreed to help us!" he said with exaggerated enthusiasm.

As Jace went to stand by Clary, Simon awkwardly pulled a chair next to Isabelle, making screeching noises as he went.

"What happened to him?" asked Jace.

As Caterina explained, Magnus kept staring at Alec. Alec's long, muscular legs almost hung over the hospital bed, and they wiggled as he began to stir. Clary and Isabelle moved to draw iratzes on his neck, and Alec began to relax.

"So, what, Alec just sauntered into the vampire den and let them eat him? That doesn't seem like something Alec would do." Jace said.

"Once he wakes up, you can ask him," said Clary.

"I think I'm going to stay here for the night," said Isabelle.