It took them some time to find a clue as to where Leto could be. All except Magnus were new in the city, and the warlock hadn't been there in years. His Japanese was rusty but efficient, and soon enough they were at the doors of a club, looking for someone named Shia.

'お前、入るな。' Said the security guy stopping the Shadowhunters.

'What?' Asked Clary. Her rune was wearing off and, for the first time since they arrived, she couldn't understand what they were saying. If Alec and Izzy faces were any indicator, they couldn't also follow the conversation anymore.

'He is telling you that you can't go inside.' Said Magnus, who didn't need a rune to understand languages. Perks of being inmortal and an adventure addict.

'Why?' Asked Izzy.

Magnus asked the guy.

'シャドウハンターズは入ってはいけないぞ。外人でも...例外だっていうわけじゃない。'

'They don't let Nephilim in.' Said Magnus without any remorse in his voice. He could understand why Downworlders will want nothing to do with them. He was more open minded with his club, but that was because party was party and business was business.

'Great.' Said Alec with that sarcasm so characteristic in his voice when things started to go wrong.

'Do not fret. I will find Shia and ask her were to find Leto. I'm sure she will be more receptive to me.' Said Magnus with a smile.

'Okay. We will be waiting at the back door.' Alec looked again at the security guy and turned around, walking in the direction of the dark alley, knowing that the girls were following him.

Magnus smiled at the guy, showing him his true eyes. '入ってもいいですか'

He shook the head in a annoying manner, clearly not understanding what that warlock was doing with Shadowhunters. Even so, he let him in.

/

The club was a dark and dirty place. Magnus knew that nothing good or legal was going on there. Specially on the corner on his right, where a vampire was drinking from a woman's neck. Not too much, not enough to kill her, but enough to make her fell dizzy, to make her feel wanted. He felt a shiver and the memory of Camille was on his mind. He couldn't help it. There was something about that place, something about that image, that made him think of other times, years ago, when something similar was be part of his daily life. Back then he was too weak, too in love with her, too under her spell. But that was centuries ago. He shook himself mentally. There was nothing he could do here, it wasn't his city, his domain. He couldn't help her, but he could help the warlocks. Even that was little consolation to ease his heart.

He went to the bar and asked for Shia. The barman looked at him with lust in his eyes. Right, he was dressed for Pandemonium. It was only natural that he would make people look… and drool. He pointed in her direction and asked if he wanted something. Magnus asked for a whiskey and smiled at him. Another time he would have stayed there. He would have flirted with him and in twenty minutes he would have let him know that he needed the toilet with a smile and a wink. He would have had him on his knees in less that half an hour, sucking him like a castaway taking his first gulp of water after days on a beach. But that was another him. A him with walls and pits surrounding his heart. A him that would want nothing more that have a good time, to forget what love was and what it could do to you. A him without Alexander.

'どうも' He took his whiskey and left in the direction of Shia.

Shia was beautiful in a dangerous way. Definitely another possibility if the barman wasn't interested. The kind of woman that he would feel an instant connection with. He knew that she was a werewolf. He could sense it, there was something about her that told him that she was the alpha in that place, and that anyone who wanted to approach her should do it with care. She wasn't the first dangerous woman the he had deal with, and she wouldn't be the last.

'Shia, I presume.' He said in English, knowing full well that if she was a business woman she would know the language.

'Who's asking?' Said her taking a step towards him. Two guys got closer, making sure that she was protected and giving Magnus dangerous looks. Magnus didn't feel a bit intimidated.

'My name is Magnus Bane. I'm a warlock from New York.' His voice was soft and inviting.

'That's a long way home.'

'It is. I'm here for a personal matter and they told me that you are the one I should go to.'

'I see.' She sat down and made him a gesture to do the same. 'What do you want, Magnus Bane?'

'I want information about the warlocks here. To be more precise, I want to find Leto.'

She nodded, thinking about what he said. 'And what do you have to offer?'

'What would you like?' He said with a smile before taking a sip of his drink.

She looked at him up and down, like it was the first time that she was putting her eyes on him. He knew exactly in what moment she thought of having something sexual with him. A shame he couldn't offer that anymore, things would have been easier then.

'Warlock, you said. What kind?'

'The High kind.'

'So, you are powerful.' She said with a smile.

'You could say so.'

She moved closer, her voice lower, and looked him in the eyes. 'Powerful enough to summon demons?'

'Summoning demons without the permission of the Clave or a Shadowhunter is against the Accords.' He said, looking at her reaction of disdain. After a few seconds he continued. His voice more mischievous. 'Your information must be very good.'

'Let say that I not only know where Leto is, but that I know were the other one is being held captive.'

'The other one? Sam?'

'Yes. The Shadowhunter's pet.'

'How do you know?' Asked Magnus, forgetting about his alcohol.

'That's not the question here. The question is: would you summon a ravener demon in exchange of that information?' Her eyes turned deep green. Magnus noticed the change in the atmosphere, how heavy it was now. She was using her full alpha force, something that told Magnus that there was more at stake than he knew. But he didn't want to know. It was not his war, it was not his problem. He had learned long ago that he could not be helping everyone, that he could not be doing all the time what was honorable because at the end, it didn't matter how hard he tried. People will die, bad things will happen. A ravener demon free wasn't as bad as Valentine with three warlocks. He knew that Alec would never approve.

'I would need a more private setting.' He said, sealing the deal with a smile.

/

'It took you a long enough.' Clary said when he saw Magnus leaving the place through the back door an hour later.

'I know where Leto is and where they have Sam captive.' Was all he said shaking out his jacket for any trace of dust.

'How?' Asked Alec. 'Did she just gave you the information?'

'Well, my dear, I can be very persuasive.' Magnus said putting a dirty tone on the word "very".

Alec looked at him with doubt, but he couldn't say anything, because Magnus was walking fast, with Izzy and Clary on his heels. He hasn't know Magnus for that long, but there was something there, something in his eyes, in the way he said that line, that made him think of the way the warlock would talk with Shadowhunters at the Institute. However, they didn't have time to talk, they needed to find those warlocks and have some answers.

/

'Who are you?'

Alec had his bow ready, with an arrow pointing at the warlock. Izzy had let her whip loose, ready to attack if needed. They only two taking no protection agains the red flames in the hands of the warlock were Magnus and Clary.

'My name is Magnus Bane. And believe me, there is no need to be defensive. We are here to help.'

'I know of you.' Said the warlock without putting his hands down. 'You are the High Warlock of Brooklyn.'

'Yes.'

Alec attention was focused on the warlock, ready to defend his people in case Leto was feeling uncooperative. However, he couldn't miss the soft smile on Magnus' lips. They way they turned slightly up, not reaching his eyes, just making his upper lip more pronounced. He wanted to kiss those lips. No. He needed to focus. Protect. That was his function.

'What I don't know is what are you doing here or who are these Shadowhunters.'

'As I said, we are here to help. Please, let's all relax and talk.' Magnus said trying to ease the situation.

Leto looked at Alec and his arrow, not putting his hands down. Magnus understood that, if they wanted Leto's trust, they needed to prove him that they were there in peace. Magnus touched Alec's shoulder, asking him without words to put his bow away. Alec looked at Magnus with surprise, but after a few seconds he did it, Izzy following his example. Magnus turned to Leto and saw him putting away the red flames.

'Now. I heard that there has been some disappearances recently.' Said Magnus taking a few steps closer to the other warlock.

'My wife has gone missing. I know that she has been kidnapped.' There was fear in Leto's voice, but also anger.

Magnus gestured the chairs and Leto nodded. He sat down and waited for the other warlock to do the same. Alec went to the door, checking that they were still alone. The place was a small garage in a very black and quiet neighborhood. There was something in the air that he didn't like. Izzy was at the other side of the room, checking the objects and the dismantled car.

'How do you know?' Asked Magnus.

'She didn't come back. After her shift she didn't show up. At first I thought that there had been problems at the firm. She is a lawyer.' He said that with so much tenderness in his voice that Alec couldn't help but look at him. 'She has always been fascinated with mundanes. That's why we don't have dealings with the Institute.' He looked at Izzy and Alec, recognizing in them the two main Shadowhunters. 'They know we don't want to get involved in their world, in the Shadow World.'

'How can you not have dealing with the Shadow World?' Asked Clary, who sat next to Magnus.

'Why should we?' Leto said defensively. 'We didn't choose to be part of that world. That why we live here. Where no one bother us, where we can have normal lives, pretend that we are like them.' There was sadness in his voice, but Alec didn't know if it was because of his wife missing or because something else.

'I'm going to assume that your wife and you are not very versatile in magic.' Magnus said looking at him, taking his attention away from the Nephilim and other topics.

'No. We know how to control it. We know how to use it on a basic level, but we have never studied it. Not like Akane or Sam.' Leto looked at Magnus with respect. 'Definitely not like you.'

'Do you know of anyone that would want to take your wife. Any mundanes that might know?'Asked Izzy getting closer.

'No. And I have being looking into her friends and circle. There is nothing. It's like it never happened.'

'Do you have something of her?' Asked Magnus.

'Not here. At home.' Leto got up. 'Can you track her? I tried but I can't. I cannot reach her.' His voice was steady, but his eyes were pleading.

'I´ll try. Let's get to your house.'

/

Alec was feeling uneasy with the whole situation. He had never had deals with warlocks before Magnus. He knew of them, he had talked with some, dealt with some, but nothing too serious, noting too long. All Shadowhunters knew that the shorter your dealing with warlocks, the better. And, like everything else, Magnus was changing that. Every day he learned something new about the warlock, something that fascinated him and made him rethink the whole view that his race had on the Downworlders. But it wasn't till now, when he had to deal with more than Magnus, when he needed to deal with warlocks he didn't know, people he didn't trust, that the was feeling uneasy.

Obviously, Magnus noticed that. 'Alright?' Was all he asked when they left the dark garage. Alec nodded. Yes, everything was fine, nothing more than his typical apprehension with new people. Nothing he wasn't used to by now.

But Magnus wasn't buying. He touched his arm very softly, but still noticeable for Alec to stop and turn. There was something in his eyes that was asking him to let him in.

Don't push me away.

Those words, spoken not that long ago, were back on his mind.

'It's nothing.' He looked at his sister and Clary. They were waiting for them at the end of the street, talking softly with the warlock. 'It's just that I don't like this. Him. I don't know…' He didn't know how to express what he was feeling. 'I don't trust him and I keep having this feeling that we are walking into a trap.'

Magnus looked at him more intensely, trying to read in his eyes what he couldn't find in his words. 'Is it because he is a warlock?' There was no judgment there, but a fine layer of sadness.

'No.' Alec said to quickly. 'Yes.' He end up admitting. 'But not only. I don't know… I… I'm sorry.'

'You don't have to apologize for the way you were raised to think.' His words were honest, with a calmness that Alec was not expecting. 'Do you trust me?' He asked seconds later.

Alec looked into his eyes for a moment, trying to convey all that he was feeling. He knew that they didn't know each other for that long, that there were many, many things that he didn't know about the warlock, that he had every reason as a Shadowhunter to not trust the Downworlder.

I trust you with my life, Magnus. I trust your decisions even when I don't understand them. I trust you with the life of my sister. I trust you without question and I don't know why. I trust you after knowing you for a couple of weeks and that terrifies me.

'Yes.' It was all he replied in the end. Magnus smile was small, barely even there, but for Alec, it was brighter than the sun.

TBC

Translation:

お前、入るな。: You cannot enter

シャドウハンターズは入ってはいけないぞ。外人でも...例外だっていうわけじゃない。: Shadowhunters are not allowed inside. It doesn't matter that you are foreigners, you are no exception.

入ってもいいですか: can I go in?

どうも: Thank you.

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