Disclaimer: All characters belong to Cassandra Clare
Chapter 18: Closer and Closer
The medic was counting the supplies with a tablet in his hand. Lately other places had consumed medical items very quickly and Luke had to distribute theirs to them. Because of that within a month the supply was running short again. This is a good excuse to call Jem. Luke thought as he recorded the gauze only had few rolls left.
"Luke," A voice called from behind and he turned to see Sebastian was leaning on the doorframe, preventing the automatic door from closing. Even his eyes were half-lidded, Luke could see the hostility and how they tracked his every muscular movement. "What were you doing in my room earlier?"
He had been expecting the dark-eyed man to ask him the question. Since the beginning Sebastian had shown his severe possessiveness towards Alec. "Just giving him some food." He answered with a partial truth.
Snorting, Sebastian crept and the door swiftly shut without a noise. The concrete blocked any sound from the outside and Luke doubted their conversation would be heard through those heavy walls. His stomach churned due to human nature: Sebastian was a predator, and he was trapped with him in this room.
Sebastian pocketed out his hands and revealed no weapons. However Luke's guard wasn't down in any degree because the infamous man was as excellent with his bare hands. He had seen him fought in the cage for fun, which was not that fun for the others.
Luke pretended to count the items in another drawer. The tablet in his hands were about to break in half; now he could hear Sebastian's breathing. They were even and deep.
"Bullshit." Then the air changed and a blow of heat hit Luke on his back. Something struck his shoulder blade, making him stumbled and crashed the furniture. The device in his hands plummeted on the ground and bounced off to a corner. Luke whirled to his right and barely avoided another advance.
He rolled off. He should have known that Sebastian had hidden a stealthy knife under his sleeve. The sharp gleaming edge was dripping his blood.
"You touched him, didn't you?" Sebastian scolded and walked steadily to him.
"No." He said firmly and met the fierce glare from the unpredictable lunatic. Luke had asked himself many times how it was possible for him to stay at this man's side for all those years without driving himself crazy. Luke had taken his wrath before but never did he physically punish him. This was brand new.
When Sebastian held up his knife, Luke shouted with anger. "I didn't and I won't! I am not like you to touch a boy like that. I am not you!"
And Sebastian did the last thing he expected: he nodded in agreement. "True indeed. We are different." He continued moving and crouched down, lifting Luke's chin with his knife. It was travelling along his jawline, then down to his side of neck. "And I thought we had something in common – I guessed not really."
The pressure increased and Luke wouldn't dare draw a deep breath for the blade was sinking into his flesh in an imaginable slow rate. His hands were supporting himself from collapsing and the drops of bloods from his wounds were sticking to his skins.
"Pack your things, Luke." Sebastian stood finally and removed the knife, licking it clean but he spat out the bloody spit like it was poison. "Many soldiers in District 10 are injured from the hunts. You will stay there until further notice."
Sebastian disappeared. His wounds were not that serious; Luke struggled to his feet and grabbed the remaining supplies from the drawers, tending himself with skills.
When he exited the room with a bandaged neck and shoulder, one of the loyal soldiers of Sebastian was waiting for him outside. The man whistled and eyes never left Luke. Said man obediently returned to his room and packed the few things he had into a gunny bag. The man did his job well; whenever Luke wanted to change their route to Sebastian's room he would grab his wounded shoulder and turn him away. Panic swelled up inside his chest: he couldn't protect Alec anymore. God knows what Sebastian would do to that boy.
He had stayed in District 10 for nearly a month. Even they were miles away from the hideout, rumors about Sebastian still passed around because he was the idol of most Aristos in the Institute, besides Valentine the Leader. Luke felt sick – that someone like Sebastian was respected for what he had done. He couldn't get rid of the nausea when people mentioned Sebastian had thrown his newest toy away.
When Luke returned to the hideout he was sullen and devastated. He was only able to go back because Sebastian was out for a mission. The pack stopped bickering after they spotted the medic from the door in the cafeteria. One of them, who had pried for information, walked straight to Luke's face.
"Tell me, Luke, is it because you've touched the Angel boy that Sebastian sent you away?"
Getting a side-way glare, the man laughed and backed off. His hands waving in the air and he said. "Well, even if you haven't you can have him now. He is in the cage; Sebastian offers the Angel boy to us. Every one of us." Ended his speech the man laughed again and rejoined his pack. The rest smirked with him.
A whisper came to his ears. "I've got some drugs – how about we try it this afternoon. It would be fun."
Luke shuddered and ran.
He slammed his fists on the door: those filthy scums! He cursed and decided to change his plan. Originally he intended to paralyses them with drugs and gained them time to escape, but now things were simpler. It was a decision he wouldn't regret at all.
That night he called Jem and asked for a favor. Everything went as the plan; Luke smiled to himself. It was nice to know someone inside this organization still had a heart.
In the middle of early morning, Luke sneaked into the cafeteria and went to the molecular machines. First he pushed the buttons with his gloved hands and breads dropped from the opening. Throwing them into his small bag hooked to his belt Luke took out a small bottle of transparent fluid.
Luke found the water tank inside. He tipped the bottle and a drop fell onto the surface. Nothing happened but he grinned at his success. Nothing was supposed to happen when the poison was mixed into water. Then he did the rest with the same procedures, and stayed inside his room even if someone was banging his door, asking for his profession.
The night was quiet. Before he left for Alec he had destroyed anything that related to him. Right after the evening Luke stuck his head out and got out. The hallways were not completely empty; some were lying distortedly on the ground with a small pool of blood around their heads.
The storage room was his first destination. He grabbed a cart and loaded a giant paper box there, with piles of plastic bags with pills as camouflage. Other than that he too took a shot of sedative for precaution. Luke set off to the cage.
The door cracked as it was pushed. Luke speedily recognized Alec's frame inside one of the small dog cage and rushed towards it. Alec was lying down on his side lifelessly, with only his short ragged breaths indicated he was still here. He was in bad shape: cuts and bruises with brown knifed words wrapping his skin. Prints of hands visible on his hips. His hairs were wet, soaked with sweats and bloods. Semen stained some strands, also his body. Wrists and ankles were shackled and the collar was circling his neck.
Luke yanked the cage door and bent, half of his body was now in. He took out another bottle with yellow fluid and tilted it to Alec's parted lips.
Alec finally drunk the interference with great difficulties. It broke his heart to see him like this, treating every pair of hands on him a threat. Glimpsed his watch they have an hour before the drug began to wear off. They could make it.
Luke cut off the restrains and carried Alec out. As he lowered the boy into the box he fought Luke like he was his ultimate enemy; he jabbed the needle around his collared neck and injected the sedative. His heart stung when he noticed those punctures and fading blue-purple dots.
Put Alec into a better position, Luke ran back to the room and saw most of the prisoners were locked and suffering. He quickly kicked off the locks and released them.
"Please…" A man reached out his bone-visible hand to Luke. Others were tied to various objects and skinned. They were begging him to show some mercy, to end their pains.
"I am sorry." Luke said.
He picked up a bloody crowbar and aimed at the heads. The cracks of neck bones chilled him. His hands were trembling when it was done.
People thought the hideout was far away from border, while in fact there was a tunnel connecting to the abandoned city Afra where Sebastian adored the most and it was only a ten-minute walk. Through the way some Aristos were still awake, but were too feeble to catch a piece of his cloths.
Luke said his farewell and pushed them off. They fell and never got up again.
The moon was above their heads when they exited the tunnel and out from the hotel. A car was parked at the entrance of Afra with the engine still on. Silver stood out from the fading rusted city and the person who was leaning against the car, jumped at the sight of them.
The tall man was pacing around his study. Magnus couldn't calm down when he thought about what Jem had told him few nights earlier: the robot used him as a template was out in the wild. It wasn't destroyed like it was written in paper. Jem had explained how the black market worked and how the robot was bought by his patient.
It sounded too out of the world to be real; Magnus at first laughed but when he saw the dead seriousness on Jem's face, he stopped.
They are in love, Jem said.
Magnus didn't know what to think of that, a replica of him falling in love with a Mundane boy who couldn't be touched by humans. He wondered, if the robot loved the boy because of the programmed mindset, or he loved him due to no particular reasons. Sometimes love worked like that; there was nothing rational about it.
Could a robot love?
Magnus wandered back to his bedroom and threw himself on the comfortable mattress. Sprawling and sighed, Magnus again considered the idea proposed by Jem.
"Why are you telling me this?" He asked. They were in a dark corner, far away from anyone's vision.
"Because I want you to help him. I have told you my patient can't stand human contact, but he gets along with Mag – I mean, the robot. And I thought maybe you can take his role for an hour or so, see how he reacts." Jem whispered and obviously was still having conflicts about his decision.
"It is the worst idea ever," Magnus repeated Will's words. "You want to trick him in thinking I am the robot."
The silver-eyed man nodded and added with furrowed brows. "It's okay if you don't want to. I understand and now hearing it from you it is indeed a stupid idea." He pushed himself up from the wall and got back to the table. Yet Magnus tapped on his shoulder. His curiosity had been risen.
"How – how is he?"
It was something he couldn't imagine, an identical Magnus Bane living in the same city as him. Couldn't help but he wonder, what kind of life did this other Magnus live?
"He is in good hands." Jem said and looked him in the eye. "He is in love, I can tell, with the mundane boy. They love each other."
Magnus hadn't met the robot before; Tessa had invited him to the test but he refused. From the robot designer, the robot Magnus was just like him. It – he had his own conscious, Tessa told him. The Clave turned the project down in the end. It was in his anticipation but he never thought the robot was not destroyed as it supposed to be.
He wasn't sure if it did any good to the mundane boy, faking himself as a robot and let him touch a real human. He understood why Jem asked: the boy had been suffering this phobia for two years now. No matter what reasons behind, Magnus believed none should live a life without being able to have physical contact with humans. Robots were not humans. There were differences; something robots couldn't give like a human could.
Magnus was always opened for new things. Adventurous that he was. Yet the feelings of a young boy was at stake this time. It wasn't only himself he had to think about; after all the whole deal was centering the special condition of the boy whose name wasn't given by Jem. He was scared, for the first time in many years that he could make the wrong move and regress the boy's performance. He would like to help, but there was an uncertainty which he could mess everything up.
The sounds of alarm woke him. He flicked his fingers and it was turned off.
Sitting up he glanced at the clock and realized it was time to meet up with Camille. Before he left to Saidah Magnus let her take over his company. He in the past year had kept an eye on it and the company grew steadily under her lead. At first he didn't plan to discuss about the business that quick; however, Camille had her way to know Magnus had returned and she demanded a meeting. Magnus agreed without choices.
The wardrobe was nearly empty. Magnus didn't go shopping as he wanted to because of the news Jem delivered. Maybe a trip to his company could get him some nice pieces.
Magnus had been acting weird since the last session with Jem. He was remarkably quiet. Usually in the morning he would wake Alec up and dress him, reminding him of the day's schedule. Now for three days straight Ragnor had taken his old position back, shaking the sleepy Alec from dreams.
He was still there when Alec was asleep, but he was gone before he opened his eyes. This day was no exception.
His sweater was yanked upwards and he rose his arms, it slipped off and Ragnor tossed it into a basket nearby. Rubbing his eyes Ragnor took his elbows and pulled him up to his feet. "The bath is ready."
Alec asked in the middle of a yawn and Ragnor got it without any mistake. "Where is Magnus?"
The butler hesitated, answered half a beat later. "He is called by Aline to help out."
"Um." Alec hummed and shuffled to the bathroom. At the moment he didn't think much about it, it was only when he was bathing, and the realization hit him.
Magnus was avoiding him.
He lowered himself more into the hot water and closed his eyes, still feeling tired from a ten-hour sleep. The recollection was going extremely well; Alec gnawed his lips. It was evident that during his time in that place – the cage as some in his memories had said – he was served as a slave after his Master didn't desire him anymore. The pain when they resurfaced was excruciating.
Mostly he couldn't see anything, but only felt hands and things on his body.
The heat of burning iron, coldness of gels and metals, the tingling of needle embedding. Voices of men and mean words knifed him in the spine and they couldn't be removed. It was as if the words were engraved on his bones, branded into his bloods.
The water went cold. Alec shivered and walked out from the tub, staring at his reflection in the mirror. He remembered the Master scarred words on his torso. Touching his forehead, Alec ruffled his wet hairs and let the bangs fall upon his eyes, blocking most of his upper face.
Got into the clothes Ragnor had prepared, Alec went to the kitchen. His appetite had been better now and Aline's cooking definitely attributed to the situation. When he entered the kitchen Magnus was there, watching Aline making scrambled egg, leaning against the back door. He lifted his chin as he heard footsteps, but averted his glance when he saw it was Alec.
"Oh, you are early. Wait for a minute, okay? The breakfast is almost ready." Aline sang as she cooked, sounds of oil dancing on the pan filled the small space. Alec nodded, and Magnus greeted with a rigid tug of a corner of his mouth.
"Good morning."
"You too." Alec said and he picked up the glass of milk, sipped and warmed his stomach. Magnus shook his head slightly and kicked backwards, opening the back door and stepped out to the garden without saying another word.
He put down the glass and sandwiched his hands between his thighs. He didn't know what he had done wrong that had caused Magnus to avoid him like he was a pest. Frowning, a plate of jammed toasts and scrambled eggs was pushed under his eyes. Aline was smiling at him.
"You have a long day ahead." She said and went to tidy up the kitchen, which wasn't that dirty in the first place.
Alec could see she was trying to keep her mind off certain things and the smile she gave was forced. Bit down the crispy toast edge, he suddenly felt light-headed. But he remained in his seat and took small bites.
The breakfast was finished in silence. Aline as usual, stayed behind when the three of them went to the repair shop. Customers had been flooding in, asking for upgrades and advanced modifications. Alec sighed at the endless lists of items.
For the third day, Magnus took the passenger seat instead of sitting with him in the back. Ragnor didn't comment, simply drove and fulfilled his duty. Alec was hurt by the distancing behavior. He looked outside the window to pass time.
Even in the repair shop Magnus stayed in the reception. It was rare of him doing that because he always complained about how boring it was to be out there alone. He had the phone line transferred to his system so that he could answer calls in the back. Magnus and Ragnor would talk all days and nights about everything and anything, reclining on the sofa while Alec buried his head into work.
However, he didn't do that anymore. Alec stared at the yellow flame coming out from the tip of the crafting pen, and pondered what had happened for the past few days.
It began after the session with Jem three days ago, a Friday. The silver-haired man had been visiting for a month now, and indeed he helped Alec a lots. He and Jeremiah shared the same aura that Alec was fond of and he couldn't place the reason why. He couldn't remember anything useful that linked the strange actions of Magnus to it.
Alec exhaled a deep breath. Stretching, he stood up from his seat and walked to the treadmill in the corner of the room, decided to loosen up a bit before continued the repairing. Ragnor noticed and approached, standing next to the dashboard and leaned on the machine. Alec pressed a few buttons and started jogging.
"You are in no fitting outfit to exercise. I will get you something to wear after this." The white-haired man said and adjusted the speed of the treadmill, making it slower. "And you have to warm up first. Five minutes."
Rolled his eyes, Alec followed anyway. Ragnor synced himself with the machine and went to a locker at the nearby corner, pulled out a clean tower and some clothes. He put them at the sofa.
Without the meds Alec was able to run again. He wouldn't feel dizzy and with regular exercise, he was gaining his strength back.
Ragnor returned to the spot and watched Alec. Said man increased his pace as the green-skinned robot fastened the speed, making Alec jogged. Alec asked and it somehow surprised Ragnor. "What's going on with Magnus?"
He said with another question. "What about him?"
His breathing wasn't messed up. "He's been avoiding me." He kept his head straight and not wanting to meet Ragnor's suspicious glance. Alec knew his emotions were easy to read and he would like to have some secrets to himself. He closed his eyes and focused.
A minute later came the answer. "I know I shouldn't say this…"
Opened his eyes, Alec found the butler was raking his white hairs in nervousness. It was something new to Alec seeing him like that. "Jem told Magnus something; that's all I know." Ragnor said after a pause and deep breath. "I've noticed his odd behaviors too. When he asked me to take my job back – I mean waking you up, I pried a little and he only said Jem made a suggestion. Nothing more."
A suggestion? Alec suddenly felt a pang inside his chest and his heart skipped a beat. What was that supposed to mean? Earlier Magnus had asked if Alec was leaving him. What if he planned to leave first – so that he could be the one to choose, to decide his own fate?
Alec ran faster. The treadmill regulated its pace accordingly and Ragnor looked at him with wide worried eyes. When the machine started beeping, he slammed the dashboard with his green fingers and it slowed down; Alec jumped off and couldn't control the sick feeling inside his stomach; he bent over and heaved.
A hand soothed his back. "You shouldn't run that fast. Your body is not up to the usual level." Ragnor helped Alec sitting on the sofa, hurriedly he brought Alec a glass of water and snatched the towel to him. He received it with thanks.
"I am sorry. I shouldn't force myself like that." Alec apologized and tried to even his breathing. Ragnor only flashed him a reassuring smile. "Don't do it next time."
He tugged the hum of the sweat-soaked sweater. "Come on, you will catch a cold."
Alec shyly yanked it off and hands searched for the one Ragnor prepared. In a swift motion he wiped the sweat from his torso and pulled the cotton black hoodie over his head. Ragnor picked up the former clothe and churned them near his tablet.
Magnus, not for once, stuck his head through the curtain to see what happened.
The blue-eyed Mundane boy slumped against the sofa and rubbed his eyes. His body relaxed with the release of pressure, yet it didn't stop the heavy beating of his heart.
Magnus was leaving them.
He was leaving him.
Isabelle was never afraid. It was not her thing. In the army she was always the first to charge, the first to have bloods spilled over her guns, wipes and knives. Not once did she return with a clean and tidy uniform, for her countless encounters and slaughters of those disgusting transformed. Wounds created by those alien weapons painted her pale skin and she wore them proudly. It was the evidence and recognition of her bravery and skills.
Unlike Jace, she wasn't picked to be in the elite team. She was fine with that, really, and not jealous at all. Her wild action at the dinner was driven by the fear of what was slipping from her hands.
Max stayed forever young at the age of nine; Jace went to a suicidal mission and Alec and she grew apart over the years. She had lost all her brothers, one way or another.
On the battlefields she was fearless. However, she found herself standing in front of her brother's doorstep, and was doubting if she had the courage to press the bell.
Took a deep breath she shooed the robot guard to wait for her in the car and finally after ten minutes of consideration, she lightly pushed the small button.
It was answered quickly by the green-skinned guard Ragnor. She had questions about why his skin tone but she suppressed them. Somehow she felt impolite to ask; she scolded herself in her head. He was just a robot which had no feelings. Stopped treating like he – it was real.
Ragnor pulled a smile and bowed. "Master Isabelle. Do you have an appointment with Master Alexander?" She rolled her eyes and slid past him, walking in as if she knew this place from her heart. Taking off her high heels she studied the area.
It was her first time visiting.
The smell of sandalwood was lingering. She took off her coat and handed it to Ragnor, knowing it would take great care of it and yelled. "Alec! I am here!"
Then a loud bang came from a room in the middle of the hallway. She went straight there despite Ragnor trailed behind her and said in an urgent voice. "Master Alexander is sleeping, Master Isabelle."
Sleeping? It was only eight at night! The night was too young. Snorted, she turned the knob and gasped.
Someone was sitting on the bed, besides her brother's peaceful sleeping form. She nearly fainted.
It was Magnus Bane, the famous fashion designer who was her favorite for a long time. Said man lifted his head and met her glare, eyeing her in bewilderment. Quietly he slipped off the bed and tugged the blanket around Alec.
"You – " Isabelle stuttered, unable to finish the simple sentence as Magnus placed his index finger on his lips, signaling the female fighter to talk outside. She glanced at Alec, who was oblivious, rolled to his side and talking nonsense in his sleep. The tall Asiatic man draped an arm around her shoulder and led her to the living room.
There was another girl, who wore a pink sleeveless shirt and a baby blue skirt standing near Ragnor at the front door, looking at her warily and alarmed. Isabelle knew she could be intimidating sometimes, having huge and ugly scars. She smiled at her but she hid behind the robot.
She extracted herself from Magnus once they were in the living room. A cup of hot green tea was in the coffee table. "You are Magnus Bane." She said and was surprised by the man's look.
He was young, the time never left traces on his sculptural face. Isabelle had seen the confidence and strong will of the designer on magazines and photos, yet this one in front of her eyes had dreariness blanked the exotic features and his eyes, dry like a desert.
"I am not the Magnus Bane you know." He spoke and settled on the wingback chair. Isabelle observed his moves and copied it by sitting down on the sofa opposite. Magnus sighed and added. "You must be very confused. It is a long story… and Alec should be present, too. I am going to wake him up."
He exited and Isabelle waited. As Magnus turned right to Alec's room, Ragnor and the girl followed. They moved extremely fast – in a speed that couldn't be possessed by humans. Her senses perked for revelation.
The grand Lightwood Mansion was currently out of humans. He didn't know if it was his luck or misfortune to miss the great opportunity to meet the renowned soldiers with a noble Mundane family last name. A shame, to be honest, that he couldn't see the defeat in their eyes when he knocked them down on the floor and told them what he had done. He shook the fantasy away.
Just like what she had told him, the lights went off all of a sudden and the system was down at eight. He climbed the fencing wall and flipped with his flexible body, walking on the mowed lawn and directed to the front door. As if it was his house, he pushed the double door and they banged to the walls, emitted loud noises that would have alerted the security – under normal circumstances.
No one was stopping him. He sauntered the ground floor, passing numerous uselss guard robots and the butler, Hodge, if he recalled correctly and pleaded himself by admiring the silverware inside those cabinets. Those shouldn't be taken; they practically had the name Lightwood branded on it. He strolled upstairs; according to the blueprint, there was nothing valuable and untraceable on the ground floor.
With the last soundless step there were two ways. She had said left was for the girl and master bedroom, right for the boys. He took a left turn.
The hallway was dark, with only moonlight showed the way to the master bedroom where the safe was located. He had done it times before and none had thrilled his blood this strong; partially because of the boy, he supposed. But he would take it slow, exactly like the way he wanted it.
Two robots were inside. Seelie, the keeper collapsed on the bed with a mop in her hand and a cleaner at the end of the bed, both deactivated. He scanned the room and soon found his target: it was above the nightstand.
The safe was an easy task. It was the basic model and he fished out a stick, pressing the sharp tip of the metal bar on the lock and with a click, the lid opened itself. He reached and towed the content out, making them scattered on the nightstand and the floor. A few trading sticks and bags of jewels. It was already worth more than his expectation.
He stuffed them into his back pocket and something caught his eyes. A small metal box that once upon a time used for food storage, was hidden under the bed. Pulling it out, he felt the weightlessness. Couldn't oppress his curiosity, he flipped the lid.
There were photos. A printed copy. It wasn't a common practice of people to store image in real form. Family portraits, girl with black hairs and a golden child, a small baby in a woman's arm.
And a young child with inky hairs. His fingers hovered over the familiar black-haired boy who smiled timidly to the camera. Said boy was in the living room, cradling wood toys in his arms. He couldn't be more than twelve. The soft edges of sapphires stared right back at him.
"Wow." He smirked and using the other hand to check other contents. Nothing important, only some stupid love letters and a memory card, also two vials of bloods with no label attached. The hospital gave it out to the parents like those ultrasound photos; only that each vial contained the first blood of a tube baby. One blue cap and one red. A boy and a girl.
No wonder he doesn't have a belly button. He thought and tossed them back but put the photo of the lovely boy in his inside jacket pocket. He had been there for ten minutes. Got to his feet, he speedily ran to an open window and jumped.
He landed gracefully. His boots were kicking the gray pebbles and carried him to the main gate. Once outside, he got rid of the protective gels and climbed into his car, igniting the engine. Adjusted the rear-view mirror, he giggled at his own cocky devilish grin.
The game had begun.
A/N:
How do you guys feel about this chapter? I am sure you have idea on who that guy is breaking into the Mansion. And I promise, the two Magnus will meet soon!
A review is highly appreciated. Wish you all have a good day!