Devil in the Details
If there was one thing Lucifer Morningstar knew, it was how to pick a view.
Los Angeles lit up the night from down below: buildings and street signs flickering to life, cars crawling like ants packed in hours worth of traffic on the freeway. This far up, the noises were gone, the scents less repulsive, just open air and starlight. All Magnus had to do was lean against the glassy rails and admire.
He wished Alexander was there to share this. The view from their apartment in Brooklyn was impressive and had given way to many romantic moments, confessions, and make-out sessions. The pair had built their relationship on midnight conversations had on rooftops and fire escapes and balconies. There was just something about the bird's-eye view that made Magnus nostalgic, that made him miss his lover like a physical gnawing.
The phone in his pocket buzzed. It was late and not many people would bother calling over texting, but as soon as Magnus saw the name on the screen, he picked up.
"Magnus!"
"Alexander," Magnus sighed, a heavy weight lifting off his chest the moment Alec's voice reached his ears. The universe had finally delivered some kindness. "You had me worried."
"I had you worried? You had me worried," Alec replied, incredulous. "Where the hell are you?"
"I know, I know. I'm sorry," Magnus said with a wince. He really should have left that note. "Lucifer called and needed my help. There was no time to explain."
"So you're with him now? Lucifer?"
"Yes." Magnus cast a glance back inside where Lucifer was pacing the open floor of his apartment, drink in one hand and cigarette in another. "He has a plan to capture Jace. I think it might work."
At least, that was what Lucifer promised, bounding off like a child on a sugar high to find his dry-erase markers. How he got the double-sided white board into his apartment in the first place and why were two questions Magnus didn't feel up to asking at the moment.
"Capture..."
"Lucifer won't harm him, Alexander. He made me promise, and he never breaks his promises."
"Wow, how did you swing that."
"He owed me. Besides, I don't think he actually wants to harm Jace." Alexander made a disbelieving noise on the other end of the line. "I keep telling you, Alexander. He's not who you think he is."
"Does he know about Izzy?"
"Yes. And he's taking it about as well as you'd imagine."
"What, fire and brimstone?"
"Brooding, mostly. Lots of cursing his Father. And many promises to do terrible, horrible things to all the Nephilim involved in her imprisonment." Lucifer had gotten increasingly creative in his forms of torture. Some of the things that came out of his mouth would make the lowest levels of Hell sound like paradise. "You may want to warn Robert."
"My father can handle himself," Alec said brusquely. Something must have happened, some sort of argument. Magnus hadn't heard Alec sound so sore about his parents since his coming out. "When will this plan be over? When will you be home?"
"If all goes well, I will be seeing you soon with your parabatai." The line remained eerily silent. Magnus frowned. "What's wrong. I thought you'd be happy at the news."
"I just..." Alec stopped himself. His voice cracked just a little, like he was swallowing something down. "We've been through this before. I don't want to get my hopes up."
"Oh, darling." Hearing Alec talk this way broke Magnus's heart. "I will do everything in my power to get him back to you."
"Thank you."
"Are you alone?" Alexander shouldn't be alone, not now.
"Yeah. I'm at the apartment," he said, his voice heavy and tired. "They took Clary to Alicante. They found out she used the Wish. She's probably already in a cell right next to Izzy."
"Well, this keeps getting worse and worse."
"Tell me about it." Alexander was not an emotional person, not really. Not in the easy way Magnus was. The sheer fact that Magnus could hear the despair through every breath Alec took made Magnus want to portal across the country that moment and hold him close. "I don't know what to do Magnus. I can't fight the Clave by myself."
"You don't have to," Magnus soothed, trying to stay calm and grounded for Alec's sake. Only one of them could break down right now, and Alec had more reason. Magnus would be the strong one. "You spent so much time building relationships between the Shadowhunters and the Downworld. If you ask for help, there will be plenty of those who would stand by your cause."
"This isn't about the fate of the world. This isn't Valentine. This is personal. I couldn't ask them to fight my battles."
"But you can ask your friends to lend a hand." So stubborn, his Shadowhunter was. So proud. Magnus loved Alec's independence, admired his drive to do things his way, but sometimes even the greatest leaders needed someone to fall back on. That person was usually Magnus, but for now, Alec would have to find support elsewhere. "Have you reached out to Catarina? Or Maia? Or Simon?"
The line went silent. Magnus would be concerned, but he knew this time the silence was a good thing. It meant Alexander was thinking. Even better, it meant he was planning.
"I have to go," he said abruptly.
Magnus tried not to smile too smugly. "Of course. I love you, Alexander. Stay safe."
"I love you, too."
The call ended, and Magnus pocketed his phone. Somehow, the conversation only made Magnus miss him more.
By the Angel, he missed Alexander! The voice of his beloved held no candle to having that strong, tall body pressed against his side. Magnus wished to be there, to hold his beloved and tell him everything was going to be okay.
He let out a long breath, savoring the fresh air and exhaling as much stress as he could. It was so easy to put plans into words, to suggest alliances and utilize connections, but it was a different thing altogether to put that plan into motion and make it a reality. He only hoped Alexander could win the favor of somebody or some creature to make things right. If Magnus was there, he'd offer his help without hesitation. But he wasn't by Alexander's side in NYC. He was in LA with the Devil, and the Devil had his own part to play.
Inside, Lucifer paced in front of the bar, the white board off to the side covered in what looked like some demented football play: x's and o's scattered around a rather unflattering stick figure with wings and horns and the word EVIL written above its head in all caps. Magnus had never met Lilith, but the likeness was there.
"Oh good, did you kiss and make up?"
"For the most part." Magnus mixed himself a gin and tonic, then gestured to the board. "You've been busy."
The elevator dinged. Lucifer had three seconds to turn the white board around and shove the red dry erase marker down his pants before the doors opened and a very pissed off, petite blonde lady strode into the penthouse. This must be a normal occurrence, because Lucifer didn't even bat an eye to see a beautiful woman invade his home with murder in her eye.
"Detective," Lucifer greeted brusquely, squaring his shoulders like an offended peacock. "Here to arrest me again?"
"How the hell did you jump bail?"
She followed him to the bar, hot on his heels, and leaned against it as he walked behind, hands gripping the edge with white knuckles.
"I am very wealthy. I thought that was obvious." Lucifer gestured to the grandeur of his home, then poured himself a whiskey neat. "Besides, you had no valid reason to keep me - any lawyer with half a brain could see that. I would have been out of the slammer by now had I waited. But I had things to do, promises to keep."
"And what promises would those be?"
Lucifer said nothing, just sipped his whiskey annoyingly slow. HE had all the time in the world to fuck with this woman. Magnus was impressed that she had gone toe-to-toe with him for so long. Most people gave up, or found themselves smears on the floor.
Her death grip on the bar relaxed and she pushed herself away. Her eyes roved around the room and found Magnus. He straightened up on instinct.
"I know you," she said, stepping towards Magnus with a suspecting glare. "We passed by each other earlier at the coroner's office."
"This is my nephew, Magnus. He's visiting from New York. My brother, Asmodeus, was - no offense - a shit parent so Magus spent his formative years with me. Practically raised him," Lucifer said, gesturing between the two. "Magnus, this is my partner, the Detective."
So many things suddenly made sense. Magnus shot his uncle a smirk, then turned that smirk into his most winning smile. He offered the woman his hand.
"Ah, so this is the infamous Detective I've been hearing about."
She took his hand in a firm shake. "Chloe Decker."
"Magnus Bane. Pleasure to meet you."
"Are you on the force?"
"Worse, I'm afraid. I'm a lawyer."
"Did Lucifer call you in to defend him?"
Lucifer saw this as his cue to intervene.
"This is family business, plain and simple," he said, cutting off the line of questioning.
Immediately, Chloe's demeanor changed. Her expression grew soft and compassionate. "Amenadiel told me about your brother, Ithuriel. I'm sorry. I didn't realize you were in charge of arranging his affairs."
Of all the fucking things the Detective could have mistaken this for -
Lucifer flinched but hid it well. There was no way he was going to look this gift horse in the mouth. He ducked his head into his glass and looked away. "His loss was unexpected and upsetting."
"Do you need to take any time for the funeral?"
"That is very kind of you, Detective. I would appreciate a brief leave of absence from the work."
"Of course," she said with a nod. Then, she straightened her posture, the no-nonsense facade returning as she fixed Lucifer with a warning stare. "Don't think this absolves you of having to talk about the Raziel thing."
"I wouldn't dream of it."
With a nod to them both and a bid farewell, the Detective exited the apartment the same way she came. The elevator doors shut on her shadowed face, and only when the floors started dinging her descent did the uncle and nephew breathe sighs of relief. They both meandered to the living space, Lucifer sprawling across the couch and Magnus taking up a perch on the arm of one of the chairs.
"When you said you were working for the LAPD, you didn't tell me why," Magnus taunted. He needed another drink.
"Despite my numerous attempts otherwise, the Detective insists on maintaining a strictly professional relationship," Lucifer replied rather bitterly. His glass was empty too and he frowned into it like it had personally offended him. "She drives me crazy, and yet I can't seem to shake my attraction to her. Time has only tempered it."
"Yeah...time's not the only thing with a temper." Magnus didn't like berating his uncle or telling him what to do. Most of the time, it was all in good sport. But he was serious now. They were playing a dangerous game with dangerous forces, and the last thing they needed was the police in their business. "She's too close to this, Lucifer. That could have been so much worse."
"I know, and I feel horribly about taking advantage of her ignorance." Lucifer hung his head and pinched the bridge of his nose. Conflict was rife within him.
"You don't lie."
"But I don't always tell the whole truth." Lucifer let out a mirthless laugh. "You'd be amazed what humans are willing to write off, what I have let them believe. I have told the Detective on multiple occasions that I am the Devil and all she thinks is that I am a bad actor with Daddy issues."
"She's not wrong."
Another laugh, this time darker.
"Yes, well, I plan on breaking that particular cycle." Lucifer got up and moseyed back towards the bar, polishing off a bottle of whiskey. "Speaking of plans, would you like to know the absolute genius my brain cooked up while you were out sexting your boyfriend?"
"Never use the word sexting again."
"Noted." Lucifer nodded, then spun the white board back around so that all the manic scribblings were once again in view. "We are going to lure the Owl into a trap."
"Lure? How?"
"With this."
Lucifer raised his right hand. On the fourth finger sat a ring made of silver inlaid with a single rectangular stone of deep onyx. Magnus didn't have to be a warlock to feel the powerful magic radiating deep from within. Powerful...and dark.
"This ring holds a sliver of Lilith's soul." Magnus took two steps back, careful not to get anywhere near what had to be the most cursed ring in the universe. Lucifer, however, didn't seem to care he held a piece of the Queen of Edom's essence in the palm of his hand. "Back in the early days - I'm talking Eden times - we had a much more civil relationship. We understood each other. We trusted each other as much as two immortal beings with our pasts could trust anyone. It was a stipulation of my Father's punishment that she be bound to my realm, but I had her on a much looser leash those days, let her roam as far over Hell as she wanted. Even let her pop up and visit her charming ex, Adam, so long as I could call her back...with this."
Irrational anger sparked in Magnus's gut. "You're telling me you could have summoned Lilith and made her fix this mess at any time?"
"Hold your horses, cowboy. This is a Hail Mary, an eleventh hour power move - and a dick move at that. It takes a lot of nerve to mess with someone's soul in such a callous way," Lucifer fired back, offended that Magnus could be so callous about a soul. As if he didn't already get a bad rep as part-demon. Magnus flinched; Lucifer taught him more respect that that. "Besides, it's not like the sliver is that big. Might give her some mild indigestion, a burning sensation in her anus. If she's far enough away, she might not even feel it."
"But she would know it was you."
"Yes. And so will her precious, murderous little Nephilim." Lucifer took a seat and reclined back against the couch, satisfied in his own genius that Magnus still couldn't see. "Jace Herondale has been murdering his own kind all across LA, keeping both me and the Detective preoccupied. So, if he's still around and I amp up the signal on this bad boy - "
" - you could trick him into thinking that Lilith is calling him," Magnus finished, the realization dawning on him. Angel be damned...Magnus was actually impressed. "That's brilliant, Lucifer."
"Isn't it?" Lucifer basked in the satisfaction of a plan well laid. "All I'll need you to do is the amplifying bit. We don't accidentally want to summon Lilith here and have her ruin all the fun. Just enough of a boost that the Owl can pick up on his mistress' presence, and then we will spring the trap."
"What is the trap, exactly."
"That bit...that bit is still in the shop." Lucifer bit down on his lip, at a loss. And things were going so well. "Normally I could call upon my Devil face and scare the sucker straight, but I've been having some performance issues where that's concerned."
"I don't want to know."
"Best you don't," Lucifer agreed hastily, a pensive furrow in his brow. "But don't worry, I'll think of something."
Around the block, in a squad car by the curb, Chloe Decker pulled out her earbuds and tried to breathe.
Planting the bug underneath Lucifer's bar was a risky move, but he had given her no choice. She couldn't trust him to be honest with her, even when he swore he never lied. Lucifer always danced around the truth, and that never bothered Chloe much before, but now...now people were dying. People were dying and bodies were racking up and Lucifer was hiding something.
Dead brothers, cult leaders, long-lost nephews. The list grew on and on.
Chloe was sick of it, and now she had her proof. It was hard to parse out through all the metaphors (was everyone in his family crazy?) but one thing was for sure.
Lucifer knew who was killing all those tattooed young people, and he had a plan to stop them.
"Good morning, Miss Fairchild."
Was it morning? Day and night were indistinguishable here, where everything was either dim and cold or flooded with artificial light. Clary had no way of telling how long she had been imprisoned, if days had passed or hours. All she had to guide her was her will and her rage at the man on the other side of her cell.
"Where's Izzy?" Clary demanded, slamming her arms against the bars. "What are you doing to her!"
Aldertree sighed, unbothered as he undid the button to his jacket and took it off, slinging it across the chair sat facing her cell just far enough away that she could not reach through and strangle him by his stupid striped tie.
"Miss Lightwood is sick and requires around the clock care. The best scientists and researchers are working on her case." Aldertree stretched and sat down, legs splayed wide, elbows resting on his knees. "If you truly care for her wellbeing, you'll tell me what you know."
"Go to hell."
"If you cooperate, I can speak to the warden. Perhaps the Clave will mitigate your sentence."
"Go. To. Hell."
If Victor Aldertree thought he could bribe her cooperation, then he was as deluded as Valentine. What kind of man - no, what kind of monster held an innocent woman hostage?Whatever Clary had witnessed in that white, sterile room was not good. Izzy looked sick. She looked tired. She needed help, and not the kind Aldertree provided.
"Isabelle Lightwood is pregnant." Aldertree's words were like ice down Clary's spine. She tried her hardest not to look affected, not to panic. Aldertree's smile was slow and sinister, like she had given him the very reaction he sought. "But you already knew that, didn't you?"
Clary remained quiet, her lips pursed into a frown. She bit on her bottom lip so hard she tasted blood, but she wouldn't give that smug bastard the satisfaction of a response.
"Did you know that her pregnancy isn't just demonic, it's angelic as well? There's only one creature who fits that description."
No words. That didn't seem to bother Aldertree. He was the kind of man who was comfortable with the sound of his own voice.
"You are a good friend, Miss Fairchild. You care for Isabelle and protect her as if she were your own parabatai. She is lucky to have someone so loyal. But that loyalty does you no favors. Not when your head is on the chopping block and Isabelle is being torn apart from the inside out by a creature none of us can fathom."
"And whose fault is that?" Clary sneered, unable to hold her tongue any longer.
"Your actions are your own and you must face the consequences of using Raziel's wish on such a selfish desire."
"But your desires with Izzy, that's not selfish?"
"My interest in Miss Lightwood is purely altruistic, for the good of all Nephilim."
"I'd say you're just bitter she dumped you."
The first crack appeared in his smug veneer. A scowl cut its way down his face. She must have struck a nerve. Good.
"Believe what you'd like, Miss Fairchild. That doesn't change the fact that Isabelle is suffering, and she will continue to do so until we can fully understand the ailment that plagues her."
"The only thing wrong with Izzy is that you took her from her family!"
"I took her from the care of a traitor, a warlock, a corrupt Head of Institute, a vampire, and a demon-possessed mass-murderer who likely would have turned on her the moment he had the opportunity. I'd say I've done her a favor. A favor to our entire race," Aldertree spat, pure hatred in his dark eyes. Clary knew that Aldertree was wound tight, that he was a Clave bastard through and through, but this felt personal in a way that made her skin crawl. Then, the composure returned, and Aldertree cleared his throat. "I'll leave you to think on my offer, Miss Fairchild. Have a good day."
Aldertree stood and fastened the button at his waist. The echoes of his footsteps rang much softer than his words still bouncing round Clary's head.
She had to get Izzy out of here. Fast.