Chapter Ten
Magnus Bane had a party planned for tonight. He had not been expecting to see Luke Garroway the afternoon a few days prior until Jocelyn Fray contacted him, and he certainly had not been expecting to hear of Luke Garroway's romantic endeavors with the one Valentine Morgenstern. And while Magnus was not above enjoying some gossip now and then, he knew enough of about the personal histories of these three to know this was a tangled web indeed. He was sympathetic.
That parabatai rune. The Nephilim glorified it, but Magnus was wary of it; it seemed like a disaster waiting to happen. Pick someone before you both turn twenty to whom you want to bind yourself using old magic, in exchange for great power. But don't you dare fall in love with them, or have sex with them. Which one was it even that was the problem?
The time limit, the youth, the prestige. A dangerous brew. Add to that when you tell people not to do something, they are going to think about it, even if they wouldn't have had you not said anything.
He didn't think Luke would have found this comforting, but he'd heard many instances of parabatai becoming lovers. Those tragic tales they told young Shadowhunters as bedside stories were the most dramatic, but Magnus knew of others. He'd also heard stories of parabatai who after their bond broke became lovers. Luke and Valentine were not even the first former parabatai he'd heard of who had fallen into bed together after one was turned into a Child of the Moon.
Everyone seemed to agree this Valentine Morgenstern was quite something. Jocelyn had confided to him during Clarissa's sessions about him, their courtship, how she was so enamored of him, then how it went so wrong. Magnus hadn't had a chance to evaluate for himself if he agreed. He had not seen Valentine at the Uprising battle, but he found his plan very unattractive. He had to admit though, his curiosity was piqued.
But, he had settled his most important need, and apparently Valentine did not mean to stir up trouble. Astounding. He actually found the fact that Luke had agreed to have sex with him further proof of Valentine's changed ways. That must have been some apology.
Magnus would keep an eye out, but he continued about his business, in this case planning for his upcoming party. When it was finally the day of he threw himself full force into preparations. The party opened exceptionally well; there was only one scuffle between the vampires and werewolves, something about their bikes. Magnus tuned it out when he realized it was over nothing serious, at least not serious to him.
He was sitting enjoying himself and his hard work when Dorothea grabbed his shoulder saying she needed to talk. It was urgent. Sometimes when people claimed their business was 'urgent' it was something like they had partly transfigured themselves and couldn't figure out how to change themselves back. Troublesome and humbling, but not what Magnus classified of as urgent. He had never had that trouble with Dorothea, and he wondered what could be the problem.
"I'll cut to the chase. There's something not right with Luke Garroway – Jocelyn's whatever they are to each other. I saw him come in our building yesterday and I had a bad feeling about him. I pulled cards. I got that he was struggling bad with something.
"I took the liberty of going into Jocelyn's apartment to see what he'd done in there. He left two notes. I opened them. The one to Clarissa is weird, probably because she doesn't know about our world, but the one to Jocelyn is clearly a suicide note.
"I went over to his book store. There's no one there. His truck is gone. Can't ask Jocelyn. I've got the letter here, read it for yourself."
Magnus took the note. He agreed with Dorothea.
"Well, Dorothea, this does spoil my party."
"Well, get on it, Mr. High Warlock. If this man dies, Jocelyn and I will have no one to do our house repairs."
Magnus was able to track Luke Garroway, and had now just watched him inflict upon himself a mortal injury. He tried to approach, but the wolf was taking over more and more of Luke's body. He didn't know what herb Luke took, but he guessed it was something to counteract the wolf's healing ability. The strain of the transformation might kill him at this point, but he would surely die if he bled out. Magnus threw some stunning powder he had brought with him. It acted quickly, but it would not last long. He was able to close the wound with a salve he brought.
As he was monitoring the process of that, the werewolf transformation completed itself. When Magnus thought the salve had done all it could, he bound the wound and picked up the now inert werewolf, carrying him over his shoulder. Luke's pulse was weak but present. The wolf felt chill to the touch. Magnus created a portal and stepped through, bringing him back to New York to a warehouse he owned.
He was an authority in New York, and he had some holding cells. They did not have bars or doors. Most of the beings he would need to detain could easily break through those. He only used silver, iron, or holy water as a last resort. Besides, if he was going to acquire that much silver, he thought it an absolute waste to use it on cell bars. He used magic to secure them instead, and that's what would be done for Luke.
Dorothea was here waiting. She had set up warding around the cell this time. She did have a silver chain, because they weren't sure what to expect when Magnus found Luke. Fortunately – or unfortunately, since he was grievously injured – they would not need to use it.
Luke – Luke as a werewolf – was still stunned, but Magnus thought he was unconscious as well. Magnus laid him down on a cot and left the cell. He and Dorothea stood silently outside looking in.
"You did well today, Dorothea." said Magnus, fatigue in his voice. He was not unaffected by what he had just witnessed.
"Thank you for doing this, Magnus." said Dorothea earnestly. He rarely heard Dorothea earnest.
"Don't thank me yet. I do believe we are in for a bumpy ride." Magnus quipped.
"At least there is a ride." Dorothea quipped right back.