Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

It is a cold September night and Magnus has just gotten home.

He steps through the big double doors of the Institute and throws his daggers, covered in ichor from the delightful dragonidae demon he had just defeated, down on the table for cleaning duty. He takes off his leather jacket, wincing slightly at the movement, a sharp pain going through his arm. He must have gotten injured during the fight. 

“You alright?” Catarina asks, coming up behind him, reaching out to look at Magnus’s shoulder.

Magnus tries to turn away from her, but then pain shoots through his arm again. Now that he thinks about it, he did feel a little sting after the attack, but it is getting gradually worse now.

As soon as Catarina lifts up his t-shirt sleeve to take a better look, the pain gets so bad, he feels like he could pass out.

“Demon venom,” Catarina says, stepping around Magnus and taking a hold of his arm, already taking out her stele.

“Of course it is,” Magnus mutters, because it's not like his day could get better. He attempts to get his own stele with his good arm. “I can do it-”

“Shut up, Bane,” Catarina says, already tracing the lines of a familiar iratze rune on Magnus’s forearm. Magnus feels the angelic power slowly move through his veins towards his injury, dulling the pain. At the same time, he feels the pull of the parabatai rune he has on his other arm, the one Catarina has a matching one of.

It is still a strange feeling, even after over two years of fighting by each other’s side: having a parabatai. Having a fellow Shadowhunter who completes him in battle and whom he can rely on no matter what. His father wasn’t thrilled when Magnus told him that he and Catarina would be going through with the ceremony, but he accepted it in the end.

The problem is, Magnus was never meant to rely on anyone. That’s the first lesson his father taught him. Banes never put their fate in the hands of anyone other than themselves. So, even though Magnus and Catarina are parabatai, Magnus still has proven time and time again that he isn’t helpless without her.

Though, in moments like these, the fact that the runes your parabatai draw are always more effective than your own does come in handy. And Catarina is his best friend who has helped him survive when he came to New York all by himself, so he is happy to have her.

“Nicely done, Cat,” Magnus says, inspecting his shoulder and feeling nothing but a long scar that will surely fade within the next few minutes. “Vicious little things, those dragonidae.”

Catarina undoes her bun, letting her long hair fall free down to her shoulders, and lets out a long sigh. “Dragonidae, Magnus. They should be extinct in this realm.”

Magnus shrugs. “Tell that to those fuckers we just met. I don’t think they got the memo.”

But Catarina doesn’t laugh. “I have a bad feeling about this. There have been more demon attacks in the New York underground these past two weeks than in the whole month before that.”

“Maybe the demons spent the summer in Mallorca and came back for the fall. Look, Cat-” Magnus says, picking up his leather jacket and scrunching his nose at the splatters of ichor and the long cut where the demon got him. “Oh, man, this jacket was brand new.”

“You were saying?”

“Ah, yes,” he continues, discarding the jacket on the same table where he had thrown his weapons. “I know your favorite thing is worrying, but the New York Institute is one of the best equipped Institutes for a surge in demon attacks like this. Most likely just a bunch of low-grade demons escaping from their realms trying to have some fun.”

Catarina doesn’t look convinced, but seems to give up altogether as she shrugs. “If you say so. I am going to bed. That report won’t write itself in the morning and I know you won’t write it.”

“Don’t you trust me?” Magnus asks, batting his eyelashes in what he hopes is an innocent manner.

His parabatai snorts. “First of all, no. Second of all, I know you will be busy going out tonight.”

At that, Magnus freezes for a moment. “I beg your pardon?” he asks, trying to seem nonchalant.

“Oh, come on, Magnus. I know you’ve been sneaking out of the Institute every Saturday without fail for the past few weeks. I don’t know who or what you are seeing, but I do trust you enough to hope that you would call me if you get in trouble, alright?”

The Shadowhunter just nods, still in awe at Catarina’s observation. He hopes that the woman has noticed his late-night missions because of their special bond and not because Magnus is being too obvious. The last thing he needs is for the entire Institute to know his secrets. Though most of the Shadowhunters there are his friends, there is a reason why he keeps things from them.

He tries not to overthink it and focuses on what he needs to do instead. First, he needs to change into something that will help him blend in a little more, so he heads over to his bedroom.

Even though he’s been living at the New York Institute for years, it still feels like a betrayal to call it his home or his bedroom. His true home was in Idris, where his dad was waiting for him, waiting to help him become the best Shadowhunter there ever was. Magnus has to constantly remind himself that his stay in New York is just temporary, until he can reach the heights his dad wants him to be at.

The Banes have always been known for not settling for second-best and if Magnus doesn’t prove that he is the best Shadowhunter of his generation, he knows his father will have a lesson or two to teach him. Of course Inquisitor Asmodeus Bane wouldn’t settle for having a runner-up as a son.

As he is about to shut the door to his bedroom, a burning piece of parchment makes its way through the small opening of the doorway and into his hand, the fire surrounding it slowly dying out.

Speak of the Devil. 

The fire message Magnus has just received reads:

Time is running out.

Get it done, Magnus. I taught you better than this.

And yes, even without a signature, Magnus knows that that is 100% his father’s message.

He throws the letter on his desk and closes the door all the way before looking through his closet for something to wear. He needs something that says less ‘Shadowhunter gear’ and more ‘clueless mundane looking for a good time’.

He settles for a blue long-sleeved button down shirt and a gray scarf that covers the strength rune and the stamina rune on his neck. Paired with some black skinny jeans, one wouldn’t spare him a second glance. Well, maybe just to check him out, but not a suspicious glance.

Nevertheless, he doesn’t forget to wear his signature boots, a dagger hidden away in each one. And one on the inside of his thin coat just for good measure. 

He puts some make-up on, frustrated that he can’t go through his routine properly because the encounter with the dragonidae took up more time than he would have liked, but still managing to look somewhat presentable. He looks down at his hands and sees that some of his dark blue nail polish is peeling off. The sacrifices he has to make because of his angel blood.

He checks himself out once more before deeming his appearance for good enough. He looks out of the window, making sure that no one is patrolling the grounds that side of the Institute, before getting up on his windowsill and jumping down two stories, landing with his feet steady on the ground.

There are also certain perks to having angel blood after all.

The 10-minute walk to the club is shorter than it would be for a mundane, thanks to his Shadowhunter speed, but Magnus needs to remind himself to slow down when he’s almost there, since he doesn’t know whether there are any Downworlders headed in the same direction as him who might spot him.

It’s not like Shadowhunters aren’t allowed in Pandemonium. Even mundanes can enter the club, so it is basically free for all. Downworlders are still wary when it comes to Shadowhunters, but they can’t deny them access to a public party.

However, the fact is still that, as soon as a Shadowhunter enters the building, heads turn and people get defensive, and Magnus would like to keep the unwanted attention away from him.

He gives the bouncer a curt nod as he’s let through the barrier and then he’s inside, taking in the club.

It’s different from the ones he’s been to before. While Magnus does enjoy a good party, he tends to stay out of Downworlders’ way. Not because he sees them as something inherently different from Shadowhunters, but because he doesn't mean to intrude into what is supposed to be someone's safe space. But in the past five weeks, he’s frequented five different well-known Downworlder clubs looking for one certain warlock who seems to know how to keep a low profile, because Magnus has been having a hard time tracking him down.

Until today. Because he can see him, right in front of his eyes.

It’s hard to miss him, really, considering High Warlock Alexander Lightwood is surrounded by a mass of people. The warlock himself is wearing a black shirt that is completely unbuttoned except for one button that’s holding it together for dear life and black slacks. On top of all that, he has a birthday hat on. He’s surrounded by a group of people, all either warlocks or vampires or Seelies, Magnus quickly finds. He supposes it’s normal for an immortal to surround himself with immortal friends. Eternity must get lonely. Magnus doesn’t think he could ever deal with that.

He steps closer, just close enough for his hearing rune to work and for him to be able to overhear the other’s conversation. He turns away and faces the opposite direction, as to not make it obvious that he’s listening in.

“Come on, Alec, it’s your birthday, you could be a little bit more excited,” a woman’s voice says, sounding amused.

“That’s him being excited, Clary,” another woman responds.

“Nope, that face just means he needs to get a drink,” a man’s voice chimes in, sounding like he himself has already had a few alcoholic beverages. “Come on, man, I’ll get you something special.”

“Ah, I’ll go get my own drink, thank you very much, Jace.” Magnus tries to take note of that voice because that right there is his target. “Last time you got me ‘something special’, I had a wicked hangover for two days straight. How is that even possible for a warlock?”

“Because that something special is a potion that is exactly supposed to have that effec- ow, Jace!” the first woman, Clary, speaks up again.

Alec laughs. “I love that your girlfriend is a Seelie. I can ask her about all the tea and I know she can’t lie.”

Then the group goes quiet for a moment and that’s when Magnus thinks turning around and looking at them for just a second would be adequate. Within that second, he gets all the information he needs.

His target is walking towards the bar. Magnus, as luck has it, is very close to the bar too, so he sees his opening right that moment. 

Trying to look as casual as possible, he walks the few steps that it takes for him to get to the island where the bartender is serving drinks.

As expected, Alec Lightwood walks up too, and he’s standing right next to him.

“Can I have a gin tonic, please, Maia?” Alec asks, giving the bartender, Maia, a smile. Magnus notices a long scar on her neck and immediately realizes she is a vampire. He wonders if everyone who works in this place is a Downworlder of some sort.

“Sure thing. Anything for the birthday boy. What can I get you?” she asks, turning towards Magnus.

“I’ll have a Martini, please.”

“Coming right up.”

As soon as Maia turns away, Magnus looks over at Alec and is quite surprised when he finds out the warlock is already watching him. There is something in his eyes that Magnus can’t quite read and it makes him anxious.

“Happy birthday,” Magnus says as a conversation starter, trying to avoid awkward silences. Or also trying to avoid any spare time he has to stare at Alec’s now completely exposed chest. Somewhere between the dancefloor and the bar, his last button apparently gave up. The birthday hat he was wearing seems to have disappeared too, and somehow that little detail makes him look a lot more…like a lot.

And yes, maybe Alec has the bluest eyes Magnus has ever seen and his raven hair sticks to his face in a ridiculously attractive way and Magnus is just a man and can't help but admire that. But at the end of the day, he is here for a reason.

He is here to kill Alexander Lightwood.

And yes, he feels bad about having to do it on the guy’s birthday, but considering Alec is pretty good at staying under the radar, he doesn’t know when an opportunity like this will arise again. And not going through with this mission would mean facing his father’s rage.

Magnus tries to remember what Asmodeus had told him: 15 Shadowhunters, 7 mundanes, 3 Seelies, all murdered in cold blood by Alec Lightwood. He is to be eliminated on sight. It is unusual for a kill order to be placed on a High Warlock, which is apparently why his dad had entrusted Magnus to conduct this mission alone and to not tell anyone. That has been the hardest part of it all.

He’s seen the proof, though: video footage of Lightwood standing over lifeless bodies, looking down at them. And if Magnus tells any of his friends about it, they might end up the same way.

“Thank you. I can’t remember the last time a Shadowhunter wished me that,” Alec says, a smug smile on his face when he sees Magnus’s surprised reaction. “Oh, come on, when you’ve been around for as long as I have, you start smelling Nephilim from far away. Especially a Bane,” he adds the last bit with a little bit of venom, as if it’s an insult.

Magnus’s plan is falling apart by the minute. If he wanted to go into this keeping his cool, this feels like it is going to escalate way faster now. “What do you mean?”

Alec looks Magnus up and down and purses his lips, as if he is trying to say something, but is holding back. A moment later, Maia turns back around with their drinks and Alec plasters that smile back on his face as he thanks her. Magnus follows suit and Maia gives Alec a questioning look before turning to the next customer.

Alec picks up his glass and turns to leave and Magnus thinks that is the end of their conversation, but then Alec turns and looks back at him. “It’s a lovely evening. Would you like to chat outside, away from this crowd?”

Magnus feels his smile falter just a bit, but keeps on the appearance. “Of course.”

Alec turns his head back towards the exit and starts walking, not even double checking whether Magnus is following him or not. He knows he is. They both look over at Alec’s friends at the same time and they are all giving Alec knowing smiles, a blonde man - who, judging by his behavior, Magnus assumes is Jace - points at Magnus and gives Alec a thumbs up and even though Magnus can’t see Alec’s face, he can sense him rolling his eyes.

They make their way past the bouncer, out of the club, and Alec leads them to a little alley away from the main street. The alley is dark, the only source of light being the moon, since the sky is pretty clear.

“Alright, Bane, why are you here?” Alec asks, putting his glass down on the ground and starting to button up his shirt as if he is getting ready for something. For battle, perhaps.

Magnus understands and puts his drink down too, reaching for the daggers in his boots in the process. “I am sorry,” he mutters, picking up one of the blades and throwing it at Alec’s chest.

But Alec raises his hand just in time and green sparkles appear at his fingertips as he magically stops the dagger just centimeters away from his skin, dropping his hand and letting the blade fall to the ground. “Oh, so you came to finish what your dad started?” the warlock asks, calling upon his magic once more and then his warlock mark appears. His raven hair quickly turns a fiery color. It looks as if there are actual flames on his head, but nothing is burning. His ears change shape, becoming pointy, almost like a Seelie’s.

But Magnus is more confused by Alec’s words. “What do you-” He doesn’t get to finish the sentence, instead jumping towards the wall to avoid a ball of fire that Alec just shot at him.

“Don’t play the fool now, Bane. Your dad must have proudly told you how he killed a poor warlock child years ago, leaving his half-brother to mourn behind him,” Alec says, the anger in his eyes growing stronger as he shoots a bolt of lightning that Magnus swiftly dodges.

Magnus tries to think about Alec's words and there is a memory that comes to his mind. He knows that when he was young, there was a time when the Accords, the peace contract between demon-blooded and angel-blooded beings, were at risk and there were several battles between Shadowhunters and Downworlders. Asmodeus told Magnus about how he and his team got attacked by a group of vampires once and then followed them to their hiding to find several vampires, warlocks and werewolves of all ages planning a riot. The Shadowhunters murdered them all.

“Your brother…He was part of a rogue organization, wasn’t he?”

Alec laughed bitterly. “Didn’t you hear me? He was a child,” he cries out, shooting at Magnus again and this time hitting him. Magnus feels the blow of the impact as it pushes him into the brick wall, pain shooting in his back. “He was just 13 in human years.”

Magnus wheezes, seizing the moment when Alec is blinded by hate and reaching for his stele. “But you're hundreds of years old.”

Alec laughs bitterly. “What do they teach you at the Shadowhunter Academy these days? We have the same demon father, different mothers. You do the math, all-knowing Shadowhunter,” he says, snapping his fingers and sending Magnus's iratze flying out of his hand.

The Shadowhunter curses. “So now what? You decide to go on a killing spree to avenge him?” he asks, trying to use his strength to get up and reach for his other dagger.

Alec’s eyes narrow. “What?”

Before Magnus can argue any further, a loud growl interrupts them and they both turn their heads to the trash container in the alley.

Magnus staggers to his feet and Alec holds up a finger, as if telling him to stay quiet. Magnus rolls his eyes, wondering whether this warlock thinks he is a total adrenaline fan who would cause a commotion to draw whatever creature is in that container out. 

Well, maybe that's right, because Magnus gets a hold of his dagger and as soon as he sees a tentacle come out of the container, he aims it at the demon, cutting its tentacle off.

Alec gives him a murderous look as he summons his magic and aims it at the raum demon, picking it up and slamming it against the wall. The demon lets out a wail and falls lifelessly to the ground, before disappearing into thin air a moment later, going back to whatever dimension it came from.

While that goes down, Magnus retrieves his stele and manages to activate his iratze, smoothly tracing the lines on his arms and feeling the ache in his spine disappear.

He goes to pick up the dagger Alec had disarmed him of and then heads to the container to pick up the other one…and stops.

He can hear more growling, coming from more than one demon this time.

Magnus takes a step back and gives Alec a look. “Please tell me you heard that.”

Alec, however, is looking straight ahead as he says, “I am seeing that.”

Even though he doesn't really want to turn his head, Magnus does and is then faced with what must be a dozen raum demons crawling out of the container.

“How do they all fit in there?” he asks, watching the creatures come out one after the next.

Alec raises his hands and a green flash scans the container. “They don't. That container is a Portal to Duduael.”

“Gesundheit,” Magnus says, jumping towards one of the demons and stabbing it in the neck with his dagger. That seems to make the rest of its friends pretty angry.

Alec ignores his attempt at a joke. “Duduael is a realm of hell. A damn nasty one at that. I need to close the Portal. Cover me,” he says, and then runs towards the container, leaving Magnus behind.

“I don't take orders from a warlock!” Magnus shouts behind his back and then hears a loud hiss next to him and turns to face another one of the raum demons. “But I do believe in saving my own ass,” he mutters, trying to come up with a plan. 

It's him and two Seraph daggers against a dozen demons. Could be worse. At least Alec uses his magic to push all the demons still trying to come out back into the Portal, which does make his chances better.

Magnus has this. He's been fighting with daggers ever since his rune ceremony. A lot of people may think that they're too small to be useful in battle, but they fit Magnus's fighting style. Which is either throwing them, quick and deadly, or going head-first on into close combat.

Since he only has two to spare, the former doesn't seem like an option now, so he throws himself at another one of the demons, stabbing the creature through the mouth and in the brain when it hisses at him. “Ever heard of mouthwash, buddy?” he tells the demon before it disappears just like the one before.

He keeps doing the same with a couple of the others, getting a few scratches in the process but otherwise succeeding to outsmart them. 

“I'll give you this, I didn't expect tonight to go like this,” he tells Alec as he cuts off another tentacle.

“Do you always talk so much?” Alec asks, not looking back at him as he focuses on closing the Portal.

“Take your time, High Warlock. Never thought closing a Portal would be so hard,” Magnus points out, just about dodging a demon that was coming at him with its bared teeth.

He can feel Alec rolling his eyes when he talks. Magnus wonders whether this guy can make it through 30 minutes without a sassy eye-roll. “This is not a normal Portal, Shadowhunter. Whoever opened it is very…very powerful.”

“I thought you were very, very powerful,” Magnus counters, feeling cocky and unable to hold back.

However, his cockiness comes back to bite him in the ass because in that exact moment he misses one of the demons launching itself at him. In an instant, the creature has him pinned to the ground, managing to knock his weapons out of his hands.

Magnus has had near-death experiences several times - it is kind of normal in his line of work. Every time that happens, he hears his father’s voice in his head, telling him that if he had listened to him and followed orders as instructed, this wouldn’t be happening, telling him he is weak and that he can’t even complete a simple mission. Telling him that because of all that, he deserves to die.

Just when Magnus thinks that this would be it for him, someone stabs the demon in the head, the blade coming out on the other side through its eye, stopping inches away from Magnus's face. 

It's a Seelie blade, he recognizes.

The demon wails and Magnus has the mind to roll over and away before the creature collapses on the ground next to him, then vanishes.

“You okay down there?” someone asks from above him and he looks up to see the red-haired Seelie Alec had been talking to, Clary, holding out her hand to him.

Magnus shakes his head though, because he shouldn't need anyone's help. Not to get up and not to defeat demons. That's his fucking job after all.

He pushes himself up into a sitting position instead and is just slightly surprised when he sees all the demons gone. Next to Clary is the blonde warlock, Jace, and then next to him another woman who looks quite a bit like Alec. There is another person with them, a vampire, but it looks like he's holding back.

And then, at the back, there is Alec, who finishes closing up the Portal before wobbling on his feet slightly. His hair goes back to its dark color and his ears go back to normal. He's clearly exhausted himself.

“What's a Shadowhunter doing here?” Jace asks, looking at Magnus skeptically.

Before Magnus can answer, Alec chimes in. “Well, apparently I am a serial killer according to the Clave,” he mutters, walking up to the others. Everyone's eyes widen and he shrugs. “This is new information to me too.”

Magnus feels like he's at a disadvantage sitting on the floor with everyone standing over him, so he pushes himself up to his feet. “If you think this clears you of your accusations-”

“Are you fucking serious?” Alec asks, breathing hard and Magnus doesn't know if it's because of exhaustion or anger. “I have to fight a bunch of demons because you Shadowhunters are apparently shit at doing your job and you still accuse me of breaking the Accords? I literally just saved your ass.”

“Technically, she saved my ass,” Magnus points out, tilting his head towards Clary.

“Who the hell are you anyway?” the other female warlock asks.

“I am Ma-”

“Malcolm Fade,” Alec cuts him off, giving Magnus a look that basically begs him to stop talking. “He's an envoy from Idris, apparently.”

Magnus narrows his eyes at him. He doesn't know why Alec is trying to hide his real identity and he doesn't like this one bit. The Fades do reside in Idris, though and Malcolm is far down enough in the Clave monarchy for Downworlders to not know what he looks like so he has to hand it to the guy…he knows his Shadowhunter politics.

The group is still looking at Magnus accusingly, so he takes that as his cue to leave. “I just remembered…I have to feed the Institute fish. And report…you know, this,” he adds, motioning at the alley that now looks like nothing was ever there, the bodies of the demons having disappeared.

He turns on his heel and walks around the corner, away from the alley and back on the main street. But then he hears footsteps coming up behind him.

“Hey, Bane,” Alec's voice call out and Magnus turns around with an incredulous smile.

“Wow, Alexander, you have a death wish. You know, when the person who was supposed to kill you walks away, you're supposed to not go after them.”

Alec raises his arms and Magnus can see that his one hand is shaking, still weak from closing the Portal. “You could kill me now if you wanted to, but you won't, will you?”

The truth is, Magnus should. He knows how his father will react if he goes home without results again, but he can't.

“Why did you say I was Malcolm Fade?” he asks, stepping closer to the warlock for no one to overhear them. Alec purses his lips, refusing to speak. Magnus laughs. “That's what I thought. I don't know what game you are playing at, but I have honor. Consider this me returning the favor of you helping me out there. This doesn't mean that we're friends or that I won't kill you next time I see you.”

Alec smirks, so subtle that Magnus almost misses it. “In that case, kill you next time, Bane.”

When Magnus goes back to the Institute, at least he has a way to explain the blood on his clothes, even though it's not the explanation he thought he would have.

And his dad sure isn't happy with him when Magnus calls him.

“Is it done?” Asmodeus asks on the phone, files shuffling in the background. This is how their conversations usually go, none of that mundane ‘hello’ and ‘how are you’.

Magnus scratches his neck nervously, knowing his father couldn't see him. If he was talking to his dad face to face, he would be expected to have a perfect posture. “No. I… he wasn't at this one either,” he answers, voice neutral as to not give away that he's lying.

He can hear his dad drop something on his desk then, probably a book. “Excuse me?”

“He was nowhere to be seen, father. I apologize-”

“I don't need any apologies. Tell me what your mission is.”

Magnus takes a deep breath, then starts speaking, the words coming out as if he's a well trained machine. “Eliminate High Warlock Alexander Lightwood. Do it discreetly so no one sees you. Don't tell your friends about it.”

“Where is Alexander Lightwood?” Asmodeus asks, like he's done many times before.

“At his apartment in Brooklyn, but that whole area is too heavily guarded. You need to catch him off-guard, on one of his nights out. He goes out every Saturday, always to different bars throughout New York,” Magnus answers back, like clockwork.

“Why can't you tell anyone?”

Magnus swallows hard. “Because Lightwood is dangerous and he will kill anyone who knows about his crimes. Telling anyone puts them in grave danger.”

“That doesn't sound so hard, does it, son?” Asmodeus asks bitterly and Magnus shakes his head. “Does it?” Asmodeus inquires again, louder than before.

“No, Mister Inquisitor.” Magnus bites his tongue, feeling uncertain. “But…may I ask a question?”

Asmodeus sighs defeatedly. “What?”

“How reliable is our intel on Alexander Lightwood? In order for a kill order like this there needs to be hard proof-”

“I showed you all the proof, Magnus. What are you getting at here?”

Magnus tries to recall watching all the footage of Alec at the crime scene. He tries to tell himself that he's a criminal and can't be trusted. But something is still bothering him, something he can't put his finger on.

“Was there anything else, Magnus?” Asmodeus asks, his voice already back to sounding like it always does: bored, disinterested in whatever Magnus has to tell him.

Magnus bites his lip. “Actually, yes. There was a demon attack. An invasion actually. Someone opened a Portal in the middle of an alley and several raum demons crawled out. The Portal closed behind them but if I hadn't been right there when it opened…that would have wreaked some havoc in New York.”

There is silence on the other end for a moment, then a short “I see.”

“I was just writing a report about it. I was going to send it to the Clave.”

“No need to bother,” Asmodeus tells him dismissively.

“But father-”

“I will look into it myself. Thank you, Magnus. This sounds like a serious issue that requires a bit of research before giving any information about it to the others, otherwise chaos would ensue. Please keep this to yourself as well, will you, son?”

Magnus snorts. “You want me to keep another thing from my friends? From my parabatai?”

“You and your foolish parabatai bond. When will you learn that more people to lose just makes you more vulnerable?”

“I just-”

“Dismissed, Magnus. You have your orders.”

Whenever he talks to his dad, there is this part of him that wants to fight, to push back. But in the end, the obedient part of him always wins, making him bite his tongue and bow down his head, knowing that even if he tried to fight back, he wouldn’t get anywhere. As a Shadowhunter, disrespecting your family is seen as a big offense, but that pressure doubles when your father just so happens to be the most important political figure in the Shadowhunter world.

He looks down at the files he had started completing to document the attack. He is almost done, only a few details missing. What he would usually do is take the files over to the ops center and have all of them sent over to Idris. He remembers the exact instructions his father had given him, which were to not tell anyone about it and to not send the report over to the Clave. Which does leave a loophole for Magnus.

He looks around his room once even though there is obviously no one there. Every time he gets off the phone with his dad he feels like his every move is being observed, like the walls have eyes and ears and like his dad will always find a way to find out everything he does. The bad things, that is, considering Asmodeus has never congratulated him on a job well done.

He picks up the folder with the report files and slowly, reluctantly, puts it in an empty shoe box and places the box under his bed.

When he gets back up, he takes a look around. He was able to decorate his room himself after being at the Institute for a while and he went for a rather vintage vibe that he thought fit the atmosphere of this old church pretty well. Yet, he kept reminding himself that this place should not be considered his home. It was harder on some days than on others, because on some days when he needed to take a break from the outside world, he would come here, into this room that he decorated himself, sink into the mattress and imagine how easy it would be if this was indeed his home.

Someone knocks on the door, interrupting his train of thought. It is for the better. Hope is a dangerous thing. Because at first, it feels like an anchor that keeps you sane, but in time it turns into sand slipping through your fingers with nothing to keep you from drifting away into the ocean.

“Can I come in?” Catarina asks, sounding like she’s just woken up.

Magnus looks back at the bed to make sure the box is well hidden and turns to the door. “Yes, of course.”

The door is pushed open and a sleepy Catarina comes in, in her blue checkered pajamas and with her dark curls all tangled up. For someone who is so fierce in battle, she certainly looks adorable now.

“Good morning,” Magnus says, taking a step towards her.

Catarina takes a good look at Magnus. “Good morn-noon-evening to you too.”

That’s when Magnus realizes he’s still wearing his outfit from the night before. After coming home, he wrote his report and called his dad right away, and completely forgot about that part. “Oh, I-” he starts, but Catarina raises a finger.

“I am not ready for this conversation before my first cup of coffee.”

Magnus is grateful for that, because he isn’t ready either.

They both change into more adequate clothes and make their way together to the dining hall where they each get a serving of the daily special breakfast: toast with beans and orange juice. In times like these, Magnus does miss Idris.

“So, who is she?” Catarina asks, holding her cup of coffee with both hands and taking long sips.

Magnus needs a moment to register that she’s even said something, his mind wandering elsewhere. “What?” 

“Oh, I am sorry, is it a ‘he’? I mean, you haven’t seen a guy in so long.”

Magnus shakes his head, taking a gulp of his orange juice. Technically, there was indeed a ‘he’ that preoccupied him last night, though not in the way Catarina is inquiring. “It’s not like that.”

His parabatai frowns, scrunching her nose the way she does when she thinks very hard about something. Then her eyes widen and Magnus worries for a moment that she might spit out her coffee on him, but luckily she swallows hard before asking, a little bit too loudly for comfort, “Wait, are you seeing Camille again?”

Magnus attempts to shush her, but it’s already too late, since Ragnor and Tessa, the other two members of their core team, come up right behind him. 

“Who’s seeing Camille?” Tessa asks, sitting down next to Catarina and opposite Ragnor, who occupies the free seat next to Magnus.

Catarina shrugs. “Who do you think?”

Ragnor shoves Magnus’s shoulder then, more in a playful manner than anything. “Magnus, come on, I told you. Guys don’t let other guys go back to exes who stomped on their heart.”

“Why, why Camille of all people?” Catarina adds curiously.

Tessa chimes in again then, gasping. “Is your dad making you marry her?”

“Wait, who is marrying whom?” A new voice asks from behind Magnus and he turns around to see their head of the Institute, Dot. Even though she is supposed to be their supervisor, she is around their age, so they all treat her more like a big sister than anything. And she sure loves to hear gossip just like a big sister would.

“Magnus is marrying Camille,” Ragnor points out between two bites of toast.

Then chaos ensues around the table, everyone talking over each other and turning the meaning of each other’s words around to make a brand new story before Magnus decides enough is enough.

“I am not marrying Camille. For Angel’s sake, I haven’t even seen Camille in ages,” he says, sounding exasperated but relieved at the same time. He doesn’t know how he would react if he saw his ex again. Camille Belcourt is a woman whom Asmodeus thinks would be perfect for his son, a union between the Banes and the Belcourts being something very powerful. And Magnus gave it a try for his father’s sake before realizing that manipulative, gaslighting bitches weren’t his type.

Everyone around the table stares at him and he groans, throwing his head back. “Why do you all even think I am seeing someone?”

Catarina looks like she is about to say something, but then closes her mouth again when she sees Magnus’s expression. Her being his parabatai means that she understands him without him having to use words, which is probably why she doesn’t bring up the fact that he went out last night in front of their other friends.

However, that doesn’t mean Catarina doesn’t corner him in his room right after breakfast. She gives him an expectant look. “Where were you last night?”

Magnus snorts. “I thought you said you wouldn’t ask me.”

“Wrong. I told you that I trust you enough to believe that you would let me know if you got into trouble. However, up until this morning, I wasn’t sure whether you were going out on nocturnal missions or dates. But the way you dress doesn’t shout ‘mission’, so who are you seeing?” 

Oh, if Catarina only knew how she did the right calculations and got the wrong result. However, Magnus can’t exactly correct her without breaking the number one rule of this entire operation: do not tell anyone.

So maybe he just has to go along with it. “Okay, fine. I’ve been seeing a guy.”

Catarina squeals so loud Magnus thinks the frequency might alert the whole Institute. “I knew it! Tell me everything.”

Magnus fidgets, trying to come up with something convincing. “It’s complicated. Besides, it’s not that serious yet, which is why I don’t want to go all out and introduce him to all of you.”

His friend gives him a look. “Are you the guy who brought that girl to the Institute after the first date? Or the one who invited us all to a cat’s birthday party just because the cat belonged to a guy you hooked up with?”

“This is…different.” Magnus sighs and he absolutely hates how much he is going to sound like his father when he says the next words. “He’s a Downworlder.”

Magnus has never, ever thought of Downworlders as anything lesser. The only reason he hasn't dated any is simply because he's already on his father's list whenever he makes the smallest mistake, let alone damage the family name like that. Besides, Magnus may be a flirty bisexual, but he hasn't met any Downworlders who've caught his eye so far. Sure, there are some very attractive ones like Alexander Lightwood, but those ones are definitely too much risk for what might just be a fling.

And why the hell did his mind go to Alec of all people?

He can notice Catarina’s expression change at that moment, not into judgment or anything like that, but more into worry. “Please don’t tell anyone. Especially not my dad. He would kill me,” Magnus adds, as if just realizing how dangerous this lie actually is.

Catarina looks at him for a moment, before walking up to him and giving his arm a gentle squeeze. “Dot always says your heart will be the death of you.”

Magnus buries himself in every pieces of literature he can find about Duduael and Portals to that dimension in the next few weeks, finding some useful information about the realm, but also finding some books on the topic that he can't read because they're all in ancient languages. Languages that an almighty warlock would most likely speak. He hates that the first person who comes to his mind is Alec.

Alec made it pretty clear that his goal is to kill Magnus, not help him. However, he can't ask Dot to contact one of the warlocks that the Institute works with for this, so he has to find another way to get those books translated. One that involves literally anyone other than Alec Lightwood.

Then again, this mission is supposed to be confidential and asking Alec for help would be the only way to not break that confidentiality since Alec already knows about the demon attack. 

But Magnus is supposed to kill the guy, he keeps reminding himself. That is what got him in this situation in the first place.

He's always been a good judge of character, though, and the High Warlock seems annoying at most, but not like a criminal. Though Magnus may be mistaken this one time.

So many buts in his head make him feel like he's going to throw up, so he focuses on one thing at a time.

Tonight, that one thing is going out on a mission with Catarina. Weirdly enough, after taking care of that dragonidae and the raum demons, the demon activity in New York went extremely quiet for a while until tonight, when another dragonidae demon was reported just around Central Park.

And even though Magnus himself tries to focus on his mission, Catarina has other plans.

“So…how are things with your mystery man?” She asks, inspecting her Seraph blade as they walk into the park.

Magnus rolls his eyes. Catarina has asked him non-stop about it and Magnus has had to go out and pretend to meet with a non-existent boyfriend to keep up the pretense. If this is the game he needs to play to hide his true mission, he has to do it right. “He's fine, Catarina, thanks for asking.”

“I couldn't help but notice,” his parabatai goes on, looking thoughtful. “You two had a date during the day last week.”

“Your observational skills are indeed top-tier.”

“So,” Catarina continues, ignoring his comment. “It can't be a vampire then. Which leaves me with three options about what type of Downworlder he may be.”

“Cat.”

“Magnus, there is something you're not telling me. The two of us have told each other everything about our love lives ever since we met. I know things about you I don't think I will ever be able to forget, though I wish I could. Yet about this, you're not even telling me his name or what he is. You know I would never tell your dad.”

Magnus sighs. Lying to Catarina is the worst part of all of this. He wants to tell her the truth, he wants to say that there isn't anyone and that he is actually just putting himself in danger like he always does, nothing new there. But he can't disobey orders and he can't put Catarina in danger. 

“I know, Cat, and it's not that I don't want to tell you this because I don't trust you. It's just…” he says, looking at his hands and trying to find the right words. Even though there weren't any right words for this. What was he supposed to say without admitting that he's been lying to her?

A distant scream just about seems to save him from having that conversation. He and Catarina exchange a rushed look before running in the direction where the sound came from. Just as expected, as they follow the sound, it leads them to one of the darker, most secluded corners of Central Park, the kind of place where Faeries like to lure clueless mundanes and sell them potions that have some questionable side effects. Magnus hopes that that is all it is this time.

However, his hopes get crushed when they walk around the corner and see about three raum demons cornering a blonde woman who is holding a little baby in her arms. 

“Please…please don't hurt him,” the woman pleads, her voice weak.

Magnus doesn't hesitate for a moment before taking out one of his daggers and throwing it right into one of the demons's skulls. The woman lets out a high-pitched scream as the demon growls and falls to the ground, vanishing without a trace.

The other two demons turn towards Magnus and Catarina then and Magnus smirks, satisfied with himself.

“Two against two. I like our odds,” he says as he runs towards one of the demons, dodging a tentacle and heading straight for its chest.

He can hear Catarina’s footsteps right behind him, as she heads for the other one. “Don't get cocky. These are raum demons, Magnus. It means the dragonidae that got reported is still out-”

“Oh my god,” the mundane woman screams again and that makes Magnus look away for a moment - just long enough for the raum demon to get the upper hand and to wrap one of its tentacles around his body.

That is the least of Magnus's concern, though, as he watches a dark flying thing approach the blonde woman and her baby, its dragon-like wings spread wide and its teeth like needles.

“Speak of the Devil,” he mutters, then struggles to get to one of his daggers and cut off the tentacle wrapped around him. Raum demons are a dime a dozen but their venom is no joke and of course they release it through the suckers on their tentacles. Only the Silent Brothers would be able to help him with a venom poisoning like that and Magnus would rather keep it a secret from his dad that a stupid raum demon got to him.

He feels a stinging sensation in one arm just as he manages to wiggle his other arm free just enough to cut off the tentacle that's holding him.

The raum demon wails as it lets Magnus fall to the ground. Magnus lands on his feet, unable to feel one arm but with just one goal in mind. With all the determination he has, he takes out his Seraph blade and runs up to the demon again, driving the blade right through its heart.

He doesn't take a moment to celebrate the victory, turning to the woman instead. The dragonidae demon is just meters away and neither he nor Catarina are close enough to get to her before the it does. Magnus can't even throw a dagger to distract the thing that fast.

Just as the demon is inches away from the mundane, it is blown to pieces by a ball of green fire that comes from behind Magnus and Catarina. Magnus shields his eyes, surprised by the sudden light.

And just like that the dragonidae is gone and the woman is left shuddering, holding her baby close to her chest.

In a matter of seconds, a tall figure in a coat rushes past Magnus and towards the woman and Magnus and Catarina both get their weapons ready, but then he sees the stranger's face.

It's Alec Lightwood.

And, even though he is an accused criminal, Magnus doubts he would be stupid enough to kill a woman in front of two Shadowhunters. So he holds his arm out in front of Catarina. “Wait.”

He can feel Catarina trying to push past him, but he holds his ground. Alec looks up when he hears his voice and he and Magnus exchange a look before Alec turns back to the mundane woman.

“Hey, it's okay. You're safe now,” the warlock says, his voice gentle.

The woman is crying and sniffling and shaking. “Wh-who the hell are you? What-what was that?”

Alec raises his hand to her face and places it on her cheek. The woman tries to pull away but Alec keeps his hand there. “I am going to help you, okay? You don't need to worry about anything that happened…” he trails off and Magnus can see a strand of hair that's peeking out from his hood turn a fiery color again. Green sparks burst out of Alec's fingers and it looks like he is pulling something out of the woman's temple, a white, glowing string.

“What are you doing?” Catarina inquires then, walking past Magnus and towards Alec.

Alec looks up at her. “I am erasing her memories of tonight. I promise you, it's for the best.”

Catarina narrows her eyes at the warlock but doesn't stop him. Alec finishes up his spell and then he stands up, his warlock mark slowly fading again. 

The blonde woman takes a look around, but it looks like she doesn't notice any of them. She doesn't have the Sight then. She was only able to see them because the demon attacked her and now she is back to being a clueless mundane. The only thing that startles her is when her son starts crying again. 

“Shhh, it's okay, honey, let's go home, it's late,” she hushes him, then stands up from the ground and starts walking away.

Once she is gone and out of sight, Alec lets down his hood and looks at Magnus and Catarina properly now, fixing Magnus with a smug look. “Magnus Bane, didn't think I would have the pleasure again so soon.”

Magnus matches his energy, because two can play at this game. “Neither did I, Alexander. Or am I supposed to call the High Warlock ‘Your Highness’?”

Alec snorts. “Charming as ever, I see.”

Magnus almost forgets that Catarina is there until she lets out a low “Oh. My. God. This is the guy you've been seeing? The fucking High Warlock of Brooklyn?”

Right about now, it would be great if the ground opened up and swallowed Magnus whole. Alec narrows his eyes. “I am not sure ‘seeing’ is the right word,” the warlock says and Magnus wishes he had killed him when he had the chance.

“Fine, ‘fucking’ then. Or whatever,” Catarina asks casually, waving her hand around. Alec's eyes widen then and Magnus looks away, unable to say anything.

Catarina seems to interpret their reactions as something else. “Don't worry you two, your secret is safe with me. Actually, I will go check out the perimeter and give you two some time to…talk,” she says, winking at Magnus before walking away.

Magnus refuses to look at Alec and to see his reaction to this whole thing, but he knows the warlock will not let it go.

“Tell me, Bane,” Alec's words sound full of amusement. “Why would your little friend think that we're…fucking?”

Magnus takes a deep breath. He knows that he shouldn't be chatting now. Catarina left and he's alone with Alec again and he made a promise last time they met. He is supposed to eliminate his target now.

But his mind keeps going back to Alec saving that mundane. One good deed doesn't outweigh many bad ones but for some reason, Magnus finds it hard to believe that this was the same guy who murdered all those people.

“I suggest you leave, Alec,” he says, still refusing to look at the warlock. “I don't want to kill you.”

“Damn, you got me all excited for nothing,” Alec laughs, but it sounds more like a friendly laugh than an evil one. “We need to talk.”

At that, Magnus does look up, one eyebrow raised. “Wait, didn't you want to kill me too?” 

This all feels very comical and ironic in a really messed up way.

Alec is sitting on a bench, his long cloak brushing the ground. His eyes are closed and he looks very much at ease. “I did. And maybe I will, someday. But right now, I need your help.”

A moment passes and Magnus snorts. “Goodnight, Lightwood,” he says, starting to turn away.

“I know you need my help too. With finding information about Duduael.”

Magnus freezes. He thinks about all those textbooks he has in his room at home, all the information he can't decipher but that Alec surely could. “I…don't need help from a criminal,” he says instead and starts walking again.

Alec rolls his eyes and for some reason, Magnus thinks he does that pretty often. “There you go calling me a criminal again after I saved your ass again. Do enlighten me, who did I kill?” Magnus purses his lips and Alec sighs. “I know the law. If there is a wanted dead or alive order on me I wanna know why.”

And, unfortunately, Alec's knowledge of the law is pretty flawless. Magnus is indeed urged to give him a reason. “Security cameras have found you at several crime scenes. Mundanes, Shadowhunters, Downworlders…all dead and the only common variable is that you were there.”

For a moment, Alec looks like he's thinking but then he does something entirely unexpected. He laughs. He laughs so hard that he doubles over where he is sitting, hands on his stomach. “Oh, stupid Nephilim. Your people never learn, do you?”

“I don't understand how that is funny.”

“Let me tell you something about the demon attack from a few weeks ago and the one from today.” The warlock stands up and walks closer to Magnus and the only satisfaction Magnus has is that he is a few inches taller than Alec. “They're not the first ones. These attacks have been happening for months and for months I've been doing what Shadowhunters are supposed to do, trying to solve it. All those people were killed by demons and I was there trying to investigate what happened.”

Magnus shakes his head. “That makes no sense. Why would you do that?”

“Because I am half-human too, which is something your people love to forget. I like this realm and I like coffee,” Alec responds, as if it's obvious.

“So, if you care so much about saving this realm…Why not tell the Clave about…what even is going on exactly?”

“I don't trust the Clave. And considering they put out a fucking kill order for me, apparently, can you blame me?” He huffs and Magnus can tell he's getting angry, his hair starting to change color. As if he's just noticing himself, Alec turns away and Magnus can see how tense his shoulders are.

Magnus clenches and unclenches his fists, thinking of something to say, yet unsure how much he can trust this warlock. But they went from trying to kill each other to talking and maybe this is Magnus' chance to find answers to some questions his father won't give him any answers to.

“The Clave didn't put the kill order on you,” Magnus finally says and luckily, he doesn't feel regret as soon as the words leave his lips. Alec turns around to face him, looking wary. “The Inquisitor did.”

Alec's expression goes from wary to sour, a humorless smile on his face. “Asmodeus Bane? Your father? That explains a lot.”

“No one else knows about it,” Magnus admits, unsure why now that he started talking he can't stop. He supposes it just feels good to tell someone about it. 

“Listen, Bane, do you really think that it's a coincidence that dragonidae demons are coming out again after decades and that you have these crazy Portals popping up around town?”

“I know you called me a stupid Nephilim, but I am not that stupid.”

“Then help me,” Alec says, stepping closer to him. “I know about some books that might help me, but the Institute has taken them all to prevent any Downworlders from using them to release anything in this realm.”

Magnus raises an eyebrow? “You want me to steal from the Institute?” Sure, Magnus has taken those exact books to his room to browse through them, but taking them out of the building is a whole other story.

“More like ‘borrow for an indefinite amount of time’? Come on, Bane, you need me.”

And sure, maybe Magnus could use the help of a polyglot warlock, but that doesn't mean he needs anyone. “I am a bit more of a lone wolf, you know? I don't really do ‘needing people’.” He uses air quotes to bring his point across.

“For Hell's sake, I am not asking you to marry me. But whether we like it or not, you have the resources I need and I have the knowledge you need and we are the only two people in New York at the moment who know about this. So let's stop the world from ending and then you can go back to being a prejudiced asshole and I can go back to staying far, far away from Shadowhunters, okay?” 

This goes against everything Asmodeus has ever taught Magnus, but it doesn't go against everything he believes in. Magnus believes that Downworlders can be good and maybe, just maybe, the reason they haven't been so co-operative with the Clave is because the Clave hasn't been open with them. Ever since he came to the New York Institute, Dot never once tried to get the Downworld's opinion on decisions concerning them. They never even had much contact with Downworlders in general.

So maybe he wants to give them a chance and that is why he says the next words. “Alright. I will see what I can do about those books.”

A smile spreads on Alec's face then, a genuine one and Magnus can't help but feel like he wants to see that more. But he won't, because he won't see Alec again after they're done with this, which is exactly what he wants.

“So…” Alec says after a while, his smile turning into something smug. “What was that about you and me hooking up, again?”

Magnus groans. “I fucking hate you.”

“I know. But you still have to answer my question.”

“Oh, did you hear that?” Magnus puts his hand to his ear, as if hearing something. “Catarina is calling for me. I'd better go.”

“I don't hear anything,” Alec deadpans.

“Ooh, hearing rune,” the Shadowhunter responds, pointing at a rune on his arm as he starts walking away backwards. “You warlocks don't have that, do you?”

“I can snap my fingers and turn you into a toad. Lucky for you, I think even that wouldn't shut you up and you'd end up croaking at my door, so I shall spare you.”

“Thank you for your mercy, Alexander.”

Alec frowns. “No one ever calls me that.”

“Well, someone ought to start.”

Magnus starts walking, then starts running away, but that makes him dizzy. He freezes, trying to steady himself, but his vision goes all blurry. The sting he felt in his arm comes back, but this time it's an excruciating pain that spreads throughout his body.

He has the mind to try to remember his lessons. Raum demon venom is one of the most dangerous ones, since it doesn't take effect right away. It gives the victim a sense of safety before taking effect minutes after the attack.

He feels all his muscles give up on him, feels himself falling…

And then someone catches him. The last thing he remembers before passing out is a scent of sandalwood and vanilla and a soft voice calling his name.

Chapter Text

The first thing Magnus registers when he opens his eyes is how bright everything is. Which is weird, since he is physically unable to sleep past sunrise. Even after night patrols, he just uses his stamina rune to stay awake because he can't sleep when the sun is out and the curtains in his room suck.

He blinks his eyes open again, slowly this time, just to look to the side and find that the curtains are wide open, not even kind of shut. Was he so tired last night that he forgot?

Wait, where was he even last night?

“Good, you're awake,” a familiar voice, Catarina, tells him and then Magnus forces himself to properly wake up and get into a sitting position.

Except when he tries to support himself on his hands to sit up, he feels an ache in one of his arms and wobbles slightly.

He looks over at the arm in question and his eyes widen when he sees his entire forearm is wrapped up in bandages. He takes a good look at the rest of his body and finds that he's still wearing his gear, his black cargo pants and black t-shirt.

Catarina puts a hand on his shoulder. “Take it easy.”

Memories start coming back to him then, of the battle from last night, of the raum demon, of Alec appearing and of their conversation. But for some reason, he can't remember how he got back to the Institute.

“What happened?” 

“Raum demon got to you. If your boyfriend hadn't been there when you were attacked…”

“My boyfriend?”

Catarina snorts. “Sorry, forgot about the ‘no labels’ thing. Though he did save your life, so you might wanna update that relationship status. Just saying.”

Magnus rubs his temples, feeling a headache coming in. Whether it's because of his injuries or because of this conversation, he can't tell. “How did I get here?”

“You had quite the New York tour last night. Alec tried to heal you in Central Park, but apparently your wound was so bad that he needed to make a potion for you and all the ingredients were at his place. So he picked you up and took you to his loft.”

Magnus freezes. “He did what?” 

Catarina ignores him. “So then he managed to heal you within minutes. It was pretty cool. He wanted to Portal you back home but since he doesn't have clearance to do that I called Ragnor and he helped carry you back.”

This is…very unexpected. “So he lowered his wards for you two just so you could…carry me home?”

“Yep,” Catarina said, a knowing smile on her face. “One more thing. He told me to ask you whether you can get that ‘thing you two talked about’ to him today?” she adds, using air quotes.

Ah, there it is, now this is expected. Warlocks don't ever do anything without asking for something in return. And well, the only reason Alec helped him in the first place was because he needed Magnus's help and Magnus needs to make sure to always remember that for his future encounters with Alec. They're not friends but they need the other to stay alive for this.

“Um…yeah. Thanks, Cat,” he says, getting out of bed, trying to keep the pressure on his arm to a minimum. 

A thought comes to him and he freezes. “Does my dad…?” he asks, feeling panic come over him as he looks at Catarina.

“The only people who know about what happened are Ragnor and I. I reported the raum demon attack to the Clave and the fact that you suffered an injury, only because Dot wanted to send you on a mission this morning. But no one knows about Alec or about the fact that your injury was poisoning.”

The muscles in Magnus's body relax at that. “Cat, I could kiss you.”

“I'd rather you kiss Alec.”

Magnus groans, shoving her shoulder. “Why are you so obsessed with my love life?” he asks, reaching out for the cup of coffee Catarina brought him.

His parabatai moves the cup out of his reach and Magnus glares at her. “I am obsessed with the fact that out of all the Downworlders, you're dating Alexander Lightwood. And I am still mad that you kept it a secret from me. Did you really think I would tell anyone?” She looks genuinely hurt.

Magnus sighs, feeling bad about this whole ordeal yet again. “I am sorry, Cat. I swear this isn't because of you.”

His parabatai has always been the type of person to forgive easily. Either that, or she is a very good actress, but Magnus believes it is the former. Catarina is the happiest when she can help people. “I know. I mean…you've been adventurous before, but this is entirely different.”

“You can say that again,” Magnus laughs. “Sorry to ask you this, but… what does Ragnor know?”

“I told him that I paid Alec to take care of you. Going to him rather than to the Silent Brothers wouldn't go down well with the Clave, even though we all know that you could have died if we had waited to take you to the City of Bones. He promised to not say anything.”

“I really owe you,” Magnus says, gladly taking the cup of coffee when Cat offers it to him again.

“You're my parabatai, Magnus.”

They smile at each other, no further words needed. Magnus thinks about what his life would be like if he had listened to his father and declined Catarina’s offer to become parabatai. One thing is for sure, he would certainly have died by now. Catarina has saved his life more times than he can count.

They head down to the canteen so Magnus can eat something since he's apparently been out for the whole night and most of the day.  Lucky for him, he gets there just in time for dinner. Unlucky for him, it's chili night and the chili at the Institute sucks, but he's apparently hungry enough to eat just about anything.

Neither Catarina nor Ragnor mention anything in front of their other friends, something Magnus is thankful for. They all check up on him to make sure he's okay, but no one inquires about how he managed to get back on his feet so quickly. After the expected wishes for him to recover fast, Catarina does a pretty good job at diverting the attention away from Magnus.

After dinner, he draws some iratzes to make sure his arm will be well enough to go on patrol and gets ready for the night. The head of the Institute wanted to send him on a mission that morning and Magnus isn't going to let her down, so he will make up for it by taking the night patrol. 

However, Dot seems to have other plans when she calls him to her office.

“Take the night off?” he asks, feeling like he's entered some alternate dimension. Dot never tells anyone to take the night off. She's not unkind or super strict, but she takes her duty as a leader pretty seriously and she makes sure to keep them all in line, something Magnus is grateful for. He knows that he and Cat and Tessa and Ragnor can be quite a handful, especially when you put them all in one room.

The head of the Institute is sitting at her desk, looking at him curiously. “Most people get excited when they get sick leave. Especially since Shadowhunters don't get any. Would you like me to change my mind?”

A part of Magnus wants to say ‘yes’ and that part of him sounds a lot like his father's voice. Something about how he needs to make up for missing the mission this morning and how if he doesn't help out now it would make him a coward.

However, there is another side of him that has other plans and that one seems to win the battle in his head. Magnus shakes his head vigorously. “Nope, Ma'am.”

Little does Dot know, tonight isn't really a time when Magnus can exactly rest and recover from his injury, since he needs to smuggle some very important, very old, very confidential books out of the Institute and to the most feared warlock of New York. 

He can only imagine what Dot would tell him if she knew that.

Once she dismisses him, he makes his way to the Institute library. The good thing about getting time off for this is that the library is virtually empty, since most of the crew is either in the ops-room or out on patrol. So no one is there to ask questions when Magnus retrieves four books that are almost falling apart at the spine and puts them in a duffel bag.

He changes into casual clothes rather than battle gear so people will not think he is going out on official business, which he actually isn't.

After browsing his wardrobe for a long time, he settles on a black shirt with a navy blazer and navy pants and puts on a bit of make-up, deciding he doesn't need to rush tonight since he has the day off. Those words still sound weird in his head 

Just as expected, he makes his way out of the Institute without anyone batting an eye at him or questioning him and then he is out and on his way to Alec Lightwood's loft.

It's a long walk, but Magnus finds he doesn't mind it. He rather enjoys taking late night strolls and looking at mundanes going about their day. It makes him feel like for a moment he isn't the Inquisitor’s son anymore, but just a mere mundane like them going somewhere fun.

When he arrives at his destination, that illusion goes away within seconds.

He finds it rather peculiar to be here. Not like he hasn't observed that exact loft time and time again from a distance but back then, he knew he wouldn't be welcome here. And now he's just supposed to walk up and ring the doorbell like he's some regular visitor or a client of Alec's?

“Well, here goes nothing,” he mutters to himself.

The Shadowhunter walks up to the big red-brick building, stopping at the door to look for the right bell. Right there, on the second floor, the name tag next to the button spells Lightwood . It's weird, actually. This feels so mundane. He never thought the High Warlock of Brooklyn would live in an apartment complex where no one would be able to distinguish his location from that of a regular human. But maybe that is the whole point of it. Maybe that was Alec's key to keeping uninvited visitors away.

Before he can even push the button to ring the doorbell, the door buzzes and Magnus jumps before he pushes it open, letting himself in.

He walks up the steps to the second floor and when he gets there, one door is open and Alec is waiting for him in the doorway, looking at Magnus with something like…concern. No, that can't be.

“I got your stuff,” Magnus says, taking the books out of the duffel bag and handing them to the warlock.

Alec looks almost surprised at the straightforwardness, but he takes the books carefully, clearly trying not to damage them. Which is really, really hard. You'd think warlocks would charm important books like that so they wouldn't be destroyed by old age. 

“I didn't expect to see you here so quickly. You had quite the injury. You're welcome by the way,” Alec says, voice neutral.

Magnus looks down. As much as he wants to say he doesn't need Alec's help, he has some manners. “Thank you,” he says, the words feeling weird on his tongue. It goes against everything his father had taught him about warlocks. You aren't supposed to thank them because making business with them was always a matter of payment and you don't thank someone you pay. “Now, if that is all,” he adds, unsure what else to say.

Alec nods. “I'll let you know what I find. You better go back before another demon gets to you and I'm not there to save you.” There is no venom in his voice when he says it, almost like it is supposed to be a friendly joke. His mouth is even curled up in a tiny smile.

Magnus's first instinct is to be defensive, though. “I don't need you to save me. I am a Shadowhunter.”

Alec's smile turns into a thin line at that and he sighs. “Fine. Next time I will let you die.”

Ignoring the urge to say something snarky back, Magnus turns on his heel ready to leave. But then again, he has never been the best at just letting things be, so he turns around to face Alec. “I don't know what you're playing at. I am not your friend. You tried to kill me.” Magnus isn't sure whether he's saying it to Alec or trying to remind himself of that fact.

“And you, me. I thought we got over that.” The warlock says, shrugging.

“No, we paused that because we both have a common interest. But that doesn't mean you can try to get under my skin.” Magnus is getting impatient and he knows he's getting too worked up by all this, but it's just so frustrating that one remark Alec makes has the power to annoy him so much.

Alec smirks, as if he's pleased to hear that. “Actually, I am not trying to do anything. If I get under your skin that's all on you and maybe you should ask yourself why.”

Magnus isn't going to sit around and listen to all this nonsense any longer. He's never let anyone get under his skin like this before and he sure isn't going to start now. “Just…let me know what you find out from the books.”

“Of course, Magnus. Great doing business with you, as usual.”

If you're secretly working together with a warlock whom you might or might not trust and to whom you gave some very powerful books, how long is too long not hearing from that warlock before you decide that he probably stole the books and took off? Magnus thinks three days is a pretty damn long time.

However, considering he would be dead if it hadn't been for Alec that day, he decides to give him the benefit of the doubt.

He's nervously writing something down for a report when a piece of burning paper appears in front of him. Magnus grabs the fire message out of the air and the flames around it fade. There is one short, clear message written on it.

You need to come to my loft RIGHT NOW.

It's an emergency.

There is no signature underneath, which Magnus has to admit is a clever move and one he is rather grateful for. The last thing the Shadowhunter needs is for anyone to find his correspondence that can clearly be traced back to the High Warlock.

However, this is the first time Alec reaches out to him in days and considering the warlock doesn't seem like one for small talk, Magnus panics just a little bit.

He's worried that something might have happened to the books, nothing more.

Luckily, he had the day patrol today and it's already the evening so technically he's free for the rest of the night. He throws on a leather jacket and makes sure to grab his daggers and his stele before jumping to his feet and heading towards the exit.

Just as he's about to leave, his phone rings.

Magnus takes the device out of his pocket and looks at the caller ID. Father .

He swallows hard, but quickly accepts the call and brings the phone up to his ear, knowing his dad doesn't like to wait.

“Hello, father,” Magnus says, trying to sound unsuspicious.

“What were you thinking about letting yourself be attacked by a raum demon?”

Magnus scoffs. “It's not like I went up to it and asked it to bite me. These things happen, dad.”

“Not to us,” Asmodeus says, not sounding the least bit amused. “It happens to unskilled Shadowhunters. You're supposed to be better than that, Magnus. You are lucky you got away with just a scratch. The shame this could bring to our name…”

Once more, Magnus thanks Catarina and Ragnor for quite literally saving him from a much worse lecture.

“I'm sorry, Mr. Inquisitor,” Magnus says, waiting just inside the Institute to finish the call before walking out. If he walks out now, his father would be able to hear the busy New York streets and know he's going somewhere. And Magnus is tired of having to come up with lies.

“Sorry doesn't keep up a reputation, Magnus. Talent does. And I know you must have inherited some of mine.” His dad sounds tired, more tired than usual.

“I will do better,” Magnus responds absentmindedly, trying to bring the conversation to an end more than anything.

Some ruffling is heard on the other end. “I hate these mundane things,” Asmodeus says, referring to the phone. Shadowhunters don't use many mundane inventions, but mobile phones are definitely practical. “I need to talk to you face-to-face, Magnus. I will put in a request for a Portal to Idris for you.”

“No,” Magnus immediately says, sounding more panicked than he thought he would.

He can feel Asmodeus's glare through the phone. “What did you just say?”

“I…I can't now. I'm…I'm busy,” Magnus stutters, then mentally kicks himself.

There is a long silence at the other end before Asmodeus's voice comes through again. “Too busy to talk to your own father?”

There goes his plan to avoid coming up with any more lies. Magnus tries his best to come up with something, anything. “Yeah. I was supposed to be free for the night but…another raum demon attack just came in. I need to check it out since you asked me to try to keep a low profile about them.”

“Oh, I see.” There is something dark in his father's voice, something that makes Magnus's skin crawl. “Well, I expect to see you very soon, then, son.”

This feels like dodging a bullet. It also feels like he's getting off the hook way too easily. “Yes, father.”

As soon as Asmodeus hangs up, Magnus steps out through the double doors, needing air so much he feels like he's going to throw up. He lied to his father once when he was a child, about not breaking one of the antiques they had in the house. Back then, his father locked Magnus in their dark basement for a full day to teach him a lesson. 

He's lied to his father more in the past week than he has his entire life and he's terrified of how Asmodeus will react. 

Why is he doing this? Why is he risking everything just to complete a mission and to help a warlock he doesn't even know that well? 

Having these thoughts isn't helping, so Magnus just focuses on what he needs to do. He needs to get to Alec's. Emergency. Right.

He activates his speed rune and runs through the streets of New York, the mundanes not paying him any mind since he's glamored. He does get some curious looks from Downworlders who are up and about, but no one would question a Shadowhunter. To them, he must just look like he's out on a mission.

When he gets to the same building he was at just a few days ago, he only needs to walk up to the door in order for it to make a soft buzz. He still wonders how Alec knows when he gets there. Magnus pushes the door open and rushes up the two flights of stairs.

Just as last time he was there, Alec is in the doorway to his loft, waiting for him. He's dressed in a fancy denim shirt and black skinny jeans, his hair styled perfectly. He doesn't look like he's in any rush or distress, but he steps aside and motions for Magnus to go into the apartment this time and closes the door behind them.

Alec's living room is nothing like Magnus thought it would be. It's very… minimalistic. For someone who's had centuries to decorate, Alec doesn't seem to care much for it. White walls, black and white furniture and just a few pictures of Alec with other people hung on walls here and there.

“Took you long enough,” Alec points out and that makes the Shadowhunter turn on his heel to face him.“ I think you'll have to change,” the warlock adds as he looks Magnus up and down.

Magnus frowns, since he is just wearing his Shadowhunter gear. What is that supposed to mean? Change for what? “Where is the emergency?”

“We're going to a party.”

For a long moment, Magnus is unable to do anything other than blink. “What?”

“You people know what a party is, right?” Alec asks, voice dripping with sarcasm.

And now that feels personal. “First of all, you must absolutely know that I am the soul of any party I go to. And second, are you telling me that you asked me to come here to accompany you to some party? I had to lie to the Inquisitor to get here!”

Alec scoffs. “You call your father by his title? Love that family bond.”

“Do you and your father have regular bonding time then?” Magnus crosses his arms over his chest in a defensive manner.

Alec's subtle smirk slips a little bit then. “No, cause I killed my father.”

Oh. Well, now Magnus feels like an asshole. Alec's dad may have been a demon but Magnus can only imagine how hard it must be to cut ties with a family member even if it is for the best. Sometimes… sometimes he thinks about the person he could have been if his father wasn't the Inquisitor, or if Asmodeus just gave Magnus more freedom. 

But the ‘could have been’ doesn't change who he is now.

“I'm sorry,” Magnus muttered, unable to think of something else to say.

As if waking up from a trance, Alec shakes his head. “Don't be. He was out of control and I did what needed to be done. Anyone would have done the same in my situation.”

“I don't think so,” Magnus says, looking into Alec's eyes. For the first time, he allows himself to really look into them and he doesn't know whether he is just imagining the fact that they look like an endless ocean filled with centuries of memories.

The warlock narrows his eyebrows, looking hurt. “What?”

“I think most people wouldn't have done it. It takes a certain amount of courage to make a choice like that and not everyone has that.”

For just a moment, something flashes in Alec's eyes but then it's gone as fast as it came. He clears his throat. “Right then. Your clothes.”

“Wait,” Magnus says, holding up a hand. “I didn't come here to go to a fucking party. I thought you had some information.”

“Fine, then I will go to the party and meet with my contact alone,” the warlock replies, looking away from Magnus, clearly trying to seem nonchalant.

Contact? Now that sounds more like information. “You son of a bitch, you have some information, don't you?”

Alec smirks. “Those books were a lot of lore for the most part. They're so old that obviously we don't know how reliable some of that information is. But one of them mentioned someone who was present in the early days of Duduael. We're meeting with that person at the party. Now, I think a green shirt would match your eyes. May I?”

Magnus barely has time to take all the information in before he just nods. “I guess?”

Alec flicks his wrist and points at Magnus once and his black gear is replaced by a dark green velvet button-down and black slacks. 

Even though Magnus likes to go shopping for clothes himself, he has to admit this warlock skill is pretty practical. “Hey, can you fix my make-up too? I probably messed it up on my way here from all the running.” He points in the general direction of his face.

Alec takes a look at him and this time his smile is shy when says. “No need to. You look good.”

The Shadowhunter is so taken aback by the compliment that he can't even find a snarky remark in him to say back. 

The next thing he knows, Alec is waving his hands around again and a Portal appears in the middle of the room. Without a word, the warlock grabs Magnus's elbow and pulls him through.

Magnus likes Portal travel. It's fast and effective and once you get used to the feeling of nausea you get your first time, it is actually a pretty fun feeling, similar to a rollercoaster.

However, Magnus doesn't like surprises and the fact that Alec is dragging him to a party in some place unknown to him doesn't sit right with him. The good thing is that at least he doesn't have a lot of time to think about it because as soon as they step out of the Portal, Magnus recognises the place.

“Pandemonium?” he asks. “Really?”

Alec shrugs. “Not my fault the Downworld party of the month is being held here.” Then, the warlock's appearance changes in the blink of an eye. His hair turns that fiery red color and his ears grow pointy at the tops.

Downworld party. That makes a lot of sense, considering that when Magnus looks out at the crowd, all of the people are some sort of Downworlder. All warlocks show their marks out in the open. No glamors, no mundanes and, unsurprisingly, no Shadowhunters.

A lot of them turn to glare at Magnus, the runes on his neck and his hands clearly visible. “I think…I should probably go.”

“Nonsense,” Alec says, putting an arm around Magnus's waist and pulling him closer.  Magnus jumps at the gesture. “You are my plus one and under my protection. As long as you stay close to me no one will bite you.”

“That's reassuring,” the Shadowhunter mutters, but he doesn't pull out of Alec's grip. If he has to be physically close to Alec in order to not get mauled by some vampire or werewolf who hates Nephilim, that's a price he's willing to pay. “When you say ‘plus one’...”

The warlock looks over at him. “I mean, saying you're my friend wouldn't have been enough for these people to let me bring you here. But if you're a friend …”

“So you mean a hook-up. Not even a fake boyfriend? I'm offended,” Magnus says teasingly and there it is again, that shy smile on Alec's face. Magnus decides to ignore it, since he has other things to worry about . “Why did you insist for me to come to a Downworld party anyways?”

That seems to get Alec back in his business mode, because he glances around a few times to make sure no one overhears them. Some people are giving them curious looks but most of them are minding their own business, probably too afraid to mess with the High Warlock.

After he's made sure no one is eavesdropping on them, Alec talks. “Because whilst I do take an interest in politics, I believe there are some things about the Seelies that Shadowhunters probably keep for themselves and I'm going to need your knowledge to interrogate our guest, too.” He tries to start walking, but Magnus pulls him back.

“And who is your contact?”

“Would you like to dance?” Alec asks smoothly, holding out a hand for Magnus to take. The smile on his face is genuine, but Magnus still pushes his hand away and groans.

“You can't keep avoiding my questions and asking new questions.” When Alec gives him a look, Magnus presses on. “If I am going to help you interrogate someone, I need to be on the same page as you.”

Alec seems to think for a moment before sighing. “Very well,” he says and then with a move of his hand makes a transparent wall appear around them. Some type of ward. “First thing first. This is something we really don't want anyone to overhear.” That explains the barrier, it is probably some type of ward that will make their conversation inaudible to others. “I will break it down for you. The books all said that Duduael is a form of prison dimension of Hell, which leads me to believe that the point of all these Portals is to get something worse than raum demons out of there. The last known prisoner was Azazel, but it can't be him because…” Alec looks down then, an emotion on his face Magnus hasn't seen before.

Then it dawns on him. “Was he…your dad?” he asks carefully, unsure how Alec will react to it. Azazel is a pretty powerful Greater Demon and if Alec is his son, that would explain why his power is so strong.

The warlock doesn't confirm it, but he looks at Magnus in a way that says he doesn't need to. “That leaves us with the question: who is it this time? The records about Duduael were pretty repetitive, but the one thing that I deduced from them was that Duduael wasn't turned into a Prison by a Prince of Hell. Which means it must have been another very powerful, very old creature.”

The wheels in Magnus's head turn. “The Seelie Queen? The Unseelie King?” 

Faeries are the most likely option here, since they are immortals, just like warlocks. The Seelie Queen is older than records can trace back, that much Magnus knows, since she is the representative of all Seelies when it comes to diplomatic missions. The Unseelie King on the other hand represents the Unseelie faeries and they are usually less open for communications with the Clave and way more evil. At least that’s what Magnus heard from tales, he’s never had the honor to visit the Unseelie Court himself. The two courts aren’t exactly on the best terms with each other and by doing business with the Seelie Court, the Shadowhunters distance themselves from the Unseelies, though Unseelies are still protected under the same Accords.

Alec nods. “Both possible options.”

“So are we meeting up with the Seelie Queen?” Magnus inquires, raising an eyebrow. It seems unlikely since the Queen prefers to have all her meetings in her Court, where she plays by her rules. The Shadowhunter also isn't very keen on her mind games. His father has sent him to meetings as a correspondent a few times and during every single visit Magnus felt more uneasy than during the one before.

Luckily, Alec shakes his head. “It would be a suicide mission to invite one of them here and to ask ‘Hey, did one of you build an almighty prison in hell like thousands of years ago?’ So instead, I asked the next best faerie who also happened to be present for the inauguration of Duduael: Gwyn ap Nudd.”

A laugh escapes Magnus's mouth at that. “Gwyn the Hunter is a legend. No one has seen him before.”

Alec raises an eyebrow. “You mean no Shadowhunter has seen him. He doesn't like the Clave or the Accords very much. Lucky for us, he doesn't like the Seelie Queen or the Unseelie King either, so if we're looking for a relatively neutral source, he's our guy.”

Magnus is still trying to wrap his head around it. Gwyn is rumored to be one of the oldest living beings in this realm. He's also the leader of the Wild Hunt, an independent group of faeries that isn't affiliated with the Seelie or the Unseelie court. They ride at night, looking for the battles they want to devote themselves to without having to listen to anyone else. There is another rumor going around about them that says that their ranks aren't just made up of faeries, but also of dead mortals. Since the Wild Hunt is active in Seelie realms, where notions such as time and age and life and death are relative, they apparently have the power to resurrect some fallen soldiers and to have them join the Hunt. No one has ever seen that happen though, because once a mortal joins the riders, they can't ever leave. At least that's what all the legends say, and at this point, Magnus doesn't know how many of those legends are true.

“So…Gwyn ap Nudd, just roaming around the streets of New York?” Magnus asks, trying to not sound as shocked as he feels.

“Well, I doubt he's on the street. He'll probably arrive on his flying horse.” If Alec hadn't said that with a dead-serious expression, Magnus would have laughed.

“Yeah. Of course he will.” There are still a lot of questions going on through Magnus's head like how the hell did Alec manage to convince Gwyn to come to a Downworld party when the Wild Hunt is so well hidden that many Shadowhunters don't know about it. But he's still processing all this and if he finds out any more groundbreaking information that proves how narrow-minded Shadowhunters actually are, he might have a breakdown.

Alec moves his hand again and the wall around them falls apart. “Right. Now we have some time before he gets here, so do you want to dance?” he asks again.

That does make Magnus snort. “What is it with you and dancing? Why don't you get me a drink first?” he asks teasingly.

“Oh, right,” Alec says, snapping his fingers once, and a Martini glass appears in Magnus's hand. Alec has a beer. “Now come on, if we're going to make this whole thing about you being my date believable, you need to at least pretend to want to dance with me.”

Magnus feels like he's going to need that drink, so he downs it in two sips.

When they first start dancing, it is surprisingly… fun. There is an upbeat song playing on the speakers and everyone is dancing with their friends, waving their hands around, just having a fun time. Asmodeus has always told Magnus how Downworlders indulge in the darker vices and how they are dangerous, but right here, right now, Magnus doesn't feel much different from them. 

Magnus and Alec are doing the same as the rest of the people in the club, swaying along to the beat, keeping a small distance between them, enjoying their drinks. Magnus is on his second Martini. He can't remember the last time he went to a proper party and even though this wasn't supposed to be exactly that, he can pretend that it is.

Speaking of pretending.

“You know,” he tells Alec, moving closer to him so the other can hear him over the music. “I know your family history and all now, but there is still something you haven't told me.”

Alec raises an eyebrow. “I can assure you there are a lot of things I haven't told you. It's hard to tell centuries of stories in a few hours.”

“Yeah, whatever,” Magnus says, waving his hand dismissively. “Why did you tell your friends my name is Malcolm Fade?” he asks, because that has been bugging him for a while.

“Oh.” Alec's reaction shows that he didn't expect that question. He seems like he's considering whether to tell the truth or not for a moment, then speaks. “I blamed you for what happened to Max that night and I shouldn't have. But my sister, Isabelle, was mad at you because of that too.”

“Your sister?” Magnus says, thinking about the brunette woman who was with Alec the night they met. Considering their resemblance, it makes sense. “You have other siblings?” It was very rare for warlocks to find one of their half-siblings, usually because most warlocks didn't even know who their demon parent was. For Alec to find two of them…that was strange.

“Just Isabelle and Max, as far as I know. Izzy and I even have the same mundane mother. My father lived glamored as a mundane for a few years before anyone found out. We grew up together and stick together to this day. When we found Max, the three of us promised to take care of each other no matter what. If you think I hold a grudge about Max, you don't know Isabelle. If she'd found out who you were that night, she would have killed you. When my sister gets angry, even I can't stop her.”

Magnus's moves slow down until he stops dancing altogether. “Wait. So you were…protecting me?” Even though Alec had saved Magnus's life several times in battle, that was different because it was a battle they were both in. But at that point in time, Alec had no reason to defend him.

Alec stops moving too, his full attention on Magnus. “I realized I made a mistake. I assumed that you were exactly the same as your dad and that's the only reason why I targeted you. But then when the raum demons attacked, you fought alongside me rather than use the momentum to kill me. You are nothing like the Inquisitor.”

Magnus smiles then, a genuine smile that he hasn't offered anyone in a long time. “Thank you.”

They look at each other for a while, not saying a word, but it's not an uncomfortable silence. It feels like they're exchanging words even though they are not speaking.

They both jump a little bit when a new song comes on. This song is…not like the one before. It's suggestive and sensual and couples all around them cheer and hoot and then bodies are pressed up against each other, people grinding on each other.

For some reason, Magnus feels very hot. “Um…when did you say Gwyn was coming?”

“He'll make himself seen when he's here. Now where is the soul of the party, Magnus Bane?” Alec asked teasingly, taking the empty glass out of Magnus's hand and putting it on a table nearby next to his own empty beer glass.

And well, Magnus is nothing if not a sucker for challenges and this definitely sounds like a challenge to him. “Okay, let's dance,” he says, taking Alec's hand and pulling him close so his chest is pressed against the warlock's chest. Magnus's hands move to Alec's hips, using them as leverage to pull him even closer and he feels Alec tense up and look away.

Magnus stops and he's ready to let go because as much as he loves a challenge he doesn't want to make the guy uncomfortable, but then he feels Alec's muscles relax and his arms wrap around Magnus's shoulders, his hands playing with the hair at the back of Magnus's head. Is Alec trying to one-up him here on who's the best at pretend-flirting. Magnus can deal with that.

He shoots Alec a smile and they start moving their bodies together, totally out of rhythm with the song but it's not like songs like these are meant to show off perfect coordination or dancing skills.

Up close, Magnus can see a rosy hue to Alec's cheeks. He will be damned, he is making an almighty warlock blush.

“You know,” Alec says, voice shaky. “You're really good at this whole pretending thing. If I didn't know any better I would say you're enjoying it.”

Magnus laughs. “Well, if we were on an actual date, this is exactly how I would act. Though I would give you a proper heads-up at least a day before instead of telling you I have an emergency and then taking you out.”

Alec rolls his eyes but smiles and starts moving his arms up and down Magnus's arms as they dance. Then, Alec surprises both of them by moving his hips at an angle that has him gasping and Magnus letting out a low, guttural sound. Before Magnus can tease him about that, Alec takes a step back and turns around, pressing his back to Magnus's chest instead and hiding his face. Magnus smirks and puts his arms around Alec's waist and Alec puts his hands right on top of his, guiding them. “If we were on an actual date, I would want you to do less talking and more dancing,” Alec says, breath shaky.

Magnus scoffs and he leans in to whisper in Alec's ear. “Bossy.” He rolls his hips forward and Alec lets out a broken sound. 

Magnus doesn't know how he got here. He wishes he could blame it on the alcohol but he can't, because he doesn't even feel tipsy. Not on Martinis anyways. He does feel intoxicated, intoxicated by Alec's perfume that smells like sandalwood, intoxicated by Alec's presence. 

Well, the warlock is conventionally attractive and Magnus hasn't allowed himself a little fun in a while so there's no harm to what they're doing. They're just pretending and it doesn't mean anything.

He ducks his head and places a kiss on Alec's neck. He sees Alec's Adam's apple bob as he swallows hard and Magnus smiles triumphantly against his skin. “If we were on an actual date, I would make sure to leave a mark on your neck because you may not notice it, but everyone in this place has been checking you out since we've arrived.”

Alec wants to say something but whatever he wants to say gets stuck in his throat when Magnus uses the grip on his hips to pull him closer and now Magnus's crotch is pressed against Alec's ass and he can feel his pants getting more uncomfortable by the minute.

Then the warlock turns around in Magnus's arms but stays close to him the entire time.

When Magnus's eyes lock on Alec's, he freezes. Alec's pupils are so dilated they're almost black and his gaze is so intense Magnus is the one who feels like blushing now.

But then Alec looks away from Magnus and over his shoulder for just a second. His eyes widen and he looks like a deer in headlights for a moment before he takes a step back and starts straightening his shirt and styling his hair properly.

When he looks back up at Magnus, it's like nothing even happened. “We've got company,” is all Alec says and then Magnus has half the mind to try to make himself look presentable as well before turning around and looking in the same direction as Alec.

Right there, on the side of the dancefloor, is a big, broad man with a slight beard. His eyes are two different colors, one black and one blue, which is rumored to be a telltale of the Wild Hunt members.

So that's Gwyn ap Nudd.

Strangely enough, Magnus and Alec are the only ones who seem to notice this living legend standing in the middle of the club. Now Magnus understands why Gwyn agreed to come out on Downworld night. With all the warlock marks and the Seelie features and the vampires and werewolves around, Gwyn doesn't look like anything out of the ordinary.

Alec starts walking towards their guest and Magnus follows right behind him, willing his brain to stop thinking about what happened just a moment ago and to start thinking about the mission again.

As soon as they get close enough to the Wild Hunt leader, Alec puts his protective wards up again so no one can overhear their conversation. “Gwyn, thank you for coming.”

“I have to admit,” Gwyn says, looking at Alec and Magnus curiously. “When I told you I owe you a favor, I didn't expect you to call me in for this.”

A favor? What could Alec have possibly done for Gwyn The Hunter to owe him a favor?

“How is he?” Alec asks, looking grim.

Gwyn gives him a sad smile. “He's adapted. Time passes differently in the Seelie realms, but he's had enough time to adapt.”

“Good. That's…that's good.” Alec looks like he's somewhere far far away.

Magnus is completely at a loss. 

Gwyn seems to sense his unease because he turns to the Shadowhunter. “Magnus Bane. The Inquisitor's son. When Alec told me you would be present, I was rather shocked.”

“What can I say? I am full of surprises.”

“You two shall make your inquiry quick. I need to return back to my Hunt,” the faerie says, ignoring Magnus's joke.

Alec bows his head. “Of course, Gwyn. I don't know how much you and your Hunt have heard about demon attacks in New York lately.”

“There's too many Nephilim for our liking in New York. Nothing personal,” he adds, turning to Magnus. “We tend to stay away.”

“Is it just the Nephilim or is it the fact that the Seelie Queen has taken a liking to this place, too?” Magnus asks, remembering why he is here. To make use of his knowledge.

While there are entries to the Seelie realm all over the world, the one in Central Park is one of the most used and accessed ones. Maybe it's because Seelies thrive where there are a lot of people and chaos or maybe it's because their Queen has some business here.

Gwyn smiles. “I do not like Her Majesty any more than your people do, Shadowhunter. That's why the Hunt has been neutral for centuries.”

“And yet before that, both Seelie courts used to work together and there was no independent Hunt, was there?” Magnus inquires further and he can see Alec give him a smug smile out of the corner of his eye.

“You know your history. That much is true.”

“Were they united when the prison of Duduael was created?” Alec asks, keeping his voice down despite the ward.

The faerie raises an eyebrow. “Duduael. Oh, what have you two gotten yourselves into?”

Magnus shrugs. “I tend to believe danger follows me around, not vice versa. So judging by your answer, you know a lot about Duduael?”

Gwyn looks down and refuses to say anything more then. Alec steps forward. “Please, Gwyn. There is something big going on. Something that could affect all of us. Even the Hunt.”

“If the Hunt is ever in danger, I will fulfill my duty and protect them,” Gwyn says, locking eyes with Alec. “But I am a man of my word and I will give you the information you desire.”

“Who turned Duduael into a prison?” Alec asks, getting straight to the point.

“The Seelie Queen. A long time ago, one of the Princes of Hell trespassed her realm and killed several of her people. As someone dedicated to preserving nature and with Shadowhunters being non-existent back then, she wanted a way to control rogue Princes of Hell.”

“Who was the first Prince of Hell in there?” Magnus asks, more out of curiosity than anything else.

“Sammael. Some fool decided to free him and then when recaptured he got banished to Diyu, a whole other level of Hell. Azazel took his place then for a long time,” Gwyn says, looking pointedly at Alec.

Alec seems to ignore the implications of that look. “And after Azazel…who is there now?”

The faerie sighs then, frustration clear on his face. “I do not know. The thing that changed between then and now is that the Seelie Queen doesn't communicate with me anymore. Not that the Hunt desires any contact with her court.”

Alec's face falls at that. It seems like his contact isn't as useful as he thought he would be and he is facing another wall. “So…the Queen is the only one who would know why Portals to Duduael are opening all around New York?”

Gwyn's eyes widen at the news. “ Are you certain of what you're saying?”

Magnus and Alec looked at each other, then nodded at Gwyn in unison. The faerie seems genuinely surprised by the information. “There…might be another way to find out what is happening here.” Gwyn looks at the two of them, a frown on his face. “When the Seelie Queen built the prison of Duduael, she made sure that no demon from this realm would be able to help the prisoners there get out. The only way to open a doorway to that dimension is if a mortal sacrifices their soul to the prisoner. Find the mortal and kill them and it will fix your problems.”

Magnus narrows his eyes. “How are we supposed to figure out which of the billions of mortals has sold their soul to a Greater Demon?”

It's Alec who answers. “When a mortal makes a contract like that, it leaves a mark on their soul, like a demonic signature of some sort. And considering the Portals have been appearing in New York, I think it is safe to assume our suspect lives here.”

“Great,” Magnus says, unamused. “That narrows it down to a few millions.”

“At least we have somewhere to start now,” Alec argues, then turns to Gwyn. “Thank you for taking the time.”

“This hardly makes us even, Alec-”

“It does,” the warlock interrupts him, looking down. “You don't owe me anything, Gwyn.”

The faerie seems to think for a moment before he offers a curt nod and takes a step back. Just when Magnus thinks he's about to leave, he turns around, his eyes of two different colors fixed on the Shadowhunter. “Magnus Bane. Trust your instincts. Things aren't as they seem.”

“What-” Magnus starts asking, but then Gwyn turns and disappears into the crowd. He literally disappears since Magnus blinks once and then the faerie is gone. “Well, he seems gleeful. Does he always speak in riddles?” he mutters under his breath, but when he turns to Alec, the warlock looks serious and unlike Magnus has ever seen him before.

“Let's go,” Alec says, tone hard to decipher. Magnus doesn't argue with him about it, realizing something is wrong. He watches as the warlock absentmindedly opens a Portal and steps through it and Magnus walks through behind him, this time knowing where he's headed.

A moment later, they step out in the living room of Alec's loft and Alec sits down on his sofa, hiding his face in his hands and breathing hard. He doesn't even bother to hide his warlock mark again, not that Magnus minds. He's actually gotten used to the way Alec looks in his warlock mode.

But he's not used to seeing the other in distress like this and he tries to think of a reason why Alec's mood would take such a sudden turn, but he comes up blank.

Then, he remembers one of the first things Alec said to Gwyn. How is he?

“Who is ‘he’?” Magnus blurted out, just realizing how intrusive the question sounds after it leaves his lips. 

Alec looks up at him then, as if he'd forgotten Magnus is even in the room. “Huh?”

“You don't have to answer. But as soon as you and Gwyn started talking about someone, it seemed like something in you changed.”

For a moment, nothing can be heard except for heavy rain falling on Alec's balcony. When did it start raining? 

Then Alec speaks but his voice is not like Magnus has ever heard it before. “You don't know me, Bane. Stop acting like you care.”

That's true, of course, Magnus doesn't really know him. The thing is that the more Magnus gets to know about Alec, the more he wants to know him better. “As much as it might shock you, I do care. We're in this together, Alexander. If this has anything to do with your dad, or the mission-”

“It's nothing to do with the mission, Magnus. Please just…” Alec says, and it almost sounds like he might start crying any moment. 

“We've got our lead. We can talk about our next steps tomorrow. I just need to be alone now.” He lets out a long sigh, like he's letting out a feeling he's been holding in for decades.

Magnus knows what it's like to want to be alone though. He respects that and he respects Alec enough to listen to him. “Fine. Just wait a moment,” he looks around the room and lets out a little ‘a-ha’ when he notices a notebook and a pen on the coffee table. He scribbles down some digits and hands the notebook to Alec. “That's the number for my burner phone. Not even my dad knows it, so you don't have to be worried about anyone finding out if you text me or anything. Just…if there's anything new, call me on that instead of sending me an SOS fire message again.” He puts the notebook down on the table in front of Alec and starts making his way to the door while keeping his eyes on the warlock.

Alec's lips curl into a small smile, though it doesn't reach his eyes. “Goodnight, Magnus.”

“Goodnight, Alexander,” Magnus says, turning around and walking out.