Chapter Text
The sun was shining. The birds were flying. The Shadowhunters were in training. The dragons were feeding. And Alec’s blood pressure was steadily rising.
Just a normal day at the Institute then.
Jace could practically hear his brother grind his teeth in frustration.
“Again,” Alec growled. “Kat, keep your elbow tucked in. You swing it around too much, which is why your left side is always open. Drew, stop hesitating. The more you second-guess yourself, the more likely you are to die in the field. If you’re forgetting, you’re using blunt swords. No one is going to die here. And Nelson, what did I say about keeping your back turned to your opponent?”
The boy in question winced. “Not to do it, Sir.”
“So, don’t do it,” Alec snapped. “Everyone, again!”
Despite Alec’s snippy attitude, Jace could feel and see that Alec’s students weren’t the least bit put out. They knew better than to complain anyway. For one thing, Alec did have a point and second, considering how close their evaluation was, they definitely needed all the help they could get. And most importantly, they were used to Alec being snippy anyway.
There was a loud screech from above and Jace looked up to see Alec’s Timberjack, Aja, descending elegantly from the skies. She probably sensed her rider’s agitation. It was better she was here. With Aja around, Alec was less likely to start chopping off trainees’ body parts. Maybe.
Jace could see Alec already loosening up, one hand reaching up to beckon his dragon to him. Aja let out a cry. She folded her wings neatly as she made a graceful arc downwards, landing on top of Alec with a soft whump and her wings folded up into a triangle like tent to hide him. Whenever Alec was in an open area or within reach, she always folded herself over him. Whatever welcome ritual they did under Aja’s wings, nobody knew, but knowing the pair’s bond, Jace assumed it was something sweet.
To their credit, Alec’s students didn’t stop their training, though Jace noticed a few of them pause and glance at the large dragon; their respect and fear for their teacher probably a deterrent to any staring.
Jace could relate. Aja was a common sight around the Institute, always sticking close to Alec as much as possible, even though her enormous wings made it difficult for her to follow her Bonded inside. But she was still an impressive sight, large and graceful and the only bonded Timberjack the Shadowhunters had had in seven decades.
Aja unfolded herself one wing at a time, letting out a soft coo as she did. Alec emerged with a soft smile, already looking calmer.
“Hey there, girl,” he said, reaching up to run his fingers through her elongated snout and long horns. “Did you have breakfast already?”
Aja nodded, making chirping noises. Alec grinned and walked around her, rubbing and scratching her back and making her purr delightedly. Because of their wingspans, Timberjacks didn’t have the farthest reach.
“Hey, Aja,” Jace said, approaching the pair. “Is Semyon with you?”
Aja let out a shriek and bent her neck.
There was a loud hiss and Jace immediately ducked as a blur of red, yellow and orange struck the air where his head just was. Jace kept low, crouched and ready, as the blur skidded to a stop a few paces away and his Grapple Grounder, Semyon, turned his beady eyes towards him, hissing and spitting little blue orbs of fire in the air that quickly fizzled out. It had taken Jace years to train Semyon to stop burning everything.
Jace clicked his tongue in response and smirked. “Bad dragon.”
Semyon struck, razor-fast like a tightly-coiled spring. It was only because of Jace’s training and his bond with said beast that made him instinctively aware of how to jump back and weave his way left and right around Semyon’s attacks. Semyon suddenly struck low and Jace dove over the dragon, stepping on his back and making him shriek. But Semyon was tricky, and his tail-shaped arrow managed to grab onto Jace’s leg, making him trip. Jace yelped and did a neat tuck and roll, but Semyon pounced on him in an instant, his long, snake-like body wrapping itself tight around Jace. Jace managed to grab Semyon’s horns and his neck, trying to wrestle him into submission.
“Hey, hey, stop that. Now you both are just disrupting training.” Alec huffed, tossing his hands in the air.
It was true, training ceased and even the passersby had stopped to watch the two wrestle around. The various dragons around that were soaring above or hanging around the courtyard, on the other hand, couldn’t care less. Semyon hissed at their human audience, always raring for a fight. Jace tucked the dragon’s great head to his chest with a laugh.
“Chill, Sem. No fighting,” Jace muttered through the tight coil of Semyon’s body. The dragon relaxed his body a bit, probably sensing that Jace was getting slightly out of breath.
You humans are scared of everything.
Jace snorted. “Not me.”
That’s because you’re stupid.
Jace grunted and tugged at Semyon’s head in retaliation.
“Semyon, let go,” Alec commanded.
While it was considered rude to order around other people’s dragon, Alec’s older brother status made him an exemption and Semyon was usually wary of disobeying or disappointing the man. Even other dragons, bonded or not, were usually cowed by Alec’s status as co-head of the Institute. Same went with his co-head, Lydia Branwell. Their sister, Isabelle, said dragons recognized alpha status even with humans.
Semyon let go of Jace with a low hiss before slinking over to Alec and offering his head for petting. Alec couldn’t resist and rubbed his hand through Semyon’s scaly head and neck.
“Now who’s scared?” Jace taunted, grinning at the glare his dragon tossed his way.
“Resume,” Alec called out to his students, who did just so. He raised a hand to Aja, who glided off to the large water fountain where a few other dragons were drinking and frolicking.
Jace sat up, leaning back on his hands. He clicked his tongue and Semyon returned to him, coiling around him loosely until his head was on Jace’s lap. Jace rubbed him down from head to neck.
“Speaking of being disruptive, why are you still here?” Alec asked, grabbing a bo staff from the weapons rack. “I thought you had patrol?”
Jace made a face. “Don’t remind me. I’m on patrol with Raj this week.” He grasped Semyon’s big head in his hands. “I was just waiting for Sem before I go, because my dragon loves me and will come with me, right?”
Semyon rolled his eyes and turned his head away from Jace with a huff.
Not a chance. And scratch my neck.
“Aw, come on, Sem.” Jace scratched Semyon’s sweet spot and tried to get his dragon to look him in the eye, ignoring Alec’s snort of amusement. His dragon didn’t get his stubborn attitude from just anyone. “Sem, come on. Come with me. Patrol will go so much smoother if you were there.”
“Well, yeah, because you tend to use Semyon to threaten Raj,” Alec said. He used the end of his bo staff to tap against one of his students’ shoulders. “Loosen up. Keep your shoulders relaxed.”
Jace scoffed. “That’s the point.” He turned back to his dragon, slumping against the back of Semyon’s head. “Come on, Sem. Come with me.”
Semyon shrugged him off with a growl, making a subvocal noise.
I’d rather eat a duck.
“Oh, that’s just gross, Sem.” Jace grimaced. “Come on! This is so not fair!”
Semyon uncoiled himself around Jace and let out a growl.
It’s your job. You do it. The last time I came with you and Human Raj, you broke your nose and Brother Alec blamed me.
“Well, that was your fault! You landed on me!” Jace poked him on the snout. Semyon snapped his teeth millimetres from the offending finger and bared his fangs at Jace with some more growls.
“Oh, don’t make excuses!”
An alarm suddenly blared from inside the Institute. All around, dragons and Shadowhunters were immediately on alert. Jace and Alec snapped to attention. Jace got up and started heading inside. He could hear Alec shouting instructions.
“Aja, Semyon, standby! Kat, you’re in charge! Make sure the dragons are safe and that no one leaves the Institute!”
Jace arrived at the control room in time to see Isabelle, Lydia, and a few others already looking at the screens. A weyr of baby Terrible Terrors and Scuttleclaws were running around their feet, snarling and ignoring whatever emergency was on hand. Jace shook one off his boot. Baby dragons never listened to anyone and were virtually impossible to corral or control.
“What’s the emergency?” Alec asked.
“Guess what, we’ve got a triple event.”Isabelle looked both excited and nervous. “And in broad daylight too.”
“Shit. Three demons?” Jace looked at the screen, watching the demons wrecking havoc on the city. As per any demon activity, they had a first response team deployed within minutes, and he could see each demon each already tailed by a Shadowhunter. Banishing them all though wasn’t something easily done.
In comparison to Isabelle’s mood, Lydia just looked militant, as always. “Three Ravenspawn demons, full-grown too by the looks of it.”
Ravenspawn demons were about twenty feet in height when full-grown, covered in thick black fur and walked on all fours with claw-tipped hands and large feet. They had long snouts with razor-shaped teeth and seemed to constantly be drooling some sort of acid, wide nostrils and a protruding brow ridge over beady red eyes. They were pretty fast too, scaling the sides of buildings in seconds, while their strong hind legs made it easy for them to leap from perch to perch.
“How did those things get through?” Alec said, wincing as he watched the scenes onscreen. The problem with Ravenspawns was that they were incredibly sturdy and didn’t have a particular weakness. They just needed to get beaten into submission before they were banished.
Lydia shook her head. “We’re still busy triangulating where they came through, especially since it seems they emerged from somewhere within the city premises. For now, our first priority is eradication. Got that?”
Every Shadowhunter in the room nodded in agreement.
“Considering how many we’re up against, better to bring in the whole team.” Lydia looked at Jace then Alec. “Isabelle will lead the ground force. You two riding?”
Jace grinned. “Definitely.”
Aja and Alec and Semyon and Jace were geared up in handful of minutes, with saddles, harnesses, and flight suits at the ready and both dragons primed for fighting.
Due to the unpredictable and infrequent nature of dragon-rider pairs, every equipment, gear, or tool was custom-designed and built based on their very specific needs and wants. Semyon, being four-legged with a medium build, had been much easier to outfit by tweaking a standard dragon saddle and throatlatch. Not to mention Jace was a swordsman and preferred hand-to-hand combat. He didn’t need a fancy flightsuit or rider gear. It took Jace almost a year to get Semyon battle-ready, and the only reason it even took that long was because they needed to find a loose enough material that didn’t stop Semyon’s speed or ability to coil himself people or objects, but mostly because Semyon was a hothead and needed to be trained to wearing said gear.
Alec, on the other hand, had spent just over two years getting their gear just the way he and Aja both wanted it, because Aja was long and frankly gigantic and, as an archer, Alec had to design something that allowed him to ride hands free, made sure he didn’t fell off, and also carry his sword, bow and quiver. Oh, not to mention accommodate for Alec’s really long, tall frame and the fact that Aja disliked anything wrapped around her head or her horns, so Alec couldn’t strap anything around her throat as an anchor or use her horns as handhelds.
In the end, Aja’s gear was custom-made, wrap-around leather with a built-in saddle-harness combo for Alec and had handles and various clips, hooks and pockets for all his gear. The seat was elongated and the stirrups were short and situated slightly to the back, so that while in-flight Alec was partially folded forward with his legs bent, which helped to keep him on his seat considering how incredibly fast Aja flew. The harness was adjustable and removable and the entire thing was fastened into the natural dip that flowed just behind Aja’s head.
Alec’s flight suit was customized too. Where Jace’s was sturdy and could withstand the heat of Semyon’s plasma balls, Alec’s was light but insulated to keep up with the speed of Aja’s flight and had enough pockets and straps to keep his bow and quiver attached.
It had taken countless arguments, blood, sweat, and tears to get everything just right.
But it had paid off.
Alec, hold on.
Alec grunted and held on with his thighs as Aja dived past one of the demons. His goggles only impaired his vision just slightly and he let loose an arrow that managed to hit the demon squarely on the forehead. It let out a roar of anger.
Alec grabbed the handles and leaned forward as Aja tucked in her large wings, avoiding a second demon that tried to throw itself at them from one building.
Another rider and her dragon, Heather and her Snafflefang Devi, flew past Alec and Aja. They met the demon head-on and Devi swung its spiked tail bludgeon right at the demon’s chest. It flew in an arc and landed on the ground where Isabelle the ground team came to meet it. After a barrage of sword swings, Isabelle impaled it with her staff.
I hate these demons. They take a while to banish.
“Yeah. I agree,” Alec said, pushing his goggles up his forehead. He scanned around and found Jace and Semyon on a building roof going head-to-head against the third demon. Like the foolhardy pair they were, Jace had dismounted as they attempted to take the demon on two ends. Semyon was swiping its arrow-tipped tail against any part of the demon it could reach while Jace was trying to get close enough to slash through it with his sword.
A flash of red distracted Alec for a moment. There was somebody in the balcony just below the rooftop where Jace was, but it darted inside to safety just as Semyon let out a plasma blast that the demon avoided.
Before Alec could warn Jace about civilian casualty, there was a loud roar and something landed right on Jace.
“Jace!”
Alec didn’t have time to worry about Jace, because a second later, there was another roar and something also impacted against Aja’s wing.
Alec!
“Aja!”
Aja let out a screech and Alec simply held on tight as she tried to shake off whatever it was that hit them. He tugged his goggles back down and through the ensuing shaking and sounds, he managed to see just what had grabbed onto Aja’s wing and was evidently trying to tear it up.
It was a dragon.
“It’s a Catastrophic Quaken!” Alec gritted his teeth. “Aja, let’s shake it off!”
Aja immediately shot upwards. Very few dragons could handle high altitudes. Alec looked down to see the Quaken had dug its spiky shell against Aja. Timberjacks had tough wings capable of withstanding a great deal of damage, but he wasn’t about to let this dragon hurt Aja.
Alec grabbed an arrow and nocked it. He leaned back until he was upside down, held in place only by his harness. The Quaken had a weak spot at his chin but Alec didn’t really want to kill the beast. He let the arrow loose, bouncing off the Quaken’s tough forehead. It wouldn’t hurt the dragon, just take it by surprise and Alec let loose another, and another, until the Quaken’s hold loosened. Coupled with Aja’s high altitude, and the Quaken let go with a roar and free-fell towards the city.
Finally free, Aja did a wide arc, going vertical to allow Alec to sit up. She flapped her wings gently, allowing them both few precious seconds to breathe.
“You okay, Aja?” Alec shuffled forward and sat up higher, trying to catch Aja’s eye as he leaned over her head. “Did he hurt your wings?”
I’m fine, Alec. Are you?
“I’m okay, but not great,” Alec said, looking down at the city below. “This is a bad time for dragons to get involved in a fight with demons.”
I think it’s more than that, Alec.
Before Alec could ask what she meant, Aja descended, getting back into the thing of things. From a distance, they could see Jace riding Semyon, battling a Catastrophic Quaken of his own, and Heather and Devi battling a third, probably the one Alec and Aja tussled with going by the slash mark across its forehead. Through Aja’s far-seeing dragon eyes, Alec could also see Isabelle and the other Shadowhunters battling against the remaining two demons on the ground.
“Shit. This isn’t good,” Alec muttered.
“Alec, you okay?” Jace asked through the transmitter.
“I’m good. Don’t worry about me,” Alec said.
Alec was just about to ask Aja to help when suddenly a third Quaken appeared on the ground beside the two demons, smashing its bulk against the earth and causing a shockwave strong enough to knock the humans off their feet. The demons, on the other hand, were still standing, having sunk their claws into the ground in time. They stalked forward with claws and acid and sharp teeth.
“AJA, FLY!”
Alec’s directions weren’t needed, because Aja had the same realization he did. She was diving in an instant, wings folded to her sides as she zipped through the air faster than ever. Alec simply held on, vision swimming between his own and Aja’s dragon eyes.
They weren’t going to make it.
It was like in slow motion. Isabelle had stumbled up, still unsteady on her feet but staff at the ready as she tried to push the other Shadowhunters to safety and face the demons head on. One of them dashed towards her, claws at the ready.
“IZZY!”
There was a flash of what looked like purple lightning, and it struck the ground between Isabelle and the two demons. A man appeared among the smoke and debris and with a wave of his hands, both demons flew back, crashing against the Quaken. All three roared, directing their anger at the Shadowhunters and… not at each other.
Aja was right.
They had fought against enemy demons and enemy dragons, but together?
Alec cursed. “What the hell? Dragons working with demons. This can’t be possible.”
Alec pressed a button on his harness, unfastening himself from his saddle. He grabbed his bow and made sure he still had enough arrows on hand.
“Aja, help Jace and Heather. Leave me on ground.”
Be careful, Alec.
Aja swooped low over the humans’ heads and with a cry, she flew past the demons, her razor sharp wings slicing through both of them. One of the demons got half its head chopped off, while the other one was only clipped at the shoulder, one arm hanging limp and starting to drip ichor. Alec jumped off Aja’s back, landing on the ground and immediately shooting an arrow through the first demon’s head. It evaporated into dust with a loud cry. The second demon grabbed Alec’s leg out from under him and dragged him close.
“Shit!” Alec tried to nock an arrow.
A whip appeared, encircling the demon’s neck.
“Let Alec go!” Isabelle called out, tugging the demon back.
Alec nocked two arrows and let them fly, hitting the demon in the chest. Isabelle pulled the demon away and another Shadowhunter, Vince, appeared, aiming to sink his sword into the demon’s side. But a harsh shake of the earth threw them all back on the ground. The demon swiped a claw at Vince, right in the stomach.
Isabelle tried to tug the demon away from the bleeding and unconscious man and Alec fired another arrow. It gave their comrades just barely enough time to rescue Vince, but the demon was thrashing hard enough that no one could get close.
“Get down!”
The group instinctively did so and a flash of purple struck the demon’s chest with a crackle. It exploded into dust.
“Alec! Izzy!”
Alec brought a hand to his ear. “Jace, what’s wrong?”
“We can’t knock these dragons out!” Jace said through the transmitter.“We’re liable to kill them if this keeps up!”
There was a roar and Alec found himself pushed back by Isabelle. One of the Quaken’s distinct features was its spiky skin, and they all knew better than to face it head on when it was curled up like a boulder and barrelling through them.
“Get back!” Isabelle called out as the Quaken rolled past them, almost hitting the other Shadowhunters like a particularly spikey bowling ball.
“Alec! Isabelle! Watch out!” one of the Shadowhunters shouted.
The Quaken was fast. In a second, Alec and Isabelle found the Quaken almost on them. Alec pulled his sister behind him. There was a crackle and another flash of violet and the mystery man from earlier – obviously a warlock – suddenly appeared beside them. He waved his hands and brought up a shimmering violet wall of magic just as the Quaken descended on them. It crashed into the wall with a loud roar while the warlock grunted, waving a hand and pushing the dragon back.
“Bring the others here!” the warlock didn’t even turn to them, busy trying to hold the dragon back. “Get your team to bring the other Quaken here!”
“What? Why? We can barely handle one!” Isabelle cried out.
Alec was just as unsure, but he followed his gut. He reached into his dragon bond, calling on Aja to come back. Then he grabbed his bow and arrows. “Jace, Heather, bring all the dragons down here!”
“Got it! / Ten-four!”
There was a loud screech.
“Are you seeing this?” Jace called out over the comms.“We’ve got a Skrill!”
A Skrill. Shit.
“What the hell?” Isabelle got to her feet. “Another dragon?”
Alec could hear the warlock smirk.
“Don’t worry. That one’s mine.”
The warlock raised both hands and pushed, and the wall in front of them did the same, pushing the Quaken away. The next thing they knew a lightning bolt flashed past them. As Alec still had his goggles on, he caught a glimpse of something collide against the Quaken and drag it off them.
The Skrill let out an ear-piercing shriek and Alec watched as the Skrill reared back, leaving the Quaken on the ground, shaken but not stunned. The Skrill whipped his tail and a bolt of lightning flew from its tail to hit the Quaken on the chest. It slumped forward in a faint.
“ᴎwobɘiƚ!”
The warlock waved his hands and what looked like ropes of violet magic flew from his fingers to wrap around the unconscious Quaken.
“Incoming!”
Alec ducked as Jace and Semyon and Heather and Devi flew past.
“We’ve got Quakens on our tails!” Jace shouted.
Aja descended from above, flying past the Quakens and cutting them with her wings. Their flight slowed, but they kept on, snarling even angrier.
“Damn, they’re tough,” Isabelle said, striking the ground with her whip.
Bolts of lightning flew over their heads hitting both Quakens, but thankfully going nowhere near Aja. Both dragons landed on the ground, disoriented. The Skrill let out a shrill shriek, soaring over the fallen Quakens, mouth lighting up and letting out a bolt of lighting that hit them dead-on.
“ᴎiɒƚᴎoɔ!”
The warlock’s magic flew, a violet dome enveloping and keeping the explosion contained.
“Damn, he’s good,” Alec muttered.
The sounds of struggling dragons ceased, and the shimmering dome disappeared with it. The smoke cleared and instead of unconscious dragons, what they saw left behind were ashes.
“What happened?” Heather called out over the comms.“I don’t see anything!”
“Where are they?” Isabelle gaped.
One of the Shadowhunters crept towards the mess, pressing a boot against the ashes before deeming it safe to touch with gloved hands. “The dragons are gone! They disappeared!”
“You killed the dragons!” Jace exclaimed, landing on the ground beside Alec. He pointed his sword at the warlock and started advancing. “What the hell did you do?”
Alec turned back to the one Catastrophic Quaken that was subdued. It had disappeared as well.
“Jace!” Alec grabbed his arm and pulled him back just as the Skrill landed on the ground between them, fangs bared and skin crackling with electricity. It didn’t help at all when Semyon landed beside Jace, snarling and ready to defend his bonded.
“Jace, Semyon, stop it!” Alec called out harshly. “He isn’t the enemy!
“ᴎwob m|ɒɔ ɘ|ɘdʏɔ.” The electricity stopped, but the Skrill still looked angry, unmoving as it huffed angrily at Semyon and Jace. A gloved hand came up to stroke through the Skrill’s wing.
“You’d think Shadowhunters were more polite,” the warlock scoffed. “Or more grateful.”
“Please ignore them. It’s just the adrenaline,” Alec said, pushing Jace to the side and glaring at Semyon. “Both of you, clear your heads. Everybody, fan out! See if we can find a clue what the hell happened here!” He turned back to the warlock, who – now that he had calmed down a bit – he realized that he recognized and had met before, but had never spoken to.
“Thank you so much for your help, Warlock Bane,” Isabelle said sincerely. She was smiling, hand outstretched with far more poise and grace than Jace was displaying at the moment. “I’m Isabelle Lightwood. Those are my brothers, Alec and Jace.”
Magnus Bane himself, the High Warlock of Brooklyn, smiled pleasantly and shook her hand. “You’re quite welcome. And I am familiar with the Lightwoods, though I’ve only had the chance to meet your parents, Maryse and Robert.” His eyes landed on Alec and he tilted his head for a moment, considering. “Though now I wish we had met in better circumstances.”
“We’re really thankful. We couldn’t have done this without you,” Isabelle said.
Warlock Bane motioned a hand to a building, which Alec recognized as the rooftop where Jace and Semyon had struggled with the demon. “I saw the commotion from my windows. At first I only thought to assist with the demons. I didn’t think I would need to run interference with dragons as well.”
“None of us expected it.” Alec muttered.
“With good reason,” Warlock Bane said, frowning. “Dragons and demons working together? It doesn’t sound good at all.”
Isabelle glanced at Alec, and Alec nodded.
They needed to find out what was going on.