Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

A/N: Big thanks to causteek as the beta for this fic and for organizing the HiatusBang event! 

The absolutely wonderful cover art for this fic is by stupidnephilimlove!

La-muerta created this breathtaking gif for the fic as well! 

No expense was spared for Magnus Bane’s execution, from the neutron forged plating of his cell to the plasma cuffs locked around his wrists as he was led towards the culling block. The amount of money he could get for just the chain linking his bound hands together could feed an entire city on Planet 66. If he wasn’t being taken to his death, Magnus would have been bragging to Ragnor about just how important his captivity seemed to be. The Clave left nothing to chance when it came to his incarceration, including his clothes and so he was going to look death in the face in the same drab brown uniform he’d been forced to wear for the past two weeks.

The culling block looked akin to an arena, with high walls stretching the length of the space station and a balcony above to afford prime viewing of the spectacle that was about to unfold. The ceiling was in shadow as the lights hung down in the form of stainless steel chandeliers, a marriage of grandiosity and strict utilitarianism that produced nothing short of an abomination of design.

Magnus kept his eyes ahead, watching the preparations at the raised platform meant to serve as an executioner’s stage for everyone to see. The floor in the center of the dais glowed green, a mark of the runic current brewing underneath. He’d heard tell of the Clave’s showy executions, warlocks were apparently a crowd favorite as they delighted in watching the magic fizzle out in response to the pure energy flooding through their system. It was a brutal way to die, suffocated from the inside out in a sad attempt to prove the superiority of runes.

He kept his steps even, hands folded in front of him in a semblance of calm as he was pulled up the stairs to face the throng of shadowhunters come to see the show.

“Magnus Bane, your crimes against the Clave and its constituents are deemed equivalent to your life. Your sentence will be carried out immediately,” the Inquisitor’s harsh voice grated on Magnus’ ears, the clipped words echoing in the large room. She stood off to the side, facing the crowd with her back to him. He was almost glad, it would save him from having to look her in the eyes. He wouldn’t be able to hold his tongue if he did.

A yank and he was unceremoniously tugged into the center of the glowing square to face another Clave official. He was frowning, his dark hair pulled to the side and his brows furrowed as he looked at the ground. He raised a hand and a green chain of pulsing energy snaked from the ground to wrap around his fingers.

“Don’t try anything.” His gruff voice was as emotionless as the Inquisitor’s as he linked the chain to Magnus’ cuffs.

“I’ve lived for so long and I actually still haven’t tried everything. It’s a shame, really.” Magnus pulled on the chain, testing the limits of its give. Of which it didn’t have much, the energy seemed to sense how long it needed to be and almost seemed to drag his hands down with an invisible weight.

“And now you never will.” The man returned to his position at the edge of the platform, back ramrod straight and gaze fixed ahead. Magnus ignored the remark in favor of craning his neck to see his cuffs better. A gap the size of a pea separated the base of the cuffs and the chain, a weakness Magnus could only look at without any way of exploiting. His fingers wouldn’t fit in there and his magic was tamped down deep into his bones by the plasma coursing around his wrists. Any movement to start a spell and he’d find his muscles spasming in pain. He’d tried it once and wasn’t keen to try it again.

The Inquisitor was still speaking to the crowd but Magnus wasn’t paying attention anymore, only when she suddenly stopped. A thick silence settled in the room and the air around him began to heat up. The glowing outline boxing him in started to creep towards the center, filling in the square with green energy.

Magnus made to pull his hands up and away but the chain tightened, forcing his wrists outward. It was getting hard to breathe, the runic current creeping closer like a noose tightening around his neck. His wrists itched from their proximity to the chain and he struggled to keep from showing his growing panic.

The Inquisitor stepped back and a bolt of silver flashed in the corner of Magnus’ vision. His cuffs separated from the chain, severed in an instant and freeing his hands for the first time in a week. The arrow embedded in the ground between his feet absorbed the current, the fletching covered in sparks of emerald as it discharged from the sheer force of the energy.

Magnus stepped back, his lips pulling back in a vicious smile. His magic surged under his fingertips, wreathing his hands in a rainbow of smoky colors as he called every spell he could use to mind. It had been brewing for days, the push and pull of it beneath his skin begging to be released and now it had found an outlet. Throwing his hands out, Magnus let go.

The shockwave sent the soldiers and the Inquisitor on the platform flying off, clearing the way for Magnus to look up at the ceiling with a searching eye. There, a darker patch than the rest of the uniform grey marked the spot where Alec crouched, his anti-grav activated and plasma gun primed for another shot. That his bullets would still morph into arrows after firing amused Magnus but it was something that he couldn’t exactly argue against when it provided an extra flair to the situation.

Looking around at the gathering troops, Magnus waved a languid hand like he was signalling a waiter at a restaurant and the buzzing magic zipped from his fingers to form a portal in the middle of the entire assemblage of Shadowhunters.

“Someone’s done their job,” Magnus mused, glancing up out of the corner of his eye to the shadowy ceiling. Alec straightened up, a flick of his wrist returning the rifle to its hidden holster with his feet planted firmly on the ceiling.

A twirl of his fingers and Magnus watched as the Inquisitor and her soldiers were washed in a blue tint from the shield materializing between them. He wanted to stretch his magical muscles but he’d rather just leave the horrid place as soon as he could. The Clave would get their deserved comeuppance later, at Magnus’ leisure.

The portal shimmered invitingly where it was situated on the ground but Magnus paused at its edge, considering. Grabbing the now humming arrow from where it had burrowed into the plated floor, he carefully held it by its fletchings and threw it through the portal.

The barely audible noise of an anti-grav being deactivated reached Magnus’ ears and he leaned back to let Alec drop from his perch and into the portal with barely a sound. Following behind him, Magnus spared one last look at the contorted face of the Inquisitor as she bellowed orders to no doubt kill him by any means necessary before Magnus disappeared with a smug smile and a jaunty wave.

Alec had rolled into a crouch as he landed on the other side of the portal by the time Magnus came through, his hands on his hips. Taking a deep breath of the recycled air circulating the Stargazer, he took in the familiar blinking panels lining the corridor and the conveniently close opening to their captain’s rooms just a few feet to the left.

Snapping his fingers, Magnus’ shoulders relaxed as he was once again in his own clothes, velvet waistcoat buttoned up to his adam’s apple and his favorite, also his most ostentatious, rings adorning his fingers.

“Welcome back.” Alec rose to his full height, stepping closer as the portal behind Magnus blinked out. His work outfit was a solid black from head to toe, his nose and mouth obscured to keep as little of him visible as possible. Magnus sometimes thought that was a crying shame but it let Alec do his job that much better and that’s what mattered.

Magnus tucked a finger into the fabric against Alec’s cheek and tugged it down with a smile. Pulling him forward, he kissed him with an abandon full of the longing that came with being separated for over a week.

Alec smiled against Magnus’ lips, his hands coming to rest at the small of his back with fingers pressing into him like he was making sure Magnus was solid and real.

“I missed you,” Alec said, the words more of an exhale than anything else. Magnus hummed an agreement, resting his forehead against Alec’s with a sigh. “It was a reckless plan. You were about to be killed.”

“Yes, but it worked,” Magnus replied with a self-satisfied smirk. “And I had you to watch my back. Or my ass, as I know you like to.”

Alec pursed his lips, fighting a smile but he didn’t deny Magnus’ claim.

“And look what we got in the end anyway.” Magnus pulled back to bring his hands up to rest on Alec’s chest, magic sparking over his knuckles as he pulled the object from where he’d stashed it. A small capsule materialized between his fingers, light shining from the liquid suspended inside it and reflecting off of Alec’s eyes as he stared at it in rapt awe.

“Luke’s going to go ballistic when he finds out we have it.”

“I’ll bet you he won’t believe us when we first tell him,” Magnus said with a chuckle, turning the vial over and watching the fluid inside slide gently over the edges like glowing honey.

--------

“You did what!?” Luke’s voice echoed around the cockpit despite the ship speaker’s rather diminutive size. “I’d heard they had you in custody but to let yourself get caught? That’s beyond stupid, even for you Magnus.”

“I’m glad my incarceration worried you so much, Luke. But it did produce results, we’ll be handing over the vial at the council meeting in ten days time. That’s a guarantee.” Magnus drummed his fingers on the dashboard, catching Alec’s eyeroll as he leaned back in his chair. Alec’s feet were resting on the joystick controls, nudging it gently forward as they cruised by yet another red dwarf.

“You have the serum?” Luke’s voice turned quieter, more grave with the significance of the information. “Do they know you have it?” As always, Luke asked the important questions.

“They probably do by now. The Clave was eager to execute me before but I’m sure now it’ll be even worse. I don’t know how that could happen, but they’ll figure it out.” Magnus gave a nonchalant shrug, knowing Luke wouldn’t see it but Alec’s concerned frown was the reaction he’d expected.

“Just get it here as fast as you can. We can protect you on Lunas if they try anything,” Luke said; what would have sounded like worry coming from anyone else sounded like calm assurance.

“It’s a generous offer, Luke, but you know I don’t do staying in one place for long. It’s the starry, starry nightlife for me.” Magnus grinned wide, tapping his rings against the metal back of Alec’s pilot seat.

“Alright, but the offer will still stand when you arrive, if you happen to change your mind. And Alec, make sure you two get here in one piece. I don’t want a repeat of last time.”

“That was once, Luke. One time and it’s been over three years!” Magnus protested in mock outrage, smiling at the memory of that particular arrival.

“Exactly. It’s been too long,” Luke said, his tone turning fond.

“It has. It’ll be an occasion for a party when we get there,” Magnus replied, determined to turn the close to melancholy mood back to something more appropriate for the good news delivered.

“I’m sure I’ll be hearing about a party within hours of your arrival.”

“You can bet on it. You’re invited, of course.”

“Of course. Alright, I’ve got business to get to. Don’t let those stars blind you.” Luke signed off, the radio blinking in silence for a few seconds before Alec’s seat creaked as he stretched.

“Did you have the opportunity to charge?” Magnus asked softly, watching the black cloth shift over the planes of Alec’s back.

Alec responded with a distracted hum, not quite affirmation but not a negative either as he perused the scanner for any wayward ships in their sector. The Downworlds were still a few lightyears away, it would take them a week to get there at least but already they were entering rather sparse space. From whatever perspective you looked at a starchart, the Downworld planets were far removed from any other star sysem. Not by their own choice, the Clave had designated them the area with a warning against trying to encroach on their intergalactic reach.

The scanner showed nothing, save for a few blips on the edges signalling the freighters passing through. Magnus leaned forward, resting a hand on Alec’s back before he got up to leave the cockpit.

He’d made it down the hall to the kitchen when he heard Alec call his name.

“There’s an emergency beacon up ahead,” Alec reported as soon as he’d returned, pointing out the red warning flashing erratically at the corner of the screen. It was emanating from the planet orbiting the red dwarf they had passed; its grey-brown complexion was visible against the darkness of space out of the right side of the cockpit. The energy signature had been shrouded by the solar flares, effectively obscuring the planet to most passersby if they weren’t within visual range.

“Looks like we’ve got some rescuing to do,” Magnus noted, leaning over Alec as though to inspect the console.

“It shouldn’t take too long.”

“And it’s a perfect place to charge as well,” Magnus pointed out with a grin. Alec glared at him from his seat, before turning his attention back to steering them into the path of the planet.

“We’ll see.”

“I’ll go get ready, we need to give a good first impression for our potential visitors.” Magnus waved a hand as he left, sparks trailing the air in his wake. There wasn’t much to clean up or even tidy on their ship, but he’d been thinking about rearranging the layout during his stint in the Clave’s holding cells and the time had come to implement his design.

Taking up a position in the center of the ship, which happened to be between the study and the armory, Magnus clapped his hands together with not an insignificant amount of glee. He needed a challenge every now and then and what better opportunity for redecorating than while en route around a burning star to rescue some probably hapless tourists.

Flinging his arms out to the side, a burning ball of purple materialized in the space where his clasped hands had been. It was frothing with energy, threads of magic suspended between it and his fingers in an ethereal spiderweb. As he lay a hand against the wall the ball expanded until everything, from the jars of stardust to Alec’s collection of nano-knives, were washed in shades of lilac and lavender. It pressed into the walls, sinking past the layer of paint to the metal innards of the ship itself.

The world twisted in two, the edges pulled and stretched like taffy between a child’s fingers on a hot summer day. Its edges folded around Magnus, the hot static of his power vibrating in a layer over his skin and keeping him as a constant, a reference point for the universe.

Snapping back to reality was disorienting to say the least, and euphoric to say the most. Magnus let out his breath in one burst, looking around at his new surroundings with a pleased eye. The armory and study were tucked away in a more private corner of the ship beside their rooms, with passages to each starting beside their shared closet. It wouldn’t do for any wayward visitors to wander in there and Alec had mentioned before that he preferred his places to be more secluded. The rest of the rooms had been widened, affording more space to move around in.

Whistling in satisfaction, Magnus walked through the interior of the ship to ensure everything had settled as per his specifications and see that nothing was left to betray the true purpose of the ship. It was a good exercise in disguise anyway, you never knew when something could go awry.

“Landing docks engaged.” Alec’s terse warning sounded a second before the ship juddered in its descent, the final settling taking a minute more before the entire craft was stable.

Smoothing out the wrinkles in his enforced-silk coat, Magnus lounged against the side of the cargo bay doors while he waited for Alec to finish his system checks.

Hearing the telltale rap of Alec’s boots against the steel floor of the loading dock, Magnus looked over as he pressed the button to open the doors. Alec had forgone his black work-clothes for the more presentable muted grey over cloak, which nevertheless hid the ever present plasma rifle strapped to his thigh.

“Been awhile since we’ve been on an outing together, don’t you agree?” Magnus noted, matching Alec’s long strides as they left the ship behind and headed out onto the sandy flatland stretching into the distance.

“It has.” Alec reached out to take Magnus’ hand, their fingers twining together into their familiar positions. Smiling now, Magnus surveyed the landscape around them, looking for the source of the emergency signal.

The ship had landed on a rocky outcropping overlooking a bare desert dotted with shining metallic domes. Each dome was outfitted with hundreds of antennas, forming a bristling hide of sensors and signaling apparatuses that looked both comical and rather unwelcoming. The nearest one was a mere fifty yards away, its side dented in and punctured in the center. The burn marks on the edges suggested a rather more sinister cause than accidental compressor malfunction.

Magnus swallowed thickly, feeling his ears responding to the sudden drop in pressure. It only seemed to get worse the longer they walked.

The busted shelter showed signs of life however, lines of fresh washing strung between antennas and movement around the perimeter of the dome. Figures ducking in and out of the burning sun and scaling the curving surface of their home in quick practiced movements. It didn’t seem like there was any immediate threat besides the obvious one of the compromised shelter.

Magnus cocked his head as they drew closer and appraised the dome-dwellers more closely. They looked humanoid in body shape, but with large bulbous attachments on their heads and metallic ticks and whirrs accompanying their climb up the sides of their home. Their limber crawl over the slope was reminiscent of a spider’s, delicate and precise as they balanced on the fragile protrusions in the dome’s surface.

One noticed their approach and came towards them, waving a hand in supposed greeting. As they drew closer, Magnus realized the bulbs were simply oversized goggles that revealed a human face underneath the layers of cloth covering their every inch of skin. The mechanical noises came from the devices attached to every limb that seemed to be reading the antennas’ responses as they fixed them.

“Hello traveler! Did you break down?” The dome-dweller looked at Magnus expectantly, glancing periodically at the instruments still beeping on their wrists. Their voice was heavily modified, filtering through their gear until Magnus realized they were close to shouting inside just to be heard.

“Ah no, we received a distress signal from your… home and came to help.” Magnus nodded at the dome’s rather haggard appearance but the dome-dweller shook their head before he’d even finished his sentence.

“No, no, we require no assistance. Our transmitter has likely broken and caused a malfunction in the emergency beacon. Our apologies. As you can see, we are working on repairing it but it will take time.”

“What damaged it? Was there an attack?” Magnus regarded the team of other people still working on the damaged dome with a practiced eye.

“Not as such, no. The atmosphere of this planet causes severe pressure fluctuations, stronger than most of its type. There have been problems with several other colonies as well, we are merely the most recent victims.” The dome-dweller shrugged, looking back over their shoulder towards the others still working on the wiring.

Magnus paused, considering whether they could offer some kind of service if the locals had no real necessity, when an alarm on the dome-dweller’s ankle began a shrill screech that drowned out all the other noisy instruments in sheer aggravation.

The change that came over them was immediate, the dome-dweller began to press the instruments along their body with a frantic urgency, the other inhabitants still climbing responded by gathering near the entrance to the dome in a rather hapless congregation.

“Traveler, you should return to your ship. We cannot provide you with shelter and there is a storm overhead. It is due to strike within minutes.”

“If you can’t provide shelter, where will you go?” Magnus took in the distance from the damaged dome to the next one, estimating at least a half-hour’s travel at a brisk run. He caught Alec’s eye and raised his eyebrows in a brief question. Alec nodded minutely, a small smile pulling at his lips. “There is room on our ship for plenty. How many of you are there?”

The dome-dweller hesitated, measuring the distance back to the ship and perhaps weighing the consequences of trusting a stranger but appeared to decide in their favor.

“Five families and others.”

“Bring them. How long do we have until the storm hits?”

“At most, ten minutes. You have any crew on the ship besides yourself?” The dome-dweller had already started back towards those grouped outside.

“No one else,” Magnus replied, hurrying after them. The wind over the desert picked up, Alec pulled his overcoat closer around him and watched the sky’s already rather grey countenance begin to sag into darker clouds before their eyes. He dragged a hand over Magnus’ back, squeezed his shoulder and headed back towards the ship to prepare for their new guests.

The dome-dweller had reached the group, more spilling out of the dome from inside, some of them only coming up to Magnus’ waist and covered head to toe in instruments and sensors. Not a word was spoken, at least not that Magnus heard but the dome-dweller gestured animatedly in explanation over a channel that must have reached the others.

They started back after only a minute, the dome-dweller passing a container to Magnus to carry as they loaded up their supplies and belongings. By the time they reached the ship, the cargo bay doors were opened wide to allow for multiple people to pass through abreast and their shipment was stacked out of the way in the far corner.

The others began to unload as soon as the doors were sealed, the first dome-dweller approaching as Magnus dusted his clothes of the sand that had already begun to cover them from the short trek back.

“You travel alone? It is very kind of you to offer your ship. We thank you.” The dome-dweller began unclasping the fastenings keeping their elaborate helmet secured and pulled it off with a sharp pressurized hiss.

“I’m not alone…” Magnus’ confused reply died on his tongue as Alec threaded his way through the newly crowded loading dock. He’d shed his overcoat and though his hair remained tousled from the wind outside, that wasn’t what caught Magnus’ attention. At least not what caught his attention the most .

No one looked or even seemed to acknowledge Alec’s presence, which was a rather hard feat considering he was head and shoulders over most of them. No one moved out of his way or shifted so much as an inch as he passed, and while there was barely any room to spare in the packed hold he moved with a practiced ease that belied his trade before he’d joined Magnus.

The silent steps, the carefully controlled movements, the sharp gaze that tracked every motion around him, Magnus felt a chill run down his spine as Alec approached. He noted the thoughts that bubbled into the forefront of his mind and stored them away for later, when they were in private and free to do what they wanted. For now, he was more interested in the smirk that Alec wore as he stopped beside him.

“Noticed?”

“That nobody can see you? I have. I’ll blame my stint in the Clave’s clutches for my lapse in awareness. I’ve gotten used to the Downworlds with their lack of mundanes. ” Magnus flicked his wrist to produce a wisp of magic, curling his fingers into his palm to mask his apparent conversation with thin air.

“Me too, they tend to stick to the central planets. Haven’t actually met any since…” Alec trailed off, shrugging and letting Magnus fill in the blanks. He knew him well enough to know what he meant. The Clave’s background presence in the central planetary systems combined with their fingers in the pies of the galactic governments added up to a history of clandestine missions in Alec’s past that were rather unsavory at best.

“I wonder how they got all the way out here…” Magnus was interrupted by the leader of the dome-dwellers approaching him.

“I was hasty in our first meeting and neglected to introduce myself. I am called Klim.”

“Magnus Bane, at your service. Is there no way for the other… settlements to assist you? If this problem afflicts all of you then maybe banding together?”

“Ah, it is hard to power all the machines necessary to support our numbers if we all lived in one colony. This is the easiest method we have found.”

“Really,” Magnus said, eyes narrowing as he measured up Klim more closely.

“It has been a few months, but we have found no solution as of yet.”

“We might be able to figure something out in here while we wait for the storm to stop. Bad weather is conducive to strategic thinking. Go ahead and make yourselves at home. I’ll tend to a few things before I join you again.” Magnus gestured further into the ship, glad he had made the layout convenient for guests. He backed away and slipped out a side door under camouflage, Alec following behind him in silence.

“Despite the fact that this isn’t the first time this has happened, neither will it be the last, they simply move on. They’re a tenacious species to be sure.”

“You adapt and survive, they seem to have their methods,” Alec added, glancing around the new corridors they walked down. Magnus watched his face carefully for any reaction.

“How do you feel about the new layout?”

“It’s… nice. I haven’t found our rooms yet, and I had a hell of a time getting out of the cockpit before.” Alec side-eyed Magnus, raising his eyebrows as though asking for a reason.

“I felt like it was time for a change. I’ll warn you next time,” Magnus promised, unapologetically smiling as they passed a hallway into the storage rooms disguised as the engine section.

“I did feel it. It’s a little hard to ignore when your boyfriend’s rearranging the ship while you’re still piloting it . Plus you leave that smell,” Alec said pointedly, but with no bite to his words. Magnus knew if it had really posed a problem he’d have heard about it before they’d even left the ship. Alec loved a challenge just as much as he did, it was just one more way to test his skills.

“I had faith in you, you’d never crash our precious ship. What do you mean smell?” Magnus wrinkled his nose in confusion, tapping a button on a wall panel as they passed to activate the lights on the next part of the ship.

“It’s just a smell, like the static after a lightning strike. Power just passed type of deal,” Alec said, waving his hand in the air as though to illustrate his point. “It’s nice. Very you.”

“Ah, well then I’m glad I have such a distinctive aroma. Why do I even bother to wear any cologne then.” Magnus pushed open the doors to their rooms, the automatic lock engaging behind them as they entered. “About our new guests, there is something about their situation that strikes me as odd.”

Alec hummed his agreement, walking into the passageway leading to the study.

Magnus paused by the bed, mind still working on the problem of what could be bothering him when he couldn’t even pin it down into words.

“I’ll go and find out what I can-”

“In silence and I’ll see what I can tease out with words,” Magnus finished as Alec came back into their bedroom. Remembering his impressions in the cargo bay, Magnus caught Alec’s hand and pulled him closer with a sly smile.

“You know, that silent and dangerous shtick is quite debonair.”

Alec’s smile was the same lopsidedly pleased one Magnus had seen the first time he’d met him, right before he almost got shot by him.

“Really? You’ve seen it before, it’s nothing new.”

“Doesn’t mean I can’t enjoy it from a different perspective,” Magnus teased, his grin widening when he saw Alec blush in embarrassment.

“It was one time,” Alec protested.

“One very memorable time.”

Magnus pressed a kiss to Alec’s small frown, laughing as he felt Alec melt into the touch.

“Go shadow then, I’ll be around.”

Alec left with obvious reluctance but he was gone after a few seconds with less than a whisper to mark his passage. Magnus glanced out the window of their room, watching as the first tendrils of the storm began to obscure the remains of the dome. Something looked wrong, not just because of the obvious damage. The edges of the holes torn into the dome were barely visible but Magnus could remember from when they were closer the way the metal curled outward like the skin of a cooking pig.

It didn’t add up, the supposed force of nature smashing into the side of the settlement would buckle it inward. It should not have the flowering edges it did, not unless it was because the dome was breached from the inside. Something else was responsible, or someone, though Magnus wanted to rule out a simple accident before going looking for saboteurs. Being in close quarters with all of the dome-dwellers was not conducive to suddenly pointing fingers, if only because that would ruin whatever peace there currently was.

Magnus stepped back as the dome disappeared from sight, rubbing his fingers together in thought. At least now he had a direction to his questioning, there might be someone who had reason to damage the dome among their current guests.

Glancing in the mirror, he snapped his fingers and changed out of his red-lined coat into a dark blue shirt embroidered with indigo swirls. It was important to create a refined image, one no one could refuse to answer or feel inclined to indulge in gossip and conversation.

Finding the families milling around the living areas and kitchen, he passed the mounds of dismantled suits inside the hold. It was amazing that humans could carry this much equipment on them and still be able to climb the dome in close to Earth’s gravity with as much dexterity as they’d seen outside.

Stopping beside one of the piles next to the wall, Magnus waved a hand trailing curls of magic and closed his eyes. Most of it was just standard readers and sensors, tool belts and plenty of bits and bobs he recognized as modified versions of their own systems, despite the differences the basic purpose was the same.

One set of gear caught his attention, its components still powered up and running despite all the others having been turned off. Magnus pulled the suit out of where it had been buried in the bottom of the pile, impressed by the dome-dwellers for wearing the hefty equipment with such ease. The first readout at the collar of the suit blinked a harsh red while a low whining noise emanated from the hip pockets.

Magnus pulled back as he saw the numbers scrolling past on the screen and the thin wire trailing from it into a port on the wall. Someone had hooked their suit into the ship and it didn’t look like they were just charging it.

He’d just leaned over to yank the wire out of the wall when he felt a hand on his shoulder. Grabbing it, he pushed back to unbalance his unseen assailant and turned to deliver a stroke of searing red to their sternum, only to freeze.

A/N: The next update will be on Thursday! Thanks for reading!

Chapter Text

Alec stared back, silent and still, from where he was leaning as far away from Magnus’ blow as possible.

“What was that going to do?” he asked, nodding his head minutely at the tendrils wafting around Magnus’ hand.

“Dismember, maybe cook you from the inside,” Magnus replied flippantly, letting go of the hold he had on Alec’s arm and straightening up. “This is why your tricks can be dangerous, darling.”

“And what did you find that prompted that show of....” Alec wiggled his fingers slightly in an approximation of Magnus’ magic as he stepped closer.

“Just suspicions about this whole debacle being an inside job. Along with this.” Magnus waved a hand at the flickering display at their feet. “What did you find out?”

“Klim apparently isn’t altogether satisfied with the food we have stocked in the cabinets and laments that we don’t have what he called ‘powdered soup’. And I found someone in the cockpit poking around. It looked like she was trying to find our comms.”

“Who could she be trying to hail? Our systems obviously aren’t configured to their frequencies.”

“On top of that, I don’t know how but she could see me. She attacked before I could find out more.”

Magnus looked up sharply, alarm skating across his face as Alec continued.

“She’s human… but something’s different. One blow and I felt like I’d been hit by a freighter ship. Cracked five ribs and a concussion.” Alec relayed the attack in rather bare terms, his tone betraying no emotion besides an almost clinical calm. Magnus was reminded of their first few encounters, the single-minded focus on the mission and the disregard for injury.

“You have a concussion?”

“No, I took care of it with an iratze,” Alec admitted, running a hand through his hair. Magnus sighed, lips pursed in concern.

“I’m fine, Magnus. I’ll be okay, I’m not so drained that I can’t use a rune or two.”

“No, but every time you do it brings you closer and closer to…” Magnus looked down at the monitor and a single command flickering in the corner caught his attention. “They mean to override our life support. It’s only a matter of-”

A series of chittering clicks echoed down the length of the cargo bay, accompanied by movement in the shadows of the door. She looked no different from the rest of the dome-dwellers, with fair hair and skin the color of mahogany, but walked as though she were used to floating.

“Don’t let her get to the suit,” Magnus murmured, glaring at the being approaching them. His ship was his livelihood, it had been for centuries now and while the insides had changed with each passing decade he still knew its every nook and cranny, the way it handled hyperspace and where it needed a tuneup more often than the rest of it. He’d see it be taken over by some lowlife when he decided to give up smuggling under the noses of the Clave. Magnus raised his hands, fingers brushing over the air as though coaxing the magic out of the fabric of the universe, which could very well have been true.

Alec responded much the same, unsheathing his plasma rifle from its harness. In its compact form it resembled a baton lined with pale green in a rather unremarkable pattern. Pressing his fingertips into the grooves, Alec flicked his wrist to the side with practiced precision. A faint glow emanated from underneath the edge of his sleeve and was echoed by the baton as the grooves lit up into emerald green life. Sections unfolded, sliding over each other and reassembling into something bigger, extending almost the length of Alec’s arm before they stopped. The pieces clicked into place to form the shape of a curving sword, the hilt etched with runes underneath Alec’s fingers.

The dome-dweller had already moved forward, her limbs moving out of tandem with each other in an unwieldy fashion, up until she came to one of the large crates stacked in the corner and in a single second had slammed it into Alec’s back.

Sprawling forward with a pained grunt, Alec attempted to roll to his feet only to find that the crate had landed half on, half off of him, effectively crushing his legs.

Magnus darted to the side as another crate was tossed, the several ton weight sailing through the air with ease. Throwing his magic around the crate, Magnus tried to pull it to the ground only to find it fighting his influence. It bucked and heaved under his control, keeping him from being able to fully master its movements and contain it. Whatever had happened to her, their unknown assailant knew a few extra tricks than they had expected.

Alec stilled under the other crate’s edge, bracing his hands on its underside and taking a deep breath. As he heaved the crate off of himself, he kicked his blade from underneath and rolled to the side, letting it thump to the ground with a rather loud crash.

“Watch out!” Alec called as he scooped his sword from the ground and crouched behind the crate for cover. He was glad for the chance to evaluate their situation, when the lights flickered and died without a sound. The afterimages danced in his sight but otherwise the bay had been plunged into almost complete darkness. Alec pulled his sleeves down around his hands, covering any sign of a telltale glow before it gave his position away. Magnus had no trouble undoing his glamour to let his eyes adjust to the dark, finally managing to wrestle the crate to the floor and bind it to the metal plates beneath it.

The chittering came again, this time in a rhythm that formed words. Magnus suppressed the shudder that ran through his body at the eerie sound.

“Hu-mans can ach-ieve mag-ic too. Such lim-it-ed think-ing. What ab-out these war-locks, with their marks?” The glee was apparent, even whilst speaking with a corrupted voice. Peering around the pile of suits, Magnus caught sight of their attacker in the middle of the room. An arm was raised near her neck, caressing the sides in a curious touch with her head lolled back wearing an almost peaceful expression. Where the collar of her suit had previously obscured her skin, now Magnus could see the blackened mass emerging from her throat. Scales, grafted onto her body in a ring of scar tissue and ridged flesh, mangled almost beyond recognition.

Beyond recognition for most, but not for Magnus. The shimmery gleam of the scales even in the darkness was a sign of what they really were: a warlock’s mark. Taken from a warlock and transplanted onto another in a mockery of magic.

Anger boiled inside him, the thought of another warlock hunted and tortured until the mark that set them apart was removed made him seethe. His lips pulled back as he bared his teeth in a snarl and funneled his rage into his fingers, the magic popping and snapping in vicious streaks of red and burnt orange. Thrusting his hands forward, a lash of red burned its way through the air to curl around her throat. The splintering flares struck her skin and sank into her body until she stood paralyzed.

Alec limped to Magnus’ side, favoring his left leg where it had been hit by the crate’s metal edge.

“Thinking of taking advantage of our hospitality, huh? Rather rude of you, considering we invited you out of our own good will,” Magnus said, struggling to hold his anger under control, his hand still out to keep her from moving.

“You did no in-vit-ing. I come be-cause I am told.”

“Told by who? Why destroy the dome?”

“The dome is not my do-ing, I am here for you. When you give me what I seek, I can rest,” she clicked out the syllables in harsh bursts, the sound almost blending into gunshots with their speed.

“What do you want?”

“You and what you have.” She smiled wide, her mouth stretched past a normal smile as though her muscles weren’t entirely coordinated.

“What I have…” Magnus stared her for a second before his eyes caught on her scaled neck again. “My mark. You’re after my mark?”

“You have your mark, I have mine. This does not wear it well, but then…” She shrugged almost flippantly before starting to trash more forcefully against the net holding her.

Magnus sighed, not following her mixed ramblings anymore. It was fruitless to see the reasoning when he could feel the magic held captive in his own.

One last pulse of magic and she slumped to the ground, unconscious. Alec lowered his sword, leaning against the wall to keep his weight off his leg. His pants were dark with blood, the cloth sticking to his shin and the ground spattered with stray drops.

Magnus watched in resignation, knowing what Alec was doing even as he tugged at the stifling turtleneck pressing against his throat. If his understanding was right, Alec would be close now. And close was too risky.

“How much more of this, Alec?”

“I have enough for one more,” Alec said between breaths, flipping his sword in his hand to collapse it back into its more compact form.

“One more? Is that including an iratze or are you going to let me heal you this time?” Magnus bit back the frustration rising in his throat. It wasn’t Alec’s fault but to feel the same helplessness as last time unfolding again? He’d had enough, there wouldn’t be a repeat of that disaster.

Alec looked up as he pulled his shirt into place, the black turtleneck’s fabric covering his neck fully. She lay before them wrapped in a net of vermillion, but in the silence that filled the cargo bay they both heard the soft ticking from before.

Alec straightened and was at the control panel of the bay within seconds, the wound in his leg seemingly no longer hampering him in the face of their next problem.

“The virus has reached the support systems,” he reported, thumbing the button to open the maintenance hatch.

“Magnus.” Alec paused at the edge of the opening in the floor, looking back at Magnus with a pleading look. “Please, take care of them.”

“Who’ll take care of you then?” Magnus asked in exasperation, but the bite had left his voice. Alec knew his condition and what it meant, he had to trust him not to go too far.

Alec ducked into the shaft leading into the bowels of the ship and Magnus was left with the glowing bundle that was their saboteur and a ship full of people who were about to feel a little light-headed. A long-familiar calm descended over him, the need for practicality and solutions becoming first and foremost in his mind. He knew what he was doing, it came with having been the head of an operation that depended on secrecy and placations until it became second nature.

Stowing her in one the closets designed for the more valuable, and delicate, wares, Magnus watched as his breath started to cloud in front of his face from the drop in temperature. Stopping at the junction between the living area and their own private quarters, he closed his eyes and steepled his fingers. Air, heat, pressure, light, all the necessities to keep the dome-dwellers from suspecting anything amiss. He dipped into his magic, letting it wash through his body until his skin was tingling with its barely suppressed presence. If anyone had happened to walk by then, he would likely have looked rather mundane, despite the power simmering underneath the surface.

Once he was satisfied that the spell would be enough, Magnus’ eyes snapped open and he crouched down to press his fingers to the treads on the floor. The magic plunged into the ship like a stone dropped into water, the ripples spreading outward to take their effect on the surrounding rooms. The air warmed while the lights grew minutely brighter, the magic taking over for the electric strips. Magnus felt his ears pop slightly as the pressure returned to normal, a smirk playing at the corners of his lips. It wasn’t often this type of delicate working was needed but he was still capable of weaving all the necessary elements together despite its complexity.

Now all that was left was for Alec to return. Magnus started off to follow him into the bowels of the ship when Alec rounded the corner, his face streaked with the ichor of the bio-engines and his dark hair grey from the dust and grime that accumulated in the crawl spaces.

“You reset the systems?” Magnus asked, running a hand through Alec’s hair as soon as they were close enough.

“Yes, they took some nudging but foreign commands are easier to disobey anyway,” Alec said with a smile, pulling Magnus close and burying his face into Magnus’ shoulder. Magnus slowed his movements, pressing close to Alec and feeling the low thrum under Alec’s skin against his chest. The vibrations calmed him, their rhythmic pulse almost a reflection of his own magic but more subtle.

“You should probably get cleaned up,” Magnus suggested after a few seconds, letting out a long breath and stepping back. He hooked his fingers around Alec’s wrist and pulled him backwards and into their room.

Alec glanced down at his rather soiled shirt and blood-soaked pants, his mouth pulling to the side in a slight grimace.

“Yeah, you’re right,” he admitted, glancing back towards the door left open behind them. A flick of Magnus’ fingers closed it, the play of sparks on the dark cherry wood a familiar sight.

“They can’t see you anyway,” Magnus teased softly, recognizing the guarded stiffness in Alec’s movements from the first time they’d been alone together. This time it wasn’t because of Magnus himself, Alec had long ago learned to trust him but a lifetime of looking over his shoulder still surfaced after combat.

Alec relaxed slowly and pulled his shirt off, the turtleneck getting caught under his chin from the sudden yank on the fabric. Muffled curses drifted from inside the bundle of black cloth before he managed to untangle himself. Magnus hid a smile at the sight, but his concern grew once he saw the rest of Alec.

With nothing to keep their light hidden, Alec’s runes shone in the dim light of their room. The green strokes were stark against his pale skin, lines of energy set into muscle as a marriage of mechanical and mortal machines. The deflect rune laying across the veins of his neck lit his face from below, the emerald glow catching on his mouth and cheekbones.

And yet, Magnus could tell the flickering that ran through each rune every few seconds was not normal. The one above his hip stuttered fitfully before finally resuming its usual radiance. Alec was in danger of draining every other minute, the runes’ light dying away to reveal the metallic grey sheen of their inactive state. Magnus had seen it before: on corpses.

Aside from the runes, the dark bruising on Alec’s side looked as painful as it probably felt. He’d seen the stiffness in Alec’s movements during the fight, normally he’d never have been slow enough to get hit so early but injuries had a way of adding up.

“Alec…” Magnus got up from where he’d sat down on the bed. Brushing his fingers along Alec’s neck and jaw, he turned his bowed head gently towards him. “Let me help.”

“You’ll exhaust yourself too fast, Magnus, you know this.” Alec’s brow furrowed in resistance, worry evident in his frown. “Keeping an entire person charged, I know you’re powerful but even you would feel strained after a while. I can’t let you run yourself ragged for me.”

“You’re not letting me do anything, Alexander. You’re not going to die while I can do something about it.” Magnus kissed Alec’s cheek, taking comfort in the warm skin underneath his touch. Alec chased his mouth for a second before Magnus gave in. As soon as he felt Alec’s arms close around him, he pushed. His magic flooded out of him in a tidal wave of energy, surging through every point of contact between them. It washed over Alec’s cracked ribs, sinking into the breaks in the bone and soothing the damaged skin before it continued on to his leg to heal the gash from the crate.

As Alec broke their kiss to pull back, Magnus felt static tingling on his lips where the magic had passed. A leaden tiredness pulled at his limbs but it was worth it to know Alec wouldn’t have to use his runes, for at least a little while longer.

Chilly fingers cradled his face and Magnus smiled even as Alec stared at him in shock.

“Magnus…” Alec’s voice broke, his hands trembling against Magnus’ skin.

“I lived through watching it happen once, Alec. I won’t do it again.”

“But-”

“It’s just until you can charge properly again. It’ll be okay,” Magnus promised, placing his own hand over Alec’s heart. He could feel the low thrum settle into a regular beat again, the steady assurance that Alec was still alive.

Tracing his thumb over the rune in the side of Alec’s neck, he watched the light tint his skin with a green patina as it passed over the bright lines. It was rather ironic that the Clave’s assassins were marked with such telling signs of their mechanical nature, but it hadn’t stopped Alec from being as effective as ever on all of his missions.

“Okay.” The word was barely a breath passing over Alec’s lips, but Magnus calmed at the sound. It really would be fine, they’d find somewhere to access the Clave’s network where evading capture would come easier than in the center of their hold.

An alert beeped from the side of the door, the panel eye blinking in a pinprick of light.

“That’ll be the reset.”

“And the atmospheric pressure is dropping off as well. The storm must be close to over,” Magnus noted with a glance at the screen over Alec’s shoulder.

“At least it seems all the danger is over now.” Alec caught his gaze, his dusty hair making him seem more haggard and wrung out. Resting his forehead against Alec’s, Magnus exhaled in a rush and leaned into the warmth of their contact.

“Then go get cleaned up, we still need to deal with a ship full of homeless humans.”

The danger trapped inside with them had been averted, but there was always more lurking even deeper. Magnus undid the spell on the rest of the ship, but the tension that it released was nothing compared to the weight that had settled into his chest after seeing the fading runes. They were on the clock for the symbols nestled in Alec’s skin, sooner or later he’d have to use one and that would be the end.

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“Did you really have to rebuild their dome while they were all watching?” Alec asked with a long-suffering sigh as he hefted another box of supplies into place. The dome-dwellers had moved back into their newly restored home, plus a few modifications and extra space Magnus had felt like including. His magic now simmered in his core like a small fountain instead of the roaring ocean it usually was, lapping at the shores of his soul. It would be a few days before he could cast something so big again but he’d felt it was worth it.

In the process of rebuilding, he’d found the cracked seal that had been responsible for the damage and while it had seemed suspect, he’d felt it was best left to Klim’s discretion on how to deal with the problem. The most concerning thing had been Aja, the woman who’d attacked them, and the fact that she’d woken up with an at best hazy memory of her time on board the Pandemonium and none the wiser as to why her neck bore only a flaking black rash in place of the scales Magnus had seen. It was disquieting, not least because he couldn’t begin to imagine what could possibly be the cause of it.

“Of course I did, it’s important to establish that kind of spectacle.” Magnus grinned at Alec from where he was standing with arms folded surveying his work from afar. The antennae bristling likes spines on the surface were still rather flattened on one section but it had been more important to restore the security of the dome than the instruments they could fix themselves.

They had barely spent two days on the planet but the pressing urgency of the upcoming meeting with Luke was starting to loom over them. They needed to make good time for the rest of the week to make it to Lunas.

A pressure around his waist, a weight settling against his back and Magnus relaxed into Alec’s arms. The moon, dipping over the edge of the planet like an egg balanced on the rim of a platter, shone with a burning light that washed the ground in a pale blue radiance. The sand reflected it in thousands of shards shimmering in waves all the way to the horizon. It wasn’t exactly a sunset, but it was still quite a sight to see as they said farewell to the planet.

“It reminds me of you.” Alec’s whisper brushed the shell of Magnus’ ear, his lips following suit.

“And why’s that?”

“It’s uncontainable. And beautiful.”

“Ah, I’ll add those to my resume next time. Reasons you should trust me with your illegal wares: I was told I am uncontainable and beautiful.” Magnus turned his head to capture Alec’s lips with his own, holding the laugh between their mouths. Magnus felt his skin hum, the magic buried inside Alec connecting to form a circuit that passed through where their hips brushed together and up to the shared touches that their hands mapped over each other’s body.

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The Pandemonium passed over the metropolis nestled in the sunny bay with barely a sound, its shadow flashing on teeming streets and providing a moment’s relief from the blazing light before it was gone. After a gentle curve over the sprawling sea, Magnus felt his stomach drop with the sudden descent towards the curls of waves spread out underneath them.

The landing gears engaged with a low whine and the ship came to a coasting halt with sprays of water catching in the sun at least fifty feet high in their wake. It was an appropriately flashy entrance, one befitting the last delegation to arrive at the council and arguably also the most important one as well.

Magnus approached the niche holding the serum, a container in hand to present it to the rest of the council. The seal hidden behind the seemingly innocuous looking wall reacted to his presence by spinning with a mesmerizing speed until it finally settled on the combination. A click and the door slid open, revealing the small golden phial nestled in a box bolted to the bottom of the safe.

A knot of tension untangled inside him; they had reached Lunas, they had succeeded. The ride to the meeting took less than an hour considering the regular crush of speeders and migrating stores floating through the streets. Alec sat beside Magnus with the capsule between them, both stealing glances at it as though afraid it would either explode or vanish. Once the door to the courier opened and they were shepherded into the building’s sub basements, Magnus heard Luke before he saw him.

The werewolf’s deep, confident, bass echoed from around the corner, a measure of levity evident in his tone despite the serious atmosphere. As they rounded the bend, Magnus smiled when he saw Luke resplendent in a charcoal grey suit beside a woman wearing a sharp smile, her face framed by a halo of brown hair.

“Maia, I was hoping to see you!”

“What about me, huh? I don’t suppose I get a welcome?” Luke asked with a wide smile, glancing over Magnus and Alec with a measured gaze. “But I must say it’s good to see you two in one piece.”

“I don’t know, it would have spiced things up to have a few missing limbs,” Maia chimed in.

“Maybe next time, we’ll see if we can fit it into the schedule. We had a more pressing matter this time.” Alec held up the capsule, presenting it to Luke as though it was nothing more important than a briefcase or a tray of tea but the tight line of his brow revealed the care with which he handed it over.

“I can’t believe it,” Luke said, hushed and almost reverent as he stared at the phial in his hands. “This is going to change everything.” His fingers brushed over the catch to release it from its canister but didn’t apply enough pressure. The ring of footsteps announced the arrival of Alaric, gesturing back down the corridor towards the large steel-lined doors of the council chamber.

“It’s time. They’re waiting to start, Luke.”

Luke looked up and nodded briskly, starting off towards the double doors as Magnus stepped into place beside him. Alec and Maia stayed behind, the murmur of their voices reaching Magnus’ ears before it was drowned out by the sound of a room full of the leaders of the Downworlds in debate.

The inside of the council chamber was filled with trees with pavilions dotted throughout affording a view of the center area occupied by over a hundred chairs and a large table. The ceiling was obscured under a canopy of leaves, each tree providing a soft ambient glow to the room’s interior. Veins of light ran through each leaf, spiderwebs of silk with flower petals caught in the strands were strung between the branches. The pathways were filled with pack leaders, coven heads and warlock representatives, interspersed with the mirages that marked a seelie’s presence.

Luke’s entrance, combined with what he held, calmed the waters of conversation until it’s surface resembled a mirrored lake. Magnus nodded towards those he knew, however distantly, which included a good quarter of the room despite the breadth of territories spanning over five planets. They reached the central table within seconds, the eyes of everyone in the room drawn to the small vial held suspended in the canister.

“An angel’s blood.”

Magnus’ pronouncement spread throughout the room until the volume had resumed its previous level, whispers rising into arguments as they drew closer.

“If they have this much, what’s to say they don’t have more?”

“What can we even do with this?”

“What is the Clave planning to use it for?”

Settling into his seat, Magnus rested his elbows against the surface of the table in preparation for a very long session. As everyone began to sit down, the table’s dimensions warped until despite the common laws of physics, each person could see the other. The mind-bending magic of the seelie Queen defied explanation but it did come in useful when so many uneasy parties were in close proximity.

The meeting stretched into the span of hours, until Magnus was sure they’d spent over half a day in the room debating matters of importance and discussing the problems of the Downworlds. He’d known these councils to last for days on end, and while he understood the weight of what they decided would impact thousands of lives, it also tended to get long-winded and drawn out with all the different opinions clashing constantly. After the twentieth rebuttal of a motion to increase surveillance on the outer belt of planets, Magnus felt a buzzing at his hip. The comm pad blinked a warning of a breach just as the floor of the room buckled.

Cracks spread out along the walls with an ear-splitting burst of sound, followed by the trees warping under the crushing weight of the unseen ceiling caving in. A panic ensued with a scramble away from the table and towards the doors. Luke grabbed the phial as the table was flung back into its usual shape when the Queen’s spell snapped.

“Magnus!” He heard Alec’s shout despite the cacophony of noise, his gaze whipping towards the far wall to see Alec’s form struggling against the tide of Downworlders leaving.

“It’s an earthmonger!” The shout reached Magnus and not a second later the ground exploded upward in a farce of a geyser. Clods of dirt and stone formed a downpour over the room and Magnus raised a hand wreathed in pale green to ward off the larger chunks that threatened to cave his skull in.

What crawled out of the hole in the floor was a shifting mass of shapes, glitching from one form to another with sickening suddenness. Looking at it was like trying to adjust your eyes to five different overlaid images while motionsick. Magnus held back the bile in his throat through sheer will and cast around for a better plan of action than puking. The trees around the center had toppled away as their roots were pushed aside by the abomination, forming a twisted wall that towered over the shattered ground.

Hearing a growl, Magnus turned in time to see Luke shift, fur rising from his skin in a wave as his limbs contorted to fit his other shape. He leaped towards the earthmonger, tearing into its amorphous side with a flash of teeth and green eyes. As Luke struggled to keep his hold on the shifting form, Alec moved from his post near the door and started to climb the snarled roots until he was balanced at the top. Magnus saw him twirl something between his fingers and the familiar flash of the cylinder expanding into Alec’s plasma rifle before he crouched down and braced the stock against his shoulder as he sighted down the barrel.

A moment of stillness, the world slowing down until the air almost crystallized and a line of light traced itself from Alec to the monster, hitting home near Luke’s hold. A starburst so bright it painted Magnus’ eyelids even after he’d closed his eyes, the earthmonger shuddering as its form solidified. Splashes of ichor dripped from between Luke’s jaws and coated the splintered ground in oil slicks of blood. It matted into his fur, coloring the usually silver-blue pelt into viscous black clumps.

Magnus took the opportunity to weave his own attack, threads of magic spinning together between his fingers until a spindle formed. The speed with which he’d pulled it together belied the effort it took to construct a binding strong enough to send a beast of the earth back where it belonged. It required the earthmonger to stay in a single shape, even as it blurred through several in the space of a blink while writhing under Luke’s grip. Sparing a wisp of magic, Magnus shouted over the crash of the fight with an amplified voice.

“Keep it still!”

He was surprised when another wolf joined Luke, latching onto one of the earthmonger’s limbs as it morphed into a sprawl of squirming legs and arms. Maia strained against the force of the bucking abomination but held fast, hackles raised and fangs sunk deep into the unstable flesh. A muted crack and another streak of light divided the room in half as it slammed into the earthmonger’s side. Alec’s arrow burrowed its way inside, searing into the wriggling mass but the beast kept up its frantic shifting.

A tremor rocked the room again and the earthmonger doubled over before rearing up and heaving the ground up with it. A wave of earth and rubble spread outward, shaking the downed trees and throwing Alec from his perch as the roots cracked from the strain. Luke and Maia’s hold was starting to slip from the wild thrashing and Magnus was hard-pressed to keep the spindle of a spell intact as he was pitched to the side.

Movement in the corner of his vision, a blur of bright green light and Alec dashed toward the creature, taking a running jump off a jagged edge of rock. Landing on top of the earthmonger, he stabbed downward while his sword was still forming. The blade lodged into its back, driven further and further until Alec was barely holding onto the hilt. Looking up Magnus caught Alec’s gaze, saw the shape of his name on his lips, and pushed the spindle suspended in his hands towards the earthmonger as it shook like a plucked string, pinned into its form by the two wolves and the shadowhunter.

The spell spun end over end as it sang through the air, a low hum building in the split second it took to meet its mark. Fracturing apart, it spread into a glimmering net of spellwork that slithered to enfold the earthmonger. It smoothed to the beast’s static skin, the lace of the spell burning bright until it was hard to look at. Luke and Maia let go, scrambling backwards as Alec turned to jump off the back of the beast and froze.

His arms fell slack, body pitching forward to land on the floor in a crumpled heap of limbs. Magnus’ eyes burned from looking at the bruise of shadow that was Alec prone on the ground against the brilliant light of the spell. He forced himself to move closer, move faster, move while the spell did its work and winked out like a fading supernova to leave Alec’s blade and arrows to clatter to the ground in hollow imitations of their owner.

By the time Magnus reached him, his hands were wreathed in blue, searching for the reason behind Alec’s twisted legs and the angle of his head that looked so wrong for someone who was supposed to be alive. His magic rang hollow, exhausted by the banishing spell and finding nothing to cling to it swirled around his hands in waves. Already knowing what he would find, Magnus pulled the torn sleeve of Alec’s shirt up to expose the grey shape of a rune set into his forearm. The normally vibrant green light had faded, the rune flickering feebly as though lit by a single firebug.

They were far from Clave-controlled space and despite the vast amount of energy gathered in the warlocks on the council, none of it could power the runes. A rattle shook him from his thoughts as Luke picked up the sword with a solemn expression. The arrows lay at his feet, washed with the tarry blood from fletching to tip but the sight of their familiar shape jarred a memory.

An arrow, embedded in the floor and pulsing with green light as it absorbed the runic energy around it. The arrow from Magnus’ execution appeared in his hand before he’d registered the idea, the tip stabbed into Alec’s chest with a desperation that made his fingers tremble. The energy drained from the arrow, lighting up the nearest runes first with an emerald that showed even through Alec’s dark clothes. The last to be reached was the Deflect set into his neck and his eyes as they opened with irises glowing. Movements jerky and halting, Alec nevertheless pushed himself up until he saw Magnus and registered the absence of the earthmonger.

“Magnus,” Alec nigh whispered, his eyes fixed on Magnus’. The relief was almost tangible and Magnus pulled Alec in to press his face to his chest. A hand on his shoulder and Luke squeezed as though to convey all the feelings he couldn’t put into words. The feeling of Alec’s hair tickling his chin and his hands clenching around Magnus’ arms were enough.

The faroff sound of rubble shifting and loud footsteps on stone came from the other side of the room until the figure of one of Luke’s men appeared in the dusty air.

“Everyone’s been evacuated but they haven’t found out any more information on the attack yet.” The report was delivered in brief as the man picked his way toward them.

“They likely won’t. This was an earthmonger, it should have been impossible,” Magnus spoke up, catching Luke’s eye. The meeting wasn’t going to be continued, not with an attack that had breached in their supposedly secure room. It would be better to let the angel blood disappear, lost in the ruckus until everyone calmed down again. The Downworlds would be in unrest for a time, shaken by the brazen assault.

Luke seemed to be thinking along the same lines as he crouched down and held out the small glass capsule to Magnus with a nod.

“Don’t let anyone else see it. It’s safest with you.” The unspoken warning lay underneath his words but Magnus understood. Someone had to have gotten to the surface of the planet, close enough to the capital and the meeting place to deliver the earthmonger and they had done it without arousing any suspicion.

Closing his fingers around the cold glass, Magnus pushed it through the seam of reality until its silhouette disappeared behind a veil of yellow. The last time he’d done this, it had been seconds from his capture and he’d been hiding from the Clave. Next time, he was going to face them head-on.

Chapter Text

A/N: It's the last chapter, guys! I had a hell of a lot of fun writing this fic, it being the longest one I've done so far is quite a milestone. Many thanks to everyone who commented and read the story so far, you guys are awesome!

Alec slumped into the couch with a thud, leaning his head back against the wall as his eyes slid closed. Magnus shut the door softly behind him, still having to remind himself that Alec was alive and breathing and wasn’t going to slip away from under his nose again.

“What are we going to do?” Alec asked, his torn clothes at odds with the lavishly embroidered futon he was sitting on and the satin draperies over the windows. It was the only unoccupied room they’d found since leaving the destroyed council hall. Luke had asked them to stay nearby to talk over what would happen next but Magnus didn’t think Alec looked like he could have made it back to the Pandemonium in his state anyway.

“Right now, we’re just going to wait here. Otherwise, I don’t know,” Magnus admitted, pacing along the length of the table in the center of the room as he thought. He’d heard of earthmongers on mining planets, monsters that plagued the colonies when they dug too deep and disturbed what should have been left untouched. They were also something the Clave usually dealt with; from the stories Alec had told him, training missions for new operatives had earthmongers as the practice in navigating cramped spaces underground and infiltrating remote locations. But that didn’t answer how they succeeded in bringing one to Lunas.

Magnus turned around to stride to the other end of the room again when Alec caught his hand in his own. His grip was gentle and Magnus didn’t want to consider whether it was because Alec couldn’t muster more strength or because he simply wanted to leave him the option of pulling away. He looked down at Alec, at the familiar green glow and how awful it had been to see it gone, not hidden but truly gone, and what he would have done if the arrow hadn’t worked as it had.

“Magnus, thank you.” Alec’s smile was tired but genuine and he pulled Magnus closer.

“How much did it even give you? How much more borrowed time do you have until it happens again?” Magnus asked, trying to keep the frustration out of his tone and failing spectacularly. He wanted to wring every Clave official’s neck, wanted to drive home to Alec just how reckless and worrying this game of ‘will he live through it’ was but he couldn’t. This was what Alec had chosen when he’d turned away from the Clave and joined Magnus and he’d known of the consequences.

Alec looked down at their hands, rubbing the pad of his thumb over Magnus’ knuckles in silence for a minute or so.

“Enough that I get to spend it with you.”

“That isn’t an answer and you know it,” Magnus muttered, even though the honest sincerity in Alec’s face was enough to make his heart melt a little. Alec always did have a way with words, not flamboyant and certainly not fancy but undeniably heartfelt.

A knock sounded at the door, soft but insistent. Magnus got up and opened it, surprised to see a young seelie dressed in shimmering robes and wearing a wide smile. The customary leaf was present on the seelie’s cheek to mark him as a personal aid to the Queen.

“I was told to see to an ‘Alec’,” the seelie announced, holding up a hand as though in explanation. “The Queen has sent me.”

Magnus sighed internally. Anyone else and he could have insisted that Alec should really be left alone but to snub the Seelie Queen was a stupid move and one he knew better than to commit. She nursed grudges like most other people tended to their bank accounts, with frequent deposits and interest added over time.

“Of course, be sure to extend our thanks to the Queen when you report to her.” Letting in the attendant, Magnus watched as the seelie crossed the room to Alec, who hastened to sit up without appearing any more injured than he already looked.

“What’s your name?” Magnus asked offhandedly, rounding the table to see what was done.

“Ah… why do you need to know?” The seelie pushed back his sleeves, leaning down towards Alec. His sleek chestnut hair slid over his shoulder at the motion and Magnus reeled at the sight of what was on the back of the seelie’s neck.

Magnus reached out, fingers steaming red with a spell on his tongue only to freeze. The seelie had his fingers wrapped around Alec’s throat, the skin under his hand already beginning to purple into a bruise. Alec breathed in shallow gasps, still managing to look furious despite being pinned under a being who could crush him in seconds.

“You do not des-erve my name. But I will give it to you, so you know my word is true. I am of Soth-y. Give me what I want or I will kill him in a heart-beat.”

Magnus’ eyes flicked from Alec’s face to the mass of black scales marring Sothy’s neck, the shock of the sight making his mind stall. “Are you from that planet?”

“I am not.”

“Then where?”

“I am not from any-where. Not any-more.”

“Where did you get that mark?” Magnus watched as Sothy’s face twitched, before the seelie raised his free hand and stroked the scales.

“They are mine. I bring them with me when I go.”

“You go from body to body, how? No species can do that.” Magnus flicked his fingers as he talked, just the slightest motion but it was enough to start the threads of magic unfurling. If only what Sothy was saying also made sense, he could find out the best way to deal with him.

“There is no species. There is only me. I am first.”

“How can you be the only one?”

“I am made, not born.”

“Alright, then who made you?”

“The same ones who made him.” Sothy shook Alec by the neck, who gave a startled choke. “An in-fer-i-or model.”

The Clave. The Clave had created Sothy, whatever he was. Magnus felt a cold fear lap at his stomach, the bleak possibilities like waves coming to shore in endless succession.

“Why did you try and kill those dome-dwellers?”

“I did not. Their des-truc-tion was their own do-ing.”

Magnus tried to reorient himself, thoughts twisting into knots from the vague half-answers and the bits and pieces he did manage to understand.

“You possessed one of them like you’re doing now and attacked us… for what?” Magnus knew his time was running out even as Sothy smiled at him with flinty eyes.

“For the angel blood. Give it to me now.” Sothy twisted his grip and Alec’s eyes slid to half-mast as his pained breathing stopped entirely.

“Okay. The angel blood.” Magnus kept the fear twisting his heart out of his voice and snapped his fingers. The vial felt far heavier this time when it appeared in his hand, though that could have just been from the weight Magnus knew it now carried. It was the equal of Alec’s life.

Sothy grabbed for it in one fluid motion, the action making him loosen his hold on Alec’s neck a hairsbreadth but that was all Magnus needed. Pulling tight on the weaving of the spell he’d been building, it snapped into place and bound itself to Sothy’s clenched fingers to keep them from closing around Alec’s throat again. However, it didn’t keep him from punching Alec hard enough to send him into a wall.

“Alec!” Magnus had barely enough time to see Alec hit the floor before he felt a force slam into his chest. It didn’t push him away, but it seared his flesh like a raging fire. It burned into him, the magic he’d felt before in the Pandemonium’s cargo hold now trying to worm its way inside him.

Whatever Sothy was, warlock or not, his magic was an oil spill filling Magnus’ veins and pooling in his corners until he was soaked in it. A single spark and he’d go up in flames. Magnus let go of the spellwork on Sothy’s arm, pulling every dredge of magic he could find as protection against the onslaught. His insides grew cold even as the scorching wave coated him in writhing tendrils of umber.

The skin of Sothy’s neck bubbled black from the strength of the spell, spreading across his face until his chin and cheeks were covered in the rash of putrid scales. An odor wafted from the seelie that was both familiar and nauseating, the sulfurous stench making Magnus want to gag.

Just as Magnus felt his magic begin to wane in the face of the onslaught, Sothy was yanked backwards by the hair. His mouth opened in a scream of disjointed syllables and Magnus felt the taint inside him recede just slightly as Alec tried to wrestle the seelie to the ground. Sothy’s flailing limbs smashed into the floor, punching craters in the polished wood and clipping Alec in the leg. A few inches to the side and Magnus was sure it would have snapped the bone in half, as it was Alec shifted his weight and drove Sothy to the ground. Pinning one arm, Alec pried the vial of angel blood out of Sothy’s fingers.

“You would de-ny me free-dom?! Un-til you die, I will foll-ow and stand ov-er your bod-ies as you breathe out your last,” Sothy growled, his voice denaturing until it was barely intelligible.

“And what if it’s gone?” Rearing back, Alec looked down at Sothy with a glare Magnus thought he’d never see again. His eyes flicked between the corrupted seelie and the glass bottle filled with gold, until he seemed to reach a conclusion. Magnus managed to take a step forward as he felt Sothy’s hold on him falter, only able to watch as Alec uncorked the vial and downed its contents in a single swallow.

Sothy erupted out of his grasp with a shrill howl, fingers digging into Alec’s cheeks and mouth as though he could siphon the angel blood out by sheer force. Alec fell back, catching himself on his elbows as he struggled to stay upright and withstand the force of Sothy’s blows.

“Enough.” Magnus surged forward and pressed his hand to Sothy’s neck, the slippery, rotted scales molting onto his fingers even as they numbed from the contact. Searching for the edges of the spell tethering Sothy to the seelie, Magnus held back a gasp as he sank into the mental quagmire of the magic binding. It was corrupted, twisted out of its form while the structure was painfully familiar. It felt like some variation of his own, a warlock’s souldeep magic but cut apart and sewn together into something that was whole and yet broken.

Magnus gathered together the threads holding it inside the seelie and severed them in one stroke, the unraveling presence starting to slip away like sewage down a drain. Holding onto its core, Magnus waited. The essence stirred, coiling slowly around Magnus’ magic as though testing its bounds but its movements were sluggish and weary, before it stilled completely.

Opening his eyes, Magnus was faced with Alec where he sat motionless on the floor with his eyes wide and the movement of his chest the only indication that he was still alive.

“Alec?” Magnus whispered as he reached out to touch Alec on the shoulder. The empty vial fell to the floor out of Alec’s slack grip and he heaved a shuddering breath.

“That… was not my brightest idea.”

“I agree. Why would you risk that? We had no idea what it would do to you!” Clenching his fingers around Alec’s wrist, Magnus tugged him up and back to the couch. There was bound to be something that would go wrong with this, some consequence that would send them into another spiral of danger and risk. But then again, that was almost normal.

“They’ll know we don’t have the angel blood anymore. It was a dangerous thing to keep around the Downworlds anyway, it was supposed to be a weapon that now cannot be used,” Alec said, his tone level despite the tense stiffness with which he sat on the cushions as though he were waiting for the other shoe to drop.

“How… do you feel?” Magnus asked cautiously, torn between exasperation and relief. Honestly, he loved a man who did some of the most reckless things he could ever conceive.

“Fine, actually. Maybe even better than fine.” Alec pulled up his sleeve until he got to a rune and inspected its glow with a critical eye. “I guess we’ll see.”

—————-

“I suppose that’s one way to solve the problem,” Luke said, running a hand down his face with a heavy sigh. The damage to the council room was being cleared out and the wounded were being taken care of. All that would have been left was to decide on a course of action with the angel blood but even that was a moot point after the encounter with Sothy.

“We always did have unorthodox methods.”

“That you did, Magnus, I won’t deny that.” Luke leaned against the bulkhead of the Pandemonium beside Magnus as both watched the others milling around on the roof of the ship as they said their goodbyes. “In comparison to your other successes, this might only be the second most foolish solution you’ve come up with.”

“What was the first?” Magnus wondered where enticing an assassin away from his handlers ranked on Luke’s list. Personally, he counted it as one of his best accomplishments yet.

“I don’t think I should tell you, you’ll just take it as a good example.”

“Looks like I didn’t manage to organize a party after all,” Magnus mused, seeing Alec and Maia laughing over something next to a sheepish looking Simon. There’d been no harmful effects from the angel blood just yet, but Magnus wasn’t going to let his guard down until he was entirely sure.

“Such a shame.” Luke clapped Magnus on the back with a laugh. “I think we’ve had enough excitement anyway so you don’t need to feel any obligation to spice things up this time. Plus, it usually means cleanup is left to me.”

“That was one time, Luke,” Magnus retorted, feeling a smile wending its way onto his face. It was easier to put worries and concerns away when confronted with Luke’s everlasting solidity.

“Where are you two headed now then?”

“Got a job over on 317335 set up. It’ll give us something to do while all this cools down.”

“You better watch your backs out there.” Luke’s gaze was firm, the expectation that Magnus and Alec would return clearly written in his expression.

“We always do.”

Luke pushed off of the bulkhead and with a last pat on his shoulder left Magnus to go pull the others away in preparation for liftoff. Alec said his goodbyes to Maia and Simon and made his way up the nose of the ship to stand beside Magnus.

“It was a short trip back this time.”

“We can always stop by again before we leave the system. Nothing like flying in friendly skies for a little while,” Magnus said, winding his arm around Alec’s waist. The ever-crescent moons of Lunas rose out of the ocean, painting the sky in hearty streaks of red against blue.

“I’ll fly any sky with you.” Alec pressed closer, his weight a reassurance in and of itself. For once, he’d foregone the black clothes meant to keep him hidden in the dark and his runes were pulsing softly underneath a silver shirt. Magnus rested his cheek on his shoulder while they sat in silence and watched the trail of a starship as it streaked across the sky and into the atmosphere. He’d always fancied they were a new kind of shooting star, rising up from the earth and joining the galaxies and planets on their paths through space.

“Think we could take a little detour?” They deserved a bit of a break after that harrowing week. It had started and ended near death, he’d be happy to vacation from danger just for a little while.

“Magnus, they are expecting us to be on time,” Alec reminded him even as he pulled Magnus’ free hand into his own to thread their fingers together. “Where were you thinking?”

“There’s this great moon, just a few planets over, and it has these magnetic fields that make it almost impossible to fly near the surface without crashing.”

“That’s your idea of a vacation?” Alec let out an bemused snort, rubbing the joints of Magnus’ fingers and playing with his rings. Magnus glanced down, surprised at the familiarity of the gesture as Alec twisted the one with his initial on it. It almost distracted him from Alec’s question.

“You’re criticising my choice of a vacation spot, Alexander? After your disaster of a time at that Orbosian-”

“It’s not good to dwell on the past, Magnus. Live and learn, right?” Alec interrupted him with a chagrined look. “What are we going to do there?”

“I was thinking we’d win a race. They’re holding one there tomorrow and I figured you might… enjoy the challenge?” Magnus knew by the pleased glint in Alec’s eye that he had him convinced. It would be something to take their minds off of it all, plus a chance to put the Pandemonium through her paces. A ship should have to push herself sometimes, especially when boasting some new insides.

“You might be right,” Alec conceded finally, just as Luke waved to them from the loading dock. “Looks like we’re cleared to leave. Captain, would you do the honors?”

Magnus pushed off, untangling himself from Alec only because he knew they’d have the ship to themselves in a few minutes. Dropping down onto the gangplank leading inside, he looked up at where Alec was standing.

“You know I love when you call me that.”

Alec gave a jaunty salute and followed him inside, the Pandemonium lighting up as her captains returned. The hallway to the cockpit was humming right along with the tune of the engines. The comforting shape of the ship was a balm, they’d always have a home here and they were never far from it. Settling into his seat, Magnus started to check the gauges while Alec pulled them out of the docking area. The Pandemonium floated slowly backward, water sloughing off its sides as it rose up out of the sound. Easing the joystick controls forward, Alec steered them along the water’s surface towards the horizon.

“Set course between the two moons,” Magnus directed, propping his elbows onto the back of Alec’s headrest. This was always the best view, watching the planet speed by below while the heavens spread out before them. Tilting his head back, Alec looked up with a cocksure smile.

“Kiss for good luck?”

Magnus rolled his eyes, Alec didn’t need luck to fly any more than he needed a wand to cast his spells, but he was happy to oblige. Leaning down, Magnus kissed him with all the love he contained. And couldn’t contain, as it was too much to be held inside them, it was something that lay among the stars. Swirled in the galaxies, collected in the stardust. It would have no end, just like the universe.