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Alec really liked their house in Idris.
Lightwood Manor had been part of the family for generations and was one of the most illustrious houses to go with an equally illustrious family name. At least, that’s what his parents said. Alec was only five. He didn’t really care about the size of the house; he just loved that he had his whole family here: his mom and dad, his cat called Church and, most important of all, his little sister, Isabelle.
He remembered when Izzy was born and he used to sneak down the hallways while his mom was busy to peek into her room and make sure she was OK. If she was awake, she would always give him the biggest smile imaginable, even as a tiny baby, and reached out for him through the wooden slats of her cot. She would latch on so, so tightly and laugh, and Alec’s world would be complete.
All that sneaking around was standing him in good stead now as he crept down the hallways, trying not to make a sound. By the angel, he wished he was old enough for runes cos he could really use a stealth one now. He knew it was a bad idea to play hide and seek with Izzy. She was tiny and quick and always found the best places to hide. That usually wasn’t a problem, but his mom and dad’s friends were over, and his mom had told him to keep an eye on Izzy and make sure they stayed out of the way.
Alec was happy to do so. He didn’t really like it when his parents friends came over. He’d never been in one of the meetings with his parents and their friends; his mom send them upstairs before they even came to the door, but Alec had heard them. It was hard not do. They were loud! Everyone was always so angry all the time, and there was shouting and cheering and when Izzy was small, the noise would really upset her. She was older now: still only three, but almost as grown up in her head as Alec was.
Even though she was grown up for three, she still needed him to look after her when his parents were busy, and usually he did a really good job. But after their snack, she’d asked him to play hide and seek with her and Alec could never, ever say no to his baby sister. It was going fine until he just couldn’t find her ! She’d been hiding for about 20 minutes, and he usually found her in the first 10, but this time, she was still hiding.
So, here he was, creeping down the hallways towards the parlour when his parents had told him specifically to ‘play upstairs’. But he’d looked for her everywhere else, and even though he’d told her not to, there was a good chance she hadn’t listened to him. Alec sighed and blew his bangs off his forehead. His mom was going to be mad that they hadn’t listened to her and Alec was going to be in so much trouble if she found found out which is why he had to find Izzy now .
He made it down the stairs and was looking in all her usual hiding places when the door to the downstairs bathroom opened. Alec froze in place, then stared at the floor guiltily as a man came out into the hallway.
“Well, what do we have here?” he asked, laughter in his voice. Alec shuffled his feet shyly and glanced up at the man. He was tall with dark brown hair and a wide smile that didn’t dim when he crouched down in front of Alec in the way all adults did with what they thought were little kids. But Alec wasn’t little. He was five!
Alec opened his mouth to talk, but the man interrupted him, which his dad had told him was rude. “Wait, let me guess,” he said, holding up a hand. “You’re young Alexander Lightwood, aren’t you? Your parents talk about you all the time!”
“Really?” Alec couldn’t help but ask. It made him happy that his mom and dad talked about him to their friends, even when they’re very busy and had important stuff to do.
“Of course! They’re very proud of you. Isabelle too. They said you’re what they’re fighting for.”
“Fighting for?” Alec asked, confused. “Against the demons…?”
Something like a shadow passed over the mans face, and Alec wanted to take a step back. His happy and smiling face didn’t change, but Alec suddenly felt scared. His eyes made him uncomfortable and he wanted to look away, but he remembered his dad telling him to be brave, and to stand your ground when you’re afraid. His dad was talking about hunting demons, but Alec thought it was the same thing really.
“Yes, Alexander. Against the demons. And the Downworld,” he said, settling in front of Alec as if to tell a story. “ You see, Demons are dangerous, and the Downworld are half demon, so they’re twice as dangerous.”
“How do you mean? If they’re only half Demon, shouldn’t that mean that they’re only half as dangerous?”
“You would think that would be the case, wouldn’t you? But the Downworlders are sneaky. The werewolves, the warlocks and the rest of their kind are out there with the Mundanes, pretending they aren’t what they are. They pretend to be Mundanes and try to get closer to them: by having jobs, meeting for coffee, having “relationships”, etcetera. But remember that they’re half Demon, and sooner or later, that Demon side always comes out. Downworlders are slaves to their impulses, and no matter how hard they try to control it, they can’t. And because they pretend to be Mundane, and live and work right next to them, when they lose control, who gets hurt?”
“... Mundanes?” Alec guessed, and the man beamed again, eyes losing the scary hardness.
“Exactly! Mundanes get hurt and then we have to go catch the warlocks and the wolves and vampires that hurt them. It’s the law. You’re a smart one, aren’t you Alexander?” And even though the man made him uncomfortable for a little while, Alec couldn’t help but preen at the praise. “You remind me of my own son. He’s probably around your age. How old are you?”
“I’m five,” Alec told him proudly, and the man grinned.
“You’re very close then. My Jonathan is four. Hopefully someday, you can be friends.” He stood up tall again, dusting off his knees. “Now, I know your mom usually asks you to play upstairs when we have our meetings, so what are you doing down here?”
“I’m playing hide and seek with Izzy, and I can’t find her,” Alec admitted, feeling the blush go across his face. “I’ve looked everywhere upstairs but she’s not there so I came down here in case she’s hiding here.”
“Well, let’s go look for her then, shall we?” the man asked, holding his hand out for Alec. He hesitantly took it and the man smiled down at him. “My name is Val.”
It only took them a few minutes before they found Izzy. She was hiding under the sideboard in the dining room, but at some point had fallen asleep. Val shushed a laughing Alec as they bent down to look at her sleeping face. She was drooling a little, and Alec put both hands over his mouth to muffle his giggles.
“We’ll have to wake her before your parents find out,” Val whispered and Alec nodded. The door opening suddenly and Alec jumped in surprise. Another man came into the dining room and when he saw the two of them, rolled his eyes. He had light brown hair and dull eyes and looked at Alec like he was being a nuisance in his own house.
“There you are, Val. You’ve been gone for 25 minutes. We’re almost done in there. Jocelyn has to get back to Jonathan and sent me out to look for you.”
“Relax Ky,” Val said, standing up to talk to him. “I’ve just been chatting to young Alexander here. We were looking for his sister, right?”
“She’s really good at hiding,” Alec nodded and the man rolled his eyes again.
“Whatever, good luck with that, kid. Val, we don’t have time for this.”
“What’s going on here?” another voice asked, and Alec’s heart sank. His mom was standing in the doorway, looking at them all. “Alec, I thought I told you to stay upstairs.”
“You did, Mom,” he answered, standing straight. “I’m sorry.”
“You need to listen to me, young man,” she said and Alec felt his face turn red again.
“Oh Maryse, relax,” Val laughed and his mom narrowed her eyes at him. Alec was confused because he didn’t understand why his mom was mad at Val. He was her friend, right?
“Alec needs to learn to follow orders.”
“He was just looking for his sister. She snuck downstairs and fell asleep,” Val said, and his friend Ky huffed and left the room. “Ignore him,” Val said, smiling down at Alec and ruffling his hair. “He’s just grumpy because he doesn’t have a kid as smart as you are to keep him company”, and Alec beamed a smile up at him.
“Where is Isabelle?” his mother interrupted, and Alec pointed under the sideboard. With long practiced ease, she reached down and pulled the still sleeping Izzy out and put her on her hip.
“Come along,” she said to Alec, holding out her hand for him. “Time to go back upstairs. And next time, when I ask you to look after your sister, please actually keep an eye on her.” Alec nodded as he followed her out, glancing once over his shoulder.
“Bye Alexander, remember what we talked about!” Val called, and Alec waved back, smiling at him. His mom tightened her grip on his hand and Alec didn’t know why.
“Vals nice” he said as they went up the stairs.
“He can be very charming when he needs to be,” his mom agreed and held his hand even tighter.
“So, what did you and Val talk about?” she asked once she had Izzy settled into bed for a proper nap.
“Stuff,” Alec said, sitting beside her. “He was telling me about how important our job is to protect people, and how dangerous demons are, and how the Downworld are even more dangerous because they pretend to be Mundanes and then they hurt people when they lose control and they always lose control. And then-and then he was talking about his son and about how it would be a good idea if we met so we could be friends!”
His mom looked at him for a long time with such a sad look on her face that Alec got worried.
“Mom, I’m sorry,” he said, hugging her. “I’m sorry I lost Izzy and interrupted your meeting.”
“Oh Alec, it’s okay,” she smiled sadly. “You just made me come to a decision I’ve been thinking about for a while now. You’re such a good boy.” She kissed his forehead and gave him a hug. “Now, your father has finished up, so I think it’s time to make dinner. Would you like to help me?”
“Yeah!” Alec cheered and followed his mom to the kitchen.
Alec loved the house in Idris, but he loved the Institute in New York even more. It was so different, but new and exciting! There were so many new people and things to see. There weren't any other kids around, just him and Izzy, but he didn't mind. Izzy was his best friend anyway. Plus, his parents were now Heads of the Institute, and Alec knew they were ‘Important’. They’ve only been there for a few weeks, but Alec had already made a habit of sneaking into his dad's office when he wasn’t there. It was a big office with a massive glass window of the Angel Raziel, and Alec knew then that one day, he wanted this office to be his.
He was sitting there now, paper out and practicing his letters so he could write his own important letters to people when he was older, when Izzy found him. She opened the door quietly and put her fingers to her lips when she saw him.
“Shhhh!” she whispered loudly, running over to Alec’s side. “I’m hiding from Mom. She and dad were fighting about something that happened in the Cords Hall in Idris and I managed to sneak out. Wanna go to the weapons room and see if we can get past Mr. Hodge? I wanna see how sharp the blades are.”
“You mean the Accords Hall?” Alec corrected, sliding down from his Dad’s chair to the floor.
Izzy nodded. “That’s what I said! The ‘Cords Hall. Anyway, Mom said to dad that we were safe, but she sounded angry still.”
“Let’s stay away until she’s not mad anymore,” Alec agreed and grabbed her by the hand. “Come on, race you to the weapons room!”
They ran down the hallway, laughter trailing in their wake, and Alec thought that as long as he had his sister, he would be happy.