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It was a balmy April night when Alec left the institute on his way to the date. Izzy and Jace might have suspected it to be the first date Alec ever went on, had he chosen to confide in them. Alec had not.
The year he and Jace became parabatai, and Alec acknowledged the fact that he was gay was both the best and worst year of his life. Since then, he had been in constant turmoil: anxious that somebody - mostly Jace, would notice his feelings, jealous whenever Jace became infatuated with a girl, hopeless that he would ever be at peace again. The best thing that came out of that stretch of time was the skills he now had with the bow. Sparring required a partner, but when Alec could not sleep, or needed an activity to keep him focused on the world outside his head, he went to the shooting range and shot arrow after arrow.
Alec could not say what had changed, nor whether it was Jace or him that finally did. But last month when Jace snuck in before dawn, after having spent the night in some new club, lipstick smeared on his face, Alec felt nothing but exasperated fondness for his parabatai. He still felt love for Jace, but it was the same love he carried for Izzy - stronger perhaps than his previous one.
*
Alec did not realize he was walking with a spring in his step. All the nerves that made him thrice change his clothes earlier that day had apparently vanished. There was room for little else other than the excitement of finally going on a date. He didn’t have any illusions about being accepted by the larger Shadowhunter community, but it was as if getting over Jace had calmed most of his anxiety over his sexual orientation becoming known. He also had had enough time to witness his brother and sister date various people, both Shadowhunter and not, and part amicably when interest on both sides waned.
He had met Magnus in a bookshop two weeks ago. Alec was browsing for some books on sexuality, after realizing the Institute library was useless in that area. He didn’t realize the picture he presented, squinting at the shelf he was interested in, from behind another, shorter one, that held books on gardening. Magnus had commented on the store also selling spyglasses. Alec could barely stutter out a reply, hoping that he was not blushing as noticeably as Izzy said he did. It could have ended right there with a clever quip and a mumbled reply. But Magnus had been kind, and helpful, once he realized Alec came from an intolerant culture and was trying to educate himself but keep any damning material out of his home.
Half an hour later Magnus left with Alec’s number on his phone and a promise for Alec to pick up when he called. The first call had been two days later and rather stilted. The following one a day after that. Then there was supposed to be a date, that Alec had to cancel the day of. The Institute had a demon alert and, as acting head, Alec could tell his chances of leaving the Institute unnoticed were absolutely zero. Thankfully most Mundanes were familiar with Emergency Services, so he did not need to give Magnus any details about what went on during his surprise shift.
As he approached the restaurant, Alec gave a cursory look to the reflective storefront, double checking his runes were not visible. When they first met, Alec was trying to pass for a Mundane; wearing a turtleneck and jeans, foregoing his customary archer gloves, leathers and combat boots. For all the glitter that made Magnus appear magical, Alec had no doubt he was completely ignorant of the Shadow World. Alec had a feeling he would end up telling Magnus about it before long. But not yet.
‘No emergency shift today, I take it?’ a suave voice interrupted his musings.
‘Not today, no. Hello Magnus’ greeted Alec as he sat in the shade of an umbrella. The cafe they were seated at had a number of them in multicolored stripes.
Magnus was already sipping coffee and sprang to recommend the house blend to Alec.
‘It’s quite good, if you are a fan of the drink. They roast it themselves, you know.’
Alec ordered one for himself automatically, still distracted by the vision that was Magnus. He had thought the other man captivating when they first met, but tonight Magnus shone. It was not just the glitter on his olive skin, or eyeliner, but rather his entire presence that seemed to draw Alec in. Because of his years of hiding, Alec had always admired the people who were not ashamed to show the world who they were and what they liked.
The conversation flowed easily between them. From drinks, to places they visited - Magnus had apparently been everywhere courtesy of his fashion blog, while Alec has never left the States, to their current work - Magnus was searching for the next big project, while Alec was on probation for a position with more responsibility.
Before long, they were on their second drink, while evening moved into night and half the tables around them emptied. Alec knew he would be missed for the early patrol if he did not return soon, still he was loathe to put an end to the date.
The explosion caught him completely off-guard.
In the half second before he lost consciousness, Alec didn’t even have time to wish had had told his siblings he was going on a date.
*
Alec awoke on a cold surface with his ears ringing and his hands tied in front of him.
Amateurs, was his first thought, noticing the bindings were not even tight.
Fuck! Was his second when he recognized Valentine and what appeared to be a Circle member holding a gun to Magnus’s head.
‘... scrape what is left of your… plaything from the floor’ was the end of the first sentence he could make out.
Still, it made no sense. Why he appeared to be the hostage and Magnus the one they were attempting to strong-arm into doing .. something. Unless Magnus was not a Mundane either. There had been reports of Downworlders vanishing, though the Clave had yet to grant him leave to investigate, despite his many requests.
Izzy is never going to let it go. Going out with a seelie without even noticing.
Valentine was still expounding on his threats, but Alec’s training had kicked in and he was scanning the room, looking for entry points and surveillance devices. One door, porthole too narrow for him to fit, one camera in the corner of the overhead.
‘I’m sorry,’ was what he heard more clearly, coming from Magnus.
His surprise must have shown on his face because the other man continued.
‘I will not work for them. They are terrorists who wish to hurt hundreds of people.’ Magnus explained, and Alec could definitely get behind not helping Valentine, even at the cost of his own life. He just wished his head would stop ringing so he could work out all the details of how screwed they all were.
‘You’ll change your mind soon enough. All of you do. And all I have to do is wait.’ Valentine proclaimed, with a meaningful look behind Alec. Alec turned but all he could see was a pale teenager who looked like a stiff breeze would topple him. He’d obviously been there a while given the emaciated frame, but when the boy blinked at him and still his chest did not rise, Alec re-evaluated.
Vampire.
The Circle member dragged Magnus from the cabin. They were definitely on a ship, and Alec kicked himself for not realizing sooner that Valentine would capitalize on their inability to track over water. They should have searched for ships.
Right. Time to polish the plan.
‘I’m not going to eat you’ a slightly accented voice said.
‘It never crossed my mind’ Alec replied truthfully. Sure he was tied, but the vampire appeared worse for wear and, as of yet, nobody seemed to notice they had captured a Nephilim warrior and not a clueless Mundane.
‘Your heart kinda sped up there.’
‘ You heard it?’
‘My hearing is better than most.’
‘Can you tell if there’s someone outside the door?’
‘Si.’
After a minute of silence during which he decided the vampire liked to be dramatic, he asked.
‘So? Is there someone outside the door?’
With a put-upon sight, Alec learned there was none there, but that the three previous occupants of the cabin had relocated to an adjacent room, from which they were probably watching the video stream.
‘No audio, right?’ got him a nod, and a vaguely interested look. Either the vampire considered him already dead - entirely possible, or he had more important things to ponder than the human left as sustenance for him.
‘Let me know when they stop watching.’ said Alec as he lay down as if he had fainted.
*
‘Look at that pansy! Couldn’t even make it five minutes with a Downworlder!’ Valentine exclaimed to his captive.’What do you want to bet Santiago drains him within the hour?’
Magnus said nothing, but his look was poison. ‘When I have my magic again...’
‘You will do my bidding, warlock.’ Valentine finished for him. ’Because the only way you are getting the collar off, is in exchange for that oath.’
‘You will die of old age before you get an oath out of me’ Magnus promised
‘Your plaything will die first. Badly!’ the other man crowed.’ Unless… you don’t think he’s playing possum and will try to kill the vampire? He looks rather fit.’
Alec did indeed look strong, but physical strength could only take one so far in the Shadow World. Blood and skill were the coin of choice in their world. Magnus looked at the line Alec’s throat and felt a pang he did not get the chance to touch it. He looked at Alec’s tousled hair and wished he had a chance to see it on his pillows. Alec was hardworking, diligent, and curious about the world he had seen so little of. Magnus had wanted to shelter him, at least for a little while longer. He had wanted to show him so much, introduce him to so many experiences…
Magnus had lived a long life, the constant feeling of loss clinging to him. He knew he had a better than average change to make it out - eventually. He also knew that Alec had a lot less time, that if both him and Rafael lived through to morning Valentine will dangle one of their lives before Magnus, only to snuff it out when he realized Magnus would not be moved. There was no choice. He must attempt to escape before morning.
*
‘They’re gone’ the vampire said in a voice that could not be more bored.
Alec woke from a light doze, noting the spell to hide his runes must have been more powerful than he thought. It was supposed to last for four hours, and wear off by the time of his return to the Institute, but six hours had already passed and still he could not see them. The greatest risk of his plan was the fact that he no longer knew if they were effective. They were not just invisible, but strangely muted. Alec had not noticed before, but his sight in the dim light was a lot worse than usual. He had to assume his agility and soundlessness were equally affected.
‘Did you manage to find out anything about this operation since you’ve been here? How long has that been, by the way?’
‘I’ve been enjoying this five star hospitality for two weeks. What exactly do you think I managed to find from inside this damned cabin, and what use is it to you anyway? Do you imagine pulling a Houdini?’ the man asked irritably.
‘A what?’ Alec was confused. ‘Nevermind. I have people looking for me. But they’ll find me a lot easier if this boat is docked. Do you know how many ...’
‘How can you not know Houdini? Have you been living under a rock? Don’t kids your age melt their brains with TV anymore?’
‘Sorry to disappoint.’ Alec shrugged. ‘We need to get out of this cabin, stop the ship if it’s moving and call my siblings to come get us.’
‘Ge out of the cabin... of course! So glad I had you dropped on your ass in here to tell me how to escape. It may have slipped your notice, but neither of us is strong enough to open that door. And they don’t come in here to drop off food either.’
‘You’re a vampire’
‘Starving vampire, though you’ll die of hunger before me, so no point in celebrating my demise.’
‘Drink from me.’
Silence. Alec wondered whether to feel relieved the vampire had not jumped at the chance of a human meal.
‘I will not. I have not fed from humans since the month I was made.’
‘I’m not asking you to drink me dry! Just enough so you can open the door. You can stop before you drink me dry, right?’
‘Now you think to ask? I can stop. It won’t help’
‘My name is Alec…’
‘Rafael. You want to hold hands and braid our hair now ?’
‘...Lightwood.’
‘Dios!’ the vampire exclaimed heatedly.
‘You know what I am. My blood will be enough’ the Nephilim insisted.
‘Is also addictive and breaks about a dozen Clave laws’ continued Raphael, his accent coming in more strongly.
‘I’m officially giving you permission. Nobody will prosecute you’
‘Prosecute! I’m more worried about being stabbed when your little friends get here; that is if you do manage to call them’ Rafael explained, and Alec had to concede the point. Unless Izzy and Jace showed up alone, any other Shadowhunter would try to subdue the vampire before focusing on the larger threat the Circle members represented. Especially if they didn’t see Valentine first.
‘Every moment we waste here Magnus is in danger! So stop wailing and get over here!’ Alec knew he sounded very far from the acting head of the Institute. His voice gone too high, more panicky than commanding. Amazingly enough it had brought the vampire within reach.
And he was currently reaching for Alec’s pants.
‘What? The hell are you doing?’ Alec asked completely off guard.
‘Vein’ Raphael explained while unbuckling Alec’s belt.
‘There is one in my neck...’
‘ And I still don’t want to get killed by trigger happy Shadowhunters. Keep up!’
‘...in my arm..’
‘We’re also not running off the boat, and we may need to fight. You need your arms’
‘Ok. That makes sense,’ conceded Alec. ’So not how I imagined the day would end!’
‘Because you’re too classy to put out on a first date?’ Raphael teased, his eyes going a little glassy at the sight of blue under unmarred skin.
‘Because it’s my first date!’ Alec exclaimed, wanting at least somebody to know the momentous occasion that Valentine's ill-timed abduction had interrupted.
‘Lo siento’ the vampire said quietly, seemingly surprising himself. Then he bent down and bit.
*
Alec didn’t know how long Raphael drank from him, but by the time it stopped he was feeling woozy and had to swim from under a wave of tiredness in order to get up. He leaned heavily on the bulkhead, trying to get his balance.
‘I need a stele. I hope there is one guard in the area’
‘Bite your tongue. We don’t want to have a dozen of them on our tail’
‘And a bow. And a knife’ he felt punch drunk and hoped the adrenaline would kick in soon.
The door was unceremoniously pried open. Alec felt the sound of it in his bones, but apparently nobody else did because no guards came running. Exchanging a silent look with his partner in escapism, they started down the passageway. Instead of the engine room the found the hold. And it was not empty. Rows upon rows of cages holding beings that had to be Downworlders. Alec could recognize warlocks, partially shifted werewolves, other vampires. He knew why their exit had gone unnoticed when he heard the rattling of the cages.
‘Dios!’ exclaimed Raphael.’ We need to get out of here. Now.’
‘We need to get them out’ Alec countered. ’Let’s find that guard’, and without waiting for Raphael he turned towards the nearest ladder and headed up, hoping that Magnus was ok. He couldn’t decide if he’d rather they find him in a cage, or less beaten down than these people but in the presence of Valentine.
*
The first guard went down easily, overcome by Raphael’s speed, and Alec quickly drew a stamina rune with his confiscated stele. He took a pair of knives off the unconscious man, but gave the sword to his companion. They left him tied up in a closet and made their way along the passageway. The following two guards were dispatched by Alec’s knives - permanently. One of them had a bow that Alec happily took possession of, but they had not turned up any key. More importantly, one had had a phone he was using for some arcade style game, and Alec wasted no time calling home.
‘Izzy, it’s Alec. Trace this call now. I’m on a boat, and Valentine is here. Along with all the missing Downworlders, and I don’t know how many Circle members’
‘Damn it, Alec! Could you be any more of an overachiever?’ she breathed while running to the command center.
‘We’re going to try and open some of the cages so we stand a better change once the Circle discover we escaped the cabin. I haven’t seen any Downworlder walk free, so they’re not with Valentine. Make sure the others who get here know’ commanded Alec.
‘Alec, who’s we?’, asked Izzy, bracing for an answer she knew would further worry her.
‘Raphael - vampire. He was in the same cabin as me. Shhh, someone’s coming...’
Isabelle kept quiet, not wanting to give away their location, though by the brevity of the fight she could hear, her brother and his ally had things well in hand. The need to hurry was further impressed on her by Alec’s latest revelation. She knew exactly how they had managed to escape, if the cabin had been secure enough to be left unguarded. She did not know if it was unusually high tolerance on her brother’s part, or sheer bloody mindedness that led him to offer his blood to a vampire. Unless this Raphael was tonight’s mystery date and that is why Alec trusted him. Alec must have thought he was being sneaky, but the number of tried outfits in his room was a dead giveaway about his purpose in leaving the Institute.
Jace was already pacing the floor of the command center when Isabelle rushed in and started ordering for her caller to be traced.
‘Valentine’s got Alec on a boat. And a lot of potential hostages’ was all she needed to say before Jace cast a look at the room and called for six Shadowhunters to gear up.
Several terse minutes later they had the location, and to their great relief it was not at sea. The ship appeared to be rather large, but it was moored.
‘Right, we need a portal. I wouldn’t say no to a warlock either,’ Jake declared as he was browsing through the rather short list of friendly local warlocks.
‘This short notice it’s going to cost dearly. That one: Magnus,’ pointed Izzy. ‘He’s definitely the most powerful one’
‘It’s Valentine. You’d think warlocks would jump at the chance to fight one that killed so many of their kind’ muttered Jace. ‘But no, we’ll probably waste the time it’d take us to walk there negotiating his rate’
‘They’re scared Jace. Being immortal they’re not used to fearing death as other species. Valentine makes them feel that fear.’
‘He’s not picking up. Who’s next on the list?’ Jace asked impatiently.
It took them three more tries to find warlock willing to open up a portal to a nearby warehouse and agree to stay with them until they boarded the ship, though she declined to accompany them any closer to danger.
Half an hour after Alec’s call, eight Shadowhunters stepped through a portal and looked at the empty shore.
‘Did we just miss them?’ one of the young warriors asked.
‘Probably glamoured. Are we sure he doesn’t have warlocks on his side? We couldn’t reach Magnus or Dot. Who’s to say they are not here’ Jace speculated loudly.
‘I already told you what Alec said. The Downworlders are prisoners’ Isabelle insisted, while looking significantly towards their accompanying warlock. It was likely they would need her help for a while longer.
Mina could indeed sense the large shape in front of her. While she could not break the glamour, she was able to create a portal up to the deck, and was further persuaded to hide and wait for one hour in order to help them leave. As she counted the minutes until the end of the hour, she wondered if this was perhaps to be the last reckless decision she would ever make.
*
In the time since he spoke to his sister Alec killed two more Circle members. He recovered the arrows from their unmoving bodies, as he had no hope of finding more, and a set of keys. After a brief discussion with Raphael they decided the vampire would be the one to unlock the cages - the occupants were more likely to trust him and keep calm, while Alec would cover him from one of the higher passageways.
Barely half a dozen open doors later, a group of Circle members burst in the hold, having discovered too many of their own could not be reached. Valentine was not with them and Alec felt another pang of worry about what was going on with Magnus. With difficulty he brought his focus back to the fight at hand and nocked an arrow. A second arrow found its mark too, but Alec had been spotted and knew it would not be long before he would be fighting in close quarters. He moved along the passageway, hoping to get enough distance between the newcomers on his level to be able to use another arrow.
He drew another stamina and agility rune, and took a quick look in the hold. No sight of Magnus in any of the cages. Two of the Downworlders whose cages had been opened had yet to exit them. Alec thought they were frozen with fear and indecision rather than too hurt to move, but it gave Valentine’s men the advantage. Four of the escaped had engaged the three Circle members still in the hold, but the werewolves were certainly looking worse for wear. They managed to swarm and overcome one Shadowhunter but it cost them two of their own, as the remaining ones were quick with their seraph blades and did not hesitate to kill rather than hurt. Alec suspected the felled Shadowhunter was even alive, though decidedly out of the fight. Raphael was still sneaking around cages, opening the doors of the more alert looking ones, but the tide did not appear to be turning in their favor as another group of Circle members entered the hold and Alec finally got company on his level. The first fell to his arrow, but the next was able to dodge in time, and Alec dropped the bow and took up a borrowed blade, mentally wishing for Izzy to hurry.
He was fully engaged with the adversary in front of him, ducking the swinging blade and catching the other man in the tight. He was too close to the end of his strength to allow a live enemy at his back, especially after realizing he was the only one taking them out of the fight. The freed Downworlders below were no fighters, and the ones willing to use teeth and claw to aid their escape were in defense mode. Alec wondered how badly this escape attempt would go if Izzy and the others did not arrive soon. He understood now why Raphael had been against unlocking the cages as the Downworlders were still reluctant to go against Nephilim, even in self defense. Alec disarmed his adversary and wasted no time putting his borrowed blade through the man’s stomach. Two more stood behind him, but these did not rush him. The woman was slight and had a contemplating look on her face; she had used his previous fight to judge his ability and style. The man was as tall as Alec, but more strongly built and Alec hoped to God he was slow. The only bit of luck was that they didn’t come at him at once, though he couldn’t afford to not split his attention between the one waiting as Alec parried and feinted, not landing any blow and feeling his blood flow sluggishly from every new cut.
*
Magnus felt his lip throb, where Valentine’s lapdog had struck him. Seeing Raphael so diminished had silenced the protests that had started bubbling up after he awoke in Valentine’s company, no Alec in sight, and a ghastly magic inhibiting collar around his neck. Only after being removed from the cabin where they chained Raphael, did he realize he had not said a word to Alec. Nothing that would comfort the young man, provide him an explanation about why this happened to him, or give him hope that things would work out. Then again, what could he have said…? The vast majority of lovers Magnus had taken over the years knew nothing of the Shadow World, never saw his magic or knew about his immortality. Alec had captivated him from the start, and he could definitely see the young man growing to mean much to him. But tonight had been their first date, and deciding what to share with him was a call for much later. What he knew right then was that Alec was a lovely young man who cared for his siblings more than himself, who felt strongly about helping people, and was artless in his attraction to Magnus. And Magnus, for the first time in a century was willing to see where that attraction led, and was willing to make the effort to censure part of himself and rephrase his history into that of a Mundane.
Magnus’s shock at finding his missing friend made him overlook the fact that Alec had focused on Valentine’s presence, not on him. Magnus knew he could trust Raphael’s control. And he decided he would not erase Alec’s memory of tonight unless asked. He would give the younger man a chance to know him fully, and explain the Shadow World to him. Unless Raphael beat him to it, in which case he hoped his friend knew not open with the more colorful adventures he and Magnus had shared over the years.
When one of Valentine’s stooges burst in saying they had a problem and Valentine left the room, Magnus wasted no time to strike. Most people assumed he was powerless without his magic, that he looked the way he did as a result of vanity, or spell-work. The Nephilim was trained in martial arts, but Magnus had the benefit of surprise and experience, and in a few short minutes he was unlocking his collar, the other man unconscious on the deck. The guards outside the door were handled with a clever bit of spell-work, and Magnus made his way to the cabin that held his friends, determined to drop the New York Institute a call once they were free of this place.
After a couple of wrong turns, Magnus was certain he had found the right cabin, however empty it was. With no better idea of finding Alec and Raphael he headed towards the noise of fighting, hoping that whomever had come to rescue them had the good sense to get them away from this place before starting a fight.
Before he made it to the hold, he came face to face with a blond Shadowhunter, blade drawn. In the split second it took the blond to decide to act, Magnus had immobilized him.
‘Where’s the vampire and the Mundane?’ he asked before the other man could open his mouth. He did not get the chance to devise an appropriate threat as he felt another blade at his back, held by a short woman wearing very high heels.
‘Would that make you one of the escaped prisoners and not Valentine’s little helper?’ she asked archly.
‘Izzy! Don’t feed him excuses’ the blond one protested and Magnus deduced these people were the cavalry. He let the man go, hoping his quickness to do so would help speed up the inevitable interrogatory.
‘I was abducted last night and brought here. There are other Downworlders here aside from one vampire?’ and answered his own question ‘Of course, all the others who disappeared over the last few weeks.’
‘You‘re Magnus Bane. Isabelle Lightwood’ the brunette said and held out her hand scandalizing her companion.
‘Izzy, what are you doing?!’ Magnus could feel his confusion as he shook the offered hand. The large smile on her face was incongruous with the entire situation.
‘Making friends. Don’t you think we should have closer ties to our Downworld allies, Jace?’ she said with a look Magnus was at a loss to interpret, though the meaning had apparently landed at last for the other Shadowhunter.
‘Oh, no. You can’t possible think…’
‘Oh, yes!’ was the cryptic answer.
That little exchange ended when they were overrun by Circle members, and this time Valentine himself was among them. Magnus could see the two were used to fighting together, and were a deadly combination of skill and grace. They did however neglect to cover their backs, leaving him to do so, which he managed quite expertly, even if his participation being taken for granted rankled.
At long last the Circle members retreated taking their wounded, and Isabelle, Jace and Magnus advanced through the ship. They saw other signs of battle and Jace was pleased to see none of the felled Nephilim were part of their team, though there were a number of werewolves and even a vampire or two.
The hold of the ship was full of movement and for a moment Isabelle and Jace felt an almost physical wave of animosity directed at them - then the Downworlders noticed Magnus standing between them and turned to the sight that had previously captured their attention. The three newcomers followed their example just in time to see Alec manage a choke-hold on a slight woman, and get a blade through the tight in exchange. They were standing on a high passageway and barely a moment later a hugely built man body-checked Alec and they both plummeted over the railing to the deck below.
Magnus’s gasp of surprise was drowned out by Jace’s shout, as he started to make his way through the crowd, not paying attention to whom he was pushing aside. When Isabelle and Magnus finally extracted themselves from the throng of people, they saw the body of the large man - a Circle member by the mark on his neck, dagger protruding from it. Jace was kneeling at Alec’s side seemingly afraid to touch the fallen man. Alec’s leg was at an odd angle and he was covered in blood and unconscious.
‘He needs blood’ a voice came from the side. The earlier mentioned vampire, Isabelle though.
Jace meanwhile was pulling down Alec’s collar to draw a rune above his heart. After that he placed his own hand above it and drew another rune on it.
Intellectually, Magnus had realized that Alec was not, as he previously suspected, a Mundane. But seeing an angelic rune drawn on his skin extinguished all doubt. The only doubt still remaining was whether Alec would want to go on a second date with him. Because Magnus had liked the young man before, but that feeling had already evolved, after having seen him fight, and witnessing the evidence of his bravery in the open cages that surrounded them. Magnus would tell Alec about his magic, about his life, would let himself be known.
‘Allow me to help’ he asked of Alec’s parabatai and the warrior he suspected to be a sister.