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Alec stretched, carefully prepping himself for the next round of the archery tournament. He heard a loud whistle and turned back to the crowd, waving to Magnus and his family. Looked like Jace had even made it back from the hand to hand competition, his medal proudly displayed. Now he just had to get his own medal.
The accuracy competition was never the best indicator of skill - with still targets and no time limit to their run, the real equalizer was the field challenge testing their mastery of their weapon. Alec bounced on the balls of his feet, keeping his heartrate up. The challenge changed every time they ran the tournament, designed to test their skills, ability to think on their feet, and force them to confront the weaknesses of their weapon.
Alec glanced around at the others. Seven others. Four of whom he had easily outshot in the accuracy challenge. It was the others who he would have to beat in the field challenge. Especially Richard Lovelace. Alec gave him a respected nod. He was one of the reasons Alec was in the tournament, he’d watched Richard dominate the tournament when he was a kid, and he’d fallen in love with archery ever since.
“What the hell does Lightwood think he’s doing here? Thought he was nothing more than a desk jockey these days with the cushy Head position.”
Alec tightened his hand on his bow, ignoring the sound of Alan Carstairs behind him.
“Seems to think he can still hang with actives. We’ll be happy to show him up. He’s the pity candidate, the local boy. I mean, just look at his…husband. A warlock?”
Alec forced himself to breathe through the roaring rage in his ears, staring straight ahead, fury settling over him like a wave.
Carstairs snorted. “It’s a mis-aimed attempt at regaining some family honor. Between his mother being de-runed, his father divorcing her, marrying a warlock, the Lightwood name is in the fucking dirt.”
Breathe. Alec ordered himself. Breathe. Channel anger. He looked back up to the stands and raised his hand to his mother and Magnus, both of them sitting side by side, Maryse gesturing to the course, likely explaining to him how it was going to work.
“At least we won’t have to worry about him. Lovelace is slated to win again.”
Alec ran through his final set of stretches, his eyes on the clock. He was the only competitor who had brought more than one bow, though he was pleased to see both he and Lovelace had adjusted quivers. Then again, the odds of actually having to use the Longbow were slim to none, but better to have it than not.
“Competitors to the starting line.”
Alec slung his longbow over his shoulders and adjusted the quiver strapped to his thigh. He held his head high as he approached, waiting at the line.
“Gentlemen, you will each take the course one at a time. You will have three minutes to hit as many targets as you can, as accurately as possible, then you will enter the arena where you will enter a fight simulator. If, at any time, you need to end the contest, you have a flare to set off. Are we ready?”
Alec nodded, keeping his hand tight on his bow as their order was drawn. He went last and kept his smirk to himself. He crossed his arms over his chest and closed his eyes, focusing on his breathing as he listening to the sound of the course going live. While they couldn’t see what they were going up against, they could listen.
~!~
Magnus watched the first competitor race through the course, sacrificing accuracy for speed, some of his shots going wide of the targets.
“Maryse, why does Alexander have two bows? None of the other competitors do.”
Maryse chuckled and shook her head. “It’s a bit of a point of pride for Alec. In all the years he has been doing this competition, not once has there been a challenge where they have to shoot beyond the range of the standard compound bow he uses. He carries that with him to show that he’s prepared for anything - because the tournament promises to throw anything at them.”
Magnus hummed, turning his eyes back to the action as the crowd made a noise of displeasure. The first competitor had reached the arena, but he was already surrounded in the fighting simulation and he was knocked down by a demon only moments later, sounding the end of his run.
“Why do they make them do hand to hand at the end, as archers?” he asked her, the second competitor dashing into the arena. Another who was sacrificing accuracy for speed. He shook his head and scowled.
Maryse smiled and watched the archer stumble, tripping after not watching his footwork. “They need to be able to handle themselves in any situation. Many archers often assume that they will always have others on the front line there to protect them. Their hand to hand suffers.”
Magnus frowned and looked at her. “But Alec-”
“Has always made it a point to excel at hand to hand. Partially due to practicing with Jace, but also because he is well-aware of what the weaknesses of his weapon are,” Maryse said, glancing over at him. She grinned and gave Magnus’ arm a pat. “Alec’s main competition will be Richard Lovelace. Alec watched him do this competition when he was a kid, and is the reason Alec picked up a bow in the first place.”
Magnus squinted. “They’re both using different quivers.”
“Yeah,” Jace put in, leaning closer to Magnus. “It improves their draw time. It takes a lot of practice to re-learn your muscle memory, but their rate of firing is almost twice as fast.”
“So why doesn’t everyone do that?” Magnus asked, looking over at Jace.
“Muscle memory. That shit is hard to learn when you’ve been doing it one way for more than a decade. There was a mundane a few years back who found a way to fire three arrows in less than a second.” Jace grinned at the shock on Magnus’ face. “With runes? Alec can do it in half a second.”
Magnus whistled under his breath and looked back out on the course. “So what you’re telling me is we’re in for a show?”
Jace grinned, bright and wide. “You have no idea. Like I said, the only one who is going to give him a run for his money is Lovelace.”
Magnus turned his attention back to the course, unable to keep from grinning. “I look forward to it.”
~!~
As Lovelace was called to the course, Alec caught his eye and smiled as he watched Lovelace pull three arrows from his quiver, holding them easily in his draw hand. “Good luck,” he called. The nod he got back made him smile and he relaxed, until Carstairs walked closer to him.
“You wish you were half as good as he is, Lightwood,” Carstairs growled.
Alec gave him a bland look. “It’s Lightwood-Bane, Carstairs,” he drawled, raising an unimpressed eyebrow.
“You think you’re going to beat us when you’ve been sitting behind a desk for months?” Carstairs sneered. “Hell, maybe you’ve forgotten what it’s like in the field, and spend all of your time in your office fuck-”
“You would be wise,” Alec said, his voice quiet and vicious. “To stop right there Carstairs.” His eyes glittered dangerously. “You wouldn’t want me to embarrass you too badly, would you?”
Carstairs snarled. “You’re no better than a downworlder yourself, Lightwood.”
Alec’s eyes sparked. “Then show just how good you are. Because you’re going to have to be beyond your best to beat me.”
“You think because you copy your hero Lovelace that you’re going to beat the rest of us?”
“I’m going to beat you,” Alec said, his voice a promise. “Because I am better than you will ever be at archery. And I will prove it today.”
“Carstairs! You’re next!”
Alec watched him go and cracked his neck, his eyes flickering up to the leaderboard. Lovelace’s score was posted and he smiled. The accuracy was no comparison, but he hadn’t gotten to as many targets as some of the others. He took a deep breath. Three more, then he would go.
The next two runs of the course were quicker than he expected, and the scores posted were abysmal. Alec frowned and watched the last person, a Blackthorn he didn’t know well, approach the course.
“Lightwood-Bane, you’re up next.”
Alec stood upright and got into position at the start, taking another deep breath, pulling five arrows from his quiver, holding them easily in his draw hand. He would not sacrifice speed for accuracy, but there was a reason he still trained as much as he did, as hard as he did.
A roar from the arena told him that the last run was almost complete. There was a collective groan not long after and Alec closed his eyes, taking a deep breath. His turn.
“Timer starts when you cross the line!”
Alec nodded and looked to the stands, where Magnus was waiting and smiled, turning to face the course. Time to show them all what he could do.
He stepped across the starting line, his strides long and purposeful.
Three targets, flying into his view. He had them dispatched in an instant, his blood singing with the challenge. He didn’t stop for the next target that flew from the woods at a high speed. Alec shattered the clay target with his next arrow and picked it up off the ground as he continued down the course.
Five Shax demons appeared on the course, skittering towards him. Alec drew both arrows and fired, dispatching two of them in a single volley, and the remaining three with the next, not breaking his stride through the course. He heard the roar of the crowd and drew five more arrows, his head on a swivel as he proceeded through the course.
Target after target, Alec made it a point to hit them all, all without stopping, whether in the air, hidden in the forest around him, or demons ambushing him from all directions. The sound of the crowd was background noise as a target was thrown up in front of him, and he didn’t hesitate to fire an arrow into the head at point-blank range, striding past it as the target fell behind him.
His timer was counting down and he was approaching the end of the course, as the targets came faster. Alec broke into a jog, swiveling to hit target after target, his eyes bright and focused, refusing to miss a single one.
A screaming demon came at him head-on and Alec didn’t break his stride, shooting it through the neck, moving through the cloud of simulated ichor and shadow, to reach the end of the course. There was a cliff and he frowned, stopping at the edge. Thirty seconds remaining before he entered the arena.
In the distance, he spotted a target floating under a balloon more than 100 yards away and his eyes widened. He dropped his compound bow and laughed, pulling his longbow off his back, pulling out a single arrow, grunting under the draw weight, counting down the time to himself.
He tracked it carefully, led the shot and fired, hitting the target dead on. Alec smirked and picked up his compound bow, pulling the longbow onto his back again as he moved into the arena.
“With an unprecedented score in both accuracy and targets destroyed, Alec Lightwood-Bane moves into the arena! How long will he last against the hoarde of demons we have in store for him?”
Alec ignored the announcer and stepped into the arena, watching the area around him ripple as the simulation settled into place. Buildings settled around him. Urban area. Close quarters. His eyes tracked the sky as he crept forward, five arrows in his hand again.
When he turned the corner, he saw why so many had fallen so quickly. A hoard of Ravener, Shax and two Behemoth demons. Alec gave himself a moment to breathe before he drew all five arrows and fired, advancing on the hoard.
Alec drew as fast as he could, pulling five arrows at a time, shooting demon after demon, dispatching them in waves of shadow, ducking under a swipe of poisonous claws, only to shoot the ravener in the face, watching it disintegrate. A shax demon managed to knock his bow out of his hands, but Alec rolled out of the way, pulling out his longbow, holding it easily between his hands before he spun back into the fray, using his bow like a quarterstaff to dispatch and injure as many as he could, avoiding the Behemoth demons attempting to pin him into a corner.
“And time!”
Alec exhaled hard, his hand still tight around his longbow as the rest of the simulation disappeared from around him. The other contestants were staring at him and Alec couldn’t keep the grin from his face. Lovelace looked impressed, and that was amazing, but Alec lifted his eyes to the stands and found Magnus, Jace, Izzy and his mother, cheering for him.
“The winner, by decisive hand to hand victory, and top marks in our field challenge, is Alec Lightwood-Bane!”
Alec laughed, pushing his hair back and off his face, moving to pick up his compound bow as the crowd screamed again. He made his way over to the other competitors, shaking their hands, sharing a few words with Lovelace that had him grinning like a boy again before he turned to Carstairs. He held out his hand and raised his hand.
“I’m not about to shake the hand of a man in bed with downworlders,” Carstairs sneered.
Alec frowned at him. “I beat you fair and square.”
Carstairs snorted. “Bullshit. There’s no way you could have been that fast. I’ll be having the Consul look into the results. You may not be using runes, but you are augmented, hell, I’m sure your precious warlock brewed you something this morni-”
Alec stepped up to Carstairs, using every inch of his height to look down at the man, an arrowhead pressed threatening to his jugular. “Insult him again and you will find yourself unable to draw breath.”
“You can’t threaten me!” Carstairs sputtered.
Alec leaned in, his eyes dark and dangerous. “I think you will find I can. And I think, Carstairs. You will find that it isn’t a threat if you push me. It is a promise.”
He pulled the arrowhead away and headed for the stands, grinning up at Magnus, where his husband was waiting for him. “Magnus!” he waved his hand and started to jog towards the stands.
“Alec!” Izzy shouted. “Behind-”
Alec spun, summoning his bow and an arrow to his hands in a seamless motion, tracking the arrow Carstairs had fired at him, before releasing his own, knocking it out of mid air and to the ground. He lowered his bow as the whole crowd went silent.
Carstairs stared in shock. “Did you just-”
“I told you,” Alec said. “I am better than you will ever be.” He turned his back to Carstairs again and jogged towards Magnus and grinned at the stunned look on his husband’s face.
“You know,” Magnus said faintly as Alexander stepped closer. “I know how dangerous you are, how good you are what you do, but-”
Alec grinned, bright and cheeky. “But seeing me put it on display does things to you?”
Magnus nodded, reaching out to yank Alec in by the t-shirt, kissing him hard, determined to show just how affected he was.
Alec’s eyes were dark as he stared at Magnus and licked his lips, winking at him. “Later,” he promised, turning to Jace and Izzy, wrapping them both in a hug, grinning happily.