Chapter Text
The wards were failing.
Alec looked up at the night sky as magical cracks spidered all over the invisible shield that Magnus had created, around the institute. It would be beautiful if the consequences weren’t so dire.
He winced as a horde of demons crashed furiously against the barrier again.
‘Magnus, I love you,’ he whispered in his heart.
Alec’s only comfort was that Max wasn’t there.
He looked around and saw groups of shadowhunters preparing to make a final stand. The downworlders had been warning them of the rumors, but of course, such intelligence was shot down by the snobbish Clave. Alec’s request for additional warriors had been scathingly refused.
They were on their own.
Would any of their new downworld friends come to help?
The tactician in him knew, that the timing was of this wasn’t a coincidence. Was that sick dragon in the Alps even a real emergency, or just a lie to get Magnus out of the way, in some remote part of the world?
Izzy was still frantically talking on the phone with Raphael, when Alec grabbed her arm and led her towards where his brother Jace and Clary were embracing fiercely.
Alec looked at them sadly.
Magnus had been so excited for this weekend. He had hoped to portal them to Taiwan to meet a portrait artist, whom he followed on Twitter. Alec found it adorable that Magnus wanted a portrait of them to decorate the loft, when they had so many photos.
But no.
Magnus wanted a kokomi original for the wall.
Alec’s days before he met Magnus were bleak and grey ,and if there was any color at all, it was the color of demon blood. But Magnus flipped the whole script and now Alec had too much to live for.
However, he wouldn’t go down without a fight.
He tightened his hand on his bow.
He owed Magnus that.
‘Shadowhunters!’ he called out loudly, ‘form ranks!’
His friends and family, spread out obediently around him, readying their weapons, and taking courage from his firm stance.
Silently they waited, hearing ominous cracks as the institute rattled under the onslaught of the attack. Suddenly everything went dark, as the lights failed. And in the darkness of the night, the demon power being channeled at the wards was clearly visible.
They gasped in horror.
It would take a miracle from the angel to get them out of this.
‘Hold your ground!’ Jace shouted, as the shadowhunters flinched, ‘We fear no darkness!’
They shielded their eyes as Magnus’ wards pulsed brilliantly for one long moment, as if trying to hold back the enemy for as long as possible but it too failed. It shrunk to the size of a pea, like a fallen star.
The star descended slowly and Alec reached out his hand on reflex, somehow comforted by the fact that the point of light drifted towards him.
‘Magnus,’ he whispered softly, as the light touched his palm.