Chapter Text
Magnus strode toward Alec, magic crackling at his fingertips, eyes a demonic black as though the pupil had swallowed up the iris, the whites of his eyes.
Some might have said that Magnus’s real eyes, those gorgeous golden slit-pupiled eyes, were demonic. Alec knew better, of course; they were no more demonic than Magnus himself was — that is to say, not at all, despite their provenance.
These black eyes, on the other hand, were eerie. Frightening. Not Magnus, which made sense, since the demon currently inhabiting Alec’s husband’s body was very much not Magnus.
Alec didn’t know how the demon had managed to get inside of Magnus, past all his wards. They’d been in the park, outside of Magnus’s heavily-protected apartment, but Magnus certainly had heavy wards on his own body. It didn’t really matter how — or rather, it would only matter if they made it out of this, if there was any chance of it happening again. How it happened was a matter for later.
Now, Alec ducked to avoid the fireball the demon in Magnus threw at him, ducking behind a tree for a moment before stepping out again, a feint at Magnus though Alec would never actually hurt him, dodging the next fireball. He couldn’t keep this up forever, but fortunately the demon had only gained part of Magnus’s skills and abilities, and Alec could keep on defending himself a bit longer.
How long, though? And he would eventually get tired; he could already feel exhaustion creeping up on him, and the demon was making sure that he didn’t get a chance to call for backup. He wasn’t even sure if he would call for backup, if he could — they might hurt Magnus, and Alec couldn’t let that happen.
For a moment, Alec was distracted, and that was enough for a blast of Magnus’s magic to slam into him, knocking him back against the tree he’d so recently ducked behind. His ribs screamed in pain, but he forced himself to roll to the side to avoid the demon’s next attack.
“It’s not you, Magnus,” Alec managed to pant out, forcing his injured body to dodge away from the next attack, because he knew that his husband would be beating himself up for hurting Alec — if, that is, he was awake in there. “It’s not your fault.”
“He can hear you, you know,” the demon replied, Magnus’s lovely voice twisted into something wrong. “He’s trying to fight me, but I’m stronger. You’ll be dead before he manages to beat me, unless you work up the courage to kill the both of us — he’s begging you to kill us, you know. Pleading.”
“It’s okay, Magnus,” Alec said, ignoring the demon’s words, scrambling backward as best he could with his aching ribs as the demon in Magnus’s body advanced toward him. “I forgive you, not that there’s anything to forgive.” He thought of the seraph blade still sheathed in his belt, going unused because he would never hurt Magnus. He couldn’t kill Magnus.
The demon laughed, and Alec hated the way it sounded wrong, because it was Magnus’s laugh from Magnus’s lips but it was the demon who was doing the laughing. “No matter what you say, he’ll blame himself. He’ll be heartbroken once you’re dead. That’s what Asmodeus wants, you know. That’s why I’m here — to show Asmodeus’ son that love makes him weak.”
Alec blanched, horrified, because it all made sense now — Asmodeus would have been able to get past Magnus’s wards, could easily have sent the demon to possess him. And Alec knew, or at least he hoped, that Magnus wouldn’t go to Edom — but Asmodeus and the demon were right that it would leave Magnus heartbroken if Alec died at Magnus’s hands. Alec knew what it felt like to wake up from possession with blood on your hands, though for him it had been Jocelyn’s blood. How much worse if it had been Magnus’s?
The demon was still coming toward him, throwing fireballs almost lazily, black eyes glinting in the afternoon sunlight. The light caught on Magnus’s glittery eyeshadow, too, and the gleaming buttons of his coat. Another fireball missed Alec by inches, but the demon didn’t seem to be trying all that hard to hit him; they were drawing it out intentionally, because they were certain that they would win. “You know what,” the demon said almost thoughtfully, “I think I’ll make him rip out your heart. How do you think it’ll feel for him, holding his precious lover’s heart in his hands?”
The seraph blade in Alec’s belt bumped against his broken ribs as he moved to the side again, trying to avoid another fireball. (Really, could the demon do nothing but throw fireballs and occasionally toss Alec around? Magnus was much more creative.) Still, there was no way that Alec would ever hurt Magnus; he would rather die—
But, Alec realized suddenly, which one would Magnus prefer?
Alec knew that if he stabbed Magnus in the leg with his seraph blade, it would force the demon out of Magnus’s body, hopefully long enough for Alec to kill it. And Alec knew that if their positions were reversed — if Alec was the one who was being forced to kill Magnus — he would much rather have Magnus stab him than kill Magnus.
It was Alec’s instinct to give his life for Magnus, because that was what he’d always been ready to do — to protect his siblings, to protect innocents. He’d long believed that his life had little value, aside from the good he could do for others. Magnus had been the one to teach him that no, his life was worth something, and it would hurt those who loved him if Alec gave his life away. Your self-sacrificial tendencies are admirable, Alexander, but please remember that I — well, all of us, really — need you, Magnus had told him once.
That instinct to sacrifice himself wasn’t the right choice here. Letting the demon inside of Magnus kill him would hurt Magnus far, far more than if Alec stabbed him.
The demon was in front of Alec, now, black eyes glaring down at him. Alec’s ribs were burning, but he ignored them in favour of reaching for his seraph blade. He drew it even as it activated, burning white, and the demon’s black eyes widened, but Alec was faster and he swung the blade into Magnus’s leg.
A scream — Alec knew it was the demon screaming, but it sounded like Magnus — and black smoke was issuing from Magnus’s mouth, pouring out of him. Alec thrust the seraph blade into the mass of darkness, and the demon seemed to collapse in on itself, nothing more than ichor and ashes.
Magnus slumped to the ground, and Alec dropped the seraph blade to catch him.