Trapped in History

11

Alec swiftly drew the rune on a piece of paper that he had been handed, and although he was no picasso he had to admit that it got the general lines correct and without hesitation he pulled it away from himself, not wanting to look at it, handing it to Mangus not moments later. He watched carefully as Magnus swallowed, his eyes darkening. His fingers traced the rune, as though nostalgia had gripped him. Which, if Alec were to be honest, was not necessarily a good thing. Anything that caused Magnus to drift was never likely going to be the bearer of good news. He just hoped that Jace had known what he was doing when he gave the rune to Alec. Magnus inhaled deeply, closing his eyes, and with a sudden twist in his features he crumpled the paper in his hand, turning his catlike gold eyes onto Alec sharply. 

Alec loved Magnus, no matter what. Mangus would not hurt him he fully believed this. Despite the fact that this was not HIS Magnus, he was certain of that one thing. He could not say the same for Jace, and with the look that Magnus was giving the two of them right now...that was debatable. He turned his keen eyes onto the boy laying unconscious and began to walk towards the two of them again. Alec, without much thought, stood and placed himself between the two. His blue eyes stared Magnus down without hesitation, something which he knew that the Warlock would find amusing. Still, he did not hesitate in staring him down, keeping a hold of Jace's hand, and placing himself bodily in front of the younger boy. 

"What are you going to do?" Alec asked, his eyes wavering slightly despite his determination to stare him down, and his fingertips trembling, his voice wavering just so towards the end and nothing but a practical whisper. It was almost a joke, really, and if his parents were to see how unnerved he was by this...they would likely call him weak and pathetic, and maybe he was, but in the end Jace was quite important to him. 

"Calm down," Magnus said gently, "I am not going to hurt him or anything, just check his heart rate and breathing." Alec swallowed, before stepping slightly to the side, allowing Magnus to send a wave of light silver magic over the boy. He dug his teeth into his lower lip, gnashing on the fragile flesh as his icy eyes stared at the boy anxiously. His fingers still shook slightly as he waited for Magus to confirm what he found. 

Magnus, for his part, was able to breathe a sigh of slight relief. He turned, setting his gaze on the dark haired boy before him. 

"He is not...in danger, at the very least. He will be passed out for a few hours, at the very least, and more then likely a few days, but there does not seem to be any...physically at least...lasting damage." Alec swallowed his eyes turning up to gaze straight at Magnus.

"What do you mean by 'physically at least'?" Alec demanded, his eyes bright with worry and fear. He gazed upon his Parabatai. Worry consumed his soul. Magnus sighed heavily at the question. He had been almost hoping that he would not be asked that.

"The rune you used you was a demonic rune, which was why you could not find it in your White Book...well, the origin was demonic at least." Alec grit his teeth, standing straighter, tilting his head, and gazing defiantly at the warlock before them.

"That...is not an explanation." He said, his fear making him far more brazen then was likely wise. Especially when one considered the fact that this Magnus did not know anything about him, but it did not really matter in this moment. Jace was his Parabatai. He needed to know what was wrong with him. 

"I do not know where you got this Rune, or rather, where your friend got it, but this rune is extremely dangerous. it would have torn apart a lesser being. I do not know how your friend survived this, but he did. Typically they do not." Alec's eyes widened. "It is typically too painful. The Rune was used as punishment." Magnus took a shaky breath. " I do not know why he would ask you to use this rune, but I would expect it would only be in dire circumstances. The consequences of this Rune, should it work and they survive, can be disastrous." Magnus stared at Alec. "I am surprised that he survived this. The pain is near unbearable." 

"I am going to kill Valentine," Alec hissed under his breath, his eyes turning dark and cold. Magnus inwardly shuddered at the look that he was giving. He pretended not to hear what the other had said. He did not know who this Valentine was, but he would presume that it had something to do with the situation.

"I will watch over him. There may be complications. Has...Has this been used multiple times, on him?" Magnus was almost frightened to even ask, and the look that he was given confirmed that he would probably not want to know. 

"He does not speak of it much." He said simply with a slight shrug of his shoulders. "He rarely speaks about his past, and asking directly would do no good as he would merely deflect the question, and furthermore he prefers to avoid the topic as much as possible." Alec confirmed. Magnus gave him a fairly tight smile at that response.

"That is understandable." He said gently nevertheless. It was not something he wanted to understand, but unfortunately he could, and he also could not fault the Nephilim for avoiding topics such as that either. "Jem, Will, do you wish to leave, or would you like to stay? I assume your...friend, is going to stay?" Magnus asked tilting his head. Alec moved back towards Jace.

"I will not leave Jace," He said sternly, his voice broking no negotiation on it. Magnus just gave  small shake of his head and a gentle smile. 

"I assumed as such." He said with a tilt of his shoulder. "You are more then welcome to stay, Jem and William as well, if they so wish?" He said, a lilt to the end of his voice as he asked the two who had been watching the scene with rapt attention the entire time. 

"Uh, yeah, we should probably stay. For a little bit at least." Will said, though he was not too sure how comfortable he was staying within the house of a being as powerful as Magnus for an unknown amount of time. Still, he could not let their new charges out and about by themselves. They still had not figured out who they were or who was after them. 

"Wonderful, I shall prepare rooms for the three of you." 

"No," Alec intervened. He struck Magnus' breath away with the determination and stubbornness in his gaze as he said, "I will stay besides Jace." Magnus just relented. He had learned long ago it was nearly pointless to argue with a Shadowhunter after they had made up their mind.