The Prince of Hell

The Hunt part 3

Chapter 26

'Arrète! C'est ici L'empire de la Mort.' (Stop! This is the empire of the dead.)

The sign above their heads read.

Magnus had portaled them directly in front of the Catacombs' entry way, bypassing the museum, pillard corridors and long lines of tourist filling the streets above.

"This is as far as we can portal," said Magnus as he looked around him, taking in the well lit tunnel, the lamps placed intermittently along the walls casting a beautiful yellow glow over the thousands of human skulls neatly lining the walls. "We'll have to travel the rest of the way on foot."

It was well known that one needed to be familiar with the place that they were portaling to. And despite having attended a few crazy parties in the Catacombs himself many many years ago, Magnus didn't want to risk running into any problems by attempting to portal them further in. He figured that starting from the beginning with a map in hand would be their safest bet. Navigating Duduael's Inbetween was already going to be troublesome enough, starting their treacherous journey by getting lost in the Catacombs, would definitely not be a reassuring sign.

Pausing, they all watched quietly as a small group of tourist, chatting lively, walked pass them, completely ignorant of the presence. 

"Are we all set?" Asked Magnus as Jace and the others checked their gears and weapons one last time, just wanting to make sure that they had everything that they needed.

The sun had already been high in the sky by the time they'd left his apartment, having spent a few hours after Jace had woken up to prepare themselves, drawing the necessary runes and even brewing a few potions. And so Magnus was itching to get moving, his fingers twitching somewhat impatiently at his sides.

"We're all set," Jace confirmed, the others voicing their eagerness to get going as well.

"Good..." Magnus gave them one final look. "Then let's go get my mate back."

And with that, the group started forward through the tunnels, the ominous statement passing over their heads and disappearing behind them. Magnus was leading the way, a look of determination etched in his face. The plan was simply. They would make their way through the Catacombs until they got to the border of the mortal realm, crossing into the Inbetween. From there, they would be able to track Alec's exact location, killing anything that got in their way.

As Magnus quietly made his way through the tunnels, still passing a few tourist here and there, his best friend, Ragnor and Alec's little band of misfits, as his mate liked to call them, following closely at his back, he couldn't help but think about everything that Jace had told them that morning.

The morning had indeed been a very emotional one for the warlock. The information Jace had given them, though some of it expected, had been a slap in the face for Magnus. And once again, he'd found himself unable to contain his anger. Though to be fair, most of it was aimed at himself...

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Clary was still sitting on the chaise lounge, gently combing her fingers through Jace's hair, when his eyes slowly began to flutter open.

"Alec..." Jace's voice sounded, his face twisting in confusion. "Hold on. I'm here. I'll..." It was obvious that he'd been dreaming and didn't know where he was, his eyes shifting around the room before finally focusing on Clary. Realizing that he was still in Magnus' London apartment, he moved urgently to get up off the couch. "We have to..."

"Shhh. Calm down," Clary soothed, pushing at his chest to keep him from getting up. "Take it easy. Guys," she called out, looking around the room franticly for the others. "He's awake." The relief in her voice was palpable.