The Cat-eyed Warlock

Lightworm

The floor wavered in front of Alec's eyes and his footsteps rang across the floor of his bedroom, impatience thick in the air. He kept imagining Magnus dying somewhere alone and helpless.

"Would you please stop that?" A young girl said, entering the room with a heavy sword in her hands.

"Emma! This is not a good time, why don't you go and find Izzy?" Alec pulled his face into what must have been a very unconvincing smile because Emma merely looked at him askance.

"Are you alright?" She asked tentatively

"Yes" He yelled, "I'm fine, now leave me alone"

Her deep brown eyes stared back at him, a deep rooted fear spreading across her face, and she ran out, her long dark hair waving behind her.

"I'm sorry Emma -" Alec began, but her footsteps had echoed down the hallway and out into the courtyard and he was left alone with his thoughts; probably the place he least wanted to in the world, "Damn you Alec" he muttered before hurrying out of the room in search of Isabelle.

***

"I have tried contacting Tessa, Alec" Izzy repeated for what felt like the thousandth time, "She as not replied, I cannot make her reply, and you will just have to wait"

"But Magnus could be in danger. In fact he almost certainly is" Alec retorted tensely, a muscle in his jaw flexing angrily.

"And I can do nothing about that. Do I look like a warlock?"

"No"

"Then stop taking your anger out on me. I can't do anything"

"You have to"

Alec stood for a moment as his sister contemplated what to say, but he sighed and shook his head.

"Never mind, I'll find him myself" He pushed past Izzy and walked into the hall, his heart pumping and a feeling of despair crawling over him like ants.

"You okay Alexander?" A woman's voice said, and he turned to see Tessa standing behind him

"You... you were here this whole time?" He gasped, anger and surprise fighting for priority

"I just came now, what is it?" Her kind grey eyes seemed to dissipate the anger in him and he felt a gaping hole open up in him.

"Magnus is gone" He squeaked, before blushing and clearing his throat, "I think he went after his father"

"Oh no. We have to find him" Tessa put her hands through her long grey hair and sighed

Alec took a deep breath to calm himself, but even he didn't notice a pair of eyes watching him from the closet.

"Where would he have gone?" Alec asked urgently

"I'm not sure. We don't talk much anymore" She replied, "Where do you think he would go?"

"I have no clue. He never really said anything about-" Alec stopped as a flaming piece of paper flew towards him, swerved last moment and slid down the wall, leaving a nasty black mark on the white paint.

"Is that...?" Alec picked it up carefully

"It's not from Magnus. He would be more careful about killing us" Tessa looked over his shoulder. It was scrawled messily and some of the letters were back to front.

"Magnus in cave...no mag-ik?.... Drugs" Tessa read aloud, "How does that help us?"

"I think it means Magnus is in a cave wit-"

"Yeah I got that part" she cut in, frowning and chewing her lip, "I....I remember a drug created by Henry Branwell. It somehow stunted demonic magic"

"Henry Branwell created it? I thought he liked downworlders" Alec puzzled

"He was, but when Benedict Lightworm-I mean Lightwood- caught demon pox, he worried it would spread so he developed an antidote to demonic-and obviously warlock- magic. With Magnus' help of course"

"So this is stunting Magnus' magic?"

"It would appear so" Tessa said slowly, "The thing is, it was all destroyed after they realised that it could stop warlock magic. I saw it burn"

"Could someone have the recipe?" Alec asked after a pause, "I mean - if Henry Branwell wrote it down-"

"Oh my god" Tessa breathed, "Lydia"

"Lydia? Like...Lydia Head of the London Institute?" Alec raised his eyebrows incredulously

"Yeah, she had access to the notes, and she could also have had the power to draft a warlock in to make a potion. Malcolm Fade for example" She sighed, running a calloused hand through her long grey hair.

"What does Malcolm Fade have to do with it?" Alec asked, the whole thing starting to sound farcical.

"Malcolm Fade went over to the dark side long ago" Tessa explained, "After his sweetheart was murdered by the Blackthorns, he looked everywhere for a way to resurrect her"

"So Asmodeas made a deal with him?" Alec asked, "He would bring her back and in return..."

"Malcolm wold summon him and make him the potion. Yes"

"We've got to rescue him" Alec said, "Can you track the fire message or something?"

"Usually no, but I had to stop it from incinerating our head so I'm guessing we are dealing with a young warlock" Tessa sighed, "Also it didn't burn up so that's a bonus"

She fished the letter from her dress pocket. Moving her long fingers carefully, she spun a web of purple magic around the charred remains, holding it together and infiltrating the 'genetics' of the magic trace. After a moment she gasped, lowering the network of light and replacing the message in her pocket.

"He's in New York!" She exclaimed, "I've seen it before"

"Alright but-"

"But you need your bow?" Tessa smiled, holding up Alec's weapon, "We need to hurry"

She flicked her fingers and a purple portal appeared in the corridor. As they stepped through a figure behind them sprung, catlike from the shadows into the purple whirlpool.