Pater Amissus

~~~2~~~

The next morning, the Lightwood-Bane household woke up to a piercing scream. Alec, Rafael, Max, and Thomas rushed to Natalia's bedroom, ready for anything. The girl was sitting up in her bed, covered in sweat and crying. She was shaking and her eyes were glazed. Natalia had done this several times before. Vivid nightmares of her life before the family plagued her sleep. No one knew exactly what happened in her past, and Natalia never divulged the information. But this family was no stranger to closely guarded secrets. Alec wrapped his only daughter in a hug and watched with a sad smile as she clung to him as if for dear life. Max had disappeared to the kitchen and came back with a glass bottle. A pale green and white liquid about the same consistency as melted ice cream was contained within. Magnus had been working on a potion to help with nightmares for years, given so many of the people in his life suffered from them. Once Natalia came into the picture, 5 years old and scared of everything, Magnus only had more of an incentive to get it right. Natalia snatched the bottle out of her brother's hand and downed it quickly.

"Are you okay?" Alec asked once she'd calmed down. There were still tears flowing freely, but she had otherwise calmed down. Rafe, Max, and Thomas all sat down on the bed next to their baby sister.

"No! I saw Papa." Natalia breathed heavily. "He was in pain, could hardly move."

"Oh, Kitty," Alec murmured the nickname into her hair.

"It was dark, but I could screams from other people. Papa looked right at me, and told me to hide." Natalia continued. "I did, and a man came in. He looked almost like Papa. Papa called him Asmodeus."

Alec tensed up. Rafe and Max had heard the stories of what their grandfather had put their parents through. While having never met the Greater Demon, both boys knew he was no good. And if Asmodeus was still alive, that was bad news.

"They talked, but I couldn't hear them. Then Asmodus said something about his grandchildren and turned right to me!" Natalia was fully crying once again. "Papa screamed at me to run and I woke up."

All four males present wrapped the only girl in a tight hug.

"It's okay, we're going to figure this out," Alec assured her. "We'll find Papa."

A family trip was planned to the New York Institute. Izzy, Jace, and Clary greeted them, Simon and Luke showing up not too long after. Thomas and Natalia were given a tour of the place by Clary and Simon while everyone else got down to business. No one had been able to find Magnus yet. Alec told everyone about Nat's dream.

"It sounds like a sort of vision." Luke thought, before turning to Max. "Can you guys get those?"

"Yeah, but it's extremely rare." Max shrugged. "What are some places Asmodeus might've taken Papa?"

"He grew up in Indonesia. Caterina might know the town name." Alec answered. "We can start there."

"What do we do about Nat and Tom?" Rafael asked. His younger siblings were too young to be fully brought into the chaos. They might've heard the stories and had run-ins with demons in the past when they were younger, but this would be too much for them. Natalia still had trouble controlling her magic if her emotions were too strong, Thomas -while having proved himself- still wasn't ready to be sent into the field.

"They can stay here at the Institute," Izzy said. "We can protect them here."

"I won't be able to help though," Alec sighed. "I still have duties I need to fulfill."

"We'll handle it, Dad," Max reassured him. "We'll stop by Aunt Cat's and see what she knows."