Dinner was—was it even edible? Alec nervously poked at the blackened lump on his plate with his fork. Jace set a can of soda in front of the warlock, sipping at his own. Magnus was, to no avail, trying to stab a hole in said lump with his knife.
"Um, Iz," he asked, his voice carefully neutral. "This looks delicious, but what—is it?"
"Chicken," she said, as if that was obvious. "And I made pasta." She dropped a heavy porcelain bowl on the mahogany table. The pasta looked like several long worms stuck together, floating in a bowl of glue. Magnus put a hand over his mouth.
Alec, under the table, snapped his fingers the second Izzy's back was turned. In a hasty flash of blue sparks, the blackened chicken turned into grilled fillets, topped with a white sauce and a sprig of mint. The pasta became heavy folds of fettuccine alfredo with more chicken diced in it.
"Ah!" Jace exclaimed, clapping his hands together. "This looks delicious, Iz!" He cut eagerly into the chicken breast as the Shadowhuntress turned back around and looked, confused, at the table. Then she met Alec's eye and glared.
He smiled weakly and busied himself with cutting.
"Back to our earlier topic," she said instead, sitting down heavily and twirling her fettuccine on her fork. "When is the next High Warlock Council meeting?"
Alec waved a hand over the table and a watery image of his calendar appeared. Frowning, he peered at it, tapping a finger on the table. Jace leaned over the table, obviously in awe, and ran a finger across the image. Alec smacked his wrist away.
"This weekend," he concluded, letting the image vanish. "I've got to travel to London."
"London?" the three Shadowhunters echoed—two confused and one excited.
"It's London's year to host," he explained, taking a big bite of the chicken breast. "Every year, each city gets a chance to host that year's meetings. London won the drawing this year. Phoenix, Arizona, was last year. New York City is probably next year. It's been quite a while since the meetings have been held here."
"Do you plan to Portal to London?" Jace asked, and then caught himself. "Of course, you do."
"Nope, I'm going to hail a cab to London," Alec mocked sarcastically. "One of those magical flying ones."
"What if they made those, though?" Jace suggested with a cocky grin. Alec rolled his eyes.
"I forgot you can make Portals now," Izzy commented with a bright smile. Alec laughed and put his fork back to his chicken. "Are you okay, Magnus?" she added, redirecting his attention to the other Shadowhunter. "You've been awfully quiet."
The dark-haired boy was jerked to attention by her voice, having been staring unseeingly at the table. He laughed nervously and rubbed the back of his head.
"Peachy," he said with a sweet smile. "No need for concern, Iz."
He was lying. That much Alec knew off the bat. He narrowed his eyes and forced his way into Magnus' head.
Pictures were flashing though his subconscious—a blonde child with two long, pleated braids; a dark-haired boy with green eyes and a distrustful gaze; an older couple dancing and laughing to unheard music; a huge 18th century castle, glamoured to look abandoned, with the motto of the Clave arcing over the high doorway in Latin. The pictures spun, faster and faster, until Alec couldn't keep up and he had to jerk back and take a deep breath like a diver resurfacing. His hands were white on the table and his stomach flipped.
YOU ARE READING
Outcast
Fanfic"My name is Magnus," he introduced himself, gold eyes shining. "Magnus Lightwood." "I didn't know Maryse and Robert had another kid," Alec said, much more sharply than intended. "Adopted," he amended, shrugging one shoulder. "My parents-died. Year...
