"Thank you so much, Maddox," Alec said after the rest of the warlocks had left. Luxor had been the first to storm out angrily, heavy cloak swirling in his wake. Cailin and Magnus were talking quietly behind Alec. "Your vote means a lot to me, and to him."
Pride smiled and gripped one of Alec's hands in his. "Valentine is a threat that affects us all. I would be crazy to say no. See you in four months, Bane."
"Of course," he said, smiling back, and watched as Pride left, swinging his overcoat on and holding his briefcase lightly in one hand. He turned and found Adal standing just behind him, looking out over the skyline. Alec glanced at Magnus and Cailin, who seemed to be hitting it off, and headed for the German warlock.
"London is beautiful in the wintertime," he commented quietly. "Berlin is already full of snow."
"It rarely snows here," Alec agreed. "New York hasn't gotten cold enough yet."
Adal sighed, his hands in the pockets of his traveling cloak. "You understand, Alexander, why I gave the answer I did."
Alec didn't, but he didn't say so. He watched Big Ben instead.
"I have seen so many things you haven't, and that is not a bad thing nor an insult—I am simply older, and that is all it is," Adal began. "I was born in the 17th century. I do not know the exact year. I lived through every war—uprisings, revolutions, Vietnam, Korea, both World Wars, the Cold War—and I know how men are." He sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. "World War Two was particularly close to home. Mengele—you know him."
"I know of him, yes," Alec replied, thinking with some distaste on the disgusting Nazi doctor.
"There are rumors—only rumors, mind—that he was a Nephilim." Adal shifted. "And that the twins he worked on were Downworlders. That he worked closely with a corrupt Downworld power to seize young Downworlders and experiment on them. Of course, the mundanes don't know that—they explained it all away. They were different colors, different shapes, different kinds, because of his experiments." He sighed through his nose. "I watched Hitler rise to power by using his connections within the German Nephilim. Paying this one off, killing them if he needed to, cover ups and lies and trickery—that's all the Nephilim showed us then, and all we could show in return was—was fear. We were rounded up in the camps with the Jewish populous." He looked to Alec, eyes filled with tears. "I lost my Maria there."
Alec had heard tell from Cailin that Adal's one true love had been killed during World War Two. She had been a faerie, and he had sworn to never love another.
"The soldiers were Nephilim." Adal's green and brown eyes were dark and misty as he faced the window again. "And I will never forgive them."
"I'm so sorry, Adal." It was inadequate at best, but it was all Alec could form.
He nodded once. "I cannot forgive the Nephilim. I cannot trust them, and I will not ever let my guard down around them."
Alec looked back at Magnus. Cailin had created a ball of red magic in one hand and was manipulating it with his other. Magnus was staring intently at it, mouth moving, obviously asking question after question. He looked so young, so...unwarriorlike.
Adal seemed to feel Alec's attention shift. "Lightwood seems different, Alec, do not misunderstand. Maybe he will prove me wrong." He put one tanned hand on Alec's shoulder. "For your sake, Alexander, I hope he does."
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...
