The Business Trip

Chapter 18

Hey, I'm really sorry that it's taken me so long. I have had a crazy few months, a lot of family stuff, school stuff, and medical stuff. But I finally have my laptop and am in a space conducive to writing, and I can keep going, cause like I said before, I WILL NOT abandon this story. I want to apologize especially to those of you who have been here since the first few chapters and posted reviews as we were going, thank you for the support and I hope you will continue to read and enjoy. Thank you to those of you who reviewed telling me to update, sorry it took so long and I hope it was worth the wait!

"Brad?!" Was echoed throughout the room, the people whose mouth had not yet resembled a fish certainly did at that moment.

'Brad' just chuckled darkly, walking into the room. Jace just stood with his seraph blade raised, ready to strike if he made a move.

Magnus was the most shocked out of everyone. How could there have been a vampire that close to him and him not notice? For such a big revelation, he was eerily calm, "How did I not know about this?" He said out loud.

"Unlike those you call your children, I know how to cover my tracks," He said, deliberately picking out those words.

Magnus' face suddenly went wan with horror and realization, "No, she didn't," Magnus breathed. Alec was looking at him with concern while everyone else was confused.

"Of course she did, did you really think that she would just let it go? You locked her up!" He yelled.

"Magnus? What's he talking about?" Alec asked.

"Yeah, mind filling us in?" Jace asked from his position still in front of Alec and Magnus, holding his seraph blade towards 'Brad'.

Magnus sighed, "Camille tends to hold a grudge,"

Alec visibly recoiled, "Th-the vampire? She knew about this place?" he asked, sounding a little hurt.

"Alec, I told nobody of this place, not even my dearest Catarina," Magnus said exasperatedly and Alec straightened up a little.

Brad snorted, "Still horribly naive I see,"

"What is that supposed to mean? You don't even know me," Magnus said, calm, cool, and collected.

"Don't I? Just because you don't remember my face doesn't mean we could ever forget yours. You let us die," He spat.

Magnus straightened up, making Alec a bit concerned, "You're one of De Quincey's," It was not a question. Magnus let out a dry laugh, "You murdered innocent people, drained them for entertainment. I didn't let them die, I didn't have a say, the shadowhunters did what shadowhunters do. You broke the accords,"

"De Quincy broke the accords! Honestly, I heard so much about the great Magnus Bane and how he helped those in need! Did you ever think for a second that just because he was a monster that didn't mean we all were? He sired us, but that didn't mean we asked for it, this life! I was a tailor, I was married, I had a kid! I didn't ask for my life to be ripped away!" Brad yelled.

"And yet you stayed as part of the clan, you took part in the torturing, murdering, and turning of countless other innocent people," Magnus' voice was passionate.

"I didn't know what to do! He starved us so that we would obey him, that was the only food source there was. What were we going to do? Runaway? Mortmain would have had our heads! There wasn't a way out! Most of us were just hoping that someone would save us, and then you came along and we thought that just maybe you would see what was really happening and help us, but I guess you were too blinded by that blonde bitch to care!" He lunged at Magnus, who was standing there like stone.

Alec and Jace sprung into action, putting into place the plan that they had come up with years ago for moments like this. Alec put an arrow through Brad's shoulder and another one into his knee while Jace restrained him from behind.

"Everyone alright?" Jace asked, holding the now incapacitated vampire.

The whole room nodded with wide eyes, completely shell-shocked. Alec came up behind Magnus, putting a hand on his back, "Magnus, you ok?" Magnus nodded with a small, forced smile.

Alec wanted to question him further because it was an obvious lie, but he decided that now might not be the best time, nor place, to talk about something that made him vulnerable.

"How did we miss the piano player being a vampire?" Kurt asked, a glazed look still in his eye. There were murmurs of agreement throughout the room.

"Don't be so discouraged, I'm 400 years old and even I did not see that coming," Magnus comforted.

"How old?!" Mr. Schue, whom everyone seemed to have forgotten was there, squeaked. It sounded as though he wanted to yell, but couldn't find his voice.

"Alec, we should really get him to the Institute," Jace pleaded as Brad started to stir.

"Yeah, right. Uh, Mags do you wanna...?" Alec sighed, he really didn't want to have to always ask the warlock for help, "What do you want to do?" He wasn't sure exactly what specific situation he was asking about, Alec just wanted to find out what Magnus needed and give it to him.

"I want to get Brad locked up in the institute. Then, possibly, a nice bath and a bottle of wine from my special collection," Magnus answered, looking like he was being held together by duct tape. He looked at Alec, then over at Jace struggling to find a comfortable position to hold the dead weight in his arms, and made a portal to the institute, "You two go along, I'm going to clean up here then go back to my place. I'll see you both tomorrow," at this Alec lost his smile, he thought Magnus had wanted him to stay with him, "unless, of course, you would care to join me?" He finished, looking up at Alec through his lashes, the way he did when he wanted Alec to say yes to something.

"I'll see you in an hour," Alec said, pecking Magnus' forehead before disappearing through the portal with his parabatai and the vampire piano teacher.

"Ok, what the hell just happened?" Mercedes asked.

'Here we go,' Magnus' thought, eyes still closed from when Alec kissed him, trying to gather the strength to be hammered with questions.

Alright guys there's the next chapter, I know it took a while and I just want to say thank you again for waiting and I hope this lives up to your expectations. Please review and tell me what I can do better.