West of Words (Alec Lightwood)

🗝 Chapter Twenty-Nine 🗝

Camille whined like a child whose toy was taken away at Alec's words, and just to spite him she took another step towards Varian. Purposefully looking at Alec over her shoulder as she reached to touch Varian's face.

Varian attempted to pull away, but the disappointing clunk of his head hitting the wall behind him terrified him. He was on the verge of using magic to push the Vampire away again, but she disappeared and the hand was gone from his face in seconds.

Camille was on the floor, Izzy's whip wrapped around her neck as she stood above her with a terrifying look in her eyes.

Alec crossed the room just as quickly as Camille did, he held a hand out to Varian, and though Varian was aware that Alec didn't understand the situation, he still found comfort in holding Alec's hand.

"I'll get your Writ." His voice was soft as he spoke, the words were directed to Simon, rather than the Vampire on the floor, and with great difficulty he let go of Alec's hand.

He stepped into his work room, finding comfort in the odd smells coming from the ingredients on the walls. Varian pressed his hands in to the counter top, taking the opportunity to relax after the ordeal that just took place.

Varian took a deep shaky breath, cursing the fact that the Shadowhunters had decided to bring that curse-ed Vampire into his home. He shook his head, straightening his back as he stood and walked to the desk in the corner of the room. He pulled a document from the top drawer, smiling in success before leaving the room.

"There Simon." Once again, Varian didn't acknowledge Camille.

"He's cute." Camille spoke. Varian ignored her words, looking to Alec as he continued to speak.

"It's a Warlock spell book, and a powerful one at that. I'll join you, if you'll have me." In truth, Varian wanted to curl up in his bed with a cup of cocoa and a good book, but he would come with Alec if he wanted him too.

Alec glanced over his shoulder at the Vampire before looking back at Varian. "If you're feeling up to it."

Varian only nodded as a reply. With a relaxed hand he created a portal, and let Camille designate the location. He waited for her to pass through, then Izzy, Simon and Clarissa. Alec stood just on the edge of the portal, a concerned smile on his face as he held his hand out to the young Warlock.

Varian considered the hand for a moment, before reaching to take it in his right. An umbrella from the stand by the door came flying across the room, and Varian caught it with a steady hand, placing it on his back in one movement. Alec looked impressed as the umbrella changed into a sword, before fading into nothing.

"Thank you." Varian uttered as he took a step closer to Alec, standing on his toes to press a kiss to his cheek, before pulling him through the portal.

When they landed on the other side, Alec didn't make any move to let go of Varian's hand, so he just held it. Using it as grounding to keep himself sane in the presence of Camille Belcourt, he looked around the library that they had landed in, annoyed that he felt no great source of magic on any of the shelves.

"This place creeps me out." Varian muttered, wincing at the lingering emotions in every corner of the room.

"Izzy." Alec called, "Let's check the perimeter."

Izzy nodded, the bracelet on her wrist slowly unwrapping from her arm and forming a staff in her hand. Varian was instantly intrigued, but decided that this was not the time to ask questions. He let go of Alec's hand, stepping toward the nearest shelf of books, brushing his hands along the wood.

It answered the unasked question from Alec, Varian felt him leave the room as he divided his concentration. Half on finding the Book of the White, and the other half on making sure Camille didn't come near him.

"On the dotted line, if you please." Camille's voice made Varian cringe, but he ignored it, trying to sense some form of magic in the room. "It's a pleasure doing business with you Simon."

Varian turned, watching as Camille folded the writ in half and turned to leave. She looked at Varian, and he clenched his fist, wishing that he had decided to go with Alec rather than stay in the same room as Camille.

"Goodbye little Warlock." Her voice had an undertone of 'this won't be the last time we meet' to it. Varian didn't reply as the Vampire sped out of the apartment, but relaxed the moment she was gone.

His eyes wandered around the room before landing on Clarissa. She pulled a cook book off of the shelf, and Varian smiled brightly as she did. A slight yellow aura covered the book, a clear sign of the magic that had been used on it. Varian crossed the room and stood next to her as she opened it flat on the desk.

"My mom use to make Chicken Cacciatore all the time when I was a kid." Clarissa explained as she flipped through the pages of the book.

Varian felt a pang of regret as he watched her flip through the book, he needed to tell her about their familial connection before it was too late, and now was as good of a time as ever.

He watched with curiosity apparent on his face as she pulled the other piece of the bookmark from her pocket and it reattached itself to the piece sitting on the cookbook. The book changed before their eyes, and he smiled in excitement. Varian had grown up hearing tales about the Book of the White  from his baba, about the spells that it held, and here he was now, the Book of the White  in front of him.

"Yes!" Clarissa shouted, closing the book with a loud thunk before turning to hug Simon in her excitement.

The moment was short lived, the far door slammed open, the sound echoing sharply through the room as Valentine entered. Clary shoved the book towards Varian and he took it, hugging it close to his chest in a way of protecting it.

"Clarissa." Valentine smiled at his daughter in a cruel way. "So good to see you. Where's your brother?"

The door next to them flew open as Jace came running in. If it was any other situation Varian might have laughed.

Jace brandished his sword at Valentine, waving his hands for Simon and Clarissa to leave the room. They moved to do it, and Varian shoved the book into Simon's hands as he passed by, muttering a protection charm over the pair of them before drawing his own sword from over his shoulder.

"You think you can fight me and win son?" Valentine crowed, waving his hand to motion someone forward. Two Mundanes-turned-Shadowhunters entered the room, both of their swords across Izzy and Alec's throat.

Varian felt his blood run cold.

"Fight me, and watch your friends die."