West of Words (Alec Lightwood)

🗝 Chapter Fifty 🗝

Magnus Bane had spent the past day with the fledgling Simon Lewis and all that had come from it was a stronger respect for his son for sharing an apartment with the boy, and a small box that couldn't be opened with magic.

Because of Simon's near stupidity, and only knowing Magnus well enough to ask him for help, he and Simon set off for India to find Camille Belcourt in the early morning. A Vampire that Magnus hoped to never see again, but now that he had the chance to find her he would take the boy up on it.

Camille had nearly tore his family apart, she had succeeded for a long time in terrorizing Varian, and the idea of being able to find her and hand her over to the Clave was one that he had jumped on. At the beginning of the day, he had already decided that Camille Belcourt would not be given the power to torment his son anymore.

But now that he was sitting in his apartment on the Upper Side of Manhattan, without having turned in Camille Belcourt to the Clave, he was significantly disappointed in himself and in Simon Lewis.

"Listen Antiques Roadshow, you got all your stuff back, but Raphael still wants to kill me, and Camille is nowhere to be found." Simon's voice was comically panicked, and Magnus just looked him up and down, and amused smile on his face as he mixed himself a drink.

"We don't have her, but we do have that." Magnus motioned at it was an off handed gesture to the little wooden box now sitting on the coffee table between the two of them. "Maybe you can use what's inside of it to lure her back. If you can get it open."

Simon nodded, almost too aggressively, before grabbing at the box and smashing at it with his hand. Magnus groaned at the offending noise. "How?"

"Wish I knew." Magnus muttered, draping himself across the love seat."Whatever is in it is important, and it has wards keeping Warlocks out."

Simon looked up at him in a fury, "You know what else is important?" His voice rose to levels of near hysteria. "The parts Raphael wants to burn off of me if I don't find Camille."

Magnus sighed, wishing more than anything that he had Varian's powers to calm someone, the boys voice was giving him a headache at the moment. "We'll figure it out Simon." It was spoken in a reassuring voice, with an added smile.

"We?" Simon asked, his hands stilling on the box, as he lifted it up to his mouth to bite at.

Magnus looked off in a daze. "When I was a boy, discovering my powers, I had no one." Simon looked sad, at Magnus' words. "I had to figure out the Downworld all on my own. It was awful. So I vowed to myself that if I ever found someone in a situation similar to that, I'd try and make sure they didn't have to go at it alone."

Simon smiled brightly, "So like my sponsor?" Magnus bobbed his head from side to side in a way of saying 'kind of.' "Thanks, but I've kinda already got Varian."

Magnus smiled at the mention of his son. "Well now you have the entire Bane family for help."

He started to say something else, a small but bright smile on his face, but the words were interrupted by a strong and strange feeling at his chest. Thunder crashed outside his balcony, startling Simon at its sudden appearance, if Magnus could think past the clenching at his heart he probably would have laughed.

A phone ringing startles him, and he struggles to pull the phone from his front pocket. Answering it in a quick way that nearly has him dropping the phone. "Magnus Bane High Warlock of Brooklyn to whom am I speaking to?" His usual mantra sounded strange on his tongue with the odd feeling in his heart.

"Magnus? It's Izzy, have you heard from Varian?" 

And suddenly the strange feeling made just the smallest amount of sense, his son needed him. "No, what's happened?"

"He and Alec were on a mission and after he made a portal for Alec to get back to the Institute but didn't follow him through." Izzy sounded worried, and the more she spoke the more that Magnus felt like panicking. "We've been trying to find him on the scanners but there's no sign of him. Alec's panicking, and to be honest I am too..."

Izzy trailed off, and Magnus nodded despite the fact that she couldn't see. "I'll come to you, update me when I get there. Keep looking for Jace and Valentine, he's probably heading to them."

Every part of him wanted to curse his sons name as he hurried to leave, but he bit his tongue, holding back the string of words as he explained to Simon Lewis that he was leaving. He waved his hand and a portal appeared, the Warlock stepping through as he wrung his hands with worry in front of him.

The portal dropped him a block away from the Institute, he had yet to master his sons ability for portaling directly inside, the wards of the Institute nearly to powerful.

Varian's magic was strong, stronger than most, even when he was just a Secondhand Warlock he soared above all others in his magic. But now that he had gained the powers (and looks) of Ragnor Fell he was quite easily one of the most powerful to ever walk the Earth, and that idea worried Magnus. Not that he was jealous, no, rather he was proud, constantly proud. What worried him about all of this was the fact that it made him more of a target, for Valentine who didn't know of his own sons existence, and for some parts of the Clave who constantly wanted the power of the Downworlders at their command.

Varian would not become another one of their pawns, Magnus would make sure of that. He would do anything to protect his son.

Anything.