"The Tips"
by Fuuyuki
Pairing: Malec (Magnus Bane / Alexander Lightwood)
Tag: Original Characters; you know the adoption stuff
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Alec was the only shadowhunter in the institute when the tips came in. Robert was now long staying in Idris as the Inquisitor. Maryse was in Idris for some regular meetings while Izzy was on vacation with Simon aboard. For Jace, by the angel, may be only Angel Raziel can find his favorite child. And the same applied to Clary.
There are protocols stating no shadowhunters should go on investigation for demon activities alone or at least informed the head of institute beforehand. However, since Alec was the only shadowhunter here and technically he was the acting head of institute right now, he found he was the only one left to give responses.
The tips didn't sound dangerous, compared to their normal missions, therefore Alec decided not to inform his husband, the High Warlock of Brooklyn. Yes, the couple, Magnus Bane and Alexander Lightwood, finally had their wedding ceremony held last year. Nevertheless, it's not bound under the Clave's Covenant and it's just a Mundane's ceremony, their vows for the marriage was counted for the both of them.
The sweet memories can be saved till back home later tonight. Alec had suited up with his shadowhunter’s gears and was heading to the told location.
The tips from the informer said recently in the central NY, there were some arrogant upper-class mundanes who felt, in the age of plenty, their spiritual hunger in an idiotic way. They had form an underground club and raised a demon. They kept it in custody which made a very bad choice for pets.
“Stupid, stupid mundanes. Why can’t they learn not to burn themselves with fire?” Alec murmured on his way to a luxury hotel.
He walked to the alley behind the hotel and left the resplendent main lobby behind him. Liked told, there was a doorway hidden at the back of the hotel which lead the basement. Alec reached out his adamas rock and entered the dark.
The stairway straightly leaded to a dusky corridor with candleholders on the walls. Alec paced quietly into it and heard some noise from the end of the corridor. There was a metal door locked from the inside. It looked like it’s an emergency exit to the room behind. In this distance, Alec could clearly hear a group of people mumbling some kind of incantation.
He looked down to his left arm to ensure the glamour rune was working. Then he drew an opening mark to the door and slid in to the concealed room. The inside was as dark as the outside. Even though there were no windows in the basement, heavy blackout curtains were hanged like partition walls to separate the area. There was the only light-source glowing from the center of the room.
The time Alec entered the room, the mumbling had stopped. He passed through the curtains and finally saw the group of people.
Suddenly, a childish voice cried out from the bunch of people.
Alec alarmed and rushed forward. All he could saw was a group of well-dressed people with age around early thirty, they were all standing in a circle with a large metal cage in the center. Fire was rising in the metal cage and there was something crawling in it.
At the first sight, Alec thought it was the demon from the tips. However, he then quickly realized the childish crying was from the object in the cage.
He came closer to the cage and raged.
“By the Angel!!” He gasped and not bothering the people could hear him even he’s invisible.
He is a shadowhunter. He can tell whatever is a demon or not. And this was definitely not a demon. It’s nothing demons, it’s…he’s a child of linth, a warlock child.
Those people were burning a warlock child with FIRE!!
Alec, with his rage rising, squatted and kicked down those people blocking his way. The mundanes couldn’t see him yelled in fear. Alec punched some of them.
The stupid mundanes now learnt not to burn themselves but a child. Sound very NICE to them.
“GET OUT!!” Alec shouted as he threw a man onto the ground.
All the men were scared and rushed to the exit then disappeared.
He rushed to the sides of the room and tore down the blackout curtain. Then he ran back to the cage in haste. He put out his stele to draw an open rune to the lock and jumped into the cage. The burning warlock child looked stunned and scared but didn't move any inch when Alec walked near him.
“Just hold still, I am gonna to put it out.” Alec said and opened the large piece of curtain to cover the boy.
However, the plan wasn’t gone as expected. The curtain burnt on the warlock child. Alec confused and then realized that it was not mundane’s fire. The flame changed from red to blue. It was demonic fire. The warlock child may somehow generate his magic to rise the demonic fire to protect himself from the mundane’s one around him.
Alec took back the burning curtain and put it away. He kneeled down to the boy. “Are you in pain?”
The warlock child nodded but shook his head later. This’s at least a good new but that was not good enough.
”Can you undo it? Can you put the fire out?” Alec took a step backward as the blue flame grew stronger.
The boy looked at him helplessly and shook his head again. Panic was growing on his face as the fire grew stronger. Sooner or later, all the curtains in this room would be on fire. There must be some sort of wine cellar in the basement of a hotel. By the Angel, what damages would cause if the fire spread into there.
It was all guts, it had to be.
Alec took a breath and leaned forward. He hugged the boy with his both arms.
The warlock child was panic with the action of Alec. He cried out loudly and tried to put Alec away but failed.
“It’s ok now…calm down and let the fire go…” He said with calmed voice and bit back the hiss when he felt the pain of heat burning on him. “You don’t want to hurt anyone.”
The crying sound got lighter and changed into sobbing as the bluish flame scattered and vanished.
“You have done an excellent job.” Alec let go the boy a little bit to look down to his face.
Before the boy responded, his smile cracked as he felt down to the floor.
The time Alec opened his eyes again, he was covered with a curtain cloth, not the one burnt some time ago but another one tore down from the curtain rack. He moved his eyes and saw the warlock child was sitting next to him on the floor, sobbing and mumbling some words like “sorry” and “I didn’t mean it.”
“Sorry to scared you…but I am alright.” Alec said and tried to sit up. “I knew it’s nothing your faults”
The boy raised his head with a tearful face. Alec lifted up his hand and dragged the boy into his arm to pat his head gently. “Everything will be ok.”
The boy was very young, with an appearance age around seven or eight and felt even smaller in Alec’s arm. Alec suddenly reminded about Max, his poor litter brother who was killed in the age on nine. Max was always too skinny and tiny that everyone thought he was only seven …
It’s still hurt to think about his little brother. He wiped his reddened eyes with the free hand.
A moment later, he drew out his phone from his back leather pocket. He was still too tried to stand up or walk. The iratze runes saved him from the fire but had used up all his strength. He really needed some backup by now.
Luckily, his phone still worked so he pressed the speed dial.
“Hey, darling. Finished your patrol tonight?” the cheerful voice sounded from the phone.
“Magnus…” Alec panted and claimed his steady voice as he tried. “Come to the basement of the new hotel in central, two boards away from the restaurant we went last Saturday to pick us up.”
“Alec. What happened? Are you hurt? Who is with you?” Magnus voice changed into worries. It’s not like Alec was trying to ask for a night walk after his normal patrol. He could hear pains in his husband.
“I am alright…just…exhausted…I am with a child, a warlock child.” Alec felt hard to keep on the conversation.
“Hold on. Five Minutes!” Magnus said in urge.
Alec dropped the phone and turned his eyes to the boy who was still holding in his arms. “We’re safe now.”
Around four minutes later, the sound of speedy footsteps bounded from the ground of the corridor.
“Alec? Are you inside?” Magnus, still in his housedresses, rushed into the room filled with charred smell.
“Oh! Alec!” Once Magnus caught his eyes on Alec, he dashed and leaned down to hold him from the hands of a strange boy and immediately started to mumble some healing words. The blue sparkles were dancing from his fingertips down to Alec’s burnt skins and turning them from charred back to their normal pale tone.
“I will be alright. Just take care the boy.” Alec raised his hand to cup his worried husband’s face with a smile and exhaustingly closed his eyes.
His world fell into darkness but he felt safe and relieved.
= = = TBC(?) = = =