Chapter 22

Everyone was pretty much running on fumes.

Since discovering Alec's disappearance, they've all been in go mode with barely even a moment to think about anything else.

"Magnus," Clary called out from behind the warlock. Turning around, he saw that she was offering him a cup of coffee.

Infact, now that he thought about it, he hadn't eaten or had anything to drink since this morning....or rather since Yesterday's morning, as it was already well after midnight and into the next day. Not even a cup of water had graced his lips. However, as Magnus looked at the steaming mug held carefully in Clary's hand, he doubted if he would be able to keep anything down, even if it was only a cup of coffee. The warlock shook his head in response.

Clary smiled at him faintly before she went back over to the coffee pot, returning to offer the others a cup as well.

Jace, accepting one of the steaming mugs, smiled his thanks before turning his attention back to Robert, asking the head of the New York Institute, "What exactly do you mean some of the guards left their post?"

Apparently the two shadowhunters who had been guarding the front entrance, had abandoned their post. And the time of this just so happened to have coincided with when all of the security cameras had been turned off.

"It seemed they went to Taki's for some late night takeout," said Robert, his tone sarcastic, as though this statement was said in jest.

Clary frowned, "What? Why didn't they say anything earlier?"

Everyone was flabbergasted.

Robert explained, "Because of Alec's dissapearance, they were afraid of being blamed."

Jace's brows knitted close together. Considering their work schedule, it wasn't uncommon for them, shadowhunters, to go on late night food runs. However, what Jace found strange was that both guards would leave their post at the same time. Why not one go while the other stay behind?

Everyone seemed to be thinking along similar lines; why not leave someone behind?

Answering their unspoken questions, Robert continued, explaining that Dane Larkspear, who'd just come back from patrolling, had offered to stand in for the two until they returned; that according to Van Ashdown, one of the two guards, Larkspear had been very pushy with his suggestion, listing off a whole slew of dishes he wanted them to purchase for him as well. In the end, he'd convinced them that it would be better for the two of them to go together.

The room was silent for a long while, everyone seeming to contemplate everything Robert had just explained.

"So...so he's involved then?" It was Simon who broke the silence, causing the others to give him a look, as if to say; of course he's involved!

Magnus had remained silent this entire time, his expression complicated. The others kept on giving him nervous looks, as if they were expecting him to explode in rage at any moment. The truth was that even he himself didn't know exactly what he was feeling. He had a million different thoughts running through his mind all at once. And with all of the different emotions bombarding him... it was like he was somehow becoming numbed to everything. Piece by piece, everything was coming together. What he'd already suspected, was indeed proving to be true.

It was Jace who asked the next question, "And where is Larkspear now?"

"He's in one of the holding rooms waiting for further questioning," said Robert. Along with Maryse, he'd been questioning Larkspear earlier when they'd been alerted to Luke's presence in the Institute.

Jace looked at Robert a bit confused, "Then what are we waiting for?" He said impatiently. "Let's go question him."

"I doubt he would admit to anything," said Clary. "He's even more headstrong than Raj."

"He's already denied any knowledge of what happened," Robert confirmed. "According to him he didn't leave his post until the others had returned. And right now, we have no way of proving otherwise." Robert released a tired sigh, "Let's just wait for Luke and Isabelle to come back with the lab results from Alec's room, then we'll know what to do next."

Waiting was not something that Magnus enjoyed doing. Even after his over four hundred years of life, the warlock had managed to cultivate very little patience. Leaving the Ops room, he made his way to the lab to see how far things were coming along.

~ooOoo~

The sound of Magnus' boots softly tapping against the gray tiles filled the empty hallway. The warlock paced back and forth, pausing every now and then to gaze through the glass doors of the lab as Luke and Izzy worked busily inside.

Taking out the omamori charm along with the strip of Alec's t-shirt from his pocket, Magnus paused, carefully examining both items in his hands. After some time, he placed the charm back inside of his pocket, keeping the piece of fabric wrapped tightly in his hand. Using all of his strength, he closed his eyes as he once again tried tracking his mate.

Nothing....

Just as everytime before.

Magnus released a frustrated breath; there has to be way to break through this shield. Perhaps he could track Alec from Edom, thought Magnus. His powers were stronger there. Or perhaps combing powers with another warlock could.... His father?

His father... His father didn't even know what was happening. Has he been going about this whole thing all wrong?

Magnus brought his hands up to massage his temples. He could feel a headache coming on. Just then, his cell phone rang, bringing him out from his reverie.

A familiar name flashed on the screen. Tapping the answer icon, Magnus brought the phone to his ear, "Ragnor."

"Does the name Lorenzo Rey mean anything to you?"

Magnus' brows knitted together in confusion, "Should it?"

"Think, Magnus," Ragnor stressed somewhat impatiently.

Magnus thought for a moment, but he was still drawing a blank. "I really don't..."

"Come on. About a hundred and fifty years ago..."

Magnus really couldn't think about anything right now. Frustrated, "Will you just spit it out!" He yelled, catching his friend completely off guard.

On the other end of the line, the warlock who had been going through the pile of scrolls layed out on his desk, suddenly paused in his movements. Ragnor was taken aback for a moment, "What's going on?" This was very much unlike his friend. It was as if he could feel the chill coming off of Magnus through the phone. "Magnus...." Ragnor's voice was filled with concern.

Magnus sighed tiredly, running his fingers through his hair. After some few beats, he said simply, "Ragnor, Alexander's missing."

There was sharp intake of breath before the line grew eerily quiet. In this quiet moment, everything that needed to be said between friends, brothers, who've known each other for centuries... one's concern, the other's fear... it was all said.

Then, "What do you need me to do? Do we know who took him?"

Magnus gave Ragnor a quick summary of everything that has been going on. And at the end, they both came to the same conclusion. That is; that they needed to find a way to track Alec.

"Even if we find out who took him, that still doesn't guarantee that they'll lead us to him," said Ragnor rather bluntly. "We need to come at this from more than one angle."

"I know," Magnus nodded to himself. He had been thinking the exact same thing.

Rapping his fingers on his desk, Ragnor asked, "And you think with more power you might be able to track him?"

Magnus sighed rather helplessly, "I don't know, but it's worth a try."

At that, Ragnor was already getting up from his seat, "Good. Then, I'll be there soon."

Before Magnus had a chance to respond, the call had already ended. He didn't even have time to think about how the Lightwoods were going to react to another downworlder showing up at their precious Institute, because immediately he hung up the phone and looked up, he saw a furious looking Izzy storming towards the lab door, Luke shouting something as he followed on her heels.

It didn't take a genius to figure out what was happening. It was obvious.

The results were in.

~ooOoo~

It was almost two hours later when Izzy came rushing into the Ops room, leaving Luke to finish things up in the lab.

During that time the others had busied themselves with one thing or another while they waited. There were still things to attend to in regards to the running of the Institute, as well as Alec's case. As soon as Izzy burst into the large hall, everyone immediately stopped whatever they were working on and scambled to attention.

It was Robert who spoke up first as they all surrounded Izzy, asking anxiously, "What did you find?"

Izzy handed Robert a piece of paper.

Accepting the paper, Robert eyes focused in on each detail. On it, it showed the results of their finger print analysis. Raj had indeed been inside of Alec's bedroom.

Still, Robert couldn't help but ask, "Are you sure about this?"

Izzy was fuming, "Of course. I ran the tests myself. His prints were found on a bottle of asprins on Alec's bedside table."

"Asprins?" Maryse frowned in confusion. Usually if a shadowhunter was in any kind of pain, simply activating their healing rune would normally suffice.

At her mother's confused expression, "Magnus," Izzy replied simply, negating the need for any further explanations.

There also seemed to be an immediate understanding amongst the group, as they all started towards a single direction.

"Where's Magnus?" Asked Simon.

"Where do you think?" Replied Izzy. "I barely finished giving him the news before he was storming off down the hallways."

"And you didn't try to stop him?" Robert was flabbergasted, his eyes widening as he quickened his steps.

Izzy looked truly baffled, "Why should I?"

"He could kill him before we even get anything out of him," Robert stressed.

"Not if I kill him first," Jace growled, having been silently brewing this entire time. He charged ahead of the others, his fists already balled up at his sides.

Izzy defended the warlock, "Magnus isn't stupid."

~ooOoo~

As frightening as Magnus was before, the warlock now appeared even more unnerving. There was no doubt behind his intent. He was more than willing to step over that long established line; the line that stated that if any downworlder took the life of a shadowhunter, that it would be seen as an act of war.

Nevertheless, this time when Magnus burst into Raj's cell, the shadowhunter no longer wore a look of pretence, nor did he hid behind his usual mask of arrogance. It was as if he'd already been expecting Magnus and had already prepared himself for what was to come. And when Magnus' magic struk out, lifting him up from his chair and plastered him against the wall, he didn't even bother struggling. Instead, Raj, seemingly having gone mad, began laughing, even as Magnus' magic wrap around his neck, cutting off his air supply and he began choking on his own breath.

"Where is he?" Magnus asked through gritted teeth as the two of them faced down each other. "And don't lie to me. I know you know where he is."

"I...I don't," Raj managed through choking breaths.

Magnus took a step back, and with one swift movement of his hand, Raj went flying across the room. The shadowhunter crashed into the glass wall with a loud bang, before falling in flailing limbs to the ground. He then curled into himself, coughing profusely as he hugged his stomach.

In the blink of an eye Magnus was in front of him. And before Raj had a chance to react, red ropes of magic were once again wrapping itself around his torso, gluing his arms to his sides as Magnus lifted him upright, the tips of his feet only just reaching the ground.

"Where...is he?" Magnus asked once again.

Silence.

In no mood for games, with a simple flourish of his hand in front of Raj's face, Magnus allowed his magic to seep deep into the shadowhunter's pain receptors. Raj tried his best, but could not hold back his screams. Every nerve ending in his body felt like it was on fire... like he, himself had been set on fire.

This continued for several beats, and when Magnus finally stopped, it was to once again ask the same question. Even using his alpha voice, despite already knowing that Raj could resist him. Still, Magnus in alpha mode could send shivers down even the strongest of any alpha's spine, not to talk of a beta, even with Raj's years of training.

Having bitten his own tongue in his struggles, Raj licked his lips before spitting out a mouthful of blood. For a moment, it seemed as if he wasn't going to respond, pushing back against Magnus' dominant aura. But, when Magnus once again raised his hand, his fingers dancing before his eyes, Raj started. Breathless, the shadowhunter reiterated, "I really don't know where he is. I couldn't tell you even if I wanted to. However," Raj paused. "There is something I can tell you."

Magnus listened carefully.

"And that is; that you'll never find him. At least not in time," Raj smiled almost giddily, his blood stained lips parting to reveal perfectly white teeth.

It was at this moment that the others arrived. However, having just heard Raj's previous statement, none of them made any effort to stop Magnus.

"So...he really did do it?" As Clary stared at the scene before her, she still had a hard time believing what was happening. Simon, standing at her side, also shared her look of disbelieve.

Jace and Izzy immediately made their way into the cell.

"Who are you working with?" Asked Jace as he moved to Magnus' side, his eyes like knives as they cut deep into Raj's skin.

"You obviously didn't do this alone," Izzy added, moving to Magnus' other side, she too finding it difficult to contain her anger.

The others remained outside in the hallway, watching the scene unfolding through the glass wall. The feeling of disappointment and betrayal was clear in Robert's eyes as he asked, "Why did you do this?"

This question Raj had no problem answering. Dawning a confused expression, "I thought that it was obvious. Did you really believe that we were all just going to accept a downworlder. This...this demon," Raj sneered. "He's the first omega born in centuries for Angel's sake... This is about rebuilding the nephillin race... I don't even like the bastard, but he still deserves better than some damned downworlder."

Raj suddenly seemed to be somewhat overwhelmed, emotional. Whether it was because of the passion of his own believes, or whether it was because of pain, it was hard to say. He stuttered, "Th-this is about protecting our people. This is about our fu...."

"Enough!" Maryse's entire body was shaking from anger. "Stop this nonsense and tell me where my son is."

"I'm sorry, I really am..." Raj wore a truly pitiful look as he painfully turned his head in Robert and Maryse's direction. "I'm sorry that you have to go through this. No parent should have to go through this. But you left us with no choice when you accepted this.... This demon," Raj emphasized, turning his head back towards Magnus, "But I can promise you that Alec is safe, wherever he is. You don't have to worry about him. He'll be back real soon. In, oh say, about ten days."

Raj smiled, his arrogant expression returning as he locked eyes with Magnus. Magnus received his message loud and clear.

In an instant, Magnus lifted his other hand, balling his fingers into a tight fist.

"Magnus!" "Don't!"

Shouts errupted. Both Jace and Izzy grabbed Magnus' arms, trying to pull the warlock back. However, it was in vain.

Raj's face quickly grew purple as he gasped for air. And within the next instance, his eyes were bulging. Then, as if it was just too heavy for him to keep holding up, his head suddenly flopped forward.

Jace and Izzy released Magnus' arms as Magnus, himself released Raj, causing Raj's body to fall lifelessly to the ground, unmoving.

The basement grew uncomfortably silent as Jace and Izzy moved quickly to Raj's side. Kneeling down, Jace placed one of his hands on Raj's neck, checking the shadowhunter's pulse. After a moment, seemingly annoyed, he rolled his eyes.

"He's still alive," said Jace, giving the others a look of confirmation as he stood back up, visibly disappointed.

Everyone seemingly breathed a sigh of relief.

Magnus couldn't help but to scoff at their reactions, stating, "Of course he's alive."

"And did you have to do that?" Maryse snapped at him. "We still need to know who he's working with."

Magnus didn't respond, ignoring their mutterings. In all honesty, he'd come this close to killing the bastard. If not that they still needed to know who he was working with...

Everything that Raj was spewing, all of it was his worst fears, his nightmares coming to life. This wasn't just about keeping Alec away from him. No. Whoever had Alec, also planned on mating him by force. He needed to find Alec and the clock was ticking.

A large metal chair was brought into the cell. And with the help of Simon, Jace strapped Raj into it. Afterwards, Simon headed back out into the hallway, where he remained alongside Clary.

In the cell now stood Magnus, Alec's parents, his parabatai and his sister, all of them surrounding Raj, looking like hungry lions about to devour their kill. Robert's previous hesitation in regards to torturing Raj, a shadowhunter under his command, no longer existed. All that exists now is the need to find out everything that Raj' has been up to, and who he's been working with, no matter the method they needed to apply.

Once again, Magnus allowed his magic to burn away at Raj's pain receptors, ruthlessly bringing back said shadowhunter from his state of unconsciousness.

In the early hours of a cold autumn morning, a blood curdling scream sounded in the basement of the New York Institute...

And thus, another round of questioning began.

When after some twenty minutes, and they still had no answers, the agony rune was applied.

Magnus had always thought that Maryse Lightwood was a ruthless and dangerous woman, and seeing her in action now, he was more than proven right.

Maryse seemed to have no qualms in resorting to the most barbaric forms of torture. She as well seemed to have no problem in getting her hands dirty. This was evident when at one point Raj tried appealing to her apparent hatred for Magnus, insisting that they, Alec's parents, should actually be thanking him; that what he'd done was to their own benefit. He'd gone as far as to insinuate that the Clave would approve of his actions.

Angered, Maryse grabbed the beta's hand, snapping one of his fingers without even so much as a second thought.

Needless to say that the scene was not at all a pretty one and left a very bad taste in the mouth of everyone present.

Still, another thirty minutes passed with a few more broken fingers, however, Raj was still refusing to tell them who he's working with. The shadowhunter maintained his previous statement, that Alec was in fact fine and well taken care of, and that within a short period of time, he would return home. It was in this pathetic and blooded state that Raj once again fell unconscious.

Magnus was beyond frustrated. Sighing, he turned around to leave the room.

"Where are you going?" Asked Izzy.