A study in stubbornness I pt.1

“Magnus… sorry to bother you, but…”

At first, the warlock didn’t let himself be ruffled; he caressed the elf on his lap with gentle touches while she feasted on his lips. An intimate, yet rather inconsequential tête à tête that Magnus indulged in now and then, when time allowed. A soft growl escaped his lips as he turned his head and stared at the intruder with obvious annoyance.

“You call that an interruption? I think it’s more than that… but say what you have to say…”

The elf pulled away from him with a sigh, grabbed her martini, and pushed past the young vampire, who looked even paler than usual at that moment.

“Jerome has… run off again.”

The vampire muttered sheepishly, shuffling his shoes across the gleaming marble floor. Magnus took a deep breath, shook his head as he moved slowly toward his bar, and poured himself a drink.

“Well… then he’ll just have to live with the consequences this time. It’s a valuable lesson… so far, I’ve always rescued him far too early from his stupid escapades.”

The other man cleared his throat several times, sighed, looking restless and anxious… full of worry for his uncontrollable companion. Jerome was a difficult case, a kid who was just 19 years old, turned by a criminal vampire who didn’t give a damn about his minions, who was only out to create as many newbies as possible to lure the city into ruin. To Magnus, a damn boring cliché... but deep down, Jerome wasn’t an evil being... on the contrary, he was very sensitive, confused... anything but bloodthirsty, but completely overwhelmed by his new existence and thus a danger to himself and, above all, to humans.

“L l.. lightwood... is... out there.”

the companion whispered hoarsely.

“Which Lightwood? Lightwood: I’m charming and sassy and never miss a beat, or Lightwood: I’m an aloof brooder and way too ambitious to have fun?”

he pressed, sipping his cocktail and still looking quite unimpressed.

“Alec…”

Magnus’s right eyelid began to twitch, and he groaned in amused annoyance. Alec was truly a thorn in his side. An attractive thorn with a very cute butt, but that very butt was slowly starting to get on his nerves a bit too much. For months, Magnus had been running around trying to save his protégés, every now and then one of them would break out, and then they were at the mercy of the Hunters. However, things only got dramatic when Jace and, above all, Alec were out and about... the two young men were practically obsessed with destroying as many Downworlders as possible. To be fair... it was their job, their calling, and much more than that... but this persistent, sometimes exaggerated ambition wasn’t always appropriate, in Magnus’s opinion. He considered it a waste of time that these skilled fighters were deployed for something as trivial as fleeing young vampires, but they probably didn’t have much of a choice… in Magnus’s eyes, however… one always had a choice. Alec, in particular, had to suffer from Magnus’s drive… the warlock followed him everywhere, ensuring he missed his targets… that he stumbled, that his weapons vanished and reappeared on the other side of town. He didn’t harm him… that would be… not in his interest, one didn’t destroy an Adonis unless one had to, but… he often noticed that Alec struggled with it, because a Hunter like him was used to winning… perhaps even needed it, but not under Magnus’s watchful eye!

“Doesn’t this guy ever take a vacation, or have any hobbies to tend to? Manicures… pedicures… waxing? Doesn’t seem to be his thing… but then I suppose I’ll have to step in after all, otherwise we’ll only get Jerome back as dust and ashes… and that would be… a shame.”

He slammed his glass down on the counter, shook his head, and vanished through the window into the night. New York glowed beneath him like a living jewel, every street a pulsating thread of light. The night smelled of wet asphalt, of magic, of blood not yet spilled, and Magnus let his gaze glide over it as if over a familiar work of art, bored… quite relaxed, buoyed by centuries of experience. He didn’t have to search long, he had studied Alec, analyzed him, and memorized his tactics. The young Lightwood hunted in a very direct manner.. he seemed as though he were explicitly searching for his victims. He was almost pedantically always to be found where the probability was highest and there were hardly any escape routes. Magnus read the Shadowhunter’s habits like an open book… recognizing his almost frustrating consistency and his weakness for rooftops to keep an overview.

And just then he spotted the silhouette, high up on a small cathedral in the middle of the city. He looked almost overwhelmingly beautiful, like a dark statue created to symbolize a threat, fighting spirit, and masculinity. Magnus sighed softly, eyeing him with a mixture of amusement and a nuance he himself couldn’t quite interpret yet. The first arrow whistled through the air, the Hunter had someone or something in his sights… and he hit his mark! A soft howl could be heard… Jerome! For now, the vampire was merely wounded, nothing that couldn’t be fixed with disgusting herbs and a little magic.. but Magnus knew the next shot would mean his end. As soon as Alec reached for another arrow from his quiver, Magnus made it vanish. In the darkness, he couldn’t see the other man’s face, but he could imagine it… he already knew Alec’s brooding, pissed-off expression.

“Boy… just go home… run yourself a bath… or inhale a little valerian…”

Magnus muttered to himself as he noticed the Hunter jumping off the roof and trying to hunt from the ground.

“Stubborn… what a stubborn goat!”

Magnus followed him, sneaking up behind him, today he was perhaps a little careless, choosing not to hide, but then a blade shot toward him, which he luckily caught with one hand at the right moment and stared at somewhat indignantly.

“Hey! Hey…! How about you introduce yourself first before you start throwing knives!”

he snapped, examining the valuable weapon.

“You’re really consistent… first you ruin my evening, now you’re trying to kill me too. I almost feel flattered.. you don’t get that much attention every day. The boy back there isn’t a demon, Alexander… just a little problem I can usually handle… unless he’s trying to get his way… the vampire youth of today… they’re definitely more complicated. But… I don’t want to be rude… please tell me how heroic you feel when you hunt my protégés.”

Since he’d already revealed himself anyway, he strolled slowly toward Alec.

“Like a startled deer about to attack.”

He clicked his tongue.

“It would be polite if you’d stop looking so nervously for new weapons. I’m Magnus Bane… you may have heard of me… well… if you’re even interested in something as trivial as me.”

@Alexander ‚Alec‘ Lightwood.