Chapter Nineteen
Aiden:
"What happened?" Magnus questioned as the others ushered Luke in behind us.
"He was attacked!" Simon rushed.
"He needs a warlock." Clary added.
Magnus looked to our clasped hands and looked back up at me with hurt in his eyes and whispered so only I could hear. "If you ever dare get to this level of injured, I will... well, beg you to not die while crying my eyes out but I will also chain you to your bedpost so you can't leave." His little rant had a small smile tug at my lips. I pulled him down by the nape of his neck with my unoccupied hand and kissed him on the forehead.
"He needs you!" Clary shouted, breaking the little moment of vulnerability Magnus was showing to me and bringing us back to reality. They walked- more like dragged- Luke's body to the couch and lay him there, grunting and whimpering in pain.
"Where are you?" Luke moaned. "I can't find you. Where are... where are you? Where are you?" Clary tried desperately to shush him and to calm him down but his mania was unrelenting. "Jocelyn! Jocelyn..."
"No Luke, it's Clary. Can you hear me?" I stood over them as Clary grabbed his hand and frantically pressed it to her face.
"Clary, listen to me. Listen... you have to listened to me." He let out a particularly ragged breath and I inched forward and shot Magnus a worried look before looking back at Luke. "I have to tell you, just in case—"
"Don't you dare finished that sentence, Luke! Don't you dare..." I whispered firmly through clenched teeth and around the lump in my throat.
He gave me a look that I couldn't comprehend and stared at Clary pleadingly. "No, you need to know! Listen—"
"Was he bitten by an alpha?" Magnus asked as he lay a hand in the back of Luke's head.
"Yeah, why?" Magnus answered.
Magnus looked down at the hurting man expectantly. "Three... two... one..." On cue, Luke's back arched painfully and he let out an inhuman growl.
"Oh my God." Clary breathed out. I tried to keep my breathing calm but I was on the verge of hyperventilating. I tried damned hard to find something to do and the first thing was to burn scuff marks in Magnus' wooden floors.
Luke started yelling and rocked himself back and forth, trying to dislodge Clary and Simon's arms. Magnus looked up at me and speed walked away from the excitement. I took that as my cue to follow, and so I did.
"Where do you think you're going?" Simon hissed.
"Hold him down." Was Magnus' last words before we left the room. Magnus shoved some potions and what I assumed were ingredients into my arms and pushed me back to the living room. "We don't have a lot of time." He took an almost cardboard looking thing and pushed it in Luke's mouth to bite on. "It'll take a few minutes to take effect."
"What's happening to him?" Clary whipped around panicked.
"Random werewolf transformation. It's a side effect of the poison in the alpha bite." Soon after those words, Luke's hysterical state calmed down and just as told, a few minutes later had him lying down almost peacefully... well as peacefully as a surgical patient coming down off of anesthesia.
Magnus ushered me once more to the room adjacent and started pulling out and sorting bowls and other shit I knew nothing about. He swiftly and efficiently began taking the potion ingredients from my hands and adding them to the what seemed to be his miniature cauldron one by one. We were in a rushed yet comfortable silence and I was in no mood to break it, especially when my bonded was in his element.
I peeped out the door for the thirtieth time to visually check on Luke but my gaze drifted to Simon.
He was studying the blood on his hand so intensely that I was wondering if a math question was hidden in there..... until he licked it.
He fucking licked it.
The blood on his damn hand... was now traveling down his fucking esophagus via him licking it... I'm not even going to think of what that could mean right now. Even his damn aura was tinged with red.
The whole ordeal lasted for less that a second and he dropped his hand so neither Clary- who had her back to him- nor the sleeping man, could see and question him. He stepped up to her, grasped her shoulders and they began talking.
"If you want to go out there, don't let me stop you." Magnus whispered and made a move to take the load out of my hands. I pulled back and shook my head.
"You're literally the only thing letting me know up from down and keeping me from hyperventilating. I'm not leaving your side anytime soon... you're lucky I'm not plastered on your arm like a fucking tattoo." The last part came out on a whisper and a throaty chuckle left his lips.
"I'm guessing it wouldn't help if I told you that I wouldn't mind in the slightest." He gave me a little wink and picked up his work and headed to the others. I snorted and followed.
"The bark will stop the transformation for now, but Luke needs an antidote to stop the poison in his system." He laid the stuff on the table and gestured for me to do the same. "And I don't have all the ingredients here." I hissed out a curse and watched him walked around the place to gather more shit.
"Just tell me what you need and how to get it." Clary sighed desperately, rubbing her hands on her jeans.
Magnus halted and pointed. "No, you stay here. Luke will need you if he wakes up." He continued his trek onto the balcony.
"When he wakes up." Clary corrected.
"I'll go." Simon and I said at the same time. We glanced at each other and he was about to speak again when another "I'll go" came from the front door.
Jace walked around the corner and nodded at me before walking to Magnus. "You.." Magnus pointed at me with a deadly glint in his eye, "are not leaving until I can pat you down and say you're uninjured." He turned to Jace. "And you... what happened to you?"
"Luke's car may have found it's way into a pole while I was stashing it. I don't do mundane driving." He reached for a napkin on the table and I snickered.
"Oh Buttercup, why didn't you asked me to drive?" I watched him wiped his nose and smudge the blood around. I took the napkin and gingerly touched his nose as I wiped him clean.
He rolled his eyes at my statement and thanked me when I handed his bloodied paper back to him. "You were an emotional wreck, plus, you heard the man," he tilted his head to my bonded. "He wouldn't leave you out of his sight."
Simon huffed and put his arm around Clary's shoulder. Oh shit. No one missed the territorial pissing contest going on here... well.. except for Clary herself. Jace just rolled his eyes and looked to Magnus before heading to the door. "What do you need for the antidote?"
"Hey, I got this." Simon hissed.
"Phoenix eyes, moon salt and Idris fulgurite." Magnus cut them off as he got his shit together.
"One trip to the pharmacy, it'll take two seconds." Simon made a move to walk pass Jace but he grabbed his arm to stop him.
"I know a guy. And, uh.... I don't need him." He quipped arrogantly.
"Too bad. You're getting me. We'll be right back." Simon retorted.
I rolled my eyes and walked to Magnus to make myself useful. The boys were already on their way out when he stopped them. "One more thing." They turned and looked at him questioningly. "I need Alexander." I gave him a suspicious look and he winced.
"Uh, why do you need Alec?" Jace whispered as if a headache was about to rage havoc in his skull.
"Virgin Shadowhunter energy." My brows shot to my hairline and I coughed at the tea spilling. My ass felt like I was going to faint, so I slowly lowered myself to the floor and sat criss-crossed.
"That explains so much." Simon said aimlessly and looked at me, amused.
Jace cleared his throat. "Um, Alec, yeah... I can't." He held his head down when I gave him a sour look.
"Jace, just ask, please. You guys need to talk." Clary walked up to him and held onto his arm. He looked at me pleading me with his eyes.
I huffed and smiled wryly. "You fucked up, Jace. And redhead, over there," I pointed to her, "is right. You need to talk to him Jace. He's your parabatai for fucks sake."
"Trouble in paradise?" Magnus questioned.
Jace grabbed Simon and stalked off. "Just don't speak to me." The front door slammed shut and I was still coming to terms of Alec's virtue.
When I got my thoughts under control, Magnus was once again, mixing potions and Clary looked up at him in wonder and curiosity but then glanced down at Luke with worry. I walked over and touched her hand. Her head snapped to me and before anything senile came from her thin lips, I tilted my head to Magnus and told her to go. She looked down at Luke one last time and nodded her head.
"What's all this for?"
"The base for the potion." He said as he pulled out a little vile and poured. "Stir. We need to have it ready before your boy toys get back."
Clary grabbed the spoon and looked back at the man worriedly. "What if they don't get back in time?"
"You can't think like that, biscuit." He comforted her as he walked off.
"That's all I can think about." She sighed heavily. "Magnus, I don't know if I can do this anymore. Okay, I'm an art student.
"And I have a Bachelor's Degree in Visual Arts. What's your point Clary? We can't escape this life." I sighed. "Well... maybe I could because no one knows my name, but you... everyone is gunning for you, Clary." I taunted.
The fear in her eyes multiplied and she let out a shaker breath. "All my adventures are supposed to be two-demensional."
"Who says?" Magnus shouted from the next room.
"Me. Look, it is one thing to draw monsters and demons, but it is completely different to see them up close and personal." She panicked. Magnus came back with a bunch more stuff and put them down. " I don't know what I'm doing." She pleaded with him. "Aiden at least knows how to fight."
I could see the pride radiate through this body from hearing that. His shoulders rolled back and he stood a little straighter. He toned down the proud look on his face and looked at Clary sympathetically. "Don't sell yourself short. You forget, I've seen you in action, Clary Fairchild." The moment cracked when Luke began shouting.
"Jocelyn! No, don't... don't... Wait don't touch her." I bent down and grabbed his outstretched hand.
"Hang in there, Luke. We'll get you fixed up in no time, bud." I said hoarsely.
"Aiden, that you?" I nodded my head and watched him blink rapidly. "I need to tell you something... where's Clary?" He whispered.
Clary bulldozed me out of her way and took my spot beside him. I looked to Magnus to see if she really just did that but he was busy glaring at her.... If looks could kill, and to think he was giving her a pep talk just seconds ago.
"Luke, I'm here. I'm here." Clary shouted as she squeezed his hand and reached to touch his face. She too, was pushed away when Magnus knelt down to Luke.
"Here, let me take your pain away." Luke held on to him and breathed out a series on 'no's. "Agitation only makes the venom work faster."
"I need to tell Clary." He wheezed. What in the hell did he dream about?
"Save your strength." Clary chided.
"No. You need to know."
"Magnus, do it." She shouted and I swear I saw his jaw tick.
Luke let out a strained yell and looked into Magnus's eyes. "You need to tell her, all of it." I saw panic raced through Magnus a second before it disappeared without a trace. "Promise me." Magnus stayed quiet and snapped his fingers. The blue tint of his magic glowed at its tips and he held his hand, palm facing Luke's chest, and hovered it over his entire body. The blue magic surrounded him but showed now move of calming him down.
"The poison's spreading. Your suitors need to hurry." The words were said to Clary but I couldn't help feel a little of it was meant for me too.
I hope to the Angel they got here soon too.