Chapter 2: A Strange Change

The tests were not conclusive. He did not have pure angel blood but he did have a higher level than normal shadowhunters. It had been almost a week and he was still unconscious with Magnus, Jace, and Izzy by his side. Madzie was staying with Sara while Magnus tended to Alec. They were all so worried about Alec. Simon and Clary just couldn't believe what they saw, but that was not the only problem. What was that mist and what did it want? They were sure it was some form of demonic presence, but it was unlike anything they had seen before. No one liked the feeling this gave the whole of the institute. There was an unease that crept through everyone. It felt like something was stirring, something was beginning.

Slowly Alec's temperature went down and he began to regain consciousness. Magnus kissed his head as his eyes fluttered open. Jace squeezed his hand. "Welcome back. You saved us." Alec was sore all over. He could remember feeling like he was stuck inside a fire that he couldn't escape. He felt a sting inside his right wrist and a symbol began to appear as if it was branded into his skin. They all watched in confusion and worry as the symbol appeared. "What is that Magnus? Have you ever seen anything like it?" Jace asked. Jace pulled out his phone and took a picture of it. Then suddenly the symbol disappeared again. Alec looked at them both in terror and whispered, "What is happening to me?". It was almost a plea.

It was another two days before Alec had the strength to leave the infirmary. He headed home with Magnus. When they got home Sara was waiting with Madzie. "Daddy!! I'm glad you are home Daddy Magnus said you got sick after fighting the bad guy." Alec looked sternly at Magnus and he impishly shrugged his shoulders. "What?! She deserves to know when something happens." Magnus responded. Alec waved him off in defeat and leaned down to give Madzie a kiss on the forehead before heading to the bedroom; he was still very weak and tired. He needed the rest. He took off his shirt and pants and climbed into bed. Magnus put Madzie to bed and then joined him in bed. Magnus snuggled up to Alec and kissed his neck lightly. He leaned into his ear and whispered, "I love you. Don't scare me like that." Alec reached behind him to caress Magnus' face and whispered back, "I will try my best, love." They both fell asleep.

Alec had strange dreams that night. He was walking across the surface of water, but it wasn't water. It was blood; a sea of blood. As he walked across this sea of blood his reflection was clear across the surface. His eyes were glowing with a bright yellow light like the center of a star. Behind him were wings, flaming wings. He looked like an angel of fire. He bent down towards the blood and looked closer at his reflection. His reflection smiled at him and in his mouth were fangs sharp and dangerous. Was he an angel or a demon? Alec woke up. He was panting and sweating and it was still dark out. He looked over at the clock and it was four in the morning. Magnus was looking at him, his cat eyes were shining in the dark. Alec saw the worried expression on his face. "What is it, Magnus?" Magnus sat up and waved his hand a few sparks flew from his fingertips and Alec was clean of any sweat. "You were screaming. I cast a spell to soundproof the room so you wouldn't wake up Madzie." Alec was shocked by this. "I couldn't wake you. I was very worried about you so I looked into your dream. I'm sorry if that was intrusive but I was just so worried when I couldn't wake you. I'm not sure what that dream means, but I am sure it has some kind of meaning. Your dream was full of its own magic. I could feel it." Alec was stunned. What could this all mean? "We need to go to Idris and research this, Magnus." Magnus nodded in agreement.

The next day they made arrangements to go to Idris. Madzie could study at the Warlock Emissary there. They were not sure how long it would take them to find anything, if they found anything. Jace agreed to come along. He wasn't going to leave his Parabatai behind when he clearly needed him. Izzy and Simon had a triple date planned with Jace, Clary, Magnus, and Alec but after this event it would have to be postponed until they could figure out what was happening to Alec and where this dark mist had come from. They were all standing around the portal to Idris. Izzy was complaining about their failed triple date plans and Simon was smiling at her. Jace cut her off mid-complaint. "Izzy, get over it! You will get another chance to kidnap us. Right now we have to figure out what all this means." Izzy gave him a death glare but she really was happy that Alec was going to Idris. All of this was really worrying her. Why had this never happened to Alec before? Why now with the appearance of this dark mist? There were so many questions that needed answering and Idris was their best hope. Izzy, Simon, and Clary waved at them as they all stepped through the portal.

Within a second Magnus, Alec, Jace, and little Madzie were standing in front of the Warlock Emissary in Idris. Magnus quickly got Madzie set up for her studies and then they headed over to the Lightwood family home to drop off their stuff. Jace had printed out three copies of the symbol that had appeared on Alec's arm. Now each of them would have the symbol to study as they tried to find its meaning. Alec and Magnus had also told Jace about his strange and powerful dream. They decided to start in the Hall of Knowledge and then check the three different libraries as well as the Clave archives. They knew this might take them days before they found anything. Meanwhile, back in New York, strange occurrences were happening all over the city. People were disappearing with no trace. Shadowhunters, mundanes, and Downworlders alike were disappearing. The shadowhunters could not find anything to suggest who or what was taking them. A darkness was creeping over the city and it was spreading.

Alec's quest for knowledge was not panning out well. So far they had not found anything that looked like the symbol or anything that sounded like this dark mist that attacked them. They had already checked the Demonicon for any demons fitting its description, but there were none. Magnus was furiously trying to find out about the symbol. He seemed to recognize it as if he had seen it somewhere in his hundreds of years of life but he just couldn't place it. He was determined to discover its meaning. Jace was working furiously as well in the Clave archives trying to find any mention of special powers like what Alec had shown the other night or descriptions of flaming angelic meanings. He had a small bit of luck but it didn't pan out very far. He found an ancient scroll that had a picture depicting an angel on fire black clouds behind it but the scroll had no description as to what it was. The scroll did not label what it was about or what it meant it simply had the picture on it. It must have been part of a larger scroll collection that told the story but the Clave did not have the rest. All Jace could find out about the scroll was that it had been found in a cave by some explorers in Egypt. It was clearly old; it looked to be the oldest item in the Clave archive.

It had been three days of researching so far with no real leads yet and Alec was beginning to lose hope of figuring out what was happening to him. He had not had another dream like the one he had. So far his nights had been peaceful, until this night. As Alec lay asleep in bed with Magnus he dreamt again of the sea of blood. He was walking across the surface of the blood but this time he wasn't looking at his reflection he was walking towards an angel. The angel was shown with a light that almost blinded him. He had a feeling as he walked towards this angel. He was being pulled towards him. It felt like everything he ever wanted and needed could be found with this angel. It felt like his Parabatai bond with Jace. He and this angel were meant to be connected. He was close to the angel now so close the light of the angel felt like it would blind him. He heard the angel speak. "You will stop them. You are their only hope. You are the one. You are chosen." Alec spoke out to the angel. "Who are you? What am I chosen for?" The angel spoke again. "You will be my Chosen. You will destroy them. Destroy the first evil." Alec shot up from his pillow in a scream. He looked at Magnus and he was watching him. "Did you see that Magnus?" He nodded yes. "The question is, Alec, what is the first evil and what are you chosen for from an angel?" Within moments Jace came running into their bedroom sweating and panting. "Are you okay Alec? I felt you. There was this power like a surge of strength coming through the Parabatai mark." Alec nodded and explained the new dream.