Royal Dilemma

Battle Fought

Opening the portal for Alec was like opening the hole in his heart, but Magnus did it. Then he watched his lover leave, holding his son tight to his chest for comfort.

"He'll be back," Magnus tried to smooth the baby, though he was actually comforting himself. "Daddy loves us, don't forget that Max. Even when he's married to a silly woman, that won't change." Magnus was sure Alec wouldn't return again until after his wedding, and he was trying and failing not to think about it. Magnus could picture his future rather well, and it scared him at times. How was waiting for Alexander any better than being trapping in the Palace with him? Sure, rationally Magnus knew he'd made the right decision, but emotionally he was a mess. If not for Max, Magnus felt like he'd just crawl into bed, and not get out for a decade.

When he heard a quiet knock on his door, Magnus knew somehow that it wasn't Alec. The Prince didn't knock like that. Magnus put Max down in the enclosed play area he had made for Max, then turned to get the door.

Before him stood a stranger. She was short with brown hair and eyes, clearly human. Overall, there wasn't anything that remarkable about her appearance, except that she looked scared out of her mind. Her whole body was shaking with terror, and Magnus wasn't sure if simply knocking on his door had caused this or something else.

"M-Magnus?" the woman asked shaking in fear.

"Yes?" he confirmed.

"Prince Alec s-s-sent me," she stuttered. "Says we n-n-need you. War-warlock attacking the P-P-Palace."

"What's your name," Magnus asked her gently, thinking fast.

"J-Josey," the girl replied.

"Alright Josey," Magnus smiled kindly at her. "I need you to breath. Yes that's right. Now start from the beginning."

"Liz and I were in the garden," Josey began, talking through her tears. "Then we heard something - Liz turned so fast - this big black hideous demon was behind us, would have killed us if not for the shield. They told me to hide, but Liz is out there fighting. I-" The girl was truly sobbing now. "I don't want her to die."

"No one is going to die," Magnus told her as he brought her into the house. "I will make sure of it, but I need you to help. Can you do that?"

"I don't want to go back there," Josey sobbed.

"You don't have to," Magnus replied. "See I need you to stay here and watch my son. Can you do that for me?" The girl looked up, clearly relieved to be given such a task. "He's over there," Magnus pointed to the encircled play pen. "I just fed and changed him so he might nap for you. Just watch him okay?"

"Okay," Josey sniffed. She stood up and moved over to sit beside Max on the ground. Leaving a strange human alone with his son had not been what Magnus planned for his day, but at the moment he had no other options. Quickly scribbing down the situation and lighting the paper on fire with magic to send a message to Caterina, Magnus opened a portal and vanished through it.

The scene that greeted him was like nothing he'd ever seen. Sure, he'd lived through attacks on the Palace shield before, but this was different. Where the others had been calculated moves, this seemed to have no rhyme or reason to it. Lines of demons were hitting the shield in waves, seemingly unconcerned with their own safely. A winged warlock was flying above it all as if enjoying the show, Magnus could see nephilim fighting on the ground against the demon's the winged warlock had clearly summoned. As he studied the warlock, Magnus realized how very young he was. Magnus wondered if he'd been newly cursed, and was mad at the world. Nothing but a childish tantrum could create such a sight as this.

Drawing magic from the earth, Magnus made himself rise up in the air so he could talk to the child.

"Please stop this," Magnus calmly spoke to him. The boy was indeed that, a boy, no more than thirteen. He had a round face, dark hair, and thin limbs as if half way through a growth spirt. His wings were the most incredible part of him, huge and ink black like his skin, they looked much like a bat's wing. They were keeping the warlock in the air, which meant he wasn't wasting magic flying like Magnus was.