A Malec Story

Chapter 53: Going to Mysterious Places

Alec

Alec had been surprised when he got a message from Camille, asking him to come. She was going to make good on her promise of helping him. So he went. During their first meeting she'd told him there was no way to make him immortal. The only possibility was to take Magnus's immortality away. And she was willing to help him with that. Of course it had turned out she wanted something in return. She'd been obnoxious and they actually fought, leaving Alec with a bruise on his cheek he couldn't explain to Magnus.

Going to see Camille again was a stupid thing to do, Alec knew it. Yet somehow he was drawn to her like a moth to a flame. She was someone who knew Magnus. Who could possibly answer questions about him. And Alec wanted answers badly.

He was surprised about that. He thought he'd be too upset about Jace to focus much on anything else. Magnus certainly thought so. And it was true, he was upset about that. But he thought back to that morning a week ago, when he'd been with Magnus and felt at peace, even with Jace missing. How he felt he wanted to be with Magnus, more than anything in the world.

And he still wanted that. It hadn't changed. But Magnus was so closed off. Alec felt pushed away by him. Why did Magnus feel the need to hide his past from him? Alec realized he didn't know anything about him. Not who his father was, not where he was born, not when he was born.

Camille would know. Alec had considered her offer to help him take away Magnus's immortality. But he'd discarded it, feeling horrified for even considering it. And he couldn't do his end of the bargain either, which was to kill off Raphael Santiago. There was no way. He'd be breaking covenant law for no good reason at all.

Alec didn't mind breaking the law if it meant saving people he loved. Like Jace now, for instance. So he hadn't cared about summoning a demon in Magnus's apartment, the day after they found out Jace was bound to Sebastian. They had asked the demon if he could find a way to break the bond, but the only option the demon gave them involved setting lose a prince of hell upon the earth. An impossibility. And time wasted. The demon made an allusion about Magnus's father in the process and Alec's curiosity was piqued. As usual, Magnus waved it away, unwilling to talk about it.

So Alec turned to Camille instead. He wouldn't and couldn't break the law for something as selfish and ethically wrong as ending Magnus's immortality, and therefore he had to let Camille know the deal was off. Of course there was no need to do that in person, but he wanted to talk to her. To see if she knew anything about Magnus. Anything that would close the immense gap Alec felt was between them. A gap that was stretching out over centuries, and Alec was unable to bridge it. Even more so because Magnus tore down every attempt he made to building bridges.

Camille was angry at him for not wanting to keep their deal. She tried to persuade him, but Alec had already made up his mind. He started questioning her about Magnus and she told him he was born in Indonesia, but she wouldn't tell him about Magnus's father, not understanding why it would matter.

"I get the feeling," Alec said, "that he's a pretty powerful, high-up demon. But Magnus won't talk about him."

Camille regarded him through lidded eyes as she said, "Well, of course he won't. One must preserve some mystery in one's relationship, Alec Lightwood. A book that one has not read yet is always more exciting than a book one has memorized."

"You mean I tell him too much?" Alec asked.

Camille willingly answered this question and then some more, giving him actual advice for how to navigate the waters of a relationship. She didn't even ask anything in return, only told him to call on her again if he wanted. And to reconsider his denial of her offer.

On his way back to Brooklyn he thought about her words, how she said he should keep a little mystery in his relationship. He was going to take that advice to heart.