War of Hearts

Chapter 15: Don't Trust A Mad Warlock

"What the hell is this? Are you stripping now?" The tall Shadowhunter approached Magnus with a confused look on his face.

Magnus was just tired of wearing the same damn outfit for twelve days straight now. So he had just taken off his black blazer and thrown it across the room rather dramatically, catching the five guards' attention with the gesture. Magnus raised his eyebrow at the confused Shadowhunter in front of him, not fully aware of his intentions. Then he let his head fall back and burst out in mocking laughter. The fact that the Shadowhunter had assumed he would actually strip in front of them amused him. The Shadowhunter obviously didn't like that reaction which only fueled Magnus's need to irritate him. He stopped laughing and let out a sigh before turning to him all serious again.

"You wish," He answered provocatively.

The Shadowhunter was about to reply, but Magnus didn't let him say a word. He raised his hand to quiet him.

"You don't want Valentine to find out you've been disturbing me now, do you?" He threatened, finally making him back off with only a hateful look.

Magnus turned back to the portal with a self-satisfied smirk. I might be the prisoner here, but you Nephilim are all my bitches now, he thought as he continued to work on the portal. After the little incident that had happened three days ago with those bully Shadowhunters Valentine had made it clear he didn't want anyone engaging with Magnus in any kind of communication, because it was slowing his work down. Allowing Magnus to get away with murdering one of his soldiers and torturing another was very humiliating for Valentine and many Shadowhunters of his army wanted Magnus punished for it. Magnus knew the portal was the only thing keeping him alive; as soon as he was done with it Valentine himself would turn against him.

But Magnus had a plan to escape before it came to that. In fact, he had a plan not only to escape, but to also make Valentine suffer for all the pain he'd caused him and the Downworlders. And he was very glad to be left alone to work on the portal, because it had become an essential part of his plan and his work flowed much better without the constant interruptions. He had made great progress during the last two days, since the night he had succeeded in visiting Alec in his dream.

It had never occurred to him that Alec could be missing him or he would need Magnus before that dream. But Magnus had sensed that despair clearly emanating from Alec by the way he looked at him and kissed him. Those kisses were everything Magnus had to hold on to, and they ignited so much power in him he didn't even know he still had. Despite his thirst for revenge, Alec was still Magnus's strongest motivation. He longed for Alec with such intensity it made everything else irrelevant. Also hearing rumors about Valentine planning an attack on the New York Institute served as more motivation; he had to stop Valentine from doing that. Magnus had to survive for both himself and Alec and he was going to do everything in his power to succeed.

For the next couple of hours all Magnus focused on was the portal, with the guarding Shadowhunters watching from a safe distance. And when he was, once again, on the edge of running out of magic, he began to feel this connection between him and the portal, like it was trying to communicate with him. He'd never done anything like this before, so he didn't know exactly what to expect from the other side. But when the freezing, empty breathtaking sensation cut through him, Magnus knew that he had accomplished his first goal. The portal was finished and the world behind it was ready to take in anything from this world.

And Magnus knew it was time to act.

He fell on the floor, breathing heavily. The blue ball that had been the growing portal until then had expanded into a pulsating transparent blue fog with flecks of yellow sparks all across it, making the air in the small room vibrate in every direction. The portal was eager to be opened for the first time. Magnus leaned on the wall by his side and got on his knees as the Shadowhunters took a cautious step towards the portal. They gazed at the scene with awe. They didn't even dare to speak.