"--and, and, and did you know that the kids didn't have to wear any clothes at all."

Magnus gave Alec an exasperated look.

"I'm going to kill Clary," he growled.

Last week had been Egyptian-themed around the Institute. And Max still hadn't gotten over it.

It seemed like the five-year old was spewing the same fifteen facts on a loop that only ended when he fell asleep.

Max was currently sitting in the biggest armchair in the living, the black leather appearing to devour his tiny blue frame.

Alec and Magnus were curled up on the couch across from him, watching both Max and Tutenstein, a surprisingly entertaining show about a mummy who comes back to live in the present-day. Or 2003.

In the past five days, they had plowed through Seasons 1 and 2. Magnus was more invested in the characters than he cared to admit.

"We have to stop this," Alec sighed. "It was cute at first--"

"--but I'm over it now," Magnus said, quietly. If Max overheard that they were plotting to destroy his Egyptian dreams. . .

"We just have to get him interested in something less annoying."

"Training?" Alec offered. Magnus gave him another exacerbated look.

"What are little boys supposed to like?" Magnus asked. Neither of them had had a particularly normal childhood.

"Trucks?" Alec asked.

"Video games--"

"We should get Simon's advice," Alec decided.

"Can we go to Egypt?" Max chimed in, looking over at them.

"Idea," Magnus whispered. He smiled. "Sure, Max."

His little face lit up, probably in shock.

"Really?"

Magnus shrugged.

"I've never been. So we should go."

"No way!" he cried, jumping off the chair. He immediately jumped on top of Magnus and Alec, giggling.

Five minutes later, his burst of energy left him asleep under the blankets between Magnus and Alec.

Magnus paused Tutenstein.

"Egypt?" Alec asked agitated.

"We're going to overboard him with Egyptian stuff until he can't possibly like it anymore," Magnus said, obviously proud of his plan.

"If this backfires--"

"--then we get him video games and watch him rot his brains out," Magnus said. He awkwardly leaned forward to kiss Alec's head.

They were both going to regret sleeping on the couch in the morning but they were too tired to move.

Alec whispered into the darkness of the apartment, "Hey, Magnus."

"Mmm?"

"Did you know that sailboats were invented in Egypt?"

.............

"You're going to be hot in that," Alec chided.

"It's November, Alexander," Magnus said, continuing to pull his coat on.

Max's squeals could be heard seconds before he came running into their room. Alec caught him as Max jumped up into his arms.

"What are you wearing?" Alec asked, trying not to sound unkind. He looked like a mini-Indiana Jones.

"Ayah got it for me," Max said, twisting proudly to show off his all-khaki outfit, fitted with pockets in every possible spot. Magnus went by the Indonesian word for father. Magnus looked back at Alec in the mirror, a smug smile on his face. "Now I look like an arch-ologist."

"Archaeologist," Alec corrected, setting Max down on their bed. He caught a glimpse of a patch embroidered with "Max, Archaeologist" on the front.

"Did you call the Cairo Institute?" Magnus asked, putting his watch on his wrist.

"Yep. They invited us to dinner and to spend the night," Alec said.

"The pyramids are in Cairo!" Max shouted. Alec snatched Max up, tossing him into the air as he screamed with joy.

"Yes, they are, my smart little boy," Alec said, putting Max his hip. "Are you ready, Magnus?"

Magnus nodded, grabbing their stuff.

There was a Portal in one of the spare bedrooms.

"The Institute's Portal is broken," Alec said. "There's one down the street though."

"Did they send you a picture?" Magnus asked. Alec nodded.

"Ready?"

"Yes!" Max exclaimed, kicking against Alec.

They stepped through.

..........

"I'm hot already," Magnus said, as soon as he got his first lungful of air.

"But it's November," Alec mocked. Max kicked himself free of Alec's grasp, landing on the dusty floor of the back alley.

Magnus willed a glamour onto Max before someone saw a little blue boy with horns cosplaying Indiana Jones.

"I wanna see the pyramids," Max said, tugging Alec's hand.

"We have to go see the Safars first," Alec said. "They're going to take us."

"Are they archologists?" Max said.

"They're Shadowhunters," Magnus said, taking Max's other hand.

"And it's archaeologist," Alec corrected.

They escaped the alley where they quickly learned the main road was much hotter.

Dodging cars and people on a mission, they made it to the Institute which was unlike the other Institutes they had seen.

"You must be Alexander," said the man that answered the door, with an award-winning smile. "And Magnus Bane."

Magnus didn't bother to correct him; it was Bane-Lightwood now.

"I am Hakim," he said. "Come in, come in."

The Institute looked more like a villa than anything else. It had an open concept; you could see most of the first floor from the the front door. The living room was sunken into the floor and was mostly cushions and pillows. Surrounding it was the dining room and kitchen.

"This is beautiful," Alec said.

Using his tiny speed, Max took off across the house for the large windows on the other side of the room.

"Max--" Magnus called.

"I can see the pyramids from here!" Max shouted.

A woman appeared at the top of a spiral staircase.

"You're here early," she cheered. "I was just about to wake Paislee up."

She walked straight to Alec, kissing him on both cheeks.

"It's so lovely to see you again, Alexander," she said.

"And you, Nasira."

"And you must be the great Magnus Bane," Nasira said, shaking Magnus' hand.

"I went to Nasira's Ascension ceremony," Alec reminded Magnus. Magnus nodded; he had forgotten.

"Lovely to meet you both," Magnus said.

"And who is the adorable young man over at the window?" Nasira asked. Max turned around.

"That's Max," Alexander said. "Max, come meet Mrs. Nasira."

Max came running over, though begrudgingly. He didn't stop until he was hiding behind Magnus' legs. Shyness struck him at such odd times.

"Hello, Max," Nasira said. "Let me go get Paislee. Hakim, show them to their rooms, yes?"

She went back upstairs.

"Being a Shadowhunter is suiting her well," Alec observed as Hakim beckoned them forward.

"She's enjoying the freedom. Nasira is very-- outspoken," Hakim said. "Being a mundane wouldn't have suited her."

Hakim guided them down a hallway, which was obviously reserved for guests.

"This Institute was built on the grounds of a mosque that was destroyed in the Crusades," Hakim said. "So it's much more living friendly than New York yet still sacred."

"You've been to New York?" Magnus asked.

"Don't be so surprised, Mr. Bane. I do get out," Hakim said, opening a door. "This is your room; there's a room attached for Mr. Max. I'll let you all settle in. Then we can go exploring."

Max stared up at Hakim with wide eyes.

..........

The pyramids were uneventful; after all, they were just rather large stone buildings.

Magnus brought him and Max up to the top, much to Alec's horror.

Since their arrival in Cairo and departure from the Institute had been so late, they didn't really have time to do anything after a tour by Hakim and Nasira.

So they returned to the Institute and Nasira started on dinner.

Paislee and Max were crawling around the common area playing archologist.

Hakim sat with Magnus and Alec, talking about the latest gossip in Idris and Downworld.

Every once in awhile Nasira would drift by, a ladle or knife in hand, chiming in her two cents.

Magnus was in love with the Cairo Institute: the openness of the floor plan, the hype of the city, and serenity of the desert just beyond it. Alec wanted the New York Institute but maybe they could learn Arabic and negotiate for this one. . .

"Let me show you the roof," Hakim offered.

"Max, behave," Magnus called back as they climbed the spiral staircase.

The roof was just above the second floor.

With it's ideal location, one could see both the pyramids and the city. The sun was setting and the oranges and purples excellently highlighting the dusty brown of the city.

As Hakim wandered away from them, Magnus pulled Alec closer to him.

"Can we get this Institute?" Magnus whispered, his lips dangerously close Alec's ears.

"No," Alec laughed. "Then we'd never hear the end of Max's fun facts."

"But it's so pretty," Magnus purred.

A scream broke their reverie.

Magnus didn't hesitate, appearing at the bottom of the stairs.

His eyes searched desperately for Max.

Nasira was leaning against the front door, digging her heels into the floor.

"Someone's trying to get in," she cried.

Alec and Hakim's furious footsteps came down the stairs and Magnus jumped aside.

Under the dining room table, which was set for dinner, Max had his arms wrapped around little Paislee.

Magnus ran to them as the other two men went to Nasira's aide.

"Come here, Max," Magnus called. Max crawled to Magnus, pulling Paislee with him.

Magnus snatched the two up, bringing them upstairs.

He could hear the thunder of banging against the front door even on the second floor.

Magnus threw open the first door which turned out to be Paislee's very pink room. 

"Magnus!" Alec shouted from below.

Magnus set Max and Paislee down.

"Protect her, Max," Magnus said. "Do you understand?"

Max nodded.

"Do not leave this room unless Daddy or I come," Magnus said.

Max nodded again. Paislee let out a little cry and Max wrapped his arms tighter around her.

"I love you, Ayah," Max said.

"I love you too," Magnus said. Then he was gone.

..........

Alec didn't get the chance to ask any questions.

The door wasn't holding and whatever was on the other side was determined to get in.

"Hakim, seraph blades," Alec ordered. The other man opened the door to what would have appeared to be a coat closet. Instead, it was an arsenal.

They quickly grabbed what they needed, stepping away from the door.

Magnus appeared at Alec's side.

"Are they safe?" Nasira asked before Alec could.

Magnus nodded before quickly pressing a kiss to Alec's lips.

He hated these moments: right before a fight where they were completely unprepared and probably significantly outnumbered. The Shadowhunters were good but they were still half-human. And humans made mistakes.

The door came down.

Werewolves.

"Goody," Magnus said. The first one sprung at him and he threw a hex at it.

As soon as it went down, a ebony black wolf was replacing it.

The wave seemed to be never ending.

To Magnus' left, Alec was defending the staircase from the wolves. If he could get up a little higher, he could pull the bow off his back. But he wasn't high enough so it was useless.

Hakim and Nasira were falling back, obviously overwhelmed. They were young, probably inexperienced. How many times had they fought side by side?

"Magnus, help them," Alec ordered. He could handle the stairs now. Things were slowing down.

"Busy!" Magnus responded, through gritted teeth. He fell to one knee as a wolf pounced high, flying towards him. Something sharp caught him on the shoulder, ripping easily through fabric and skin.

He didn't have time to swear or feel the pain; Nasira was screaming.

Magnus appeared at her side, forcing a sphere of safety around them.

It wouldn't hold long: shields were hard to keep up and Magnus was already drained.

"Are you okay?" Magnus asked hurriedly. Tears ran down her face, pulling eyeliner and mascara down with it.

"Hakim," she sobbed. Magnus looked over. He was on the ground, being trampled as furious wolves attacked the shield.

"You have to fight," Magnus said, shaking her shoulders. "Paislee is upstairs and Alec can't hold them off by himself."

She wiped her eyes and the shield fell, ignoring Magnus' pleading to stay up for even a second longer.

Her seraph blade arched in front of them, slicing the throats of the wolves charging them. A mother's instinct was more dangerous than any heavenly fire or adamas. 

There were still at least ten more and Alec was being pushed up the stairs.

Magnus appeared in front of him; he knew Alec's plan.

He could hold off what was coming as Alec played sniper, picking them off one by one.

The stairs were wide enough to allow one werewolf to climb at a time.

Magnus felt much safer as he heard the ping of arrows leaving Alec's bow with deadly accuracy.

Less than a minute later, the fight was done. The floor was strewn with carcasses.

"Nasira," Magnus called, climbing over bodies. He hoped Alec was checking on the kids. . .

He found her.

Laying beside Hakim, throat slit.

Death had become an unwanted friend to Magnus. He couldn't help but feel that it followed him.

Life was too bloody.

He stood there in the sea of death for a moment, taking in the silence.

In a way, this was the real calm before the storm. Soon the Clave would arrive, demanding statements and answers.

"Magnus!" Alec screamed for the second time that night.

Magnus ran, too weak to try and teleport again.

He skidded to a halt outside Paislee's room, carefully entering.

There was a dead werewolf on the floor and an eerie green orb of light above the body.

Alec looked back at Magnus, terrified.

Max was huddled in the corner, his tiny hands stretched out in front of him. Little green sparks came out of his hands, matching the color of the orb. That was evidence enough.

Paislee's head was peeking out over the top of his shoulder. Her mocha eyes were filled with tears, matching Max's, and her little hands were on his shoulders.

"What happened?" Magnus asked.

Magnus went straight for Max, taking hold of his hands, lowering them. The orb faded away.

"Tell me what happened, darling," Magnus said.

"I didn't mean to," Max said.

"I know you didn't," Magnus said. "Just tell me."

"He was so scary--" Max cried, his voice breaking.

"Magnus." Alec was begging for his attention right now. They needed to talk this through.

Magnus had pictured Max's first time using magic as a much happier event-- making bubbles appear out of nowhere or a shower of glitter. Not murder.

"It's okay," Magnus reassured him.

"Magnus!" Alec snapped.

Magnus looked back.

"Stay here," Magnus said, letting Max go.

"He killed someone," Alec hissed as soon as Magnus was close enough. "He's five-- he's going to be traumatized."

"I realize that," Magnus said. He was barely able to speak, a knot forming in his throat. He knew that all too well.

"You have to make him forget," Alec pleaded.

"Wiping memories isn't going to solve anything," Magnus said.

"He has to live forever," Alec said. "He can't live with this."

"I did--"

Alec stumbled back. Facts about Magnus' life before Alec had a horrible way of coming up at inopportune moments.

"I'm sorry," Magnus said, immediately regretting the confession. "But it's wrong to steal away a piece of someone's past like that."

Alec was at a loss for words.

"Think about Clary," Magnus said.

"Clary didn't kill someone!" Alec said, probably a little too loud. "Not to mention the Clave and what they'll do. Magnus, you have to do this."

Alec was right. If the Clave found out Max was using magic so improperly, they could take him away or worse.

"I-- Okay," Magnus sighed. He was already so tired. . .

"Where's Hakim and Narisa?" Alec asked as Magnus walked back to Max.

"Come here," Magnus said, sitting on the floor. Max crawled into his lap, curling up into a ball. Their backs were to the body.

"Magnus--"

"Gone, Alexander," Magnus said, exhaustion settling on him. "Go and call the Clave."

Paislee still stood in front of them as Alec shut the nursery door.

"You too," Magnus said, beckoning her forward. She didn't respond, only falling into a sitting position.

"Am I in trouble?" Max asked, wrapping his arms around Magnus' leg.

"No, dear. When you wake up, you're not going to remember a thing."

............

Alec knelt beside Hakim and Narisa's bodies. It infuriated him.

Dinner still sat on the table, steaming and speckled with blood. Narisa's last meal would go uneaten.

Jace was the first one there since Alec called him, not the Clave.

Magnus was busy, and Alec understood, but he needed Jace and emotional support.

"By the Angel, Alec," Jace whispered as he stepped through the broken doorway. He spotted Alec across the room. "Are you okay?"

Alec turned around, standing up.

"Fine," Alec breathed. Jace engulfed him in a hug.

"You're never leaving New York without me again," Jace said. He felt Alec's panic, and he was trying his best to ignore it.

"Did you call the Clave?"

"Clary is," Jace said. "What happened?"

"I have no idea," Alec said.

"Where's Magnus and the kid?" Jace asked.

"Upstairs--"

He almost told Jace the truth. But they had to protect Max.

"Are they okay?"

Alec nodded.

"You need runes," Jace said, pulling a dining chair out and sitting Alec down.

Alec relished the pain as the iratzes burned into his skin. He always had enjoyed the burning sensation that most people found irritable.

It helped make up for the fact that someone had died and he hadn't. The guilt ate him alive.

"You were still fighting," Jace said, catching Alec staring at the lifeless Shadowhunters. "You were protecting Magnus and Max. Stop blaming yourself."

Magnus came downstairs, balancing a sleeping child in each arm.

Jace jumped to his feet, taking Paislee from him.

"This their daughter?" he asked.

Alec nodded, looking up at Magnus.

"They're okay," Magnus said. Alec got the message.

If only he could forget.

Max's terrified face, just barely knowing what he had done.

The lifeless body, lit with green light.

Narisa's first scream and every single one after it.

The three heard the disturbance at the front door as five Shadowhunters, including Robert Lightwood, stepped into the Institute.

"Alexander," Robert said. "Are you okay?"

"Yes," Alec said. "It's Narisa and Hakim."

One of the other Shadowhunters let out a sigh heavy enough for all of them.

"You have the girl, Jace?" Robert asked, walking towards them.

"Magnus put them to sleep," Jace said.

"Take her back to New York for now," Robert said.

"All due respect but I'd like to stay," Jace said. "I'm not leaving Alec."

"This is officially a Clave investigation," Robert said. "You weren't here, Jace. So go home."

Jace looked back at Alec.

"Take Max too," Magnus said, handing him over. He looked pointedly at Robert. "Unless you have any objection."

"Watch your tone, Mr. Bane," Robert warned.

"It's Bane-Lightwood now," Magnus corrected with a smile too smug for his own good.

"Magnus," Alec moaned. Magnus didn't need to be pissing off not only the Inquisitor but his father-in-law tonight.

"I'm very aware of that," Robert said. "Give us your statement and you can go. In the meantime, Jace, take the kids home."

Jace gave Alec one last glance before leaving them.

.............

It took six hours to give statements and give Robert the information he wanted. Magnus gathered their things with a simple spell that ended up taking that last of his energy out of him.

He barely made it through the Portal and into his bed in Brooklyn without passing out.

Alec would have collapsed beside him if it wasn't for the consuming guilt.

Hakim and Narisa were dead.

Maybe it was the suddenness of it all that increased the shock and guilt.

They weren't able to prepare. They were so young, they probably didn't have wills.

Then there was Paislee, an orphan so young she wouldn't remember them.

Alec needed to throw something.

A lamp (which Alec had always found ugly) was the closest thing. He yanked it away from the wall, to which the outlet protested with a shower of harmless sparks. He hurled the lamp across the room where glass and metal shattered in a cacophony of noise.

"Alexander," Magnus mumbled, weakly lifting his head. "What are you doing, my dear?"

"I hate myself," Alec said, falling back against the bed.

"Don't say that," Magnus said. He joined Alec on the edge.

Every movement was exhausting, costing Magnus energy.

Magnus took Alec's face in his hands, tears trapped under his fingertips.

"It's not your fault," Magnus said. "Did you kill them?"

"I'm supposed to protect--"

"You were protecting Paislee and Max," Magnus said. "You were where you were supposed to be. They would have wanted you on the staircase, not by their side."

"And where was I when there was a werewolf in their room?" Alec snapped.

Magnus couldn't come back to that. There had probably been a back staircase they had missed.

"Max won't remember a thing. We're the only ones who know," Magnus said.

"Not good enough," Alec said.

"If you feel bad, then let's adopt Paislee," Magnus said. It was an offer he hadn't thought through but they were both suckers for out-of-place things.

"Are you serious?" Alec asked.

"Well I'm depleted of energy and barely conscious. But it sounds like a great idea to me now."

It was a way for redemption.

Magnus' hands slipped off Alec's face.

"Dear, I can't keep my eyes open," Magnus said, laying back. His hand caught Alec's shoulder, pulling him down too.

"Go to sleep, Alexander," Magnus mumbled.

Laying down allowed exhaustion to creep into Alec's broken body.

Tomorrow he'd worry about redemption.

Tonight he'd sleep.