Distractions - Chapter 12: Chapter 12

"Why do I keep getting kidnapped?"
That was the first thing Everest heard as she floated up from unconsciousness. She was pretty sure it was Simon who had spoken, but she wasn't entirely sure. After all, one of her characters, Wesley Meyers, sounded very similar to Simon and her subconscious was filled with scenes and ideas for her stories just waiting to be brought to life.
"Not to be self-centered, but I think it's me they're after." That was most definitely Clary. Which meant that Everest had been kidnapped again. 'Great,' Everest drawled in her mind. 'Kidnapped again, this time with Ritz and Rat Boy. Even better.'
Everest's eyes felt heavier than wet cement, but she forced them open. Red and green tiling filled her vision and she felt her body be pushed into a booth. She felt the rounded, plasticky cushions on her back and she knew where she was; the Jade Wolf. They had great Chinese food and the stories some of the people there told were fun. She and Roslyn usually went when something bad happened and they were in need of some comfort food. That didn't mean that Everest wanted to be kidnapped and taken there to be held hostage.
Everest nearly groaned as Clary decided to talk back to whoever had kidnapped him. Had she never seen any movie ever?
"Okay, what's going on? Alaric, did you arrest us for trespassing or something, because news flash, I was in my own apartment."
"We're just having a little conversation, that's all," a man said in a low, gruff voice. Everest knew that voice. It belonged to Theo, someone who was kind of an ass and wasn't the best at telling stories.
"Do you always handcuff people you want to talk to? I bet this guy has one of the scariest online profiles ever," Simon joked nervously.
"This guy's funny," Theo chuckled slightly. "I like funny."
Everest opened her eyes all the way and lifted her head. She met Theo's eyes and shook her head.
"He's not that funny, Theo," she told him.
"You know this guy?" Clary demanded. If they hadn't been kidnapped, Everest probably would have commented on the parallel between then and when Simon stalked Clary.
"Eh," Everest shrugged. "His stories suck but he's got pretty good food recommendations."
Theo glared at her, but the other man, the one Clary called Alaric, smirked slightly before he spoke.
"Look, I know you're scared of Luke—"
"I'm what now?" Everest blinked.
"—he's trying to find you, but I can keep you safe. You just need to tell us where the Mortal Cup is."
"Can we back up a little bit?" Everest asked as she picked at the zip ties around her wrists. "Why am I supposed to be scared of Luke? Is it because he's a male who has a gun license?"
Theo rolled his eyes at her. "Kid, shut up. You're amusing and you're good at making people laugh, but that won't stop me from breaking your arm." Everest stared at him.
"But really. Why am I supposed to be scared of Luke?" The question had burned itself into her mind and she wouldn't let it go until she had an answer.
Theo motioned to something behind her and two hands were suddenly gripping her upper arms. She flinched, not expecting the contact, and she was dragged to her feet. Her eyes were wide as the unknown person dragged her to the back of the restaurant.
"Everest!" Clary shouted.
"What are you doing?" Simon shouted, fighting against the handcuffs.
Everest didn't try to fight against the hands holding her, knowing nothing good would happen if she did. She was taken to a cell and thrown in roughly, her hands and knees scraping painfully against the concrete.
"Stay," growled the man who had dragged her. She glared at him, though she didn't think she was all that intimidating with her purple hair, freckled face, and rainbow sweater.
"Jerk," she mumbled as he left. "I like this outfit."
She stood up painfully and looked around the room once she snapped the zip ties. There were no windows and the door was solid metal with no way to see in. There were lockers and a chair on one side of the room and scratches all over the walls and floor. Everest traced a set of four marks and all the hours of research the girl had done not even six months ago for a story came flooding back to her.
"A wolf has four toes, each with a non-retractable claw. Their feet are padded and the front tracks are slightly broader and longer than the hind," she whispered. She recalled the pictures she had looked at that showed claw marks made by wolves and the realization dawned on her.
She had been kidnapped by werewolves. Everest pressed her hand against the wall and gently smacked her head on her hand.
"Shit, shit, shit, shit."
Silver flashed in her peripheral vision and she stopped. She looked up and saw an air vent. She smiled a little bit. Here was her chance to do something she had only done one other time—climb through the vents.
She dragged the chair under the vent and she pulled out a pen from her mess of a bun. She started to twirl it like a screwdriver and though it took agonizingly long, she managed to take out the vent cover. She set it down quietly on the floor before she pulled herself up into the vents.
Her guns rubbed against her hips and she winced. She inched her way through the vents, stopping whenever she heard a noise. She didn't encounter any vents that would lead to somewhere with windows until she heard Simon's voice.
"Oh, I thought I'd never utter these words, but thank God it's you. It's me, Simon."
Everest hurried her inch worming as she tried to follow the boy's voice. Her breathing became heavier and her shoulders tensed as the vent got tighter, but she pushed through it. She had to get to Simon, had to make sure he was alright. She had to.
"I don't know. Some Chinese restaurant, I think," she heard Simon say, his voice wavering in his panic. "This cop Alaric arrested us, but it was a total fake-out. Him and his buddy...they took us. They took us to their hideout and then they told Clary they'd kill her if they don't find the cup. And they took Everest somewhere too, they said they'd kill her too."
Everest saw her friend's head through the vent and made quick work of unscrewing the screws and quietly moving it aside. While Simon was staring out the window, she slipped down from the vents, landing on her hands and knees.
"Uh, we're definitely on a pier. There's a ton of water. Uh...I see lockers and...oh my." Everest followed Simon's gaze to the heavily scratched walls. "I'm in some kind of torture chamber. There's claw marks all over the walls."
"Werewolves," Everest said quietly as she scooted to the wall. "The claw marks were made by werewolves."
Simon whirled around and his face fell in shock. "Everest?" he whisper shouted. "What—how are you in here?"
The purple haired girl just pointed to the ceiling where the vent was wide open. "I climbed through the vents like I did in Grade One."
Everest heard muffled shouting from the phone and made grabby hands at Simon—not unlike the motions a baby makes when it wants something. "Hand me the phone please," she requested.
"Simon! Answer us!" Jace shouted through the phone. "Is Everest with you or not?"
"I'm right here Dye Blonde," Everest said. "Stop shouting please."
"Where are you?" Izzy asked, her voice panicky. Everest winced, feeling guilty for being part of the reason her friend was panicking.
"I'm in a cell with Simon at the Jade Wolf. And I had no idea that they had literal cells in the back of their restaurant, much less ones that can contain werewolves."
"Are you hurt?" Alec demanded. Everest was a little touched at his concern.
"Besides my ego?" she asked and Izzy chuckled a little. "My hands, knees, head, and chest."
She heard Jace and Alec begin to freak out, but Izzy seemed to take the phone. "Sunny, which parts are because of external things, and which are because of internal things?" she asked in a soothing voice.
"Hands and knees because I landed on them, head because I smacked it against my hand in frustration, and chest because of internal."
Izzy breathed out in relief. "Okay, that's good. Make sure you breathe and don't panic. We'll be there soon."
"Stall them, create a diversion," Jace said just before Everest was about to hang up.
"What?" Everest blinked and handed the phone to Simon.
"That never works," he protested. "Have you ever seen an action movie?"
Everest leaned her head back and closed her eyes. She was exhausted, mentally and physically, and she needed a quiet space immediately. She opened her eyes as the fire alarm went off, Simon retracting his hand from the manual release. Everest applauded the boy, even as she winced at the volume.
"Smart. And you didn't actually make a fire right?"
"No."
"Good." Everest smiled softly and she leaned her head back again.
"Are you alright?" Simon asked hesitantly, not wanting to make her head worse.
"Yeah, I'm fine enough."
"That's not very reassuring," the boy mumbled.
"Yeah, well. Not much about this situation is very reassuring."
...
The sound of a whip wrapping around metal bars startled Everest into opening her eyes. Simon was gasping for air above where she was laying on the ground. 'Did he not take basic fire safety classes?' she wondered. 'You're supposed to get close to the ground when the fire alarm goes off or there's something in the air.'
The bars were ripped off the window and Izzy's face appeared.
"I'm getting seriously tired of saving your life."
"I am not!" Simon exclaimed with a dopey smile on his face.
He hauled Everest to her feet and gave her a boost out of the cell. She smiled faintly at her friend as she stepped to the side. There was a body half-hidden by a shipping container, but Everest turned away. She really didn't want to know.
"Clary!" Simon shouted as three pairs of feet pounded towards them.
"Simon! Everest!" The purple haired girl was pulled into a hug. "Oh my God."
"You okay?" Everest asked her sister.
"Yeah, you?" Everest's forced smile, stiff shoulders, and shaking hands were answer enough.
Everest removed herself from the embrace and gave Izzy and Jace a nod. "I'm alright," she said, though they didn't seem to believe her.
She walked to lean against a crate and Alec followed.
"You're not alright, are you," he asked quietly.
"Are any of us?"
He didn't get a chance to respond as Clary suddenly shouted. "Wait! The box! My backpack. I think I left it in the loft."
"No, we've got it. I didn't screw up everything," Alec said bitterly. She shot him a concerned look as they walked back to the others.
"I don't think you screwed anything up," she muttered. She missed the small smile the eldest Lightwood gave her.
"Let's get outta here, then," Simon suggested, but Everest froze as she saw flashes of movement all around them.
"Wait! Whatever you do, don't make any fast moves," Izzy said slowly. Everest stared at the sight in front of her. There were wolves surrounding the six of them. Everest sighed and she started reaching for her gun.
"This can't be good," Jace muttered.
"Really? I thought this meant we got a vacation," Everest mumbled to the boy. He rolled his eyes and drew his blade.
"We're surrounded, everyone stay together." Alec pushed Everest behind him as the Shadowhunters formed a circle. She was a little flattered that he was trying to keep her out of harm's way, but she had two guns; she could protect herself just fine.
"Believe me, I'm not going anywhere."
"Oh, and Clary?" she turned to the redhead. "You owe me a week's worth of coffee."
"Not the time Everest."
A wolf larger than the rest stepped out of the doorway and Everest stumbled as Alec shoved her back further.
"Everyone get back! That's the alpha leader!"
The wolf began to run towards them and Everest drew her gun. Nobody noticed however, except for Simon who ducked behind her.
"Jace, behind!" Clary warned and Everest spun to face where her sister was pointing.
Another wolf was crouched behind them and Everest aimed her gun for its face. The wolf seemed to give her an approving look before it launched itself over the group and at the alpha.
"He's challenging the alpha," Alec told them.
"He's helping us!"
"Or cutting in line to kill us," Simon rebutted.
"Or he's doing it for his own personal gain and we just so happen to be caught in the middle," Everest suggested, forcing her voice to be happier than she really was. Clary and Simon gave her irritated looks, but the Shadowhunters ignored her.
The wolves fought and as a pile of crates fell over, the group approached. Everest sucked in a sharp breath. Theo laid face down on the ground, blood pooling under him. He was dead. He was dead and Everest didn't know what to think.
On one hand, he was an ass and had kidnapped her. But on the other hand, she had known him for the last 3 years and even though his stories sucked, he knew all the best places to get all kinds of food. She was conflicted and she felt that conflict try to cloud her vision, but she shoved it into her little box of negativities. It was just a few things away from exploding.
"The alpha is dead."
The other wolf stepped out from behind the crates and transformed into Luke. Everest stared at the bloody and beaten man, her gun still out in her hand where it would stay until she knew it was safe.
"Luke," Clary breathed out as all around them, wolves howled.
Her green eyes darted between her uncle and the wolves, understanding lighting up her face.
"Now he's the alpha," she muttered, though only Izzy heard it.
"I promised your mother I'd always protect you," Luke said as he collapsed. Everest blinked as she realized she had zoned out without realizing it. 'How dramatic,' she thought.
Everest put her gun in its holster before rushing forward. She helped her sister and Simon drag the man up from the ground. But then, the shredded material of Luke's shirt pressed against her cheek and she reared back. Her cheek itched where it had touched the fabric and she scrubbed roughly at her face. Izzy saw her and rushed to her side, even as she backed away from the others.
"What is it? What's wrong?"
Everest felt her bottom lip wobble and she shook her head. She couldn't speak without letting loose the tears welling up in her eyes. She pulled at her sweater in hopes that her friend would understand. She did.
"I'm taking Everest back to the Institute," Izzy called to her brothers.
"Is she alright?" Jace called back.
Izzy glanced at the girl and nodded. "Yeah, just been a long night."
The raven haired girl didn't wait for a response as she led Everest away from the Jade Wolf. Three streets away, she pulled her into a side street and sat Everest down against a house. She sat next to her as the younger girl scrubbed at her face with her hands, trying to get the feeling of Luke's shirt off her skin. Her face was raw by the time Izzy stopped her.
She looked over at her, her eyes glassy. Izzy said nothing as she handed her a baby wipe she got who knows where. Everest scrubbed at her cheek, gentler than before, as she let the tears fall.
Izzy wrapped her arms around the younger girl, taking care to keep her clothes and hair from touching any part of Everest's skin. She knew that Everest had sensory issues, and that when she was particularly overwhelmed, they amplified by 40%, leaving the girl in tears whenever they were triggered.
"Sorry," Everest mumbled as she wiped her eyes.
"Don't be," Izzy said softly. "You have nothing to apologize for. It's not your fault that you have sensory issues, or that you get overwhelmed easier than other people. That's just the way you are, and there's nothing wrong with that. And anyone who says differently can take it up with my fists."
"Looks like you'll be beating my mom up then," Everest said, her words laced with more bitterness than intended—which was honestly any at all.
"Yeah," the older girl said after a moment, her eyes glinting dangerously in the moonlight. "Looks like I will."
As the girls sat next to each other, neither knew that the eldest Lightwood watched with wide eyes and a sorrow-filled gaze. Neither of them knew how he promised himself that he'd do his best to never overwhelm Everest or do anything that would mess with her sensory issues. They didn't know, and they never suspected that he was ever watching, even as Izzy caught sight of a leather jacket disappearing around the corner.
...
As Isabelle Lightwood and Everest Fairchild walked into the New York Institute, Maryse Lightwood caught sight of them. The woman had a stern expression on her face and Izzy turned to Everest.
"Go to my room or Alec's. You don't need to deal with my mother right now," she said in a hushed whisper.
"Neither do you Dusk," Everest protested, though she slipped into the shadows and past the head of the Institute.
She retraced the path to her friend's room with ease, having memorized it after Jace had to bring her from the other side of the Institute where she had ended up lost. She hardly looked around at the chaos that was Izzy's room as she took out her hair tie and shook her hair out. She flopped back on the bed, staring at the blank ceiling. Her foot moved side to side to a silent beat and she twirled her hair tie on her finger. She took deep breaths as she calmed herself down from the mess she had been earlier. She felt her chest lighten and her headache go away as her breathing evened out.
She didn't register the doorknob turning as she shot the hair tie across the room like a rubber band. She heard it hit the wall along with a small chuckle.
"Trying to kill someone?" someone asked, their voice filled with amusement.
Everest propped herself up on her elbows and saw Alec leaning against the doorframe. "Hey." She waved slightly. "And I'm not trying to kill anybody. I just flicked it across the room. I didn't know you'd be walking in here."
He shrugged, though the smile stayed. He walked further into the room and sat on the bed next to her.
"Are you feeling better?" he asked tentatively.
"Yeah. Less overwhelmed for sure."
"Good. I'm glad."
It was quiet for a moment before Everest spoke.
"Are you looking for Dusk?"
"Izzy?" She nodded. "Yeah. Do you know where she is?"
Everest rolled her eyes. "She's talking with your mom."
Alec winced as he stood up. "I'm sure I'll hear all about that later." He paused as he reached the door. "Hey, do you want to be in my room while Izzy's busy? That way you're not all alone."
Everest thought it over for a moment before she shrugged. "Sure, why not."
She slid off the bed and grabbed her phone from the floor. She followed the boy to his room, which was at the other end of the hall. She shut the door behind her and she sat on Alec's bed next to him.
"Why would I be scared of Luke?" Everest asked suddenly, the question flashing once again in her mind.
Alec shrugged. "Maybe because he's a werewolf."
Everest hummed. She hadn't even thought of that side of it "I didn't think of that. I just thought it was because he's a man who has a gun license and I'm an 18 year old girl."
The blue eyed boy gazed at her curiously. "Why do you ask?"
"Just something Alaric said earlier. He mentioned that he knew we're scared of Luke. I asked why I would be scared of Luke, but nobody gave me any answers."
"About what happened earlier," Alec began. Everest froze slightly before she continued moving her foot and tapping her hands together. "Are you actually okay?"
"What do you mean?"
"It's just—it's just that you seemed like you were about to have a panic attack or something when you were helping Luke up."
Everest's shoulders dropped. "Oh, that." She looked down at the navy comforter as if it were the most interesting thing in the world. "I was just overwhelmed and then Luke's shirt rubbed against my face."
"Why did Luke's shirt make you panic?" Alec didn't want to pry, but he did want to know what had happened and how he could help if it happened again.
"Umm..."
"You don't have to—"
"No, I want to. I just—" Everest ran a hand through her hair. "I'm just not the best at explaining it."
"Take your time," Alec said softly.
She smiled. "What happened was because of my sensory issues. It was a sensory overload triggered by the material of Luke's shirt. Some things like certain fabrics—like wool or pure polyester—, textures, sounds, even sometimes certain lights or smells, irritate my senses and I get overwhelmed. The fabric of Luke's shirt was one of those. When my sensory issues are triggered or whatever, it's physically painful. For example, Luke's shirt, the feeling of it on my face made my face itch and hurt."
"Is that why you were rubbing your hands against your face so much?"
"Yeah. Whenever something physical like fabric irritates my senses, I tend to scrub, itch, or rub that area with either my hands or the cuff of my sleeve or something."
Alec hesitated before he asked another question. "What—is there any way to help you when you get overwhelmed? Any way to help you calm down?"
Everest stared in shock. She hadn't had anybody ask how they could help her in years. Not since her friends, sister, Luke, Brad, and Jay had asked her. Her mom hadn't even asked her. She had asked Clary.
"I...yeah, there is. Um, I usually have my bag with me that has stuff that helps so if I get overwhelmed there's probably something in my bag that'll help. But generally it's a material or texture, I have baby wipes in my bag that I use after I've scrubbed my skin rawer than Luke eats his steak." She laughed a little at her phrasing. "If it's noise or sound, I have noise cancelling headphones that help, and if it's lights, I have sunglasses in my bag. But also leaving the situation helps too."
Alec nodded, filing the information away. "Okay, thanks for telling me. I don't want to be in a situation where you're overwhelmed and I can't help you in any way."
Everest smiled at him and he smiled back. She was about to thank him for caring enough to ask when Izzy walked into the room.
"Mom's in rare form today," the girl remarked. "Oh, am I interrupting something?"
Alec and Everest shook their heads. "She's been different since she got back from Idris," Alec said.
"If you say so. Same old judgmental Mom with me." Everest gave the taller girl a sympathetic look. She knew what it felt like to be judged by your mom. "Have you spoken to Jace yet?"
"He can call me when he's done chasing the little girl and—" Izzy cut off her brother's harsh words.
"Alec, you need to call Jace." Everest looked between the siblings and decided to stay quiet.
"No welcome home for the old man?" someone asked from the doorway. The three turned to see a bald man with a beard standing with a raised eyebrow as a little boy near 11 stood by his side.
"Max!" Alec said happily as the little boy rushed into his arms.
"Daddy!" Izzy hugged her dad.
"What are you doing back so soon?" Alec asked the boy. Everest assumed it was Max, the littlest Lightwood.
"Got in trouble in Mumbai," Max said with a shrug. Everest smiled at his nonchalance.
"Oh, what'd you do?"
"Nothing."
"He started a fire with his stele during runes studies," Robert Lightwood deadpanned.
"Max," Izzy chided softly, though Everest knew she was amused. After all, Izzy had told her a similar story once about how she had turned her classroom into a swimming pool when she was hot. Everest hadn't fully understood how when she told the story, but she did now.
"I told you, I was hungry. I was trying to draw the Nourishment rune," the boy protested.
Everest and Izzy snorted. "Sounds like something Sunny would do," Izzy said.
Everest nodded. "It really does. Except I'd be trying to get coffee and end up actually burning the place down."
"Max, go up to your room, open the Grey Book, and look up the Extinguish rune," Robert commanded. Max sighed but left the room. Robert turned to the purple haired girl who was still sitting on Alec's bed. "I don't believe we've met. I'm Robert Lightwood."
Everest nodded to the man. "I'm Everest Fray—err, Fairchild I guess. Nice to meet you. Dusk's told me a lot about you."
Robert raised an eyebrow. "Oh, like what?"
Everest smiled at her friend who was frantically shaking her head. "Just the usual. How superior your ruling is to the queen's, and all that."
Alec covered his face with his hands to hide his laughter. Izzy's shoulders shook as she stood next to her older brother.
Robert shook off his confusion. "Where is Clary Fairchild? Your mother said she was missing."
"She's not missing. She's with Jace," Alec told his father.
"We can't have that girl out of Institute control. Or Everest either. The entire Shadow World is looking for them. It's a security risk. Get them both back here now." The man walked out of the room and Everest looked at Izzy with her nose scrunched.
"I'm not fully sure if you saying he's better than your mom is all that right."
Izzy looked away as she shrugged. "He's a little better. They both just live by the tough love policy."
"At least it's not the 'ignore what makes your kid different and refuse to accept them for it policy.'" The Lightwood siblings winced at the girl's words.
As Alec went to call Jace, Everest looked at her phone that had been buzzing nonstop for the last ten minutes. She sighed as she looked at the messages. Most of them were from Clary, asking her to come to Magnus's apartment, but there were a few from Jace.
Dye Blonde:
Your mundane sucks.
He won't shut up.
How do you shut him up?
Dye Blonde:
Everest answer me! He won't stop talking!
Dye Blonde:
What is wrong with him?
He just held a fucking knife to my throat and acts like he has no idea what he just did!
Chaotic Mess:
Simon's weird, but that's extra weird.
The response was almost immediate.
Dye Blonde:
That's all you have to say? Agreeing that your mundane is weird?
Chaotic Mess:
Yes.
Dye Blonde:
That's not helpful
At all.
Everest looked up and saw that Izzy had left the room. So, she sent her a text letting her know she'd be at Magnus's apartment if she needed her. She grabbed her bag from where it laid on the floor of Alec's room, put on a pair of shoes, and left the Institute.
As she walked to where her sister was waiting, she passed by her favorite bakery and the gas station. She hesitated before going to the bakery. She needed real food more than she wanted Skittles. She bought a blueberry muffin with a smile and kept walking until she reached the coffee shop. She hadn't realized that both the bakery and the coffee shop were on the way to Magnus's apartment, but she wasn't complaining.
The bell chimed as she entered, the smell of coffee and vanilla enveloping her in comfort.
"Everest!" Sara cheered from behind the counter.
"Hey Sara," she greeted.
"Usual?"
"Yeah. Good day, usual."
The woman smiled proudly as she pulled started making the large vanilla latte. Mark stuck his head out from the back and saw Sara's proud look and Everest's smile.
"Good day?" he asked. Everest nodded and the man walked out of the back to ruffle her hair. "I'm glad it's a good day."
"Me too."
After her coffee was done, the purple haired girl continued her route to Magnus's apartment. She walked up the steps, careful not to spill her coffee as she peeked through the cracked door. Magnus and Clary seemed to be in some kind of trance while Luke was lying on the couch, seemingly asleep. Everest crept in and perched on the counter where she waited for the two to snap out of their trance.
"...From our father, the lunatic," Clary said, snapping Everest out of her mind. She hadn't realized that she had zoned out. She hopped off the counter and the two turned to her in surprise.
"Who's our lunatic father again? I think I missed that part in the conversation."
"Everest! Are you alright?" Clary hugged the girl tight..
"Yeah, I'm good. But really, who's our lunatic father?"
"Valentine."
Everest looked between Magnus and Clary, her eyes searching for any hint of a lie. She didn't find one. She sighed, her eyes slipping shut as she pressed her lips together. 'Of course the crazy guy we're trying to stop is the same guy who conceived me and my twin sister. Oh joy.' she grumbled in her head.
"Right, of course it is." She nodded to herself as she turned to Clary. "So, what do you think? Which of us is the unlucky twin who's more like the bad guy?"
"I don't think I want to know the answer to that," Clary mumbled as Luke groaned and shifted on the couch. "Luke. Luke!"
"It was our fault. It was our fault!" the man cried as he twisted in pain.
"The bite. It's worse." Clary gave Magnus a desperate look.
Magnus moved to kneel beside the werewolf. His hands glowed blue and the glow encased Luke's torso. Everest leaned back against a chair and watched as Magnus's tan skin paled.
"I'm running out of magic," the man said ten minutes later.
"What can we do?" Everest asked, desperate for something to do. She had been out of her mind the last ten minutes without anything to do since she had gotten bored of her phone and she didn't have her writing stuff.
"I can't leave him, but the potion stock still needs Komodo scale. Find it, add the rest when the others get back. You have to feed it to Luke." Clary ran from the room towards the kitchen.
Everest recalled something she had heard the others talking about and knelt by the warlock. She held out her hand. "Use my strength."
"Everest—" she cut him off.
"Don't argue. Just do it. You need all the strength you can get, and I really don't think that Luke "I look like a double dead mummy" Garroway is gonna give you much help."
Magnus hesitated again but took her hand. Everest felt her energy drain slowly and she shifted so that she was sitting crisscrossed. She smiled reassuringly at the warlock as he gave her a concerned look. Everest swayed lightly as the front door opened and Alec ran in.
"What do you need?" he asked, slightly frantic.
"Take her hand. Your energy will transfer to her and then to me," Magnus explained.
Alec didn't hesitate. He fell to his knees next to the purple haired girl and grabbed her hand. She could feel the energy being transferred and she slumped forward. She started to lean on Magnus's shoulder, but realizing that he probably needed his arms to do magic, she leaned on Alec's instead. Her cheek rested on his sleeve and she prepared herself to feel a fabric that irritated her, but she didn't. Her lips quirked tiredly as she realized he had changed shirts. Before, his shirt had irritated her a little bit, enough to be uncomfortable but still tolerable, as she had found out when she had been sitting next to him, but now it didn't bother her at all.
The front door opened again and Jace and Simon ran in.
"Clary!" they shouted.
"Do you have it?" Everest's sister asked.
"Yeah."
A few moments later, Clary rushed in and fed Luke a potion from a bowl. Why she didn't use a glass was beyond Everest's thinking skills at the moment. Luke woke up and Magnus slumped against Everest's shoulder, clearly exhausted.
"You okay?" Everest asked the man.
"Yeah."
...
Everest was curled up in the corner of the couch, Alec was scrubbing the other couch, and Magnus was standing across the room by the bar cart preparing cocktails. She was rocking back and forth lightly as her gaze flitted between the two. She had tried to help Alec, but he had made her sit on the couch instead, claiming that she had strained herself enough that day.
"You know I have magic for that, right?" Magnus sounded amused.
"I think you've exerted yourself enough for one day," Alec told him. He held up a hand in Everest's direction. "You too Everest."
She huffed and moved to sit on the end of the couch closer to the men. "But I've had food and coffee. I'm good."
"What did you eat?" Magnus asked. He was well aware of how the 18 year old considered a packet of Skittles a meal.
"I had a muffin." The men raised their eyebrows at her. "I did!"
"Drink break?" Magnus chuckled as he handed Alec a cocktail and Everest a glass of soda. "To us."
Magnus snapped his fingers and Everest watched in fascination as Alec's drink turned blue and smoky for a moment before returning to its previous clear color. Everest snorted as Alec's face scrunched up at the taste of the alcohol.
"Why'd you ask for me? Jace and Clary were here, and Everest was too." Alec looked confused as he looked at the warlock.
"Hmm, Jace didn't tell you? It doesn't matter. It was a lie anyway." Magnus shrugged.
"Are warlocks always this cryptic?"
Everest laughed. "He's not being cryptic, he's being coy. It's kinda what he does. Also, if you're going to be sticking around and interacting with Magnus a lot, you should probably be prepared for days you have more questions than answers," Everest advised the dark haired Shadowhunter.
"Everest is right. I am being coy. Let me spell it out for you. I wanted to see you again."
"Why?" Alec asked.
"Why wouldn't he?" Everest's head tilted. "You're you. Enough said."
The men looked at her in surprise. "What?" Alec asked.
"Why'd you come?" Magnus asked in return.
"I'm not sure." Alec frowned.
"For almost a century, I've closed myself off to feeling anything for anyone. Man or woman. You've unlocked something in me." Magnus glanced at the girl with purple hair and green eyes that was sitting on his couch in a rainbow sweater and drinking Sprite. "You both have," he said softly.
Alec's phone rang and he hurried to pick it up. "Hey. Hi, Mother. Of course." He hung up and slipped his phone into his pockets. "Duty calls."
"Ah, the furrowed brow," Magnus mused. "Maryse must be calling you for something...unseemly."
Everest's nose scrunched up. "She's probably going to give a lecture." Magnus laughed and Alec hid a smile.
"Look, Magnus, Everest, I...I wish I could...I just...I don't know what..." Alec's awkward stuttering trailed off when Magnus put his finger to his lips.
"I understand."
"I get it too," she told Alec as he turned to her.
"Stay for one more drink? And then decide." Magnus suggested, gesturing to the couch where Everest sat. Alec smiled and sat down, Magnus settling in a chair a few moments later.
"So, Everest." The girl looked up from watching her drink swirl. "Remind me again why you decided to dye your hair an ashy blue that was more green than blue?"
Everest's eyes widened and she shook her head. "No. I don't know what you're talking about."
Alec looked intrigued. "This I have to hear."
Magnus grinned and Everest sighed, accepting her fate. "You see, when Everest was 8, she decided that she wanted her hair to be her favorite color, which at the time was an ashy blue..."