"Magnus?" one of them asked.
"Keep back," Magnus replied.
Why do you protect them? They would not protect you.
Magnus went to the closest Shadowhunter, grabbed a blade, and cut himself.
"You." He pointed to the Shadowhunter who had shot Aldous. "Give me an arrow. Now."
The arrow was handed over, and Magnus tipped it in his blood. Then he rubbed some more blood down the shaft for good measure. He didn't need the bow. He directed the arrow at the slab with all his might, casting every Portal-closing spell he knew.
It felt like he was locked in place, his entire body concrete, time stretched and slow. Magnus was no longer certain where, or maybe even what, he was, only that he was still spell-casting, only that the altar remained, and the voices in his mind were yelling. Hundreds of voices. Thousands of them.
Magnus . . .
Magnus, come to me. . . .
Magnus, come. . . .
But Magnus held on. And then the slab fell to the ground, breaking into countless pieces.
There was a figure leaning against Magnus's hotel door when he returned home that night.
"You got the message then, huh?" Dolly said. "About the mundie money? Guess it all went bust, huh?"
"It does appear to have all gone bust," Magnus said.
"I didn't think you believed me."
Magnus leaned against the opposite wall and sighed heavily. There was no noise from any of the rooms on the hall, except for some distant, muffled yelling at the far end. He got the feeling that many people were probably leaving the hotel now that they had no money to pay the bill, or they were sitting behind their doors in stunned silence. And yet they had no idea that the crash was really the least of their worries, and the real danger had been averted. They would never know. They never did.
"You look tired," Dolly said. "Like you need a pick-me-up."
"I just closed a Portal to the Void. I need sleep. About three days' worth."
Dolly let out a low whistle.
"My friend said you're a hot potato. She wasn't joking, huh?"
"She?"
Dolly slapped a hand over her mouth, nicking her nose with her long, lacquered nails.
"Oops!"
"Who sent you?" Magnus asked.
Dolly lowered her hand and flashed a smile.
"A good friend of yours."
"I'm not sure I have any good friends."
"Oh, you do." Dolly swung her tiny beaded purse in a loop. "You do. See ya around, Magnus."
She made her way down the hall with a swinging step, turning around every once in a while to look back at him. Magnus slid down the wall a few inches, feeling the exhaustion hanging over his entire body. But with one massive effort, he pulled himself up and hurried after Dolly. He watched from around the corner as she got into an elevator, and he immediately pushed the button for the next one. This elevator was quite full of grim-looking people, visibly shattered by the day's news. So what he was going to do next was very unfortunate for them.
Magnus flicked his fingers and took over the control of the elevator from the operator, sending it on a very fast, somewhat uncontrolled descent. He'd tipped the operator very well the other day, so he felt he had a pass to take over if he liked. He had no such pass for the other passengers, who all started screaming as the elevator dropped floor after floor.
He made it to the lobby before Dolly, pushing past the still-traumatized (and several praying) people in his elevator. He ducked through the lobby, staying off to the side, behind columns and potted palms and groups of people. He slipped inside a telephone cabinet and watched Dolly pass by, her heels clicking lightly on the marble floor. He followed her, as quietly and inconspicuously as possible, to the front door, glamouring himself to slip past the doorman. There was a car just outside, a massive red Pierce-Arrow, with silver curtains over the windows of the passenger area, concealing the inhabitant's face. The door, however, was open. A driver stood by, at attention. Though the opening, Magnus could see a foot and an ankle, both very handsome, and a little silver shoe, and a bit of stockinged leg. Dolly bounced over to the car and leaned into the open door. They had a conversation Magnus couldn't hear, and then Dolly proceeded to climb inside the car, giving all the people in front of the Plaza a nice look at her rear end. Then the passenger leaned forward to speak to the driver, and Magnus caught her face in profile. There was no mistaking the face.
It was Camille.