Sebastian/Jonathan's Secret Meeting with Valentine
He quickly glanced behind him to make sure no one was following, the wind whipping his dark hair in front of his face. Half expecting Clary to be following him, he turned back and continued walking. Sebastian knew Clary wasn't stupid – he'd seen the dark hair dye on her fingers from when she'd touched his hair. He just wasn't sure how long he'd have to put up living with idiots like the Lightwoods and the Penhallows before he went insane.
He shook his head to clear it and cursed in Chthonian – the demon language. If he let himself dwell on those thoughts for too long, he'd forget the task at hand. His father needed him – and he'd stop at nothing to please his father.
"Jonathan," a voice – distinctly male – whispered in his head. "Do not let me down this time. I need you to do this – you know you need to do this. You must convince your sister that this is right and that she must help you."
"Yes, father." Sebastian spoke the words aloud, but he knew his father could hear him. He was nearing the manor now – it was only a matter of time before his appearance was made clear. Sebastian hated his father – hated him in every form of the word. He'd known that Jace had grown up with Valentine, learning the same skills he'd learned – but he couldn't seem to shake the thought that his father favored Jace. Jace was the golden boy – the angel child – and not even Valentine's real son. If Valentine hadn't shown any love or compassion towards Sebastian, then it would be impossible for Jace to be given the "special treatment."
I think he remembered Valentine with a lot of affection, for a long time, Clary had told him on their way to see Ragnor Fell.
I can't believe Valentine ever showed Jace kindness or love. Valentine's a monster. Sebastian had only meant the first part – he honestly didn't consider Valentine a monster. But how was it possible that Jace was given more affection than he was?
Well, yes, but Jace is his son. And he was just a little boy. I think Valentine did love him, in his way –
No. I'm afraid that's impossible. Sebastian had interrupted Clary because he couldn't believe what he was hearing. As much – other – blood flowed through his veins, he was still Valentine's true son by blood and birthright. And, as much as he would hate to admit it, he knew that Clary – the girl he'd just kissed – was his sister. Clary seemed to be everything like Jace – aside from the fact that similar blood ran through their veins. They were the "golden children," and Valentine had always seemed more pleased with Jace than with him. He couldn't help it that Jocelyn had consumed demon blood when she'd been pregnant with him – but he also couldn't help it that both Jocelyn and Céline had consumed angel blood during their pregnancies with Clary and Jace.
But he just couldn't shake the idea that Jace was favored over him. What made Jace so much better? He could fight – OK. So could Sebastian. Both of them had been trained by the best fighter out there. So why the favoritism?
"Jonathan." This time, when the word was spoken, it was aloud – not in Sebastian's head. With a jerk of his head, Sebastian stared up into the face of his father. If he hadn't had to dye his hair to convince the Penhallows that he was Sebastian Verlac, then he would appear as the younger image of the tall, husky man standing in front of him. Instead, he looked like a black and white photograph invaded with black or a drawing done in black ink. "Did you take Clarissa to Fell? What was her reaction when she noticed that he was gone?"
This filled Sebastian with rage. "You lie!" he shouted. "You're no better than the demon I call 'mother'! We went to see Fell – and he was there! He was there, in flesh and blood, and he told us that he didn't have time to see us! You've just ruined your entire plan!"
Valentine roared with rage and slammed Maellartach into the ground just to the left of his son. "You fool! You've been tricked! That was not Ragnor Fell you encountered – that was Magnus Bane, the High Warlock of Brooklyn! Fell must've summoned Bane before he died . . . and now Jocelyn will be saved!" His voice had taken on an odd tone – there was still definite rage, but was that a hint of longing that Sebastian sensed? But his father was moving on in an angry tone of voice, so Sebastian suspected he imagined the undertone. "And with the Book of the White! This is just fantastic."
Sebastian cleared his throat before speaking. "Father? Didn't the demons you sent to kill Fell say that they found no trace of the Book at Fell's residence?"
Valentine had turned his back on his true son, but now he spun around to face him. "They did. Why?"
A terrible shaking had begun in Sebastian's hands, and he shuffled his feet nervously. "Well, if they didn't find the Book of the White when they ransacked Fell's dwellings, is it possible that he doesn't have the Book, or even that he didn't know where it is?"
With an awful cracking sound splitting the air, Valentine spun and slapped Sebastian across the face. "Jonathan, stop this foolishness! Of course Fell knew where the Book was! He had to – sixteen years ago, the book was in his possession! He must've known where it was, or else he could never had 'protected' it and kept it hidden!"
Sebastian rubbed his sore, red-marked cheek tenderly. "Then who's to say it's not at the Manor? There were books in the Manor –"
"That was burned down years ago, Jonathan! Nothing could've survived the blaze I set upon that house! If any books remain, they have been reduced to ashes. There's no way Fell would take that risk of letting the Book be destroyed! We just have to find out where it is," Valentine interrupted his son, "before your sister does."
Something his father had said caught Sebastian's attention. "How can you be so sure that Clary will find the Book rather than Bane? If Bane is a warlock, then shouldn't he be our biggest worry? Wouldn't he be the one to find it first?"
Valentine scowled. "Bane is a careful demon, son. He would send your sister to retrieve the Book to remove any risk of running into me or getting caught by the Clave." Something sinister twinkled in Valentine's eyes. "But you are as much a Child of Lilith as Bane is – her blood courses throughout your bodies. If Lilith is truly on our side in this battle, you will be led – by her – to the Book of the White. Somehow, you'll get the Book into your possession, and then you can give it to me."
"HOW?" Sebastian shouted, suddenly filled with rage. "I don't even know where the Book is! I could never hope to find it! Just because I'm a monster with Lilith's blood doesn't mean I'm as monstrous as a warlock!" Immediately when he finished speaking, he wished he'd kept his mouth shut.
The awful, evil rage was evident in Valentine's menacing glare. "YOU are not a monster, Jonathan! You are a warrior! I did not create a monster when I gave your mother demon blood – I created the best Shadowhunter the world has ever known! The monsters –" he sneered the word " – are the Downworlder-loving beasts that exist in the Clave! The only members to be trusted are those that are still loyal to me! Jonathan!" He grabbed his son's face and thrust it towards him, squeezing tight enough that Sebastian could taste blood in his mouth from biting his cheek. "We will never be monsters! Demons may be the Shadowhunters' number one enemy, but filthy Downworlders and Downworlder sympathizers are! They will stop at nothing to ruin the Shadow World and take over! Have I made myself clear?"
With his cheeks still clenched, Sebastian could only nod. In a flick of his father's wrist, Sebastian was thrown off to the side of Valentine, where he landed in the grass.
"I must go now, Jonathan," Valentine announced, turning away with a swirl of his black cloak he wore over a pin-striped tuxedo. "You know what you must do. And if you do not, you will face the consequences!" With that, Valentine was gone.
