A/N: Okay, sorry I haven't updated in a while, I had slight writers block, and well, honestly, I had no idea what to do with this chapter! But here I am, and here it is. I have a bit of an idea forming for a chapter 3, so it might come soon.
Anyways, this chapter happens a few months after the last chapter, sometime during City of Fallen Angels.
(There are slight spoilers from Clockwork Prince, and a little one for City of Glass, but it's nothing crucial)
Also, the chest that Magnus opens during this chapter is taken from "Magnus's Vow" the short story at the end of the paperback edition of Clockwork Angel.
I should also mention that I do not own any of these characters; they all belong to the amazing Cassandra Clare.
Enjoy!
Jace stared at the buzzer, hesitating to press it. On one hand, he was curious about the boy who'd written the journal he'd found, and he knew that Magnus could answer his questions. But on the other hand, he was afraid. What if Will's story didn't end well? Even though now he could be with Clary without feeling like a complete monster, he still felt like there was more meaning in those words he found in Wayland manor. He'd wished he'd kept the journal, hidden it in his jacket, but now that the manor was destroyed, it was gone forever. He pressed the button and a familiar voice chimed:
"Alec darling, is that you?" said Magnus
"Um, no, Magnus, it's Jace, Alec's parabatai?" he felt nervous, for some reason.
"Oh, it's you." replied Magnus. "What do you want?"
"I have to talk to you about something. About Will Herondale?" There was a pause, static through the intercom.
"Alright, come on in." Jace went up the two sets of stairs, where Magnus waited on the threshold of his apartment. "How do you know about Will? Questioned Magnus before Jace was even up the stairs.
"Um…." Started Jace.
"Oh, don't answer that here, come inside. My neighbours are snoopy." Jace stepped into the apartment. It looked much different then it did when Jace had been there last. It looked like a room from the Victorian era. Even though he'd never admit it, Jace liked how Magnus' apartment changed every time he was there.
"When I was in Wayland Manor, back in Idris, I found a journal. It'd been written by a Will Herondale. At first I read them because I recognized the Inquisitor's name, and since she died for me… I was curious as to why some of her family's things were in the house I grew up in. But now, I found out that this Will is actually, like, my great-great grandfather or something, and he mentioned you in the letters and I just wanted to find out more about him… About my family and I thought that you were the best person to ask, since it seems like you knew him." Said Jace in a rush, even though he wasn't sure of his words. Magnus looked at him for a long time. "You know, you look nothing like him, you must take after Céline." Said Magnus.
"You knew?" asked Jace.
"Of course I knew. There is little that happens in the Shadow World that I do not know about."
"Why didn't you tell me?" retorted Jace.
"Well, you never asked did you? And, honestly, I don't like you all that much either, I don't owe you anything. Nevertheless, back to Will. You know, he actually has an uncanny resemblance to Alec, now that I think of it." Magnus moved towards the wall next to the large fireplace. With a flick of his wrist, the wall moved apart, revealing a large, blue chest made out of some sort of wood. He opened it, and pulled out a photograph. "This is Will, with the other Shadowhunters of the London Institute, in 1878." Jace stared at the photo. It was true, the boy Magnus pointed out as Will did look a lot like Alec. Next to Will was a girl with long, brown hair. That must've been Tessa. Jace suddenly had a flash. He'd seen Magnus talking to the very same girl at the party after the battle at Brocelind Plain. She must be a Warlock. Jace suddenly felt a pang of sadness for Will, to love a girl so much, like he obviously had, knowing that she would outlive him. He wondered if that's how Alec felt with Magnus. Pushing the thought aside, Jace turned to Magnus. "How did you know him?"
Magnus replied "Ah, that was such a long time ago," he was looking at Jace, though his yellow cat's eyes looked very far away, "but it seems like it was just yesterday." Anyhow, I was seeing Camille at the time-" "Camille Belcourt? The vampire?" asked Jace, surprised. "We've all made some unfortunate mistakes over the years, little Shadowhunter. Now, I advise that you do not interrupt me again or I might forget what we're talking about altogether." Snapped Magnus, annoyed. Jace opened his mouth, at first to say something sarcastic, but then decided against it. "Sorry, please continue" he said finally, he didn't want to anger Magnus, he needed to know more about Will, and Magnus was probably his best way at getting information. But Magnus wasn't paying attention anymore; he was turned towards the fireplace.
"The head of the Institute, Charlotte Branwell, contacted Camille because they suspected de Quincey- who was the head of the London vampire clan- was planning something bad. At first Camille didn't want to go, she would never have betrayed the head vampire of London, no matter how much she hated him. But then it came to her attention that at the Institute was the Warlock girl with Shape-Shifting abilities who'd been rescued from the Dark Sisters' house by a young Shadowhunter- who incidentally turns out to be your Will. Together, they concocted a plan to infiltrate de Quincey home and catch him doing something illegal under the new Accords, by having Tessa shape-shift into Camille, and Will going as her subjugate."
Magnus paused and walked over towards the blue chest and pulled out a mask, it looked like something someone would wear at a masquerade ball. He looked at it as if it was a priceless artifact. "Camille asked me to attend the party with them to show them around, make sure they didn't do anything stupid to give themselves away. So, I went. That was the first time I met Will Herondale, and he left quite an impression. He was a lot like you, I can see the resemblance. The same arrogance in his walk. He even had a sense of humor that would put yours to shame. Then after de Quincey's party, he came to my apartment to ask me to help him. You Shadowhunters are all the same, I help you once and because of that, you think you can come running to me whenever you see fit."
Magnus placed the photograph and the mask back into the chest, shut the lid, and with another flick of his wrist, the chest moved back into the wall, and the wall sealed itself shut, as if nothing was ever there. Jace looked at Magnus. He couldn't believe that he knew so much about this boy who was related to him somehow. It felt surreal; he could get any information he needed from him, it felt almost to easy. A hundred questions were drifting in his head. There was so much he wanted to know. What had happened with Will and Tessa? Where was he buried? In Idris, or somewhere else? What kind of life had he led? All of these, and Jace picked the first one that came to mind.
"What did he need your help with?" he asked, with a little bit more confidence he hadn't had earlier. Magnus smiled. "He thought he was cursed. Years before, he'd accidentally freed the demon Marbas from a Pyxis and, being young, had believed that Marbas placed a curse on him; dooming anyone he loved to die. His older sister had died not long after that, which made Will believe the curse was real and drove him to run away from his family in Wales to the Institute in London I tried to help him the best I could, it's hard to summon a demon when all you have to go on is that it's blue. But, it was quite fun having him around. You see, I found out Camille had been seeing another man while she was away in Paris, so I told her that I was in a relationship with Will, to make her jealous, he was quite a good kisser, I should say." Magnus chuckled at the memory. Then, he turned to Jace "I believe that he kept everyone at arms length because of his curse. Of course, what he didn't know was that a demon, having been imprisoned in the Pyxis was too weak to place a curse on the boy. His face had lit up quite a bit when he found that out. He was in love with Tessa, and he could love her, now that he wasn't worried about her sudden demise. Of course, by then, he was too late."
Magnus said the last line with great sadness. As if he'd felt the heartbreak himself. "So… what happened after? With him and Tessa, I mean." Magnus opened his mouth to reply just as the door to the apartment opened. Standing on the threshold was Alec, dressed in his usual black-pant-black-sweater ensemble. He looked slightly worried. Jace wondered if he'd overheard his conversation with Magnus.
"Alec!" exclaimed Magnus, walking over to his boyfriend and embracing him in a welcoming hug. He went to place a kiss on Alec's lips, but Alec sidestepped him and looked over to Jace.
"What are you doing here?" he asked, a little too aggressively.
"I just wanted Magnus's opinion on a scarf I wanted to buy" said Jace, scrambling for an excuse. He hadn't told Alec about the letters he'd found. He hadn't told anyone. He didn't know why, he just felt that he wasn't ready to share Will's story with anyone. But the excuse wasn't enough. He saw in Alec's eyes that he didn't believe Jace's sorry excuse; he'd probably overheard the conversation. Jace would have a lot of explaining to do later. "Anyways, I should be going. Thanks for the advice, Magnus." Magnus nodded to him, looking slightly uncomfortable. He also knew that Alec had overheard their conversation. Jace walked towards the door and told Alec he's seen him later.
Before the door shut behind him, he heard Alec ask "Who's Will?" with a tone of hurt in his voice. Walking down the stairs, Jace hoped he hadn't gotten Magnus into too much trouble. On the street all the way to the Institute, his head was filled with thoughts of Will Herondale.