The Warlock of Notre Dame: Chapter One- The Institute of Notre Dame.
Eighteen years later
Magnus Pov- The bells rang loudly for the Mundanes morning mass. The ringing always gave me a headache but also sounded too beautiful to hate.
Living in the Bell tower of Notre Dame would be dangerous for any normal person. A mundane would surly become deaf with how loud the bells could be. Being a warlock though, I didn't have to worry about things like that. I could use magic to keep my ears safe.
"Magnus, what are you doing," my friend Ragnor asked, standing behind me.
I had two friends who lived with me in the Bell Tower. Ragnor Fell and Catarina Loss. They were warlocks like me and always kept me company, making this place feel less lonely.
"Master told me to clean the bells after they were done ringing. He will be here soon to bring me breakfast. You know how angry he gets when my morning chores aren't done."
Ragnor shook his head, crossing his arms over his chest. "Valentines version of breakfast is a couple grapes and a strawberry if you are lucky."
Catarina elbowed him in the side before smiling at me. "Forget about cleaning the bells Magnus. Today is the day you have been waiting for. Why do chores when you could be watching everyone set up for the festival?"
She was talking about the Accords Festival. One day a year, Downworlders and Shadowhunters join together in unity and fun. It was pretty much the only day Downworlders could be out and not have to worry about Nephilim arresting them.
I stopped cleaning the bells, frowning slightly as I walked over to the balcony's edge. Nephilim were already setting up for the festival. There were to be games and contests. Downworlders were allowed to sell things during the festival too. It was the only day the 'dark market' was legal, so they were also down there setting up stalls.
"It's a shame the vampires don't get to participate in Accords Day" Catarina sighed, looking around.
"There not the only ones," I mumbled before walking away from the balcony. Ragnor and Catarina looked at each other before following me.
"Why don't you go to the festival this year Magnus? As a Downworlder, you have every right to be there," Catarina suggested.
I quickly shook my head no. "Master says it's dangerous for people like me out there."
Ragnor rolled his eyes at that. "It is the Accords Festival Magnus. This is the day that Downworlders are accepted. If there was any time for you to finally leave this tower, it would be now."
I looked at them frowning. "What if something went wrong? Master would never allow me to go even if I ask. He always says someday but never actually let's me. The institute is my sanctuary, no other place."
Catarina put her hand on my shoulder. "You can't live your life in fear Magnus. There is a chance something could go wrong. There's also a chance that you could finally make some real friends and get out of this place. Do you really want to stay here forever?"
"Well… no… but this is my sanctuary."
"Downworlders aren't meant to be in institutes Magnus. The longer you stay here, the weaker your magic becomes."
I looked at my hands frowning, knowing he was right. I could feel my magic weakening every time I prayed to the angel. Master always says that it's because I'm the spawn of a demon. The sin outweighs the faith.
"I can't leave my master. He's like my father. I also have my brother," I whispered softly.
Besides Valentine, I had a brother named Jonathan. Unlike Master, he was kind to me and treated me decently.
"No, there is no way I could ask Master to go to the festival. He would never allow it."
Ragnor shook his head at me. "You really are a fool sometimes. If he won't let you go then go without asking him. Sneak out of the Institute and explore the world on your own."
Catarina and I both gasped in surprise. "You can't really be suggesting that he sneaks out" she asked.
He nodded. "That's exactly what I'm suggesting. Magnus, you need to stop being so afraid of the world and Valentine. You are eighteen now. You have every right to leave this place. This can't possibly be the only place of sanctuary. It's just one day."
Catarina looked at him for a moment before looking back at me. "He does have a point Magnus. It is only one day. Don't you want to know what's out there?"
I nodded hugging myself frowning. "Of course I do."
"Then you should go," they both pushed together.
I looked between them thinking before standing up straight.
"You know what, you're right. Why shouldn't I be allowed to attend the festival? I have just as much of a right as the other Downworlders."
Catarina nodded smiling. "That's right. You can do this Magnus. Those people would be crazy not to love you."
"love is a little strong. They will at least tolerate you" Ragnor grumbled making Catarina punch him in the arm.
I took a couple deep breaths before looking over the balcony again.
"You both are right. I have the right to be there. I'm going to be there!"
Catarina cheered for me while Ragnor threw his hands in the air saying "Finally."
I smiled at them, turning to go toward the door but froze when I saw my master and brother walk into the room.
"M-master… good morning," I stuttered, looking down at the ground.
Valentine walked over to me, glancing around the room before looking at me.
"Morning Magnus. Who were you talking to just now?"
I bit my lip, glancing away from him. "My… my friends. Catarina and Ragnor."
Valentine sighed, running his hand through his hair in irritation.
"I swear you really are brain dead. How many times do I have to tell you that your 'friends' are just a figment of your imagination? There is no one else up here with you."
I frowned glancing around the Bell tower. Like he said, there was no one else but him, myself and Jonathan.
"I'm sorry Master."
"Never mind that. Did I hear you talking about the Accords Festival?"
I looked up at him hopefully. "Yes sir. I would really like to go this year."
Jonathan looked at me sadly and Valentine laughed. "Dear boy, why on Earth would I ever allow you to go there? It's not safe for you around normal people."
"But master, these aren't just normal people. They are Nephilim and Downworlders just like me. Surely they would accept me."
"Magnus, you are a monster. All those Downworlders are monsters. There will be enough of them dirtying the streets of Paris. We don't need to add one more to the fray."
"But master!"
"Enough Magnus! You aren't going and that's final! Speak again and I will whip you till you scar."
I shut my mouth at his threat. I didn't want to be whipped again.
He sighed, patting my head with a gloved hand. He and Jonathan always wore gloves when touching me because my sinful existence can taint them if they don't.
"Stop all this nonsense and be a good boy."
I frowned slightly before bowling to him. "I'm so sorry Master. I won't speak out again."
He nodded before putting a basket down on a small table. He pulled out a few grapes setting them on the plate before setting the plate on the table as well. Jonathan poured some water into a cup before handing it to me.
I thanked him before looking at Valentine, waiting for his permission to drink it. He nodded in approval and I quickly drank it, trying not to scarf it all down at once. It was the only drink I would get today. I should savor it but that was hard to do when you were thirsty.
Valentine watched me start to eat before he walked over to the balcony, looking down at all the stalls.
"Look at all these disgusting creatures littering the streets of Paris. Why does this festival always have to happen in front of Notre Dame?"
He sighed shaking his head. "What's worse, the DDS will be there as well."
I stared at him confused. What was the DDS? I wanted to ask him but he made it clear that I wasn't allowed to speak again.
Sighing again, he moved away from the balcony, looking at Jonathan. "If I had my way you wouldn't be going either Jonathan. As the next head of the Institute though, you need to know how this horrible festival works. I need to go meet a new member of the institute. Be at the festival in ten minutes."
Jonathan nodded. "Of course father."
He nodded before grabbing my plate of grapes from me. I frowned, upset that I wasn't able to finish what I was eating. He put it in the basket before leaving us alone without another word.
Jonathan waited to make sure his father was actually gone before he turned to me smiling.
"I have a surprise for you Magnus."
He pulled a roll out of his pocket making me perk up in excitement. He held it out to me and I hesitantly took it from him.
"Thank you Jonathan."
He nodded walking over to the balcony and looking over the edge.
"How do you not get dizzy looking down from this high? I would be afraid of falling."
"You get used to it after awhile" I mumbled softly, walking up to him. I started eating the roll and he shrugged, leaning his back on the balcony.
"I hate Accords Day. Father is always so on edge."
I glanced at him, wondering if it was okay to ask him my questions.
"What was he talking about before? What's the DSD?"
"It's the DDS Magnus. It stands for Downworlder Defenders Society. They are rouge Nephilim who gave up their marks to defend Downworlders. They are pretty much only Mundanes with the sight now. My mother and sister recently joined them so father especially hates them."
Nephilim who would give up their marks to defend Downworlders? That sounds ridiculous. What Nephilim would want to do something for monsters like us?
I frowned looking down at the streets again. "Do you really think I can't belong down there. There will be other Downworlders. Why wouldn't I fit in?"
Jonathan frowned staying silent for a moment before putting his hand on my shoulder, making me face him. He looked me in the eye seriously.
"Magnus, you are my brother and you know that I love you like one. That doesn't change the fact that you are a monster. Your hideous cat eyes will just put people off. I can protect you in here but I can't help you out there. People aren't as nice as father and I."
"But…" I looked down at my feet. "I want to know what's out there."
"This is your sanctuary Magnus. There is no safer place for you than right here with me."
I frowned but nodded, knowing he was right. Jonathan always had my best interest at heart.
He touched my cheek with his gloved hand, smiling sweetly at me.
"To make up for it I'll sneak you some of the good stuff for dinner tonight. Just please stay here and wait for me to come back. Alright?"
I nodded, glancing away from him.
He gave me a quick hug before letting me go and leaving the Bell tower. I watched him go before looking back over the balcony.
"So… are you going to go" Ragnor asked standing next to me. I looked at him before looking back down at the people.
"Master and Jonathan both told me I shouldn't."
Catarina touched my shoulder. "We already knew they were going to tell you no Magnus. That's why we all agreed you would sneak out."
"Yeah I know but to sneak out… that's risky. So many things could happen. Something could go wrong or master might catch me. What would I do if he saw me?"
"Jonathan will protect you. He always protects you."
He does always protect me. Whenever master wants to give me severe punishments he always talks him out of it. I've only been whipped once because Jonathan usually can talk him into doing something less extreme.
I bit my lip, looking around at all the bells hanging from the ceiling. Could I really leave the safety if this tower, even just once?
"You can do it Magnus. Go see what's out there" Catarina encouraged.
I looked back at them thinking before grabbing a hooded cloak and putting it on, pulling the hood up over my head.
Jace Pov- "I really shouldn't have slept through all those map reading classes" I sighed, looking from the map in my hands to the city around me. I just came here from Idris and had no idea where I was going.
If the meeting spot was Notre Dame then it wouldn't be so hard to find. Sadly my new boss wanted me to meet him in the middle of town.
"Who's idea was it to suddenly transfer me to an institute again?"
I know I said I wanted to work for a cool institute, but the things I've heard about Valentine Morgenstern wasn't too pleasant. Not to mention there was a rumor that Paris had a bad Downworlder problem.
"What do you think you are doing dog breath? Don't think I didn't just see you stealing from my booth" a Nephilim yelled, grabbing my attention.
A dark skinned werewolf girl was standing at the booth with her arms crossed over her chest. She glared at the Nephilim.
"You must be blind Nephilim. I didn't take anything."
"That's bull! I saw you take some fruit!"
Sighing I went to walk over to them but stopped when two people beat me to it. A guy with black hair and blue eyes, along with a redheaded girl with bright green eyes.
I couldn't help but stare at the redhead. She was absolutely beautiful, and you could see there was a fire in her eyes not like anyone else's.
"What seems to be the problem here" the black haired man asked, getting in front of the werewolf girl.
The Nephilim looked over them, seeming slightly irritated by their interruption.
"This mutt stole some fruit from my stall. Just because their filthy kind are allowed to walk around here today doesn't mean they can get away with stealing from Nephilim."
"I keep telling you old man that I didn't steal anything. Get your eyes checked!"
The black haired boy put his hand on the girls shoulder to calm her down before looking at the Nephilim.
"Maia would never steal, it's not in her nature. You must have been mistaken."
The Nephilim man glared at him, glancing up the black haired boys arms. He did the same to the redhead before meeting the boys blue eyes.
"Just what I would expect from a member of the DDS. You disgraceful Downworld lovers have no business here. I want to talk to a real Nephilim."
That surprised me. The Downworlder Defenders Society was the big talk in Idris right now. I didn't think they were actually a real thing. Who would be crazy enough to give up their marks just for Downworlders?
Deciding to step in, I walked up to them putting on a dazzling smile. "Can I maybe be of some assistance? I've recently been appointed the top guard of Notre Dame."
"Good, a real Nephilim. This werewolf girl stole from me. These Downworlder lovers are trying to get her off the hook but I know she did it."
I nodded thinking before looking at the werewolf girl. "I'm not accusing you of anything but may I search you? Just to give this man peace of mind?"
She seemed hesitant before nodding. I nodded before patting her down, doing a proper check. Once I was finished, I looked at the Nephilim man. "There is nothing on her. She is clean."
"See, so you need to let her go" the redhead growled, crossing her arms over her chest. She seems like a feisty one.
"What is going on over here," a new voice asked, getting closer. The redhead frowned from the voice and she dropped her arms, looking over at him.
A older man with hair so blonde, it almost looked white walked up to us. He was wearing gear and had a sword strapped to his side. You didn't see many Nephilim with swords these days.
"Valentine, thank the angel you're here. This werewolf girl stole from my fruit cart."
The black haired boy glared at him. "We already proved that she didn't do anything. There was no fruit on her."
The Nephilim glared at him before looking at Valentine again. "They work in packs. I'm sure there was another one. She must have gave it to another one of her flea bag friends."
"Stop insulting my people" the wolf growled, going to tackle him but the black haired guy stopped her.
Valentine watched them before looking at one of the Nephilim with him. "Arrest her. Put her in the dungeon of the institute and I'll interrogate her after this horrible festival."
The Nephilim next to him nodded and grabbed Maia by her arms, pulling them behind her back and tying them together. I frowned watching him before looking at Valentine.
"Sir, I checked her and she had nothing on her. Why not give her a warning and send her on her way?"
"You can't give these creatures warnings boy."
He looked me over before asking, "are you Jonathan Herondale?"
I nodded "yes but I go by Jace."
He nodded. "As you can see you have come just in time. These Downworlders get more and more dangerous every day. We could use all the help we can to capture them."
"Father stop it. You know you are wrong about the Downworlders. They are just as human as the Mundanes and us," the redhead said frowning at him.
Valentine looked at her silently for a moment before saying, "you still have your marks Clarissa. Why don't you and your mother stop playing this game and come home? Your brother and I miss you."
"We aren't coming home until you realize that Downworlders are people too."
He set his jaw in irritation before glancing over at the boy standing next to her.
"Black hair and blue eyes. I'm going to assume you are Alexander Lightwood."
He nodded, not looked a bit intimidated. "That's right. What of it?"
Valentine shook his head, putting his hands behind his back. "It's a shame that someone from such an important Shadowhunter family has to throw his title away just to support freaks."
He looked down at Alexander's arms. There were no longer marks on them but there were scars from where the marks had once been. So members of the DDS really do give up their marks for their cause.
"You better keep your head down and not cause trouble in my city. Just because you are technically mundane now doesn't mean I can't take care of you if you become a nascence."
Clarissa glared at her father before grabbing the boys hand. "Come on Alec, we have a festival to get ready for." He nodded turning and walking away with her.
Valentine sighed, running his hand over his face. "I knew that that stupid Colt was becoming a problem, but I never thought they would corrupt my wife and daughter. Clary is easily impressionable so it's not too surprising with her, but my wife too?"
"Some people believe that Downworlders should be equal to us. I would never think of giving my runes up for such a thing."
"People are idiotic. You can't stop them from making bad choices. People like Alec Lightwood are the problem. Kids from big name families join the DDS and it tricks more kids to join. It's disgusting."
He didn't seem so bad. In fact, they both seemed really interesting. I wouldn't mind getting to know them a little bit.
"Not to be rude sir, but what exactly is my job while I'm here? All I was told was I would be the head guard of the Institute. Institutes don't normally have guards."
He nodded starting to walk, forcing me to follow him.
"Notre Dame isn't like any other institute. We share it with Mundanes so we need to make sure everyone is safe and undisturbed. Your job is to protect the Mundanes of this city from being tricked by Downworlders and the DDS."
"The DDS didn't seem to be bothering the Mundanes" I acknowledge, looking around my new surroundings.
"Not today they haven't. They did bother that man at his booth though. They disturbed his business and made customers choose another shop because the werewolf wouldn't admit to her wrong doing."
"The merchant was who stopped her in the first place sir. Besides that, I checked her and there was no proof that she stole the fruit."
"First rule of being a great Shadowhunter Jonathan. The Downworlders are always guilty. If they aren't for the crime you are committing them for then surely they did something else wrong."
What happened to innocent until proven guilty?
"You can call me Jace, sir. I hear you have a son named Jonathan. That could get real confusing real fast."
He nodded starting to walk again. "Yes, I suppose it could. Ah, speaking of my son, here he comes."
I looked over his shoulder seeing a boy with hair just as blonde as his father's, come running up to us.
"Sorry for the delay father. I was preparing for the festival and lost track of time."
Valentine raised an eyebrow, crossing his arms. "You we're stealing food for Magnus no doubt. Don't think I never notice that. It contradicts me when you do that, Jonathan."
The boy put his hands behind his back, an innocent smile gracing his face. It was so dazzling it almost blinded me. They say the Morgenstern men were close to perfect but this was just ridiculous. Why couldn't I be born into that family?
What am I saying? Like I could get any hotter than I am now.
"I don't know what you're talking about father. I've never once snuck food to Magnus."
I looked between them confused. "Is Magnus your dog?"
"Something like that" Valentine grumbled before directing us to follow him again. Jonathan moved next to me before smiling again.
"You must be Jonathan. I'm also Jonathan. What are the odds of that?"
I chuckled slightly at the question. We both knew the odds were massive. Almost everyone had a thing for naming their sons after Jonathan Shadowhunter. There was a time when it was actually getting out of control and the Clave banned the name for a generation.
"Very unlikely" I joked making him chuckle too.
"You're funny. I can already tell we are going to get along well. There aren't a lot of Nephilim my age around here so it's hard to make friends. My dad being who he is doesn't really help either."
I nodded at that last part. Something told me that having Valentine Morgenstern as a dad would not be easy.
"I've seen a few Nephilim our age already. Do you not hang out with them?"
He frowned rubbing his arm slightly. "Was one of them a redhead?"
I nodded "yes and the other was a guy with black hair and blue eyes."
"I've never heard of the guy but the girl was my little sister, Clary."
"Your dad said they recently joined the DDS. How do you feel about that?"
He shrugged frowning. "I don't know… betrayed I guess. Abandoned. They didn't even think to try to take me with them. Clary said I'm too much like my father and would have told on them."
We both glanced up at Valentine, seeing him glancing over his shoulder at Jonathan coldly.
"Not that I would ever want to join the Downworlders Defenders Society. Even the name sound ridiculous."
Valentine nodded looking ahead again and Jonathan took a sigh of relief, most like glad he avoided his father's wrath.
"Enough talk boys. We need to be on our guard. The Accords Fest is starting. Who knows what will happen today."
Who knew indeed.
