Adopted by Magnus Bane

Chapter 7

I wake up in a dark room. My head is pounding, and for a second my vision is blurry. I try to move but I can't. My muscles are numb, the parts I can feel hurt me. What happened? I think to myself. I squint in an attempt to analyze my surroundings. I am in a white bricked room, and my wrists are strapped onto the arms of the chair I'm sitting on.

"Hello?" I call out, staring at the door in front of me. "Who's there?" The door creaks open, a bald man strolls causally into the room. "What do you want." I demand.

"I am Valentine Morgenstern." The bald man introduces himself.

"No you aren't." I inform him, "you-you were dead."

"Not that you would know." He responds crossing his arms. "Miss...?"

"Jones." I inform him, I have three last names, my original, shadowhunter and Magnus's.

"Come on we all know that is not true." He begins to pace, "you don't think I wasn't watching you when you walked up to the Institute. I saw what you did. Cecily Greyweather was it?" I sit silently, totally ignoring the question.

"What do you want from me?" I demand for a second time.

"You are indeed a shadowhunter am I correct?" I nervously nod, afraid to do anything else, "I want you to help me get into the Institute."

"No." I blatantly tell him, "I've read the Shadowhunter History books, I know what you've done to innocent Warlocks, Vampires and Werewolves. I won't be responsible for any more deaths."

"They were impure." He shrugs, "any one who socializes with Downworlders deserves that fate."

"No one does." I say back, "let me go or face the consequences."

"Yeah right." He scoffs, recrossing his arms, "and loose my way into the Institute?"

"I'm just a kid, and besides I wasn't the one to get into the Institute that was all Clary." I lie, trying to get away with it.

"Then what are you?" He interrogates, "you aren't a vampire or werewolf. I would know if you were a warlock. Are you a mundane?" I sit silently, which he takes as an answer, "I'll take that as a no. Which makes you an unmarked Shadowhunter."

"I am not unmarked." I inform annoyedly. "I have runes on me and there is nothing you can do to hurt me."

"For now." He turns around and walks out, "but you will help me trust me." He closes the door and I hear the lock turns.

I pull against my wrist restraints, I pull and pull, but it does nothing. I look down at my wrists and their red and raw. I feel a slight breeze, I turn around and see the sun shining through the window. I shiver, but can't do anything about it. Slowly the sun sinks out of view and the sky goes black outside. Valentine hasn't been back for what feels like hours. My panic level, which has slowly been rising all day, explodes the minute it becomes dark outside. A couple more hours pass, I struggle to find a way to pass the time, but nothing works. Suddenly I hear the lock in the door turning, I try to remain calm as the door is slowly opened. A hooded figure slips in, and closes the door softly behind them. The figure removed the cloak and I see who it is.

"Ceci?" He says, removing the hood.

"Dad?" I ask, worried about why he's here, "how are you here? Is this real?"

"Yeah it is." He runs and kneels in front of me. Blue magic flies out of his hand as he waves them over my wrists. The straps holding them there disappear, and my arms immediately go around him.

"Thank you." I tell him, squeezing him for fear that he'll be fake, or not there.

"It's okay. I got you." He says, gently brushing my hair to smooth it down. "Come on let's get out of here."

He pulls away, taking my hand, and leading me out of the dark room. The minute we step out of the building, that was too dark to see, I almost collapse. My dad catches me and picks me up. He uses his free hand to create a portal. "Come in let's get out of here." He carries me through the portal and we appear in the apartment. He lays me down on the couch, then kneels next to me. He gently picks up my bruised and bloodied wrists. They got this way from me pulling on my binds. He gently sets them back down and walks into the kitchen. My eyes flicker closed, I try to reopen them, but I give in to the exhaustion and fall fast asleep.