The next day, Sylvia woke up early, although there wasn't any reason to. Magnus's lesson didn't start until three. But she was buzzing with excitement at the prospect of learning magic. She imagined casting spells, moving things with a few words of power, flicking a wand, like in Harry Potter. Her reverie was broken by a sharp knock at the door.
"Come in."
The door swung open. It was Isabelle, carrying a large pile of neatly folded clothes.
"I figured you needed some more clothes. We can go shopping for a wardrobe later, but for now, you can have some of my old stuff."
"Thanks." It was a small gesture, but no one had ever cared enough for Sylvia to do anything like it before. She was touched. Isabelle was so kind to her, she should be suspicious. But although she had just met her, she trusted her completely.
Isabelle smiled at her. "Come down to breakfast when you've dressed." She left.
Half an hour later, after Sylvia had taken a shower and gotten dressed in Isabelle's black, sequined top with the words Fight me on it, purple leggings and a ripped jean jacket, she headed down the staircase to the dining hall. Clary, Jace, Alec, Simon, and Isabelle were sitting around the table, looking sombre. Of course, it was probably to do with the theft of the Mortal Cup, but even so, she was uncomfortable as she joined them at the table. As she sat down, Alec looked up at her and smiled.
"Magnus said you're going to his place at three for magic lessons?"
"Umm... yeah. I don't actually know the address though, so if..."
"It's ok, I can take you."
Sylvia looked at Alec thoughtfully.
"You're his boyfriend, right?"
Alec blushed. "Yeah, I am. How'd you know?"
Isabelle hadn't told her, but it had seemed obvious to her. "Just the way you two act around each other. Like... you look over at each other just to make sure you're still there, because you can't quite believe they're a part of you. Your eyes soften when you look at each other, because how could you ever be mad at him? He feels the same way, that whatever you do, he could never truly be mad at you. Things like that. You've been dating long enough that you know your way around his apartment, feel comfortable in it, but not long enough that you've gotten used to being with him. That you look over, and you're still surprised that he's yours." She smiled. Alec was looking at her, dumbfounded. "Sorry," she said, as an afterthought. "I didn't mean to embarrass you."
"It's OK." Alec's voice was steady, but she could see, at the corners of his mouth, a hint of a smile. "You're pretty good. Meet me in the hall at 2:30, we can walk over to Magnus's place together." With this, Alec stood up, and left.
After breakfast, Sylvia went back up the stairs to her room. At least, she tried to. She couldn't remember: was it turn right at the first corridor, take the second set of stairs or turn right at the second corridor, take the first set of stairs? The Institute all looked the same! Sylvia tried to retrace her steps, but it was no use. She was lost.
"Need directions?" The boy with the curly hair, Simon, appeared out of a doorway, wearing a t-shirt bearing the words "Trust Your Doctor", with a picture of a man in a blue suit, with glasses and ruffled up hair. So he was a Doctor Who fan. She liked Doctor Who."You look a little lost."
"It all looks the same." She smiled. "Um, I'm trying to get back to my room."
"This is the boys's section. They've divided us up by gender, so nothing...untoward happens. Probably a good idea, with all the couples here."
"Do you live here?"
"No, I still live with my Mom... which is not as sad as it sounds, I'm 17. But I stay over some nights, if training goes late."
Sylvia remembered what Isabelle had told her, that Simon was training to be a Shadowhunter.
"So, if you're a mundane," she asked. "how did you learn about the... Shadow World? How did you end up training for it?"
"Isabelle didn't tell you? It's kind of a long story. I was Clary's best friend when she found out that she was a Shadowhunter. So I sort of got dragged into everything. Then I was turned into a vampire. Then, my immortality got taken from me, along with my memories. I became a mundane again, but I forgot everything about the Shadow World. Then Magnus restored my memories, and I began training. To join my friends. To become part of the Nephilim."
"Wow. I can't imagine that. Sounds like a pretty exciting life."
"It hasn't been easy." He smiled sadly. "But I wouldn't give it up for anything." He paused. "Go to the end of the corridor, turn right, and take the first staircase. That's the girl's section."
"Thanks." She began to walk down the hall, then stopped. "By the way," she turned, and grinned. "I like your t-shirt."
********************
Later that afternoon, Sylvia met Alec in by the front door of the Institute. The two headed for Magnus's apartment in Brooklyn. Alec was silent most of the way. The air was chilly, the late fall sky a rich blue. By the time they arrived at the apartment, Sylvia's nose and cheeks were numb. Alec's face was rosy with the cold. Alec had his own set of keys to the apartment, and the two made their way up the stairs, to the second floor. There, she paused for a minute, before raising her hand and rapping the door three times. The door flew open, and the two stepped inside.
The first thing she noticed was Magnus's outfit. He was wearing ripped sparkly purple jeans, an orange tiger-print crop top baring his midriff and revealing the fact that he had no bellybutton, and a pair of pink, fuzzy rabbit slippers. His hair was flat on one side, and sticking up as if he'd lost a fight with his pillow. That, or a cat had slept on his head. She didn't want to be rude, but she couldn't help but stopping and gaping at the ensemble, taking it in. Alec, seeing her expression, laughed.
"Well I don't see what's funny." Magnus said curtly. "If you're questioning my carefully-planned outfit, I'll have you know I have impeccable taste."
She broke her eyes away from Magnus and scanned the room. It looked, for the most part, the same as it had yesterday. Today, however, there was a stack of books on the table, and a pentagram drawn on the floor, lined with candles. She pointed at it.
"Are we planning on summoning any demons?"
"No," Magnus said. "At least, not until you master some more basic spells. And I fix my hair. I can't let even a minor demon see me like this. It would ruin my reputation."
"For real?" She asked, a tad concerned. She'd seen witches on TV before, summoning demons, and it had always seemed like the sort of dark magic she didn't want to do.
"First, however, it is essential that you learn three basic things: a summoning spell, a repelling spell, and a glamour spell. The first will allow you to summon any item to you, as long as you are able to picture it. The second will allow you to force back attackers, similar to the one I used at the Dumort. The third will allow you to change your appearance at will, which is incredibly useful on bad hair days." Magnus pushed a spellbook towards her. "Here. A basic list of spells. Study them. When I return from fixing my hair, you should have memorized them." With this, he swept off into the bathroom.
Sylvia looked at Alec. He shrugged. "I know pretty much nothing about casting spells. Shadowhunters just use runes for glamours and things. Sorry."
She set to work, repeating the three spells over and over in her mind. They were written out in a strange language, but after a minute or two of staring at each one, she found the letters were no longer strange squiggles and arrows. Sylvia could read them.
"Warlock language." Magnus called down the hall. "Your mind is hardwired to understand it. It might take a minute or two, though, but eventually you'll be able to read it as easily as if it were your first language."
Sylvia continued to read, picturing the words in her mind. There was silent power in the words, she could feel it, without even speaking them. She could feel the fire behind them, like tiny bombs. Upon being spoken, they would explode. But just looking at them she could sense their danger.
Magnus returned from the bathroom, his hair now carefully combed and gelled. She thought he looked shiny, but upon closer inspection, she realized that he was wearing a layer of foundation mixed with glitter. Alec smiled as Magnus entered the room. She could see how much they loved each other, where just being together completed them. How much lighter the normally sombre Alec was in his presence. How much calmer Magnus was around Alec. She hoped she would find someone like that someday, someone who completed her. Who made her a better person.
"OK," Magnus turned to look at her. "I want you to say the first spell, the summoning spell. And when you do it, picture an object. Preferably something you could find close by to start with. Picture it, imagine it in front of you. Then speak the spell. Release the power contained in them carefully, like... like pouring sugar into coffee. You don't want to release it all at once. Just slowly draw out the power in the words. Do you think you can do that?"
She nodded. Carefully, she closed her eyes. She breathed in. Magnus's coffee analogy had given her an idea. She pictured what she wanted, in front of her on the table. The words came as easily to her lips as if she had known them all of her life. Slowly, she spoke them, cautiously drawing out their power as if she were pulling a scarf from at hat. Not all at once.
"Saerien murei ghoshte haier mynuien." The words felt rough and warm in her mouth. She felt the magic flowing from them, a breeze picked up in the room. Sylvia opened her eyes. In front of her, on the table, was a steaming mug of tea, milk already added. Just the way she liked it.
She picked it up, smiling. Magnus was beaming at her, Alec gazing at her curiously.
"No offense," She looked at Alec. "But you have rubbish tea at the Institute."