The Iron Crown |Shadowhunters|

13 - Downworlders

"Nobody can give you wiser advice than yourself: if you heed yourself, you'll never go wrong." 

-Marcus Tullius Cicero

Olivia pressed her hands against her ears.

"What is that hellish sound?" she cried, trying to drown out the clutter.

"It's the doorbell," Jonathan and Lisa simultaneously spoke, they ran out of the room. Max got already back to climbing and didn't seem to care about the noise. Finally some action, Olivia thought by herself. She and Arthur exchanged a glance.

"Saved by the bell," she said before abruptly running after them.
They quickly caught up with Lisa and Jonathan, who had already slowed their pace down.

"Were we expecting someone?" Lisa glared at Jonathan. He shook his head.

"Not that I know of." 

They arrived at the large doors in the church section of the Institute, only to see Anna had already opened the door. There stood an eighteen-year-old girl beside her. She wore a long purple dress and had shoulder long white-blond hair. Lisa and Jonathan walked over to her and embraced the girl shortly. A wide smile brightened up her face, revealing her shining white teeth.

"Are these the new shadowhunters?" She curiously looked at Olivia, who uncomfortably shifted her weight. The girl moved her gaze to Arthur, he was staring with an half-open mouth at her. Olivia poked him in his side.

"You're staring."

"Not true!" he exclaimed, though he obsessively started staring at his feet.

Jonathan nodded, allowing the girl to happily walk towards them.

"Hi, I'm Moira." She reached out to shake Olivia's hand.

"You're a what?" Arthur interrupted her.

"Moj-rah," she slowly pronounced. Arthur seemed to realise it was a name and took a step backward. Olivia shook her hand, noticing her long nails matched the colour of her dress. There was something charming about the girl, her gaze running over her hand to her pale face. Her eyes were very pale blue with a little purple in it, even lighter than hers and with less green. 

Olivia muttered a greeting. No one ever managed to intimidate her, yet there was something in the attitude and appearance of the girl that made her feel very small. Even though they both had the same seize.

"I'm Olivia," she mumbled. Moira nodded and turned to Arthur, who also shook her hand.

Only now Olivia noticed – whether it was because of the long dress or because of a glamour – the girl had a tail. A tail. It looked like one of a  lion that peeked from underneath her dress. Olivia made a choked sound.

During the lessons in the Academy, she had studied warlocks and even met one, but they all looked so different. They knew countless magic spells and all had one or multiple warlock marks. Such as wings, claws, cat eyes, other skin tones. Olivia mentally added tails to her list.

"You are a warlock," she stammered. Moira turned around, still smiling.

"Indeed, I am."

"Are you the High Warlock of Antwerp?" Arthur asked wide-eyed, causing Moira to sigh.

"No, I'm not." Olivia frowned deeply, before she could say another word, Jonathan interrupted them.

"Moira has helped our family for years with shadowhunters business. Such as detecting demons, creating wards around the Institute and making food for us." He patted her on the shoulder, which she didn't seem to appreciate.