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The Downworld creeps in

Summary:

Now that Pennywise is dead, many members of the Downworld see opportunities in the town of Derry. A group of Shadowhunters is selected to make sure there won't be any violent conflict while werewolves, vampires, warlocks and faeries each search for a place to call their own. As people who know Derry better than anyone in the Shadowworld, Don and Adrian seem the perfect candidates for the job. But given horrible events from the past, will they accept those roles?

Notes:

This short story is part of a series derived from my own "Shadowhunter Chronicles", which I have written together with 8Nightfall11. From these Chronicles, only "Second Life in the Shadows" is available in English and can be found on the FanFiction Wiki. All the other stories are only written in Dutch.

Chapter 1: Downworlders' refuge

Chapter Text

Derry, Maine, spring 2017

It was warm for the time of the year. Honestly, too warm. But Shadowhunters were trained. They didn't just fight demons, they were also capable of bearing cold and low temperatures if they needed to. This didn't mean that, from time to time, Clary Fairchild wished she could just jump in the most nearby lake or river when it was getting hot. And right now, she was wishing just that. According to the mundanes, the world was getting hotter and hotter, and Clary had seldomly seen such a hot spring. But she had had to overcome higher temperatures since she first met the Shadowhunters, so she just went on with her mission.

Not that there was so much to see or to do. The people of Derry just went on with their usual business, most of them having that typical air of complete ignorance around them. It was hard to believe this was the town were people, especially children, had disappeared and been murdered for hundreds of years. "I don't get it", she said to Alec, who accompanied her. "How can it be the Clave let all those innocent people die and never even tried to stop that demon? There has been so much suffering, more than we will ever know."

"Maybe they didn't know about it", said Alec. "From the rumors I heard, the demon only was active once in a long while. And if the Clave knew, then for some reason they sacrificed this town." Although he didn't add anything, it was obvious where the ever-presence of Pennywise had lead to. Almost everyone in this town at least had one person that became a victim of the horrifying creature. Adrian Mellon surely hadn't been the first, nor had he been the last. Upon reaching the center of the town, they saw a huge rainbow flag rolling down from the city hall's balcony. "That new advocacy group really has made efforts to prevent future hate crimes", was Alec's remark. "Such a shame a man had to die for it to happen." Although he would never admit it, Clary knew that Alec must have at least some difficulty being here. But as soon as the city hall and the rainbow flag were out of sight, he seemed to be a bit more relaxed.

It didn't last long though, as just a few hundreds of meters further, they saw a whole group of people moving boxes out of a van and into a house. Or at least, for the mundane world it would have been people. Alec and Clary were capable of seeing through spells and immediately saw it were actually werewolves. At least ten of them. A complete pack. The Alpha leaned comfortably against the van, watching his fellow wolves do all the world. Alec and Clary approached him and greeted him politely. "What's going on, if I may ask?" said Clary.

"What's going on?" The Alpha showed them a mischievous smirk. "Now with that demon being dead, I didn't see a reason not to bring my pack here. There's plenty of space, no other downworlders, no other werewolf packs... The ideal place to settle and raise our children."

"It has been decided in the Downworld Council that whenever Downworlders want to occupy new places, they must let it know to other Downworlders", Alec reminded him. "And as far as I know, you never made your plans clear to the Council." The spoke firmly but calm, and the Alpha gave him a long look. When he finally answered, he just said: "I fought against Valentine. I fought against Sebastian Morgenstern. I attended Julian Blackthorn's council to team up against the Cohort." And therefore, I surely have the right to take something in turn, Clary completed his sentence in silence. But she didn't say it out loud.

"There will be other Downworlders coming up here", she told him. "Regardless how many times you fought side by side, you still see the vampires as your enemies. Same goes for them. Sooner or later, there will be conflict."

"No conflict my pack won't be able to handle", grunted the Alpha. "I have seven loyal wolves at my side, and the remaining two will be adults soon enough. Why should I be worried?" Alec looked as if he wanted to say a few thing, but Clary leaned over at him and whispered: "This isn't gonna work. We better get the Council gather and see upon this matter." Unwillingly, Alec followed her back to where they began their mission.

 

New York Institute

Almost all of the Shadowhunters of the New York Institute and some of the most reliable Downworlder allies had gathered in the Sanctuary of the Institute. Voices were everywhere. Arguing, protesting, confirming. "Silence!" Alec shouted, with the help of a rune to empower his voice. As soon as it had become quiet, he began to tell: "It's going as we expected. Now that the demon is dead, Downworlders are beginning to claim parts of Derry for themselves. Soon enough, there could be conflict. Violent conflict. Therefore, it's necessary to discuss how Derry will be divided among the Downworlders."

"I wouldn't even bother settling my pack in that cursed town!" exclaimed Maia Roberts, whereupon Bat took her hand and nodded affirmative. Lily Chen, head of the vampire clan, clearly had different thoughts on the matter. "Well... I am not sure. Settling my clan in a town that was haunted by a super demon for centuries... It seems interesting." Again, Shadowhunters and Downworlders began to talk out loud, and again the order was instantly gone.

"Silence" Alec shouted a second time. "I know there will be plenty that won't want to settle in that haunted town, but plenty will want to. And therefore, it must go orderly. I need a few Shadowhunters to exactly explore Derry and look for good places for Downworlders to live - and the Downworlders will get to explore it too", he added when Lily wanted to protest. "In fact, I think one of you in particular is fit to do this."

Although he was a vampire - a daylighter - Adrian had always felt more at home among the Shadowhunters. Some of them, he knew, thought he would be better off living in a vampire clan. Since his recruitment at the Institute, he had proven time and time again he was better off with the Hunters and he had always been glad to take on a mission. But this particular mission did him feel frozen to the bone. "No way. Absolutely no fricking way!" he said when all eyes were laid on him. "I am never going back to Derry!"