Prologue:
Clary sidestepped the dagger that was thrown to her; the daggers tip stuck half-way through the wall, wiggling at the impact. "Very good, Clarissa. You're starting to get the hang of it" Valentine, her father, praised. Clarissa. The name sounded so foreign coming from him, she was used to being called Clary, though she couldn't remember from where if not her brother. She nodded, slightly breathless from their training; she thanked him before they left the training room.
They descended the stairs to the main room, her father telling them their agenda that evening, Dinner first then they were to see Jonathan in the cave; Clary nodded solemnly before departing to her room, she didn't entirely understand why Jonathan, her brother, lived in a house inside of a cave while she and her- their father lived in the apartment. They could travel to any dimension and any place possible, sometimes she'd wake up in Japan or in Africa but she never really mind.
She was actually glad to travel the word, she could draw it and it would never bother Valentine, said it reminded him of her mother. Clary closed the door behind her and looked out her window, they were in a meadow, the field was green and the sky was bright blue; dotted with white clouds and outlined with trees.
She took her pencils and her drawing pad before sitting at the window sill. She drew that landscape more than a dozen times already, she barely knew where she was but her father kept on telling her that they were in the far part of Europe, where mundane never really traveled unless they wanted to get attacked by vampires or be tricked by crazy warlocks. Looking out of the window, she suddenly remembered her mother; her hands reflexively reaching for the pendant resting at the base of her neck, in the middle of her collar bones.
She never really remembered her mother; all she knew was that her name was Jocelyn and that she wasn't going to come back for awhile, that she was the one to give her Clary's name in the first place. She knew that her love for arts was inherited from her mother. Aside from that, Valentine didn't tell her anything else. She groaned in frustration, she didn't understand why her mother left her in the first place, she kept wondering if there was something wrong with her, maybe Valentine or Jonathan but as Clary wondered this before, she saw none. Valentine was a good father to her, even though he was quite strict with his rules and he would speak in a manner that might confuse her, he was a good father.
She stood up and walked toward her closet, changing into skinny black jeans, a beige tank top and a red checkered polo over. She slipped into her green converse and looked in the mirror and suddenly wondered how her mother looked like. Valentine said that she looked just like her; he even showed her some pictures where they were in gear with another man beside her, Jocelyn in the middle.
"Who is that?" she had asked, Valentine looked at her as if debating whether or not to tell her or not before saying, "He's dead already, no one who matters. But, he was my parabatai''. Parabatai, according to The Shadowhunter book, was something along the lines of soulmates and blood brothers- stronger than that too. 'And it came to pass that the soul of Jonathan was knit with the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as his own soul . . . The Jonathan and David made a covenant, because he loved him as his own soul ' the words had echoed in her mind, they were two people who were bound to each other by Heaven itself.
Clary had wanted to ask more but the look one Valentines face stopped her. Now- looking at her reflection, she realized she did look like her mother, except for the fact that her mother was so much more beautiful than she was. Her features didn't exactly match her mothers' outline of the face, the shape and the red hair.
A knock on the door snapped her out of her trance as she turned to look at her father. "Are you ready then? You know how impatient your brother is" Valentine said, Clary wanted to laugh but realized that he was serious. She nodded and grabbed her bag, stuffing her drawing materials inside then walking out with Valentine.
"We're already in Idris, you still remember right?" he said as if he was talking to a toddler instead of a 16 year old girl. "Of course, the City of Glass" Clary tried to hide the irritation off of her voice but it laced in every syllable she uttered.
Valentine obviously noticed and chuckled, "You are just like her, both of you are very stubborn" both of you thinking you both know everything, he wanted to add but he had his daughter back, the one path for Jocelyn to come back, he couldn't mess the chance up.
Instead he said, "You would've loved her, and I know you do." Valentine stated as a-matter-of-factly as they walked to the living room, facing an empty wall. She did, she doesn't know how or why she loved her mother when she never remembered meeting or even seeing her mother. She was supposed to hate her but she didn't. It's like she knew her mother so well yet didn't. Without another word, they both watched as the wall, which seemed to melt into a doorway, open- then they stepped out to be in front of the cave. The house-like apartment had no doors; Valentine was clever enough to put them in hidden places. Clary was still confused on how to find them but she was starting to get the hang of it, especially since she remembered her whole life playing around. She remembered trying to walk through but ended up walking right into the wall, leaving a red bump on her nose; Then Valentine had to teach her how to go through.
They walked in silence inside, easily navigating their way to the cabin using their witch lights; their witch lights reflected on the dozens of sparkling deposits of mica, the walls around them coming alive with brilliants points of light.
Clary immediately saw Jonathan, his frame outlined by the lights around them. "Father, Clary" he acknowledged. They were inside a circular chamber, instead of the rough rocky floors and walls; the floor was smooth; as if it was scraped, polished, and carved with patterns, alternating here and there. Huge stalactites, their surfaces as burnished as gems, hung down from ridged, stony ceiling high above.
In the middle were the containers that Clary had always wondered about, something red and smoky inside it. She was snapped out of her trance when she felt strong arms envelop her in a hug, she gasped slightly but hugged him back. She was not entirely used to being hugged by her brother, it was the third time they had hugged and she didn't even understand why.
They pulled away before letting Jonathan and Valentine talk. It has always been like that- stashes and belts of weapons lay beside her as she brought out her drawing pad then started sketching her surroundings. It was far from modest; it was so sparkly that it would've made her cringe if she wasn't so used to it. She glanced at the two men, comparing them; Valentine had a big and bulky frame wearing Shadowhunter gear. Then there was Jonathan with very white-gold, shining hair. His frame almost mirrored her father's- almost. Something above her cawed and she shrieked and covered her head with her hands; feeling the air swoop, she realized it was Hugo. She heard laughter bounce off the walls and she uncovered herself, Jonathan was laughing at her while Valentine had an amused grin on his face.
She made a face then glared at the raven perched on her fathers' thick and broad shoulders. "Stupid bird" she muttered before pretending to indulge herself in her drawings. She looked up through her eye lashes, watching as Valentine its' black feathers then nodding at it, as if they were having a silent conversation.
"What's new?" Jonathan asked, the same confusion brushing over Clary's face.
Valentine smirked, "Clarissa, would you like to go to New York?"