Chapter 1

Jace made a face at Clary as they walked out of the diner. The door shut behind them on Isabelle's shouts. Twenty minutes earlier, Simon had accidentally spilled her drink all on her brand new dress.

"I may not be too fond of Simon, but I still feel bad for him anyway. I wouldn't wish Izzy's wrath on any guy," Jace said, wrapping his jacket tighter around himself. Then, he looked at Clary, noticed her shivering, and quickly slipped out of the leather jacket. When he tried putting it over her bare shoulders she pushed it away.

"I'm fine. Really, I'm not going to freeze," she told him—though she was lying. She felt like such an idiot for wearing a tank-top with just a tin slip over it in the dead of a Manhattan winter.

"You need it more than—" Jace was cut off by a loud scream, followed by the clanging of metal.

Before Clary could react, Jace was already racing toward the alleyway that the scream had come from. When Clary skidded to a halt in front of the alley, she saw Jace kneeling over an ugly demon. The glowing seraph blade in his grip was embedded in the back of the demon. With an ear-splitting screech the demon crumpled in on itself, sent back to the dimension it'd come from.

Looking around for the source of the shriek, Clary's gaze fell on a huddled figure. Stepping closer Clary saw that it was a young girl, not much younger than herself. Grimy, brown hair hung in her face, and her blue eyes were glassy with fear. The girl was shaking—no wonder, all she had on was a hospital gown—and her trembling fists were clutched tightly to her chest.

Crouching down in front of the girl, Clary cooed, "It is okay, you're safe now. We're not going to hurt you."

Clary put her hand lightly on the girl's shoulder. She flinched at the contact, but didn't move to push Clary's hand off. Smiling warmly, Clary turned to Jace. "Give me your coat." She spoke softly so as not to startle the girl. Jace nodded and started back toward the front of the diner where he'd dropped it.

When Clary looked back at the girl she looked straight into the girl's wide, frightened eyes. There seemed to be a plea in those eyes, a plea for…what? She couldn't tell. Then, the blue eyes shifted to something behind Clary. Following her gaze, Clary saw Jace coming around the corner, jacket in hand. Behind him, Isabelle and Simon were talking loudly.

"What do you mean you found a girl?" Simon was asking then he caught sight of Clary and the girl and stopped dead. Isabelle's hand flew to her mouth with a little gasp, and she rushed forward, un-wrapping her scarf from her neck. Jace gently knelt in front of the girl.

"Can you stand?" he asked, his tone friendly but serious. After a moment of hesitation, she nodded. Unfolding her arms from her chest, the inside of her arms flashed. Clary nearly choked. The girl's forearms were speckled all over with scabs from repeatedly being injected with needles.

Seeing Clary's reaction, the girl coiled back in on herself, tears pooling in her eyes. "Oh no. No, I'm just horrified that anyone could do that to you."

After a moment of uncertainty, the girl stood slowly. Reaching for the jacket in Jace's hands, Clary saw that the girl had webbed fingers. Warlock, Clary concluded. Jace helped her shrug on the jacket, and then Isabelle folded the silk, red scarf around the girl's neck. Clary couldn't help but feel a little surprised at Isabelle's generosity, but she supposed even Isabelle could be soft in situations like this.

"Here," mumbled a sympathetic voice behind Clary. She turned to see Simon gazing sadly at the girl, his coat held out for Clary. "She needs it. I don't." That was completely true. Simon was a vampire, and felt neither heat nor cold.

With a gracious smile, Clary took the jacket. "Thanks." After the girl had pulled on the second coat, Isabelle asked,

"What's your name?" The girl looked kind of confused for a moment. Finally, she replied,

"I think I used to have one, but I don't remember it." Clary raised her eyebrows and exchanged a glance with Jace.

"Well, come inside and tell us what happened to you," Jace coaxed, putting his hand on her shoulder. She let him guide her out of the alley. As he passed Isabelle, he whispered something into her ear. She nodded and started digging in her purse. Clary joined Simon, and they followed Jace and the girl back into the diner.

"What did he say to her?" Clary asked Simon, quietly. His superhuman hearing could come in handy sometimes.

"He told her to call Magnus, though I'm not sure why."

"Probably because he's the High Warlock, and she's a warlock."

"How do you know?"

"She had webbed fingers." Simon nodded as he held the door open for Clary. As they all settled into the booth, the nameless girl stared at the table without really seeming to see it. "Well, first off we need something to call you by. Do you have a name you want us to call you?"

The girl looked at Clary with clear, sky blue eyes. Silently, she shook her head.

"I think she looks like a Katherine," Jace announced, smiling at the girl. Clary glared at him.

"We can't just give her any old name. It should be special if we're going to call her it."

"Why don't we ask her what she thinks?" Jace looked at the girl expectantly. Clary couldn't help but look at her too, but when she did, she instantly regretted it. The girl seemed to be becoming more frightened by the moment. "Hey, it's okay. You don't have to say anything if you don't want to. I didn't think it was that bad."

"You scared her off with your horrible naming—" Simon was suddenly cut off by a loud cry.

"Citalee!" A whirl of glitter flew past Simon and blanketed the girl. Magnus Bane was squeezing the life out of the girl he'd just called Citalee in an enthusiastic embrace.