Her mind was racing. She couldn't think straight. She had to stop him. She knew he had helped their father into the city. Whatever he had done, he had blood on his hands.
Little dove, are you all right? You didn't come back to the Accords Hall with your brother and sister?
Magnus' voice made her skid to a stop. She took several deep breaths.
You've seen them? Are they okay? Are you with them still?
If they were with Magnus, they were okay. She could, with a clean conscious, go after Jonathan.
No. They went to the Gard to rescue Simon. Where are you?
Simon! How could she have forgotten Simon? Of course they would have left him behind in the Gard. He was just a Downworlder to them.
Just left the Penhallows. Send someone there immediately to get Isabelle and to find Max. She was unconscious on the floor.
For a second, there was an eerie silence in her head. It felt like Magnus had retreated, left her alone.
Are you saying that Maryse and Robert Lightwood weren't there?
Why would they be there? No. I only saw Izzy. I couldn't find Max. What is it?
She was met again with the silence, but she could feel Magnus' growing concern.
The Sebastian boy told Jace and Alexander that Maryse and Robert were at the house and bringing the others to the Hall.
She was steaming. There was no doubt in her mind then that Jonathan had whacked Izzy over the head with a hammer. Hopefully, Max had found a place to hide and Jonathan didn't bother himself with looking for him.
Where did Sebastian go, Magnus? I need to find him.
He took too long to reply for her liking. She continued walking at a fast pace, her eyes darting around.
He went after Clary, Jace, and Alec. To the Gard.
She shut her mind off. She took off running, going as fast as her legs would allow her to. Her sword clambered against her back as she ran, seraph blades knocking against her thighs. In the light of the fire at the Gard, she saw something.
Figures standing at the top of the hill, the same hill where she knew Simon's cell was around. She ran up the gravel path that had been cleared through the trees. Witchlight torches flickered light, half-illuminating the path.
She pushed herself. Her legs ached but she pressed on. As she grew nearer, she counted six figures. One figure was heaped on the ground, her stomach churned.
She could see the red of Clary's hair, Jace's golden halo of curls. Alec was near him, Simon just a little off in the distance. Across from them, Jonathan stood. Who was on the ground, then?
Under her foot, a branch snapped. All of them turned to look back in her direction. She ducked behind a tree, her chest heaving.
"You don't know what you're talking about." She heard Jace snarl.
She peered around the edge of the tree. She recognized the angry look on his face. "Are you sure you aren't just upset that I've made connections with both of your sisters?" Jonathan asked. "I kissed Clary, yesterday. I could tell how much she wanted me. And then I went on that long walk with Eliza. I could tell you all of the things I did to her while we were gone." Nausea rolled in her stomach. "How I touched her. Where I touched her. She was practically begging for it." He laughed.
"Do not talk about my sisters like that." Jace warned him.
She looked down at the ground, careful to avoid making any noise as she drew closer.
"Sisters? Interesting." Jonathan mused. "That isn't how you act. Everyone notices the way you act with Eliza. The two of you think that you've concealed your feelings, but you haven't. And I'll tell you, it's disgusting. The way the two of you are, it's unnatural."
"Stop." Jace growled.
"Why are you saying all of these things, Sebastian?" She heard Clary ask him.
Her head lifted. Alec was staring right at her. She shook her head, lifting her finger to her lip, don't. He swallowed, looking away from her.
"I've sat back these few days and said nothing." Sebastian told her sharply. "Do you know how hard it's been to pretend to actually like the lot of you? You make me sick, each and every one of you. Jace, I don't know what's worse. Watching you stare at your sister and mentally undress her or listening to you complain about how your father didn't love you enough. I don't know how we can blame him. And you," Jonathan turned towards Clary, "you gave the Book of the White to that disgusting Downworlder. You dumb bitch, your siblings were right, you don't think before acting at all." Sebastian stared Alec down. "God, and you." He sneered at Alec. "Everyone here knows exactly what's wrong with you. You disgust me. You should be exiled, stripped of your Marks. Oh, let's not forget that other sister of yours." He looked back at Jace.
She saw him lock his jaw tightly. His hands were balled into fists at his sides.
"What about me?" She asked, only a few feet away from them.
Jace's head jerked up and his eyes met hers. She saw Clary give a sigh of relief. But she focused her attention on the boy in front of her. "Eliza." Jonathan tried to smile.
"What were you about to say?" She asked, cocking her head to the side. "Tell me. I want to know."
His poor attempt at a smile faltered and was replaced with a terrible, twisted sneer. "You're a failure. A traitor. Good for nothing, a waste of time and energy. You betrayed your father, his mission, your mission. You're a disgrace to the Morgenstern name. You deserve whatever punishment deemed fit."
This time, she was the one who smiled. "Right." She licked her bottom lip, nodding slowly. "Now, remind me. Who will be doing the punishment? You or him?"
Clary spoke before he could answer her. "Why would you have to pretend to like us?" She asked him. He looked back at her, contempt drawn across his features. "Are you a spy? For Valentine?"
Jonathan smiled, horrible and wretched. His eyes were narrowed. "I was wondering how long it would take you to piece it together. There are completely dark dimensions of demons that exist and they are brighter than the lot of you."
"Well, at least we're all alive." Jace told him.
Jonathan blinked. "I am alive." He pointed out.
She enjoyed the prideful smirk on Jace's face. "Not for much longer." He took off for Jonathan.
Jace was fast, but Jonathan, as she had expected, was faster. He grabbed Jace's arm that held the knife and Jace dropped it. Jonathan was grabbing him by the back of the jacket, holding him tightly.
And then he threw him through the air. Jace smacked against the Gard wall and fell to the ground. Clary shouted his name.
Jonathan turned on Eliza. "There is not a single doubt in my mind that you helped give the Book of the White to that nasty half-breed warlock. Am I right?"
"Naturally." She told him. "I'm really good at disgracing the Morgenstern name, remember?" He lunged at her and she didn't move away. She reared her hand back and punched him in the jaw. It didn't knock him down as she had hoped.
He regained himself in record time and hit her. Pain flared on her cheek. "I told you that I would kill you one day. I guess that day is today." He hissed.
"You can try." She growled. He hit her again, his fist connecting with her mouth. Blood welled. He pushed her down to the ground, sitting on top of her. His hands wrapped around her throat, pushing down.
She gasped, trying to find a breath she couldn't reach. Her hands shoved against him, trying to push him off. He grinned down at her. His dark eyes were bright. "Your eyes."
Her hand felt against the silver brace on her opposite wrist and she snatched the knife from the brace. She brought it home, shoving it into his shoulder.
He howled out and she kicked him off her. She ran towards Clary and Alec. "You bitch!" He shouted at her. "I'll kill you!" He yanked the knife from his arm and threw it on the ground.
She heaved for breath, her hands covering her throat. "I've heard that before." Clary took off running at him, her arms outstretched. "Clary!" Eliza shouted.
Jonathan sidestepped and hit her, careless as if he had just swatted away an annoying fly. His hand connected at her head and she fell to the ground.
Alec had his bow out, an arrow notched. "Sebastian, don't move." He called out. "Put your hands behind your back. Now."
Her brother laughed. "Alexander, you won't shoot me. You don't have it in you."
Eliza swallowed. Alec loosed the arrow. She heard the whistle as it sailed towards Jonathan. Somehow, he ducked. The arrow lodged itself in a tree.
Jonathan lunged at Alec, knocking him to the ground. He broke the bow into pieces and tossed it aside like a broken toy. When Alec got to his feet, he had drawn a seraph blade. Alec ran for Jonathan and he stepped aside, grabbing Alec by the throat.
"I've already killed one Lightwood today. How lucky I feel to kill another." He told Alec. Her heart sank.
Something came from the shadows and knocked him aside. Alec fell down, grasping at his throat.
Simon had latched onto Jonathan, his arms curled around his throat. In the moonlight, his fangs glittered. He bit down onto Jonathan's arm and she heard her brother scream out. Jonathan flung himself onto the ground. The two of them wrestled on the ground.
Jonathan would kill him.
He got to his feet, slamming his foot into Simon's ribcage twice. "Bloodsucker." He brought his foot back to kick again.
"That isn't a good idea." Jace's voice was quiet, but it wasn't safe. Jace had gotten up. Blood covered his face and one of his eyes was practically swollen shut. He had a named seraph blade in his hand. "I've never killed someone with one of these before. I'm glad you'll be the first."
He couldn't kill him. She had to kill him. She wouldn't let Jace have that blood on his hands. The guilt would tear him apart.
Jonathan looked between she and Jace, a dark and twisted look on his face. Eliza took her sword off her back, twirling it in her grasp. "I promised you." She told him, taking a step toward him. "I swore that if you touched my sister or hurt anyone I loved, I would kill you."
She stood there, her cursed sword in her hand. Blood on her face and hands. Ichor stained her clothes and her short-sword. Her hair matted to her face in sweat. In that moment, her eyes were void. Pits of black that only held rage and cruelty.
And she felt good.
She took another step. And he took off running into the trees. Her shoulders relaxed. "Coward." She muttered, sheathing her sword. Whatever darkness had overtaken her, it was taking its toll.
She sprinted over to Clary, putting her hands on either side of her sister's face. "Hey. Look at me. Don't close your eyes." She instructed her. Jace, Alec, and Simon rushed over. "Give her a Healing rune. Quickly."
Alec handed Jace his stele and Jace's hand worked swiftly in etching the iratze onto Clary's skin. "My head hurts…" Clary mumbled.
Eliza hauled her to her feet. "He gave you a concussion. Son of a bitch."
"We should get her to a Clave doctor. Just to be safe." Jace suggested. She agreed. She handed Clary to Simon and Jace so they could help her walk and keep her on her feet. "What were you thinking, Clary, attacking Sebastian like that? You didn't have any weapons." Jace asked.
Sebastian. That wasn't his name. It was Jonathan. She glanced at the trees. There was no assuredness that he had actually run away. He could have been in the trees, watching them. Waiting for her to slip up in a false sense of security.
"Jace, he threw you around like you were just a tennis ball or something." Alec reminded him. "I've only ever seen one person fight you like that and it was Liz." He glanced at Eliza, a sympathetic look on his face.
She bit down on her bottom lip. "He's had special training or something." Jace said.
Simon seemed to agree with him. They had no idea. "He's really strong. How long do you guys think he was watching us?" He looked at Eliza. "How long were you standing there?"
"Only a few moments." She told him. "I figured a surprise attack on him would be my best bet but then he started saying all of those hateful things."
Simon nodded, his face drawn together.
"Hopefully, the Clave will catch him and put the same curse on him that they did Hodge. It'll serve him right." Jace said thickly.
"What?" Eliza asked. "What does Hodge have to do with any of this?"
Jace swallowed before looking at her. "Liz, that body…that's Hodge. Sebastian killed him."
Anger flared inside of her. Simon spat onto the ground, wiping his mouth. "Well, I know for one thing: Sebastian does not taste good. His blood is like disgusting, like poison or something."
She almost stopped walking. She played it off as adjusting her boot.
She turned, looking back at the discarded body. Hodge. Jace walked by her and placed his jacket over their old tutor's face. "Someone will come for him." He promised her. "We need to get back to the Hall."
She nodded, turning away from Hodge. They walked down the hill towards the city. Jace limped slightly, but said nothing of the pain.
The walk down the gravel path was quiet. They kept weapons out, but no demons ever came for them.
"Do you really think that being Valentine's son makes you a monster?" She heard Alec ask Jace. They were walking ahead of everyone else, their heads ducked down in quiet conversation. "It isn't your fault, whatever he did to you."
Jace's shoulders tensed. "Alec, I don't want to talk about this. Not now, not later. Not ever."
The path met the cobblestone of the city. The streets were dark. Far away, she heard voices. But it was still quiet. Too quiet.
"Let's get to the Hall." Jace told them in a hushed voice.
There were no demons huddling in the streets, waiting to attack passersby. She spied a group of people huddled down a street, finishing off a stray demon.
Ahead of them was the Hall of Accords. It was extremely bright in the darkness of the night. Simon helped Clary up the stairs. Inside the Hall, she could hear the hum of many voices speaking at the same time. Clary reached, holding herself against a pillar.
Around her, she heard voices more clearly. The demons had taken off, vanished without a trace. Another voice said it had to be the impending sunrise that had driven them away. She didn't think that was very likely. An assuring voice that insisted the Clave would get the wards back up and they would be safe again. Another voice countering that Valentine would break them, just as he had done.
"Maybe Valentine is right." A voice said. "The Angel has taken back his blessing because we choose to ally ourselves with Downworlders."
Another voice said that the dead were being counted in the Angel's Square.
"I see my family. Come on." Alec said. "What…?" She looked at him and he was gone.
Something crossed Jace's face and he was taking off after Alec. The two of them were shoving through the crowd of people.
She knew what they would find. Who they would find.
"What's happening?" Clary asked.
"Lie down." She told her absently.
She left her with Simon, walking closer to where the Lightwoods stood. To be sure. She had to be sure. Maryse was hugging Isabelle, the girl wracked with sobs. Alive. Robert was sitting on the ground, his arms clutching a small body against him.
Her chest burned and she blinked away the tears.
Max.
He looked unbelievably small in his father's arms. Alec was on the ground, holding one of Max's limp hands in his own. Away from them stood Jace. His face was blank.
Eliza slipped through the people wordlessly. She didn't stop moving until she got to his side. He didn't look at her. Without saying anything, because she knew no words would bring any comfort, she wrapped her hand around his. She gave a small squeeze.
He looked over at her, a lost look in his eyes. And then, he just looked away.
She told the Lightwoods all she could. That was the only solace she could give them. She told them how she had run into Izzy and told her to find her family and take them to a safe place outside the city. She told them about running into Alec and telling him the same thing, how he had told her to go back to the house. In perfect memory, she recounted going into the house, greeted only by darkness. How she had called out for Izzy and Max but no one had answered. How she had found Izzy in the kitchen, unconscious and put a Healing rune on her. She told them about the link she shared with Magnus and how they could communicate without words, without being near each other. How Magnus had said that Sebastian went after the others to the Gard. She told them that she ran off, afraid of what the dangerous boy could do to her siblings and to Alec.
She knew that even if she had stayed behind to look for Max, there would have been no saving him. Jonathan didn't want Isabelle dead or she would have been dead. He always made sure to finish the job.
They turned their anger on the Penhallows for trusting their nephew, bringing a murdered into their house.
She didn't see Magnus. She didn't know where he was and she was too afraid to reach out and ask.
She sat on the bed, her knees drawn up to her chest, chin resting on them. Amatis had offered to let her stay there, but she knew it would be too crowded. The Lightwoods were being more than kind in continuing to let her stay with them.
They had somehow managed to get an empty house in the city. Several families had packed up and left Idris after the attack.
There was a knock on the door. "Come in." She said dryly.
Clary walked in, clutching something in her hand. It looked like a photograph. "Do you plan on coming out anytime soon?"
She shook her head. "Don't really feel like facing the lion's den yet."
Clary sat down on the bed. "Aline came by Amatis' house. She gave me this." She handed the photo to Eliza. It was a photo of a boy, his mouth spread in laughter. His nose was a little too big and his smile crooked. "Sebastian's aunt in Paris sent these. This is Sebastian Verlac. Which means that we have no clue who that boy is that killed Max. That almost killed all of us."
I know, she thought dreadfully. I know and I can't say anything.
"Have you told the Lightwoods?" She asked tiredly.
Clary shook her head. "They're at the Hall. Will you come with me? People listen to you, Liz. You make them listen."
She sighed. "Clary, I make boys listen to me. I can't get a whole room of adult Shadowhunters to do that. They don't trust me. I'm Valentine's daughter. My father just attacked the city with demons and killed a bunch of people. I don't think I'm welcome." Clary said that she'd had nothing to do with the attacks. She looked over at her. "I was unaccounted for. I don't have an alibi for when the wards went down. Everyone believes I had something to do with it."
Clary huffed a breath. "Come on. Get dressed. You're coming with me. I'll go into the lion's den with you."
She hauled Eliza from the bed. She changed from the pajamas Izzy had given her into dark pants and a black shirt. She took out her nice boots, tall ones with thick heels and put them on. She dug into the bag and produced a deep maroon coat.
"That's nice." Clary breathed. "Where did you get it?"
Eliza put it on. It fit perfectly. She had never worn it before. She fixed the collar. On each button was the Morgenstern crest. "A gift from our father. Before I went to New York." Clary inhaled sharply. "Figured I'd look my best before I get eaten alive."
She took a deep breath before walking into the Hall of Accords. Breathe in, breathe out. In through the nose, out through the mouth.
They had put the Hall to good use, turning it into a Council chamber since the Gard had burned. People scurried around, some still looking for missing family members, some waiting to hear news, some just…waiting. The maroon coat felt stiff on her body.
Several older Shadowhunters were gathered near the central fountain, talking quietly on the benches. What she wanted was in the center of the room. The Clave.
From a muffle voice, she heard that the demon towers were active again. Bitterly, she knew that Valentine would find a new way in. He always found a way.
Standing on the raised dais was the Consul. He was next to a smaller man, an angry expression on his face.
"That's Inquisitor Aldertree." Simon whispered.
Her eyes didn't leave the Inquisitor. Just like the one before him, he would get a piece of her mind.
"I see Luke." Clary grabbed Eliza's elbow. She dragged her towards the dried up central fountain.
Eliza saw Luke ahead of them, conversing with a scruffy man. Nearby, she spotted Amatis, sitting alone on a bench. Luke saw them and approached, a frown on his face.
"The three of you can't be here." He told him. "Children aren't allowed in meetings and Simon really shouldn't be fronting around the Inquisitor like this." He looked at Eliza, a soft expression on his face. "Eliza, I don't think it's in your best interest to be here." He told her quietly.
"I tried telling Clary that." Eliza muttered. "My sister is proving to be very stubborn these days."
Clary rolled her eyes. She handed Luke the photo of Sebastian Verlac. "Luke, we've got a problem. This is a photo of the real Sebastian." Clary explained everything that Aline had told her to Luke.
"Do the two look the same? The real Sebastian and the imposter?"
Clary shook her head while Eliza said no. "The fake Sebastian is taller, I think. And I think he dyes his hair black. It didn't look natural. Aline wants the Lightwoods to know that the imposter wasn't actually related to the Penhallows."
Eliza crossed her arms over her chest. Those weren't the only differences, she was sure the real Sebastian Verlac had probably been really nice.
"Did Aline tell her parents?" Luke asked. Clary said that she didn't think so. She thought Aline went straight to her with the photos and wanted her to give them to Luke because people listened to him.
Luke glanced back at the man he had been talking to. "That's Patrick Penhallow. He was telling me about Valentine. They were friends when they were younger. I don't doubt that Valentine kept his eye on the Penhallows throughout the years. You said Hodge mentioned something about spies in the Clave?" He looked at Simon. Simon nodded, not saying anything. "I'm sorry. The Lightwoods aren't here. Max's funeral was this morning." He cast a glance at Eliza.
"Just family." She told him. "Jace is a part of their family. I'm not."
"But you're Jace's family." Clary protested.
She said no. "It isn't that simple, Clary." Her tone said that their conversation on the matter was over.
She hadn't wanted to go to the funeral. She wouldn't have been able to bear it.
"Okay. Just tell them tonight, then." Clary told Luke. "They should be glad that whoever Sebastian actually is isn't related to the Penhallows."
Luke said it would be better if they knew where he had disappeared to or if they knew the names of Valentine's spies. "He must have had multiple people helping him. That would have been the only way for his plan to work. Maybe they helped from inside the city."
"Hodge told us that Valentine had figured out how to do it. He said something about needing demon blood to break the wards, but you can't get demon blood in the city?" Clary reported.
"There was a rune painted at the top of one of the towers. Painted in demon blood." Luke told them.
Eliza fought back an annoyed noise. She knew exactly how he'd done it. She ran her hands through her hair. Oh, brother, you've found a use for our disgusting heritage after all.
"The blood should have set off the wards the second it was brought into the city." Luke continued. "However, the wards are back up. Now, the Clave knows the wards are not invincible. If Valentine returns, we may not be able to fend him off. Especially if his forces are larger this time." Clary asked about the Downworlders. If they would be willing to help fight with the Shadowhunters.
"I can advocate all I want, but it's ultimately up to Aldertree and Malachi if they'll let us help. I'm only still around because the Clave voted me in as an adviser."
Whatever Clary was about to reply with was cut off by a shrill scream slicing through the air. Eliza whipped around.
Amatis was standing, her hands covering her mouth, staring at the front of the Hall. In the doorway was a man. His features were obscured by the brightness of the sun outside. He took a step forward.
"Father." She whispered.
He had dressed for the occasion, whatever he had decided it was. He had shaved his face and he wore a fitted pin-striped suit with a matching dark tie. He bore no weapons that she could see. She would have called it a fool's mistake but her father was no fool.
He had his eyes trained on Luke. Aldertree jumped down from the dais and lunged at her father with a roar. Aldertree passed right through him and fell to the ground. Malachi moved and pulled the Inquisitor to his feet, his face full of contemptuous disgust.
Valentine looked at no one else but Luke as he continued through the room. Whispers carried throughout the crowd. He stopped, coming to the steps of the dais beside them. She watched as he looked Clary over and passed completely over Simon as if he wasn't there at all.
"Daughter." He nodded at Eliza. Even though he was a Projection, she saw the glimmer in his eye. She wondered if Jonathan had told him how she threatened his life several times and how she had stuck a knife in him.
She smiled to herself. She had stabbed both of them. Her greatest demons.
"Lucian." Valentine turned his attention to Luke. Luke said nothing as he stared back at Valentine. The two hadn't been together in the same room since the night at Renwick's. They were two completely different men, hardened in separate ways over time. "You are an adviser to the Council now. You have infiltrated your way into the corruption. And here I had thought it could not get any worse." He didn't seem angry. His voice carried lightly and cheerily. He was amused. "And you've brought my daughters into the mess yet again." He turned to Clary. "I see you've taken after your sister and gotten yourself a pet vampire, Clarissa."
Simon made a growling noise and Clary whispered something to him.
"Simon isn't a pet." Eliza told him. "He's our friend. And Declan is my boyfriend, by the way." Valentine made a noise of only disgust and looked away from them. He stepped atop the dais, eyes scanning over the crowd. "I see so many old friends. Malachi. Patrick." He stopped, staring at Luke's sister. "Amatis."
She didn't look as pleased to see him as he did her.
"And Aldertree." Valentine bemused. "I have heard that you are the cause of Hodge Starkweather's death?" Aldertree sputtered something in response. "Pitiful. He was an old friend."
"Valentine, are you admitting that you broke the wards and let the demons into the city?" Luke asked, his voice steady.
Her father smiled at him, a cold, malicious smile that only he could wear so well. "Oh, yes. And I would do it again. It was expected, I'm sure? If not by the Clave, then by you?"
Luke said yes, he had expected it. "Are you here to bargain or to gloat?"
He said neither.
"Bullshit." Eliza said suddenly. Someone gasped. Anger sparkled in his projected eyes.
"Excuse me? That is no language to use with your father." He had his warning tone. She was treading on thin ice. But he was a Projection and she no longer cared.
"I said bullshit." She repeated. "You want something. If you didn't, you wouldn't have made such a spectacle and come here. Tell us what it is and then go. You've caused enough damage for a little while, I think."
Another smile, this one a little kinder. "I only said I wasn't here to gloat or bargain. I have no need for either of those. Do you think that I relish in spilling Shadowhunter blood, my child? We are a dying race and the world needs us now more than ever."
"Right." She laughed coldly. "Only because you're calling hordes of demons from other dimensions. I'm sure that isn't helping our cause at all."
"I am doing what I have to." He insisted. "I did what was needed in order to make the Clave listen. I am not the cause of Nephilim death. The Clave is." He turned his wicked gaze to Aldertree.
Aldertree had paled significantly. His mouth twitched but he said nothing in response.
Declan put his hands on her shoulders and pulled her back.
"Some of you here were in the Circle with me. Many of you stood outside and watched us. I address all of you now. Fifteen years ago, I heeded my warning to you. I told you that Alicante would be overrun by half-breeds and demons unless we acted against the Accords and now here we stand. My prediction has rang true. The Gard is demolished, your Portal is gone. Nephilim blood has been spilled by demon scum and you stand here with half-breed degenerates assuming leadership over you. Brethren, I ask you this: do you believe me now?" He paused. "DO YOU BELIEVE ME?"
No one spoke. They all only stood and waited for someone to have the courage.
"Do you not see what you've done, Valentine?" Luke asked. His voice was soft, like he was speaking to someone near to his heart. "The Accords never equalized Downworlders and Shadowhunters. Prejudice still rang out and rang loudly. But, you could not trust the long in place hatreds. And now, you've brought us all together because now we have something in common. An enemy."
She saw her father's face turn pale. "I will never be an enemy of the Nephilim. Only you can be that. You who stands here and urges them into a fight they cannot win. The demons you saw are only but a small fraction of the ones I can summon."
Luke's shoulders stiffened. "As there are more Nephilim and more Downworlders to fight against them."
Valentine laughed haughtily. "Your Downworlders will flee at the first sign of true danger. They are not born to be warriors as we are. You are burned by silver and the Night Children burn in the light of the sun."
Simon cleared his throat. "Not me." He said in a hard voice. "I can stand in sunlight."
Eliza closed her eyes. How she wished he hadn't said anything. But she did admire his raw courage.
"You are a monster, little vampire. I've seen you choke on your God's name. You may be an anomaly amongst your kind, but you will always remain a monster to this world."
Monster. Monster. Monster.
He despised monsters yet created them in his own children. Images from Ithuriel's visions flashed in her mind. Jocelyn talking to Ragnor about how Valentine had made her children monsters. The woman giving Valentine her blood. Demon's blood.
"You want to talk about monsters?" Clary's voice rang out. "The only monster here is you." Surprise was etched on his face as he looked at her. "We saw Ithuriel." She motioned between herself and Eliza. "We know everything you did."
Oh, dear.
"If you did truly know everything, you wouldn't speak. Maybe not for your sake, but for your brother's. And especially your sister's."
"Don't threaten her." Eliza snarled at him. "Do it again and I'll find you and stab you again. In the heart this time."
Luke grabbed her and pulled her backwards harshly. "What about my brother, Valentine?" Someone said. Amatis was speaking. Her voice was bitter, but oddly collected. She moved quickly, standing before him on the dais. Valentine asked what she could mean. "You came to me and said he was no longer my brother. And then you took Stephen away too. You ripped my family apart." It was the first time she had heard the woman say Stephen's name. "You tell us that you aren't our enemy, but you're the one ripping our families apart. You made the Clave what it is today. You are the reason that we are the way we are now. You will never be forgiven. Not for that and not for making me believe that Lucian wasn't my brother any longer. Just as I'll never forgive myself for believing you." She was crying, Eliza saw. Luke stepped to her but she put her hand up to stop him. "Once, we would have all listened to you and we will all bear that shame. But no longer will you hold us. That time is long passed. Are there any here today who disagree with me?" She called out.
Eliza looked around. No one was speaking, no one was moving. She looked back at her father, his face void of any telling features. There was no anger, no annoyance. Only complacency.
"So be it." He said. "You will not listen by way of reason, so I pray you will listen by way of force. You have seen what I can do, the power I have. You may have put your wards back up, but I can take them down again just as easily. Either listen to me and follow me or fall under the power of every demon I shall summon with the Mortal Sword. No one will be spared. No man, no woman, no child." He spoke very clearly. Anger edged his words, but his temper was not yet lost. "The choice is yours."
Everyone began whispering hurriedly. He was talking mass annihilation of every Shadowhunter within the city, maybe even within Idris. Maybe even the world.
"You would commit genocide against your own race, Valentine?" Luke asked breathlessly.
He said yes without hesitation. "The garden must be cleansed of the diseased plants. And if the whole garden has succumbed to the disease, then so be it." Murmurs went through the crowd. He couldn't be serious. But she knew that he was. "I have the Mortal Cup. I will be able to create a new race of Shadowhunters. A world of Nephilim taught and trained by me. This will happen unless the Clave agrees to sign over all of its power to me. Make me the all-powerful sovereign leader and I will not wipe you out. In this, all Shadowhunters must swear an oath of obedience to me and wear a permanent loyalty rune binding them to me."
Eliza scoffed, louder than she had intended.
"Is there something you want to say?" He asked her.
Luke tried to stop her, but she walked forward. As she grew closer to the Projection of her father, her heartbeat rang louder and louder in her ears. "You expect to make every single Shadowhunter follow your rule. You want an entire species of people obedient to you and only you. But you couldn't even make your own daughter obedient." She stood in front of his Projection, steadier than she had ever felt. It seemed like it was only the two of them. Everyone else seemed to fade away into the background, noiseless and motionless. She took the journal from her pocket, waving it in front of him. "Found this, by the way." She said, opening it up.
"Why do you have that?" He snarled.
She held up a finger. "Ah, ah. Let's not get ahead of ourselves, Dad." He hated the word. It was too mundane, too plain for him. "Hmm, let's see. Right. Here we are." She found the page she wanted. "Shall I give everyone a group reading session? Tell them the horrible things you did to me? It's all written here in perfect detail." The corner of his mouth twitched, but he remained silent. "Perfect." She glanced around the room. "This entry is dated April 1, 2002." She told them. "Today, I locked her up. Her training performance is less than satisfactory. Her mouth is too smart and she may be the most disobedient child I have ever come across. The Malachi Configuration should prove to be helpful in dissolving her resilience. Constant lashings do not seem to sway her. She is both strong and weak. Strong in that she does not cry in pain or show her pain. Weak in that her lack of loyalty and her dismal fighting skills." She looked up, a half smile on her face. "Shall I continue? The next part is my favorite."
"By all means. Finish your performance."
She didn't need to look back down at the book. She had memorized it. It was burned in her memory. "The next entry is three days later." She said aloud. "April 4, 2002. My twelfth birthday." She heard Luke whisper something to Clary, but she couldn't make it out. "Three days with no food or water and still my daughter survives. I released her this morning and presented her with a birthday gift. Naturally, she was not grateful. Not like her brother. She thinks I left her alone in that basement and for the most part, I did. But I watched from the shadows at night. I watched her reach for the blades that confined her. I told her that touching them would kill her. I had hoped she would die down there. She is a stain to the Morgenstern name, a disgrace to her ancestors. Not at all the child I wanted. But still, she is my own child, my daughter, so I have resolved to her. If she were not mine, she would be dead. I hold no softness towards her, no love lies in my heart for this child. One day, she will be tested and when she fails, because she always does, I will end her." With a foreign satisfaction, she slammed the journal shut.
The room was quiet.
"Look at you." Valentine broke the solid silence. "My training did you well. You are the best Shadowhunter of your age, I hear. Do not say I never gave you anything."
She pocketed the book. "Oh, I know just how much you gave me."
"You will not rule!" The Inquisitor shouted out suddenly. The Consul moved to grab him but Aldertree evaded him. He ran towards the dais, continuing to shout his words over and over. His eyes had nearly rolled back into his head. He pushed Amatis aside and ran up the dais steps to stand before her father. "I am the Inquisitor! Me, not you!" Aldertree yelled at him. "I am the Clave and the Council, do you hear me? You don't make the rules, I do! You are the stain, you are the disgrace! You demon-loving-." His words were cut short.
Valentine reached out to him, a very bored look on his face. His hand went through the Inquisitor, up to his wrist vanishing in Aldertree's chest cavity. The world went still as they watched. Valentine's arm jerked to the left and Aldertree cried out, falling down the steps.
Valentine withdrew his hand. It was dark red, wet with blood. He looked out at the crowd, sweeping over them. He rested his gaze on Luke.
"You have until tomorrow at midnight. I will be waiting with the full force of my army at Brocelind Plain. If by that time you have not surrendered, my army will destroy everything in Alicante. This I promise you." With one last agonizing rest of his eyes on Eliza, in which she felt her bones grow cold, he disappeared into the air.
Eliza looked back at Luke, her face drawn in uncertain emotion. "Tell them to surrender. Do it or we'll all die."