13
Council
The Council Hall; I hadn't seen it in years. It terrified me having all of these Shadowhunters staring down at me. I approached the center of the hall and walked up to the Consul and the Inquisitor.
The Inquisitor, without a word, held out the Mortal Sword to me. I took a hold of it willingly.
"Please, Miss Leigh-Ann Grace Taylor, explain to us of your encounter with Jonathan Christopher Morgenstern, son of Valentine Morgenstern, a man who was a part of the circle and whose son's blood is intoxicated with demon blood."
You just had to make that speech, didn't you?
"I heard my Aunt, Christa Clarisse Taylor, scream and grabbed my seraph blade and went and attacked Jonathan. He stuck a blade through my Aunt's chest. That was the last time I attacked him and he told me he was taking me before I assume it was Jace and Isabelle who stopped him."
"And you have no idea why Jonathan Morgenstern had come to take you?"
The Mortal Sword cannot let you lie. "He was there for my power; because of my strength."
And many other reasons that I am leaving out, she thought.
"Is this all that you can recount for your encounter with Jonathan?"
Dammit, shut up, she thought.
"All that comes to mind," she replied.
"You may release the Sword." She did so and the Inquisitor stared studiously at her. She did not flinch away though inside she was extremely uncomfortable.
"What does the Council have to say about this?" he finally asked all of the Clave.
For a moment, it was silent, but then she heard someone ask, "How do we know that there is not something else that she has not told us?" She looked around at who could've said it, but she knew very few of the members of the Clave.
"Well, is there something?" the Inquisitor asked.
She gulped. "No, sir there is not. I have told you all of what I do know."
"Very well, Miss Leigh-Ann. You are dismissed from Council."
Maryse and Alec immediately came to her side and took her toward the door, going as fast as they could.
"…Are they angry with me?" she asked Maryse.
"No, of course not, dear," she replied. "They just need to know all that they can, so we can stop Jonathan from him destroying our realm."
Or me, she thought, holding back tears. They walked out of the Council hall and there stood Isabelle and Jace, just as he promised he would.
She walked behind Alec and Maryse and emerged from behind them, approaching Jace.
"How'd it go?" he asked.
"It was alright…" she muttered, looking down. "But, I think they know I'm hiding something," she whispered to him. She turned to Maryse, Isabelle, and Jace who were conversing about their feelings toward the Council.
"Well, I was going to take Leigh-Ann shopping, so…" Isabelle grabbed my arm and pulled me toward her. "You can all go back to the Institute without us."
"But it's too dangerous for Leigh-Ann to be alone with anyone right now," Maryse protested.
"She was alone with Jace yesterday and nobody said anything about that," Isabelle replied.
"Wait, what?" Maryse turned on Jace, who, like Leigh-Ann, flushed immediately.
"I took her to Taki's; big deal."
"It is a big deal, Jace."
"Let's sneak off while she's not paying attention," Isabelle whispered to her. Leigh-Ann couldn't help but snicker as they both slipped off away from the three.
"So, why is Jonathan Morgenstern after you, anyways?" Isabelle asked her. Leigh-Ann automatically tensed.
"Please, tell me. I know you told Jace."
"And how in the Angel's name would you know that?"
"Well…I mean just by the way he looks at you."
"Looks at me?" Leigh-Ann looked up at her, confused.
"Yeah; I've never seen Jace look at a girl like that; protectively; unless it's me of course, but again, I'm his sister…"
Leigh-Ann looked away from her.
"I won't tell anyone. I break just as many rules as Jace does."
Leigh-Ann pondered this; in telling Isabelle.
Could she trust her?