A/N: Hey, I'm back again! Sorry for the long wait, but I made it extra long this time! Have fun reading. Don't forget to R&R!

And the stuff doesn't belong to me. You may have forgotten that after my vacation.

I don't know who as more surprised; me, or Clary. We both started saying things; I was demanding to know if it was true, if he really had a wife. Clary on the other hand, was yelling about how her mother never had another husband besides the one she had been married to when Clary was around. About how it was impossible that Valentine was her father. It took a while to get Clary settled down and the room back into order, but when Hodge did, he told us about the Circle; the group Valentine has used to try and stop the Accords with a battle against unarmed, defenseless downworlders, a battle known by the Shadow world as the Uprising. That's when he paused. I knew most of the things he was telling us. Until he started talking again.

'We couldn't have stopped it,' Hodge sounded desperate for us to understand. 'By the time the Circle members found out how extreme the group was getting, we were too afraid to do anything. It hadn't started out that way; something had triggered a change in the man we all followed. And even if we weren't so afraid, it wouldn't have matter. Too many of us were loyal to the views. Pangborn and Blackwood were two of the worst, or best. And the Lightwoods-'

'Wait, the Lightwoods? Like Alec and Isabelle?' I asked incredulously.

'Yes.' Hodge nodded. 'They were part of the Circle. Although they didn't ever plan on leaving, like me, they helped the Clave when the Circle was disbanded. We gave names, helped with the capture of those who had fled. But, for all the help we gave, we weren't pardoned fully; the three of us, and Alec, were banished here. Mayrse and Robert can only go back to Idris on official business and for short times.' He paused. 'I can never go back.'

'That's stupid!' Clary burst out. 'Why can they go back, but you can't?'

'The Law is hard, but it is the Law.' Hodge and I whispered at the same time.

There was another pause. Clary was still angry about her mother; she was breathing angrily, and her arms were crossed. Hodge looked tired and I was doing my best to keep my face expressionless. If Clary's mother was Valentine's wife, did that mean that boy was Clary's brother? Half-brother at the least. Suddenly, I felt a suspicion towards Clary. Could she working for Valentine? Jace, I thought to myself, don't be an ass. Of course she's not. She can't even fight; how use would she be to Valentine?

'What does he want?' Clary asked out of no-where. 'What's his ultimate goal?'

'He wants to summon the Angel Raziel and become the leader of a new generation of Shadowhunters.' Hodge sighed. It sounded like he had said this many times over. 'Valentine believes that the Clave is corrupt and wants to remake it with his own followers. '

'How?' Asked Clary. 'And what does this have to with my mother?'

'By using the three Mortal Instruments. Your mother had the Cup, so Valentine most likely kidnapped her to make her give it back to him.'

I could feel Clary sort of collapse in on herself as that little fact hit. It meant that her whole life was a lie. That everything about her mother was just a façade. I reached out to her, but the door was flung open and Clary spun out of my reach.

'Dinner time!' Isabelle sang.

'Dead God, have mercy.' Hodge whispered.

'I ate a pretty good lunch Isabelle, so-' I started, but she cut me off and crossed her arms. 'I threw out the rest of the soup, okay? I got Chinese. ' I moved to interrupt her, but she cut me off again. 'And I got your kung pao chicken'

'Awesome. I'm starving.' Isabelle rolled her eyes and I walked out, with Hodge following.

'Perhaps we shouldn't lie so much to Isabelle about her cooking.' Hodge suggested once we left the room. ' Then again, we both know Alec can't make toast, and I-' He stopped to look at his hands,' Have some troubles with it.' He didn't mention my cooking abilities. I'd never tried it before, but I was pretty sure it wasn't as hard as Isabelle made it out to be. 'We should probably be thankful someone even tried to look after us when Mayrse is gone.'

I shook my head. 'No.'

Hodge looked at me with surprise. 'You want to tell her the truth? I'm sure she knows she's terrible at it, but It'd still hurt, Jace.'

I shrugged. 'The truth hurts. That's the whole point. If they can't deal with it, that's their problem. If Isabelle doesn't know the truth of her cooking abilities, she'll keep wasting energy on pointless work.'

We had reached the kitchen at this point, and the smell of the edible food was good, even after Hodge's leftover lasagna. Hodge didn't say anything afterwards, so I began to imagine that I hadn't even said those words aloud.

'Jace!' I turned to find Alec sitting at the table, his plate already filled with food. 'When did you get back?' He asked.

I sat down beside him but keeping distance between our arms. 'Not too long ago. Why?'

'No reason.' He mumbled, suddenly grumpy.

I was going to push it, but Clary and Isabelle walked in, with Simon coming from somewhere. He was trying to walk beside her, but Isabelle sat down between Alec and Hodge before he could catch up. Clary sat beside Simon, but he was too busy ogling Isabelle to notice. Isabelle, on the other hand, was too busy listening to the things Hodge was telling her, the same thing he had just told us, and Alec seemed to be listening, between glares at Clary. I was the only one eating.

Eventually, after Hodge re-capped Isabelle, Simon and an only half-listening Alec, did they start to eat. 'I think it's rather romantic.' Isabelle shrugged.

Simon looked up immediately, and twisted in his chair completely to face Isabelle. I heard a disgusted noise from Clary. 'What is?' He asked.

'The whole thing about Valentine and Clary's mom. They were suppose to be dead, but now they're alive again, and he's looking for her. He probably wants to get back together.'

'I'm pretty sure he wouldn't send a Ravener demon after her if he wants to "get back together".' Alec muttered.

'It's not what I'd do.' I admitted. 'The flowers, then candy, the singing telegram and then the rapacious hordes of demons.' I paused to think about it. 'In that order.'

'Maybe he did send her other stuff.' Isabelle said, 'We don't know.'

Clary shook her head. She looked like she wanted to scream with frustration. 'This is ridiculous. Valentine wouldn't send flowers to anyone. He's a crazy psychopath who loves destruction more then his own son.'

Isabelle and Alec both looked flabbergasted. 'He has a SON?' they both demanded.

I winced. I didn't want them to know about that. Clary and Simon both looked sheepish; I guess she hadn't meant for that to slip out. But strangely, so did Hodge.

'Enough, children.' Hodge sighed. 'I'm sure Clary was just using a metaphor. Now, let's finished our food, and I'll go send a message to the Clave to get some skilled and experienced Shadowhunters do deal with getting the cup, find Clary's mother, and the rest.'

I jumped up in protest. 'What? Why can't I do it? I am skilled; I have experience!'

Both Hodge and Alec shook his head. 'No.' Alec beat Hodge to speaking. 'You might be the best here, but there are better Shadowhunters out there. Valentine would kill you without a second thought; look what he did at the Accords. You couldn't beat him.'

'Fine.' I muttered. I could see Alec and Isabelle share a glance out of the corner of my eye. 'Then I at least want to look for Clary's mother. I started with that, and I'm going to finish it.'

'Well,' Clary said angrily, 'Now that we've got that all figured out, how are we going to find her? It's not like her kidnappers left us an address. '

I looked up suddenly. 'But we do.'

Everyone turned to me. 'We do?' asked Clary

I lightly touched my finger to her temple. It sent a shock down my hand. 'It's here. Under your pretty red curls, locked away in your head.'

'So you're going to cut her head open just to it?' Simon spat. It sounded surprisingly vicious for someone so in love in Isabelle.

'No, I'm going to cut yours open so you shut up. Then, I'll get the Silent Brothers to help her.'

Isabelle frowned. 'But I thought you hate the Silent Brothers.'

I shrugged. 'If they'll help Clary, then I'll just get over it.'

Alec and Isabelle's eyes went wide. Clary glanced over at them, and looked back at me. 'How?'

'They'll read your mind, and bring up memories or thoughts you may have forgotten.' Hodge interjected. It sounded like he was getting impatient.

'I thought you said they were librarians?' Simon muttered.

'They are.' Hodge said curtly. 'Now, if you'll excuse me, I've got a letter to send.' He put his plate in the sink, and left.

'Wow.' Simon snorted, 'Those must be some killer late fees.'

Alec chuckled once humorlessly. 'You can make jokes; you can laugh. But, the Silent Brothers are the most feared of Shadowhunters. They may not fight like we do, but they can crack a man's head open with their thoughts and leave him screaming.' Alec paused to take a breath.

'I still don't see ho-' Simon started, but Alec cut him off. 'They have no need of lights, for they walk in the darkness. They have no need of mouths, for they do not speak. They have no need of eyes, for they see through the minds of others.' He cocked his head slightly. 'Afraid yet, mundane?'

There was an awkward pause. I hadn't ever head Alec say anything so poetic before. 'And you want to send me to them?' Clary demanded.

'No, Clary, they'll help you.' I insisted. 'They'll go through your mind and try and find any hints for clues.'

'I'd rather they didn't.' Simon snorted.

'Well, it's not really your call, now is it mundane?' Alec snarled coldly. 'And you know something else? We offer sanctuary for our kind. Not yours.' He nodded at Isabelle, who stood. 'I'll show him out.'

I nodded at both of them as they left, and before turning to Clary, I swear I saw a glance between them of surprise. They weren't they only ones who were surprised here.

'Jace, I...' Clary protested weakly.

I leaned in. 'Clary, even if we don't search for the Cup, we have to find your mother. Someone's hidden something in your mind and blocked your memories. You are a Shadowhunter and that means you should be able to see Marks and the Institute no problem.' I stopped for a moment, and leaned closer. 'Don't you want to know what's in your own head? The truth about your own life?'

'I don't want someone else inside my head.'

'I'll stay with you while they do it.' I offered, hoping, wanting her to say yes so bad it was pathetic, 'I'll be there.'

She stood up suddenly. 'I'm tired. I want to go to sleep.'

I stood up too, and reached out for her hand. 'But you hardly ate anything-'

She brushed it off. 'I'm not hungry,' She said, and walked out of the kitchen, leaving me alone.

I flopped into the chair, and held up my head up with my hands. Why had I changed my mind so quickly to Hodge and Alec's demands? Usually I badger him until he let me do it, or found something else to go capture my attention. I looked down at my plate. Clary hadn't been the only one who hadn't eaten very much; I hadn't even touched my kung pao chicken. It was just too spicy this time. Isabelle and Alec had both eaten their fair share, along with Hodge, so there wasn't much left. The mu shu pork, though, still had half the dish full. Absently, I took my fork and started to eat some of it. This is better then I remember. I thought to myself. I kept eating it while I started to clean up. I finished putting the plates away, and the cutlery, when Alec came in.

'Clary's sleeping in the hallway, so don't trip on her.' He announced.

I turned to him and frowned. 'You left her sleeping in the hall way?'

He shrugged. 'She seems fine.'

'Alec, we have over two hundred rooms, and she's sleeping on the floor? I'll go get her a room; I doubt she wants to stay in the Infirmary.'

I went to leave, but Alec grabbed my arm. 'Jace, stay here, she's fine. If she wakes up and asks for a room, then she can have one.'

'She can't sleep on the floor, Alec.'

'Why not? You do all the time.'

How did he know that? It was true; the dreams weren't as bad if I was on the floor.

I pulled my arm out of his grip. 'I can't expect her to be me.'

And just the door swung shut, I could hear Alec say 'But you expect everyone else to be.'

It wasn't had to find her. She was right in the middle of the main hall, and almost took up the whole thing. I crouched down beside her, and put my hand on her shoulder. That woke most people up, if I didn't feel like scaring them. Clary didn't even flinch. Her face was so peaceful in sleep, but she looked lost. Clary was one of the few people I knew who weren't "looking for themselves", I know I was still "soul searching". But asleep, Clary looked like a small child whose mother had forgotten her somewhere, but the shock of being left hadn't hit yet. She knew there was something wrong, but she didn't know what.

I picked her up, one arm under her knees, the other behind her head, my skin tingling as hers touched mine, and carried her to the first room I found with an unlocked door. When I opened it with my foot, I had to shift Clary slightly to get my foot high enough. But when I did, I noticed how snug against me she was, how cuddled up. I smiled as I opened the door, and when I put her on the bed, she rolled around slightly, as if she was looking for me. Just looking at her sleeping made me want to myself. I hated sleeping usually, but she looked so peaceful. I covered her with the comforter and gave her once last parting glance before I left for my own room. It wasn't that I was very tired, but Hodge was probably sleeping, so he couldn't send me on a late night mission. I stripped to my boxers once I got to my own room, only a couple doors down from Clary's, and flopped onto the bed, my eyes shut.

'I'm not even tired,' I yawned. Wait, did I just yawn? Well, that was new. But, even if I was yawning, it didn't mean I was going to fall asleep.

Annoyed, I opened my eyes, and got out of bed. My Shadowhunter gear rustled as I walked and the door squeaked when I opened it. But, instead of walking out into the hallway, the door opened into a valley, mountains on either side, forest to the north and a lake to my right. The grass was almost too green, and the sky was azure. As I turned behind me, I caught sight of someone. Someone with red hair.

The girl was running, and seemed to be calling me over, so I started to run after her to catch up. At one point she turned to me, although her face was hidden by her curtain of hair.

'Hey, slow down!' I called out. I wasn't sure how she could be running faster than I was, but I wasn't getting any closer.

'No!' The girl yelled. 'Stay away from me!'

I slowed to a stop. Why was she running from me? I watched her run into the forest area, and just as she disappeared from view, I heard a scream.

The scream jolted me, and I started to run again. I sprinted through the trees, almost hitting rocks, and running through bushes in the half-light, until I found her. She was on the ground face-down, but her head was turned away from me.

'No!' She whimpered, 'Go away!'

I knelt down, and reached out to help her up. 'Why are you running from me? I won't hurt you.'

'I'm running because I'm scared.' She whispered, shuddering to the touch of my hand on her back. There was something on her there; the light fabric of her shirt was darker.

'Why are you scared of me?' I murmured as I pulled my hand back. I could barley see what coated my hand, but I could smell it. Blood.

'She's not scared of you.'

I flipped around to find that the trees and plants of the forest had gone. It was a large basement room now; the outside walls of rough stone, but the ceiling, floors, interior walls and the stairs were all made of a fine mahogany wood. I looked back behind me to find that the girl was gone, but her blood still stained my hands.

'She's scared of me.'

I twisted again, to find the speaker was standing right behind me. I stood and backed up, and his actions mirrored mine. The basement had changed again. The walls were now mirrors, and I saw the boy reflect my peering around and the look of wonder in my eyes. In every mirror, I saw myself; golden curled hair grazing the bottoms of my ears, chipped incisor on the left side, amber eyes, muscled and powerful. Every turn I made was echoed by my reflections and the boy.

But as I watched him more closely, something became clear; the boy was me.

Something, though, was off. Little details that made up how I am were twisted and warped. He was taller than I was, and more built. He was handsomer; his face full of sharper angles and more defined bone structure. His hair was whiter and longer, his tooth wasn't chipped. He was paler, and the scars that marked our race were more apparent.

His eyes were blacker than death, and held no sparkle of life.

He was the black knight to my golden paladin.

'Are you me?' I asked quietly, and he laughed.

'No. You're me!' He shouted and laughed again.

That's when I noticed the gilded mirror frame around me, just like on all the other reflections.

The dark me walked to the middle of all the mirrors and glared at each on of them. Of me. 'You will obey me!' He roared.

I shouted my acceptance nodded alone with the rest of them.

'You will submit to my rule!'

This time, I managed not to agree.

'You will follow my commands!'

And, while everyone else did as he said, I shouted something different.

'NO!'

He turned to me. 'What did you say?'

'I won't follow you.' I yelled rebelliously.

He pulled out the kindjal and smiled savagely. 'Then I guess we have no more use for you!' and rushed to the mirror with unearthly speed. He slashed the mirror and it shattered to a million pieces…

I woke gasping for breath. I was covered by a sheen of sweat, and my heart was racing. I untangled myself from the covers and stumbled to the bathroom. I missed the light switch on the first try, and steadied myself on a cool and slippery piece of wall. When I turned on the light, and saw the mirror, I puked and fell to the floor.

I sat there for a moment, waiting for the dizziness and light-headedness to pass. I stood again, but avoid the glass. I was just in my boxers, and the blood on my hands was gone. The semblance of the girl to Clary was frightening, and I shivered. I quickly got into the shower, and turned the water as hot as it would go.

I got out with perfect timing. I had just wrapped myself in a towel when someone knocked on my door. Hodge. I opened it halfway.

'Yeah?'

He seemed surprised that I was already up. 'Ah, the Silent Brother Jeremiah is here. He's in the library. Could you get Clary?' His eyes were fixed on the scar I had on collarbone.

'I'll get changed first. As much as she'd undoubtedly appreciate this, I think it's better to be wearing something other than I towel with the Silent Brothers around.'

He nodded and shut the door. I quickly changed into an old long sleeve and jeans. I slipped my stele and two blades into my back pockets and walked to Clary's room. It was quiet inside except for the sound of her breathing. It seemed frantic. I grasped her writs, and whispered 'Wake up Clary.' The reaction was immediate. She jerked her hands and sat up. 'Jace?'

'Yeah.'

'Let go of me.'

'Sorry.' I felt hurt by the fact that was the second thing she said. 'You tired to hit me the second time I said your name.' I lied. I felt like I needed an excuse to touch her.

'I'm a little jumpy I guess.' She looked around. 'How did I get here? I don't remember…' she trailed off.

'I found you asleep on the floor in the hallway.' I lied again. 'Hodge helped me get you into bed.' More lies. 'Thought you'd be more comfortable in a guest room than in the infirmary.' At least that was the truth.

She shook her head, and the action reminded me so much of the girl from the dream that I felt sick again. 'Wow, I don't remember anything. What time is it anyway?'

I looked out the window. 'About five.'

'In the morning? You'd better have a good reason for waking me up.'

'Why, were you having a good dream?'

Her eyes glazed over slightly. 'I don't remember.'

'One of the Silent Brothers is here to see you. Hodge sent me to wake you up. Actually, he offered to wake you up himself,' Again, lies. 'but since it's five a.m., I figured you'd be less cranky if you had something nice to look at.'

'Meaning you?'

'What else?'

Her head dropped into her hands. 'Get out.' Her voice was muffled. 'Get out so I can change. '

I hadn't thought my joke was so bad it would offend her, but I left and found Church prowling the hall.

'What do you want?' I hissed after a minuet or so of watching him pace.

He meowed painfully, like he was scared. 'What's with the cat?' Clary asked as she came out.

'The Silent Brothers make him nervous.'

'Sounds like they make everyone nervous. 'She grumbled.

I smiled slightly, but didn't respond. The halls to the library were silent. Even Clary seemed to have quieted her footsteps. When we got to out destination, all the lights were off. Clary halted for a moment, waiting for her eyes to adjust, but I kept walking until I was sitting in my usual chair. Hodge was behind his desk, and the Brother, who must have thought it was clever to crouch in the shadows, was a few feet away.

I may be hiding from her, but at least I have nothing to hide from her. Jeremiah's voice slid into my head. So unlike you, Jonathan Christopher.

I clenched my hands in fury. Who did he think he was, coming into my head like that? Then come out the darkness, if you're not afraid. I thought as loud as I could.

Very well. And he came robe hid his entire form, from head to toe. The cowl was deep enough that the shadow it brought camouflaged his face. The Runes inked on the robe its self were the color of dried blood.

Still hiding in your hoods, I see. I snarled in my thought.

Perhaps you should get a hood, young Shadowhunter. The monk suggested. It would help keep some of your secrets in check.

Hodge glanced between the Brother and I, like he knew the conversation we had going. He have me a stern glance, and gestured with one of his hands. 'This is Brother Jeremiah of the Silent City.'