"Shut up!" Jace's control cracked and he turned on her, livid. Clary saw Luke glance towards them, startled by the noise, and in that moment of distraction Valentine drove under his guard and, with a single forward thrust, drove the blade of his sword into Luke's chest, just below the collarbone.

Luke's eyes flew open as if in astonishment rather than pain. Valentine jerked his hand back, and the blade slid back stained red to the hilt. With a sharp laugh Valentine struck again, this time knocking the weapon from Luke's hand. It hit the floor with a hollow clang and Valentine kicked it hard, sending it skittering under the table as Luke collapsed.

Valentine lifted the black sword over Luke's prone body, ready to deliver the killing stroke. Inlaid silvery stars gleamed along the blade's length and Clary thought, frozen in a moment of horror, how could anything deadly be so beautiful?

Jace, as if knowing what Clary was going to do before she did it, whirled on her. "Clary—"

The frozen moment passed. Clary twisted away from Jace, ducking under his reaching hands, and raced across the stone floor to Luke. He was on the floor supporting himself with one arm; Clary threw herself on him just as Valentine's sword drove downward.

She saw Valentine's eyes as the sword hurtled towards her; it seemed like eons, though it could only have been a split second. She saw that he could stop the blow if he wanted. Saw that he knew it might well strike her if he didn't. Saw that he was going to do it anyway.

She threw her hands up, squeezing her eyes shut --...

Suddenly there was a whoosh as the blade that Jace was holding went flying through the air between Clary's face and the sword. The blade hit the wall with a hard crash and fell to the floor with an echoing crash. Jace swore violently. The one time it was vital for his blade to fly straight and true, to knock away his father's incoming sword. He never missed a target in his life until now. Valentine grimaced as if he wanted Jace to hit his target he we knew he had waited too long to stop now and his new found daughter was in danger because of it.

"I shouldn't have bought you here, I should have come on my own then this wouldn't have happened." Luke whispered into Clary's ear, he knew that it was too late now there was nothing anyone else could do, not him, not Jace, not Valentine. He knew in his heart that this wouldn't have a good outcome. Selfishly he was glad that the blow would probably kill him too so he wouldn't have to mourn her.

Clary shook her head at him and almost laughed. "You know better than I do that I wouldn't have let you leave me behind, this is all my fault." She could hear Jace at the other side of the room, still swearing trying to think of a solution to the situation, an alternate ending.

The sword continued to plummet towards Clary and Luke as the moments passed like years. All the time mocking Jace for his failure, for letting her got to him, for missing when it counted most it was a failure he would never forgive himself for if he outlived the universe. After what seemed like an eternity of empty time the blade struck Clary square in the chest, Jace grimaced at the sight to be seen. Never in his life has anything make him this physically sick until now. He couldn't bear to look as Clary cried out in pain trying to reach the sword protruding from her chest. It was only when he chose to listen that he realised she was crying out his name. He ran to her instantly kneeling, crying in the puddle of her blood and the blood of the werewolf she risked her life to try and save. He could see now how extensive the damage was, the blade hit her at an angle, went straight through her and into Luke. Jace grabbed her hand and held it tightly.

"Look at me Clary," he begged her, "Please, fight for me, it will all be ok, just fight for me." He begged tears falling down his face. Valentine came and knelt on the other side of the Clary and started talking to her.

"GET AWAY FROM HER" Jace yelled shoving him. "You did this to her. Just leave us alone. You don't even know her you just think that you do when you don't." Anger erupted in him.

"She's my daughter; I have a right to be by her side." He spoke softly without a hint of sorrow or remorse.

"No you aren't, she was right, she was right all along. You didn't really care you just wanted to feed your ego by having people manipulated into loving you." He just couldn't understand why valentine didn't stop. He knew he could, but he didn't and it filled him with fury. "You're not my father, you're not her father. You're a murderer and a monster."

"Jonathan, try to understand. I love her, I never meant for this to happen." He tried but nothing he could have said did or offer would make Jace forgive or understand him. There in that moment Clary's life flashed before her eyes, the arguments, the love and the fighting. Jace tried his hardest to resuscitate her around the sword but it didn't work, even the iratze but nothing seemed to work as her heart slowed to a stop and her cold delicate hand went limp in his.

"Leave us alone. I will never even begin to understand anything about you other than the simple fact you are a monster and a murderer. What had she done to deserve this, what had any of the people you've hurt done to deserve the train wrecks and catastrophes you cause." Jace hissed at his rumored father rage boiling over inside him.

"You and I aren't so different Jonathan, one day you will see that and you will understand that." He spoke calmly, with no remorse in his voice. "You can deny it all you want but wait and see, when your world falls around you like mine has you will see the truth in my words."

"You're wrong, in case you haven't noticed my life is falling down around me, you have just killed my ex girlfriend and my new found sister in one go, Hodge betrayed me to you and there is nothing I can do about it and I still can't see how you could possibly think that you are in the right." His heart was pounding in his chest and tears running down his face. Valentine reached a hand down to him but he shoved it away. "Get away from me and don't come back. GO NOW before I decide to avenge my sister's death with your own sword." He snarled and Valentine stepped back in shock. He looked from the door, to which Luke's men were arriving oblivious to what had happened, then to the portal before taking the sword from where it stood in its victims and made a run for the portal and was gone. Jace hoped it was for good. If he ever saw his so called father again it would be too soon.

With a deep breath, whipping his tears from his face he stood up. He took hold of Luke and Clary, putting them over his shoulder. With one last look at the portal left to try and explain why Clary and Luke were dead.