Chapter 9

Sebastian dragged Jace down a winding corridor, not bothering to blindfold him this time. Jace figured it was because the hallway was pitch-black—he couldn't fathom how Sebastian managed to find his way through the darkness. Finally, they made it to a windowless study with walls made of stone. The door slammed behind them and Sebastian took a seat behind a large wooden desk. Jace stood awkwardly for a few moments before settling into an uncomfortable wooden chair near the fireplace.

Sebastian looked at Jace levelly. "You're probably wondering why I brought you here."

Jace tried to match Sebastian's even tone of voice. "That may have crossed my mind."

"I just wanted to have a little talk with you." Sebastian put his elbows on the desk. "Listen closely: I will only give you one more chance to join me before I—"

"Before you what?" Jace cut him off. "Before you ambush my family? Kidnap someone's sister and me? Oh wait, you've already done that."

"Look." Sebastian's voice was steadily rising. "I wouldn't have had to do this if you hadn't betrayed me—"

"Betrayed you?" Jace was incredulous. "I never betrayed you, because I was never on your side. Betrayal implies initial loyalty, and you controlled me with that ugly parabatai rune."

"Regardless," Sebastian continued. "I believe it would be in your best interest if you joined me."

"And why is that?"

"Do you know why I brought Rebecca here in the first place?"

"To use her as bait to get us to join you."

"No." A look of annoyance flashed across Sebastian's face. "I need to raise an army, Jace. And with the infernal cup, I can do that."

It took Jace a moment to realize what Sebastian meant. "No! That's impossible. She'll die, or go insane."

"That could happen. But she could also become something useful."

"No, you don't understand! You can't turn a mundane into a dark Shadow-hunter using the infernal cup. It just won't work."

"How do you know?" Sebastian sounded amused. "Has anyone ever tried it?'

"Not that I know of but—"

"Then I think it's worth a try." Sebastian said with a smile.

Jace stared at the other boy, assuming his perfect blank mask. All he knew was that he needed to find a way to contact his friends. But how would he do that if he didn't even know where he was? He guessed that he was underground, due to the lack of windows, but he knew that even if he managed to contact Clary or anyone else, he wouldn't be any use to them.

A feeling of uselessness was rare for Jace. All of his life, people had looked up to him, and he knew that someday, he would turn out to be the best Shadow-hunter alive. But at the moment, all he could do was listen to Sebastian's plans of destroying the world.

"Your cuts are looking pretty bad." said Sebastian. "You need to clean those up."

Jace examined his wounds. They were festering, worse than any injury he'd left unattended. Although he'd been trying to hide it, Jace had been steadily growing weaker ever since Sebastian had brought him to this strange palace. These were not ordinary wounds. Jace tried not to let his panic creep on to his face as he looked back up at Sebastian.

"Remember that blade I cut you with?" Sebastian looked smug.

"Yes."

"It was laced with the Lilith's blood." Sebastian took the knife out of his pocket, playing with it as he explained. "Any other shadow-hunter would have died by now. You're body, with its extra amount of angel blood in it along with the heavenly fire, is warring with it. And I am the only one who can help you."

Jace considered that for a moment. What if the demon toxins eventually took over his body, and he was gone before he could defeat Sebastian? Then again, maybe his extra powers would overpower them, and he didn't need to join Sebastian to be cured. He almost told his captor that he'd never team up with him again, but then he thought about Alec's words from the day before. What we need to do is infiltrate from the inside. We need to either convince him we're on his side, or let him take one of us a prisoner.

He knew one thing: forming a fake alliance with Sebastian would be much better than rotting away in a small room. Maybe he could find a way to talk Sebastian out of using the cup on Rebecca.

Jace decided to play along. "If I do this, will you promise to help me?"

"I promise." said Sebastian.

Jace noted that Sebastian hadn't sworn by the angel. He didn't know if it was because Sebastian didn't actually plan to help him, or if he couldn't because he was tainted with demon blood. Either way, Jace disregarded Sebastian's promise.

"No demonic parabatai bond this time?" Jace asked.

"No demonic parabatai bond this time." The other boy agreed.

Sebastian held out his hand. Jace fought the urge to back away and grimaced as he shook Sebastian's.

Sebastian grinned. "I think we have a deal. Let's fix you up."


Alec sat alone in his room, thinking about his life. He knew it was pathetic to sulk like this, and Clary was probably right about him acting immature. But despite his eighteen years of age, all he wanted to do was act like a kid. Things had much better when he'd known nothing of Valentine's plans, when Max had still been in his life and he'd been training with Jace by his side, when nobody had known he was different.

A couple of minutes ago—maybe it had been a half hour, he hadn't kept track of time—he'd heard raised voices in the library and someone stomping up the stairs. Maybe he should have been at the meeting, but at the moment, he didn't care.

Alec decided to stop sulking, finally. He realized that out of the whole group, he was probably the cleverest, and sitting alone and licking his wounds wouldn't help anything.

As he crossed the room to the door, he heard the crinkling of paper beneath his feet. He looked down, and picked up a folded card with one word on the cover:

Invitation

Curious, Alec opened it, and read what was inside.

Party at Magnus Bane's Apartment

Anyone Invited Knows My Address

12:00 Midnight

Tonight

Bring lots of Booze!

Alec smiled to himself. He'd been to more parties than anyone knew, thanks to his relationship with Magnus. All of them had been crazy, unforgettable, but not as memorable as his first one, the one where he'd first seen Magnus Bane.

He couldn't think of a time when Magnus could have slid it under his door. He hadn't been inside the institute since breakfast. Still, Magnus wouldn't invite Alec to a party—especially after he'd just broken up with him—unless it was important. Alec folded the paper in his pocket and strode quickly down the hallway. He couldn't wait to tell Isabelle about this.


Isabelle heard a knock on her door. Clary was lying down on her bed, but she hadn't said a word since she'd arrived. All she'd been doing was scribbling fervently in her sketchbook, in her own little world. Isabelle wished she had another world to escape to. But she couldn't draw like Clary or play music like Jace, and she had no imagination. The only world she had was the real one.

For the first time, Clary looked up from her drawing at the sound. Isabelle already knew who it was. Alec's knock was tentative, as if he was slightly afraid of interrupting something important.

Isabelle opened the door. "Finally risen from the dead?" She wasn't really mad at him, but she could always pretend.

Alec pushed past her as if in a hurry. "I have something to show you guys."

He read the invitation out loud.

"Congratulations, you were invited to a party." Isabelle said snidely. "Why is this important?"

"It's not that I got invited, Izzy." said Alec. "Why would he invite us to a party if it wasn't important? Maybe he has an idea."

"Even if that's true it doesn't matter anyway." said Clary. She'd sat up and was looking at Alec sadly. "We're not allowed to go anywhere without an experienced adult with us. And you don't count."

"That's what you missed at the meeting," said Isabelle. "Along with the fact that downworlders are no longer allowed in the institute."

For a moment, Alec looked taken aback. But then he assumed his look of calm superiority, and said. "Then it's simple. We'll have to sneak out."