My name is Carly Fray, and I'm a shadowhunter. I have an older sister, only by a year, named Clary (my mom is very creative with the names), and a friend named Simon, whose more Clary's friend than mine.
Since I was a kid, Clary always got more attention. My mom and Luke didn't just abandon me, but they could've done more. They'd go to Clary's art fairs, concerts, and events while they would forget about mine. They watched over me like a hawk while they let Clary do whatever she wanted. If I hadn't gone to Pandemonium that night, I would've been left out of becoming a shadowhunter as well.
Now that I know I'm a shadowhunter, I get to be something more than mundane. The only problem is Clary is also a shadowhunter. She has people who care about her, while I … don't. It's not like Alec, Magnus, Simon, Isabelle, and Jace ignore me, but they treat me differently. They treat me like a child, even though I am only a year younger than all of them, well, except Magnus.
I'm the younger sister no one pays attention to. I had my memories erased by my mother, and I was lied to for 17 years, just like Clary. Not to mention my father, Valentine, is out there planning to make more shadowhunters with the Mortal Cup and god knows what else. I've gone through just as much turmoil as Clary, but no one bats an eye for me.
This is the story of how my life changed forever. How I found out my life was more of a lie than I ever thought possible, and it all started the day I met my father.
We were in Camille's library looking for the Book of The White. As I searched, I found a door that led to a small room. I scoured the shelves for something useful as I heard the sound of something hitting the floor, footsteps following. I looked through the peephole to find Alec, Isabelle, Simon, and Clary with blades to their throats; Jace nowhere to be found, and Camille long gone.
At the front of the room, there was a portal that my father, Valentine, stepped out of. I decided I had to do something because even though Clary got on my nerves, she was my sister. Plus, I actually liked Alec, Isabelle, and Simon, which for me, was rare. Getting close to people was hard when you were so used to being alone.
I looked around the small room, hoping to find a weapon of some kind. Sadly, I was surrounded by books and books alone. I searched through my pocket for my shadowblade, remembering I left it on the table where Valentine now stood.
"Great…" I muttered to myself.
I considered throwing books at the circle members, but books vs swords was not a fight I was willing to try. As I continued to search, the door flung open, one of Valentine's goons standing in the doorway.
"Look what we have here, a scrawny little shadowhunter." he smiled, his face full of acne and teeth so yellow they barely looked like teeth anymore.
"I may be scrawny, but you should be glad you have those bumps on your face, it takes the attention away from that fucked up popcorn in your mouth that you call teeth," I retorted.
His face turned red with anger as he forcefully grabbed my arm. I knew he wanted to hit me, but if he did, Valentine may kill him. So instead, he held my arms behind my back and dragged me to the front of the room beside Valentine.
When the others saw I was captured, they were nervous for my safety, which was a small surprise to me. I knew they cared, but I didn't know how much. I was always surprised when people actually cared.
Valentine turned toward me with a grin. "It's nice to finally meet you, Carly. You have your mother's smile, and you have my eyes."
"Have your goon let go of me, and we can see how much I'm really like you," I snapped, struggling to break free.
Valentine laughed aloud as Jace appeared at the entrance of the room. "Let her go, Valentine."
"Ah, all my children in one place. Just like a cozy little family," Valentine said with a grin.
Clary struggled against the goon holding her back. "I'm not your child, even if you're my father. Let us go, or I'll kill you where you stand!"
"Clary, I'd try not to piss off the guy who has knives to our throats," Simon suggested.
"I'd listen to your vampire friend, he knows what he's talking about," The goon holding onto me said as he tightened his grip on my arms.
"Take me instead. You said you wanted me, so take me. But if I go with you, none of my friends get hurt," Jace surrendered, dropping his blade to the floor.
"What are you doing?" Alec whispered.
"Saving the day." Jace replied.
Valentine thought about it for a moment before silently agreeing to Jace's deal. He snapped his fingers as a goon grabbed Jace and held him in place. Meanwhile, the rest of Valentine's men let go of everyone, except me.
Jace noticed this and complained. "I said all my friends. If I go with you, you leave them all alone."
"I have spies everywhere, and they reported back to me how you all treat her. She is treated like an outsider. She's stuck at the institute while you go on missions. The only one who treats her like an equal is that vampire vermin," Valentine said, pointing to Simon. "I'm going to make her important, treat her like the shadowhunter she is."
I was dragged toward the portal, my shoes scraping against the marble floor as I tried to push back. Clary ran forward as Alec and Simon held her back. She tried to struggle out of their grasp, but she couldn't break free.
She met Valentine's gaze with pleading. "Let them go, please..."
"Sorry, Clarissa, I just can't do that."
Valentine snapped his fingers as the two guards holding Jace and I approached the portal. Jace looked toward Clary as I looked toward Simon. Then without warning, we were yanked through the portal.
"No!" Clary screamed, bursting into tears.
"Until next time."
Valentine jumped through the portal, and within a blink of an eye, it vanished. Clary, Simon, Isabelle, and Alec were left in the library in silence. Clary pulled herself from Alec and Simon, turning to look at them with tear-filled eyes.
"Why didn't you guys fight for them? All you did was stand there and hold me back," Clary asked, full-on sobbing.
"We didn't do anything because Valentine had more men and weapons. If we tried to fight, we'd be defeated," Isabelle interjected.
"We can go back to the Institute and start a search party. If Valentine has them, the Institute will stop at nothing to get them back," Alec said.
Isabelle and Alec left the library. Clary stayed back as Simon put his hands on her shoulders, "We'll find them. Besides, Valentine might just give them back after he gets to know Carly and Jace."
"Not helping Simon," Clary muttered.
"We'll find them. Jace and Carly are strong. Bad guys like Valentine believe having a family is weak. But love makes us stronger," Simon reassured her with a smile. "We'll get them back."
"I hope you're right," Clary said as Simon followed her out of the room.
I remembered looking at Simon as everything went dark. The next thing I knew, I was lying on a cement floor. I opened my eyes to find cages of downworlders around me. Werewolves, vampires, even some fairy folk. I found Jace a few feet from me; unconscious.
I crawled over to him as the creatures' screeching grew louder. I tried to shake him awake, but there was no response. I put my ear over his mouth and felt his breath against my skin, relief flowing through me. Once I knew he was alive, I got on my feet, about to search for an exit, when Valentine came around the corner.
"I thought you'd never wake up," Valentine whined
"Is he gonna be okay?" I asked, ignoring his comment and pointing toward Jace.
"He'll be fine. If you go through a portal forcefully, it can knock you unconscious, but it will fade. He'll be awake in a few hours," Valentine explained.
"What are you doing to these downworlders? Kidnapping them, trapping them, killing them? They're just trying to live their lives and be human. What are you doing?" I asked.
"Are they being human? These vermin murder us all the time without even batting an eye, do you call that living their lives? They are monsters, and I plan to eradicate the threat," Valentine said with poison on his tongue.
"It's not possible," I insisted.
Valentine began circling me. "But it is. With you and Jace by my side, it'll be even easier."
"I'll never stand by your side. I have friends in the downworld and I'd never hurt them. Never," I spat.
"That's because you're weak. You care too much for the downworlders, the monsters. But I can change that," he said with a smirk. "If you go back to the Institute and they find out what's inside you, they'll reject you. They'll be calling you the monster. If you stand by my side, you'll never have to feel inferior again. "
"What the hell are you talking about?" I asked with confusion.
"Have you ever noticed you like to beat things to a pulp when you get angry? Murderous urges you hide deep inside? Moments where you want to be the bad guy?" Valentine asked, stepping in front of me.
"What are you talking about?"
He smiled. "Why do you think your mother kept you indoors? Why she watched over you more than she watched over Clary? She didn't just run away with the mortal cup because I was evil. She ran because she didn't want me experimenting on you and Jonathan anymore. Demon blood is a powerful weapon."
"You injected us with demon blood?" I asked as my legs turned to jello, causing me to fall onto my knees.
"I wanted to make you both super soldiers. I didn't inject Clary because I knew she would never be the warrior I needed, but you and Jonathan were different. I could see your potential, and I couldn't squander it. I trained Jace in disguise, but never got the chance with you. Now that I have you back, you and Jace can fight by my side," Valentine explained.
"How come Jace and I don't have black eyes or any demonic powers?" I asked as I began to feel drowsy.
"That's because your mother got Magnus Bane to lock it away. Like putting the evil in a small locked chest. Once the key unlocks it, the darkness will seep in. The strength, the eyes, the power," Valentine replied.
"You're a monster," I said as my eyelids grew heavy.
"I might be," Valentine said, crouching down with an empty syringe in his hand, "But at least I'm fighting for what I believe is right."
I tried to speak, but my mouth wouldn't move to form the words. My eyes closed as I felt my head hit the cold, damp cement.
