Isabelle was twisting her dark hair up into a knot, something she did when she felt tense. “No, it isn’t. I mean, I could ask you why you texted me to come to the church and meet you, and not Jace, but I haven’t. I’m not stupid. I know something’s wrong between you two, passionate alley make-out sessions notwithstanding.” She looked keenly at Clary. “Have the two of you slept together yet?”
Clary felt the blood rush into her face. “What—I mean, no, we haven’t, but I don’t see what that has to do with anything.”
“It doesn’t,” said Isabelle, patting her knotted hair into place. “That was just prurient curiosity. What’s holding you back?”
“Isabelle—” Clary pulled up her legs, wrapped her arms around her knees, and sighed. “Nothing. We were just taking our time. I’ve never—you know.”
“Jace has,” said Isabelle. “I mean, I assume he has. I don’t know for sure. But if you ever need anything…” She let the sentence hang in the air.
“Need anything?”
“Protection. You know. So you can be careful,” Isabelle said. She sounded as practical as if she were talking about extra buttons. “You’d think the Angel would have been foresighted enough to give us a birth-control rune, but no dice.”
“Of course I’d be careful,” Clary spluttered, feeling her cheeks turn red. “Enough. This is awkward.”
“This is girl talk,” said Isabelle. “You just think it’s awkward because you’ve spent your whole life with Simon as your only friend. And you can’t talk to him about Jace. That would be awkward.”
“And Jace really hasn’t said anything to you? About what’s bothering him?” Clary said, in a small voice. “You promise?”
“He didn’t have to,” Isabelle said. “The way you’ve been acting, and with Jace going around looking like someone just died, it’s not like I wouldn’t notice something was wrong. You should have come to talk to me sooner.”
“Is he at least all right?” Clary asked very quietly.
Isabelle stood up from the bed and looked down at her. “No,” she said. “He is very much not all right. Are you?”
Clary shook her head.
“I didn’t think so,” Isabelle said.
To Simon’s surprise, Camille, upon seeing the Shadowhunters, didn’t even try to stand her ground. She screamed and ran for the door, only to freeze when she realized that it was daylight outside, and that exiting the bank would quickly incinerate her. She gasped and cowered back against a wall, her fangs bared, a low hiss coming from her throat.
Simon stepped back as the Shadowhunters of the Conclave swarmed around him, all in black like a murder of crows; he saw Jace, his face pale and set like white marble, slide a broadsword blade through one of the human servants as he passed him, as casually as a pedestrian might swat a fly. Maryse stalked ahead, her flying black hair reminding Simon of Isabelle. She dispatched the second cowering minion with a whipsaw movement of her seraph blade, and advanced on Camille, her shining blade outstretched. Jace was beside her, and another Shadowhunter—a tall man with black runes twining his forearms like vines—was on her other side.
The rest of the Shadowhunters had spread out and were canvassing the bank, sweeping it with those odd things they used—Sensors—checking every corner for demon activity. They ignored the bodies of Camille’s human servants, lying motionless in their pools of drying blood. They ignored Simon as well. He might as well have been another pillar, for all the attention they paid him.
“Camille Belcourt,” said Maryse, her voice echoing off the marble walls. “You have broken the Law and are subject to the Law’s punishments. Will you surrender and come with us, or will you fight?”
Camille was crying, making no attempt to cover her tears, which were tinged with blood. They streaked her white face with red lines as she choked, “Walker—and my Archer—”
Maryse looked baffled. She turned to the man on her left. “What is she saying, Kadir?”
“Her human servants,” he replied. “I believe she is mourning their deaths.”
Maryse flipped her hand dismissively. “It is against the Law to make servants of human beings.”
“I made them before Downworlders were subject to your accursed laws, you bitch. They have been with me two hundred years. They were like children to me.”
Maryse’s hand tightened on the hilt of her blade. “What would you know of children?” she whispered. “What does your kind know of anything but destroying?”
Camille’s tear-streaked face flashed for a moment with triumph. “I knew it,” she said. “Whatever else you might say, whatever lies you tell, you hate our kind. Don’t you?”
Maryse’s face tightened. “Take her,” she said. “Bring her to the Sanctuary.”
Jace moved swiftly to one side of Camille and took hold of her; Kadir seized her other arm. Together, they pinioned her between them.
City of Fallen Angels
CASSANDRA CLARE's books
- City of Ruins
- Invincible (A Centennial City Novel)
- City of Fae
- City of Lost Souls
- City of Heavenly Fire
- CITY OF GLASS
- CITY OF BONES
- CITY OF ASHES
- City of Lost Souls
- Velocity
- Ascendancy of the Last
- Blood of Aenarion
- Broods Of Fenrir
- Burden of the Soul
- Caradoc of the North Wind
- Cause of Death: Unnatural
- Dark of the Moon
- Demons of Bourbon Street
- Edge of Dawn
- Eye of the Oracle
- Freak of Nature
- Heart of the Demon
- Lady of Devices
- Lance of Earth and Sky
- Last of the Wilds
- Legacy of Blood
- Legend of Witchtrot Road
- Lord of the Wolfyn
- Of Gods and Elves
- Of Wings and Wolves
- Prince of Spies
- Professor Gargoyle
- Promise of Blood
- Secrets of the Fire Sea
- Shadows of the Redwood
- Sin of Fury
- Sins of the Father
- Smugglers of Gor
- Sword of Caledor
- Sword of Darkness
- Talisman of El
- Threads of Desire (Spellcraft)
- Tricks of the Trade
- Visions of Magic
- Visions of Skyfire
- Well of the Damned
- Wings of Tavea
- Wings of the Wicked
- A Bridge of Years
- Chronicles of Raan
- Dawn of Swords(The Breaking World)
- A Draw of Kings
- Hunt the Darkness (Guardians of Eternity)
- Lord of the Hunt
- Master of War
- Mistfall(Book One of the Mistfall Series)
- The Gates of Byzantium
- The House of Yeel
- The Oath of the Vayuputras: Shiva Trilogy 3
- The Republic of Thieves #1
- The Republic of Thieves #2
- Edge of Dawn
- A Quest of Heroes
- Mistress of the Empire
- Servant of the Empire
- Gates of Rapture
- Reaper (End of Days)
- This Side of the Grave
- Magician's Gambit (Book Three of The Belgariad)
- Skin Game: A Novel of the Dresden Files
- Murder of Crows
- The Queen of the Tearling
- A Tale of Two Castles
- Mark of the Demon
- Sins of the Demon
- Blood of the Demon
- The Other Side of Midnight
- Vengeance of the Demon: Demon Novels, Book Seven (Kara Gillian 7)
- Cold Burn of Magic
- Of Noble Family
- Wrath of a Mad God ( The Darkwar, Book 3)
- King of Foxes
- Daughter of the Empire
- Mistress of the Empire
- Krondor : Tear of the Gods (Riftwar Legacy Book 3)
- Shards of a Broken Crown (Serpentwar Book 4)
- Rise of a Merchant Prince
- End of Days (Penryn and the End of Day #3)
- Servant of the Empire
- Talon of the Silver Hawk
- Shadow of a Dark Queen
- The Cost of All Things
- The Wicked (A Novella of the Elder Races)
- Night's Honor (A Novel of the Elder Races Book 7)
- Born of Silence
- Born of Shadows
- Sins of the Night
- Kiss of the Night (Dark Hunter Series – Book 7)
- Born Of The Night (The League Series Book 1)