Chapter 9: The Circle and the Brotherhood
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Summary:
Clary wants to comfort Jace after his acknowledging the two men as his father's killers but it's clear he doesn't want her comfort. They leave through the back entrance and head toward the subway to Simon's disappointment; he thought 'demon slayers' would have a much cooler way of traveling. Simon rambles on and Clary, noticing the 'scary-calm' look on Jace's face, tells Simon to be quiet. She continues to watch Jace thinking that in a way it was good that the men who took her mother were the same men that killed his father: for now he'll have to help her.They arrive at the Institute and Simon makes a comment about it being a church to which Jace replies that they "find it useful to inhabit hallowed ground." Simon calls it a dump, not realizing that there is glamour covering it to purposefully deter the humans from finding it. Clary slips the glamour away by relaxing her mind, while Simon continues to ramble. She elbows him in the side, apologizing to Jace for his lack of a filter. After exiting the elevator, Jace asks Church (the cat) where Alec and Hodge are and they follow him. Clary and Simon have a short conversation about the Institute and Simon tells her that he doesn't trust Jace and the place doesn't feel right to him. Clary says that he doesn't have to stay there with her but he just says "Yes. I do." At this point, they've reached the kitchen where they find Isabelle standing next to the stove making soup. She drops a fish in the floor for Church who instantly attacks it. Jace calls the cat 'backstabbing Judas'. She turns to them and is instantly irritated that Jace has brought yet another mundie into the Institute, but Jace ignores her, saying that he saw the men who killed his father. Clary looks at Simon after Isabelle's "I don't suppose he's one of them?" statement, but Simon just stares at Isabelle with a dreamy look on his face which irritates Clary. Jace walks over to the fridge to find a snack, claiming he isn't eating whatever is in the pot because Isabelle can't cook. Clary follows him to the refrigerator and asks him if he's going to tell Hodge what they saw and notices that he's far too calm for the emotions he should be feeling right now. She wonders if he ever lets people see his true self. Jace tells Isabelle to keep quiet about the men for now because he hasn't decided if he wants to tell Hodge. Simon stays in the kitchen with Isabelle while Jace and Clary follow Church to the greenhouse. During their conversation, Jace lets it slip that Alec has never killed a demon. They find Hodge sitting on a bench with his bird perched on his shoulder. Jace immediately launches into the events that transpired and mentions that Luke's real name is Lucian Graymark and that the two men with him were called Pangborn and Blackwell. Hodge paled, says "It is as I feared. The Circle is rising again . . . Come with me. I have something to show you."
They follow Hodge to the library where he grabs a large book and recites the loyalty oath of the Circle of Raziel. He explains the Circle and their intentions, mentioning that he was part of it as was Clary's mother. Clary refused to believe it, but then Hodge gave her a piece of information she wasn't expecting: her mother was Valentine's wife.
Quotes:
"I don't like cats," Simon said, his shoulder bumping Clary's as they maneuvered the narrow hallway."It's unlikely," Jace said, "knowing Church, that he likes you, either."
Thoughts:
HUGE revelation in this chapter!! Clary's mother was Valentine's wife?? Say what? Yep, it's true. Pretty crazy right? I remember reading that for the first time, thinking "holy crap, this book keeps getting crazier and crazier! Surely it can't get any crazier than this?" but then it does...
It's official: we are now on to Part 2! And just as a little warning, this next chapter is really long. Like 38 pages long so make sure you have plenty of time to read it because when you do start it, you won't want to stop. ;)
Chapter 10: City of Bones
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Summary:
Clary and Jace sit in stunned silence before Clary exclaims that it's impossible that her mother would be involved with such a man but then she realizes that she never really knew her mother so who knows what she would have done. Hodge explains that Jocelyn left the Circle, as did Lucian who was very close to Valentine at the time, and Michael Wayland. He then mentions those that stayed loyal: Pangborn, Blackwell and the Lightwoods, to which Jace's shock is evident. Hodge explains that he and the Lightwoods were punished for not leaving the Circle before the Uprising. The Lightwoods can return to Idris on official business only and Hodge is cursed to remain within the Institute. Clary asks Hodge why he didn't tell her all of this before and he replies that he had convinced himself that it was not the Jocelyn he knew and he was afraid of Valentine's return, seeking the Mortal Cup to build an army. Isabelle walks in and announces that she ordered Chinese food and threw out the soup. They all follow her back to the kitchen.While sitting down to each, Clary notices Simon still staring at Isabelle in awe. Isabelle finds it romantic that Clary's mom was married to Valentine and now he's back for her. Alec reminds her that he sent a Ravener demon to her home and that he doubts it's to 'get back together'. They talk about how Valentine would use the Mortal Cup, doing so in a manner which would sacrifice human children, and that when Valentine vanished it was assumed that he burned himself with his land, home and the Cup; his and his wife's bones were found among the ashes, but now it seems that neither had died. Jace demands that they find Clary's mom to get the Cup before Valentine does, but Hodge is entirely against it; they much leave it to the skilled Shadowhunters-Jace is still a child. Jace sits sulking through slitted eyes. Clary is on Jace's side however. She wants to find her mother, and now. They all remind her that her mother is unconscious and that Valentine isn't happy about it. He hasn't done anything it seems because he's waiting for her to wake up. Jace then suggests that they use the Silent Brothers to remove the block on Clary's mind in order to get an idea as to where Jocelyn is. Hodge explains them that the Silent Brothers are archivists and use the most powerful runes in existence to strengthen their minds, often leaving their skin mutilated in the process. Clary is reluctant to allow them access to her mind, but Jace presses on. Simon grows angry and tells him to leave her alone. At this, Alec, Jace, and Isabelle conclude that Simon has worn out his welcome. He looks to Clary for support but she just shakes her head and says she's tired. She gets up to leave, watching Isabelle and Simon walk down the hallway away from her.
Clary has a dream--one in which she is in a room of gold and white and wearing a green dress. She's dancing with Simon, who has more grace than he ought to. He's wearing all black, like a Shadowhunter and it strikes Clary just how handsome he is. She notices a mermaid centerpiece which turns its head toward her and smiles like a vampire. Someone says "Welcome to the Glass City". It isn't Simon. He has disappeared and been replaced by Jace who is wearing all white. She asks where Simon is and then notices that Isabelle and Alec are wearing royal blue and standing next to the champagne fountain holding hands. Jace replies "This is a place for the living." She asks him what he means but all he does is lean in close to her, whispering "Wake up, Clary."
Clary wakes up to someone gripping her wrists--Jace is holding them down because she tred to hit him in her sleep. It's five in the morning but there is a Silent Brother named Jeremiah there to see her. After getting changed, she and Jace head to the library. They walk in and Hodge introduces Clary to Brother Jeremiah, who moved with eerie quietness and doesn't speak until after Hodge explains that it ss Clary's choice as to whether or not the Silent Brothers help retrieve her memories. And when he does speak it is inside her head. He removes his hood revealing a bald head, dark indentations where his eyes should be, and lips that are crisscrossed with something like stitches. She says she wants the help and Brother Jeremiah's hands reach up to touch her face. She could feel the pull from her mind but something there was unyielding and didn't want to give up her memories. She hears Jace say "that's enough" and opening her eyes she realizes that her nails had dug into her hands. Brother Jeremiah tells them that he cannot reach her memories because there is a block on her mind; someone has placed it there with a spell and in order to remove it she must go to the Bone City where the Brotherhood is located. Clary hesitates a moment and then says she'll go. Jace agrees to go with her.
They leave for the Bone City in a black carriage led by Brother Jeremiah. Clary and Jace converse on the way and Clary asks Jace why he didn't tell Hodge that those men killed his father. Jace said that if he had, Hodge would know that he wanted to kill Valentine and he would never let him try. He tells Clary how his father died and how there are more demons coming into our world than ever before and the Shadowhunters numbers are dwindling. If they had the Mortal Cup they could make more but no one has seen it in years. The carriage rolls under an arch that reads NEW YORK CITY MARBLE CEMETERY and comes to a stop. They follow Brother Jeremiah until they come to a statue of an angel with the words NEPHILIM: FACILIS DESCENSUS AVERNI. He carves a rune into its base and a hole opens up to reveal set of stairs leading downward. He waits for Clary and Jace to go first before following them down and leading them through the tunnel.
They reach another set of stairs and descend them into another tunnel that leads to a pavilion in which the Council is residing. Clary steps in to the center of the room in front of the table of Brothers and they each remove their hoods to reveal their scarred faces. They instantly begin searching her mind to remove the block and a few images come to her mind quickly. They stop at the name MAGNUS BANE. She feels a sharp pain in her arm as the images recede and she finds that she is lying on the floor. Brother Jeremiah speaks to her by saying that the block can only be safely removed by the one who put it there. The Brothers all leave except for Brother Jeremiah who leads them out of the Silent City after Jace has healed her injured arm with a rune. Jace then tells Clary he'd rather hail a cab than ride back to the Institute in the Silent Brothers carriage.
Quotes:
"I use my rapier wit to hide my inner pain.""Is this when you start tearing strips off your T-shirt to bind up my wound?" she joked. She hated the sight of blood, especially her own.
"If you wanted me to rip my clothes off, you should have just asked."
Thoughts:
The Silent City and Silent Brothers are probably one of the things I'm looking forward to seeing the most. I'm curious to see if my image of them is the same as what they've come up with for the movie. I also like this chapter a lot because Clary spends a lot of time with Jace and they have a pretty deep conversation while on the way to the Bone City about Jace's father and his death. To me that shows how trusting he is of Clary because I doubt he tells many people about that day.
Do you have any thoughts to add/share about this chapter? Maybe a favorite quote?
Feel free to leave a comment!
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-Kelly