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"I am," Jace said, "in the end, what you made me"

"Good," said Valentine "That’s what I wanted to hear" He leaned back against the railing, looking up at the night sky There was gray in his silvery white hair; Jace had never noticed it before "This is a war," Valentine said "The only question is, what side will you fight on?"

"I thought ere all on the saainst the demon worlds"

"If only it could be Don’t you understand that if I felt that the Clave had the best interests of this world at heart, if I thought they were doing the best job they possibly could--by the Angel, ould I fight theht, but he said nothing He was no longer sure what to say, oes on as they are," Valentine said, "the demons will see their weakness and attack, and the Clave, distracted by their endless courting of the degenerate races, will be in no condition to fight them off The demons will attack and they will destroy and there will be nothing left"

The degenerate races The words carried an uncomfortable familiarity; they recalled Jace’s childhood to hiht of his father and of Idris, it was always the sareen lawns in front of their country house, and of a big, dark, broad-shouldered figure leaning down to lift hirass and carry hi then, and he had never forgotten it, not the way the grass had sht and newly cut--or the way the sun had turned his father’s hair to a white halo, nor the feeling of being carried Of being safe

"Luke," Jace said, with soenerate--"

"Lucian is different He was a Shadowhunter once" Valentine’s tone was flat and final "This isn’t about specific Doorlders, Jonathan This is about the survival of every living creature in this world The Angel chose the Nephilim for a reason We are the best of this world, and we arethat exists in this world to gods--and we must use that power to save this world from destruction, whatever the cost to us"

Jace leaned his elbows on the railing It was cold here: The icy wind cut through his clothes, and the tips of his fingers were nureen hills and blue water and the honey-colored stones of the Wayland manor house

"In the old tale," he said, "Satan said to Adaods’ when he tearden because of it"

There was a pause before Valentine laughed He said, "See, that’s what I need you for, Jonathan You keep me from the sin of pride"

"There are all sorts of sins" Jace straightened up and turned to face his father "You didn’t answer my question about the de with theainst the Clave?"

"Of course I do," said Valentine, without hesitation, without a ht be wise to reveal his plans to so could have shaken Jace more than to realize how sure his father was of success "The Clave won’t yield to reason, only to force I tried to build an army of Forsaken; with the Cup, I could create an army of new Shadowhunters, but that will take years I don’t have years We, the human race, don’t have years With the Sword I can call to me an obedient army of demons They will serve me as tools, do whatever I demand They will have no choice And when I am done with them, I will command them to destroy themselves, and they will do it" His voice was e so hard that his fingers had begun to ache "You can’t slaughter every Shadowhunter who opposes you That’s murder"

"I won’t have to When the Clave sees the power arrayed against them, they’ll surrender They’re not suicidal And there are those aance in Valentine’s voice, only a calm certainty "They will step forhen the ti the Clave" Jace tried to make his voice steady "I don’t think you understand how hed against survival" Valentine’s hand went to his belt, where the hilt of the Sword gleamed dully "But don’t takeI wanted to show you Here it is"

He drew the Sword from its sheath and held it out to Jace Jace had seen Maellartach before in the Bone City, hanging on the wall in the pavilion of the Speaking Stars And he had seen the hilt of it protruding from Valentine’s shoulder sheath, but he’d never really exael’s Sword It was a dark, heavy silver, gliht seeh it, as if it were ht

Jace spoke through his dry mouth "Very nice"

"I want you to hold it" Valentine presented the Sword to his son, the way he’d always taught him, hilt first The Sword seeht

Jace hesitated "I don’t…"

"Take it" Valentine pressed it into his hand

The ht shot up the hilt of the Sword and down the core of it into the blade He looked quickly to his father, but Valentine was expressionless

A dark pain spread up Jace’s arh his chest It wasn’t that the Sas heavy; it wasn’t It was that it seeh the ship, through the green ocean water, through the fragile crust of the earth itself Jace felt as if the breath were being torn out of his lungs He flung his head up and looked around--

And saw that the night had changed A gli across the sky, and the stars shone down through it, bright as nail heads hammered into the darkness Jace saw the curve of the world as it slipped away from him, and for a ht sky seeh the shards canarled and faceless, howling out a soundless scream that seared the inside of his ed horses hurtled past, their hooves striking bloody sparks fros that rode theed creatures circled, screeching and dripping a veno, retching uncontrollably, the Sword still gripped in his hand Below him the water churned with demons like a poisonous stew He saw spiny creatures with bloody saucerlike eyes struggling as they were dragged under by boiling rip of a ten-legged water spider screa tail, its red eyes glittering like beads of blood

The Sword fell from Jace’s hand and clattered to the deck Abruptly the sound and spectacle were gone and the night was silent He hung tightly to the railing, staring down at the sea below in disbelief It was empty, its surface ruffled only by wind

"What was that?" Jace whispered His throat felt rough, as if it had been scraped with sandpaper He looked wildly at his father, who had bent to retrieve the Soul-Sword from the deck where Jace had dropped it "Are those the demons you’ve already called?"

"No" Valentine slid Maellartach into its sheath "Those are the dees of this world by the Sword I brought my ship to this place because the wards are thin here What you saw isfor rave "Do you still think the Clave won’t capitulate?"

Jace closed his eyes and said, "Not all of thehtwoods--"

"You could convince them If you stand with me, I swear no harm will coan to turn red He had been i the ashes of Valentine’s old house, the blackened bones of the grandparents he’d never met Now he saw other faces Alec’s Isabelle’s Max’s Clary’s

"I’ve done soelse "

"Of course I understand" And Jace realized, to his astonishment, that Valentine did understand, that somehow he sahat no one else seemed to be able to understand "You think it is your fault, all the harm that has befallen your friends, your faht It is" At that, Jace looked up in absolute astonishreed with battled with horror and relief in equal measures

"Is it?"

"The harm is not deliberate, of course But you are likewe love There is a reason for that"

"What reason?"

Valentine glanced up at the sky "We are her purpose, you and I The distractions of the world are just that, distractions If we allow ourselves to be turned aside from our course by them, we are duly punished"

"And our punishment is visited on everyone we care about? That seems a little hard on theht in a current ainst it and you’ll drown not just yourself but those who try to save you Sith it, and you’ll survive"