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"Reach into the pocket of your jacket," she said "Take out the object you’ve been carrying with you since you last left the Institute"

Slowly, Jace did as she asked As he drew his hand out of his pocket, Clary recognized the shiray object he held The piece of the Portal mirror

"Give it to me" The Inquisitor snatched it out of his hand He winced; the edge of the glass had cut hi his palm Maryse made a soft noise, but didn’t move "I knew you’d return to the Institute for this," said the Inquisitor, positively gloating now "I knew your sentimentality wouldn’t allow you to leave it behind"

"What is it?" Robert Lightwood sounded bewildered

"A bit of a Portal in mirror form," said the Inquisitor "When the Portal was destroyed, the ie of its last destination was preserved" She turned the bit of glass over in her long, spidery fingers "In this case, the Wayland country house"

Jace’s eyes followed the movement of the mirror In the bit of it Clary could see, there seemed to be a trapped piece of blue sky She wondered if it ever rained in Idris

With a sudden, violent motion at odds with her calround It shattered instantly into powdery shards Clary heard Jace suck his breath in, but he didn’t loves and knelt aers until she found what she was looking for--a single sheet of thin paper She stood, holding it up for everyone in the room to see the thick rune written on it in black ink "Irune and slipped it between the bit ofThen I replaced it in the boy’s roo it," she said to Jace "Older heads and wiser than yours have been fooled by the Clave"

"You’ve been spying on er "Is that what the Clave does, invade the privacy of its fellow Shadowhunters to--"

"Be careful what you say to me You are not the only one who’s broken the Law" The Inquisitor’s chilly gaze slid around the roo you from the warlock’s control, your friends have done the same"

"Jace isn’t our friend," said Isabelle "He’s our brother"

"I’d be careful what you say, Isabelle Lightwood," said the Inquisitor "You could be considered coet your Marks stripped"

"Cohtho had spoken "The girl was just trying to keep you froen, these are all just children--"

"Children?" The Inquisitor turned her icicle gaze on Robert "Just as you were children when the Circle plotted the destruction of the Clave? Just as ht herself with a sort of gasp, as if gaining control of herself by main force

"So this is about Stephen after all," said Luke, with a sort of pity in his voice "Ien--"

The Inquisitor’s face contorted "This is not about Stephen! This is about the Law!"

Maryse’s thin fingers twisted as her hands worked at each other "And Jace," she said "What’s going to happen to him?"

"He will return to Idris with ht to know any more than that"

"How can you take him back to that place?" Clary demanded "When will he come back?"

"Clary, don’t," Jace said The words were a plea, but she battled on

"Jace isn’t the problem here! Valentine is the problem!"

"Leave it alone, Clary!" Jace yelled "For your own good, leave it alone!"

Clary couldn’t help herself, she flinched away from him--he’d never shouted at her like that, not even when she’d dragged him to their istered her flinch and wished she could take it back so else, Luke’s hand descended onto her shoulder He spoke, sounding as grave as he had the night he’d told her the story of his life "If the boy went to his father," he said, "knowing the kind of father Valentine was, it is because we failed him, not because he has failed us"

"Save your sophistry, Lucian," said the Inquisitor "You’ve gone as soft as aon the edge of the sofa, his arms crossed and his jaw set "Jace lied to us There’s no excuse for that"

Jace’s jaw dropped He’d been sure of Alec’s loyalty, at least, and Clary didn’t bla at her brother in horror "Alec, how can you say that?"

"The Law is the Law, Izzy," said Alec, not looking at his sister "There’s no way around that"

At that, Isabelle gave a little gasping cry of rage and astonish open behind her Maryse made a move as if to follow her, but Robert drew his wife back, saying soot to his feet "I do believe that’s my cue to leave as well," he said Clary noticed he was avoiding looking at Alec "I’d say it’s been niceyou all, but, in fact, it hasn’t It’s been quite aard, and frankly, the next tile one of you will be far too soon"

Alec stared at the ground as Magnus stalked out of the living rooh the front door This ti

"Tn," said Jace, with ghastly ah from you," said the Inquisitor "Give me your hands"

Jace held his hands out as the Inquisitor produced a stele from some hidden pocket and proceeded to trace a Mark around the circumference of his wrists When she took her hands away, Jace’s wrists were crossed, one over the other, bound together hat looked like a circlet of burning fla? You’ll hurt him--"

"I’h, but she noticed that he couldn’t seeet my hands free"

"And as for you," the Inquisitor added, and turned on Clary, much to Clary’s surprise Up until now the Inquisitor had barely seeh to be raised by Jocelyn and escape your father’s taint Nevertheless, I’ll be keeping an eye on you"

Luke’s grip tightened on Clary’s shoulder "Is that a threat?"