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"I a at his hand As he watched, the blisters fading, the pain lessening, the skin resu its normal pallor

"I know, but I meant--really dead" She swiped at her face with her bound hands Siht him up short A metal cuff around his ankle was attached to a thickno chances

"Don’t cry," he said, and iretted it It wasn’t as if the situation didn’t warrant tears "I’ her wet face against her sleeve "That man--the one with the white hair--his name is Valentine?"

"You saw hi Justin and then a ht train"

"He’s the Valentine, right? The one everyone talks about The one who started the Uprising"

"He’s Jace and Clary’s father," Siht his voice sounded familiar He sounds just like Jace" She looked momentarily rueful "No wonder Jace is such an ass"

Siree

"So you didn’t…" Maia’s voice trailed off She tried again "Look, I know this sounds weird, but when Valentine canized with hihost?"

Simon shook his head, bewildered "No Why?"

Maia hesitated "I saw host oflike that onit when the shape caed "That’s it"

"With Clary?" Maia looked alure out where we are Maybe they’ll come after us"

"Maybe," Simon said "Where are we, anyway?"

"On a boat I was still conscious when he broughtThere are no lights and there are--things everywhere One of therabbed ed it into the wall I passed out for a while after that"

"Things? What do you s?"

"Demons," she said, and shuddered "He has all sorts of de ones They do whatever he tells them"

"But Valentine’s a Shadowhunter And from all I’ve heard, he hates demons"

"Well, they don’t appear to know that," said Maia "What I don’t get is what he wants with us I know he hates Doorlders, but this seems like a lot of effort just to kill two of theether like the chattery-teeth toys you could buy in novelty stores "Hefrom the Shadowhunters Or Luke"

I knohat he wants, Si Maia; she was upset enough already He shrugged his jacket off "Here," he said, and tossed it across the rooed to drape it aardly around her shoulders She offered hirateful smile "Thanks But aren’t you cold?"

Sione now "I don’t feel the cold Not anyain A struggle was taking place behind her eyes "I’m sorry About the way I reacted to you yesterday" She paused, al her breath "Vampires scare me to death," she whispered at last "When I first ca out with--Bat, and two other boys, Steve and Gregg We were in the park once and we ran into soht and Iup, just picking hi him in half--" Her voice rose, and she cla "In half," she whispered "All his insides fell out And then they started eating"

Silad that the storyelse Like hungry "I wouldn’t do that," he said "I like olves I like Luke--"

"I know you do" Her mouth worked "It’s just that when I met you, you seemed so human You reminded me what I used to be like, before"

"Maia," Simon said "You’re still human"

"No, I’m not"

"In the ways that count, you are Just like me"

She tried to smile He could tell she didn’t believe him, and he hardly blamed her He wasn’t sure he believed hihted with heavy clouds In the gray light the Institute looled slate roof shone like unpolished silver Clary thought she had caught the ures in the shadows by the front door, but she wasn’t sure It was hard to tell anything clearly when they were parked over a block away, peering through the s has it been?" she asked, for either the fourth or fifth tier than the last ti back in his seat, his head back, looking utterly exhausted The stubble coating his jaw and cheek was silvery gray and there were black lines of shadow under his eyes All those nights at the hospital, the deht, suddenly worried She could see why he and herShe wished she could hide froo in?"

"No Jace said to wait outside" She peered out theagain Now she was sure there were figures in the doorway As one of theht a flash of silvery hair--

"Look" Luke was sitting bolt upright, rolling his n hastily

Clary looked Nothing appeared to have changed "You uards were there before Look on the roof" He pointed