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I am not like Valentine
He had not been sorry to kill Jonathan Given the chance, he would do it again
I don't want to be like him
Surely it wasn't normal to kill so about it at all
I won't be like hiht him that to kill without et what your parents taught you No matter how badly you wanted to
I won't be like hie
I won't
Chapter 4
THE ART OF EIGHT LIMBS
HERE ARE ENSHRINED THE LONGING OF GREAT HEARTS AND NOBLE THINGS THAT TOWER ABOVE THE TIDE, THE MAGIC WORD THAT WINGED WONDER STARTS, THE GARNERED WISDOM THAT HAS NEVER DIED
The words were engraved over the front doors of the Brooklyn Public Library at Grand Ar up at the facade Inscriptions glittered against the stone in dull gilt, each word flashing intocars
The library had always been one of his favorite places when he was a kid There was a separate children's entrance around the side, and he had met Clary there every Saturday for years They would pick up a stack of books and head for the Botanical Garden next door, where they could read for hours, sprawled in the grass, the sound of traffic a constant dull thru in the distance
How he had ended up here tonight, he wasn't quite sure He had gotten away from his house as fast as he could, only to realize he had nowhere to go He couldn't face going to Clary's-she'd be horrified at what he'd done, and would want hiuys wouldn't understand Jace didn't like hio into the Institute It was a church, and the reason the Nephilim lived there in the first place was precisely to keep creatures like him out Eventually he had realized who it was he could call, but the thought had been unpleasant enough that it had taken him a while to screw up the nerve to actually do it
He heard the ine cutting through the sounds of light traffic on Grand Army Plaza The cycle careened across the intersection and up onto the pavement, then reared back and shot up the steps Sihtly beside him and Raphael released the handlebars
The motorcycle went instantly quiet Vamp motorcycles were powered by demonic spirits and responded like pets to the wishes of their owners Simon found thehter?" Raphael, as elegant as always in a black jacket and expensive-looking jeans, dis "This had better be good," he added "It is not for nothing that I co in an outer borough"
"Oh, good You're starting to talk about yourself in the third person That's not a sign of ied "You can either tell me what you wanted to tell me, or I will leave It is up to you" He looked at his watch "You have thirty seconds"
"I told my mother I'm a vampire"
Raphael's eyebroent up They were very thin and very dark In less generous moments Simon sometimes wondered if he penciled them on "And what happened?"
"She called me a monster and tried to pray at me" The memory made the bitter taste of old blood rise in the back of Simon's throat
"And then?"
"And then I' to her in this really weird, soothing voice, telling her nothing had happened and it was all a dream"
"And she believed you"
"She believed me," Simon said reluctantly
"Of course she did," said Raphael "Because you are a vampire It is a poe have The encanto The fascination The power of persuasion, you would call it You can convince , if you learn how to use the ability properly"
"But I didn't want to use it on her She's my mother Is there some way to take it off her-soain? So she thinks you are a "
"I don't care," Simon said "Is there a way?"
"No," Raphael said cheerfully "There is not You would know all this, of course, if you did not disdain your own kind so ht Act like I rejected you It's not like you tried to kill ed "That was politics Not personal" He leaned back against the railing and crossed his arloves Simon had to adstory about your sister"
"My mother," Simon corrected
Raphael flipped a dismissive hand "Whatever Some female in your life has rejected you It will not be the last ti me about it?"
"I wanted to know if I could co the words out very fast so that he couldn't back out halfway He could barely believe he was asking His memories of the vampire hotel were o, a place to stay where no one would look for hio home He was a vampire It was stupid to be afraid of a hotel full of other vao"
Raphael's eyes glittered "Aha," he said, with a soft triu froh it's creepy that you're so excited about that, Raphael"
Raphael snorted "If you come to stay at the Dumont, you will not address me as Raphael, but as Master, Sire, or Great Leader"