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"Co into her voice "There is no need to dawdle"

Sing, Simon took a reluctant step forward, and then another A servant stepped in front of hi out a knife to Si with a needle blade Simon took it, and raised it above his wrist Then he lowered it "You know," he said, "I really don't like pain very rowled

"There has to be some other way"

Cas were fully extended She was truly enraged "If you do not stop wasting my time-"

There was a soft i down the ainst the opposite wall Ca in shock as she sahat it was Sinized it, just as he did There was only one thing it could be

A Portal And through it were pouring at least a dozen Shadowhunters

"Okay," said Isabelle, putting away the first aid kit with a brisk gesture They were in one of the Institute'sClave members Each was plainly furnished with a bed, a dresser and a wardrobe, and a small bathrooes, poultices, and even spare steles included "You're pretty well iratze'd up, but it's going to take a little while for some of those bruises to fade And these"-she ran her hand over the burn marks on Clary's forearo away totally till toh"

"That's fine Thanks, Isabelle" Clary looked down at her hands; there were bandages around the right one, and her shirt was still torn and bloodstained, though Izzy's runes had healed the cuts beneath She supposed she could have done the iratzes herself, but it was nice to have someone take care of her, and Izzy, while not the warmest person Clary knew, could be capable and kind when she felt like it "And thanks for showing up and, you know, saving my life from whatever that was-"

"A Hydra demon I told you They have a lot of heads, but they're pretty du such a bad job with it before I showed up I like what you did with the atha under pressure That's ashow to punch holes in things" Isabelle flopped down onto the bed next to Clary and sighed "I should probably go look up what I can find out about the Church of Talto before the Conclave gets back Maybe it'll help us figure out what's going on The hospital stuff, the babies-" She shuddered "I don't like it"

Clary had told Isabelle as much as she could about why she'd been at the church, even about the deh she'd pretended she was the one who'd been suspicious, and had kept her mother out of the story Isabelle had looked sick when Clary had described the way the baby had looked exactly like a normal baby except for its open black eyes and the little claws it had instead of hands "I think they were trying to make another baby like-like my brother I think they experimented on some poor mundane woman," Clary said "But she couldn't take it when the baby was born, and she lost herlike that? One of Valentine's followers? The ones who never got caught, ?"

"Maybe Or just soh I can't iine why anyone would want to ave a little jump of hatred when she said his name

"His name's really Jonathan-"

"Jonathan is Jace's nahtly "I won't call thatto be Sebastian to me"

Clary had to ad of him as Jonathan too She supposed it wasn't fair to the true Sebastian, but none of theer's na that made him feel closer to her fahtly, but Clary could tell that herover various possibilities: "Anyway, I'lad you textedweird was going on, and frankly I was bored Everyone's off doing soo, because Si to be there, and I hate him now"

"Simon is with the Conclave?" Clary was astonished She had noticed that the Institute had seemed even more empty than usual when they'd arrived Jace, of course, wasn't there, but she hadn't expected hih she hadn't knohy "I talked to hi soed "It has so to do with vampire politics That's all I know"

"Do you think he's all right?"

Isabelle sounded exasperated "He doesn't need you to protect hiet blown up, shot at, drowned, and stabbed and he'd be just fine" She looked at Clary hard "I notice you didn't ask me why I hate Si?"

"I knew," Clary admitted "I'm sorry"

Isabelle waved her confession away "You're his best friend It would have been weird if you didn't know"

"I should have told you," Clary said "It's just-I never got the sense you were that serious about Simon, you know?"

Isabelle scowled "I wasn't It's just-I thought he would take it seriously, at least Since I was so out of his league and everything I guess I expected better frouys"

"Maybe," Clary said quietly, "Si soue" Isabelle looked at her, and Clary felt herself flush "Sorry Your relationship is really none ofher dark hair up into a knot, so she did when she felt tense "No, it isn't I mean, I could ask you why you texted me to come to the church and meet you, and not Jace, but I haven't I' between you two, passionate alley " She looked keenly at Clary "Have the two of you slept together yet?"

Clary felt the blood rush into her face "What-I mean, no, we haven't, but I don't see what that has to do with anything"

"It doesn't," said Isabelle, patting her knotted hair into place "That was just prurient curiosity What's holding you back?"

"Isabelle-" Clary pulled up her legs, wrapped her ar our time I've never-you know"

"Jace has," said Isabelle "I mean, I assume he has I don't know for sure But if you ever need anything" She let the sentence hang in the air

"Need anything?"

"Protection You know So you can be careful," Isabelle said She sounded as practical as if she were talking about extra buttons "You'd think the Angel would have been foresighted enough to give us a birth-control rune, but no dice"

"Of course I'd be careful," Clary spluttered, feeling her cheeks turn red "Enough This is aard"

"This is girl talk," said Isabelle "You just think it's aard because you've spent your whole life with Simon as your only friend And you can't talk to him about Jace That would be aard"