Middle School of Bones - A Mortal Instruments Story

Chapter 14

We walked through dim hallways until we came to a large, circular room. In the back was what I almost would have described as an altar in a church before I realized it looked more similar to a podium like you'd see in a school auditorium. Scattered around the room were pre-algebra textbooks, and the walls were decorated with tapestries declaring success in various sports that dated back as far as the thirteenth century.

"Clarissa Fray." I felt my name spoken in my mind, and I spun around. In the entryway behind the podium stood a figure with a hood pulled low over their face. They approached our group until they were close enough for me to see their face. I gasped and stumbled backward. Where their eyes should have been were sharp indents into a pale, bald head. Black thread sealed their skeletal lips. My companions seemed unfazed. Even Simon looked indifferent. He watched a lot of horror movies.

"I am Brother Zachariah," the Silent Brother said telepathically. "You have come looking for my help. Step forward." My legs were trembling so much I felt like I was going to fall, but I did as he said. "Try to relax as I look into your memories. It shouldn't take more than an hour."

This was too much. I had to leave. Brother Zachariah terrified me. And this room was creepy.

I looked desperately for Simon to tell him I couldn't do it. We'd figure out something else. But instead, Jace caught my gaze. His gold eyes shone, reflecting the torches and glow-in-the-dark stars on the walls. He looked like he could read the fear in my face, and he gave me a small nod. It wasn't much, but if Jace Wayland believed in me, I could, too. 

Before I had the chance to do anything else, my mind exploded into light. My vision blurred, and my ears rang. I barely processed feeling the floor beneath me, feeling my knees crumple. Every thought I tried to think hurt, like straining against air. I stopped thinking, and as soon as I did, a flood of thoughts rushed in. None of them connected, and I felt like I was being tossed in a tornado as I went from one to another. There was my sixth birthday party, my math test two weeks ago, Simon's house, my mom's artwork on a wall. I saw things I didn't even know were memories of mine. I was five at the park, I was reading a picture book to myself, I was eating a sandwich at some restaurant. The memories seemed to go by quicker and quicker, and I felt like I was reliving my whole life. I wondered if this was what dying felt like.

Then it all stopped, and all my senses came rushing back at once. I coughed as I became conscious of the air in my lungs, of my stomach gurgling, of the blood in my veins. Everything I hadn't noticed until I stopped feeling them. Someone was touching me, and it took me a few moments to realize it was Simon.

"Clary? Clary can you hear me?" I was still on the ground, but Simon was sitting beside me. He'd moved me from the alter. When I looked back at where I had been standing, I saw not just Brother Zachariah but four other Silent Brothers.

I turned away. "What happened?"

"Brother Zachariah said there was something blocking your memories," Jace said. He'd approached quietly, or maybe he'd been there the whole time. "He got the other Silent Brothers to help him."

My head hurt more than anything I'd ever felt before. 

"Did they find out anything about my mom?" I asked.

Jace grimaced. I felt the answer in my head. Brother Zachariah.

"Nothing. Except this."

I saw an image, almost like a blurry wall. And in the bottom corner, a signature. It took me only a second to read. I'd seen it before. I reached into my pocket and pulled out the invitation I'd stolen from the diner.

"Magnus Bane."