11
Silver
Clary had never really been the most patient person. She hated staying still, especially when she knew that things were going on all around her. Until recently, she hadn’t ever had a real problem with it—she was able to fill her time with drawing or watching a movie or going to Java Jones with Simon. Since her life had taken its wild turn in August that had brought her face to face with the Shadow World she now lived in, she always seemed hyperactive and anxious, always needing to be proactive, always needing to have some kind of plan.
When she had finally joined her brother’s side, the feeling had only increased, though she was now rarely without a specific plan of Jonathan’s design. But Killing Isabelle Lightwood had not been part of that plan. And now, without knowing what would happen next, Clary was about to crawl out of her own skin with uneasiness. She wished that she could have had a few more minutes in the ream with Jonathan, wished she would have been able to ask him what was going to happen now. Jace, however, had interrupted her, waking her up to have some meeting at the request of the Silent Brothers.
When Jace had awoken Clary to tell her about the meeting, she’d wanted to curse at him and tell him to go take a long walk off a short pier for waking her up so early, but she knew that would probably only have aroused suspicion. So, she had gotten up, gotten dressed without bothering to shower, and met up with Jace outside the library doors only five minutes after waking up.
“Why is it that the Silent Brothers never want to hold meetings in the daylight?” she asked grudgingly as Jace came into view.
He shrugged, his lips twitching as he held back a smile. “Maybe because the light hurts their eyes?” he suggested sardonically.
“What eyes?” Clary responded, only half-committing to the joking between the two of them; she was too utterly exhausted to put forth too much effort into the charade here. Jace had seriously annoyed her by waking her up, so just acting civil to him was a challenge.
Jace seemed to think about her response before forming one of his own. “Then maybe they do it because they get so bored being glorified librarians for the Clave that they do crazy things so that someone will challenge them. Then, you know, the brothers can drive them crazy with the whole mind reading thing.”
“As ridiculous as that sounds, it actually makes sense to me.”
“Oh, no,” Jace replied with mock concern. “My conspiracies are making sense to someone. Either I’m dropping the ball or you’re going as crazy as I am.”
Only a few minutes later, Jace’s joking demeanor had disappeared entirely, as he watched on as Clary spoke with Brother Zachariah of all people. Her skin crawled around Zachariah more than it did with any other Silent Brother. He was just so human compared to the others. And he always seemed to be more intuitive than other Shadowhuntes, which made Clary want to be anywhere else but across from him at Hodge’s desk.
Clarissa, said the familiar voice in her head. I understand it hasn’t been a long time since the events that transpired between yourself, your brother, and Isabelle Lightwood—
“Less than a day, in fact,” Clary interrupted shortly. A quick glance at Jace and his confused expression told her that he could not hear Brother Zachariah’s side of the conversation. “Don’t bother with the formalities. It’s five thirty in the morning and I’m cranky. What is it the Clave wants from me? I already know about the Council meeting in Idris. I know that’s why we have to go tomorrow. So tell me what I don’t know.”
Very well, Zachariah answered, seemingly unfazed by her interruption. I trust you are aware that Jonathan Morgenstern is the largest priority of the Clave and that finding him is imperative.
