City of Secrets

Chapter 2: All The Stories Are True

Brother Enoch made his way out of the infirmary, his parchment-colored robes barely making a sound as his gliding, soundless footsteps neared Clary and Jace. He pushed back the hood of robes, revealing a bald, scarred head.

She will live. The echoing voice of Brother Enoch resonated in Jace and Clary's minds, a power only the Silent Brothers had.

Clary couldn't help but shudder as she saw the sewn-together eyes and lips of Brother Enoch, the runes so powerful that they left the skin scarred and mutilated.

As for the unborn child she carries, nothing can be said yet. Brother Enoch pulled his hood back up. My work here is done. You may call for the warlock Magnus Bane to continue caring for the mundane girl.

The world seemed to swirl around Clary. She leaned back against Jace for support. "Thank you, Brother Enoch," she said, but her voice sounded like shards of broken glass on a chalkboard.

Brother Enoch inclined his head, and then walked away.

Behind her, Jace was frozen, his face blank of emotion. Clary couldn't necessarily blame him. She looked out into the infirmary, where the girl was fast asleep, her long black hair spread out on the pillow like a dark halo. I never even asked for her name, Clary thought with a jolt of wariness. She took a step towards the infirmary, but before she could enter, a hand pulled at her arm.

"Don't," Jace warned.

"Why not?" Clary asked.

"She carries your brother's child, and you still ask me that? Think about it, Clary," Jace said exasperatedly. "We find this mundane in an alley with a demon. She had a Sensor in her hand. She has the Morgenstern ring and obviously knows your brother, and now we find out she's pregnant? Don't you think this could be some sort of trap?"

"Of what?" Clary shot back. "My brother is dead, Jace. Jonathan is dead. For good this time. The Dark War is over. This girl was just probably at the wrong place at the wrong time. Her situation isn't very different from mine when you brought me here."

Jace ran a hand through his hair. The golden locks caught the light of the sun. "That was different," he insisted in a strained voice. "You were different. I was almost certain that you were one of us, that you were a Shadowhunter. As for this girl," Jace said as he pointed towards the infirmary, "we don't know who she is. What if she worked for Valentine? Or Sebastian?"

Haunting green eyes that were identical to Jocelyn and hers burned in Clary's mind. "His name is Jonathan. Sebastian was the side of him corrupted by Valentine and Lillith's blood. Jonathan is the real him. He died as Jonathan."

Jace's hand left her arm and was soon replaced by both of his arms. Clary felt her body automatically mold itself against Jace's form. They fit perfectly like two pieces of a puzzle. "I know," he murmured quietly.

"We don't even know if it's Jonathan's baby," Clary said in a soft voice. "And if it is...then what do we do? What will we tell Alec and Izzy?"

"The truth," Jace said simply. Clary raised her head towards Jace.

"It's not that simple," she insisted. "We're talking about a baby who may happen to be my dead brother's son or daughter, my..my niece or nephew. It'll be born with demon blood, and if Shadowhunter blood breeds true, then it'll be a Shadowhunter, too. We're talking about another Sebastian."

"We may be getting ahead of ourselves, Clary. Mundanes are reckless. They run around searching desperately for thrills and the simple pleasures of life. Like you said, it may not even be Jonathan's child," Jace said slowly, as if trying to convince himself.