Betrayed

Chapter 13

Clary

"Ah inquisitor, how lovely to see you again." I cooed. Best to get on his good side now I suppose. The Inquisitor, an elder man who's winkles made him look as shriveled as a prune, smiled coldly at me.

"Indeed, child." His voice raked across my skin, like nails on a chalk board. "I see you have progressed far in your training, tell us, how have you advanced this quickly?"

"I have learned a lot at the Los Angeles institute, the people there took me in as their own and trained me to be better than I ever have been. Something in me changed," Out of the corner of my eye I could have sworn a pained look flashed across Jace's face. "I had nothing holding me back from my trainings, I devoted my time and energy into honing myself into a weapon. Never again will I be the weak Clary I used to be."

Izzy looked at me, placing a hand on my shoulder. "Clary, none of us ever thought that way, you were never weak!"

"Yes, I was! And I'll be damned if I ever go back to that." I spat.

Izzy's hand slipped off my shoulder as she took a step back. No matter how happy they were to see me, they didn't know this Clary. This Clary who had darkness in her heart no matter how hard she tried to expel it. This Clary who had been crushed and shattered, gluing the pieces back together but becoming something entirely new in the process. I tried to rein in my emotions. Hunter slipped his hand into mine and I took a deep breath.

"Pain is often the best motivator." The Inquisitor said, a strange gleam in his eyes. "Now, let's see what you can do, Shadowhunter."

I looked at him, confused, and watched as he pulled a long wooden staff out of his robe, seemingly from thin air. He positioned himself in an attack stance and pointed the staff square at my chest. Geez, I'm here 5 seconds and he's already trying to fight me? I assessed my surroundings, taking in everything around me. Pulling out a long dagger and my stehle, I assumed a defensive position.

But there was one thing the Inquisitor didn't know...I always attack first.

Jocelyn

I sucked in a breath as I watched my daughter take the inquisitor by surprise. She run straight toward him, dropping to her knees as she used the flat of her dagger to knock the Inquisitor off his feet.  The wooden staff rolled a few feet away. Not stopping to hesitate, the Inquisitor rolled away, plucking his staff from the floor. As turned to face her again the Inquisitor barely lifted his staff in time to block Clary's dagger as it came down on him once again.

I reflected on Clary's outburst. She believed herself to be weak. Had I contributed to that? I never wanted her to find out about this world but was limiting her exposure and training the right thing to do? I was torn and heartbroken, considering that I may have caused her to feel that way. I saw the dark look on her face as she spoke, there was a bitterness in her eyes, new and raw. Lost in my thoughts, my eyes snapped back to the action as the clang of metal seized my attention. 

Clary now had the upper hand, and she was not backing down.

As they continued to spar, I took a moment to study Clary. She had indeed improved immensely with her training. She was a whirlwind of slashes and lunges, a blur of pure determination. But there was something else. A certain shine in the eyes of my daughter. Something sharp and wicked, that I could tell she was enjoying this.

When I was a young Shadowhunter, we fought for survival. But this, this was pure sport.

Clary had become a version of herself that I didn't recognize. I'm not sure if that's a good or bad thing.

The Inquisitor pivoted to avoid the sharp edge of Clary's blade but didn't realize that Clary had anticipated his next move. He came face to face with Clary's Stehle, pointed directly at his neck. Which, in the hands of Clary, a Stehle was just as deadly as any other weapon.

Breathing hard, Clary smiled. "Well done." The Inquisitor said after a moment. I could tell he was reluctant to acknowledge his loss. The whole fight couldn't have lasted more than five minutes. I looked at her again. This new Clary had pain and loss within her. But she was right, she wasn't weak, she was deadly.

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Author's Note

So um, it's been like 8 years since I started this story. I'm almost 19 now and work full time so I'm not sure how often I will be updating but this was fun to revisit this story! If you enjoyed reading this chapter, let me know! I will continue to update so long as y'all are still interested.

Also, my writing style has changed a bit, matured as I have so I you enjoy a little more darkness in this story going forward!

Xoxo,

Mikayla