Her Brother and Her Father

Chapters 13-16

Chapter 13- Grim Realizations

Clary woke the next morning to find Jonathan where he was last night.  She finds it odd that she keeps waking up before him.  Clary stretches out against Jonathan drowsily, like a cat and stands, walking over to the bathroom to assess the damage demon Jonathan did last night.

In all honesty, she’s grown to like her brother’s company and is not entirely opposed anymore to what they do under the sheets.  She sees him now as a poor little boy who was raised on nothing but cruelty and discipline.  This in no way excuses his actions but she can find pity for him now if she bothers to look.

He never got the chance to experience the tenderness of their mother or the loving care she would have shown him.  He wouldn’t have had to be beaten by Valentine.  She wonders what it would have been like if her mother had stayed to try to right Valentine.  She would’ve grown up with her brother but also her father.  She shudders inwardly at the thought of her at five, wielding knives and undoubtedly dropping them.  Valentine wouldn’t have stood for that.

She shakes her head.  “He’s gone,” she says to herself.  She doesn’t want to linger on any thoughts of her father.  Walking into the bathroom, stark naked, she sees that she has bloodlines trailing down her side.  Crossed with others, they look like talon marks.  She also traces the long black bruises up her torso.  Her thighs have friction burns on them.

She sees movement in the mirror as Jonathan gently winds his arms around her waist.  His white blond hair tousled and unruly. He kisses her neck and smiles.

“Good morning,” he whispers against her neck.

“We destroyed another pair of sheets,” she mumbles as her eyes skim what she can see of his torn body.  She can see bruises on his hips identical to hers but smaller and dried blood is painted across his back as well as still on his face.

“I don’t care, I’ll get new ones.  I have to leave again tonight for a few days,” Jonathan says as he pulls away and turns on the shower.

“Where did you go last time and why were you covered in blood last night?” she asks, watching Jonathan in the mirror.

He’s facing away so she can’t see his expression as he says, “There was an attempted ambush on my hunting party.  Most of the Downworlders have sided with us but there was a rogue vampire clan that attacked us.  They didn’t last very long,” he says stepping into the shower.

Clary, not wanting to remain bloodied and seeing as there’s two showerheads in the giant stall she steps in after him.  Jonathan’s eyes widen as his little sister steps under a stream of burning hot water.

“What?” she asks accusingly as if she didn’t just step in the shower naked with her equally naked brother.  They’ve already had sex so a shower seems docile compared to the bed.

“Nothing,” Jonathan says as he shrugs his shoulders.  He doesn’t take his eyes off her though as she scrubs away the blood covering her body.

“You going to wash?” she asks as she rinses off the suds.  Jonathan had only absently scrubbed at his hair that is stained red, staring at his sister.

“Yes,” he says snapping out of his daze.

 Clary laughs as she steps out of the shower.  Wrapping herself in a towel, she borrows the stele off the nightstand, Jonathan trusting her not to run and draws a quick iratze making the bruises and gouges fade then quickly gets dressed.

It’s become fun to taunt her brother with herself.  She’s figured out how to play with him in his mind just as he’s done to her.  She’s learned to taunt him out of sheer boredom; if she wasn’t able to screw around with Jonathan, she might go insane from him having all the power.