Raising Hell

6. I May Be a Murderer, But I am Not THE Murderer

By the time we reach the lair, all the Circle members have been taken care of. My eyes meet Magnus' almost immediately as we enter the apartment. His eyes scan over my dress, which was splattered with blood, but he doesn't say anything to me. His attention instead goes to Zoe, who runs up to him and wraps her arms around his torso.

"Go join the others, my dear. This is no place for a little girl. Go." He shoos her off towards the other warlocks and turns to Clary and I. "I heard what you two did for Zoe. You risked your lives without hesitation to save a young warlock child."

Clary glances at me. "She was just a girl and she was in trouble. We had no choice." She says the last part to me as if it's supposed to make me feel better about killing a Shadowhunter.

I shake my head and walk away. As I try to escape, Alec notices. His eyes widen at the sight of the blood and he rushes over to me. His hands gently grip my shoulders as his eyes scan over me to find the source of the bleeding. "What the hell happened?"

"It's not my blood," I breathe. "I'm fine."

He moves a stray hair away from my face. "Are you sure?"

I pull away from him. "I'm fine." I turn my back and sit in the only chair that wasn't destroyed, resting my pounding head in my hands. This happens every time I take a Shadowhunter life. I wallow in guilt for a while and move on. I've learned that the more kills you have, the faster you recover.

"Hold tight, everyone, we're about to move," Magnus announces. He moves his hands elegantly and blue waves of magic circles the apartment. Everything seems to rattle for a second as the apartment is relocated. The mess clears up and I'm suddenly in a different chair. While everyone settles into the new apartment and discusses a new plan, I remain in my chair and ignore the worried glances from my friends.

"Ah," Magnus turns to face us. "Ugh, it's inevitable. After each move, I get the itch to redecorate. Normally, I love a dirty lair, but this one is just sloppy." He glances at Alec, who is watching me.

Magnus turns to Isabelle. "I believe in payment for services rendered. Thank you for defending the warlocks." He holds up the necklace.

Isabelle's eyes widen. "I couldn't."

"Oh, but you could. And you should." Magnus moves behind Isabelle to put the necklace around her neck. "The Lightwoods have been wearing this for years. Besides, this would look silly on your brother."

"I don't know." I glance up at Alec with a half-hearted smile. "I feel like he could pull it off."

The corners of Alec's mouth twitch, but a real smile doesn't appear on his face. I guess he knew my heart wasn't in the joke.

Clary suddenly gets up from where she was seated on the back of the couch. "Okay, so how do we summon the memory demon?"

"Wait." I lift my head from my hands. "You actually want to summon this thing? This isn't going to be like summoning Casper the Friendly Ghost. You are going to summon an actual demon."

"Are you certain?" Magnus questions Clary. "Summoning such a powerful demon could be lethal."

"You're not just putting yourself at risk," I add. "You're putting all of us at risk, too."

"I'll do anything to save my mother. Where is the demon?" Clary stares straight at Magnus, determination clear in her face. She doesn't even acknowledge the incredulous look I am giving her.

"Okay. Pretty boy, get your team ready." Magnus waves his hand, keeping his eyes on Clary.

"I know what to do—" Jace goes to walk past Magnus, but he is stopped when Magnus puts a hand on his chest. For a second, the look on Jace's face makes me question if he is going to rip Magnus' hand off.