City Of Lost Souls | Page 7

with much curiosity. Initially Clary had felt so much as if she were being stared at�and had heard the whispered
words �Valentine�s daughter� so many times�that she�d started to dread coming to the Institute, but she�d stood up in front of the Council
enough times now that the novelty had worn off.
They took the elevator downstairs; the nave of the Institute was brightly lit with witchlight as well as the usual tapers and was filled with
Council members and their families. Luke and Magnus were sitting in a pew, talking to each other; beside Luke was a tall, blue-eyed woman
who looked just like him. She had curled her hair and dyed the gray brown, but Clary still recognized her�Luke�s sister, Amatis.
Magnus got up at the sight of Alec and came over to talk to him; Izzy appeared to recognize someone else across the pews and darted away
in her usual manner, without pausing to say where she was going. Clary went to greet Luke and Amatis; both of them looked tired, and
Amatis was patting Luke�s shoulder sympathetically. Luke rose to his feet and hugged Clary when he saw her. Amatis congratulated Clary on
being cleared by the Council, and she nodded; she felt only half-there, most of her numb and the rest of her responding on autopilot.
She could see Magnus and Alec out of the corner of her eye. They were talking, Alec leaning in close to Magnus, the way couples often
seemed to curve into each other when they spoke, in their own contained universe. She was happy to see them happy, but it hurt, too. She
wondered if she would ever have that again, or ever even want it again. She remembered Jace�s voice: I don�t even want to want anyone but
you.
�Earth to Clary,� said Luke. �Do you want to head home? Your mother is dying to see you, and she�d love to catch up with Amatis before
she goes back to Idris tomorrow. I thought we could have dinner. You pick the restaurant.� He was trying to hide the concern in his voice, but
Clary could hear it. She hadn�t been eating much lately, and her clothes had started to hang more loosely on her frame.
�I don�t really feel like celebrating,� she said. �Not with the Council de-prioritizing the search for Jace.�
�Clary, it doesn�t mean they�re going to stop,� said Luke.
�I know. It�s just�It�s like when they say a search and rescue mission is now a search for bodies. That�s what it sounds like.� She
swallowed. �Anyway, I was thinking of going to Taki�s for dinner with Isabelle and Alec,� she said. �Just� to do something normal.�
Amatis squinted toward the door. �It�s raining pretty hard out there.�
Clary felt her lips stretch into a smile. She wondered if it looked as false as it felt. �I won�t melt.�
Luke folded some money into her hand, clearly relieved she was doing something as normal as going out with friends. �Just promise to eat
something.�
�Okay.� Through the twinge of guilt, she managed a real half smile in his direction before she turned away.
Magnus and Alec were no longer where they had been a moment ago. Glancing around, Clary saw Izzy�s familiar long black hair through the
crowd. She was standing by the Institute�s large double doors, talking to someone Clary couldn�t see. Clary headed toward Isabelle; as she
drew closer, she recognized one of the group, with a slight shock of surprise, as Aline Penhallow. Her glossy black hair had been cut stylishly
just above her shoulders. Standing next to Aline was a slim girl with pale white-gold hair that curled in ringlets; it was drawn back from her
face, showing that the tips of her ears were slightly pointed. She wore Council robes, and as Clary came closer she saw that the girl�s eyes
were a brilliant and unusual blue-green, a color that made Clary�s fingers yearn for her Prismacolor pencils for the first time in two weeks.
�It must be weird, with your mother being the new Consul,� Isabelle was saying to Aline as Clary joined them. �Not that Jia isn�t much
better than�Hey, Clary. Aline, you remember Clary.�
The two girls exchanged nods. Clary had once walked in on Aline kissing Jace. It had been awful at the time, but the memory held no sting
now. She�d be relieved to walk in on Jace kissing someone else at this point. At least it would mean he was alive.
�And this is Aline�s girlfriend, Helen Blackthorn.� Isabelle said with heavy emphasis. Clary shot her a glare. Did Isabelle think she was an
idiot? Besides, she remembered Aline telling her that she�d kissed Jace only as an experiment to see if any guy were her type. Apparently the
answer had been no. �Helen�s family runs the Los Angeles Institute. Helen, this is Clary Fray.�
�Valentine�s daughter,� Helen said. She looked surprised and a little impressed.
Clary winced. �I try not to think about that too