Thirty minutes later I'm following Jem and another Silent Brother down a long hallway. The minute that the Endarkened Shadowhunter disappeared, Jem had run over to me, hugging me tightly. I, still shaken from the events that had just occurred, had accepted his embrace gratefully. I had taken Emma and the young Blackthorn girl back to their family, and had helped Helen Blackthorn take the children to another room so that they could calm down. As the oldest child in my family, I am used to being around younger children, and I enjoyed helping with the young Blackthorns. They were all very sweet, although Tiberius did seem to dislike me a bit. But then again, he was snapping at everyone, so I have decided not to take it personally. Jem came into the room a few minutes ago, to make sure that I was alright. He had told me that his presence had been requested by the Consul. I, once I made sure that Helen had the children under control, had chosen to accompany him to the small meeting. I can't take my eyes off of him as we walk, and, being my normal graceful self, trip over a rug. Jem moves swiftly and smoothly towards me, catching me, and helping me up. I smile softly, nodding my head in thanks. He brushes a stray strand of hair behind my ear, and continues to walk down the hallway. I stare after him, feeling my divided soul cry out as it is pulled in two different directions. One side wants to run to Jem, throw my arms around him and tell him that I love him, that I will always love him, and that I want to be with him forever. But the other knows that we can't be together, no matter how much I want us to. So I follow Jem and Brother Enoch, who, by the way, is totally judging me right now, down the hallway. Brother Enoch stops a few steps later and opens a door with a shiny brass handle. I follow the two in, and see a group of Shadowhunters and Simon. Clary, Jace, Alec and Isabelle are here, along with the Consul, Maryse and Robert Lightwood, and a man I do not recognize.

"Brother Enoch," The man greets, looking over. "And-."

"Brother Zachariah." Jem says, drawing his hood back. A look of shock appears on the Shadowhunter's faces, as they see him. I suppose they're not used to him being like this. I mean, saying it was a bit of a shock for me would probably be the biggest understatement of the year. He looks over at me, and I bite my lip, trying to stop myself from saying something that I'll regret.

"Woah," Isabelle whispers in a low and amazed voice, while looking Jem up and down. "Is that Brother Zachariah? When did he get hot?" Girl, you don't even know. Jem and I exchange an amused glance, and for a second, it feels natural and normal, as if we had never been apart. Jen turns to Consul Penhallow, and says something in Mandarin. Her lips tremble for a moment, and she closes her eyes. Then, her lips tighten into a straight line and her eyes open. She turns to the other Shadowhunters.

"Amalric Kriegsmesser is dead." I search through my mind, trying to remember who he was. But I can't recall ever meeting him, or hearing about him before. Though, from his last name, I am guessing that he was at the Berlin Institute.

"Nothing we tried on him worked," Jem says, his soft voice catching everyone's attention. They look surprised, and I realize that they have never heard him talk out loud. "Not a single spell, not a single potion. Finally we had him drink from the Mortal Cup."

It destroyed him. Death was instantaneous. Brother Enoch's voice fills my head, causing me to step back quickly in surprise. Jem takes my hand immediately, causing me to freeze. But it's so comforting, so familiar, that I begin to relax. Everyone in the room is staring at our hands, looking surprised for the millionth time in the last few minutes. Jia shakes her head, refocusing her mind.

"Amalric's body must be sent through a Portal to the warlocks in the Spiral Labyrinth to study." Jia speaks briskly, but I can see the worry behind her eyes. And there's good reason for it. "Perhaps if we act quickly enough they can learn something from his death. Some clue to a cure."

"His poor family. They will not even see him burned and buried in the Silent City." Maryse Lightwood says. The Silent City is where the Shadowhunter's bury their fallen. It is a sacred place to them, and almost all Nephilim are buried there.

"He is not Nephilim anymore. If he were to be buried, it would be at the crossroads outside Brocelind Forest." The man whose name I do not know says, looking over at Maryse.

"Like my mother was. Because she killed herself. Criminals, suicides, and monsters are buried at the place where all roads cross right?" Jace adds. His tone is bright, but it is obviously fake. It's the tone you use when you want to convince everyone that you're okay, but inside you're screaming. I've used that tone more times than I would care to recall.

"Not always," Jem says quietly. "One of the young Longfords was at the battle at the Citadel. He found himself forced to kill his own parabatai, who had been turned by Sebastian. Afterwards, he turned his sword on himself and cut his wrists. He will be burned with the rest of the dead today, with all attendant honors." Jews words fill me with horror. Even I, a mundane, know how strong of a bond parabatai have. A surge of anger floods my veins. Sebastian did this. Sebastian. His name echoes in my mind, a promise that I will do whatever it takes to help the Shadowhunters stop him. I look up and see my anger reflected in the eyes of everyone else in the room, not including Jem and Brother Enoch of course.

"This is why you have to let me go after Sebastian," Jace says, his eyes golden flames. "This can't keep happening. These battles, fighting the Endarkened - he'll find worse things to do. Sebastian always does. Being Turned is worse than dying."

"Jace." Clary says sharply, and in that moment, I can see just how much she loves Jace. It's so easy to see, in the way she looks at him. Is that how I look at Jem? I realize that I'm still holding his hand, and, despite my head screaming at me to stop, I smile softly. Jace leans forward, his hands on the Consul's desk.

"Send me to him, and I'll try to kill him. I have the heavenly fire. It's our best chance." Jace says, a determined look set upon his face.

"It's not an issue of sending you anywhere. We can't send you to him; we don't know where Sebastian is. It's an issue of letting him take you." Maryse says wearily, looking over Jace.

"Then let him take me-."

"Absolutely not." Jem interrupts firmly. And when I look over at him, I see in his eyes that he is thinking of Will. There's no way that he's letting his parabatai's descendant throw himself into something that would probably end in death. "The Clave can choose to obey Sebastian or defy him, but either way you cannot be given up to him in the way he'll expect. We must surprise him. Otherwise we are simply delivering to him the only weapon that we know he fears."

"Do you have another suggestion?" asks Consul Penhallow. "Do we draw him out? Use Jace and Clary to capture him?" I want to object to her statement but considering that I'm a mundane I don't think they'll take me very seriously. I was very close to Will and I just can't bear them using a Herondale as bait for Sebastian.

"You can't use them as bait." Isabelle protested, voicing my thoughts.

"Maybe we could separate him from his forces." Maryse suggests.

"You can't trick Sebastian." Clary says, sounding exhausted. "He doesn't care about reasons or excuses. There's only him and what he wants, and if you get between those two things he'll destroy you."

"Maybe we can convince him he wants something else. Is there anything else we could offer him as a bargaining chip?" Consul Penhollow leans forward, her elbows resting on the smooth wood of her desk.

"No." Clary whispers, shaking her head and looking down. "There's nothing. Sebastian is..." She pauses, trying to find the right words to describe her monster of a brother. I can't imagine what it must be like. I love my little brother Jacob so much and I just can't picture him as well, a demon. But I guess since she never really knew the true Sebastian, it must be a bit easier. I would feel even worse for her if she had known him before. Losing something that you never knew is hard because losing something is always hard, but losing something that you knew and loved makes it so much worse. Because you know what you had and you know what you lost. And you know that you're never going to get it back. All you have are memories and sometimes it's better not to know what you've lost because then maybe you have a hope of moving on. But if you know what's missing then you can't ever completely let it go. I wonder if that's how Sebastian feels about Jace and Clary. I wonder if he can feel it all. No. He can't. Not after everything he's done. Then again, Valentine could feel and he did all those terrible things. "No. He won't change his mind. Not ever." Clary says finally, interrupting my thoughts.

"If I might make a suggestion," Jem says, his eyes sweeping the room, thoughtful under dark lashes, before coming to rest on Consul Penhallow. "The funeral rites for the Citadel dead are about to begin. You will be expected there, Consul, as will you Inquisitor. I would suggest that Clary and Jace remain at the Inquisitor's house, considering the contention surrounding them, and that the Council gather after the rites."  Clary looks outraged.

"We have a right to be at the meeting. This decision concerns us. It's about us!" She says, her green eyes sparkling with stubbornness.

"You will be summoned." Consul Penhallow says, her gaze not resting on Clary or Jace, but skipping past them and sweeping over Robert and Maryse Lightwood, Brother Enoch, and Jem. "Until then, rest; you will need your energy. It could be a long night."

I spend the night with the Blackthorns, helping Helen take care of the younger ones again. I stay with them during the day as well, until Brother Enoch and Jem come by to say that there is going to be a meeting of all the Shadowhunters in Angel's Square. I grab a bow and quiver full of arrows, not wanting to be caught defenseless if another Endarkened appeared, and made my way down to the square. There was a feeling of uneasiness settled over everyone, hanging above us like a storm cloud. The Shadowhunters were going to war. And I was going with them.