The Best Friend

14

"I always knew you would bring me the cup." Valentine said as he took the mortal instrument into his hands.

"What the hell are you doing here?" I sneered.

"I'm here to take what's rightfully mine and to perfect the shadowhunter bloodline." He said walking towards me.

"What exactly do you think is rightfully yours?" I asked.

"The cup and-"

"It's not yours. It belongs to the clave." I argued.

"So maybe the cup is not mine. But Clary is." Valentine said as he looked at her.

"What are you talking about?" Clary asked skeptically.

"Have you ever wondered about where you got your abilities from? About why you are able to do things other shadowhunters can't? About why your mother always kept your father a secret from you?"

"No." Clary whispered shaking her head. "No, you're not-"

"But I am, Clary." Valentine said with a malicious smile. "I'm your father."

I stood there in shock looking back and forth between Clary and Valentine. It did make sense, what he was saying. Clary was able to do extraordinary things with runes that other shadowhunters couldn't. As I stepped back a bit from Valentine, I looked for Hodge again and saw him half hiding behind the bookshelves. A laugh almost escaped me as I thought about his cowardice. How could he betray us like this? He was our friend, our mentor!

I was suddenly ripped from my thoughts to hear Valentine yelling at Clary to drink whatever he put into the cup. The color was red and I got a sickening feeling in my stomach as I realized it was his blood. Clary took it in her hands and I started to reach for her.

"No, Clary, don't drink that!"I yelled.

My hand closed around the cup and started to pull it away from her, but Valentine stopped me before I could fully grasp it. He grabbed me by the arm and threw me down on the hard floor where I landed on my back with a loud thud. I grunted in pain, trying to roll over and shrug it off. Looking up, I saw Clary about to drink again, and this time I couldn't stop her. Suddenly, though, the cup was no where in sight and she was making a run for it while Valentine was screaming in frustration. He picked up the terrot card and I realized Clary had put it back where Valentine couldn't reach it. The whole building shook as Clary jumped through the portal and Valentine was left staring after her. Pangborn and Blackwell were now at the bottom of the stairs walking towards Valentine as I tried to back into the corner. I was hoping Valentine would forget I was in the room and leave me alone. But sadly that was not the case. He turned just as I was about to make it behind the nearest bookshelf and his lips twisted into a malicious smile.

"What's your name, shadowhunter?" He asked me.

"And why should I tell you?" I asked with confidence.

"You don't want to disobey me." Valentine said. "Now, what's your name?"

"Ali." I said after a moments hesitation.

"Jace's close friend, am I correct?" Valentine asked as he started walking towards me.

"Why does it matter to you?" I ask as I stood my ground.

"Because I like to keep tabs on my son."

My eyes widened and my jaw dropped as I stared at him in confusion and shock. I shook my head as he looked at me with a smirk of satisfaction on his face.

"No, you can't be. Jace saw his father murdered. His father was Michael Wayland." I said, sounding like I was trying to convince myself more than I was trying to convince him.

"That is what I wanted everyone to think." Valentine said into my ear. "Jace is a Morgenstern. And you, my dear Ali, are a Penrose."

"How do you know that?" I interrogated.

"I knew your parents."

"How?"

"They were part of my circle." Valentine answered. "And as for how I know much about you, I knew you when you were just a child. Your parents let me experiment on you."

"No." I stated as tears filled my eyes. "They wouldn't do that to me."

"I'm afraid you are wrong." Valentine said. "But after a while, they left me just as everyone else did. They took you away from me, just as Jocelyn took Clary. I sent three of my men searching for you and your family. Because, like Clary, you belong to me. You may not be my daughter, but you are my experiment."

"I don't have any talents. I'm not special like Clary is." I shook my head trying to think of a way out of this mess.

"I never got to finish with you. That's why you have no special abilities." He sneered. "After your parents left me, I grew a strong hatred for them. You were destined to be great. You could've been extraordinary shadowhunter."

"I may not be an extraordinary shadowhunter, but I am a great one."

"But your parents were too stupid and blind to see that what I could've done to you was better than anything they could've given you." Valentine said.

"Don't you dare speak of my parents in that way." I said.

"I can say all the bad things I want about your parents." Valentine said.

I was about to speak and defend my parents again, but Valentine suddenly had the collar of my jacket in his fists. His face was dangerously close to mine and I could see the craziness in his eyes.

"I have ever right to talk bad about your parents." Valentine muttered maliciously. "Because I'm the one who hated them enough to kill them. And I swear to Raziel, girl, that if you get on my last nerve, I'll kill you, too."