The Lost Book of the White (The Eldest Curses #2) - Cassandra Clare Page 0,14
walls between the worlds remain thin and demons keep coming.”
“I guess defeating Sammael at least prevented the problem from getting worse,” said Clary. “I know Princes of Hell can’t be killed—”
“The blow that defeated him was dealt by an Archangel,” said Magnus. “I think everyone at least hoped it might actually kill him. Seems not.”
“How do we get Michael to come back and defeat him again?” said Isabelle. “It’d buy us another thousand years.”
“We can’t,” said Simon. “We’re on our own. That’s the whole thing with us, right? Shadowhunters. The angels aren’t here to deal with our problems. It’s just us.”
He looked grim. Magnus felt a stab of renewed concern for Simon. He’d been fighting demons just as long as Clary had, had been a Downworlder himself, had been face-to-face with Raziel, and through all of it Magnus had grown impressed with his morale, his willingness to persevere and keep a brave face even when the situation seemed worse than impossible. Simon had faced down Lilith and walked away—why was just the idea of Sammael enough to rattle him now?
Simon had wanted to become a Shadowhunter so badly, to fight demons directly, to be a colleague to Clary, to Isabelle, to all of them. But just now, he didn’t look like it had been good for him.
“I know I’m the guy acting casual about a magical hole in my chest,” said Magnus, “but can I provide some context here that might make us feel a little better? Shinyun and Ragnor mentioned Sammael, but other than this weapon Shinyun has, which she claims is his, we have no idea whether Sammael is even coming back. Shinyun and Ragnor could be involved with a mundane cult, or a Greater Demon pretending to be Sammael. The important thing is, Sammael is definitely, definitely not in our world. If he was, we’d know. He’d be doing things. Armies of demons would be ravaging the planet. And they’re not.” He smiled brightly. He really was feeling surprisingly positive about the situation. “So Alec and I will go to Shanghai, and we’ll track down Ragnor and Shinyun, and we’ll get the Book of the White back, and everything will be great.”
“So what you’re saying,” Isabelle said slowly, “is that the good news is that Sammael hasn’t destroyed Earth yet?”
“Even if it is the real Sammael, we probably have days to stop him!” Magnus said.
Clary and Isabelle exchanged worried looks.
Alec also looked worried. “Um, so, Magnus, who’s going to look after Max for days?”
Magnus waved his hands at the assembled group. “Some of these fine people.”
“Are you kidding?” said Clary, jumping up. “Obviously we’re all going to Shanghai. This is a big-deal situation, right? You need the whole team.”
Jace looked amused. “Sure. It can’t possibly be that you’re bored patrolling New York and want to go someplace new.”
“Okay, I am,” Clary admitted. “But also we have to stop the Father of Demons from, you know—fathering more demons, I guess.”
“A lot more demons,” said Simon. “Why not? Let’s go fight two powerful warlocks and a demon so bad it took an angel to kill him last time. I’m sure all my classroom experience will come in handy.”
Isabelle came over and affectionately tousled Simon’s hair. “Sure, sweetie, you’re just a newbie. You were never an invulnerable Daylighter vampire who’s been to a hell dimension or anything.”
“You’ll note the word ‘invulnerable,’ ” Simon grumbled, but he smiled a little, at least.
Magnus stood up and clapped his hands. “All right, my lovelies. Alec and I will need to pack our things and figure out what we’re doing with this one.” He gestured at Max, who Jace had hoisted onto his shoulders. Dutifully Jace put Max back on the ground. “You all no doubt need to return to the Institute to collect your gear, so—” He waved his arms. “Get out of my house.”
* * *
THEY HAD ALL LEFT BUT Clary. Alec had taken Max into the bedroom, and Magnus was headed to join them when Clary suddenly grabbed his arm and said, in a quiet but intense tone, “I need to talk to you for a moment.”
Magnus regarded her. It was so strange to see her now, a proper adult. For years, she had been a quiet, wide-eyed child whom he’d met over and over for the first time. She knew nothing of the Shadow World—and it had been Magnus’s job to make sure that remained true. And so when her mother would bring her over, she always had the same reaction—awe,