City of Bones (The Mortal Instruments, #1)(29)

Jace was still staring. “But …”

“More what?” Clary said.

“More Forsaken,” replied Dorothea with a cheerfulness that, Clary felt, didn’t really fit the circumstances. She glanced around the entryway. “You have made a mess, haven’t you? I’m sure you weren’t planning on cleaning up either. Typical.”

“But you’re a mundane,” Jace said, finally finishing his sentence.

“So observant,” said Dorothea, her eyes gleaming. “The Clave really broke the mold with you.”

The bewilderment on Jace’s face was fading, replaced by a dawning anger. “You know about the Clave?” he demanded. “You knew about them, and you knew there were Forsaken in this house, and you didn’t notify them? Just the existence of Forsaken is a crime against the Covenant—”

“Neither Clave nor Covenant have ever done anything for me,” said Madame Dorothea, her eyes flashing angrily. “I owe them nothing.” For a moment her gravelly New York accent vanished, replaced with something else, a thicker, deeper accent that Clary didn’t recognize.

“Jace, stop it,” Clary said. She turned to Madame Dorothea. “If you know about the Clave and the Forsaken,” she said, “then maybe you know what happened to my mother?”

Dorothea shook her head, her earrings swinging. There was something like pity on her face. “My advice to you,” she said, “is to forget about your mother. She’s gone.”

The floor under Clary seemed to tilt. “You mean she’s dead?”

“No.” Dorothea spoke the word almost reluctantly. “I’m sure she’s still alive. For now.”

“Then I have to find her,” Clary said. The world had stopped tilting; Jace was standing behind her, his hand on her elbow as if to brace her, but she barely noticed. “You understand? I have to find her before—”

Madame Dorothea held up a hand. “I don’t want to involve myself in Shadowhunter business.”

“But you knew my mother. She was your neighbor—”

“This is an official Clave investigation.” Jace cut her off. “I can always come back with the Silent Brothers.”

“Oh, for the—” Dorothea glanced at her door, then at Jace and Clary. “I suppose you might as well come in,” she said, finally. “I’ll tell you what I can.” She started toward the door, then halted on the threshold, glaring. “But if you tell anyone I helped you, Shadowhunter, you’ll wake up tomorrow with snakes for hair and an extra pair of arms.”

“That might be nice, an extra pair of arms,” Jace said. “Handy in a fight.”

“Not if they’re growing out of your …” Dorothea paused and smiled at him, not without malice. “Neck.”

“Yikes,” said Jace mildly.

“Yikes is right, Jace Wayland.” Dorothea marched into the apartment, her purple tent flying around her like a gaudy flag.

Clary looked at Jace. “Wayland?”

“It’s my name.” Jace looked shaken. “I can’t say I like that she knows it.”

Clary glanced after Dorothea. The lights were on inside the apartment; already the heavy smell of incense was flooding the entryway, mixing unpleasantly with the stench of blood. “Still, I think we might as well try talking to her. What have we got to lose?”

“Once you’ve spent a bit more time in our world,” Jace said, “you won’t ask me that again.”





7

THE FIVE-DIMENSIONAL DOOR


MADAME DOROTHEA’S APARTMENT SEEMED TO HAVE ROUGHLY the same layout as Clary’s, though she’d made a very different use of the space. The entryway, reeking of incense, was hung with bead curtains and astrological posters. One showed the constellations of the zodiac, another a guide to Chinese magical symbols, and another showed a hand with fingers spread, each line on the palm carefully labeled. Above the hand Latinate script spelled out the words In Manibus Fortuna. Narrow shelves holding stacked books ran along the wall beside the door.

One of the bead curtains rattled, and Madame Dorothea poked her head through. “Interested in chiromancy?” she said, noting Clary’s gaze. “Or just nosy?”

“Neither,” Clary said. “Can you really tell fortunes?”

“My mother had a great talent. She could see a man’s future in his hand or the leaves at the bottom of his teacup. She taught me some of her tricks.” She transferred her gaze to Jace. “Speaking of tea, young man, would you like some?”

“What?” Jace said, looking flustered.

“Tea. I find it both settles the stomach and concentrates the mind. Wonderful drink, tea.”

“I’ll have tea,” Clary said, realizing how long it had been since she had eaten or drunk anything. She felt as if she’d been running on pure adrenaline since she woke up.

Jace succumbed. “All right. As long as it isn’t Earl Grey,” he added, wrinkling his fine-boned nose. “I hate bergamot.”

Madame Dorothea cackled loudly and disappeared back through the bead curtain, leaving it swaying gently behind her.

Clary raised her eyebrows at Jace. “You hate bergamot?”

Jace had wandered over to the narrow bookcase and was examining its contents. “You have a problem with that?”