Alec is off visiting Camille again, and it seems he had to leave his “guard post on Staten Island” to make this errand.  Guard post?  What is guarding?  Who put him there to guard it?  Is there some demonic entry point there or something?  Guard posts don’t make sense unless there is something important there that needs to be guarded. 

He hadn’t thought about what he was doing; he’d just done it, as if he were on autopilot.

So, not only did Alec leave some unknown important thing that was assigned to him by some unknown authority (seriously, guard post?), but we don’t get to hear any of the reasoning behind it or even any of his internal conflict.

This is the second time the author has used “autopilot” as a shorthand for “I just want to describe what they’re doing without anyone thinking about why.”

They talk about the spell that will make Magnus mortal, and Camille points out that she has to be the one to do it.

“Second, because if you do it, he’ll know it was you. If I do it, he will assume it is revenge. Spite on my part. And I do not care what Magnus thinks. But you do.”

Alec, slow down.  Think about that for a second.  You’re talking about doing something that is now admittedly pure spite.  Spite, my boy.  To the person you supposedly love.

Camille wants him to kill Raphael before she’ll do the spell. 

So he’s going to have to kill someone, which breaks those Accords thingies, which Alec supposedly cares so much for, and he’s going to have to dramatically shorten his boyfriend’s lifespan without said boyfriend’s knowledge or permission, something he’s already admitted is vengeful and spiteful. 

Honestly, I wouldn’t mind this line of story if not for a few things.  First, it has no place here.  It’s a pure side-story that isn’t even connected to the main story of “evil genociding shit is back from the dead,” so it’s just here taking up space.  It feels more like a fanfiction that somehow got elevated to canon.  It would have worked better as fanfiction, because in fanfiction it would be the main and only story line.  Second, Alec isn’t thinking about all this.  I can accept that he’s highly stressed and feeling desperate and heart-sore, and people in the middle of romantic angst can easily fall into considering something they wouldn’t have otherwise.  But we have no idea what’s going on in Alec’s head right now, despite the fact that this book has no problem diving into everyone else’s internal monologue.  We don’t know if he’s seriously considering this, if he’s just learning more about it because he’s morbidly curious, if he’s torn up internally over it.  I mean, on the one hand I don’t want to read all that because it belongs in the fanfic version of all this, but on the other…if you’re going to include this bullshit, at least do it right.

Isabelle and Jocelyn are still getting into the Sisters’ tower, because the Sisters are straight-up crazy and stick sharp knives into their bridge.  What?  Yeah, I don’t know.  I guess this author has declared that the cult of ladies dedicated to making weapons uses them for everything, even when it doesn’t make sense.

Because if we’re going to have a group of badass women, we have to make sure and make them crazy badass woman, otherwise they’d be just as functional and important as the men’s group.  And we can’t have that, oh no.  Everything about them, from their tower to their rule about only meeting with women has to ensure that they are kept as far removed from the world and the plot as humanly possible, because if they were accessible, then…well, we’d have to actually deal with them.  *gasp*

Yeah, this has been boiling in the back of my mind for a while and I couldn’t put a thought to it, but I think that’s it.  These ladies are supposed to be the counter-part to the Silent Brothers, but at every turn they are made less accessible than the Brothers.  The Brothers have featured in every book so far and they are practically the go-to helper monkeys of the Shadowhunter world.  They can be sought out by anyone and will help anyone and they are woven into the fabric of the culture.  The women, on the other hand, are kept in a far corner of the plot and surrounded by pointy knives.  Sure, they do that to themselves, but it’s the author who declared that they keep themselves separate from society and separate from the culture and exclusive only to women.  She could have made a world where both groups are included, and instead she shoved one of them off in a corner.

Because who gives a fuck about feminism, amiright?

“Jocelyn Morgenstern,” said the woman. “Born Fairchild, but you cannot so easily erase the taint of Valentine from your past.

What?  Really?  Women have so little agency and independence in this book that just marrying someone makes you “tainted”?  For god’s sake, she did everything in her power to stop his evilmurderplan, but that wasn’t good enough for you?  She’s still “tainted” by…what, allowing someone to sleep with her that wasn’t her one-true-Lukey-love?  Is that it?  Fuck this book.

They all spend a while going over the spell that made the JJ Twins again, because…I don’t know, we might have forgotten the particulars over the past couple chapters?  The Sisters say there is no sword they have or could make that would hurt only one twin, but something made in heaven or hell could do it.  They specifically mention “The sword of the Archangel Michael, that Joshua fought with at Jericho, for it is infused with heavenly fire.”  Because all that stuff that’s been sprinkled throughout the book about how no one can prove god exists or the afterlife or all that?  Yeah, it’s bullshit.  According to this book, not only is God real, not only is Heaven real, but everything in the bible is pure fact as well.

Damnit, would someone in this world just acknowledge that fact so I can have something new to rage about?

Anyway, the Sisters tell them it’s pointless to try and get an angel sword, because you can’t summon an angel and even if you could you can’t steal from one.  They mention the two angels that have already been summoned in this world and just arbitrarily declare that those events can’t be repeated.  Apparently you can only summon Raziel once, ever, and then that’s it, because…??? 

Isabelle flips out over how unhelpful they are then runs off like…well, like a teenager.  After Jocelyn catches up to her, she wants to know who her dad cheated with, because for some reason we’re still stuck on this line.  Annamarie Highsmith.  I guess we’ll learn more about her later.

Clary mopes in her room and tries to contact Simon again.  She figures the time difference means he’s asleep.  Jace comes in and offers to take her out on a date.  Since, remember, she can’t leave the house without a man by her side.  Make sure her ankles are covered, too, Jace. 

Aaaand, enough of that, back to Maia and Jordan.  Thank god we don’t pick up with them making out again; they have finally reached their destination.  You know, they’ve been heading to this Praetor house for three chapters now and have only just arrived.  It’s amazing how slow the time moves when there’s a million bits of padding to get through.

“This is Maia Roberts, of the Garroway pack.

Does the pack name change every time someone murders the pack leader?  Because, no, I haven’t forgotten that Luke murdered his way into that position.

The head dude comes out and tells them both that he doesn’t usually take requests, but he’ll do it just this one time.  Why?  Why the exceptionalism?  Why not just have the werewolf guy be inclined to helping werewolves?  I mean, is there ever going to be a point in this story where they need his help and he says ‘no’?  Of course not.  So why not just make this a thing he does, instead of saying “you guys are so uberduber special that I’m going to make an exception to all my rules.”  …Oh, I guess I answered my own question there, didn’t I?

It’s still annoying.  I’m sick of all these guys being so uberduber special.

They go to Scott’s office and tell him about Luke.  As they do, someone brings in breakfast for them.

It was true that werewolves needed more protein than normal people, much more, but roast beef for breakfast?

Yes, and that’s different from bacon and eggs…how?  Oh, right, it isn’t, eat your roast beef and shut up.

Anyway, Scott agrees with very little persuading, because these two are just that uberduber special.  Then they both go take a nap while Scott looks through his books to try and find an answer.

Simon wakes up (I guess he was asleep, did he not get up with the rest of them to see Isabelle and Jocelyn off?) and talks to Clary via rings.  She has no new information to give us.  He goes out into the rest of the apartment, where everyone has returned and is now sitting around talking about what the girls found out.

“Angels act at the behest of God, not human beings

It’s like you’re not even trying, book.

“And he damned himself. Whether you believe in Heaven and Hell or not, he damned himself surely.

YOU ARE TALKING ABOUT ANGELS AND GOD, STOP TRYING TO ACT LIKE THERE’S ANY WIGGLE ROOM IN THIS CONVERSATION, YOU HAVE CONFIRMED THAT THE BIBLE IS REAL WHY WHAT EVEN IS THIS I DON’T KNOW.

They talk some more and decide that summoning angels is out of the question, so they’re going to summon a demon instead.  A demon named Azazel. 

They take some time out to almost-drama about Simon sleeping in Isabelle’s room and then to mock them both for being nerds.  Because the people reading a book for pleasure obviously are going to agree that ‘nerd love’ is mockable?

Jocelyn decides she doesn’t want her daughter around if there’s going to be major demon summoning and goes to wake her up.  Simon finally tells her that Clary isn’t home anymore.