Clary, Jace and Davina watch a duel between a man with a circle rune and a woman. Davina is looking at her phone after having emailed her professor that she wouldn't be able to attend his lecture due to unforeseen circumstances.
"Who is that guy?"
"That's Hodge Starkweather, our weapons trainer. And, more important for us, a former Circle member. After the uprising, Hodge repented and he was sent to live and work here to make amends. But he's forbidden to ever leave the Institute"
The duel ends quickly when Hodge cuts the woman's staff into three pieces with his blades, leaving her looking stunned. He looks over to where the trio is waiting before reaching for his vest and pulling it over his head.
"Jocelyn," Hodge mutters, locking his eyes on Clary.
"Uh, I'm Clary. Uh, Jocelyn Fray is my mother. This is Davina Rollins"
"Well, she was Jocelyn Fairchild when I knew her. And she was one of my best friends"
"She's been kidnapped by someone named Valentine and his men," Clary says.
"By the Circle, Hodge," Jace says.
"But that's impossible. Valentine's dead and the Circle died with him" Hodge says.
A hiss escapes the man's mouth when a sizzle comes from the rune on his neck, a circle exactly like the man who attacked them had.
"What is happening?" Davina asks.
"I swore a vow never to speak of what we did. This is the Clave's way of making sure I keep that vow"
"That's barbaric," Davina says, looking at the sizzling rune.
"We can't torture him, Jace. Is there anyone else we can ask?" Clary asks.
Jace shakes his head.
"If the Circle really is back and they've taken Jocelyn. Our leader- our leader of the Circle was Valentine Morgenstern. We thought he wanted to protect humans, like all Shadowhunters. But we never realized the lengths to which Valentine was willing to go... the people he was willing to sacrifice. Most of humanity would die if we carried out Valentine's plan"
"But I... I still don't understand. How does my mother relate to any of this?"
"Jocelyn was a member of the Circle as well," Hodge says and Davina's jaw drops.
"No. I can't believe it. My mother, she-" Clary stammers, trying to process the information about her mother's life.
"The important thing is that Jocelyn left the Circle. And so none of this even matters, because Valentine died in a fire years ago,"
Hodge's circle mark was smoking at this point and the man lets out a scream through gritted teeth, falling to his knees in pain.
"Hodge. Hodge" Jace says.
"We can't torture him!" Davina snaps.
"Davina, we don't have a choice. You understand that Hodge, right?"
"Jace is right. Valentine nearly destroyed the Shadow World and humanity along with it. If he'd gotten the Cup-" Hodge says.
"Wait a minute. My mother told me she hid something from someone. If it's this Cup-"
"That's what the Demon who pretended to be my mom kept asking for"
"Clary, the Mortal Cup is the most important object in the Shadow World. Whoever possesses it can create more Shadowhunters"
"And in the wrong hands... control demons. If Jocelyn hid the Cup from Valentine, then she's in more danger than you can imagine"
The circle is burning and Hodge falls onto the ground screaming, clawing at the mark and Davina winces.
"Hodge"
"I hate to make you suffer like this" Clary says.
"I'm so sorry. Your mother was only trying to protect you. And now you must protect her. Stop Valentine before he destroys us all" Hodge says.
Clary storms away from the training room floor and Jace chases after her but Davina remains with Hodge who was observing her curiously.
"You look a lot like someone I used to know," Hodge says. "He lives in Idris now though. Jackson Branwell. Is he your father?"
Davina's head lifts at the name, the details of her dream pinging around her head.
"I wouldn't know," Davina says. "My birth mother left me with my adopted mother when I was a few months old"
Clary and Jace were having a mildly intense discussion as Davina approaches, her heels clicking against the floor.
"Could she? Have the Cup?" Jace asks, his eyes flicking to Davina as she approaches.
"I don't know,"
"Look, Clary, Davina, you know about runes. You've drawn them. You- you know something. Think, please" Jace says.
"I've tried, Jace, okay? It's just this empty blackness" Clary snaps.
"Your memory's been wiped,"
"That's not possible. Is it?"
"Absolutely... if you know a warlock"
"A warlock?" Clary asks.
"Yeah, a warlock, Clary. Immortal beings, they're half-demon, half-human. Sometimes their fingers spark" Jace says.
"Dot, my mom's assistant, and Davina's mom, her hands had this purple glow when she opened the wall, and my mom pushed me through and I ended up at the police station," Clary says.
"That was a Portal. Dot must have been a warlock. Only warlocks can create them"
"Wait, so you're saying if we find the real Dot, she could help us find the Cup and get my mom back?" Clary asks.
"Unless she's working for Valentine," Jace says and Davina shakes her head.
"Even better. She'll lead us right to him"
"My mom wouldn't work for Valentine" Davina scoffs, feeling insulted. "Unlike someone else's"
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