Ilina

“Hello? This is Clary Fairchild.”

“Clary? It’s me, Emma.”

“Oh, Emma, hi! I haven’t heard from you in ages. My mom says thanks for the wedding flowers, by the way. She wanted to send a note but Luke whisked her away on a honeymoon to Tahiti.”

“Tahiti sounds nice.”

“It probably is — Jace, what are you doing with that thing? There is no way it’ll fit.”

“Is this a bad time?”

“What? No! Jace is trying to drag a trebuchet into the training room. Alec, stop helping him.”

“What’s a trebuchet?”

“It’s a huge catapult.”

“What are they going to use it for?”

“I have no idea. Alec, you’re enabling! You’re an enabler!”

“Maybe it is a bad time.”

“I doubt there’ll be a better one. Is something wrong? Is there anything I can do?”

“I think we have your cat.”

“What?”

“Your cat. Big fuzzy Blue Persian? Always looks angry? Julian says it’s your cat. He says he saw it at the New York Institute. Well, saw him. It’s a boy cat.”

“Church? You have Church? But I thought — well, we knew he was gone. We thought Brother Zachariah took him. Isabelle was annoyed, but they seemed to know each other. I’ve never seen Church actually likeanyone like that.”

“I don’t know if he likes anyone here. He bit Julian twice. Oh, wait. Julian says he likes Ty. He’s asleep on Ty’s bed.”

“How did you wind up with him?”

“Someone rang our front doorbell. Diana, she’s our tutor, went down to see what it was. Church was in a cage on the front step with a note tied to it. It said For Emma. This is Church, a longtime friend of the Carstairs. Take care of this cat and he will take care of you. —J.”

“Brother Zachariah left you a cat.”

“But I don’t even really know him. And he’s not a Silent Brother any more.”

“You may not know him, but he clearly knows you.”

“What do you think the J stands for?”

“His real name. Look, Emma, if he wants you to have Church, and you want Church, you should keep him.”

“Are you sure? The Lightwoods —“

‘They’re both standing here nodding. Well, Alec is partially trapped under a trebuchet, but he seems to be nodding.”

“Jules says we’d like to keep him. We used to have a cat named Oscar, but he died, and, well, Church seems to be good for Ty’s nightmares.”

“Oh, honey. I think, really, he’s Brother Zachariah’s cat. And if he wants you to have him, then you should.”

“Why does Brother Zachariah want to protect me? It’s like he knows me, but I don’t know why he knows me.”

“I don’t exactly know … But I know Tessa. She’s his — well, girlfriend seems not the right word for it. They’ve known each other a long, long time. I have a feeling they’re both watching over you.”

“That’s good. I have a feeling we’re going to need it.”

“Emma — oh my God. The trebuchet just crashed through the floor. I have to go. Call me later.”

“But we can keep the cat?”

“You can keep the cat.”
― Cassandra Clare, Lady Midnight

“Mark nearly fell forward, and threw his arms around Julian. Julian barely managed to catch himself before almost falling over. Mark was whipcord thin, but strong, his hands fisting in Julian's shirt. Julian could feel Mark's heart hammering, feel the sharp bones under his skin. He smelled like earth and mildew and grass and nighttime air. "Julian," Mark said, muffled, his body shaking. "Julian, my brother, my brother." Julian sighed. He wanted to relax into his older brother, let Mark hold him up the way he once had. But Mark was slighter than he was, fragile under his hands. He would be holding Mark up from now on. It was not what he had imagined, dreamed of, but it was the reality. It was his brother. He tightened his hands on Mark and adjusted his heart to bear the new burden.”
― Cassandra Clare, Lady Midnight

“Jem had moved the same way coming in, but as Will neared him, Jem took a step toward his former parabatai, and the step was swift, eager, and human, as if being close to the people whom he loved made him feel made of flesh and racing blood once more.
“You’re here,” said Will, and implicit in the words was the sense that Will’s contentment was complete. Now Jem was there, all was right with the world.”
― Cassandra Clare, The Midnight Heir

“As we all have an infinite capacity to make mistakes, we all have an infinite capacity for forgiveness.”
― Cassandra Clare, Queen of Air and Darkness