"Nate would never lie to me," Jessamine spat.
"If Tessas mother was a Shadowhunter," said Charlotte coldly, "then Nate is also a Shadowhunter. Shadowhunter blood breeds true. Did he ever mention that to you? That he was a Shadowhunter?"
Jessamine looked revolted. "Nate isnt a Shadowhunter!" she cried. "I would have known! I would never have married-" She broke off, biting down on her lip.
"Well, its one or the other, Jessamine," said Charlotte. "Either you married a Shadowhunter, a truly supreme irony, or, more likely, you married a liar who used and discarded you. He must have known youd be caught eventual y.
And what did he think would happen to you then?"
"Nothing. " Jessamine looked shaken. "He said you were weak. That you would not punish me. That you could not bring yourself to truly harm me. "
"He was wrong," said Charlotte. "You are a traitor to the Clave. So is Benedict Lightwood. When the Consul hears of all this-"
Jessamine laughed, a thin, broken sound. "Tel him," she said. "Thats exactly what Mortmain wants. " She sputtered. "D-dont bother asking me why. I dont know. But I know he wants it. So tattle all you like, Charlotte. It Will only put you in his power. "
Charlotte gripped the footboard of the bed, her hands whitening. "Where is Mortmain?"
Jessamine shuddered, shaking her head, her hair whipping back and forth. "No . . . "
"Where is Mortmain?"
"H-he," she gasped. "He-" Jessamines face was almost purple, her eyes bugging out of her head. She was clutching the Sword so tightly that blood well ed around her fingers. Tessa looked at Charlotte in horror. "Idris,"
Jessamine gasped at last, and slumped back against the pil ow.
Charlottes face froze. "Idris?" she echoed. "Mortmain is in Idris, our homeland?"
Jessamines eyelids fluttered. "No. He is not there. "
"Jessamine!" Charlotte looked as if she were going to leap on the girl and shake her til her teeth rattled. "How can he be in Idris and not be? Save yourself, you stupid girl. tell us where he is!"
"Stop!" Jessamine cried out. "Stop, it hurts. . . . "
Charlotte gave her a long, hard look. Then she went to the door of the room; when she returned, it was with Brother Enoch in tow. She crossed her arms over her chest and indicated Jessamine with a jerk of her chin. "There is something wrong, Brother. I asked her where Mortmain was; she said Idris. When I asked again, she denied it. " Her voice hardened. "Jessamine!
Has Mortmain breached the wards of Idris?"
Jessamine made a choking sound; her breath wheezed in and out of her chest. "No, he has not. . . . I swear . . . Charlotte, please . . . "
Charlotte. Brother Enoch spoke firmly, his words echoing in Tessas mind.
Enough. There is some sort of block in the girls mind, something placed there by Mortmain. He taunts us with the idea of Idris, yet she confesses he is not there. These blocks are strong. Continue to question her in this manner, and her heart may well fail her.
Charlotte sagged back. "Then what . . . "
Let me take her to the Silent City. We have our ways of seeking out the secrets locked in the mind, secrets even the girl herself may not be aware she knows.
Brother Enoch withdrew the Sword from Jessamines grasp. She seemed barely to notice. Her gaze was on Charlotte, her eyes wide and panicked.
"The City of Bones?" she whispered. "Where the dead lie? No! I Will not go there! I cannot bear that place!"
"Then tell us where Mortmain is," said Charlotte, her voice like ice.
Jessamine only began to sob. Charlotte ignored her. Brother Enoch lifted the girl to her feet; Jessamine struggled, but the Silent Brother held her in an iron grip, his other hand on the hilt of the Mortal Sword.
"Charlotte!" Jessamine shrieked piteously. "Charlotte, please, not the Silent City! Lock me in the crypt, give me to the Council, but please do not send me alone to that-that graveyard! I shall die of fear!"
"You should have thought of that before you betrayed us," said Charlotte.
"Brother Enoch, take her, please. "
Jessamine was still shrieking as the Silent Brother lifted her and threw her over his shoulder. As Tessa stared, wide-eyed, he strode from the room carrying her. Her cries and gasps echoed down the corridor long after the door closed behind them-and then were cut off suddenly.
"Jessamine-," Tessa began.
"She is quite all right. He has probably put a Rune of Quietude on her. That is all. There is nothing to worry about," said Charlotte, and she sat down on the edge of the bed. She looked down at her own hands, wonderingly, as if they did not belong to her. "Henry . . . "
"Shal I rouse him for you, Mrs. Branwel ?" Sophie asked gently.
"He is in the crypt, working. . . . I could not bear to get him. " Charlottes voice was distant. "Jessamine has been with us since she was a little girl. It would have been too much for him, too much. He does not have it in him to be cruel. "
"Charlotte. " Tessa touched her shoulder gently. "Charlotte, you are not cruel either. "
"I do what I must. There is nothing to worry about," Charlotte said again, and burst into tears.
Chapter 14: The Silent City
She howld aloud, "I am on fire within.
There comes no murmur of reply.
What is it that will take away my sin,
And save me lest I die?"
-Alfred, Lord Tennyson, "The Palace of Art"
"Jessamine," Henry said again, for what must have been the fifth or sixth time. "I still cant believe it. Our Jessamine?"
Every time he said it, Tessa noticed, Charlottes mouth grew a little tighter.
"Yes," she said again. "Jessamine. She has been spying on us and reporting our every move to Nate, who has been passing the information to Mortmain.
Must I say it again?"