228. The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones

Title: The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones

Genre: Action, Adventure, Drama

Year: 2013

Summary: In New York City, teenager Clary Fray begins seeing strange symbols, concerning her mother Jocelyn Fray and her mother's friend Luke Garroway. Later, while attending a nightclub with her best and only friend Simon Lewis, Clary witnesses the murder of a man by the hands of Jace Wayland, whom only Clary appears to see. Meanwhile, Jocelyn is abducted by two men, Emil Pangborn and Samuel Blackwell, and leaves a message for Clary warning her that someone named Valentine is coming after her, then drinks a potion that leaves her in a comatose state. Returning home, Clary is attacked by a demon and rescued by Jace, who reveals himself to be a Shadowhunter, a warrior trained to slay demons hidden on Earth, such as the man in the nightclub. Jocelyn was a Shadowhunter as well, and Clary has inherited her powers, including the ability to read runes.

Clary and Jace visit Clary's neighbor and friend of her mother, Madame Dorothea, a witch who deduces that Pangborn and Blackwell are after the Mortal Cup, one of the three Mortal Instruments given to the first Shadowhunter by the Angel Raziel, that allows humans to become half-Angel. Simon, now able to see Jace, joins them as they leave to meet Luke in his bookstore. There, they discover that Luke is being interrogated by Pangborn and Blackwell, stating that he cares nothing for Jocelyn, and is after the Mortal Cup himself. The trio then escapes to the Shadowhunters' base of operations, the Institute, where Clary and Simon meet Jace's fellow Shadowhunters, Alec Lightwood and Isabelle Lightwood, and their leader, Hodge Starkweather, who reveals that Pangborn and Blackwell are working for Valentine Morgenstern, an ex-Shadowhunter who betrayed the group and sought to steal the Mortal Cup for himself in order to gain control over all Shadowhunters and demons.

Believing the key to find the Mortal Cup lies within Clary's mind, Hodge instructs Jace to take Clary to the City of Bones, where fallen Shadowhunters are laid to rest, to meet Brother Jeremiah (Stephen R. Hart), a dead Shadowhunter that probes Clary's mind and learns of her connection to a powerful sorcerer, Magnus Bane. Clary, Jace, Simon, Alec and Isabelle meet Magnus in a nightclub, where he reveals that Jocelyn hired him to block knowledge of the Shadowhunters from Clary's mind. Their conversation is interrupted when Simon is kidnapped by vampires, leading to a confrontation in a nearby hotel, in which the group is nearly killed before werewolves (that share a truce with the Shadowhunters) intervene and rescue them.

Back in the Institute, Clary falls in love with Jace while on a romantic evening with him in the institute's greenhouse, sharing a kiss. As they kiss the second time in front of her room, Simon interrupts them by opening the door, and shakily attempts to be humorous while tentatively confronting Clary about her relationship with the Shadowhunter. She responds that they "were just kissing", leading Jace to be confused and angered. Simon confesses to Clary that he loves her and always has. She is too shocked to respond, leaving the room and a heartbroken Simon.

Clary discovers that the Mortal Cup is hidden inside a tarot card painted by her mother, so the group returns to her apartment to retrieve it. There, they discover Madame Dorothea has been replaced by a demon sent to steal the Cup. It is killed by Simon and Jace after critically wounding Alec, while Clary retrieves the Mortal Cup.

The group returns to the Institute only to be betrayed by Hodge, who steals the Mortal Cup from Clary and summons Valentine Morgenstern. He reveals himself to be Clary's father and attempts to persuade her to join him, but she refuses and escapes with help from Luke, who is revealed to be a werewolf. Luke explains that Clary has a brother called Jonathan, and returns to the Institute with her and his pack to fight Valentine, who uses the Mortal Cup to open a portal and summon an army of demons to New York. Simon and Isabelle manage to close the portal with help from Hodge, who sees the error of his ways and sacrifices himself to kill Blackwell. Meanwhile, Magnus arrives to heal the injured Alec, and Luke kills Pangborn.

Clary and Jace fight Valentine, who reveals that they are siblings, and that Jace's real name is Jonathan. He once more attempts to convince them to join him, but they refuse again and push him through the portal with a false Mortal Cup, and after a brief struggle the portal is destroyed by Jace. Jocelyn is rescued but remains in an coma at the hospital, where she is reunited with Luke. Clary assures Simon that although she does not love him back, somebody will. Clary heads back home and uses her powers to repair the damage done to her apartment. Shortly thereafter, Jace appears and confesses that he needs her and wants her to come back with him to the Institute. Once she agrees to go with him, Jace affirms that he does not believe that they are siblings. Clary jumps on his motorcycle with him and they drive off to their destination.