Chain of Gold

After the visit to Anna’s flat, James walks Cordelia home. Cordelia is surprised to see a “graceful lightness” in James’s step in the aftermath of his break-up with Grace. He compliments Cordelia for her clever suggestion of enlisting Anna’s help. He also shares with Cordelia his guilt about failing Grace’s test of love. Cordelia tells him the test was unfair; love should be unconditional.

Cordelia later visits Alastair’s room to tell him about Charles’s impeding marriage to Grace. She confesses to her older brother that she knows about his love for Charles and the hurt he must be feeling at Charles’s betrayal. However, Alastair coldly informs her that he already knows about Charles’s plans and that whatever Charles is doing is for the sake of being with Alastair. He accuses Cordelia of spying on him and asks her to leave his room.

At the Institute, Lucie summons Jesse to ask him about the identity of Emmanuel Gast’s client. Jesse does not know about the warlock, but he senses “deliberate evil at work” (361), which will not stop anytime soon. As James heads in to talk to Lucie, Jesse disappears. The conversation abruptly turns to Matthew. James thinks Matthew is in love with Lucie and that, since Lucie doesn’t return his love, Matthew is in a great deal of pain. Lucie senses it may be something else that’s causing Matthew pain. The bigger problem is Matthew’s drinking.

As part of their plan for visiting the Hell Ruelle salon, Anna sends Cordelia a package of fashionable gowns. Anna has also advised Cordelia to wear simple dresses in rich colors, so Cordelia chooses a bronze gown for the salon that evening. When Cordelia later descends from the carriage with Anna before Hell Ruelle, Matthew and James stare astonished at her beauty. Inside the salon, Hypatia Vex’s chambers have been magicked to appear completely different since Cordelia’s last visit. Claude Kellington, the master of entertainment at the salon, is flirting with Hypatia. So that Anna can approach Hypatia, Matthew draws Kellington away—but in turn, Kellington wants one of the Shadowhunters to put on a performance for the Downworlders. Much to James and Matthew’s surprise, Cordelia volunteers.

At the Institute, Lucie, Thomas, and Christopher gather above the room in which the Enclave will be meeting. Using a rune to make the floor transparent, they are able to spy. Apart from the Herondales and other prominent Shadowhunters, Charles Fairchild and Inquisitor Bridgestock are present. Charles informs the gathering that there have been six demon attacks on the Nephilim, instead of three as most people believe. The news was kept secret to avoid spreading panic. To contain the threat to London, all travel in and out of the city is forbidden indefinitely. As the Enclave erupts in anger over this decision, Charles brings more bad news: Oliver Hayward, Barbara’s fiancé, has also died from the wounds she inflicted on him in her death throes. The demonic poison is unnaturally contagious, which is why the Enclave must be particularly cautious. Meanwhile, Inquisitor Bridgestock—Ariadne’s father—wants the Enclave to punish someone for the attacks. The meeting dissolves into arguments, which disgusts Thomas. He erases the rune, knowing the young Shadowhunters must take matters in their own hands.

Cordelia ascends to the Hell Ruelle stage as James and Matthew watch nervously. Her performance is unusual and beautiful: She recounts a Persian legend while dancing gracefully with her sword. The performance is mesmerizing, and the audience find a new respect for the young woman.

As Cordelia rejoins Matthew and James, there arise whispers of a Shadowhunter’s arrival. The group look around anxiously and see Charles has arrived at the salon, possibly to investigate the demon attacks. Alarmed that his brother’s pompous manner may anger the Downworlders, Matthew wants to join him urgently. He suggests that James and Cordelia hide from Charles. James and Cordelia escape to an empty room, but when they hear someone at the door, James kisses Cordelia so they appear to be two Downworlders engaged in a romantic tryst. However, the couple continue to kiss even after the intruder leaves. They break apart when Matthew turns up, and they tell him they were engaged in mere pretense. The three head for Hypatia’s chambers, from which Anna soon emerges bearing the Pyxis box. She hands the box to them and heads back to Hypatia to avoid suspicion.

The next day, after Will and Tessa leave the Institute for a patrol in light of the heightened security protocol, Cordelia, Lucie, and the Merry Thieves examine the Pyxis box. It seems alive, as if it already contains a demon. The group know they must release and destroy this demon so the Pyxis is empty for the Mandikhor. They take the box to the Sanctuary, the only place in the Institute where Downworlders can arrive uninvited. They open the box, releasing a worm-like demon who says it will recover its master’s “lost world” and destroy this one. James slays it, and just as it disappears, Magnus Bane, the former High Warlock of London and Will’s dear friend, arrives in the Sanctuary. Magnus tells James that Henry Fairchild sought his help in studying the dirt from the shadow realm. It turns out the dirt is infused with the essence of Belphegor, a Prince of Hell, indicating it is from his realm. The young Shadowhunters tell Magnus about their plan to trap the Mandikhor. To their surprise, he agrees to help, but he warns he will alert the older Nephilim if anything goes awry.

Magnus and the young Shadowhunters go to Town Bridge, the chosen site of the trap. Khora demons surround the group, and the Mandikhor, “a demon the size of an omnibus” (407), bursts on the scene. Lumps swell under its skin, bursting to drop more Khora on the bridge; since the Mandikhor can generate endless Khora, they must trap it in the Pyxis immediately. Cordelia attacks it while Christopher mutters an incantation to draw the demon into the box.

The demon disappears in the box, and, for a moment, the spell seems to have worked. However, the box bursts open the next instant. The freed Mandikhor invites James to the shadow realm, where he will be honored. Only Cordelia is close enough to hear the demon. When James asks the demon if it’s referring to the kingdom of Belphegor, the demon laughs derisively. Cordelia attacks the Mandikhor, injuring it again, but she topples over the bridge in the process. Claiming indestructibility, the Mandikhor vanishes. Lucie runs to the water’s edge but cannot find Cordelia in the dark water. Then, she sees ghosts carry Cordelia out of the river. To Lucie’s relief, Cordelia is alive. Spotting Jesse clutching his golden locket at the riverside, Lucie assumes he requested the ghosts to save Cordelia. The other Shadowhunters arrive at the spot. Only Lucie can see Jesse and the other ghosts.

The narrative flashes back to Cordelia and Alastair’s childhood:

The siblings often fought over Cortana, the sword forged by Wayland the Smith, the same master forger who made Excalibur for the legendary King Arthur. One such day, Alastair and Cordelia squabbled in their father’s presence. Alastair claimed the sword was his since he was a Carstairs, while Cordelia would marry into another family. Cordelia was enraged because she was the better swordswoman of the two and had always felt a deep affinity for Cortana. Elias seemed to agree with Alastair. Cordelia shouted that Cortana was hers, and the sword flew out of its stand to rest in her hand. As the shocked siblings stared, Elias explained that sometimes the sword chooses its wielder: Cortana had claimed Cordelia for its own and belonged to her. That is how Cordelia came by her sword.