How It All Goes Down
Abbadon
- The Cup is, well, a little underwhelming. It's a cup. Isabelle cracks, "It's the Mortal Cup, Jace, not the Mortal Toilet Bowl" (19.4). Oh, we so hope the Mortal Toilet Bowl shows up in a future book. And the Plunger of Doom.
- Madame Dorothea tries to snatch the Cup from Clary's hands, but Clary backs away in time.
- She doesn't seem herself when she tears down the curtains in front of the Portal and releases a surge of demonic energy, which flows into her body and transforms her into a huge stinky monster with claws, maggot-filled sores, and exposed bones. Awkward.
- We would try to describe it further, but we're a little scared, so we'll let it describe itself: "I am Abbadon. I am the Demon of the Abyss. Mine are the empty places between worlds. […] You cannot hope to defeat me. Give me the Cup or die" (19.27).
- Jace may have Abbadon beat looks-wise (who doesn't?), but Abbadon definitely gives him a run for his money in the cockiness department.
- Fighters on both sides get in some good hits: Isabelle lashes it with her whip, Alec whacks it with his staff, Jace gets in a blow or two with his blades. But Abbadon manages to handily knock Isabelle and Alec out of the fray.
- Speaking of fray, Clary Fray is pretty much just standing aside, paralyzed with fear, watching everyone get the spit knocked out of them.
- All hope seems lost when an unexpected savior opens the door: Simon. He had borrowed Alec's bow, and fires an arrow into the skylight, unleashing a blast of sunlight. Take that, nasty demon thing.
- Abbadon shrivels and crumples in the sun, leaving only a greasy scorch mark on the ground. Upgrade!
- Alec's injuries have left him in critical condition, so they load into the van and burn rubber back to the Institute.
- On the way, Clary's nice enough to let Alec believe that he killed the demon. Jace beats himself up because he feels responsible for Alec's reckless behavior.
- Back at the Institute, Hodge does his best to nurse Alec's injuries, but they may be beyond even his expertise.
- "It's a pity […] that you did not retrieve the Cup" (19.131), Hodge says to Clary. He thinks its retrieval would be a comfort to Alec, knowing that he isn't maybe going to die for nothing.
- Clary tells Hodge that they did, in fact, retrieve the Cup. Hodge has an interesting way of celebrating this triumph. He orders Hugo, his raven, to claw Clary's face off.
- The crafty bird gets the Cup from Clary, and Hodge's betrayal is revealed.
- Right on cue, Valentine shows up to take the Cup and Jace, who was knocked unconscious somehow. Unclear.
- Before he leaves through the Portal from which he came, Valentine lifts Hodge's curse, freeing him to leave the Institute for the first time in years.