[Infernal Readalong] Clockwork Angel Week 4: Chapter 16 - Chapter 18

Week 4: Chapter 16 - Chapter 18

Hey quirks! As you may remember from this post, I'm participating in a readalong of Cassandra Clare's The Infernal Devices! We are in the last week of reading Clockwork Angel! Check out our reading schedule here, and all my recap posts here.
In my recap posts there is a high chance of  SPOILERS. If you do not want to be spoiled on anything, I suggest reading the listed chapters before reading this post or avoiding these posts if you haven't read the book.

Chapter 16
At the end of chapter 15, Nate was found missing from his room, so when this chapter starts, all the residents of the Institute are searching for him. Thomas finds him hiding in a room behind some curtains. When Tessa goes to talk to him, he is under the impression that Tessa is being held captive by the Shadowhunters, but she explains the situation. Food and blankets are brought and all the Shadowhunters gather to hear what Nate has to say about de Quincey, aka the Magister. Everything they thought about de Quincey turns out to be true. Nate tells them where he thinks de Quincey is hiding and tells them what he knows of de Quincey's plan. It turns out, after Jem goes and does a little research, that the night de Quincey needs to perform the binding spell that will tie the demon energies to the automatons is the night of the full moon, which will be that night. After reading Nate's ordeal and how he got into the mess, I like him a lot less. And despite Nate's assertion that de Quincey is the Magister, I still feel like someone else is pulling the strings, like de Quincey is telling everyone he is the Magister because the true Magister told him to. De Quincey just doesn't seem like a mastermind to me.

Chapter 17
After they find all this stuff out, the Shadowhunters rush around to get prepared. The Enclave (which I've since figured out is the council of London Shadowhunters) is going to go after de Quincey, but the "children" - Will and Jem - will be left behind because of their age. Tessa stays with Nate and Jessamine in the drawing room, fretting, while the two of them play cards. Then there is a knock (not a knock but it has the same effect) on the door of the Institute. Tessa looks out the window to see Will and Jem talking with Mortmain, and she goes to investigate.

Outside, Mortmain is saying that he wanted to do a favor for Charlotte and Henry since they kept his name from the Enclave about his involvement with de Quincey, so he is there to share some information and then leave the city while the big business goes down. He says that de Quincey has the Dark Sisters (one brought back via necromancy) working on the binding spell in a different location from de Quincey, and if they succeed, the Enclave will be walking into a massacre. Mortmain expresses his regret to Tessa that he ever introduced her parents to the Shadow World and then let her brother disappear into it as well. Mortmain leaves and then Will and Jem decide that even if Mortmain's information was inaccurate, it is too risky to ignore it. They prepare to leave, with Tessa wanting to go but being told to stay behind by Will, and Jem seems to agree.

Will and Jem take a carriage to the Dark Sisters location, which is a bit of a travel, but before they go Jem says, "Mizpah," to Tessa. He told her earlier that Shadowhunters never say goodbye or good luck before a battle, so he says the ancient word because it is a sort-of goodbye but not a goodbye, and he kisses her hand. The looks on Will's and Sophie's faces are the same for once, obviously because Sophie loves Jem and Will loves Tessa. When Tessa returns to the house, she is inside for just a bit when the door swings open again and clockwork automatons are standing there. They stab Agatha, killing her, and push their way in. Sophie says only Shadowhunters are able to open the door, and Tessa realizes that the front automaton was from the night she and Jem were attacked and that it still has Jem's blood on its metal hands.

We leave Tessa to go where Will and Jem are arriving at the location where the Dark Sisters are supposed to be. They break their way inside and see that the place looks old and unused. Then the hear some awful singing and before long, Mrs. Dark descends the stairs. They don't attack each other right away because Mrs. Dark is holding Mrs. Black's head. The pair asks why she has her sister's head and Mrs. Dark says she was in the middle of bringing her back with necromancy. Will and Jem accuse her of working the binding spell for the Magister, de Quincey, at which Mrs. Dark bursts out laughing and calls them a pair of fools.

Chapter 18
This next chapter flips between Tessa at the Institute and Will and Jem with Mrs. Dark. We start back at the Institute, and the automatons have stopped moving and Thomas, Jessamine, and Nate have come downstairs to see what the commotion was. As they are standing there, Mortmain reveals himself (I was not expecting that). Mortmain praises Nate for having done well and Nate goes to Mortmain and bowing like Mortmain is his king and calls Mortmain the Magister (I did not expect this either).

Back with Jem and Will, the pair is confused and Mrs. Dark says they are stupid and walking dead men because de Quincey is not the Magister. Will leaps at her but she throws her sisters head, and then the two chase her into another part of the house.

Back at the Institute, there is a lot of disbelief and talk, and then Thomas and Jessamine are fighting the automatons. One gets hold of Tessa, but her clockwork angel charm on her necklace comes to life, the wings slicing the creature, releasing Tessa. Jessamine reaches for Tessa to protect her and Mortmain commands one of the things to take out Jessamine, all the while Nate is standing aside laughing at the spectacle (I really hate him now). Jessamine is knocked down and out, and Thomas yells for Sophie and Tessa to run to the Sanctuary, and they do so.

Back with Will and Jem, they arrive in a large room that looks like it was being used for necromancy, but Jem says that is all it was being used for, not for the binding spell. There is a grotesque statue there, but it turns out that it is Mrs. Dark in her true form, ensconced in a protective circle. Mrs. Dark reveals that she is Eidolon, a demon with shape-changing powers (Tessa's demon parent maybe?) and that Mrs. Black was a warlock. Jem and Will try to question the demon, but it refuses to tell them anything, but Will figures out that the Magister is Mortmain, and then they piece out that Nate was working with Mortmain. Mrs. Dark is about to kill them to get back in Mortmain's good graces, so Will cuts down a large chandelier hanging over the protective circle, and they escape the house.

Back at the Institute, Tessa and Sophie reach the Sanctuary, but Sophie doesn't have the key, so she runs to get it. While waiting, Nate shows up and talks to Tessa, explaining that he gets power and knowledge for helping Mortmain obtain Tessa. Nate doesn't know or care why Mortmain wants her, but it is clear he is not sorry for putting her through all of this. Nate also reveals that the reason their Aunt Harriet died was because he sent poisoned chocolates to them, knowing Tessa would not eat them but that Aunt Harriet would (Nate is now officially at the top of my villains-I-hate list. I knew he wasn't a great person, but I never imagined this). Then Jessamine sneaks up behind Nate and knocks him out, and Sophie arrives with the key and they lock themselves in the Sanctuary.

To end the chapter, we are back with Will and Jem. Jem is having a hard time breathing, his demon powder wearing off quicker than they expected (btw, he also picked up a cage with a gray cat in it, so hello Church!). Will cuts a horse free from the carriage, saying it will be faster that way, and before Jem can protest, Will races off to the Institute.

My verdict so far:
I was glad we finally got Nate's story, even if it did turn out to be hogwash. The action and forward plot movement escalated pretty quickly, and while it might have been a bit rushed, I was so caught up in it that I didn't really care. And what twists! I'm not the kind of reader who tries to figure every little thing out, so I was caught almost completely off guard by the true Magister and Nate's involvement. I did have an inkling that the real Magister was someone other than de Quincey, but I didn't suspect Mortmain. Nate's true nature was the biggest shock of all. I'm also glad we get to see Church's origins and finally find out something new about the clockwork angel. Only a little left until it's all over!

Check back tomorrow for recaps of the final chapters and the epilogue!