City of Bones Summary By Chapter | Cassandra Clare

The demon mentions someone named “Valentine” and tries to eat her.

Clary jams Jace’s Sensor down the demon’s throat, and it spasms and dies.

She is bitten and poisoned in the struggle.

Jace arrives, kills the remaining trace of the demon, and uses a stele to draw a hiding rune on Clary’s arm.

He carries her away as “police” who are actually demons arrive.

Key Moment: Clary kills a Ravener demon using Jace’s Sensor as a weapon.

New Information: The name Valentine is associated with the attack on Clary’s home.

Chapter 5: Clave and Covenant

Clary wakes up in the Institute’s infirmary after being unconscious for three days due to demon poison.

Isabelle Lightwood provides her with a healing tea and explains she is in the Shadowhunters’ New York headquarters.

Clary learns that Jace saved her and that he is not Isabelle’s brother but an orphan whose father was murdered.

She meets Jace in a music room, and he takes her to see Hodge Starkweather in the library.

Hodge explains that the Institute is an embassy for Shadowhunters and mentions their secret home country, Idris.

Alec Lightwood expresses hostility toward Clary, doubting she could have killed a Ravener.

Jace reveals he put a Mark on Clary, which would have killed her if she were a regular “mundane.”

The fact that she survived proves she has Shadowhunter blood.

Key Moment: Jace reveals that Clary survived a Shadowhunter rune, proving she has Nephilim ancestry.

New Information: Shadowhunters live by the Law of the Covenant, governed by the Clave.

Chapter 6: Forsaken

Hodge explains that powerful demons rarely attack ordinary households and that Jocelyn must have been targeted for a reason.

Clary mentions the name Valentine, causing Hodge to react with visible fear.

Hodge reveals Valentine was a Shadowhunter who led a group called the Circle and was thought to have died fifteen years ago.

Clary demands to go back to her apartment to look for clues, and Jace agrees to accompany her.

Upon arriving, they find the apartment completely empty of furniture and belongings.

They are suddenly attacked by a massive, scarred human called a Forsaken warrior.

Jace kills the creature with a seraph blade but is injured in the struggle.

He uses a healing rune, an iratze, to instantly mend his broken arm.

Key Moment: Jace uses a healing rune to fix his broken arm instantly.

New Information: Forsaken are humans driven insane and transformed into mindless killers by runes they cannot withstand.

Chapter 7: The Five‑Dimensional Door

Madame Dorothea appears and reveals she is a “hedge‑witch” who knows about the Clave and the Shadow World.

She invites Jace and Clary into her apartment, which serves as a “Sanctuary” for Downworlders.

Dorothea reads Clary’s tea leaves and finds them meaningless, suggesting a block in Clary’s mind.

Clary picks a tarot card—the Ace of Cups—which she realizes her mother painted.

Dorothea confirms Jocelyn was a Shadowhunter who lived there because of a hidden “Portal” in the apartment.

Clary, desperate to find where her mother would have gone, impulsively steps through the Portal.

Jace jumps in after her as she tumbles through empty space.

Key Moment: Clary discovers a magical Portal in her neighbor’s apartment and leaps through it.

New Information: Jocelyn Fairchild was a high‑ranking member of the Clave who went into hiding.

Chapter 8: Weapon of Choice

Clary and Jace land in the backyard of Luke’s house in Williamsburg.

They find Simon hiding in the bushes, having followed Luke there after Clary disappeared.

Simon reveals that Luke has been packing a bag full of glowing weapons.

The trio breaks into Luke’s bookstore and finds a storage room with blood‑stained manacles on the wall.

Inside Luke’s office, Clary finds a cracked photo of her, Luke, and her mother that she had previously smashed at her apartment.

They hide behind a magical screen as Luke enters with two men, Pangborn and Blackwell.

Luke claims he doesn’t care about Jocelyn and won’t interfere with Valentine’s plans.

Clary overhears Luke seemingly abandon her mother to Valentine’s emissaries.

Key Moment: Clary overhears Luke betraying her mother to Valentine’s men.

New Information: Pangborn and Blackwell are the men Jace believes murdered his father.

Chapter 9: The Circle and the Brotherhood

Clary is devastated by Luke’s apparent betrayal, but Jace insists they return to the Institute.

Back at the Institute, they find Isabelle making a bizarre soup, and Simon is immediately smitten with her.

Clary and Jace go to the greenhouse to find Hodge, who is tending to medicinal plants.

They recount the events at Luke’s, and Hodge reveals that Luke was once known as Lucian Graymark.

Hodge shows them the oath of the “Circle of Raziel,” a group dedicated to purifying Shadowhunter bloodlines.

He admits he helped write the oath and was a member of the Circle.

Hodge drops a final bombshell: Jocelyn was Valentine’s wife.

The revelation explains why Valentine is hunting Jocelyn—and why Clary has Shadowhunter blood.

Key Moment: Hodge reveals the secret history of the Circle and Jocelyn’s marriage to Valentine.

New Information: The Circle planned to slaughter Downworlders during the signing of the Accords.

Part II: Easy Is The Descent

Chapter 10: City of Bones

Hodge explains that he and the Lightwoods were members of the Circle and are living in exile as punishment.

Valentine is seeking the Mortal Cup to build an army of Shadowhunters by force, which would kill many children.

Clary learns that Jocelyn supposedly died in a fire Valentine set to destroy the Cup.

Jace suggests that Clary’s missing memories might hold the key to the Cup’s location.

Brother Jeremiah of the Silent City arrives to examine Clary’s mind.

He discovers a powerful spell‑block on her mind that he cannot break without killing her.

Clary agrees to go to the Silent City to stand before the Brotherhood in hopes of breaking the block.

Key Moment: Brother Jeremiah reveals that Clary’s mind was professionally blocked by a warlock’s spell.

New Information: The Mortal Cup can turn humans into Shadowhunters, but the process is often fatal for adults.

Chapter 11: Magnus Bane

Jace takes Clary to the Silent City in a spectral black carriage driven by Brother Jeremiah.

During the ride, Jace reveals he wants to kill Valentine to avenge his father.

They enter the Bone City, an underground ossuary where Shadowhunters bury their dead.

The Silent Brothers attempt to read Clary’s mind, causing her to see a vision of her mother and the name “Magnus Bane.”

Clary realizes this is the warlock who blocked her memories.

The Brothers cannot undo the spell, but they confirm that Magnus Bane is the one who cast it.

Clary now knows she must find the High Warlock of Brooklyn to unlock her past.

Key Moment: Clary experiences a mental breakthrough and identifies Magnus Bane as her memory‑thief.

New Information: Magnus Bane is the High Warlock of Brooklyn.

Chapter 12: Dead Man’s Party

The group receives an invitation to a party hosted by Magnus Bane and decides to attend.

Isabelle dresses Clary in a provocative outfit, and Jace gives her a rose‑hilted dagger.

At the party, they encounter various Downworlders, including vampires and faeries.

They confront Magnus, who admits he signed his “work” on Clary’s mind.

Magnus explains that Jocelyn paid him every two years to reinforce the spell so Clary would never see the Shadow World.

He claims he cannot safely undo the spell but shows Clary the Gray Book to help her memories return naturally.

Clary studies the book intently, hoping to trigger a recollection.

Key Moment: Magnus Bane confirms Jocelyn’s role in hiding the Shadow World from Clary.

New Information: Downworlders like warlocks are sterile crossbreeds of humans and demons.

Chapter 13: The Memory of Whiteness

While Clary studies the runes in the Gray Book, Simon accidentally drinks a blue cocktail and turns into a rat.

Magnus refuses to reverse the spell immediately, saying it will wear off in a few hours.

In the chaos of the party’s end, a vampire steals the rat‑Simon from Clary’s backpack.

Magnus reveals the vampires are from the “uptown lair” at the old Hotel Dumort.

Jace and Clary realize they must rescue Simon before he turns back into a human and the vampires kill him.

They head to a Catholic church to gather weapons for the rescue.

Clary is terrified but determined to save her best friend.

Key Moment: Simon is transformed into a rat and then kidnapped by vampires.

New Information: The Hotel Dumort is a known vampire lair in New York.

Chapter 14: The Hotel Dumort

Jace and Clary reach the abandoned Hotel Dumort and find a way inside through a basement grating.

They are aided by a boy named Raphael, who claims his brother was killed by the vampires.

Jace eventually realizes Raphael is actually a vampire himself and the leader of the lair.

They are surrounded by dozens of vampires, but Clary attempts to trade Raphael’s life for Simon the rat.

A fight breaks out, and Jace is nearly killed by Raphael.

Suddenly, the windows explode as a pack of werewolves invades the hotel.

The vampires and werewolves clash in a brutal battle, giving Clary and Jace a chance to escape.

Key Moment: A massive battle erupts between vampires and werewolves in the hotel ballroom.

New Information: Raphael is a vampire who uses a cross‑shaped scar on his throat to deceive others.

Chapter 15: High and Dry

The lead werewolf demands that the vampires hand over Clary.

In the confusion, Simon the rat finds a hidden door, allowing Clary and Jace to escape the ballroom.

They flee up the stairs with werewolves in pursuit.

On the roof, Jace finds several vampire motorcycles that run on demon energies.

He manages to start one using his stele, and they fly off the roof as vampires and wolves close in.

The bike begins to fail as the sun rises, and they crash into a supermarket parking lot in Brooklyn.

Simon finally transforms back into a human, and Clary is relieved to find him safe.

They are battered but alive.

Key Moment: Clary and Jace escape the hotel on a flying motorcycle.

New Information: Some vampire motorcycles can fly and operate on demon energy, which fails in sunlight.

Chapter 16: Falling Angels

The group returns to the Institute, where Hodge is furious and Jace has a dislocated shoulder.

Alec confronts Clary, blaming her for putting Jace in danger and nearly getting him killed.

Clary retaliates by accusing Alec of being in love with Jace, which leads Alec to threaten her life.

Simon visits Clary and confesses that he has been in love with her for ten years.

Clary is stunned and unable to respond the way he wants, leading Simon to leave in heartbreak.

Alone, Clary discovers that her drawings have magical properties.

She accidentally brings a sketched object into reality, realizing she has a unique power.

This ability could be the key to finding the Mortal Cup.

Key Moment: Simon confesses his love for Clary and leaves the Institute when she doesn’t reciprocate.

New Information: Clary has the unique ability to create magical runes and pull physical objects out of her drawings.

Chapter 17: The Midnight Flower

Jace takes Clary to the greenhouse at midnight for her sixteenth birthday.

He tells her a story about a boy and a falcon, illustrating his belief that “to love is to destroy.”

They share a picnic, and Jace gives her a witchlight stone as a gift.

Jace calls Clary beautiful, and they share a passionate kiss as a midnight flower blooms.

Their moment is interrupted by Simon, who has come back for his things and is devastated to see them together.

Jace reacts with cold cruelty, driving Simon away and making Clary feel guilty and confused.

The kiss lingers in Clary’s mind, even as she worries about Simon.

Key Moment: Jace and Clary share their first kiss in the greenhouse.

New Information: Jace’s father taught him that love is a weakness that leads to destruction.

Chapter 18: The Mortal Cup

Clary realizes that her mother hid the Mortal Cup inside a tarot card—the Ace of Cups—she painted for Madame Dorothea.

She explains her theory to Jace, Alec, and Isabelle, who are skeptical but agree to investigate.

Simon agrees to drive them to Clary’s old apartment in his band’s van.

Hodge warns Clary that Luke and Jocelyn were once as close as she and Simon, and that Luke may have turned against her out of unrequited love.

The group prepares for battle, applying new Marks to their skin.

They arrive at the brownstone and find the foyer smelling of recent demonic activity.

Clary is nervous but determined to retrieve the Cup.

Key Moment: Clary deduces that the Mortal Cup is hidden within a physical painting.

New Information: Jocelyn hid the Cup in a way that only someone who knew her art style could find it.

Chapter 19: Abbadon

The group enters Madame Dorothea’s apartment, where Clary uses Jace’s stele to pull the physical Mortal Cup out of the tarot card.

Dorothea suddenly reveals herself to be possessed by Abbadon, a Greater Demon and Lord of the Fallen.

Abbadon attacks, critically injuring Alec and knocking Isabelle unconscious.

Jace fights the demon but is pinned down.

Simon suddenly appears and uses Alec’s bow to shoot out the skylight, flooding the room with sunlight.

The direct sun forces Abbadon to retreat, saving the group.

Clary holds the Mortal Cup, knowing it is both a treasure and a target.

Key Moment: Simon saves the Shadowhunters by destroying the skylight and banishing Abbadon.

New Information: Greater Demons like Abbadon must be killed in both physical and ethereal forms to truly die.

Chapter 20: In Rats’ Alley

Alec is in a coma from demon poison, and Hodge claims he must contact the Silent Brothers to save him.

Clary reveals to a shocked Hodge that she actually retrieved the Mortal Cup.

Hodge betrays the group, knocking Jace unconscious and using a ring to summon Valentine through a Portal.

Hodge gives Valentine the Mortal Cup and Jace in exchange for the removal of his curse.

Valentine takes the Cup and Jace, revealing he plans to take them to Idris.

Hodge flees the Institute, and Clary follows him into a dark alley.

She is cornered by Hodge but is saved by a large black‑and‑gray wolf.

Key Moment: Hodge betrays the Shadowhunters and hands the Mortal Cup and Jace to Valentine.

New Information: Hodge was working for Valentine all along to regain his freedom.

Part III: The Descent Beckons

Chapter 21: The Werewolf’s Tale

Clary wakes up in a jail cell and discovers her savior was Luke, who is a werewolf and the leader of the pack.

Luke tells Clary his life story: he was Valentine’s best friend and parabatai until Valentine betrayed him after he was bitten by a wolf.

Valentine had encouraged Luke to commit suicide, but Luke instead became the new pack leader.

Luke explains the Uprising and how Jocelyn helped him stop the Circle’s plan to massacre Downworlders.

He reveals that Jocelyn fled to Paris and then New York because she realized she was pregnant with Clary.

Clary is horrified to learn the ultimate secret: Valentine is her father.

She struggles to accept that the man hunting her mother is her own blood.

Luke promises to help her rescue Jocelyn and Jace.

Key Moment: Luke reveals that Valentine Morgenstern is Clary’s biological father.

New Information: Luke was a Shadowhunter named Lucian Graymark before being turned into a werewolf.

Chapter 22: Renwick’s Ruin

Clary and Simon search for Valentine’s hideout and deduce he is at Renwick Smallpox Hospital on Roosevelt Island.

Luke leads his wolf pack in an assault on the hospital, which is guarded by dozens of Forsaken.

Clary and Luke fight their way inside, where Clary finds her mother, Jocelyn, in a magically induced coma.

They are confronted by Pangborn and Blackwell; Luke kills Blackwell with a dagger.

Pangborn challenges Luke to a duel, and Luke tells Clary to run.

Clary heads upstairs and finds Jace in a dining room, appearing unharmed and clean.

Jace seems calm, which immediately puts Clary on edge.

Key Moment: Clary finds Jocelyn held captive in a magical coma at the hospital.

New Information: Roosevelt Island was once known as Blackwell’s Island and owned by a Shadowhunter family.

Chapter 23: Valentine

Jace tells Clary that his father is alive and standing right there: it is Valentine.

Valentine reveals that Jace’s real name is Jonathan Christopher Morgenstern and that Jace and Clary are siblings.

Jace is devastated, realizing the nature of his feelings for Clary was “wrong.”

Luke arrives, covered in blood, and challenges Valentine to a duel to the death.

Jace initially sides with Valentine but eventually realizes Valentine’s cruelty when he tries to kill Luke.

Jace stops his father from delivering the final blow, and Valentine flees through a Portal mirror to Idris with the Mortal Cup.

The Portal shatters, leaving Jace and Clary behind, forever changed by the truth.

Key Moment: Valentine reveals that Jace and Clary are brother and sister before escaping with the Cup.

New Information: Jace was raised to believe Michael Wayland was his father as a protection mechanism set up by Valentine.

Epilogue: The Ascent Beckons

Jocelyn remains in a magical coma at a mundane hospital, with Luke staying by her side in hopes of her recovery.

Alec has been healed by Magnus Bane, marking the start of a new bond between the warlock and the Shadowhunter.

Clary and Jace meet one last time in the Institute’s greenhouse.

Jace admits that Clary makes him feel like he belongs somewhere, but the revelation of their kinship creates a painful barrier between them.

They cannot be together, yet they cannot stay apart.

Jace takes Clary for a ride on a flying motorcycle, showing her the Shadow World hidden within New York City.

The city spreads out below them, full of secrets and danger.

Clary knows her life will never be ordinary again.

Key Moment: Jace takes Clary on a flying motorcycle ride through the hidden Shadow World.

New Information: The story ends with Clary embracing her new identity, even as she mourns what she cannot have with Jace.

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