Shadowhunters Quotes

(Raphael) "I know why you refuse me, Daylighter, and it is not out of some pretended sense of rejection. You are so involved with the Shadowhunters, you think you are one of them. We have seen you with them. Instead of spending your nights in the hunt, as you should, you spend them with Valentine's daughter. You live with a werewolf. You are a disgrace."
(Simon) "Do you act like this with every job interview? ~ Cassandra Clare

It's official," he declared to no one in particular. "This is the worst vacation ever. ~ Cassandra Clare

We Shadowhunters, we put ourselves in danger, every hour, every day. I think sometimes we are reckless with our hearts the way we are with our lives. When we give them away, we give every piece. ~ Cassandra Clare

Emma was the only person he had ever desired, and the force of that desire sometimes stunned him. Never more than tonight. He had lost himself in her, in them, for some totality of time; he had felt only his body and the part of his heart that loved and was uninjured. Emma was all the good in him, he thought, all that burned bright. ~ Cassandra Clare

He and Jia occasionally made cutting remarks about various Clave members to each other in Mandarin. She was a nice lady. ~ Cassandra Clare

Do you want to wear a beret after all?" Magnus asked. "Say the word. I happen to have several berets concealed on my person. In a variety of colors. I'm a beret cornucopia. ~ Cassandra Clare

He would be as everyone was, especially Shadowhunters: a patch-work of love and grief, of gains and losses. The love helped you accept the grief. You had to feel it all. ~ Cassandra Clare

He is a Shadowhunter," said Jocelyn. "His loyalty will be to Clave and Covenant."
"He's my friend," said Magnus coldly. "His loyalty is to me. ~ Cassandra Clare

Unasked-for advice is criticism, my dear. ~ Cassandra Clare

It has been many years since I have eaten freely at my choice, fair one, and a plate of strawberries is all that I desire." - Mark Blackthorn ~ Cassandra Clare

They are pretty to look at," - Jace Wayland ~ Cassandra Clare

In all Gabriel's life he could not remember his brother giving even the prettiest of Shadowhunter girls a second glance. Yet he looked at this scarred mundane servant as if she were the sun rising. It was inexplicable, but it was also undeniable. He could see the
horror on his brother's face as Sophie's good opinion of him shattered before his eyes. ~ Cassandra Clare

No mission is so dangerous it isn't worth doing in style. ~ Cassandra Clare

Jace's arm looked like a map: runes spread down onto his collarbone and chest, the backs of his hands.
The road map of their bravery and hopes, their dreams and desires, marked clearly on their bodies. Shadowhunters weren't always the most forthcoming of people, but their skins were honest. ~ Cassandra Clare

Truth is to be found in dreams," the King said, looking down at them. From this angle, Emma could see that the odd splitting of his face ended at his throat, which was ordinary skin. "Tell me, Shadowhunters: You enter a cave. Inside the cave is an egg, lit from within and glowing. You know that it beats with your dreams--not the ones you have during the day, but the ones you half-remember in the morning. It splits open. What emerges?"
"A rose," said Mark. "With thorns."
Christina cut her eyes toward him in surprise, but remained motionless. "An angel," she said. "With bloody hands."
"A knife," said Emma. "Pure and clean."
"Bars," Julian said quietly. "The bars of a prison cell. ~ Cassandra Clare

Behold, the Great Poison!" Shinyun shouted. "Our founder. The prophet who brought us together and then led us astray." "It's just an honor to be nominated," Magnus gasped. ~ Cassandra Clare

He could sleep in the ruins of cities lost for centuries. ~ Cassandra Clare

ducking glass mole' - Alec Lightwood ~ Cassandra Clare

I simply cannot see why one would wish to picnic in the nude. There would be ants in dreadful places. ~ Cassandra Clare

Herondales, someone had told her once. They were everything that Shadowhunters had to offer, all in one family: both the best, and the worst. ~ Cassandra Clare

Sometimes the most ruthless heart speaks the most truth ~ Cassandra Clare

She remembered what Jem, the ex-Silent Brother who'd helped preside over her parabatai ceremony, had said about what Julian was to her, that there was an expression for it in his native Chinese, zhi yin.
"The one who understands your music."
Emma couldn't play a note on any instrument , but Julian understood her music. ~ Cassandra Clare

The compass of Magnus's soul spun freely within him, and he'd long been used to that. ~ Cassandra Clare

This is how a faerie loves: with her whole body and soul.
This is how a faerie loves: with destruction.
This is how a faerie loves: with a gift. ~ Cassandra Clare

I thought: classic Jace. Never makes a mess when a total catastrophe will do. ~ Cassandra Clare

He said there are thousands of Shadowhunters, but great love comes once in a lifetime if one is lucky, and one would be a fool to let it go. ~ Cassandra Clare

How did you jump off the cathedral roof and not die?" - Clary Fray ~ Cassandra Clare

Alec knew who he was. He knew what he had done and what he had fought for, and he knew what he would fight for in the future. And he knew exactly who he loved. ~ Cassandra Clare

You know, when most girls say they want a big rock, they don't mean, you know, literally a big rock."
"Very amusing, my sarcastic friend. It's not a rock, precisely. All Shadowhunters have a witchlight rune-stone. ~ Cassandra Clare

All that darkness, and all that pain, and Magnus was somehow still a blazing riot of life and color, a source of joy for everyone around him. ~ Cassandra Clare

It was as though each of them had discovered something unexpected but infinitely desirable. They were not yet sure of each other, but they wanted to be. ~ Cassandra Clare

Not specifically. "Demons have been on Earth as long as we have. They're all over the world, in their different forms – Greek daemons, Persian daevas, Hindu asuras, Japanese oni. Most belief systems have some method of incorporating both their existence and the fight against them. Shadowhunters cleave to no single religion, and in turn all religions assist us in our battle. I could as easily have gone for help to a Jewish synagogue or a Shinto temple, or – Ah. Here it is. ~ Cassandra Clare

We are all the pieces of what we remember. We hold in ourselves the hopes and fears of those who love us. As long as there is love and memory, there is no true loss. ~ Cassandra Clare

My first album will be titled One Foot in Hell Already. ~ Cassandra Clare

Vampires took offense SO easily - and Parisian vampires were the worst of all.' - The Runaway Queen (The Bane Chronicles, 2) by Cassandra Clare and Maureen Johnson ~ Cassandra Clare

Everything is going to change for the Shadowhunters, Simon thought. For all of us. It has to. ~ Cassandra Clare

Will looked at his sister. "And you don't care about being a Shadowhunter. How is this: I shall write a letter and give it to you if you promise to deliver it home yourself - and not to return."

Cecily recoiled; she had many memories of shouting matches with Will, of the china dolls she had owned that he had broken by dropping them out an attic window; but there was also kindness in her memories: the brother who had bandaged up a cut knee, or retied her hair ribbons when they came loose. That kindness was absent from the Will who stood before her now. Her mother had used to cry for the first year or two after Will went; she had said, in Welsh, holding Cecily to her, that they - the Shadowhunters - would "take all the love out of him." A cold, unloving people, she had told Cecily, who had forbidden her marriage to her husband. What could he want with them, her Will, her little one?

"I will not go," Cecily said, staring her brother down. "And if you insist that I must, I will - I will - "

The door of the attic slid open and Jem stood silhouetted in the doorway… ~ Cassandra Clare

Do you have her phone number?" Aline asked. "In case we get separated, or something? ~ Cassandra Clare

Life was an uncertain thing. ~ Cassandra Clare

This was Jace being brave. Simon thought, brave and snarky because he thought Lilith was going to kill him, and that was the way he wanted to go, unafraid and on his feet. Like a warrior. The way Shadowhunters did. His death song would always be this-jokes and snideness and pretend arrogance, and that look in his eyes that said 'I'm better than you'. Simon just hadn't realized it before. ~ Cassandra Clare

Clary squinted at it. 'Is it going to turn me into a rodent?'
'Where's the trust? I think it's strawberry juice,' Isabelle said. 'Anyway, it's yummy. Jace?' She offered him the glass.
'I am a man,' he told her, 'and men do not consume pink beverages. Get thee gone, woman, and bring me something brown.'
'Brown?' Isabelle made a face.
'Brown is a manly color,' said Jace, and yanked on a stray lock of Isabelle's hair with his free hand. 'In fact, look- Alec is wearing it. ~ Cassandra Clare

It means 'Shadowhunters: Looking Better in Black Than the Widows of our Enemies Since 1234'. ~ Cassandra Clare

He had sworn long ago that no one would ever change him - not the mundanes who hated him for one thing, or the Shadowhunters currently hunting him for another. ~ Cassandra Clare

Magnus invented your Portals, not that he receives any credit for it from Shadowhunters. He is one of the most powerful warlocks in the world, and so tenderhearted he rushes to the aid of vicious killers. He is the best the Downworld has to offer. ~ Cassandra Clare

Every time I think I'm missing a piece of me, you give it back. ~ Cassandra Clare

It tastes of the most bitter poison . . I've never tasted something so disgusting." - Mark Blackthorn ~ Cassandra Clare

Why does it take girls so long to shower?" he demanded. "Mortal girls, Shadowhunters, female warlocks, you're all the same. I'm not getting any younger waiting out here."
-Magnus to Clary, pg.272- ~ Cassandra Clare

Alec reached out and touched Marcy's back, rubbing it gently as if this werewolf stranger was his own sister.
"She's fine," he said. "You didn't - I know you didn't want to hurt her, that you didn't want to hurt anyone. You can't help being what you are. You're going to figure it all out."
[....]
"That was nice, what you said to her," said Magnus, when the crowd had completely hidden Marcy and Adrienne from their sight.
"Uh . . . it was nothing," said Alec, shifting and looking embarrassed. The Shadowhunters did not see much to approve of in kindness, Magnus supposed. "I mean, that's what we're here for, aren't we? Shadowhunters, I mean. We have to help anyone who needs help. We have to protect people."
The Nephilim Magnus had known had seemed to believe the Downworlders were created to help them, and to be disposed of if they didn't help enough.
Magnus looked at Alec. ~ Cassandra Clare

Once, I lived among the Shadowhunters," Tessa said softly. "Once I might almost have seemed like a person to you."

Jocelyn looked lost, in the way that people did when they learned something so strange that the whole world seemed unfamiliar. ~ Cassandra Clare

Like you were on the cover of Shadowhunters Weekly every month. ~ Cassandra Clare

When I heard about these lessons, I thought they would be a dreadful waste of my time. I pictured two very silly girls uninterested in any sort of instruction. But that describes neither Miss Gray nor yourself. I should tell you, I used to train younger Shadowhunters in Madrid. And there were quite a few of them who didn't have the same native ability that you do. You're a talented student, and it is my pleasure to teach you."
Sophie felt herself flush scarlet. "You cannot be serious."
"I am. I was pleasantly surprised the first time I came here and again so the next time and the next. I found that I was looking forward to it. In fact, it would be fair to say that since my return home, I have hated everything in London except these hours with you. ~ Cassandra Clare

Even in half demon hunter clothes, Clary thought, he looked like the kind of boy who'd come over your house to pick you up for a date and be polite to your parents and nice to your pets.
Jace on the other hand, looked like the kind of boy who'd come over your house and burn it down just for kicks. ~ Cassandra Clare

As happens in times of despair for the noble and true - so, never for me - an angel came. ~ Cassandra Clare

My boyfriend is a Shadowhunter, for heaven's sake. Literally, for heaven's sake. ~ Cassandra Clare

I've changed my mind," Catarina announced. She put her arm around Alec's neck and gave him a kiss on the cheek. "I like you." "Oh," said Alec, looking baffled. "Thanks." "Please take care of Magnus," Catarina added. "I try," said Alec. Catarina gave Magnus a delighted look over Alec's shoulder. "At last," she murmured. "A keeper. ~ Cassandra Clare

. . . pasta is rarely fatal. Unless Isabelle makes it." - Jace Wayland ~ Cassandra Clare

It wasn't that he didn't like Magnus's clothes, but Magnus wore them like armor, a layer of protection between him and a world that didn't always meet someone like him with open arms. ~ Cassandra Clare

Isabelle had been trained to wake up early every morning, rain or shine, and a slight hangover did nothing to prevent it from happening again. She sat up slowly and blinked down at Simon. She'd never spent and entire night in a bed with anyone else, unless you counted crawling into her parents bed when she was four and afraid of thunderstorms. She couldn't help staring at Simon as if he were some exotic species of animal. He lay on his back, his mouth slightly open, his hair in his eyes. Ordinary brown hair, ordinary brown eyes. His t-shirt was pulled up slightly. He wasn't muscular like a shadowhunter. He had a smooth flat stomach but no six-pack, and there was still a hint of softness to his face. What was it about him that fascinated her? He was plenty cute, but she had dated gorgeous faerie knights, sexy shadowhunters ...
"Isabelle," Simon said without opening his eyes. "Quit staring at me. ~ Cassandra Clare

No, said Jem, because he was always James Carstairs when he spoke of what was dearest to him. Not mine. My parabatai's. W and H. William Herondale. Will ~ Cassandra Clare

NYC Institute has one. I'll show you sometime if you want.
It's a date.
It is maybe the least romantic spot in the Institute, by the way.
You'll make up for that, I'm sure.
(Jeez, get a locked room on unsanctified ground, you two.) ~ Cassandra Clare

As Shadowhunters, they had all seen wonders, but there was something distinctly Faerie about this kind of magic: It seemed to take place in the interstices of the normal world, between light and shadow, between one minute and another. As Nephilim they existed in their own space. This was Between, ~ Cassandra Clare

You said not to do anything that might accidentally contribute to the apocalypse," Magnus said. "I know you were joking. But it's less funny when I can't rid myself of the feeling that the apocalypse is coming, somehow. Valentine Morgenstern nearly wiped out the Shadowhunters, and his son is twice as clever and six times as evil. And he will not come alone. He has help, from demons greater than my father, from others - ~ Cassandra Clare

The destruction of all Shadowhunters' said Scott. 'I rather thought you knew that. It isn't a gardening club. ~ Cassandra Clare

For the devil has no power . . . except in the dark." - Madame Dorothea ~ Cassandra Clare

I beg your pardon again. Do you believe yourself to be a pianoforte?" - Magnus Bane, The Midnight Heir (The Bane Chronicles, 4) by Cassandra Clare and Sarah Rees Brennan ~ Cassandra Clare

Alec furrowed his brow. "So you're scrapbooking?" Magnus made a face. "To the lay observer, what I'm doing might look similar, yes. ~ Cassandra Clare

But-" Maia, still looking at Alec and Magnus, broke off and rasied her eyebrows. Simon turned to see what she was looking at - and stared.
Alec had his arms around Magnus and was kissing him full on the mouth. Magnus, who appeared to be in a state of shock, stood frozen. Several groups of people - Shadowhunters and Downworlders alike - were staring and whispering. Glancing to the side, Simon saw the Lightwoods, their eyes widen, gaping at the display. Maryse had her hand over her mouth.
Maia looked perplexed. "Wait a second," she said. "Do we all have to do that, too? ~ Cassandra Clare

Alec kissed as he did all things, so dedicated and wholehearted he swept Magnus away. ~ Cassandra Clare

Magnus had always had a wanderer's heart. Over the centuries, he had adventured in so many different places, always looking for something that would fulfill his restless hunger. He never realized how all the pieces could fall together, how home could be somewhere and someone. He belonged with Alec. His wandering heart could rest. ~ Cassandra Clare

So, Jessamine," said Lucie. "Can ghosts lie?"
"Certainly not!" Jessamine looked shifty. "Ghosts are completely honest. I keep telling you, it was mice who knocked your silver mirror behind the desk and broke it."
"It appears clear that if ghosts are liars, they are terrible liars," said James.
Matthew sighed. "It is very strange to see you conversing with the invisible."
"Humph," said Jessamine. She wobbled a bit and firmed up, her outlines clearing as she drifted down toward the floor. Shadowhunters, having the Sight, could generally see ghosts who wanted to be seen, but Lucie knew it was an effort for Jessamine to make herself visible to all eyes.
"Oh!" said Cordelia. "It's very nice to meet you, Jessamine. Lucie speaks of you often."
Jessamine beamed.
"You are a very attractive ghost," said Matthew, tapping his ringed fingers against his chest. "I do hope Lucie and James have mentioned as much."
"They have not," Jessamine noted.
"Very remiss," said Matthew, his eyes sparkling.
"You are not at all like Henry," said Jessamine, eyeing Matthew speculatively. "He was forever setting things on fire, and not a compliment to be heard."
"Jessamine," Lucie said. "This is important! Do tell us, can ghosts lie? Not you, of course, my dear."
"Ghosts can lie," Jessamine conceded. ~ Cassandra Clare

Don't you think 'Mark is kind of a weird name for a Shadowhunter?" Julian was saying as Emma approached. "I mean, if you really think about it. It's confusing. 'Put a Mark on me, Mark. ~ Cassandra Clare

To make a true choice, we must have true knowledge. ~ Cassandra Clare

Isabelle!" he called again. "Let down your raven hair!'
"Oh my God," Clary muttered. "There was something in that blood Raphael gave you, wasn't there? I'm going to kill him. ~ Cassandra Clare

Respectable Shadowhunters are not supposed to bring my sort home to meet Mom and Dad. I have a past. I have several pasts. Besides, good Shadowhunter boys aren't meant to bring home boyfriends at all. ~ Cassandra Clare

She pushed the bathroom door open to discover Magnus lurking on the other side, clutching a towel in one hand and his glittery hair in the other. He must have slept on it, she thought, because one side of the glittered spikes looked dented in. "Why does it take girls so long to shower?" he demanded. "Mortal girls, Shadowhunters, female warlocks, you're all the same. I'm not getting any younger waiting out here."
Clary stepped aside to let him pass. "How old are you, anyway?" she asked curiously.
Magnus winked at her. "I was alive when the Dead Sea was just a lake that was feeling a little poorly."
Clary rolled her eyes.
Magnus made a shooing moving. "Now move your petite behind. I need to get in there; my hair is a wreck. ~ Cassandra Clare

Ty was pulling his headphones out of his pocket, bracing his black-sneakered feet just above the top step. 'We're Shadowhunters,' he said. 'We don't run. ~ Cassandra Clare

He left to take up his post, and as he went
he said 'Sleep, Lily. I'§ watch the doors.' I never slept peacefully before
that night. I didn't know how to rest, and trust I was safe. I slept that day
as I'd never slept before. ~ Cassandra Clare

You seem lost in thought," Magnus remarked. "Are you considering how glamorous and romantic your boyfriend is?" "I'm considering," said Alec, "how to protect you if we crash the balloon into a chimney. ~ Cassandra Clare

Magnus thought once again of the blue-eyed man standing in his parlor. Then he lit a match and burned the note. ~ Cassandra Clare

Shadowhunters are slow to love but once we love, we love forever. ~ Cassandra Clare

Alec was used to feeling a combination of affection and annoyance toward the people he loved. Typically, he'd start the relationship with a feeling of total annoyance and minimal affection, and then as time passed, the annoyance diminished and the affection grew. This described the arc of his relationship with Jace, his parabatai and closest friend, and more recently described how he'd felt about Clary Fairchild when she'd come into their lives. ~ Cassandra Clare

Shadowhunters don't say good-bye, not before a battle. Or good luck. You must behave as if return is certain, not a matter of chance ~ Cassandra Clare

There's something about a place you've been with someone you love. It takes on a meaning in your mind. It becomes more than a place. It becomes a distillation of what you felt for each other. The moments you spend in a place with someone... they become part of its bricks and mortar. Part of its soul. ~ Cassandra Clare

Got caught in the rain, I see," - Isabelle Lightwood ~ Cassandra Clare

Alec's breath caught. He found he could not stop holding it, as if he could save it for the child Magnus had been. ~ Cassandra Clare

Everything is ... so white."
"Of course it's white," said Simon. "It's a wedding."
"White for Shadowhunters is the color of funerals," Luke explained. "But for mundanes, Jace, it's the color of weddings. Brides wear white to symbolize their purity."
"I thought Jocelyn said her dress wasn't white," Simon said.
"Well," said Jace, "I suppose that ship has sailed."
Luke choked on his coffe. ~ Cassandra Clare

Hey baby, guess where my warlock mark is?
Never works. Trust me. Never works. ~ Cassandra Clare

Enjoying life was essential, but sometimes it was an effort. ~ Cassandra Clare

Threatening the High Warlock. Better and better. Maybe we should head down to vampire clan headquarters and punch Anselm Nightshade in the face. ~ Cassandra Clare

Well," she said. "I was happy for fiffty-five years. That's more than
most people get. Now there's the clan to look after, like Raphael would've
wanted. The night we knew he was gone, and every night since, I watch
my vampires in the home he guarded. I watch the mundanes in the
streets he loved. Every one of them looks like a child I should help, a
possibility for a future I wasn't able to imagine. Every one of them seems
precious, worth defending, worth the world. Every one of them is
Raphael. ~ Cassandra Clare

Because women never say what they think. ~ Cassandra Clare

Over the last year, Simon had come to understand that the Shadowhunters preferred to believe their choices were perfect, their laws infallible. ~ Cassandra Clare

Tell me about mummies.
Mummies exist. The Egyptians mummified people. Mummies that get up out of their cursed tombs and walk around do not exist.
Do cursed tombs exist?
No. Sometimes you get a tomb guarded by a demon.
Zombies?
The voudun kind, yes - the braaaaaaaiiiiinnnnnsss kind, no.
Oh, oh, I've got one. What about a haunted car?
Do you count a demon-powered motorcycle?
No, like, the car talks back and tells you to kill people.
Then no. ~ Cassandra Clare

White for Shadowhunters is the color of funerals," Luke explained. " But for mundanes, Jace, it' s the color of weddings. Brides wear white to symbolize their purity."
"I thought Jocelyn said her dress wasn't white," Simon said.
"Well," said Jace, "I suppose that ship has sailed."
Luke choked on his coffee. ~ Cassandra Clare

Shadowhunters," he said. "They get in your blood, under your skin. I've been with vampires, werewolves, faeries, warlocks like me - and humans, so many fragile humans. But I always told myself I wouldn't give my heart to a Shadowhunter. I've so nearly loved them, been charmed by them - generations of them, sometimes: Edmund and Will and James and Lucie ... the ones I saved and the ones I couldn't." His voice choked off for a second, and Luke, staring in amazement, realized that this was the most of Magnus Bane's real, true emotions that he had ever seen. "And Clary, too, I loved, for I watched her grow up. But I've never been in love with a Shadowhunter, not until Alec. For they have the blood of angels in them, and the love of angels is a high and holy thing. ~ Cassandra Clare

Drive like hell was following you." - Jace Wayland ~ Cassandra Clare

Thinking deep thoughts?" Alec asked. Magnus scoffed. "I try not to. ~ Cassandra Clare

We are Shadowhunters. We do not wait to be saved by others. We save ourselves. ~ Cassandra Clare

The whale without Ahab is just a whale. A whale with no problems. A stress-free whale." - Julian Blackthorn ~ Cassandra Clare

I am not anybody's, Will. My heart is my own. ~ Cassandra Clare