Hola, friends! This takes place after City of Lost Souls for TMI and during The Fiery Heart for Bloodlines/VA. If you haven't read up to these books you will be very confused (probably) so bye! Go read them and come back when you're done!

Okay, now that you've read them, Clary and the gang have returned to New York. Clary continues her training, and her relationship with Jace, as they both cope with the fire in Jace and the threat of Sebastian looming. In Palm Springs, Sydney and Adrian are living in a high-risk relationship, and are hiding it pretty well, but have just been summoned to Court for something that doesn't involve spirit at all. In fact, it involves something that is completely foreign to everyone but Lissa and Sydney. All hell breaks loose when the arrival of some teenagers in leather rocks the St. Vlad's and Palm Springs groups.

"Jace," called Maryse softly through the door. "Come here for a moment, please, dear."

I stayed where I was on the beam, nodding down at him. "It's alright, I'll still be here when you get back."

He smirked up at me and left the room quickly. I sat down and waited patiently until he returned, checking my cell phone for new text messages. One from Simon. One from Mom. I had no patience or energy to reply to either of them, but I promised myself I would later.

When Jace returned, he looked confused and excited. He helped me get down, and smiled down at me with a fire in his eyes I was very familiar with—one that had nothing to do with the fire beneath his skin—but I didn't have to faintest idea as to why. "Pack a bag, Clary," he said. "We're going to Pennsylvania."

I stopped short while removing my harness. "Pennsylvania? What for? I went to Philadelphia once on a school trip. It was scary. I thought it would be all historical and educational, but I was mostly afraid I was going to be shot."

Jace regarded me curiously, giving me a look of amusement. "No, Clary. We're going to visit some… old friends, I suppose. Very old, considering we haven't had contact with the general public of them for maybe… five hundred years?"

I racked my brain for the answer to this question, but I couldn't put my finger on it. It was probably something I'd been taught about in the midst of all the craziness of discovering I was a Shadowhunter. Who could blame me for not retaining every detail?

"I'm sorry, I have no idea what you're talking about."

He pulled a dagger from the sheath at his side. "Let's just say, where we're going, this will be absolutely useless." His lips curled up again. "That is, if we're lucky."

"If we're—" I suddenly remembered the story. I knew why we were going to Pennsylvania. "Oh. We're going to see them?"

"That's right. You, me, Alec, Isabelle, Magnus. Maryse, and Simon." He tucked the dagger away. "We're going to the royal Moroi Court."

"We're going to Court?" I exclaimed through the phone. "Why?"

"I don't know, Sage," Adrian replied. "Lissa didn't tell me. All I know is that you, me and Neil are getting on the next flight to Philly."

"Alright," I said warily. "I'll be there soon. It won't take me long to pack." I wondered what we would be going to Court for. If it had nothing to do with Olive, I had no idea what it could be for.

"Okay… See you soon." As I was about to hang up, Adrian said, "Wait!"

"Yes?"

"Lissa did say something to someone else in the room about an… institute? So, does that mean, like… crazy people?"

I froze up for a moment and was thankful I wasn't with him so he could see my reaction. Why were they coming to Court? The Moroi hadn't had contact with them for centuries. What could they possibly need—or even want—now?

"I haven't got a clue, Adrian. Neil and I will be there soon." I felt horrible lying to him, but it was better to wait until we got to Court to tell him about the people we were probably going to meet.

"Alright, see you then. I love you."

"I love you, too."

I hung up and packed my bag quickly, thinking of the few of these people I'd actually met. Shadowhunters. Nephilim. I'd been in shock, and was sure they were certifiably insane. There was absolutely no way a person could be half-angel. It was unheard of. It had sort of confirmed the Alchemists of their beliefs even more, though the Shadowhunters had less complicated ones. Their 'God' was essentially Raziel, the angel who had given them his blood to create the Nephilim in the first place. They had loose beliefs based on Christianity and other religions, but were otherwise pretty non-denominational. I had a great respect for them, as they were technically human, and still did a great deal of work to protect the human race. That didn't mean I wasn't weirded out by them, because I was. Their fierceness was enough to challenge that of Rose and Dimitri, the two fiercest people I knew.

I sighed outwardly as I faced the possibility of meeting more Shadowhunters. This was going to be a very interesting experience.

Sorry that this is so short! I'm working on the first chapter right now, half and half! Have a great day/week/morning/night/life and thanks for reading! :)