I thought for a minute. "Is that like code word? Because I don't speak Mafia-lingo. I know that warlock probably means like a hustler or something, and Shadowhunters is the name of your gang, but I don't know what 'human' stands for."

Hodge sighed. "Jace, what have you been telling her?"

"Nothing! I haven't been telling her anything! She came up with this on her own."

"Likely." Another sigh. He seemed to do that a lot, or maybe it was just around Jace.

"Ms. Frey, your world is not what it seems. Supernatural creatures do actually exist—or at least some of them do. Warlocks, for example, are a crossover of demon and human. Among the many supernatural creatures that inhabit Earth, Shadowhunters are mainly concerned with demons." He looked at the expression on her face. "Yes, demons do exist, and that is the reason that Shadowhunters exist. It is our mission—our profession—to exterminate demons who plague this world." He considered for a minute. "Which is basically every demon."

Hodge paused for a minute, to allow everything that he had said to sink in. My mind was whirling. It was impossible. Demons didn't exist, and neither did warlocks or fairies or anything else of that nature. There was simply no way.

On the other hand, if these creatures were real, that meant that I hadn't been crazy over the past few weeks. The mermaids and devils and fairies had been real. That would explain everything.

I had three main theories running at this point:

Demons did exist, and so did fairies and warlocks, etc. Aka, I wasn't crazy.

I was crazy, and this whole thing was a hallucination.

Of course, the fall-back conspiracy theory. Some group of people had been paid to run around the city wearing devil horns and fairy wings, in order to freak me out, and then had abducted me to convince me that the supernatural existed.

I tentatively decided to try theory one, at least for a little while. Just to test it out.

"If demons did exist… And I'm not saying they do… And you guys really are demon hunters… Then what were you doing bagging groceries?"

"Are you implying that bagging groceries is not a manly and dangerous task? Because I can assure you, it took a lot of guts to walk into that store every day and put people's food into bags for them," said Jace. "For example, there was this old man with a bucket of prunes he wanted to buy, and he just went on and on about his digestive problems—"

"Jace," intervened Alec, "shut up. No one wants to hear about that."

I rolled my eyes. "Ok, sure. I think that bagging groceries is right up there with combating evil and slaying demons. But that wasn't the question. Why were you at the grocery store instead of hunting demons?"

"Well, technically we were hunting demons. Your store, SmartMart, is a cover up. The real business is in the back rooms. Someone has been running a demon drug company back there, selling demon drugs to Downworlders and rich mundanes. It's our job to figure out who's running the business, who's supplying the drugs, and eventually, shut the whole chain down. We're pretty sure that the Ingred demon you saw the other day was one of the ones supplying the drugs, but we can't arrest him—well, kill him—until we're sure who everyone else is in the business. Alec and I decided that one of the best ways to find out information was to get a job there. A few fake certificates later, we had a job."

At this point in time, I had about a million questions, all fighting to come out of my mouth at once. "Well—I—If… What's a Downworlder?"

"A warlock, werewolf, vampire, faery, nymph, etc." answered Alec.

"Werewolves and vampires are real?" I asked, my voice suddenly an octave higher.

"Yep," said Jace, as if it was just about the best thing in the world.

"What's a demon drug?" I questioned.

"Usually, it's a mundane drug, such as opium, mixed with dried demon blood. The blood gives it much more potency, and unfortunately, makes it much more addictive," said Hodge.

"Another question… If demons are smart enough to run a business, then don't you feel bad about killing them? I mean, don't they have a conscious?"

"No, we don't feel bad," answered Jace, and a shadow crossed his face. "Demons have varying levels of intelligence. Some have less intelligence than animals, and some have around the same intelligence as humans. However, they are lacking one thing: a soul. They are basically parasites."

"Oh." I shivered without meaning to. Demons were supposed to be alive only nightmares, and now it turned out that one went to my grocery store. "Well, what kind of supernatural creatures are there? Do you hunt them, too? Are you guys human?"

Hodge interrupted my line of questioning. "As much as we would like to answer your questions, we could probably sit here for days explaining everything about our world. Here," he said, and got up from his desk, carrying a large, ancient book. He picked up another one from a shelf on his way over, and handed both to me. "Read these. One is The Codex, and one is a basic history book."

"Um…" I looked at the books, which were awkwardly balanced on my stomach. "One more quick question. Can someone untie me?"

"Oh, right," said Jace, and set me down gently. He pulled out a dagger from his boot, and sliced open the ropes with expertise. "So do you believe us now?"

I thought about it. "I'm pretty convinced, but I would like to see actual proof before I'm one hundred percent sure."

As ludicrous as it sounded, it actually made sense to me. Like a story I had been told when I was very little and had forgotten about, only to be reminded of when I was older. My life had been a puzzle, and I had one piece left to put on, but I couldn't seem to make sense of it. And then I had realized that I had been looking at the puzzle upside down.

"But I still haven't forgiven you for kidnapping me! Or tying me up!" I huffed away, and tried to make a dramatic exit, but then realized that I had no idea how to get outside from the library.

"Before you can leave," said Hodge gently, "there is still the main question to address: What are you?"

It was like ice had been poured down my back. In my excitement at discovering this new world, I had completely forgotten about the fact that I could see it, and because I could see it, it meant I was a part of it somehow. It was terrifying to think that I might not be human.

"I don't think that you're a warlock, because you don't have any visible signs, and I don't think you're a faery either. You would definitely know if you were a werewolf or a vampire, believe me."

"How?"

"Well, think about it this way: have you had any urges to drink people's blood, or sprouted hair once a month?" asked Jace.

I shook my head.

"Well, then, you're not a vampire or a werewolf."

"That means that the only option left is a Shadowhunter," said Hodge softly, his eyes peering at me curiously.

I gaped. "I'm one of you?"

"You make it sound like bad thing!" Jace said, sounding offended.

"I just… Wouldn't I know? Do you have to have some sort of ceremony or ritual to become a Shadowhunter?"

"No. You're born with it," said Jace.

"But that's not possible either. My mom is completely normal," I said.

Hodge, Jace, and Alec exchanged glances, like they had some sort of secret that I didn't know.

Hodge said, "I think that's enough for today. You can stay in one of the Institute's rooms and read the Codex. Relax for a little bit, and let everything sink in. It can come as a bit of a shock."

"Can't I go home?" I knew I sounded whiny, but I didn't care.

"I don't think that that's advisable right now," said Hodge. "You're more vulnerable now that you know about our world, but you don't know how to defend yourself yet. It's dangerous to go out alone if you're an untrained Shadowhunter, and even more so in a place like New York City."

I nodded. I think I was going numb all over, now that all the information had sunk in.

I turned to go, but Hodge touched my shoulder lightly. "Listen… We're keeping you here because there's a high possibility that you're a Shadowhunter. However, we don't know for certain, and if it turns out that you're Downworlder, then you can stay for a certain amount of time as a guest, but you can't stay indefinitely."

"I think I'm just fine with that," I said, and for the first time that day, I gave a small smile.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

I was in one of the Institute's rooms, and I had just finished reading The Codex. The sun had just gone down behind my window, and my room was filled with shadows.

Today was surreal. That was the one word I would have used to describe it. Looking back on everything…

Suddenly, I bolted straight up in bed. Melinda! I needed to know what had happened to her, and if she was alright.

I padded across the room to the door, and out into the corridor. Where was everyone, and how did I find them? After a couple of minutes of standing around, I heard the faint notes of a piano coming from down the hall. Straining my ears, I followed it.

The sound continued to get louder and louder, until I was standing in front of the room where it was coming from. I hesitated, and then knocked.

A "Come in," sounded faintly from within.

I opened the door and saw Jace playing at the piano.

"Clary," he said, sounding faintly surprised.

I tried very hard not to stare at his chest, because his muscles were plainly visible through his t-shirt.

"Um, I just wanted to ask… Is Melinda ok?"

"Melinda? Oh, her. She 'conveniently' won the lottery, and is now in the Caribbean. Just like I said." He paused. "Don't you trust me?"

"Well, it's been a little hard since you tied me up and kidnapped me," I said drily.

"You still don't forgive for that?"

"Well, it's not exactly a small thing," I pointed out. "You can't just say 'I'm sorry' and expect me to get over it. I thought I was going to die!"

"There's a high chance that I'm going to die every day, and you don't see me giving everyone the cold shoulder about it."

"Well, that's different. You're used to it! You're trained to be a killing machine. But I'm not."

Jace's eyes were suddenly very hard and very cold. "Is that what you think I am? A killing machine?" he said very quietly.

"Well, no," I said unconvincingly. "I only just met you. I don't know anything about you."

Jace stood up. "You're right about that."

He walked past me, and the breath caught in my chest a little bit. "I'm going to go out. Good night."

And then he left me in his room, leaving me to wonder what on earth I had done so wrong.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

A/N Sorry there hasn't been much romance yet. Don't worry, there will be more in the future! I also know that the plot has been kind of random so far, but it will all tie together (hopefully) soon. Thanks for reading!