This is the part I've been waiting to get on paper for months, maybe since July. I'm sorry this has taken so long... for one I was a perfectionist, then gave up because I just wanted to post. Hope you guys like it! As always, comment and vote!

June 21, 2016: The Solstice.

We walked up to the house together. After the threats from a few days prior, we had considered not going to the party; but we didn't have a backup plan. So, Sylynn and Vesper had went to work covering up everyone's runes with tons of makeup. It was an effort at having less chance of being recognized, and potentially killed. We had the Institute locked down as best we could, and had searched every inch for our stalker. Every trace and theory said the only reason he or she had made in was because we had let them, and that they had disappeared off the grounds. We knew leaving the Institute unguarded was a terrible idea, but justified our absence by saying no one could get in without the gates being opened for them.

Everyone was coming. Our chances of finding anything were far higher if everyone was searching. Mae was on my left, arm in arm with Seth, and Daniel was on my right. Skylar, Vesper, Sylynn, and Jacques were in a line behind us making gagging noises and remarks about couples. Together, we walked down the street surrounded by other people dressed similarly: dark clothes that showed a little too much on some people. The building loomed ahead of us, music blaring from inside the gates.

"Is that a bank?" I asked Mae, taking in the grandness of the building. It seemed like a mansion, pristine white and so massive and complex I would probably get lost in it.

"Okay, everyone knows the plan right?" Skylar asked from behind us. It seemed to be her role to keep the missions running smoothly out in the field.

"Yeah, yeah, we've heard it about a thousand times," Seth complained.

"I don't care. We can't risk anyone messing up," Skylar shot back. "We're going in to find the identity of Gennaia's killer so we can eliminate the threat to us, the program, and put that creepy girl in the basement to rest so we can all sleep at night. We are not killing anyone," she put emphasis on this and looked at Vesper, Seth, and Daniel. "We are simply getting the clue, meeting back at the gates and leaving. We'll come up with our lovely murder plot later."

"Wait," Jacques said, analyzing the plan in his head. "If we're looking for the identity of the person or people who killed Gennaia, because we're at risk of them killing us, why are we going to their party? Doesn't that seem like we're walking right into their hands?"

"Well, we're here now," Daniel said over his shoulder.

He was right. We walked into the entryway, which opened up to a giant crowded room, which was dark and could have passed for a ballroom. The only lighting came from the glass ceiling overhead, which let the moon shine in. There were also flashing neon lights, which were harsh in comparison to the pale natural light. I saw Daniel melt into the crowd, and had already lost the four people who were behind me moments ago. I kept pushing forward, sticking close to Mae. We were supposed to split up to cover more ground and be less noticeable, but I wasn't ready to go out on my own yet.

"BAE!"

I jumped and looked to the source of the yell. Unsurprisingly, there was Haiden pushing his way through the crowd, bug eyes glued on Mae.

"Shit... Hide me..." She muttered, trying to hide behind me and Seth. It was too late. Haiden came up in front of us, and started to talk to Mae over me and Seth.

"You made it! And you brought your friend... Hey, where are those sexy runes?" He noticed, looking her up and down.

"What did you just say?" Seth asked, looking at the spangly boy trying to hit on his girlfriend.

"Mae, who... who is this?" Haiden asked nervously, sizing up the Spanish Shadowhunter in front of him.

Mae laughed and answered innocently: "Oh, this is my plus-one. I was allowed to bring one, right?"

Haiden looked equal parts disappointed and horrified. "You're still my date though. So that means you have to dance with me." He stated, slipping between me and Seth. Seth looked disgusted, which I found very entertaining. Mae cringed as Haiden went to grab her hands, and gave me an I-have-no-idea smile before Haiden dragged her into the crowd.

Beside me, Seth sighed, looking lost. "Aw, c'mon you'll be fine. I'd follow them if I were you. Haiden seems frisky tonight," I joked. He rolled his eyes and went after them.

It was my turn to feel lost. There was now no one I knew, and everyone around me seemed too busy grinding on each other for me to talk to them. My phone vibrated, and I went to read the text, thanking Raziel for an excuse to find my way out of the dancing masses. Squeezing between Downworlders and Shadowhunters, I pulled my phone out of my pocket and opened my messages. The screen seemed so bright, I was scared I'd draw too much attention to myself. I brushed aside the thought of someone picking me out of the crowd as I opened a text from Coen.

Hey. Meet me by the bar. I'm already sick of the people I came with.

Now, for normal people that text may have been like winning the lottery. Unfortunately, it was like a death sentence for me. Being socially awkward and constantly anxious, I felt my heart rate pick up and my mind start racing. I spotted the bar over the crowd. Luckily in these heels, I was nearly six feet tall- perks of Russian blood, I suppose. I did not want to go to meet him. But, for the sake of the mission and finding information, I started to push through people. Another text popped up.

Did you even come? You don't seem like the party type.

I was looking at the text when I finally broke free of the dance floor area. I looked up, surveying the people leaning against the long counter at the base of the staircase. Only a mansion would have its own bar. I spotted a frantically waving hand attached to a dark haired boy, and headed over.

"Seriously? 'Don't seem like the party type'? You have no idea," I ranted by way of greeting.

Coen put a hand over his mouth to keep from spitting out his drink from my pathetic claim. Why was I nervous again?

He recovered, wiped his mouth and smiled. "Oh come on. Guys just pretend to be oblivious. Don't think I can't tell you're out of your element."

"My element?" I asked, stealing his drink from his hand and cocking an eyebrow. I went to take a drink before he stopped me.

"If you were a party person, you'd know that this is not a drink for little Shadowhunter girls," he explained, stealing the glass back.

"Who are you calling little?" I asked, standing up to my full height. I towered over most of the girls here, and was as tall as Seth moments ago. Coen rolled his eyes and in turn stood up to his full height. I forgot he was leaning against the bar. "Oh," I squeaked, tilting my head up. I suppose being a werewolf and all he had an advantage.

Coen laughed again. "Don't you fight demons? You shouldn't be so easily intimidated."

"I..." I pushed down the bad memories that came flooding in at the mention of me fighting demons. The memories which were reasons I chose not to wear a backless dress tonight. "I'm the language specialist at the Institute. The most I've fought is a dust bunny." The amount of smiles I was getting out of Coen made my nerves ease off. I saw my chance to steer the conversation in favour of why I actually came here, and took it. "Ok, my turn for insults. You came tonight why? Did you have to cancel your regular Tuesday appointment with Tiffany to come?"

"Woah," he started, holding up a hand. "I don't do..." He searched the room, and found and a girl getting her undies stuffed with dollar bills as she danced on a table not too far away. He pointed: "That." I felt a twinge of guilt; maybe the hooker insult was too far. "But yeah, I'm here 'cause the whole pack had tickets."

"The whole pack? Where'd you get that many tickets?" Look at my interrogation skills, I could be a mundie cop, I thought back to the crime shows Mae and I watched.

"One of your kind- a Shadowhunter girl. Our pack leader is obsessed with her and was tryna get on her good side. I think they were supposed to have a date here or something." He shuddered in disgust at the thought. "Ew. I don't know what he sees in her, she's such an uptight bitch."

I faked a laugh despite the heaviness in my heart. Was he talking about Gennaia? Not only had she let these people into the Institute, she was running errands and being a salesperson for them? "Uptight bitch? Sounds like the woman I live with at the Institute."

"Ha, that's gotta suck. Can't imagine the rules-"

"Do you know her name?" I interrupted, suddenly impatient for information.

"Uh..." Coen looked taken aback. "Jenna? Janae? Gennaia? I don't remember. Why would you even care?"

"By the Angel..." I muttered, looking at my feet, lost in thought.

"What?" Coen saw me staring at my feet. "Is this party really taking that much out of you?" he asked, joking.

I quickly thought of how I could play him. Acting definitely was not my strong suit, but I could pull off a convincing sick act. I'd perfected it in order to get out of training back home. Besides, Coen actually seemed concerned, and I needed to talk to him. I looked back up, putting a hand to my head, faking a headache. It was pretty easy to pull off, the people and noise were getting to me. "Is there somewhere without a crowd? I just..."

"Yeah, yeah, of course," he said putting down his drink before I was finished. He started off, probably expecting me to follow. I picked myself off shook off my act.

After nearly losing Coen in the crowd and tripping over half the people on my way to the less packed margins of the room, I found Coen holding open a door. I went in with my sick face on again, and was surprised. It was a library, with probably half the books than the Institute, but twice the space. There were warm lights put into the walls, and the glass ceiling extended over us. The far wall was also glass, with doors implanted in it that lead to the huge backyard. It had started raining, and little droplets formed on the roof, leaving streaks dripping down the glass wall. For the first time since I'd come into the mansion, I took my first breath of air that hadn't tasted like sweat.

The relief I felt wasn't an act. Feeling free, I went over to an overstuffed chair facing the backyard. I sighed and looked back at Coen, who was still lingering by the doorway. He was leaning on the door, ready to head back out.

"Well- I'll just get going then. I'll come back later to check on-"

"Can I trust you?" I asked abruptly. I didn't know what else would keep him here.

Sensing there was something going on, he closed the door. The music was muffled outside, but still impossible to ignore. We studied each other for a minute.

"You didn't come here for the party did you?" he asked, coming to sit in a chair beside me.

"I thought you already figured that out," I commented, recalling earlier.

He seemed to realize something. Then the light, joking air he seemed to have left him and replaced by a serious, stern aura. I almost felt like I was sitting next to a different person.

"Okay, let's hear it," he said, leaning forward to listen.

I didn't know if I could trust him. He reminded me of my older brother, Anders. He was one of the only two people back home who didn't seem okay with how I was treated by the trainer. He was too scared to do anything about it, but was happy to see me escape to Paris. Maybe the likeness between the two boys was why I felt like I could trust the one in front of me, maybe that's why the story of how Gennaia was killed came pouring out. I told him we were lead here in an attempt to stay together, and save our program by handling the matter ourselves. l confessed I was looking for the identity of her assailant. I told him how we thought she was connected to the head of the organization that held their parties here, and how we suspected the organization was killing Shadowhunters, how there was a dead one in our basement. Finally, I asked him if he could help us.

At first, he didn't answer. His face stayed in the same serious expression, though I could tell he was lost and didn't know what to make of my story. "Well, I don't know what I was expecting," he concluded with a laugh, letting some of his joking persona back in.

"I know it's a lot, but I need something. Have you heard anything? A name, an address..."

Again, he didn't answer at first. He looked at his hands and blew out a sigh, then finally looked back up at me. "I... I've heard rumours."

I looked at him eagerly, telling him to go on. I was as giddy as when I had got a new book back in our secluded cabin.

He continued, grave despite my bouncy mood: "No one really knows who owns this place. I've never seen him in person, and I don't know anyone who has. That's why I think he has- had people like Gennaia running around for him. To protect his identity. Because if the Clave found out what he was doing, he'd be in big trouble. See, I've heard he's a Silent Brother. One who left the order."

"A Silent Brother? Wh-" I was bursting with even more questions now. Coen gave me a look that told me he wasn't done, and I clamped my mouth shut.

"So he's a Brother not only fraternizing with the enemy, but worshipping it. The Clave would probably do worse than kill him, after he did the opposite of what he originally vowed. He supposedly has a huge group of people working with him, and they have these parties to look for more members. That's why you gotta be careful here, it's fun, but... I have no idea how they convince people to join..." he trailed off, shaking his head.

"Oh my god," I said slowly. We sat in silence for a minute, before I realized something was wrong. It was silent. There was no music. "Um..." I gestured towards the door, looking at Coen.

"I have no idea," he said, lowering his voice. "But if anything that I just told you is true, I suggest you get out of here."

We both got up and hurried towards the door. I thanked him before we both slipped out the door, into a crowd of people muttering in confusion.

"Text me when you get home safe," he told me before we parted ways, though I barely paid attention. I headed for the exit I came through with Daniel. Pushing through people, I found the front door, though no one else was trying to leave, which was strange. I felt bad for the people who didn't know that what was coming could be dangerous. I prayed everyone I knew would be at the gates already, where we said we'd meet when it was time to leave. I quickly decided if no one was already there, I'd send out a spam of text messages telling them to get out.

When I made my way to the gates, already soaked by the rain, only Jacques was there.

"Where is everyone?" I asked him, pulling out my phone to call Skylar. If I got a hold of her it would be a faster retreat than if I texted everyone. I tried to shield the device from the downpour, though my wet hair was no help.

"I don't know. I've been waiting for you guys for ages. I got sick of people and..."

Jacques' complaining faded away as I listened to a dreaded call failed from my phone. I turned to him, starting to worry, and explained the danger they were in, how we needed to get in there and pull them out. When he asked why we couldn't just text or call, I threw my phone at him and ran for the front door; as any perfectly calm warrior would do.

I stopped at the door, Jacques trailing behind me. I tried the door. It was locked. I looked to the windows as some way to get in, now knowing everyone in there was in danger. The blinds were drawn and the windows dark. I had no idea what could be happening in there- but with the house owned by demon-worshippers, I guessed it was bad. I looked back at Jacques for ideas, desperation to get in starting to surface.

"La porte, c'est barrée," I told him how the door was locked, frantically gesturing at the knob. I spoke in his first language, hoping that familiarity would help him from panicking. The fact my makeup was running and I looked like the Joker probably contradicted the attempt.

"Le toit," he suggested, gesturing with my cell phone that would probably never work again. The roof.

We both set to circling the building once, which had us both gasping for air. Thanks to the modern blocky architecture, we easily found a way to get to the roof. However, as soon as we started climbing, I found it was far harder than it looked. My palms were sweating from the nerves of being up high and anticipation for what had happened to my friends. The rain also made the building's sides slick, and I split my dress multiple times. I had a new appreciation for being forced to wear gear under everything blooming.

I was more relieved than I'd like to admit when we came to come to a ledge near the top. I stopped and stood next to Jacques as I inked an Unseen rune onto my arm. The roof was glass, and just within my reach. It was ideal for being able to see what was happening, but not so ideal for being discreet. If this building was on lockdown, I guessed they didn't want anyone seeing what they were doing. And I didn't want to know what they did to people they caught snooping, especially if I was a possible target in the first place. Plus, the makeup that had been covering my runes had washed away, making me more easily recognizable.

Nonetheless, I was the only one out of the two of us who could reach the roof. So, I jumped up and hauled myself onto the edge of the roof. I wiped at my mouth, hating the feeling of rain dripping off my chin. I slipped once, and my heart leapt. I anchored myself so that I wouldn't slide down the roof, and looked through the glass.

There were no more strobe lights. The normal light fixtures were bright with warm yellow-orange light. People were clearing the dance floor, moving to the edges of the room. I looked for Coen briefly, before an overwhelming sense of déjà vu hit me. As people moved away, a Star of David pattern built into the dark tiles of the dance floor was revealed. My stomach sunk. I knew what was coming even before it happened. Jacques would speak:

"Tara, qu'est-ce qui arrive?"

And then the people in bronze robes came out. They proceeded to their places, one person holding a candle for reach point of the star. And then another figure in bronze came out, and pushed his captive to her knees. Her hands were tied back, her dress shredded, her skin covered in bruises, her dark hair loose around her face. Mae looked up at those around her, her eyes burning with hate and an unbreakable stubbornness.

She was pushed forward and got to her feet, glaring at anyone who dared to make eye contact with her. The bronze figure brought her to the top point of the star, and applause slowly caught on. The clapping stopped as a second captive was brought in, and forced to another point of the star. I watched in horror as Seth took his place and the applause started back up. He looked to Mae, and then down, attempting to hide his face. The process of applause fading and rising continued as Sylynn was brought in thirdly, followed by Vesper and Daniel.

There was one place left on the star, at the bottom. The last captive was brought in, and all my hope that they were letting themselves be captured for show left me. Skylar was forced to the final position on the star, and the clapping subsided. They all looked horribly beaten, I could only imagine the amount of force and trauma it had taken to get them to comply.

A final bronze-clad figure came in, his arms raised. He seemed to be chanting.

"Jacques!" I squeaked, tearing my eyes away from the scene below. This was unmistaklably a sacrificing ritual. They had the right colour robes, it was the solstice, the trial girl in the basement... how could we have been so stupid? For the first time ever I wished we'd listened to Jacques when he said we were walking right into their hands.

"We need a distraction NOW!" I had gone back to my default language, and was nearly hyperventilating trying to think of some way to stop this. I was lost for thought, and Jacques was frantically asking what was happening, his French so fast I could barely understand. I looked down and saw the bronze figure who had his arms raised draw back his hood. It was hard to see from so high up, but there was no doubting it was a Silent Brother. His mouth and eyes were sewn shut, his hair was gone and the ceremonial runes still covered his entire head. I was having trouble processing that what Coen had said was true, but my mind quickly changed gears. The silent brother pointed at Mae, and I saw her captor make a swift, unclear motion. Mae fell to the ground, limp.

"MAE!" I screamed, pounding on the glass. "NO! NO!" I kept screaming and pounding the glass, and was nearly sobbing when the idea came to me. "JACQUES! GET YOUR ASS UP HERE AND BREAK THE GLASS WITH ME!"

I saw the Silent Brother point at Seth next, and he too was either hit or cut I'm not sure, but he fell to the ground. I was furiously punching the glass when I saw wisps of green fire- Jacque's magic- creep along the roof. I saw Sylynn fall as I turned to scramble off the roof, knowing it was seconds from shattering and falling through. I was too late.

For not the first time in my life, I fell down to what I thought was my death.