"Well this is awkward" was Helen Blackthorn's response when realising who the newcomers were, looking uncomfortable in her fat suit.

"You do know Camille Belcourt isn't fat?" the boy who was clearly Alexander pointed out

"Yet you still knew who I was"

"Touché"

"French!" exclaimed Sebastian.

The boy, Alexander, was wearing a floor-length coat and had spiked his hair as well as applying glitter to his skin; a warlock? Jon thought, but wasn't 100% sure what he was supposed to be. His sister, Isabelle, had tied up her long black hair into a bun to make it look short and was wearing red robes.

"What're you two supposed to be?" Horace asked in Isabelle's direction.

"He's a warlock (don't ask) and I'm Lilith" there was a collective gasp from the guests

"And everyone criticises me for coming as an angel!" Jace complained.

Aline moved towards the Lightwoods and ushered them into the hall to talk, leaving the remaining guests to whisper confusedly with each other about their appearance at the party. Jon stood back and listened as the people around him engaged in a heated debate that in his mind went something like this:

Jace: "I can't believe they had the nerve to show up at the house of a respected Shadowhunter family when they're not even welcome in the city"

Will: "Are you just jealous because he was dressed more fabulous than you?"

Helen: "And since when were you so obedient to the Pehallows? You hate them just like you hate everyone in Alicante and beyond!"

Jace: "now now Helen you know that's not true; I live in Alicante"

Clary: "unbelievable"

Jace: "thank you"

Clary: "that wasn't a compliment"

Horace: "the girl's hot and the guy knew what Camille Belcourt looks like so he must have contacts; I say we give them a chance"

Will: "agreed"

Clary: "a chance to do what? destroy the city?"

Jocasta: "hey they're still my relatives!"

Clary: "hey they're still related to traitors!"

Sebastian: "would anyone like some cheese-tipped breadsticks? They're quite delicious and yet surprisingly moist-"

Jace, Clary, Horace, Will and Jocasta: "no!"

Helen: "ooo yum! Yes please".

At this point Jon swiped some of the quite delicious yet surprisingly moist cheese-tipped breadsticks and silently moved towards the hallway, where he could listen in on Aline's ongoing conversation with the Lightwoods.

"Thanks for coming" said Aline, who was stood surprisingly close to the two people she had apparently never met before, "did you find him?"

"We tracked him down to New York; Isabelle was the one who questioned him but all she could get out of him was the same ravings as last time"

"You mean the whole 'the world is a lie' thing?"

"Yeah and something about alternate dimensions? I don't know what he's been watching but he's a fan of conspiracy theories alright"

"But our contact has shown interest in him, which means there must be an element of truth to his stories. And last time he said there were more like him"

"Speaking of our contact" this was Isabelle talking now, "we've been told to warn you about the Morgensterns and the Herondales and to not let them get too close to each other; we don't know why but that's the order"

"Consider it done. Anything else?"

"We've also been told to start letting the demons as close to the demon towers as possible. You need to choose someone you trust to try and create a bypass so that the demons can actually enter the city"

"What?!"

"At the same time, the contact doesn't want anyone to actually get hurt so use your familial influence with the consul to make sure the Shadowhunters are prepared for an attack" said Alexander, "contact's exact words".

"Fine; will you stay for the party?"

"Maybe for a little while"

"Okay" Aline started to turn her back on them and walk away, but Isabelle grabbed her arm and made eye contact; a serious expression on her face.

"One last thing; the person we went seeing in New York? He had a message for Clarissa Morgenstern, but due to the security of this operation I thought I'd tell you; you're her friend and would know if it would be a compromise to tell her".

"What was the message?"

"He said 'the missing piece is the circle'"

"A circle?"

"No the circle; don't know what it means but he was really specific about it"

"I don't see any harm in telling her, she probably won't know what it means either".

"You're all being so offensive to fat people! Oh just because vampires are charming and beautiful and radiant means they can't be fat? Next you'll be saying they can't be geeky or something else that doesn't fit into your elite vampire regime! I'm going to start a support group for fat vampires and then you'll all be sorry". Helen was red in the fact with either anger or embarrassment by the time Jon had made his way back to the group.

"I'll join!" Sebastian announced eagerly.

"If you tip those breadsticks in blood you can serve them at the meetings" said Horace sarcastically whilst attempting to wrap arms around both Clary and Jocasta despite their distance from each other.

"Jon! Where've you been?" asked Clary worriedly.

"Just eavesdropping on Aline and the Lightwoods conspiring to unleash an army of demons on the city on the orders of a stereotypical mysterious villain boss whose identity won't be revealed until the plot develops"

"What?"

"I went to the bathroom"

"Oh! Why didn't you say so?" Now it was Jace's turn to start an argument by discussing the varying fabulousness ratios between angels and warlocks ("Raziel must've thought he was fabulous or he wouldn't have given the Shadowhunters a mortal mirror only to hide it from them so that he could look at himself all day long") while Clary kept her eyes on him.

I can't just stand around and not do anything if the Lightwoods are planning something Jon thought, but what could he do? If I followed the Lightwoods when they left the city or travelled to New York and tracked down this person I could save everyone before anyone knew what was going on. But if I stay in the city I can warn the Clave about Aline's betrayal and I could help stop the demons when they arrived. But he knew that ultimately at the centre of all this was Clary. If he went then he would be able to save her life along with everyone else's (he thought about asking her to go with him but knew she'd tell their parents) but if he did leave then she'd only get closer to him.

Jon watched Clary laughing at Jace's rant, but there was a spark in her eyes much less furious then before when she slapped him. Maybe it was finding a Shadowhunter on equal footing to herself, or maybe it was just fate, but Jon knew that she was softening up to the Herondale boy (psychical violence and mid-party arguments aside). I could come back and find out she doesn't need me anymore.

Not need, want. She's never needed me. It's always been me that needed her.