"Have you heard anything?"

"A group of Nephilim, including the Lightwoods, have disappeared from Idris. The only trail they left behind was blood from the wounds they got during a vampire ambush, but they're all still alive".

"Do you think they're coming back to question me again? The Lightwoods?"

"I don't think they're travelling with the others. My guess is they're tracking them down to kill them; after that they'll probably come for us"

"If that happens then you'll need to run; get a message-"

"No. We're both of the eight, which means we must stick together".

"Who knew that Swiss airports have Burger Kings? This is amazing!" everyone thought Sebastian was, yet again, being overly enthusiastic, but it was growing on them now. It hadn't been easy bribing the faeries on the street to glamour their weapons, but they needed to get a plane to New York and it was the only way to avoid questions about why their hand luggage consisted of seraph blades and various other weapons.

"How long before our plane boards?" asked Will.

"Half an hour; it'll take time to get to New York but it's the fastest way after portals" Jocasta answered. None of them had ever been on a plane before; Shadowhunters had never needed them, at least not those who were barely adults.

"We should expect an ambush when we arrive; if Helen's right, and that vampire attack was a message from someone higher up, there'll probably be more along the way" said Jon; they'd all more-or-less recovered from their injuries, but still considered themselves lucky for surviving the first of many hurdles on their journey.

"Well if this plane ride is going to take a while I'm going to need a good book to read" Will announced, "I've always wanted to read A Tale of Two Cities, I'll go see if they have an English copy in the bookshop".

"Ooo I'll come too": Helen, "they might have Tipping the Velvet". Will gave her a suspicious look but shrugged his shoulders and walked away from the others with her.

Jon scanned their surroundings; they may have been in an airport Burger King but that didn't mean they were safe. No one seemed to be acting suspiciously, and as much as he concentrated no demons or Downworlders were being shielding by glamour, but he felt paranoid that someone was watching them. It was Horace who noticed them; two black-clad figures with equally dark hair, a male and a female, watching them from inside a nearby shop. Whether it was his bright blue eyes, or the electrum whip coiled around her wrist, it didn't matter; what mattered was that they were clearly there to stop them.

"The Lightwoods" Jocasta whispered worriedly after seeing where Horace was looking. Jon and Sebastian following his gaze now as well, and we just as anxious from what they saw.

"What do we do?" Sebastian asked.

"You and Horace go to the bathroom" Jon said, looking straight at Sebastian, "don't look at the Lightwoods when you go, just go and try and keep an eye out without revealing yourselves. They won't attack us as a full group, which means they'll either go to the bathroom to get you or they'll come for me and Jocasta; either way we'll be able to deal with them. Whichever pair they attack, the other needs to send one person to join the fight and the other to get Will and Helen". They all nodded in agreement, and the Horace and Sebastian got up from their chairs and walked casually towards the bathroom. Jon thought Jocasta was doing a brilliant job of nonchalantly sipping her drink while unsheathing a knife under the table.

"They're leaving the shop now" Jon said, smiling as he said it to make their conversation seem casual.

"Let me know as soon as it's obvious who they're coming for. Are you sure they won't split up?"

"They're clearly arrogant enough to think they have a change at fighting one against two but they won't risk it; they're carrying out the wishes of someone more dangerous than they are, which means they can't afford to mess up".

Isabelle was slowly unravelling her whip from around her waist, while Alexander drew a sword from a sheath behind his back. It was difficult to judge how far away they were when looking out of the corner of his, but Jon was almost certain they were coming for him and Jocasta. Sure enough, they walked in a straight line towards the table; faces expressionless. "They're coming for us" he warned.

"Is one of them directly behind me?"

"Yeah, he is". Jocasta didn't hesitate; she stood up from her chair and spun 180 degrees and with a pre-determined aim launched her knife. It struck Alexander in his left arm; it wasn't his main fighting arm, but it clearly caused him pain and bought Jon enough time to sneak up on the peturbed Isabelle.

"You should have stayed in exile" he warned, as he attempted to slice through her whip with his sword. In the distance he saw Sebastian running towards them from the bathroom and Horace running in the direction of the book shop. Alexander recovered himself and swung at Jocasta, but she was fully prepared for the attack and blocked it with force, causing him to stumble backward.

Isabelle was much more difficult to deal with as she was uninjured, but Jon's sword thrusts were no longer the only defense against her now that Sebastian was cutting off her whip strikes with his throwing stars. Jocasta, having dealt with the other Lightwood for the time being, briefly joined in with a knife aimed at Isabelle's face, but it was easily dodged and Alexander was getting up again. She had noticed him bring out his steal and place an iratze on his skin near the wound, meaning that he would be at full strength again before the fight was over, and now that all her knives had been used she had to prepare her sword. Sebastian was also low on weapons, and had to temporarily leave Jon to fight Isabelle alone so he could collect his throwing stars.

"Why are you doing this?" Jon asked breathlessly.

"Because unlike you we've not been brought up in safety and comfort. Sometimes you have to do something wrong if it means saving the ones you love".

During the distraction she coiled her whip around his throat and pulled with all her might, cutting off his breathing before he had a chance to fight back. He fell to the floor and writhed uncontrollably, clutching at the electrum to try and loosen it so that he could breathe again, but it wouldn't move. His vision turned to a haze, so much so that he thought he could see more than one person fighting Alexander now, instead of just Jocasta. He vaguely recollected the hilt of a knife jamming against Isabelle's skull, and seeing a dark haired boy with blue eyes stood over her unconcious body.

"Will?" Jon coughed as the boy unravelled the whip from his throat.

"It's me Morgenstern. If it's any consolation they had A Tale of Two Cities but they couldn't find Tipping the Velvet". This jogged his memory, and as his vision began to clear he realised that it was Helen who was helping Jocasta to fight off the remaining Lightwood. After making sure Jon was alright, Will started to make his way towards them with his knives at the ready, but a loud crash stopped him as Alexander fell to the floor was the remnants of a chair broken atop his head.

"Who'd have thought that swords weren't the best weapons?" Horace laughed, hitting Alexander in the face with the remaining chair leg for good measure.

"This seems like the perfect opportunity for a group victory/reunion hug" Sebastian suggested shyly, and for once none of them rolled their eyes or made a sarcastic joke, and they all huddled together to show how glad they were that everyone was still okay.

"-to New York now boarding"; it was Helen who caught the end of Swiss-accented voice over announcing it was time to board their plane. "Looks like we have a plane to catch" she said.

They were well on their way to the boarding gate when the two Lightwoods regained conciousness and prepared to follow them.