A/N: Got another one up today, yay!

This one was not very satisfying to me, felt a bit weird. But hopefully I can edit it soon and fix the choppy parts up a bit. Until then, enjoy life and I shall proceed! But only if you guys please please review. So do that and we shall all be most happy. :D

-Kenxi

The silence in that room was most deafening.

For someone so agitated and uptight, the faerie was suddenly so very quiet and still. Well, aside from her constantly moving hands, but Emma decided that was a given for this girl.

They all sat together in a lounge area of the Institute, not a word being voiced from their minds. The two men who came with the girl were outside the door, guarding it or something. Emma and Jules sat side by side on the couch. Jules was playing with his hands on his lap almost as much as their guest, and was only giving Emma a few uncertain glances every now and again. Emma herself was just staring at the girl, hoping she would feel her hard gaze and look up at them to actually start talking.

Really, the silence was getting on her nerves.

Emma spoke up, unable to bear it any longer. "So," she started, hoping to catch the attention of the room, but not really having anything to say about anything at all, "what did you want to talk about, again?" Emma pressed her lips together, waiting for a response.

The faerie's head snapped up. "My name Calie, from the Faerie Court. I come to speak to you—" she looked at Julian, whose eyes were wide and alert, "—about your brother, Mark."

It was as if a light turned on in Julian's eyes. For a moment his face completely transformed into one full of hope. Then, just as quickly as it had come, the look faded. Emma knew it was because he didn't want to expect something great, just to have the ideal crushed. Mark Blackthorn was a touchy subject for Jules, she knew what any news of his brother would mean to him and his family.

"What is it? What about Mark?" Jules asked, obviously trying not to appear too eager. He was sitting up straighter with his hands gripping the edge of the sofa he sat on tightly. If the subject this faerie was talking about wasn't that of Mark, Emma might have rolled her eyes at Julian. He reminded her of an untrained puppy being told to do a trick before getting the treat. But if the dog didn't know what the owner wanted, then they couldn't get what they wanted.

So what was it that Calie wanted?

"You know that he was forced to join the Wild Hunt, and that there was nothing that we could do. Not the Council nor any of the Faeries."

Julian just nodded quickly, not taking his eyes off of Calie.

"Well, there have been many strings pulled on our part." Emma heard Jules suck in a breath beside her. "We have a proposition for you. If you help us, we will get your brother back for you."

And just like that, Emma knew that no matter what it was the Faeries wanted from Jules, he would do it. His family was so broken, if there was something he could do to help mend it, Emma knew that he would take that opportunity like a life line. Family was really all he had, well, that and his painting. Oh, and of course Emma, but she was basically family anyway.

Emma, knowing that Jules was trying to let the information settle, spoke for him. "What is it you want us to do, exactly?"

Calie began fiddling with her hair, allowing Emma to catch glimpses of her slightly pointed ears. "A man arrived at your house this evening, a Shadowhunter." Emma didn't even bother asking how she knew that. Knowing that they lived in a world full of supernatural, she didn't really care.

"Yeah," Emma said. "Who is he?"

Hesitation. "His name is Ron Pontmercy. He witnessed one of the first killings in the past five years. A faerie was killed earlier today." Calie looked down at her hands making Emma wonder if she had known the victim.

Jules came out of his shock enough to ask, "Who was the murderer?"

"And why a faerie?" Emma probed, now even more curious about this situation than when the strange man first appeared at the Institute.

Calie shook her head fiercely at them, her long hair getting even more messed up in the process. "We don't know. That's why we need help. These killings started five years ago, just before the Dark War, and then abruptly ended as well. Now, if they are starting up again—"

"How do you know that these are even being done by the same killer? What proof do you have?" Emma interrupted, much to Calie's dismay.

Emma thought it was a fair question, but Calie shook her head again in a frustrating manner. If the girl kept doing that, she was seriously going to lose brain cells. There were no iratzes for that.

"The murders are all the same, just as before. The same markings, washed up on the beach as if it was an accident. But these aren't accidents. Whatever it is out there, it is killing Downworlders and Shadowhunters alike. It has only killed the faerie and a vampire so far, but it is enough. Five years ago there were seventeen murders in just a few weeks. Now that the war is over, we would hate to see how many more have to lose their lives." Calie shivered as if she was cold, but after what she just said, Emma figured that wasn't the case.

The brightness in Julian's blue-green eyes was fading back to normal once more. Cautiously, he asked, "So what is it exactly that you want us to do?"

Calie turned her gaze on Jules slowly, the first movement since Emma had met her that had been done in such a manner. The girl seemed mostly made of edges and corners before then. "We will inform the Council about this tomorrow. They will take the information and think about it for two weeks before they decide to do nothing about it. This much we are sure of." Her words were soft, but a disgusted tone held them when she spoke of the Council. "In that two weeks you, Julian Blackthorn, and anyone else you choose to help you—" she glanced at Emma, "—must find the monster responsible for these deaths if you are to ever see Mark Blackthorn again. That is the deal."

Julian went stiff and Emma grabbed his hand none too subtly to write something on it. W-H-A-T A-R-E Y-O-U—

"Why only in that time frame?" Jules took his hand back to ball it up into a fist, his voice just brimming a yell. Emma pulled her hand back, hurt, as she watched Julian's eyes intensify. "If the Council doesn't care, as you say, then why do we have to find the killer only in that time? Why does it matter?" At the end it was almost a plea, a plea for his brother. Calie just stood up as if to leave.

"I don't make the deals, Julian, I only send the messages. But just because I pity the loss of your brother, the reason for the hurry is because that is the only time we will have a chance to reclaim Mark. It is not our fault. I suggest you hurry. Two weeks from tomorrow, your deal will end and you will never see your brother again." Calie stood tall and proud, patting her hair for imperfections. Her sharp blue eyes blazed in the light of the room.

Julian hunched over in his place and put his head in his hands. Just as Emma was going to say something to him, Calie spoke once more:

"Oh, and by the way, Emma Carstairs, you might want to look again into the deaths of your parents. I believe their deaths followed the description of our killer's M.O.. Just something to think about, thank you for having me here, good night." And with that she let herself out of the room, her steps brisk and hurried, as if she had several other places to be.

Emma just stared after her, frozen in place.

Despite her best efforts, Emma couldn't really remember her parents like she used to. Sure, there were pictures of them, possessions of theirs that she had kept, but the memory of the way they laughed or said her name was slowly evanescing. Retaining their memory was like trying to hold water in her hands. No matter how hard she tried to squeeze her hands together hard enough, the water still somehow slipped through her fingers.

"…ma. Emma?"

She jerked into focus again at Jules saying her name. His eyes were on her face, searching it for all of her feelings. There was no way possible for her to hide anything from Jules, not that she would ever want to do that. The expression etched into his features was a mixture of concern, loss, determination. Just looking at each other they both knew what the other was feeling, what the other wanted to do.

Finally, Julian nodded, his jaw tight.

"Well, that does it. Let's go catch ourselves a killer," he said, the ghost of a grin on his face.

She knew the smile was only for her though. She knew it, and she knew that Jules knew that she knew it. But neither of them cared, and neither of them said anything. They didn't have to. They both had plenty to gain from doing this. There was nothing to lose, right? If they did find the person responsible for the deaths, then they would be keeping more people from dying, get Mark back, and find out who had killed Emma's parents, finally.

So why did she feel like they had just made a deal with the devil?

A/N: So I kind of feel like I am pretending to have a plot, but I really don't. So if anyone has any ideas, please PM me or review or something. Cause I really don't know what I am actually aiming for. This just began as something for me to do while I was dying for CoHF. So yeah. Thanks for reading! Hope it was okay, at least. Please share your thoughts, feelings, confessions of love. Anything. I'm all for it. Thanks!

-Kenxi