"Guess who!" suddenly, there was blackness in front of my eyes, like somebody had turned off the sun.

My pulse increased in a second and adrenaline was streaming through my veins. Panic overcame me because I couldn't realise how I had been so reckless that I hadn't noticed somebody approaching me. Mundanes didn't see me at all, thanks to glamour, so the only ones who could see me were Shadowhunters, Dowworlders and demons. My only thought of relief was that demons and Downworlders probably wouldn't say "Guess who!".

I raised my hands and grabbed the pair of hands that were blocking my gaze. I shook them off and turned around. I was facing Jonathan, who laughed like a child who had done something forbidden and couldn't wait to tell his friends everything about it.

"Guesswho me next time and I'll break your arms." I invented a new verb without even thinking about it, too irritated by Jonathan's carefree smile.

"What pissed you off, Sam?" the smile still didn't leave his face. He seemed to be in very good mood this morning.

"You having left without telling me." it sounded stupid, even to me, but I didn't care. He had some explaining to do.

I didn't even wait for him to answer, but turned around and continued to walk towards Emily Pearl's house. I heard his footsteps coming closer, but didn't look towards him when he appeared on my left side.

"I had to do it, Sam. It was the only way to avoid my sister and her gang."

"Where were you?" I crossed my arms over my chest, letting him know I would accept nothing but honest answers. If he didn't want to give them, I guessed I would have to pull them out of him, in any way I would think of. We both knew none of those ways would be pleasant for him.

His face became serious, though I didn't know if it was because of my threat or because of the answer he was about to give me.

"I went to Jeff Goldmayer's place."

I raised my eyebrows.

"Why? Didn't Amelia tell you she and Thomas were about to go there now?"

Jonathan nodded.

"That's exactly why I went there. I wanted to check that place before she and Thomas take away anything that shows what really happened there."

I didn't understand what he meant.

"Why do you think they would lie to us?" I asked. "Amelia really isn't high on my list of favourite persons, but I'd never say she would hide evidences or false them."

I looked at Jonathan's black eyes. Through months we had spent together I had learnt how to read them. I could see there was no mocking shine in them now, no sign of insincerity or pretending.

"They're hiding something from us." Jonathan's voice was so certain, like he would put his right hand into fire if his statement would be proved wrong.

"But, what?" I couldn't believe him if he didn't have strong evident for his statement.

Maybe he didn't go to Goldmayer's house. Maybe he just to turn my suspicions away from himself. I thought. He has to say more if he wants me to trust him.

"I don't know." he replied. "But, I think they have somehow found out who I am."

"How would they have found out that? They'd never seen you before we came to London." I laughed in disbelief.

He looked at me so seriously that I stopped laughing at once.

"Why did they ask my sister and her friends to come here from New York? There are plenty of Shadowhunters in Idris who could join the Institute to help us. She must have asked for them particularly, otherwise they wouldn't have come."

He had a point there. That was suspicious.

"But, if they know who you are, why would they invite them here? They could have handed you over to the Clave right away and claimed all the reward." I tried to understand intentions of the two Waylands.

"I have no idea." Jonathan shrugged his shoulders. "But, I know this. Jeff Goldmayer wasn't killed by a demon or a Downworlder. He was killed by a Shadowhunter."

I sighed in disbelief.

"How do you know that?"

"I've seen his body." even Jonathan, who was indifferent to almost any kind of injuries, now looked like he was going to be sick. "There are wounds all over it. They are well covered by demons' poison and smell, but they were made by a Seraph blade. And nobody carries them but us."

That's true. I nodded.

"But, why would any Shadowhunter kill him? It's against the Law and not even a year has passed since the agreement in Idris." I tried to make sense of all that had happened. "Maybe this was something personal, not connected to the person who we're after."

Jonathan didn't seem convinced.

"He was our only trace and he was found dead. I don't think that's a coincidence."

"We still have two warlocks to interrogate." I pointed out, but Jonathan's suspicions were more convincing to me than my words.

He didn't answer. We continued to walk in silence, curled up in our own thoughts. I couldn't think of a reason why Amelia and Thomas would hide something from us.

Maybe we aren't the easiest characters to handle, but we've never caused them any troubles when it mattered. I was sure of it. Even if they know Jonathan's true identity, they must have seen he has been on our side for last seven months. He did nothing wrong. Maybe he planned to, but he didn't.

"Here we are." I heard Jonathan's voice.

The house we were in front of wasn't as colourful as Bella's, but it had its own way of standing out. There were thousands of pearls all over the walls, like the owner didn't need a post box to point out her last name. Any postman ( if Downworlders had any ) would have no problem to guess that this house belonged to woman with the last name Pearl.

We passed through a small garden and stopped in front of the door. Jonathan knocked firmly. In few seconds the door opened and a woman with long black hair and blue eyes appeared.

"To what do I own the honour, Nephilim?" her voice was cold, like she thought her rudeness would make us go away.

"I suppose you are Emily Pearl." Jonathan said with an amused smile.

She didn't like the way he looked at her.

"Yes." I could hear annoyance in her hissing. "What do you want?"

"Answers." I said, trying to reduce tensions that had emerged. "Warlocks around London talk about a mysterious person who visits them and asks about their skills of summoning demons. Do you know anything about it?"

Her eyes left Jonathan and turned their gaze on me. She studied me for few seconds, like she was considering whether tell me the truth or not.

"I've heard rumours about it." she said finally.

"But you've never seen the person yourself?" Jonathan cut in before I could say anything.

Emily's face frowned.

"Wait until I finish, Shadowhunter." she didn't even look at Jonathan while speaking. "Last Saturday I went to a party. It lasted for some time, so it was around 5 a. m. when I returned home. I was a bit drunk, I admit, but I saw somebody knocking on my door. He knocked few times and waited, but when nobody answered, he left."

"He?" it was the first palpable information we got.

"I think it was him." Emily said with a thoughtful expression on her face, like she was trying to remember. "I saw short blond hair. And he was sneaking like he didn't want to be seen, especially not in front of my house."

I had to ask her. It was more important that hurt feelings.

"Was the person's hair like his?" I pointed at Jonathan's blond locks, ignoring his gaze.

Emily separated her gaze from my face and glanced at Jonathan, but she frowned while doing it, like there was something about Jonathan that really annoyed her. I hoped it was just his eager attitude and not the recognizing of the person that had been in front of her house that morning.

"It was similar to his." she said at last.

Suspicion rose in me at once. I looked at Jonathan. My gaze was saying 'You have a lot to explain. I still don't trust you.'

"But the person was shorter than him." Emily suddenly continued. "At least a head shorter."

Jonathan was pretty tall and there was very small chance that Emily could have mistaken the mysterious person for him. I felt relief streaming through every part of my body. Jonathan wasn't the person we were after. He hadn't lied to me.

"And that person didn't see you while leaving?" Jonathan filled in my silence.

"Maybe I was drunk, but I know how to protect myself when I don't want to be seen. And I most certainly don't want to be seen by visitors who cover their faces and come at 5. a. m." Emily turned her gaze from Jonathan and her blue eyes were back at studying me again. "Is that all?"

Jonathan and I looked at each other.

We had few pieces of the puzzle. The mysterious person had a blond hair and most likely was a Shadowhunter. He knew about London's most powerful warlocks, he wasn't comfortable with being seen in front of their houses and one of the warlocks ended up dead, killed by Seraph blade.

But, I had a feeling we had to ask more questions. This wasn't enough to find the person responsible for this.

"Do you know what happened to Jeff Goldmayer?" I asked, staring directly at her face and looking for a reaction that could give us more information.

But, Emily's face showed nothing suspicious, like panic or nervousness.

"That fool?" she sighed. "I wouldn't be surprised if you told me he managed to drive a knife into his own ass."

I looked at her in surprise.

"Why do you say that? As far as we know, he was the one of the most powerful warlocks in London."

She sighed again.

"Sweetie, if you ever saw him doing magic, you'd know what I mean." but, before I could object for her calling me "sweetie", her face became very serious as well as her voice. "What do you mean, 'He was'?"

"He was found dead yesterday." Jonathan said before me. "He was murdered."

Emily's face became expressionless, like she was afraid the same fate could come after her.

"By whom?"

"By a ..." I started, but Jonathan grabbed my shoulder. His gaze was telling 'Be silent.'.

"Probably by the same person we're looking for and who came searching for you." he answered.

"But, why?" Emily's voice was still, but I could hear a shade of panic in it. She even didn't mind looking at Jonathan, who was now leading the conversation.

"Probably because he didn't want to cooperate." he replied like a true police officer.

Emily thought about his words for few moments. Her face expression indicated she had known nothing about Jeff's death until we told her about it.

"I never thought anyone would kill Jeff." she said, but not like she was actually talking to us, more like she was talking to herself. "He had power, absolutely, but was a bungler in using it. He loved to experiment, sometimes over his limits, but he stood away from demons' businesses."

"Obviously, not away enough." Jonathan said and interrupted Emily's line of memories.

She frowned at him again.

"Don't be sarcastic about anyone's death, Shadowhunter. It's not something to be laughed at."

"We know that." again I was the one who had to take control before they slaughter each other. "Thank you for your help, Emily."

While turning her gaze back to me, a smile showed up on her lips.

"A well-mannered Shadowhunter." her voice didn't sound ironical, just amused. "May I know your name?"

I would prefer you not to. I thought, but I knew it would be rude to refuse her. It couldn't do too much harm and then we could go without leaving bad feelings behind.

"Sam." I answered and then remembered to point at my parabatai. "And this is Jonathan."

Emily nodded without a word. I couldn't think of anything else to say. It was time for us to leave.

"Goodbye, then. Thank you once again for your help." I turned around, going back to the street. I heard Jonathan's footsteps following me.

"Well done, Sam." he whispered in my ear.

His voice surprised me, but I managed not to show it.

"Piece of cake." I said mischievously.

We didn't even pass half of the garden when I heard Emily's voice behind my back.

"Will you go out with me?"

I guessed she wasn't talking to me. So did Jonathan. He turned towards her.

"I'm sorry, I don't date Downworlders." he was amused, like he couldn't believe she had offered him a date.

I was amused and surprised at the same time. She hadn't looked like she was a fond of Jonathan during our talk. But, I wasn't the right one to talk about it. I knew nothing of relationships. Maybe that was the point, to seem indifferent, so he would notice her.

"I wasn't talking to you." Emily said.

Then, maybe it wasn't.

I turned around. Emily's gaze rested on me.

"So, will you or won't you?" her voice was calm, but I could feel she wouldn't like the negative answer.

But, I could give her no answer. I was so shocked somebody had asked me out, even more than I was shocked by the fact it was a woman who had asked me out. People didn't ask me to go out with them. People stood away from me. This was an unfamiliar situation and I wasn't comfortable with it. I knew my mouth was wide open, so I tried to think of an answer.

"I ..." I took a deep breath, trying to extend my time for answering. "I can't. We're trying to find the guy who is responsible for all this. I can't think of anything but that right now."

Emily's eyes darkened a bit, but her lips curled into smile.

"You're a smart girl. Maybe after you solve this, then?"

By the Angel, why me? my hands were sweating. I put them in my pockets. I can't let her see how nervous I am. I need to solve this nicely and smoothly.

"I'm also a busy girl." I made a lot of effort to make my voice eager and easy going in the same time. "And a Shadowhunter."

Smile didn't leave Emily's face. Darkness in her eyes was replaced by an amused shine.

"Smart, sarcastic, handsome and dangerous to like. What a delightful combination."

Help! Help! I turned towards Jonathan, knowing I was blushing.

For few seconds he stared at me with mocking smile on his face, but then he finally had mercy on me.

"I'm sorry, but she already has a boyfriend." he looked at Emily.

Her gaze skipped in a second from me to him, like he had said he would activate a bomb right there right now. I looked at him too, wondering what he was about to do.

"And who is he?" her eyes were filled with interest. "You?"

Jonathan grinned.

"It's a secret."

"Maybe I could steal her." Emily said, smiling back at me again.

I wanted to leave at once. I felt too uncomfortable here. Give me demons, fights, blades and swords, but don't let any talk about feelings or relationships near me.

"I'm faithful, I'm sorry." I grabbed Jonathan's hand and pulled him with me. "I'm sorry if we disturbed you."

"You're welcomed to do it any time, Sam." I heard her voice behind my back, but pretended I hadn't heard it.

I made very big steps just to get out of there as quickly as possible. I wasn't used to that kind of situations and it frightened me more than an army of demons. I felt my hand shivering in Jonathan's. I was in a hurry so much I didn't even wonder why I was holding his hand. It was just an assurance.

When we were finally away from Emily's house, I let go of Jonathan's hand. I took a deep breath, like the air around Emily's house was different from the air in the rest of London and I hadn't been able to breathe properly until now. I headed back for the Institute with Jonathan on my heels.

"Sam!" he caught up with me and now he was walking by my side.

"What?" my voice was a bit rude, but I didn't care. I didn't even want to look at him.

He walked in silence for few moments like he was changing his mind, but then he gave up.

"I just wanted to say you were brilliant. Like a pearl." he said.

He made fun of me, I knew it. But, I couldn't hold it against him when, no matter how much this was uncomfortable to me, I wanted to laugh too. I had gone to find information about the person who wanted to destroy Shadowhunters and I had got it. I just hadn't known I would get a date offer as well.

"Shut up, Jonathan." I rolled my eyes at him.

He returned the favour. I smiled, but didn't let him see it. I was still Sam Carstairs and I had a reputation to uphold to.

While we were walking back towards the Institute, I focused on the information we had got from Emily. Piece of the puzzle was still missing and I hoped New Yorkers would find it. We couldn't be far from finding the mysterious guy who wanted us dead. I was glad because of it, but even more that the guy wasn't Jonathan.

Soon everything will be back as usual. I thought, smiling. Killing demons alongside my parabatai, reading and sleeping. What more could a Shadowhunter ask?