When he nodded, I felt a piece of myself fall into place. It wasn't the whole puzzle, just one tiny image added to the hole left in my life. And that image was of Jace's face. His smile he showed me wasn't exactly what I wanted, I could feel it. His eyes were sad, and he seemed unsure. Almost desperate.

I dropped my hand, tilting my head a little as I stared up at him.

"Who are you?" I asked, quietly, feeling a little desperate, myself.

"I'm-" Jace started, but his next words were silent. He looked around, as if checking if there was someone around us. "I just..."

He shook his head, taking a step back from me.

"We can't."

"We can't?" I blinked at him. "We aren't even doing anything."

"No, Clary, you don't get it. I'm... I'm sorry," he said. His crushed brow and wet eyes proved his sincerity. But what the hell was he talking about?

"But-"

"I have to go," he blurted, then spun on his heel and practically speed-walked down the alley.

"Hey!" I called out, reaching after him. "Seriously?" My hand bumped my leg as I dropped it back down.

I felt compelled to follow him. I glanced back at the door leading to my first ever art exibit, something I had worked seven months to put on. So far, it seemed like a hit. But this Jace… I felt this pull to trail after him, to find out where he was from, why he was so familiar.

Biting my lip, I gave the door one last look. Then turned my back to it to sprint to the mouth of the alley. I looked frantically around, but didn't catch sight of him. Taking my best guess, I rushed along the sidewalk.

A scream came from an alley next to me, making me skid to a stop.

"Help!" a woman's voice screeched, making my blood run cold.

Without hesitation, I jogged into the alley, trying to see into the dark to find the woman. Another scream echoed out at me. Picking up my pace, I went straight into the shadows.

Turning a blind corner, I almost tripped over my own feet when I came upon something I had never seen before. The woman I had heard was bent backwards, being held from behind. A large, ink-black arm was wrapped around her neck, the other around her waist. I could see blood running down the woman's forehead, her brown hair sticking to it.

Her eyes were wide when they found me, terrified as she opened her mouth to scream, again.

"Help me!"

I squared my gaze on her attacker, but I couldn't make out his face from the shadows covering half of him.

"Let her go!" I ordered. I felt my spine straighten and my knees bent like I was ready to sprint at him if he dared to do otherwise.

He forced her to take a step forward, the sight making all the blood in my face drain away.

His face was just as inky as his skin, shining like tar. His eyes were nothing but holes in his skull and he had no hair, the ink covering every inch of him I could see. Opening his mouth full of razor sharp teeth, he let out a shriek that made flinch and cover my ears. But I couldn't tear my eyes away from him. I had never seen something so horrifying. Was he even real?

I glanced to the side, spotting a pipe in a pile of nearby garbage bags. Snatching it up, I held it like a bat and squared my shoulders in his direction.

Whatever the hell he was, he wasn't going to have his way with her.

"Let her go!" I yelled, again.

His lips, or at least the skin around his mouth, curled up like a smile. It sent a shiver down my spine. But I couldn't leave her there.

Taking three wide steps toward them, I raised the pipe, fully intending to club this monster over the head.

His arms came undone from around the woman and then roughly pushing her aside. She cried out as she crashed heavily into the bags of garbage. His posture hunched, his arms out wide.

Yuck, he was covered completely in ooze. Gross.

Gritting my teeth, I watched as he rushed me, and swung with all my strength. I felt the impact, and heard him let out a small cry, when it landed a good one on the side of his head. Using the momentum of my follow-through, I spun and aimed to land a second hit, but just as I was just about to clobber him, again, he reached up and shoved me, hard, into the brick wall of the building behind me.

Landing on my hands and knees, I gasped, but no air reached my lungs. I couldn't breathe. Stars burst in front of my eyes, blinding me. Panic began to shoot up my spine. Managing to make it back to my feet, I staggered, taking my first breath in what felt like forever.

My eyes cleared, revealing the tar-covered face only inches from mine. I would have screamed, but his hand came up to wrap his long, clawed fingers around my throat. I tore at his skin, trying to force him to let go, but his grip was so strong it felt like I was pulling on solid stone. He lifted me off my feet, easily holding me at the end of his outstretched arm.

My mouth fell open, trying to gulp in air. My lung burned so badly that I thought I'd never take another breath. I was going to die here, by the hands of this monster.

My eyes fluttered, my effort to free myself weakening.

I was dying.

At what felt like the last second of consciousness, something inside me flared to life. My eyes locked on this horrible creature and a sudden energy crackled inside of me.

Planting my feet against his chest, I pushed off as hard as I could. To what seemed like his surprise, his hand slipped from my throat, sending me through the air. Without thinking, my body flipped in midair, righting me to land on my crowched feet. I fell to one hand, the other going to my throat. I barked out a cough, but took a deep inhale of sweet, beautiful air.

Spotting my trusty pipe only an inch from my planted hand, I snatched it up and pushed myself back to stand upright.

The monster shrieked, again, but I didn't flinch.

This sucker was going down.

I took a step toward him just as he sprinted at me, and I swung. In a flash, he had ducked and whipped an arm out to backhand me across the temple.

Everything dimmed, but I felt the hard asphalt hit my shoulder. Trying to blink away the fuzziness, I squinted to focus.

A bright light flashed in front of me, followed by a muffled voice. I think he said my name. I could hear a scuffle, another shriek from the monster, then what looked like a thousand red fireflies that disappeared as quickly as he showed.

My eyes closed, everything going completely black.