There are demon-haunted worlds, regions of utter darkness. Whoever in life denies the Spirit falls into the darkness of death.
- Isa Upanishad

Everyone has had the sense at least once in their lives that things are not right with the world, that not everything is at it seems. We sometimes feel that sinister truths hide behind a facade of normality, veiled partially by the rational, orderly "natural laws" taught to us by science. We're told that medieval beliefs in monsters and magic were merely primitive superstitions. We're too wise for that sort of foolishness these days. Or so we assure ourselves. But at night, when the shadows grow long and the wind whistles through the trees, we shudder and remember older truths, the truths of our ancestors, who were right to fear the dark.

We know deep down that the world is a far more terrifying place than we allow our rational minds to acknowledge. To accept this subconscious truth is to invite madness, to succumb to the raw chaos that lurks at the edges of our perception. Best to shut our eyes, pretend it's not there. If we don't see it, it might not see us.

Pretending something is not there, however, does not make it go away. It only helps it to hide better - and predators like to hide from their prey, lest it be scared away.

A world where such predators truly exist is a conspiracy theorist's worst nightmare. In such a reality, unseen beings hatch incognito plots against us, pulling our strings like puppeteers looming above us, hidden in the darkness beyond the stage lights. Our only protection is our ignorance, the obliviousness that allows us to keep going day by day, building toward "something meaningful" - a career, a home, a family. Allegations about secret masters or creatures lurking in the night simply lack evidence. If these things are real, why don't we see them on the evening news? Even Internet sites dedicated to exposing unknown forces in our lives can't produce a single, verifiable picture. It's hard to believe in something we can't
see.

Maybe they want it that way.

Welcome to the Shadow World.

Ling closed the door quietly and surveyed the cramped office. Shelves and filing cabinets groaned under piles of books, scrolls, antique statues and other odds and ends from a lifetime of study. Nikolai refused to allow customers into his office, fearing they would break or steal something - or discover the safe hidden behind the picture on the wall. Ling smiled and stepped carefully past the detritus of papers piled on the floor. She reached up to unhook the picture frame from the wall, revealing the tiny safe door.

It took her only seconds to unlock it with the combination, the numerological name of a demon prince from the Dubai Codex. Nikolai was so predictable.

Ling reached inside and felt for the goatskin scroll. She pulled it out slowly and carefully and placed it on the desk, her palms clammy with anticipation. She rubbed them against her jeans and pulled out her phone.

Without warning, a book tumbled from a shelf. The girl gasped and spun, her heart about to burst from her chest.

A black and tan dachsund woofed at her.

Balthasar, Nikolai's familiar.

"By the angel!" Ling curses, breathing out. "I thought I was going to get caught! Come here you little rascal!" She scoops up Balthasar and scratches his neck, whispering: "Patrolling for your master, are you? What? Oh, sorry, for your friend, of course, my bad." The dog hops back down and curls up on the worn-out armchair in the corner. Ling quickly snaps a picture of the scroll - to investigate later, or maybe just to brag, she is not quite sure yet. Mission accomplished, she places the scroll back in the safe and moves to rehang the picture as she listens out for the other young Shadowhunters who are hanging out in the shop as usual.

Being caught by Nikolai might get her a telling off, but she can always count on him being on her side when it comes to bending the rules. Other shadowhunters however, you never know when they'll drag out the old "The law is hard, but it is the law". Mouthing the well-worn sentence to herself, Ling can't help but roll her eyes.

Nikolai smiles at the customer as he finishes tallying up the man's total of the books he was purchasing. "It was good to see you again, Iosif. I'll keep an eye out for that book and make sure to call you first thing if I locate a copy." He waves to the man as he steps out, looking towards the younger group gathered in some of the plush seats, sipping on their drinks while they chat and browse the book selections. He pulls out the ornate, black pocket watch from his vest pocket and checks the time after stashing the ruble into his register. He then glances around and notices the absence of Ling, wondering what sort of mischief that young lady is getting into.

Caio is sprawled across a chair, sipping coffee from a mug which he had stealthily spiked with bourbon from a flask in his pocket. On his lap is a book detailing conspiracy theories about occult happenings which allegedly occurred in the Soviet Union during World War 2. He notices Nikolai looking around, and with a wry smile he gestures with his cup towards the office. "I suspect she's up to her usual antics."

The ringing of a small bell as the shop door opens announces the arrival of an attractive young brunette. She is muscular and dressed in rough clothes - cargo pants and a leather jacket over a khaki tank top. Her hair is tied back in one long braid. It seems like much too little clothing for the temperatures outside, but she doesn't appear to be cold. Stepping forwards, she shakes the snow from her leather jacket with a scowl and stalks up to the counter, staring Nikolai down.

Nikolai and Caio recognise this as Julia, second of the local Newsky werewolf pack.

Nikolai glances up at the Bell with a warm smile at the potential customer (he’d learned long ago the a disarming smile could go the distance), only for it to immediately drop down upon looking at the scowl headed his way. Nikolai locks eyes with the woman, not looking away or flinching away from that primal, age old game of dominance; whomever averted their gaze first was the submissive one. Nikolai did not submit in his own shop. Without looking away he addresses the woman stiffly, not appreciating her aggressive stance in his turf. “Julia. What brings you into my store?”

Without breaking eye contact, Julia reaches into a jacket pocket, extracts a spherical, red lollipop and puts it in her mouth.

"Alexi wants a meet," she states simply as she rolls it around on her tongue.

Alexi is Alpha of the Newsky pack. It's not uncommon for downworlders to feel uncomfortable contacting the Institute directly. Nikolai's affiliation with the shadowhunters is well known and many come to him as a middle man when they have dealings with the Clave.

"Koreana restaurant. Tonight, at seven. Bring your Clave friends."

The jingling of the doorbell pulls Ling out of her musings. Having repositioned the picture, she sneaks out of the office and quietly closes the door behind her. As nonchalantly as possible, she walks past Nikolai, winking at him. She almost stops in her tracks when she sees Julia. What is she doing here? Ling does not break her casual stride as she saunters over to the others, plonking herself in a chair next to Caio. Even though her back is turned to the two, she is listening intently. She notices Caio's choice of reading material and asks with a grin: "Any interesting mundane theories?" Sniffing the spiked coffee, she adds: "if you're in a state to judge, I mean." 

Caio scoffs a bit. "Brazilians certainly can't out drink Russians, but we're not too far behind. This is nothing. As is this book. The author is quite knowledgeable on the various cults and so called mystics of the times, but those people themselves didn't have much stock." Caio closes the book and shrugs. "Guess I'll have to finish it later though, sounds like we have plans tonight."

"It seems we do. How do you feel about Korean for dinner?" Ling says casually and angles her head. "No need to tell the Clave about where we're eating tonight, right?"

"Always down for bulgogi." he says with a smile. "Nah, we can handle ourselves. Hopefully shit won't get too hairy." His smile cracks into a smirk at his own pun.

Nikolai nods his understanding of the request. "Sure. Sounds delicious." Out of the corner of his eye he saw the tip of the handle rolling around Julia's lips and his natural inclination was to look at the movement, but he resisted the urge. Nikolai found it distracting in several different ways, Julia was an attractive woman; however, he knew werewolves were much more like their lupine brethren than mundanes and their animalistic instincts often shone through, especially when it came to being "top-dog" so to speak in a showdown. He wasn't sure if she was being sensual or aggressive, but if she wanted to come into his place all a bluster, then she'd get her showdown. And here... well... he heard the sound Ling's familiar voice... here he had the upper hand. "Seven o'clock, I think I can arrange that. Anything else I can help you with, Julia?" He continued to hold her gaze as a coy smile spread across his lips as his ears picked up the faint sounds of Balthasar's feet and a low growl that accompanied him.

Julia glances down at Balthasar and then rolls her eyes and laughs as she realises she has broken eye contact with Nikolai. She crouches and scratches the little dog behind the ears. He stretches and wiggles his rear happily.

"Did you come to back up your friend, you-little-sweety-you?" She asks in a voice like she is talking to a baby. Unsurprisingly, she seems to be a dog person.

"I'll see you then Nikolai," she answers with a wink as she turns to leave. "Don't be late."

With that she turns and vanishes back out the door with a jingle of the bell.

Nikolai grins as Balthasar completes his mission successfully, making a clicking sound with his mouth at Julia. "Good job, buddy." He says and returns Julia's wink. "See ya, Julia. And I'm never late!" He calls after her when she exits his store. He leans down to give Bal his own scratch along his neck. "That's my boy, Bal."

As he stands, he notices all the Shadowhunters staring at him expectantly. He feigns a scowl at them all. "What? Oh, you think she meant you all?" He mocks a scoff and mutters something along the lines of "...high opinions of themselves..." to Balthasar. He then takes the time to glance at the lock to figure how much time he has to prepare for the meeting as he begins to ponder the purpose behind it. 'Alexi wants to meet with The Clave on neutral ground. Interesting...'

It's currently a little past four in the afternoon and the sun will soon set on St. Petersburg. In the last weeks the city's shadow world has been awash with rumours of disappearances in the dark. Mundane and downworlder alike. The locals whisper of 'shadow beasts' that stalk the night. It's the word on everybody's lips.

Ling laughs and shakes her head at Caio's pun. Once Julia has left, she gets up from her seat and turns to Nikolai: "St. Petersburg Institute's finest, of course she meant us!" She takes a dramatic bow and adds: "At your disposal, oh mighty warlock." Pleased with her little performance, she glances back at Caio and asks both her friends: "Should we head over there now and do a little recon before the party starts? Nick, do you need to prepare any magical miracles before we take off?"

Caio shrugs nonchalantly. "Couldn't hurt to scope it out a bit, I haven't been over there in a while."

Nikolai chuckles at Ling's antics; she had always been one for the dramatic flair. Perhaps that was one of the reasons he enjoyed her company so much. He shakes his head at the question. "No, I think we will be okay. If Alexi wanted to start something, he's smart enough not to do it on neutral ground. I think they know if they did that, then everyone could get involved and Petersburg would erupt into chaos. I think it has more to do with the rumors going around the city right now. I won't lie if I hadn't pondered whether a rogue werewolf was behind it." He slips the handsome, black watch from the pocket of his vest and confirms that the time is accurate on it and the nearby clock. "We've got a few hours, that might draw a little too much attention if we're not careful. You guys know of any shops in that area we could loiter before going in? I've still got an hour before I can close down. You're welcome to stick around and scare away customers... like you always do... Not that I could chase you kids off anyway." He shakes his head ruefully. 

"Not that you would want to chase us off anyway, you mean!" Ling pouts. "We're clearly the highlight in here, or at least I am, right?" She looks at Caio for approval, but before he can possibly disagree, she turns back to Nickolai, now more serious. "Anatoly mentioned that the downworld was filled with rumours of some shadow thing. They sent us out last week to look into the disappearance of that vampire - total waste of time, if you ask me. When did we suddenly become responsible for vampires as well as mundanes? Anyway, we went and got some weird readings where he'd last been seen, but that was it. I thought it wasn't really our concern, but now Anatoly said they had linked some mundane disappearances to the same thing, possibly." She sighs, and continues: "Doesn't seem like anyone really knows anything tangible though. And you know I refuse to work with vampires," she grins and touches her blade "unless it's to put them in their place, of course. We're off now, meet back in front of Koreana a little before 7?"

Ling waves good bye to Nikolai as she drags Caio out the door with her for her recon mission. As it turns out, what she meant by that was browsing the shopping district near the restaurant, while keeping an eye open for unusual things... every now and then. She doesn't notice anything other than the normal mundane hustle and bustle of St. Petersburg, and they're back at Koreana a good quarter of an hour before the meeting is to take place.

The Koreana restaurant sits on Gorokhovaya Street, just after the bridge south across the Moyka river. It's directly opposite a large church - an obvious haven for any Shadowhunter, although Nikolai often finds that holy ground makes his skin crawl. The restaurant is quiet, but open, with a few scattered patrons visible at their tables behind the broad glass front.