"I would rather walk with a friend in the dark, than alone in the light." 
-Helen Keller

When the Portal opened, Lisa was so surprised that she jumped backwards, scaring Anna.

A Portal is a kind of five-dimensional door, which allows shadowhunters - or other creatures - to travel around the world or the dimensions.

Through the Portal, she could see the green mountains of Idris. Idris was beautiful, the weather was always good and it sometimes reminded her of Italy. Actually, it was between France, Austria and Germany. The mundanes can't get there, or see it.

Marianne and Richard stepped through the Portal, along with three other shadowhunters. Marianne looked a bit nauseous, Lisa knew very well how traveling via a Portal could make you sick. Richard said a few more words to the other three shadowhunters, who then disappeared through the Portal.

The Portal closed behind them, as if it had never been there in the first place. Maxim got up and stormed to Marianne, who gave him a big hug. Lotte, however, walked to Richard.

"Daddy, Daddy, I almost defeated Jonathan today with sword fighting!" Jonathan rolled with his eyes and Richard stroked Lottes hair, which she clearly didn't like.

"Well done, Lotte." Anna and Jonathan walked up to their parents and told them about what happened yesterday.

"Oh, poor Anna, I heard the news from the Silent Brothers, we were so worried." Marianne gave Anna a hug. 

Lisa stood a little further, she really didn't know what to do, as usual in these situations. She thought Richard and Marianne were very nice and they treated her as their own child, but she sometimes had the feeling that she didn't quite fit in.

"Lisa, are you joining us?" asked Marianne, prompting Lisa to come closer.

"How was Idris?" she asked.

"The usual, we had a lot of work to do," Richard sighed.

"We also saw your mother," said Marianne cheerfully. Lisa swallowed at her words. 

Her mother lived in Idris, she was sitting on the Council – a kind of parliament – and had to attend many meetings. When Lisa was twelve, her mother made her choose whether she would move with her to Idris, or stay in Antwerp. She chose to stay with her best friend: Anna. She hasn't regretted that choice.

Anna and Lisa were planning on becoming parabatai. This means that she and Anna were connected to each other by means of the parabatai rune. Just like a marriage, but more friendly and much more powerful. This allows them to fight better when they are together and the runes they draw on each other will have more effect.

You can only have one parabatai in your life and you have to stay with them for the rest of your life. This was an important choice, but Lisa had confidence in it. She knew Anna since she was five and since then they had been best friends. She and Anna were already a kind of parabatai, but just without the runes.

"Lisa?" She became aware of her surroundings, she saw Anna was looking annoyed and Marianne stared at her with concern. Lisa looked anxiously at Anna, who formed the word "mother" with her lips.

"Ah, yes, my mother. How is she?" Lisa tried to ask with as much interest as possible.

"Well, she says she misses you. You have to come with us next time," Marianne said, "or she might come here? " Richard apparently had enough of the conversation.

"Can we go inside? It's rather cold here." He strode towards the door of the institute. Lisa was glad she didn't have to talk about her mother anymore and ran after him.

The ground floor of the Institute was a church, as usual in Institutes. They walked between the hard wooden benches of the Saint Paul's Church and took the elevator to the first floor. They could barely fit in the old, small elevator.

When the elevator door opened, Lisa's eye fell on something. The bloodstains from the previous night, she hadn't cleaned them up yet. She approached the stains – with a faster pace than the rest – and tried to cover them with her foot. Anna saw her action and suddenly began to limb.

"Ouch, my leg," she said to distract her parents.

 "Does it still hurt?" Marianne asked protectively.

"What hurts?" asked Lotte curious.

"Nothing, go and train, I'm coming," Jonathan said. 
"You too, Max." Lotte glanced at Anna, shrugged and walked away.

"I bet I'm faster in the training room than you Max!" she yelled. Maxim sighed, running after Lotte. But he stopped after a few steps.

"I know that Anna was attacked by a Raum," he said, looking over his shoulder, before running off after Lotte.

Everyone watched him disappear in silence, except Lisa, who used the situation to pull the rug a little further, so it covered most stains. She would clean it up later. Anna's pain was suddenly gone and she winked at Lisa. Together, they walked off. 

"So you have been attacked by a group of Raums?" Richard inquired.

"At least a dozen."

"Hmm," Marianne looked dubious, "aren't they usually alone?"

"I thought so too," Anna said.

"If you don't mind, I'm going to my office." Richard marched away.

"And I'm going to check what you guys damaged in the Institute," Marianne said with a crooked smile.

"Thanks for your confidence, mom," Anna said with an angry look.

"Yes, what could possibly be damaged?" said Jonathan innocently.

"My rug for example." Marianne pointed to the rug with which Lisa had covered the stains. The dried-up demon's blood had created a small hole in the rug – demons blood burns through almost everything – that had gotten bigger and bigger. Lisa hastily picked up the rug and put it aside.

"Sorry," she stammered, looking at the stains.

"It's fine, I'll clean it up, but you're going to train with Lotte and Maxim before they're at each other throats again." Anna grabbed Lisa's arm and together they went to the training room with Jonathan.

*

Lisa looked away from her target, almost all the arrows were shot in the bull's eye. She had found a new bow in the armoury. Though she had the feeling it shot worse than her old bow.

Each shadowhunter had a favourite weapon, after their basic knowledge about the seraph blade and normal daggers. Jonathan was practising with his sword, Lotte with her rapier, Maxim was throwing knives and Anna was drawing in her sketchbook. Lisa decided to take a break, her arms hurt.

"What are you drawing?" She sat on the floor next to Anna and glanced at her sketchbook.

"Nothing!" Anna closed her book immediately and put it aside. Before Lisa could react, Anna had already gotten up and grabbed her whip. 
"I'm going to train too." Abruptly she turned around and strode towards Jonathan. Lisa got up and walked to Anna, she knew how important and personal Anna's drawings were to her, she wasn't going to make a scene. Instead, she picked up a couple of knives, which Maxim wasn't using and turned back to Anna.
Her head reached Anna's shoulder and Lisa had to look up every time she wanted to say something to her.

"Do you want to train together?" She showed her the knives. 
"I think I could use some tips." Anna nodded in agreement.

"Yes, you really need those tips. You almost killed me yesterday, remember?" said Jonathan fiercely. Lisa remembered that she had almost hit him with a dagger. Jonathan was covered in sweat, making his white T-shirt stick to his body, Lisa could see his runes through it. All black and white lines, the scars that the runes left behind when they were used.

Anna and Lisa ignored what he had said.

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It will get more exciting in the next chapter -->

And remember: Trust no one