Summary

In Chapter 3, "The Institute,” Tessa dreams she is in the Dark House and that the Dark Sisters are bending over her, but their faces change. She imagines her Aunt Harriet saying that Tessa is “not human” (51), then hears someone ask “what is she?” (52). Tessa wakes to find Brother Enoch, one of the Silent Brothers, tending her. He has no eyes, as if eyes were never part of his face, and his mouth is sewn closed. Tessa screams and tries to run away until Charlotte Branwell introduces herself and calms Tessa enough to talk. Charlotte says the Shadowhunters, sometimes called Nephilim, “do not trap Downworlders” (55). It is clear Tessa does not understand. Tessa hears Brother Enoch's voice, though he does not speak aloud. He says Tessa has the power of Eidolon, or a shape changer, but that she lacks the demonic mark most shape...