Mortal Instruments 1. Prologue

Prologue

There is a saying that most people know about. It's always darkest just before dawn. No one seemed to know how true that saying was except for a few unlucky souls. A storm was brewing, lightning crackling in a mass of clouds that were rolling in quickly from the Atlantic Ocean. New York City was bustling still, regardless of the fact that it was night and most people would be asleep at this hour. If the people of this city had really good eyesight, they could see a small silhouette on top of the tallest point of the Empire State Building. The form was crouching in wait for something, almost as if there was some cue to signal its next move.

There was a flash of lightning, one to reveal the form to be a woman in her early twenties. She watched the traffic below her with disinterest, a smug look upon her face as if what she was doing was below her standards. Thunder cracked the sky as the clouds finally covered the city and the woman stood to her full height. Although she wasn't very tall, she was of average height and had this aura about her that made most people go out of their way to avoid angering her. She wore what looked like a black leather outfit, but it seemed to shiver as if it moved on its own accord. Her blue black hair started to flow in the wind that had just stirred up with the storm. There was more movement as she walked to the very edge, balancing there for a couple seconds before tipping forward and freefalling down.

Her eyes were closed for a few stories of the fall until finally they opened to reveal golden cat eyes, the approaching lights of the city below causing her pupils to turn into slivers. With a snapping sound, black feathered wings seemed to just erupt from her back, catching the wind just right to send her upward. A wing beat had her up above most of the buildings as she glided elegantly towards a well-lit building. The name the building went under was Friedmans and she started to circle above, noticing a large skylight at the very top. With a roll of her eyes in scorn, all of the lights in the building blinked out. She then dived down at the skylight, snapping her wings open a split second before crashing into the glass, shattering it with her feet. There were screams and yells as the glass crashed down in what looked to be a conference room. The woman crashed down onto the large table there, everyone in that meeting looking at her in both fear and awe as the emergency lights came on.

"I'm only going to ask this once," the woman said, looking at the people around her. "Where is the relic you have stored here?"

"What relic?" an older man that was obviously in charged asked.

"It goes by the names the Mortal Sword or the First Blade. I know it's here because I can sense it."

"Then find the thing on your own. I refuse to help a thief."

Like a blur, the woman moved quickly and had the old man by the tie, lifting him out of his chair and dangling him off of his feet. "Unless you want to be choked to death by your own tie, I suggest you lead me there. I can't have your stupid minions trying to shoot me, so I need a human shield."

"Don't you mean you need a hostage?" he blubbered, sounding as if he was finally scared of what the crazy woman could do.

"No, I definitely meant human shield," she said with an evil little smile. When she finally saw him wave his arms around in panic as his face turned blue, she dropped him down on his feet and he crumpled to the floor. "Now, will you be so kind as to escort me to where I need to go?"

The boss coughed but nodded, standing up and offering his arm to her. With a grin of triumph, she looped her arm through his and practically dragged him along. The first sight that greeted them both when she opened the conference room door was a large group of men all dressed in body armor, pointing large guns at them both. With an evil little giggle that almost sounded playful, the woman darted behind the older man, tucking her wings so that they lay down flat against her back and the tips of her wings brushed the ground.

"I really don't think you want your precious boss man to die by your own hands," the woman told them all loudly, "so I suggest you move along. Go home."

The older man nodded at them and they slowly pointed their guns towards the floor. They moved to the sides to allow them both to pass, which they quickly did without much hassle. As they approached the elevator, there was a popping noise and the woman whipped around faster than any human ever could to snatch something out of the air. Examining the thing in her hand with the same disinterest she had earlier as her bangs fell over one eye, she saw it to be a bullet. The woman looked up angrily and the men with guns all gasped in shock as they saw that her eyes were glowing blood red.

"Which one of you idiots just shot at me?" she asked quietly.

All of them seemed to be rooted to the spot as one of their number stepped forward, looking absolutely petrified as he did so. The woman lifted her arm up, then made a twisting motion with her hand as the man's head snapped to the side, his neck broken instantly. His gun clattered to the floor as his lifeless body landed with a thump. There were some screams from the conference room as they caught sight of what just happened and the woman pushed her hostage to the elevator the doors opening without anyone touching the buttons. Once inside, the older man hit the button for the 50th floor, which was ten floors below them.

"Not exactly running a tight ship, Friedman," she growled. "Don't you know it's impolite to have someone shoot another person in the back? I could have been killed if I was a regular human."

"What are you exactly?" Friedman wondered out loud.

"That's a long story that you don't want the answer to, mister. It'll drive you insane."

The elevator reached the floor they wanted fast, the door opening to show the whitest hallway ever, which could only mean that this was a research floor. From the elevator, they could see another door that looked code protected. The woman dragged her hostage over to it, standing beside him rather impatiently as he punched in the numbers. The doors opened to reveal another set of doors down the hallway. Once they reached those, the doors required a fingerprint and retina scan. Now, the old man stopped in his tracks.

"I can't allow this," he said. "I can't just let you take the sword when we haven't even finished our research on it!"

The woman grabbed him by the collar, pulling him close enough so that their faces were only inches apart and that he could look at her red eyes up close. "Listen, old man, I'm being rather polite about this. Now, I don't need you alive to accomplish getting what I want. So unless you want me to cut out your eye and chop off one of your fingers before killing you, I suggest you do what I want and open those doors."

Friedman shivered in fear before turning around quickly to put his thumb on the sensor at the same time as he pressed his face close to the retinal scan. There was a beeping noise as it confirmed their passage, the door sliding open for them both. The lighting in this part of the hallway was dark, almost as if this were some secret tunnel that held a secret. They reached the end of the hallway to see a set of doors, the woman practically dragging the old man behind her as she made her way to the door at the farthest end of the hallway. She whipped the door open and startled a few scientists.

"Get out," was all the woman said, the scientists not bothering to argue with her as they scurried out of the room as fast as they could.

There was a large glass case in the very middle of the room, one that had what looked to be an obsidian sword. One side of the blade looked like a short sword while the other side had the look of a falchion. The woman looked at it fondly as if she were in the presence of an old friend. The blade then started to glow with an otherworldly light, as if it was just as happy to see the woman as she was to see the sword. A supersonic sound wave that lasted for only a few seconds shattered the glass case and sent the old man to his knees, covering his ears in pain. The sword started to flash excitedly as the woman approached it, then the light was constant as she picked it up and held it in her hands.

"Who are you?" Friedman asked, a look of fear on his face.

"My name is Deirdre," she said, turning her head slightly to stare at him with one eye, making him shake. "And I'm your worst nightmare."

She had her sword in her hands and before the old man thought to scream, she slashed the sword at his throat. He crumpled to the ground and she laughed, shaking her head slightly. She heard a noise up above her and saw that there was a man around her age sitting in an open vent a few feet above her.

"Was it necessary to scare him so, Dey?" he asked quietly, amusement flashing in his eyes. "He might have had a heart attack."

"He would have deserved it," Dey said scornfully, giving the passed out man a look of disdain. "You should have seen the way he acted. Not so tough when a woman is calling the shots."

The younger man sighed and stood upright, stretching his shoulders and revealing large white wings that seemed to glow. "You know," he said, giving her a look of desire that she purposefully ignored, "one of these days you should just stop fighting me and the deal we made years ago."

"I don't think so, Xavier," she said, looking at him with such hatred that he was lucky it didn't burn him alive. "If this is what keeps you from killing his reincarnations, I'll keep the deal."

"A little birdy told me that he reincarnated again and is in his twenties now," Xavier sneered, obviously trying to illicit hope or anger from her but getting a blank stare instead. "Maybe you should go meet him, see if you can't get him to fall in love with you again."

"I've done that enough and it goes nowhere that I want it to. He won't be immortal like us anymore, thanks to you."

"Well, that made it easier to eliminate the competition that I had. Now I have the rest of eternity to try to win you over so that you'll love me."

"That will never happen, not while I'm alive," she told him calmly, internally noticing with glee that it irritated him when she didn't give him an emotional reaction. In a safe act of defiance, she teleported from the room with the sword in one of the larger loops in her belt, winking out of existence before the other being could protest.


	2. Chapter One

Chapter One

I reappeared in a dark alley, sliding my wings into my skin so that they lay tucked against my spine and made me look like a normal human being. Thinking that my current outfit would draw attention to myself when I made my way out of the alley and onto the bustling sidewalk, I pictured an outfit in my head and watched as the strange leather one that I was wearing before seemed to shift and change. It turned into a black dress that was low cut enough to show a little bit of cleavage and also had a hemline that stopped halfway up my thighs, leather boots with heels that were sharp enough to stab someone, and it showed off the tattoos I had that covered my entire body. It was all royal blue and seemed to flow and ebb all over in flames. I watched as a crowd of multi-colored glowing eyes watched me, nodding in respect as they observed my every move. I nodded back, acknowledging their presence before deciding to use my power to make my tattoos disappear, also changing my golden cat eyes black. As I took my first step out towards the sidewalk, an arm looped around my neck and pulled me back, a gun at my temple and stinking breath fluttering at my ear in excitement.

"What is a pretty woman like you doing out here in a place like this?" a man asked, and I groaned internally in exasperation. The eyes that were watching me all sharpened and I was the only one who had ears that could hear the sound of the low growl they were making. I knew that they would leap at the man if I needed the help.

"None of your business," I said in annoyance, not making a move yet to break free and trying to signal that I didn't need assistance. "Now, I suggest you let me go right now before I make you regret being within ten feet of me."

"Oh, I'll let you go. Right after I've had my way with you first."

I tightened my muscles, just about to strike at the man when I heard a shout coming from the edge of the alley. Another man was running from the crowd on the sidewalk and making his way over to them, determination seeming to just course off of him. For some reason, my heart started to flutter like a hummingbird and my soul pulled uncomfortably. That was when he stepped into a patch of light for a second and I saw who it was, paling in disbelief and freezing up. It was him. The one I had been keeping a deal with Xavier for to keep alive, my mate back when he was immortal.

"Let her go," he told the man with the gun. The eyes in the shadows turned to the newcomer, then back to me, noticing the fact that both our souls were exactly the same before nodding once more and leaving us alone. I cursed my bad luck as I watched them go, waiting to see how this all played out.

"I won't!" the stinking man behind me said. "She's mine and you'd best run along now before I shoot you!"

My impatience rose to incredible heights and the moment the man pointed the gun away from my head, I grabbed hold of his arm and flipped him over my shoulder. He landed hard on his back as I kicked his gun arm, watching as the gun slid off into the darkness and away from the man. With a look of fear, he scurried back down the alley until I couldn't see him anymore. When I turned back to look at my "savior," I saw his look of awe and surprise.

"What?" I asked exasperatedly.

"Nothing, it's just…" he started, pausing for a few seconds to figure out the words he wanted to say, "I've never once seen a woman throw a man twice her size over her shoulder like that in heels that skinny. And I've been around a lot of women who are strong." He gave me a wan smile, hoping I would understand.

I just stood there staring at him for a minute before I finally spoke up when it looked like he was about to squirm uncomfortably from my look. "Well, I'm quite unique and a force to be reckoned with."

His smile was back at my words and he extended his hand for me to shake as he said, "My name is Ryker. I'm sorry that we had to meet under these circumstances."

Always a gentleman when he needs to be, I thought with nostalgia before saying, "Mine is Deirdre or Dey for short."

For a second, it looked as if there was finally a glimmer of recognition in his eyes and I was shocked. Not one of his reincarnations had ever gotten this far before. He didn't let go of my hand, instead just rubbing his thumb against my skin. I had to work hard to suppress a shiver.

"Why do I feel as if I know you from somewhere?" he asked quietly, not meeting my eyes for a few seconds before finally looking at me. "I also feel like you were someone who was important to me somehow, but we just met so I don't know how that could be possible."

I saw in my peripheral vision to my right that a pair of glowing green eyes reappeared and started growling menacingly. Both Ryker and I turned to look as a large black wolf stepped out of the shadows, glaring at Ryker as it moved towards him. I was about to step in between the two when I heard Ryker chuckle quietly.

"I knew that you were still mad, but to show yourself to a regular human… Now that is reckless."

Even in my shock, I stopped the wolf from shifting back into a human when I noticed its fur start to ripple, giving it a look that told it no and shaking my head slightly. With a little triumphant gleam in the wolf's eyes, it stepped back into the shadows with a growl that sounded like a laugh. My head was reeling as Ryker turned back to me. How did he know about the werewolves, I wondered, and why in the world wasn't he afraid of them. That was when it finally dawned on her. He's a Shadowhunter in this reincarnation.

"Maybe you aren't a regular human," Ryker said, glancing over at me. "You saw the werewolf. Not only that, but you didn't even freak out. And you did flip that guy over your shoulder impressively."

He stood there for a bit, mulling over his thoughts as I did the same. He shook his head as if that would clear his mind before he grabbed my hand and dragged me towards the crowd on the sidewalk. I fought him a little but not enough that it would reveal my true strength to him. He kept us walking until we reached a taxi, opening the door for me and allowing me to get in first before following me in. He gave the cab driver the address and off we went, passing a bunch of clubs on the way that I had planned on going to tonight.

"Well, there goes my night," I mumbled to myself, watching the people walk along the sidewalk without a care.

"Why? What did you have planned?" he asked, startling me a little.

"It's already been a rotten night, so I had planned on going clubbing."

I could feel his eyes on me even though I kept mine focused on the scenery passing by as he said, "I can take you out later if you want."

I knew for a fact that it would be a bad idea, but I didn't say so. It took about ten minutes to finally get to what humans would see as a large abandoned old church. Luckily, I could see that it was quite the elaborate charm and saw what it really looked like. It was a church, but it was light and well taken care of. So this is where the Shadowhunters reside, I thought to myself. Not once in all my years had I been in there, but I guess I was about to see it since Ryker took my hand once more after we got out of the cab and led me towards the front gate. I was deeply hoping that stepping over the threshold wouldn't reveal who I really was. I'd had that happen once before and this was the one time I had to care. Revealing my true self to his reincarnation was one of the deal breakers with Xavier. As I stepped through the gate, I let out a sigh of relief when neither my eyes, tattoos, nor wings were shown. He led me up to the stairs to large wooden doors, which just opened by themselves.

"So… what am I doing here?" I asked him, taking in my surroundings.

"I think you're like me. A Shadowhunter. I mean, how else could you see the wolf or beat that guy in the alley?"

Well, you're half right, I thought to myself. "What's a Shadowhunter?" I asked him, figuring that not asking that question would make him suspicious.

"A person who has angel blood running through their veins. In other words, someone who is half human, half angel."

I thought back to all his other reincarnations and not one of them had come back so close to an angel. I was starting to worry, not sure what this all meant. Dragging me from my thoughts was my cell phone, ringing loudly and using a ringtone that could only mean it was one person. I pulled it out of my bra and hit the answer button before putting it up to my ear.

"I think it's about time for another job," Xavier said, sounding haughty. "Especially since I know you're at Shadowhunter headquarters. What _are_ you doing there?"

"It doesn't matter," I told him, striving to stay calm.

"Alright. There's a few items there that I need you to swipe. You can do that tomorrow before I send you to a different part of the country later in the week. Find a couple intricate gold rings and an electrum whip made of silver and you'll be done there."

"Fine then."

"Oh, and Dey? I suggest you keep your true identity a secret. We both know what will happen if you don't. I will kill him."

The other end of the line went dead and I wanted to throw my phone into the ground. "Who was that?" Ryker asked curiously. "I'm only asking because you look like you want to kill someone right now. Is it some ex-boyfriend of yours?"

"He wishes he could date me," I growled, deciding then to just put my phone away before I actually did break it. "And you still haven't answered my question. What am I doing here?"

"If I'm right and you are a Shadowhunter, then you need to stay here. You need to be trained in case you get attacked by demons or Downworlders."

"I think I'll be ok," I grumbled, rolling my eyes before turning around to walk back outside.

Before I could even get close to it, he grabbed me by the forearm and spun me back around. He looked extremely angry and I saw worry as well, which confused me more. We had a stare off, neither one of us looking away since we were both determined in our ways. Maybe I was going crazy, but I could have sworn that he was leaning in slowly to kiss me so I turned my face away quickly. When I looked back, I saw his expressions go blank.

"You have to stay," he told me, using the tone of voice a parent would use when chastising their errant child. "I don't want you staying somewhere on your own where you won't have any protection. That would be extremely irresponsible and the Lightwoods would have my head when they got back from their trip to Idris."

"If you stop talking to me like that, then fine. I'll stay. Now step aside. I have some exploring to do."

I shook off his hand and walked through the great hall to a large corridor. I was highly tempted to stretch my wings and fly down the hallways, but I thought better of it for fear of meeting up with someone in this place. So instead I ran, pretending the rush of the wind was fluttering through my feathers. I heard faint footsteps from somewhere within this strange place and increased my pace until I reached another large set of wooden doors. I burst through them, noticing happily that it was a huge library. I listened for a few seconds and noted that no one was in the room with me so I unfurled my wings and jumped into the air. I slowly made my way around the room, every so often I would hover while reading an excerpt from a book before putting it back. Finally, I picked one that was a compendium of all the magic creatures of the world, including the angels. I flew up higher until I reached a marble ledge just below one of the windowsills that was farther back in the room. Just as I had sat down, I heard movement outside the door so I quickly slid my wings back into place as the door opened slightly. I saw Ryker's head peek inside before he opened it just enough to walk inside, then shut it behind him. He looked around the room for a while before eventually looking up just enough to notice me.

"How in the world did you get up there?" he asked in shock.

"I climbed," I said simply, not willing to reveal what truly happened to allow me my new perch.

"Then you must have jumped really high off of that bookshelf because there should be no way you could get up there on your own."

"I took gymnastics as a kid," I lied, shrugging my shoulders and going back to my book. As I looked down somewhat, I noticed a glass case that held two rings that could be the ones I needed to steal. I stored it in my memory before flipping through the pages of the book.

"Which book is that?" Ryker asked curiously, moving closer to the wall with my windowsill.

"Just one that has all the magical creatures. I became curious."

"You could have just asked me instead of going to all that trouble."

"True, but I do much better with books. There's a much better chance that they won't lie to me or do something drastic that could affect my wellbeing," I said calmly, looking away from my book just long enough to see Ryker about to try climbing up the bookshelf to get to me.

With a sigh, I dropped the book down to him, watching as he gave a startled noise but still managed to catch it. I then stood up straight, stretched my back by leaning backwards enough that my spine made crackling noises, then hopped down onto the top of the nearest bookshelf in front of me. I landed lightly on my feet and then jumped again, spinning around to grab a shelf halfway down with one hand. Then I pushed off lightly and did a backflip, landing crouched down on the balls of my feet before straightening up once more.

I noticed his look of surprise and awe once more and said quietly, "I don't have a fear of heights."

"Are you even human?" he asked quietly, looking a little pale.

I didn't understand at first why he would ask that, thinking maybe he had somehow figured out what I was. "Do you have a fear of heights?" I asked calmly.

The look in his eyes was all the answer I needed, regardless of the fact that he tried to deny it. Imagine that, a fear of heights, I thought to myself, another thing that shouldn't be possible. This whole day was starting to wear on me in more ways than one. None of the other reincarnations had a problem with heights. It was then that I really wanted to show him my wings, the desire to do so was strong. However, I kept my wings tightly pressed against my spine so that I couldn't reveal myself.

"You are," I said, smiling a little.

"I can't help it," he groaned. "And it's only crazy heights that make my fear act up."

I rolled my eyes and grabbed the book from his arms, leading the way out of the library. Once out in the hallway, a maid or worker was standing there, looking quite shocked to see us there.

"Ryker, what are you doing here?" she asked. "I thought someone else was going to watch over the Institute while the Lightwoods were out."

"No one else was available, so I am the only one qualified enough," he explained to her.

"Who's she?" the maid asked suspiciously.

"I believe she's a Shadowhunter. She's just untrained and I think she should stay here until she is ready to defend herself."

"So long as she doesn't try to betray us like others have, she is perfectly welcome here," the maid said, cracking a smile for me before walking down the hall. "I'll have dinner set in fifteen minutes for the both of you."

"Here, I'll take you to your room," Ryker said, walking down a corridor to the left.

I followed behind him, feeling my wings push against my skin, the feathers feeling like razors. I had to stop walking as we reached a corner, hunching over as I fought to keep my wings in place. I heard Ryker stop and turn around, then run over to me. I felt my wings push harder, feeling my skin stretch and a couple feathers nearly pushed through the slits in my back. With a growl, I fought hard and managed to shove them back against my spine, using magic to keep them in place temporarily.

When I stood back up straight, Ryker asked me, "Are you ok? You looked like you were in pain."

"It's nothing," I told him, shaking my head.

He nodded then, taking my hand and leading me down a few more corridors before we reached a long hallway full of doors. He explained how this was where all the Shadowhunters lived, then showed me which rooms were already occupied. My room was near the end of the hallway and considerably larger than the other rooms. It was all made from marble except for the bed, the frame made out of a dark wood. The bed sheets were a dark blue, which was also the theme color for the whole room it seemed. I took a few steps in, marveling at the loveliness of this area that was now mine. I had never had a room that I could call my own before and it was nice.

"My room is right across from yours, in case you need something in the night," Ryker explained, looking a bit sheepish for some reason. "Do you like your room?"

"It's perfect," I whispered, moving to sit down on the bed gently. I moved my hands over the comforter slowly, loving the feel of it. I smiled a bit and looked around, admiring the room some more.

"Wow, that's the first time I've seen you smile. Beautiful."

I set the book down beside me, not knowing how to respond to him and feeling a strange sense of shyness. I happened to look up, seeing large wooden beams high up near the ceiling, which would give me plenty of room to fly up there and use the beams as a perch. I heard Ryker shut the door, which made me look back at him as he took a few steps closer to me. He grabbed a chair that was sitting in front of the desk near the door and dragged it closer, flipping it backwards and sitting down in it so that he could lean his arms on the back of it.

"So tell me," he said, gazing at me curiously, "what were you doing in that alley?"

Thinking up a quick lie, I said, "I'm not familiar with these parts, so I made a bit of a wrong turn trying to find a certain club I've heard about. Accidents happen all the time."

"Next time, just know that clubs aren't found in alleys like that," he laughed, smiling at me.

"But sometimes, the best things are found in dark places," I told him, serious as can be.

He cocked his head to the side slightly, as if examining me in a new light. "Before I forget, do you have an apartment or something here in New York? We can go get your possessions and have them moved here."

I didn't look at him for the longest time before I finally answered with, "I don't have any possessions to get. What I have with me now is all I've ever needed."

"You don't even have an extra set of clothes? Are you homeless?"

"I've never needed an extra set. And I guess you could say I'm homeless, but not in the sense you're thinking of. I just travel a lot and don't have a place to settle down."

"Don't you ever get tired of travelling?"

"Not when that's all I've ever known for the longest time," I told him. "After a while, it becomes second nature to never stay in one place for too long."

There was a knock at the door, the maid letting us know that the table was set and the food was ready for us. Ryker offered me his arm and I looped mine through his, letting him lead me to the dining area. It didn't take all that long to get there, the way there was easy for me to remember. My stomach was growling, the human part of me demanding sustenance. The food laid out for us was roast beef and mashed potatoes, making my stomach growl more.

"Your stomach growling makes me wonder when was the last time you've had anything to eat," Ryker said, laughing a little.

"It's definitely been a while," I told him, laughing as well.

He pulled out a chair for me near the head of the table, allowing me to sit down before pushing my chair back into place. I thanked him as he sat down beside me, giving me that smile that I had already begun to like seeing. He pulled my plate closer, giving me a large helping of both before passing it back to me and starting on his own. His pile of food was much larger than mine, which seemed to prove the age old saying that males ate way more than females. He was just lucky my immortal side didn't need food or I could probably out eat him any day. The food was better than anything I've had before, especially since I was used to eating takeout, something that would sustain me just enough before a big job.

Since I didn't have as much food as him, I finished fast and looked more at this room. There were a bunch of pictures sitting on cabinets and every other flat surface. There was one that had a family portrait from a decade ago, showing two dark haired adults, two dark haired children, and one light haired child standing almost imperceptibly at a distance. There was another portrait that was from a few years back that showed everyone older, the light haired child now an adolescent who was trying his very best to pretend that he was alright but obviously wasn't. Then, there was one more picture that caught my eye. This one had just the children and a newcomer, a young woman with bright red hair standing beside the blonde teen, both of which seeming very happy.

"The dark haired people in the pictures are the Lightwoods," Ryker said, noticing my interest in the photographs. "The blonde one is Jace Wayland and the redhead is Clary. They're relatively 'new' to the family."

"So where are they?" I asked curiously, noting since entering this place that it seemed awfully quiet here.

"They're all in Alicante, which is the capitol of Idris. Idris is where all Shadowhunters are originally from."

"Why is it that you aren't with them?"

"I'm here to watch over the Institute. They couldn't leave without having a house sitter, so to speak."

"So that's why you aren't in any of the pictures they've got strewn across the room?" I asked sarcastically.

"I'm not a part of their family, so yes. The only reason I was put up to this task is because I happened to be here at the right time."

"Why are you here?" I asked him, now extremely curious.

"I've been entrusted with the task of finding a thief. This thief left for here from Los Angeles not that long ago and I followed after them."

I instantly had a chill travel down my spine and a sinking feeling in my stomach. My last location before arriving here had been L.A. I had been careful about the job since starting it, so I wasn't sure how anyone had caught on. Unless Xavier had given them a tip to shake things up a bit.

Hiding my anger, I asked, "Why are you chasing after this thief? From what I've heard so far, this doesn't seem like something Shadowhunters get involved with."

"Under any other circumstance, you'd be right," he told me, looking me straight in the eyes. "But this particular thief is stealing important magical items that we fear will get into the wrong hands. Not only that, but this thief is stealing them in such a way that we believe they have to be a Downworlder or a demon. There's no other explanation for it."

"Why do you say that?" I asked.

"Because the thief shuts down the buildings with magic and leaves with whatever they stole so fast that no one can stop them. And after tonight's theft, I believe that they must possess wings."

I need to adapt, I told myself quickly, not sure what to do next. "How do you know all this?"

"I have an anonymous tipster who lets me know where the thief will strike, what they'll steal, and when they'll steal it."

I was going to kill Xavier. I was going to make it bloody.


	3. Chapter Two

Chapter 2

"Hey, are you alright?" I heard Ryker say, snapping me out of my murderous thoughts.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I'm just tired, I suppose."

He grinned at me before saying, "I'm sure you are. You've had an eventful day. I guess you can't go clubbing after all."

"Well, I didn't say I was _that_ tired," I told him, smiling back and pushing my chair backwards so that I could stand.

I was about to pick up my plates when Ryker said, "Leave it. Trust me, I've tried to take care of my own stuff before, but the staff actually like doing this sort of thing. We argued for hours before I realized it was a lost cause."

Ryker led me back to my room at my request, believing that I was going to sleep after reading from the book some. I had decided that I had better steal those rings and find the electrum whip soon so that I could leave. I didn't need him finding out that I was the thief, mostly because it would raise a lot of questions and I didn't know how long it would take before Xavier ratted me out. Jeez, I hated that angel.

The moment we were standing outside both our doors he seemed to pause, seeming uncertain as to what to do next. He just stared at me like he did at the alley, that glimmer of recognition just beneath the surface but not enough still. If only I could hear the thoughts running through his head, just to make sense of what was happening. It was like being in unfamiliar territory.

"Who are you to me?" he whispered, and he looked as if he were trying to see straight into my soul.

I almost started to answer him when he moved away, opening his door and entering the room before shutting it behind him again. I went into my room after a few seconds and grabbed the book I borrowed from the Institute's library. Letting go of the magic holding my wings, they snapped from my back and I leapt into the air. I flew upwards and landed on one of the large wooden beams, sitting down and placing the book on my lap. I flipped through some of the pages, just looking at the pictures describing some of the magical creatures. The werewolves were impressive, especially since I knew enough about them since I worked a job with them once. If there was one thing I noticed, the Downworlders seemed to respect me, even going out of their way to either give me space or to assist me in times of need.

Finally, I flipped towards the front to look for the angel section. Being one meant that I knew a lot about them, but there was something I needed to figure out. Unfortunately for me, the only information about angels in the book was solely focused on Raziel, the creator of the Shadowhunters. Once again, I was stuck not knowing how to turn a mortal back into an immortal. In fact, it shouldn't have been possible for this situation to happen, for an angel to turn into a human, but it seemed it could be done. Before I could stop it, my thoughts were drawn back to the day in question, the day I lost him.

It was back in the beginning, back before the Shadowhunters were created, back when life was much simpler. Xavier was once again following me around in the heavens, trying to be sneaky and hiding behind clouds whenever I'd look back. I gave up after a while, not caring about his stalking since I was going to meet the love of my immortal life. He was tall and strong, his wings were almost all gold, and he was in the running for a leadership position. He had dark brown hair that was kind of short and had these gorgeous gray eyes, eyes that seemed to see into your soul.

I reached a large golden gate, passing through with ease and knowing that Xavier couldn't fly through. With a laugh, I flew faster still, diving and spinning gleefully to get to my love. I flew through another gate and the clouds morphed into an impressive garden, one with lots of exotic plants and trees. There was a waterfall somewhere within but out of sight. I landed lightly on the grass, loving the feel of it between my toes as I walked down a path that led to a gazebo. My white dress was pulled gently by passing branches and I held out my arms to brush my fingers against the flowers. I looked up to see him standing there in wait, his golden wings stretched out behind him. With a laugh, I ran over to him, practically jumping at him to be able to hug him tightly. He chuckled and wrapped his arms around me tightly, just how I liked it.

"Zayne, I'm so happy that you're back!" I exclaimed, burying my face into his shoulder.

"I'm glad to be back, Dey," he told me, kissing the top of my head. "Look at those wings! They're so white they almost look translucent!"

I felt one of his hands travel from my back and his fingers slid through the feathers of my right wing, making me shiver happily as my eyes slid shut. His other hand was beneath my chin, tipping my head back so he could give me a peck on the lips. Then another that had me sighing against his mouth. Another kiss had me melting against his body and he laughed quietly, massaging the muscles around my wings.

"So what have you been doing while I was gone?" Zayne asked, pulling away slightly so he could kiss my nose.

"Anything I could just to be helpful and to keep busy until you came back to me."

"So you took up healing again?" he asked curiously. "I thought it drains you."

"It does, but I needed to be doing something worthwhile. Not only that, but they said I'm too pure for such dirty work like being a member of the guard or the battalion. I want to be a fighter, that's what feels right to me."

"But you know they can't let you in there," he told me, trying to keep me calm. "We want to protect pure souls like you as much as we can. We don't have many up here anymore. And no offense, my love, but your wings are a dead giveaway that you're definitely a pure soul."

"If I didn't know better, I'd say you told the guard not to let me in," I grumbled, scowling up at him.

"Even if I did, I only want to protect you," he said quietly, kissing my forehead. "Besides, I have something important to ask you."

"What is it?" I asked, immediately curious and looked up at him.

"Will you marry me?" he asked, looking into my eyes.

"Are you sure that's what you want?" I asked him, making sure to suppress my excitement before I knew.

"Absolutely. I want all of you. I love you more than anything and I want to be with you forever."

"So when would you like to get married?" I asked him nonchalantly.

"Does that mean you'll marry me?"

I saw his hope get bigger and his wings moved a little closer to mine. "Of course I will."

With an elated yell, he wrapped his arms around my waist tightly and spun me around, making me yelp in surprise and laugh. For a while after, we just talked about small things and reminisced about the past. Then Zayne suggested we marry that night before he could be called away again and I agreed simply because I didn't want to go another night without being bound to him in some way. He gave me a silver pendant with sapphires adorning it. I kissed him before we parted ways for the night and we headed our separate directions. I flew back the same way I came, passing through two gates only to get ambushed by another angel lying in wait for me.

"Deirdre!" Xavier called out to me, flying directly in front of me so I would stop and talk to him.

"What do you want, Xavier?" I asked him.

"Nothing much, I just got up the courage to finally ask you if I could court you. I've been in love with you for so long."

"I'm sorry, Xavier, but Zayne asked me to marry him," I told him, unable to hide the excitement in my voice. "And I said yes."

I watched as his expression turned dark, but his voice remained as calm as could be. "Oh, really?" he muttered, looking pensive all of a sudden before flying off faster than I've ever seen him go.

I didn't think anything of it after, just made myself busy getting myself ready. Once I was done, it was dusk and I was flying to meet Zayne. I was almost to the meeting place when I heard a yell of outrage, which only made me fly faster. I flew up onto the floating island to see the most horrifying sight in my life. There was Zayne, lying on the ground in a pool of his own blood, and standing over him with one foot on his back was Xavier. He held Zayne's own seraph blade in one hand and one of Zayne's severed wings with the other.

"No!" I screamed, flying as fast as I possibly could at them but not fast enough.

I didn't hit Xavier in time before he could lop off Zayne's other wing and stab the blade into his back. Ignoring that traitor, I focused all my attention on Zayne, trying to grab his wings and place them back so I could try healing them. Zayne grabbed my hand weakly, giving me a small smile before telling me one last time that he loved me and then closing his eyes. I felt his life drain away and I screamed in pain, ripping out the blade and launching myself at Xavier.

"Traitor!" I screamed, slashing the seraph blade at his throat but he backed away quickly. The next time I swung it at him, he smacked the flat of the blade with his hand, knocking it out of my hands.

When I grabbed it again, I felt something sharp at my throat and I froze. I glared at the knife Xavier was holding against my neck as he smiled evilly. I was awash in fear, agonizing grief, and hatred, wishing I had the power to snap his scrawny neck.

"Look at that," he said, his grin getting bigger. "I think it's the first time I've seen a pure soul's wings turn black before. You must really hate me."

"Why did you do it?" I growled, letting my wings droop down and I saw out of the corner of my eyes that my wings were indeed black now. They looked sleek and dark, not only that but they reflected my mood.

"If I couldn't have you, no one could," he told me simply, digging the knife a little further into my neck the moment I looked about to lunge at him once more. "Your Zayne isn't gone for good, you know. Gold wings mean he's important, which also means he's going to reincarnate as a human. Look."

I looked over at Zayne's body, watching as the wings beside his body started to disintegrate, the molecules then being absorbed into his body before it started to fade. His body disappeared entirely and I felt something wet travel down my cheeks. It took me a little while to fully realize that I was crying and for once it wasn't tears of joy. I vowed right then never to cry again.

"Now, we're going to make us a little deal," Xavier growled, the knife slipping slightly so that I felt a tiny trickle of blood down my neck. "I will promise to never harm any of Zayne's future reincarnations with a few conditions."

"What are they?" I growled back.

"I will find things I want and have you steal them for me using any means necessary, even if it means you must kill."

"What else?"

"One more thing. You must not, under any circumstance, reveal to a reincarnation that you are an angel or I will consider the deal null and void and kill him immediately, along with all his other reincarnations."

"Deal," I spat out.

He leaned in to kiss me and seal the deal, but I looked away quickly, beyond angry at being blackmailed like this. He got the hint though and with a laugh, dropped down from the floating island and flew off. I just sat there on a rock, my wings hanging down in defeat. By the time the angel came that was supposed to bless the marriage, I was still sitting there. He took one look at my wings, told me that he was sorry for my loss, and then told me I needed to leave the heavens until I could repent from the black wings and gain my translucent ones back. I didn't look back once when I left, all the happy memories in the world wouldn't have kept me there.

I snapped myself out of my reminiscing, remembering the fact that I was perched on the wooden beam and had some things to steal yet. I dropped down from that height, stretching my dark wings out to slow my descent and landing gracefully on my feet. I set the book down on the desk beside the bed and imagined the black leather outfit I was wearing at my heist later that night. I opened the door as quiet as possible before jumping and flying down the hall, making my way back to the library. Now that I knew where it was, it took me thirty seconds to reach it and I stood in front of the large doors, listening in to see if there was someone inside. When I didn't hear anything within, I snuck inside and immediately made my way to the glass case.

It didn't have any sort of locks or alarms, so I knew I was safe as I opened the case, swiping the gold rings and stashing them in one of my pockets. I heard voices approaching and flew up to a beam, sitting on it as I saw two people enter.

"Once again, I am extremely sorry that I showed up so late at night, but I wouldn't have done so unless it was important," I heard an unwanted yet familiar voice say, growling in my mind when I realized it was Xavier.

"It's quite alright. I'm guessing you have news?" I heard Ryker ask.

"Yes, I do. In fact, you're not going to like what I have to say. There are magical items here that are on the list to be stolen."

Xavier, you idiot, I screamed in my head, about ready to dive down there and rip his spine out when Ryker spoke.

"That's impossible. There's nothing in here valuable enough to steal. Not only that, but it's impossible for anyone to even get in here unless you're invited or a Shadowhunter."

"Well, I hate to break it to you, but if I'm right then the thief has already stolen something from you," Xavier said calmly, looking down at his shoes with a sense of disinterest.

"What would it be this time?" Ryker asked in annoyance.

"Look in the case behind you."

At first, I didn't hear any movement. Then I watched as Ryker stood up, walked over to the case, and stand there for a minute. He opened it and looked inside in disbelief, almost as if it really should have been impossible for me to have stolen the rings. I saw rage on Ryker's face as he turned back to Xavier, who looked on at the whole situation with glee he couldn't quite contain.

"How did this happen?" Ryker asked quietly, and I had a feeling he really wanted to yell instead.

"It's just a mystery, isn't it?" Xavier said with a grin.

"Don't play with me. How is the thief doing this?"

"Telling you would take all the fun out of things. Just think."

"Well, vampires are out of the list. They can't come inside because this is holy ground," Ryker said, pacing back and forth behind the desk. "Werewolves aren't all that sneaky and would have made a mess. There's only one thing that could have done this and that's…" I watched as his face went from disbelief to shock.

"You've got it!" Xavier yelled.

"But if only another Shadowhunter could do it… then there's only one person that could have done this and there's no way that happened…"

"Maybe you should go check on her," Xavier said, leaning forward and giving him an evil grin.

A string of curse words ran quickly through my mind as Ryker stormed out of the room. I saw Xavier look up at me and winked, giving me a little wave before relaxing back in his chair. I almost screamed in frustration, instead teleporting back into my room and changing my outfit into a white tank top and navy blue shorts within the blink of an eye. I jumped onto my bed, put my wings back into place beneath my skin, and got under the covers, pretending to be in a deep sleep when I heard a loud banging on my door. When I didn't answer, the door swung open and smacked into the wall loudly, so I sat up as if I had been startled awake. I rubbed my eyes to make it look realistic as Ryker walked over and sat on my bed next to me.

"You wouldn't know anything about the disappearance of two gold rings in the case that was located within the library, now would you?"

"What rings?" I asked, making my voice sound sleepy.

He seemed to hesitate, staring at me to see if I was lying to him. "You don't know about the rings that were stolen?"

"Ryker, I didn't know anything about the rings you're referring to _before_ they were stolen. The only time I was in the library was to grab a book to read. So unless the rings were hiding within the book, I have no clue where they could be or what they even look like."

He looked incredibly embarrassed as he said, "I'm sorry about accusing you of stealing, I really am. My informant led me to believe that it might be a Shadowhunter and you're the only other one that was here. I'm very sorry."

"There's no need to apologize. You were doing what you thought was right."

He nodded, then stood up quickly and left the room. I knew he was going back to yell at Xavier and I needed to figure out more about why it is that Xavier was doing all this. I teleported back to the wooden beam, sticking to the shadows so that Ryker wouldn't be able to see me as he stormed inside.

"She didn't do it," Ryker growled. "Never again insinuate that she is the culprit unless you have rock solid evidence."

"You like her," Xavier pointed out. "In fact, you really like her or you would have searched both her and her room thoroughly. And here I thought it wasn't possible."

"No, if she said she didn't do it, then she didn't do it. It's that simple."

"But you never just go by someone's word because you never trust anyone. That means she's special to you. Such a hypocrite."

"I suggest you be very careful as to what you say," Ryker growled, leaning towards Xavier over the desk to glare at him. "I am this close to throwing you out of here because every lead you've given me puts me at least two steps behind the thief."

"Alright, I understand." Xavier got up from his chair, walking over to the door. He opened it and walked out, but turned around at the last second to say, "Oh and by the way, I suggest that you keep that silver electrum whip hidden or under guard. That's the next thing to be stolen." With that, he shut the door and I heard him saunter away.

That's it, I really was going to kill him. I didn't know what his game was or what he thought he was doing, but he was making things difficult and I didn't like that one bit. Now that Ryker knew my next target, he would do everything he could just to make sure it didn't fall into the wrong hands. My hands. I had to come up with a plan very carefully because one wrong move would either end up with me getting caught or having to reveal my true identity.

I heard a smashing noise and looked down to see that Ryker had slammed his fists onto the desk, looking absolutely livid. I then did the only thing I could think to do. I teleported outside the doors of the library and knocked. When I didn't hear a response, I quietly opened the door and walked inside.

"Ryker, are you alright?" I asked cautiously, approaching him slowly.

"Yeah, I'm ok. I'm just extremely frustrated is all. I guess I need to put in place some extra security measures for the magical items here, one more so than the others."

"How do you know that this informant is telling the truth?"

"He's been right about everything so far."

"Do you trust him?"

"Absolutely not," Ryker said, burying his face in his hands. "There's just something about the guy that makes my skin crawl."

I nodded, making it seem like I was just doing so for the sake of the conversation when in reality I agreed whole-heartedly with his statement. There had always been something about Xavier that wasn't quite right to me. After seeing what he was capable of, I now understood why I always had that feeling that I should avoid him. I knew Ryker's feeling was most likely from the fact that he subconsciously knew that Xavier was his killer.

"You look tired," I stated, walking up to him and lightly grabbing him by the hand. "I think it's time for you to head to bed."

"Maybe you're right," he said, allowing me to lead him down the hallway and to our rooms. "Hey, want to stay with me tonight? I always feel… weird… after he leaves."

"I don't know about that," I said, thinking back to all the mornings when I'd wake up, stretch my wings, and take a morning flight.

"Don't worry, I'm not going to try and attack you in the middle of the night," he said sarcastically, rolling his eyes. "I'll sleep on the floor so you won't have to deal with me."

I thought about it for a while, noting that he seemed a bit shaken up, before finally answering, "Fine, I'll stay. Just this one night though. And you stay on the floor."

I walked in before he did and saw that his room was almost an exact replica of mine except that the comforter was green. I saw a couple seraph blades lying on top of a chest in front of the bed and a few books sitting on the desk. I saw on a large bookshelf that there was some shiny object on one of the empty shelves. I went over to it and picked it up, seeing that it was a ring. It was silver and had flames engraved into it.

"What is this?" I asked him, showing him the ring I found.

"Oh, that," he said, his voice getting harsh. "Every Shadowhunter family has their own crest and their own set of rings they give to the children."

"So which family ring is this?"

"The Nightshade family. Sadly, it's my ring."

"What's wrong with your family?" I asked hesitantly, not sure if I actually wanted the answer.

"I've been shunned, so to speak," he growled. "My parents left the Clave a long time ago, but I wanted to be a part of it. In order to become a member of the Clave, I had to leave my family and vow to never speak or contact my family again. Most families are understanding and just want the best for their children. Mine told me that they disowned me."

"I'm sorry, Ryker," I told him quietly, feeling awful.

"Imagine that, Ryker Nightshade, alone yet again," he said bitterly, then shaking his head to clear his thoughts. "Anyway, you keep the ring. I really don't want anything to do with it."

I watched him for a while as he went around the room, grabbing pillows and blankets until he had his own bed set up on the floor. I walked over to the bed and sat down, staring at the ring in my hand. I had a thought creep into my mind and I reached into my pocket, sifting past the two gold rings I stole and grabbing a chain. I pulled it out to find the necklace Zayne had given me forever ago. I'd almost forgotten about it entirely since I had put it in this pocket for safekeeping.

"What's that you're holding?" I heard Ryker ask and I looked over to see that he was leaning his chin on his bed and watching me warily.

"It's a necklace."

"Who's it from?"

"It was given to me by someone very special, someone I've lost," I told him, whispering the last few words when I felt tears threaten to fall.

Sensing that I didn't want to talk about it anymore, he lay back down on his impromptu bed and bid me goodnight. I unclasped the necklace, slipped the Nightshade ring onto the chain with the silver and sapphire pendant, and closed it once it was around my neck. Both the pendant and ring settled a couple inches below my collarbones and I crawled beneath the covers. I listened in amazement to hear Ryker fall asleep quickly on the floor and I wrapped my fingers around the pendant for comfort. I rolled onto my side and closed my eyes, hoping my wings wouldn't slide out in the middle of the night as I slowly fell asleep.

It was an hour before dawn when I woke up, pleasantly surprised that I had slept well and that my wings stayed in place beneath my skin instead of stretching out to be comfortable. I leaned over and saw that Ryker was still asleep, so I got out of bed and snuck out of his room. I figured than now was as good a time as any to try and steal the electrum whip, so I imagined myself into my stealth outfit. This was made of black scales, ones that shifted and changed with just one thought. The scales all changed colors so that I would blend in with the darkness and I pulled the hood up and over my head. My wings slid out and I flew off down the hallway, staying as close to the ceiling as I could. I sensed the magic armory within the center of the church, following the magic signature until I was right outside the doors.

When I didn't sense any magic alarms or traps, I opened the doors and laughed at how simple all this was. Getting the silver whip was a piece of cake, especially since it was just hanging up on the wall. I attached it to one of the belt loops opposite of the sword hanging at my side. Not knowing what else to do, I left the room and changed back into the tank top and shorts, the whip and sword in a pocket of invisibility that only I could bring back and my wings back under my skin. I decided then to wander about and see what other secrets this place held, especially since I would probably be staying here for quite some time.

I walked down corridors that I hadn't been down before, seeing a few offices that had to belong to the Lightwoods. Down a few twisting and turning hallways, I found an elevator and went all the way to the top floor. I found on that floor that it was just a large garden, feeling a bit sad as the memory of Zayne and me before his death popped into my head. I sighed and walked between the plants, dragging my fingertips over leaves or petals from time to time. I saw that a few looked a bit wilted, so I found a watering can and filled it. I went around the room, sprinkling water on the soil for the flowers and trees. I heard a noise at the elevator and turned to see Ryker standing there, watching me with concern written on his face.

"What are you doing up here?" he asked me, not moving a muscle.

"I wanted to explore some more places that I hadn't been in yet if I'm going to be staying here."

"Ok, I can understand that. Why do you seem like a mix of sad and distanced in the garden?"

"It's a long story," I answered calmly.

I saw a plant that looked almost dead and situated my body so that Ryker couldn't see what I was about to do next. I rubbed my thumb and index finger together, sprinkling a little bit of magic onto the little guy. I watched as the plant latched onto life, blooming into a gorgeous blue flowered sapling. I smiled and gave it a little bit of water before moving on to others.

"Not that I'm judging, Dey, but it looks to me like you're doing all this to distract yourself. Did something bad happen recently?"

"Recently, no. It's just… gardens are a place of peace and sadness for me now."

He paused, as if he was assessing my answer critically, then asked, "Do you want to talk about it?"

I let out a sigh. "Long story short, the last good memory I've ever had was with the one I loved in a garden much larger than this, not long before I was forced to watch him be killed. Being here… it's like a bittersweet reminder."

I didn't even hear him move, just felt as he hugged me from behind. I jumped a little in surprise, especially since I hadn't been touched like this in a very long time. I'd forgotten how warm another person was and felt my icy heart crack a little from it. He leaned his chin on top of my head, keeping his arms around me close and slowly rocking me back and forth in a gentle way.

"How long has it been?" he whispered, and I knew exactly what he meant when he asked his question.

"Years," I whispered back, not quite lying but keeping the truth just out of reach for fear that he'd figure out what I was.

"Want some advice?" When all I did was nod slowly, he quietly said, "I know you won't like to hear this, but you can't just let this ruin the things that make you happy. You obviously love it up here, so just concentrate on the here and now. You have to think about the positives in life or the negatives will drag you down and drown you. I don't want to see that happen to you."

I set the watering can down and turned around to face him, his arms getting a little tighter around me. I looked up into his eyes to see that he genuinely meant all that he said, especially the last part. I didn't know what to feel about it, but right in that moment it felt like Zayne was here with me. I felt a wave of sadness rush over and saw Ryker look very concerned.

"I appreciate you saying all this, I really do," I told him, giving him a sad smile that only made his concern worse. "But you don't know me. You shouldn't worry about me. I always get back on my feet after getting kicked to the ground. So just concentrate on your problems and don't try to add me on top of them."

I gently pushed his arms away and ran to the elevator, leaving him behind before he could see another moment of weakness. I heard my phone beep and I pulled it out of my pocket. It was a text from Xavier saying he wanted to meet up later tonight and that he'd send me another text saying where he'd like to meet me. After reading it, I put it back into my pocket without replying back, letting him know eventually that I was angry at his recent behavior. I knew he wouldn't care since he's an egotistical jerk. I wandered back to my room, stepping into every room before mine just to be nosy and try to guess which family member lived there. I became bored with that rather fast and entered my room, sitting at the desk and opening the book once more. I flipped through the pages some more, absentmindedly thinking about what good excuse Xavier could possibly have to decide that playing games like this was ok.


	4. Chapter Three

Chapter Three

I spent the rest of the day trying to avoid Ryker and his concerned looks. I didn't want his pity, nor did I need it. I was beginning to regret saying anything at all about Zayne, even though all I did was give him a brief hint as to what happened. I had this feeling that Ryker wanted to ask more about it, but he got the point that his questions were unwelcome right now after the fifth time that day I had immediately left the room he was in. I just wanted to spend my time before the meeting in peace so I would be prepared.

A few hours after a tense lunch, I got the text I was waiting for, telling me that I was to be waiting at the Chrysler Building at midnight and to come alone. I thought that last part was odd since I had never done anything before to suggest I hadn't been alone. Then I realized that he might be thinking Ryker would follow me if he knew I was going to leave that night. Luckily, Ryker told me at 11 p.m. that he had a meeting with a group of vampires, something about how there was a rogue running amok. At 11:30, I was in my thief outfit, the scales twitching slightly as they moved into place to look like leather and my two new weapons glinting from the moonlight outside my window. I let the concealment on my eyes and tattoos fall and I felt free for the first time in a while.

I opened it up and jumped out, my wings snapping open and I flew off in the direction of the meeting place. I decided to play around in the sky since I had plenty of time to get to the Chrysler Building. I flew up past a large building, brushing the tip of my right wing against the glass before gaining altitude. I caught a few updrafts and dived back down again. By 12, I was circling the Chrysler Building and spotted a pair of white wings standing on one of the ledges near the top. I swooped downwards with a vague plan in my head about what I would do when I reached him.

Xavier took a couple steps back as my wings snapped open to slow my descent and I was on him within seconds. I grabbed him by the throat and lifted him up into the air, slamming his back into the wall. His bright wings were splayed against the wall, mine stretched out behind me to keep my balance. He grabbed my wrist and tried to pull it away, but I was strong now and wasn't going to take things as they were.

"What in the _world_ do you think you're doing?!" I shrieked, my eyes turning blood red and I slammed his head into the wall hard. "Why the hell are you being an informant?"

He leaned his face close to mine and glared, reaching into his coat pocket to pull out a cell phone. "We can either do this in a civilized fashion with you letting me go and we have an actual conversation. Or I can press a button on speed dial and have those vampires that Ryker is with tear out his throat. Your choice."

I glared back at him as he did the same, neither one of us breaking eye contact. I saw his finger hovering over one of the buttons and I growled, letting go quickly so that he fell to the floor. He stood up with a triumphant grin on his face until he looked up a little. I saw his head tilt to the side as he assessed whatever he was seeing, then looked back down at me. His expression turned pensive before he went on to answer my questions.

"What I'm doing is shaking things up a bit," he told me. "For years you've been able to breeze through every task I've given you. Not once did you have any problems with stealing what I wanted or even had any qualms about having to take drastic measures. You needed a challenge and this is the perfect one."

"If you're not careful, I'm going to end up accidentally showing him that I'm an angel!"

"I have faith that you won't," he said, his grin plastered to his face once more. "Remember, he'll be dead if you do. That's incentive enough." When I didn't say anything because I was too busy plotting his murder, he held out his hand. "The rings, please."

I handed them over to him and then asked, "What about the whip?"

"Oh, I just wanted you to steal that because I thought you'd look hot with it."

"You're a pig," I muttered.

"Nope, I'm an angel. You're dismissed now. And one more thing before I forget…" He turned and walked over to a ledge with his wings outstretched, about to jump off when he turned back to me with a cocky grin. "You can whip me with that thing whenever you like."

Before he could take off, I had the whip in my hand and snapped the whip at him so fast it was a blur, leaving a shallow scratch on his cheekbone and the crack of the electrum whip sounding like thunder. He touched a fingertip to his cheek and saw the blood, so I gave him a sarcastic smile before running off the building. I flew back to the Institute and landed on the roof, crouching down theatrically when I touched down with my wings curled loosely around me. It was then that I saw something that surprised me.

I stood up straight and curled my wings so I could see the tips of them. The large feather at the tip of both wings were translucent gold, the first time I'd seen any kind of change since before Zayne's death. Those two feathers could almost be compared to an amber colored bottle. I touched one of the tips, feeling that it was hot like a fire was burning. I'd never seen another angel's wings have feathers like this, but I remembered that Zayne had said something about his gold feathers. His changed to gold with every battle that he kept humans safe and proved that he knew the value of a life. I remembered again about how I told Zayne I wanted to be a fighter. My wish came true, I thought to myself sadly, too bad that all this had to occur before that could happen.

I slid my wings beneath my skin, feeling a slight burning sensation under my skin whenever the tips of my wings touched it. I concealed my blue tattoos and changed my gold cat eyes back to black, even having enough time to shift my thief outfit into a simple white dress that stopped at my knees when the roof's door was flung open. A disheveled Ryker ran out and seeing me must have calmed him down because he sighed before leaning back against the closed door.

"Oh, good, you're ok," he said, wiping the sweat off of his forehead.

"Why wouldn't I be?" I laughed, walking over to him to distract myself from feeling like I was slowly burning a hole through my skin.

"I told you about the meeting I had with a group of vampires about the rogue, didn't I?" When I nodded, he continued on. "Well, they said that he was last seen in Central Park where he tried to snack on some tourists, so we all went there. The rogue was there again tonight, so he must have thought it was his hunting grounds. As we were about to kill him since he refused to comply with any rules, he said that the moment his boss found out he was dead that he would track down the people I care about with his horde. And vampire leaders, even the rogue ones, can tell when one of their number dies. I thought maybe they might come for you while I was gone."

"I'd like to see them try," I said with an evil little smile. When he was about to start arguing, I told him, "Did you forget? This is sacred ground."

"He could send familiars to drag you out. They can walk on sacred ground."

Well, there went my excuse and I surely couldn't say that I could fight them off very easily because he would get suspicious. I watched as it looked like he had a brilliant idea and before I knew it I was being dragged towards the door. He pulled out a key to unlock the door before dragging me inside and to the elevator. He hit a button that took us to the basement and a few corridors later, we reached a large room the size of a gymnasium. It had large metal beams in the ceiling that were mazelike and a platform in the middle that had a pulley above it with a rope that stretched down to the floor. There were targets at one end of the room and a rack of training weapons at the other.

"Your training starts now," he told me, turning around to face me. "That way I won't have to worry about your safety if I have to leave you alone here."

I just shook my head and let him think I was going to go through with this. "How about we do this in the morning? It is kind of late."

"Oh, you're right. Alright, we can start your training tomorrow."

I looped my arm through his and he led me back to the elevator. We went up a floor and found our way back to our rooms. Like the night before, he stood there awkwardly without saying a word. I pulled my arm from his and walked to my door, about to open it when I heard him walk up behind me and hug me again like this morning. I felt a tiny fear that he might feel a burn from the tips of my wings, but I knew it was silly to be afraid of that. I heard him make a sniffing noise and it took me a little while to realize that he was inhaling my scent for comfort. He felt so much like Zayne that I leaned into his embrace, sighing and closing my eyes.

"I'm so glad that you're safe," he whispered. "I was really worried for a while that he might come after you before I could get here."

"Either way, I would have been fine," I told him calmly. "I'm a fighter and I can hold my own when I need to."

"We'll see about that tomorrow," he said, and I knew he meant it sincerely since he wouldn't know my fighting style anyway. I heard a hesitation in what he wanted to say next, like he thought it was important. "I was wondering if I could stay with you in your room tonight. That way I can protect you in the night if he makes good on his threat."

"No, Ryker. Get some rest in your room. You need it."

I felt his arms get a little tighter around my waist as he said, "Dey, I'm not sure I'll be able to sleep peacefully if I sleep in a room away from you right now. I'll be hyper vigilant to make sure no one gets to you."

I turned around and saw the worry was plainly on his face, so I gave him a reassuring smile and started to push him towards his door. "My answer remains the same. You have nothing to worry about. Nothing will happen that I can't handle."

He still looked upset, but he nodded before entering his room. I walked into mine and crawled into bed, shifting the dress to the tank top and shorts I wore to bed last night. I pulled from the invisible pocket of space a rainbow spectrum stiletto, the blade so thin it looked like it could snap easily but was very durable. I placed it under my pillow just in case and pulled the covers up around me, falling asleep relatively easy.

A couple hours later, I was awoken by the feeling that my skin was on fire and figured that the tips of my wings were too close to the surface. When I pulled them closer to my spine, the feeling didn't go away and I somehow knew instinctively that this was a new danger sensor as I grabbed the stiletto. I lashed out and heard a screech, so I turned to see six male vampires moving towards me, one of which holding his arm as it burned.

I was on my feet faster than any of them could so much as take a step, sticking my blade between the ribs of the nearest vampire and watching as he turned to ash before turning to the next. I gave them an evil grin and beckoned them to hurry, making them falter just enough so that I could stab another in the heart. I had a hold of another one and was about to sink the blade into him when Ryker burst in with his seraph blade in hand. The vampire hissed at me and I stabbed him in the heart as well for being so rude. I jumped at one of the vampires that managed to sneak up on Ryker as he fought two at once, taking the creature down and killing him. As it turned to ash, I looked back to see that Ryker stabbed the last one through the heart and it turned to ash as well. I was going to say something along the lines of good job when I saw him turn to me, looking absolutely livid with me.

"You knew that they were going to come after you tonight. I don't know how, but you did," he said, gritting his teeth.

"What, you're not going to compliment me or even take notice that I took down a majority of them rather easily?" I asked, beaming at him and noticing that the veins in his neck were sticking out.

"Alright, that's it!" he yelled.

He walked over to me and grabbed me by the waist so he could throw me over his shoulder. I screamed in anger, kicking my feet wildly and smacking my fists into his back. Could I get out of this if I wanted to? Yes, I could. I just wanted to see what he thought he was going to do. He grunted as I landed a kick into his stomach before he opened my door, then walked over to his room and entering. Ryker walked over to his bed and threw me onto my back on top of the comforter. I sat up fast and was going to get up when he gave me a withering look.

"You're staying with me in my room from now on until the threat from the rogue's boss is neutralized," he said, his eyes blazing angrily. "Not only that, but I'm moving you up to advanced training. The beginner's kind would obviously be a waste of time on both our parts."

I watched him as he walked over to the other side of the bed, pulling off his shirt as he went. He was as wiry and fit as Zayne was, and I stared openly for a few seconds before I snapped out of it. At least until he pulled back the covers and got under them with me.

"I'm sorry, what do you think you're doing?" I asked, feeling a bit nervous.

"I'm sleeping here. Then I'll know if anything bad happens, like if you sneak off or if someone tries to attack you again."

I growled quietly in irritation, but rolled over onto my side so I wouldn't have to look at the frustrating male. I listened to his breathing again, waiting for the moment that he'd fall asleep so that I could go back to my room but he never did. That was when I figured out that he was going to wait until I slept before he did. I yawned and closed my eyes, letting exhaustion wash over me from the activities of the day.

When I woke up in the morning, the first thing I noticed was that I was warm and happy. I stretched out and was about to let my wings out to stretch them as well when I noticed the arm around my waist and the body lying behind me. I'd only let this happen once with Zayne, back when he had to leave on a mission right before his death. If I let myself imagine it, I felt like Zayne was still with me. But I knew that would be wrong of me to think that way while sleeping next to another person that I was slowly growing to care about.

"I see that you're finally awake," Ryker whispered, and I could feel his body shake a little as he yawned. "I was wondering if you'd sleep in all day. Also, you didn't try to leave. That's impressive for you."

"I think the only reason you woke up at all is because I stretched," I protested, sounding whiny on purpose to be funny. "Besides, I didn't have anywhere to be so early this morning. I think I'm allowed to sleep in every once in a while."

I pulled his arm off of me and got out of bed. "Hey, don't forget to dress for training," he told me as I walked to his door. I rolled my eyes as I walked to my room, getting inside and shifting into a black tank top and black shorts. I reached into my pockets and found a hair tie, then put my hair up in a ponytail to keep my hair out of the way. I walked out of the room and saw Ryker in training clothes, a t-shirt and shorts. We opted to go to breakfast so that we'd have the fuel in our bodies to train. I had a pile of toast while he had everything that was set out on the table.

By the time we made it to the training room, I was pumped and ready to go. I figured that I'd find a way to get this over with now so that he wouldn't have to keep doing this. So when he told me to try and knock him down, I just laughed. I'd learned quite a few tricks from Zayne for self-defense that this would be easy to do with a human.

"You should be taking this seriously, not thinking that this is just a game!" he grumbled. "Give me your best shot then, missy!"

Way faster than he expected, I had a hold of his arm at a painful angle so that he couldn't get away. Then before he could so much as move to stop me, I spun just right and swept his feet from under him. He hit the ground with a thud and stared up at me in surprise as I placed on foot on top of his chest to keep him down.

"I'm pretty sure I won this round," I sneered playfully, grinning down at him.

"Oh, shut up and fight me," he growled, trying to sweep my feet from under me while he was on the ground, but I jumped up and ran a few feet away with a laugh.

Once he was up, he ran at me angrily and tried his best to punch me, but I was much faster than him. I blocked every punch he threw because I'm much faster than a mortal before deciding to go on the offensive. I started punching him, landing two good ones on his ribs but pulling my punches so that I wouldn't hurt him seriously. He just grimaced whenever a punch hit him and tried to block the rest the best he could. After toying with him for a while, I hit him hard enough to knock him on his back again, which was when he decided to call the match.

"Maybe you are safe to be on your own," he said pensively. "I think weapons training would be a waste today as well. I saw the way you handled the vampires with that tiny blade of yours."

"Hey, I have more where that comes from, so don't complain."

He then looked up at the beams near the ceiling and said, "I'm especially not going to bother with making you do that. You made it up to that windowsill in the library, so I think you're good. What I'm wondering now is how you're so good at all this."

Uh-oh, I thought to myself and gulped. Instead, I came up with a good excuse. "I had a bodyguard for a while that taught me quite a few things I needed to know back when I had a stalker."

"He must have been really good."

"You don't know the half of it."

We both figured that it was as good a time as any to just go our separate ways until lunch. I decided on a whim to go back to the library and read some more books, so I headed back to my room quickly, grabbed the book I had been reading before I finally got tired of it, then ran to the library to put the book away. I looked around to see if there were any books that were just about angels and knew that it would take a very long time to sift through them all. So I went around the room, reading title after title until I found a book that I suspected could be a book about angels and set it down on a desk in the middle of the room. An hour into my search, I had a stack of books in one sketchy pile that I thought might topple over if there was a strong gust of wind or a strong vibration. I went through the stacks of books one by one, hoping that there would be anything on angels and only finding things out about Raziel. I was getting extremely frustrated and was contemplating heading straight for Lake Lyn to inform Raziel that he was also an egotistical jerk and that should be added to any book that mentions him.

Lunchtime rolled around and Ryker came in to tell me so, only to see me pacing back and forth behind an even bigger stack of books and looking as mad as a cornered snake. "Is this what you've been doing? Playing the world's largest game of Jenga?"

"No, I'm training to be an architect," I said sarcastically. To say that I was frustrated with my outcome of knowledge was quite the understatement.

"Remind me to never enter a building you have constructed then. It looks like one tiny tap could send it over the edge."

"Same thing with my sanity. Anyway, what did you come in here for?"

"I was told that lunch was now ready and to come get you. Are you going to pause whatever you were just doing long enough to eat?"

I nodded and walked over to him, waiting for him to move while he assessed my mood. Lunch was a hurried affair, one that I ended up scarfing down large quantities of food just to be done faster so I could go back to my research. In my head, I was still plotting 500 different ways to show my intense disapproval to Raziel and trying to decide which one was my favorite. By the time I was done eating, I was quite fond of the method of Chinese Water Torture. He'd never want to go near that lake of his again after I was done with him. I practically ran from the dining room and back into the library where I tackled that pile of books as fast as I could, coming up with the same results and plotting how to make it to Idris to put my plan against Raziel in motion. It was as I was searching for new books that Ryker came back in to watch me. He just leaned up against the door as I went back and forth between the desk and the bookshelves, grabbing books and depositing them on the desk to create an even bigger pile.

"I feel as if you've somehow managed to go far beyond obsessive and created a whole new level of craziness," he said as I sat down to read the books I now had stacked together. "What in the world are you trying to find out about?"

"I read about angels in the book about magical creatures that I had for a while," I said calmly. "I wanted to find out more about them since the book glossed over them and only talked about one angel specifically."

"Why didn't you just ask me for help?" he asked exasperatedly. "I could have pointed you in the direction of a book with all sorts of angel information in it!"

Standing up quickly with excitement, I practically yelled, "So where is it?"

"A warlock here in Manhattan has it," he said, and I felt my excitement drain away. "Oh, don't worry. He'll give it up to you. You just have to ask nice and hope he doesn't ask for anything in return."

"Which warlock is it?" I asked, feeling dread course through my veins as I strongly hoped it wasn't the one I was thinking of.

"Magnus Bane." When I groaned loudly, he gave me a weird look. "Do you know Magnus somehow?"

"I've met Magnus before, but at the time I didn't know he was a warlock," I lied, thinking back to the time I'd almost had to kill him just to steal something for Xavier. "I don't think he'd let me have the book to borrow."

"Actually, you'd just be taking it back. The book belongs in this library. He came in not that long ago and took it for new reading material."

Yet another person added to my torture list, I thought to myself angrily. It was then settled by Ryker that we'd go now to see Magnus and get the book back. He figured that by going along, Magnus would be a little more cooperative with me since he didn't like me much now. The fun part was going to be the fact that Magnus was holding a party at his place, so I get to dress up and party some as well.

"He never usually has a party this early. It's usually only at night that he throws these things," he grumbled.

I practically ran to my room, startling Ryker with my enthusiasm as I made it to my room in record time. I thought about what to wear, then settled on a skintight one shoulder black dress. It had a lattice sleeve and a diamond strap on the other shoulder. I loved it because it revealed my back just enough so that I could let my wings out if I needed to. The heels I chose to match it were tall cut out gladiator high heels. I took my hair out of the ponytail and ran my fingers through it, making it fall in loose waves. Out of my pocket, I pulled out eyeliner and mascara and put it on. When I was done, I walked out to see Ryker standing there and waiting rather impatiently until he saw me. I saw his mouth drop open in shock before he caught himself. He looked speechless and I smiled a little.

"You look… amazing," he said, still looking stunned.

"Thank you," I told him, blushing slightly. "By the way, you're not leaving looking like that."

"What's wrong with it?"

"It's training clothes! You can't go to this kind of party in something like that!"

I barged into his room, Ryker following me in exasperation to keep an eye on me so I wouldn't get out of control. As I joke, I pulled a suit out of his closet and he flipped out, saying there was no way he was wearing that unless it was a black tie event. I laughed and threw a pair of jeans onto his bed and found a long sleeve black shirt that had a v collar.

"There is the compromise," I informed him. Not even waiting for me to leave the room to provide him with privacy, he immediately got to work on getting dressed. When he was done, I grabbed him by the arm and dragged him out of his room.

When we got out of the front door, he looped his arm through mine in a silly attempt to keep me steady. My protests that I was perfectly capable of walking in these heels on my own fell upon deaf ears as he walked me over to a cab that was parked out front. We got in and Ryker gave him the address to Magnus' place. I guess this party was being held on the other side of Central Park and Magnus had all of his stuff moved there for now. The cab pulled up to a large building with music pouring out of it and we both got out, Ryker once again had ahold of my arm as we walked up the steps.

Ryker opened the door and we both walked in to see lights going off and music blaring loudly, a crowd of bodies moving to the beat. When the door slammed shut, all heads turned to look at us. No one moved a muscle and all eyes were focused on me. Ryker seemed a bit nervous and I had a feeling that he thought that they were staring at him because he was a Shadowhunter. In any other situation, he would be right but since he was with me, it was different.

"Well, well, well. Look who has arrived to crash my party," a voice said and Magnus stepped out from a crowd at the top of the stairs, a blank expression on his face. "A crazy Shadowhunter and his—"

"I just need to get a book from you and then we can get out of your… rather spiky hair," I yelled up at him.

"Just as impatient as I last remember you," he said, walking away and beckoning us to follow him.

Ryker led me over to the stairs, keeping his other hand on the seraph blade in his pocket to keep me safe just in case. Everyone watched me as I went along, a few even gave me an almost imperceptible nod of respect so Ryker couldn't see it. I extended the same courtesy, making it so he couldn't see my nod as well. Everyone on the stairs gave us a respectful distance as we walked up them. Magnus was waiting for us a small distance down the hallway, then led us both to the last door on the right.

"Stay here, Shadowhunter," Magnus told him, letting me inside the room. "She and I have some unfinished business to attend to that doesn't involve you."

With that, Magnus shut the door loudly and turned back to me. "You know that's technically not true, right?" I told him, giving him a small smile.

"I wasn't kidding when I said we had unfinished business," he said, and I saw his blue cat eyes were blazing with anger. "You think you can just waltz in here after nearly killing me and stealing some things from me?"

"Oh, so that rainbow stiletto and an old lady's ring was something you disapproved of?"

He paused for a minute, then said, "Ok, that didn't bother me half as much as the nearly dying part."

"Look, you know I didn't have much of a choice," I said exasperatedly. "You know what my deal consists of and I asked you if I could buy or barter for them. I had to do what I did because you left me with no other option. I'm sorry it turned out the way it did."

"An apology from an angel. I think that's a first. Did it hurt to say that?"

"Yes, now I need some help," I told him. "You borrowed a book from the Institute and I need it back. There are some things about angels in there that I need to find out."

"Why do you think I borrowed the book in the first place? I remembered your plight and became curious as to if there was a way to make a human back into an angel. There isn't one in there at all." I looked at him with disappointment and anger, but he piped up with some more words of knowledge. "However, I could just tell that Ryker is the newest reincarnation of Zayne, and turning a Shadowhunter into an angel is very possible."

"How do you do it?!" I practically yelled, wanting to fling myself at him and shake the answer out of him.

"Calm down! Ryker is outside the door, remember?" he reminded me, so I calmed down a bit and waited for him to continue talking some more. "Ok, the best way to do it is to gather the Mortal Instruments and call Raziel. He can grant wishes to Shadowhunters that should be impossible altogether."

"Magnus, I'm an angel, too. Shouldn't I be able to do that if he can?"

"I don't think so. Raziel was the one to create Shadowhunters. You'd need to know about their race to do so."

"If I have to make him do it, then I have a better and quicker way to get it over with. I'll go up to the heavens and ask him to, using force and torture if necessary."

"I thought you weren't allowed to go back until your wings changed back?" Magnus asked curiously.

Without a thought, my wings snapped out from my back and stretched out. I saw that the big feathers on the edges of my wings were now that translucent gold. Magnus stared in awe and came over to look at them. He touched one feather quickly and I heard a sizzle as he did, so I definitely knew that they were giving off heat.

"Don't those feathers burn the inside of your skin?" he asked me.

"They feel like I'm slowly going to burn a hole through them."

"What if you're forced to keep them out one day because the heat got too strong?"

"Then I'll have to conceal them from others by making them invisible or something."

Magnus just shook his head, but he told me that he'd return the book for me to read tomorrow once he was done reading the last 50 pages. I slid my wings back into place and walked back out to see Ryker standing against the door opposite of the room I was in. He looked happy to see me and I soon realized why. There were a few nymphs staring at him, occasionally giggling amongst them. Once I glared over at them, they all paled their respective colors and walked away as fast as they could.

"Thanks," he said happily.

As we came back into the main room, everyone turned around once more to stare at us and I groaned. "Looks like I wore this for nothing," I told him sadly as we made it down the steps.

"I know you're thinking about clubbing tonight already," he said to me. "And you're not going to."

"Hey, I think we've already proved that I'm much more skilled than you. I'll be ok on my own."

He grumbled something under his breath about stubborn women and I just laughed as we walked outside. As he hailed a cab for us, I looked up at the sky and saw that it was the sun was going to set soon. So I did what any self-respecting angel who wanted to go clubbing would do… I ran off down the road, turned a corner, and tried to find the nearest club that was open. I giggled to myself as I walked, mixing in with a crowd of people that seemed to watch me as I went along. I knew that Ryker wouldn't be able to find me now and that made it funnier.

Night had fallen by the time I found the nearest club, this one didn't have many Downworlders and was mostly human. I was ok with that because it seems that the Downworlders want to just watch me. I entered the club and every head turned to me again. I was very confused about what was going on, but I ignored them and headed to the bar. I got a strawberry daiquiri and even took an umbrella to put in it. Still, heads were turned to stare at me. I was left with no choice.

"Dance," I said, using angelic compulsion.

Immediately, the club went back to its hectic way and I was happy once more. Until I was approached by Ryker. I felt rather than saw him walk in, my soul doing a fluttering motion as he got closer. When he was leaning against the bar next to me, I just kept sipping from my drink and watching everyone dance.

"You left my side very quickly," he said calmly, but I could feel how angry he was.

"You didn't want me to do this. So I did!"

"No, I didn't want you to do it alone. And you look bored here."

"That's true," I said, slurping down the rest of my drink. "Let's go."

Ryker escorted me out to the cab that was conveniently waiting for us and we headed back to the Institute. I told him that I had to be somewhere tomorrow and it would take the whole day. He offered to come with me, but I told him it wasn't necessary. When we got back, we headed straight to his room and fell asleep. I even forgot to change out of my clothes because I was so exhausted.


	5. Chapter Four

Chapter Four

It was just before dawn when I woke up and I knew that today was going to be tricky. I needed to go talk to Raziel, but I didn't have the time to go find the Mortal Cup to summon him at Lake Lyn. The only thing I could do was use the Mortal Sword in the heavens to call him to me and if that didn't work then I could use it to find him. I had to find a way to convince him to help me, and if that didn't work I'd have to "appeal to his better nature" with necessary torture.

Ryker was once again wrapped around me when I was fully awake. I had to move quietly and slowly to get out from the tangle of arms and legs. I couldn't figure out why he kept doing that, but then I remembered that Zayne used to do the same thing. He always used to think that he could keep the nightmares away if he just held me against him. I missed him more than anything.

Once out from under Ryker, I went outside and headed to the elevator. The moment I got outside, I shifted into my thief outfit. The scales shimmered as they moved and then settled for the look and texture of leather. I changed my eyes back to gold cat eyes and revealed my tattoos. Almost as if they had a mind of their own, my wings were pushed from beneath my skin, making a rather loud whooshing noise. I heard the sound of what I thought was the door creaking, but when I looked back there wasn't anything there. I looked hard at my surroundings, but no such luck in determining what could have made the sound. With a noncommittal shrug, I lifted my wings into the air, then with a strong downbeat I was airborne.

The way to get into the heavens isn't as easy as one might think. It's actually its own dimension or else mortals would have been able to fly through it a long time ago. I flew upwards as high as I could go, looking down to see the city was far below me. Then I picked up speed, flying straight towards the sun as fast as I could. I broke the sound barrier twice and started to build up a ball of magic in my palms. Once it was a large sphere of light, I shot it out in front of me and it created a portal of light that was large enough for me to fly through. I tucked my wings when I approached to make sure I fit and the next thing I knew I only saw clouds.

Everything was built from clouds, including the houses and buildings. There were even trees with leaves made of clouds. I flew straight towards the floating island that Zayne was killed on, feeling the need to go there to feel close to him one last time. Once I came close, I saw a large tree right in the middle of the island. I landed there and saw a plaque right in front of it that read:

_In honor of the two angels we lost that fateful day, one to death and one to grief. We pray that the grieving angel will come back to us when she accepts love back into her life. We hope to one day have them back in the loving embrace of the light._

_ \- Zayne &amp; Deirdre-_

I sank to my knees as I read that, my wings drooping as I felt sadness wash over me. Oh, Zayne, how I miss you, I thought to myself sadly. I felt tears building up, but I squelched the feeling because I vowed never to cry again. That was when I heard wing beats coming closer, but I ignored them completely. If they wanted to throw me out, they could sure as hell try. I am much stronger and not as ready to comply with the rules as I was back in the day. I heard an angel touch down behind me and still refused to look at them, hoping they'd get the hint that I wanted to be left alone.

"You know, when I was told by the angelic council that you were back in the heavens, I didn't completely believe them," I heard a familiar voice say. "Honestly, I still can't believe it just by looking at you."

I turned around, feeling slightly guilty when I saw who it was. "Are you here to throw me out, Raziel?"

"I would never throw out my baby sister," he told me, folding his golden wings against his spine.

"I'm your twin, so stop making it sound like I'm that much younger than you," I grumbled.

"I apologize, Deirdre," he said, giving me small smile before getting serious. "I'm sorry about Zayne. I never had a chance to tell you that before you left."

I nodded in acknowledgement, then said, "Listen, there's something I need to ask you."

"I already know. You want me to turn Ryker into an angel."

I was quite puzzled about this. "How did you know?"

"You're my sister and I love you. I just wanted to make sure you stayed safe so I could help you if you ever needed it."

"So can you do it?"

"I'm afraid not, and here's why," he said, giving me a look of sincere apology. "Shadowhunters are still mortals who have wills of their own. Unless he wishes this for himself, I can't force immortality upon him. It's not something that most people like to have."

"Bu that would mean I would have to reveal my identity as an angel to him first. I can't do that or he'll be killed!"

"I've seen the things you've had to do for Xavier," Raziel growled, and it was the first time I'd ever seen him look murderous before. "I was going to have his wings stripped from him but he left too fast for me to make it happen. No one should be able to get away with murder and still be able to call himself an angel."

I watched him for a few seconds before running over to him and hugging him tightly. He hugged me back and rested his chin on top of my head. I used to love hugs from him when I was younger because it always made me feel safe and loved. I had forgotten the feeling from being away for so long. I heard him gasp quietly as he caught sight of the new feathers on my wings.

"Those feathers… I've never seen anything like them before," he said. "Thankfully, I've heard of them."

"What are they?" I asked.

"Well, female archangels have silver feathers because they're strictly healers. Male archangels have gold because they're fighters or guards. If an angel has translucent feathers, they're a pure soul. Before your grief stage, you had translucent white wings that were turning silver. Now, you've been a fighter and you're still a pure soul, regardless of the things you've had to do. You're turning into an archangel, but since you're a fighter now you're wings are turning translucent gold. You'll be the first female archangel with wings like that."

"That's pretty neat," I said mostly to myself.

I told Raziel that I would come back to visit, even going so far as to say that he could visit me if he looked human enough. That made him smile, and he told me he'd find a human phone to have so he could contact me later. He also said he'd find my number easy enough. After one last hug, he bid me farewell and kissed my forehead to bless me and my travels with luck. I took one last look at him before I hopped down from the island. He was standing before the shrine with his golden wings outstretched. He looked the same as when I'd left, his blue black hair just as short and his eyes just as bright and otherworldly.

I used the same process to get back to New York, only this time I saw it was nighttime. I'd forgotten that time ran faster here than in my old home. I dove down to the city, loving the look of the city at night. I twisted in a spiral as I came down and looked for the Institute in midair. I found it after a while of flying, since I didn't want to stop early because my skin wasn't ready for the burns of my feathers. When I landed on the roof, I looked back up at the sky longingly before I heard a stone shift on the roof. I turned around and in my horror I saw Ryker standing before me.

"I should have known," he said with a barely contained rage. "I just should have known that you were too good to be true."

"Ryker, please, I can explain," I said, trying to show how sorry I was, my wings drooping and touching the roof.

"I don't want to hear it," he said, turning to leave and walking to the door.

Feeling an acute sense of panic, I used my full speed to run to the door before he could open it. I put my back against the door and spread my wings out. "No, you need to listen! You can't tell anyone you know about me, especially that informant that came here the other night!"

"Why should I?!" he yelled and finally the damn broke. "You made me believe that you were a Shadowhunter! You're the thief! There's no other way about it since you've got the Mortal Sword and the silver electrum whip attached to your belt! How can I trust you?"

"Listen to me, Ryker! I'm dead serious!" I yelled back, feeling panic course through my veins and that was when Ryker paid me some attention even though he was still angry. A part of me wondered if we were being observed, so I slid my wings back beneath my skin, concealed my tattoos with magic, and changed my eyes to black. "You cannot say a word about me and what I am. If someone finds out that you know and tell that informant of yours, he will kill you without hesitation."

"Why?" he asked simply, his anger at bay for the moment as his suspicion peaked.

"It's a long story," I said quietly.

He grabbed me by the shoulders and shook me gently, keeping me pressed against the door and glaring at me after. "No, you're going to tell me. I have a right to know after all this."

I didn't say anything for the longest time, feeling more panicked about having to explain my story than having Xavier know that Ryker knows. "Do you want the whole story or just the important parts?"

"The whole story, Deirdre. I don't want to miss anything."

I nodded and beckoned that we take this inside. When Ryker led me to the garden, I was rather upset but I started to tell the story. I talked about this stalker angel named Xavier, my fiancé Zayne that had been with me since the beginning of time, and I even mentioned my brother. That part definitely surprised him. I then told him about how Xavier killed Zayne, how Zayne then disappeared to be reincarnated over and over, and about the entirety of the deal I had to make with Xavier so that Zayne's reincarnations stayed alive.

"And that's why I have to steal stuff and why you have to promise you won't tell anyone or let anyone know about this."

"So you're telling me that I'm a reincarnation of Zayne?" he calmly asked, his rage all gone.

"Yes, but you are your own person and I know that."

He stood there for a while, staring at me as if he could see me in a new light. I waited for him to say something and was beginning to feel anxious enough that my wings were shivering against my spine. Finally, he walked closer to me and making the anxiety get worse. He then placed both hands on either side of my face, looked into my eyes, and kissed me. I made a tiny noise of surprise, then grabbed his shirt to pull him closer. He kissed me again and I shivered as my soul felt like it was fluttering hard enough to be ripped out of me. The third time he kissed me had me leaning against him and he smiled against my lips. He pulled away slightly, wrapping his arms around me comfortingly.

"You better not have let me kiss you because you were thinking I was Zayne," he teased, kissing my forehead.

"You do remind me of Zayne because of a few of your quirks, but I did it because I wanted to kiss _you_ right then," I said, looking up at him.

Thank you, I felt him mouth in relief against my forehead. "Can I see your wings? I didn't get to have a close look at them."

"If we can head to your room so I can sleep, you can look but not touch."

I watered the plants quickly, sprinkling magic on the ones that looked like they needed a little extra love. With a smile, I let Ryker lead me out of the garden, waving goodbye to the plants before the elevator shut. Ryker kissed me again sweetly before sliding his fingers between mine and holding my hand tightly.

"I feel so much better having told you what I am," I said, waiting rather impatiently for the door to open. "It felt like there was a heavy weight on my shoulders because I wanted to tell you, but I was so afraid that he might kill you."

"He can't kill me again," Ryker told me, trying to convey a sense of calm to me.

"Ryker, he's killed you before. Granted, he only managed it because he caught you by surprise. He can do it to you again really easily since you're a mortal. We angels are stronger and faster than mortals and Downworlders. This means I have to keep an eye on you."

"Really, you don't need to protect me from him. I'll be ok."

"Oh, so we don't like it when others try to protect you? Now you know how I felt about the vampires."

"I'd almost forgotten about them. Well, I know that you can take them for sure, especially after you attacked them with that blade of yours."

"Not mine. I stole it from Magnus," I told him sheepishly.

"Give it back later," he said exasperatedly.

"He won't want it after he finds out that I've used it to stab four vampires. His ex-wife or ex-girlfriend that he was really close to is a vampire."

"What if she happened to be the boss the rogue was talking about?"

"Nah, I've met her. She leads an actual coven here in New York. She just has her deputy Raphael running it for her while she's away."

"Deputy?"

"I don't know what to call him! Second? Leader-to-be? I don't know."

"I think I like deputy better," he laughed, the elevator opening and he pulled me along.

"Are you going to call him that the next time you see him?" I asked as we walked to his room.

"Not to his face, but I'm sure you will either way."

We laughed the rest of the way to his room, and once we got there he had a hard time getting the door open. Once we finally got inside, I let my wings out to stretch. He walked around me in circle to get a full view. When he went to touch one of the new feathers, I warned him away from them for fear that he might get burned. Instead he walked to stand in front of me and touch the spot where my wings met my back. He massaged the muscles there and my eyes slid shut in bliss. Zayne used to do this all the time, but somehow Ryker did it better. I leaned up to kiss him this time, wrapping my arms around his neck as he kissed me back. When I started getting sleepy from his kisses and his massage, he took me over to the bed. I shifted my clothes into a black tank top and black shorts, then I put my wings back under my skin and crawled into bed with him. He held me in his arms all night as I fell asleep, telling myself that I had to stay alert in case Xavier tried to attack Ryker.

When I woke up the next morning, happier and still quite sleepy until I noticed how I had been sleeping all night long. I opened one eye and noticed that I was lying in a tangled heap on top of Ryker, my wings were out and blanketing the whole bed. I heard him make a content noise, his chest rumbling and he slowly woke up as well.

"You and those wings of yours are quite warm," Ryker mumbled, kissing my neck lightly and chuckling as I shivered. "And I'm also glad that you finally told me about them."

"I only kept it from you to keep you safe," I told him sleepily, closing my eyes as he slid his fingers through the feathers on the backs of my wings.

"I know and I understand why you did what you did."

I smiled as he rubbed my back, right between my wings. It was amazing how much better at this he was than Zayne. We talked a while about Zayne, just what he was like and all the funny things he did. We also talked about the serious stuff about him, like how he was an archangel like my brother and how he always tried to help anyone in need regardless of who or what they were.

"He sounded like a great guy," Ryker said.

"He was. Even though he went on missions, he always found a way to spend time with me."

"A man in love will do whatever they can to be with the love of their lives. And you said that you're a pure soul, so he probably couldn't wait to come back to you because it was a nice change of pace."

"All other pure souls never go through anything crazy like this," I told him. "In fact, they're pretty much locked away in a citadel where they can be safe and send prayers of healing to anyone who needs it."

"So why didn't you do that in the first place? Wouldn't it have been safer?"

"Of course it would have. Zayne tried so many times to get me to go to the citadel, saying he'd visit me as soon as he got back from a mission. But I wanted more than anything to become a fighter, to protect the ones I love and anyone else that needed protecting. Zayne was a bit overprotective of me and so was Raziel, so they both found a way to keep me from doing that and getting hurt. They told the guard and the battalion not to let me in. So in retaliation, I learned the art of healing and healed the fighters who went out to war."

"Wow, so you were sneaky back in the day, too," he laughed.

"Of course! If I hadn't, how do you think I could steal all those objects?"

I lifted my wings just enough so that I could get up from on top of Ryker. I hopped down from the bed and heard a buzzing noise, so I reached into my pocket and pulled out my phone. I saw that it was a text from an unknown number. I opened it and got a chill down my spine, my wings drooping so fast that they made a noise hitting the ground.

"Dey, are you alright?" Ryker asked me.

"Yeah, I'm fine."

"Don't lie to me. What's wrong?"

"I got a text. It's definitely from Xavier."

"What does it say?" Ryker asked, getting out of bed and walking over to me.

"It's not good," I said, a mix of anger and worry charging through me. "It says 'I saw what happened last night. The deal's off. Say your goodbyes now because I'll show up when you least expect it to kill him myself.'"

"So he thinks he's coming after me?"

"He thinks so. But he won't get that far. I'll kill him before he can."

"No, Dey, if he comes after me, I'll fight him. A seraph blade can kill anything, even an angel."

"But Ryker, he's stronger and faster than you!"

"But from what I've heard, he doesn't have any skill in fighting, which means he'll be choppy and angry. That will even the odds for me since I'm stronger and faster than most Shadowhunters. I'll be ok, Dey. If it looks like he'll win, you can step in and put an end to it."

"Whatever you say," I said, knowing that I'd still interfere if I could. "Now let's go to breakfast."

Ryker convinced me to keep my wings out so they'd have a good stretch and we went down to the dining room to have our food. The maid had already set our food out for us and we made our plates. I once again had toast, even going so far as to put a pancake on my plate as well. It was when I heard a loud bang that we were both on our feet. I was in front of Ryker faster than he could stop me, pulling the Mortal Sword out of the pocket of space and watching it light up out of the corner of my eye. The door to the dining room swung open with a bang as well, revealing a jovial looking Xavier. He had his wings stretched out behind him and a seraph blade in one hand.

"If you came here to kill him, I will kill you first before you can even move a muscle," I growled.

"Oh please," he said sarcastically, rolling his eyes. "Do you think this seraph blade in my hands is to kill someone? No, this is just in case you try to attack me before I can say what I need to."

"Well, speak quickly before I carve my name into your skin."

"We should renegotiate the deal. I'll even overlook this little indiscretion."

"What do you mean?"

"I still want you to steal stuff, but this will be a little more high risk."

"And if I say no?"

"Then I will kill him and make sure that he can't come back this time," he told me, giving us both an evil smile.

I sighed angrily, glaring at Xavier and knowing I had no other choice. "What is it that you want me to do?"

"First item on the list, I want you to steal Magnus Bane's eyes. And by steal, I mean cut them right out of his head and bring them to me."

"Are you kidding me?" I asked, gaping at him in shock.

"Nope, this is what I want," he told me with a grin plastered to his face. "Also, you have two hours to collect and bring them to me. Bye now!"

With that, he spread his wings and jumped into the air to fly out of the open doors. I thought I'd never be so angry that I wanted to destroy things, but I was right then and I slashed the Mortal Sword at the chair next to me with an angry screech. The sword sliced through it easily like a hot knife through butter. I turned around and slashed through a chest, weapons and an assortment of other items falling onto the floor.

"Deirdre, no!" Ryker yelled, grabbing me and pinning my arms to my sides.

I screamed in fury as I tried to kick my way free when he lifted me off the ground just enough. I beat my wings to try and put him off balance, but even that didn't help me. He kept hold until I started to calm down, breathing heavily and shaking him off after a bit. I shifted my clothes into the thief outfit, grabbed Ryker by the arm, and teleported straight into the room I had a meeting with Magnus. He looked to have been asleep at his desk for he jolted awake with a confused expression on his face.

"I see Ryker knows about you now," Magnus said, rubbing his eyes sleepily.

"And so does Xavier," I told him, putting on my game face. "He has another item on his list that he wants me to steal."

"What now?"

"He wants your eyes."

Magnus looked up at me and the sword in my hand, looking a mix of fear and anger. "He can't have them."

"Listen, he gave me a two hour time limit. Now unless you have a set of your eyes just lying around in a jar somewhere, I need to cut them out. I can even heal you right after so they'll be as good as new."

"I actually do have a jar of my eyes!" he exclaimed, looking relieved.

He grabbed it out of his desk and handed it to me rather quickly. I looked at them to see that they were in fact the genuine articles. I thanked Magnus profusely for the eyes and apologized for nearly having to cut his eyes out. I grabbed Ryker again and teleported back to the Institute.

"You can warp to different places?!" he asked in surprise.

"Only to places I've been to before. It's hard to teleport to a place I've never been when I can't picture what it looks like," I told him as I grabbed my phone from my pocket, sent Xavier a text, then sat down in one of the dining room chairs. This morning had just started and I was already tired.

"Being an angel sounds like fun," he said, trying to make me smile. "You get all the cool toys, you can fly around to different places, and you can teleport. What more would you want?"

"You know, my brother Raziel can turn you into one if you really wanted to. I already asked him."

"I don't know if I could," he said slowly. "No offense and all, but it seems like trouble."

"What do you mean?"

"If I became an angel right now, Xavier will just repeat the past all over again and keep you in yet another deal. I've seen what it's done to you. You turn into a completely different person, someone who is cold and distant. I don't want that to happen anymore."

I got up and hugged him tightly, taking comfort in his warmth. "I had no choice. I have to distance myself from what I do or it will destroy me."

"I swear I will put an end to this," he told me as I buried my face in his shoulder. "I'll make sure you never have to steal for him again or even be forced to kill for him. I just have one question."

"What is it?"

"Why hasn't Raziel done something to help you?"

"Because I knew that this was something she could handle," I heard someone say and I turned around to see Raziel in his normal form, "and the first moment it looked like she was struggling, I would have come here to help her."

He looked a little annoyed as he watched us, not moving a muscle and being so still that you could tell he wasn't human. His eyes seemed to glow his otherworldly gold color and his clothes, which was a black t-shirt and jeans, seemed to move as if there were a breeze within the room.

"What are you doing here, brother?" I asked him curiously.

"The angelic council has had enough of the rogue angel," he answered simply.

"You're not coming here for her," Ryker growled. "I won't let you do anything to her!"

"Oh, Shadowhunter, calm yourself," Raziel told him, trying to hide a smile. "Just as overprotective as Zayne. Besides, I would never let harm befall my sister under my watch. I'm here for Xavier. He's the rogue angel. The angelic council has already reviewed Deirdre's case and they know that she was blackmailed."

"So what are you going to do about it?" Ryker asked, looking a bit calmer now.

"Xavier needs to be put down. Either of us angels is qualified to do so. Next time we see him, we sever his wings and stab him through the heart."

"He might be here soon," I told them both. "I told him I got the eyes he wanted me to steal and to come get them. I had a two hour time limit."

"Whose eyes did you have to steal?" Raziel asked.

"Magnus Bane's," Ryker explained. "Xavier told her to cut them out of his head, but luckily he had a jar of his eyes on hand for her."

"Ah, Magnus," Raziel said fondly. "I have heard of his antics, even going so far as to have seen them while watching my sister. He is prepared for a lot of things due to the fact that he is immortal like us. I would like the chance to meet him one day."

"I'm sure I can arrange it," I grumbled. "I'm sure he'll like you much better than me."

I heard a small noise and turned around to see Xavier peeking in at us before taking off. Raziel roared in fury and his wings erupted from his back. He was gone in a blur of golden feathers as he screamed his name to his seraph blade. Ryker gave me a look of surprise after he caught sight of Raziel's extravagant seraph blade. I knew he was thinking about how Shadowhunters never named their blades after Raziel and I explained that archangels had seraph blades personally crafted for them. They named their blade after themselves and the blade reveals their power by their appearance.

"Don't you have one of those?" Ryker asked.

"No, I'm not an archangel. That's why I have the Mortal Sword to use and it suits me well. It's like being with an old friend you haven't seen in a long time."

"I thought only Shadowhunters and Raziel could touch the sword."

"That is quite true. But I created all three Mortal Instruments for Raziel, so I'm allowed to as well as an exception like Raziel."

"So it's like the sword is yours in a way," Ryker pointed out.

"For now, I guess you're right. When I become an archangel one day, I'll get a different sword so that the Shadowhunters will have their Mortal Sword back. Although, I'll be really sad to see it go."

I heard a loud noise and saw Raziel walking back inside the Institute, looking livid and quite close to shifting into his angelic form. If Ryker looked straight at him in that form, it could kill him. Not only that, but it would destroy the Institute altogether because Raziel's angelic form was as large as this building. I ran over to him, stood on the tips of my toes, and kissed his forehead, pouring a calm energy into him and seeing him relax slowly.

"He got away and I'm not sure how he managed it," Raziel growled to me.

"Probably because he's sneaky and never wants a confrontation that he knows he can't win."

"Why don't you make a trap for him?" Ryker asked. "Is it possible to trap angels?"

"Not yet, but I'm sure that Deirdre can come up with one if she works together with Magnus," Raziel told him. When I began to protest, he gave me a stern look before saying, "Oh no, you don't. You are the best at what you do and so is he. If I can't catch Xavier, then a trap needs to be made and this is the only way."

I just glared at him for a while before nodding my consent. Raziel gave me a small smile and told us both that the project of creating an angel trap would start tomorrow. We spent the rest of the day lounging about and talking about plans to stop Xavier if either failed. But I was certain that these were the only two plans we needed. If Raziel couldn't find him, then I wouldn't fail to trap him.


End file.
