Shadowcaster

Magnus Bane walked quietly down the street. In all the years of his life he had never felt so pulled to something before. Logic told him to stay away but in the end curiosity won out. Just before he turned into the alley he heard something crash into what sounded like a dumpster and and the screech of an Ahiab demon. He slowly turned into an alley to find a girl covered in blood, standing in before the demon. Magnus tilted his head, cat eyes seeming to glow.

The girl was pretty though not in the usual way, straight black hair that fell in waves to her shoulders. Her eyes were glowing a dark violet in the dark of the alley, giving her a mystical look and accentuating the pretty angles of her face.

With a different haircut Magnus thought she would look like a 1940s movie star. That is if 1940 movie stars carried glowing swords and had black tattoos all over their bodies.

Her face was set in determination but her blood seemed to coat the alley. Something silver moved behind her and caught his attention. Two small wolf demons were behind her, both coated in their own silver blood.

'Strange,' he thought ,a shadow hunter defending demons against another demon.' With a flick of his wrist the Ahiab demon was gone.

The silver haired girl stared at the empty space that the demon had just before occupied, then fell to the ground, unconscious. With a sigh Magnus lifted her up, noticing that she was heavier than he expected, he had already noticed she was heavier than most shadowhunters but he now realized she was also strong. Then they were gone, appearing seconds later in his living room.

"Damn," the warlock muttered under his breath, "just had the carpet cleaned."

Kayadena Dragonheart groaned as she pulled herself up on the soft sheets. Her hand shot to her back where her swords should have been. Panic rose in her chest at the missing weapons. Hazy mempries came to her of the night in the alley, the demons had ambushed her when she was wounded, the first two escaped but the last and biggest Ahiab demon had stayed trying to eat the little wolf demon pups.

"Now that you're awake, why don't you explain to me why a shadowhunter was defending two demons," he paused waiting for her to look up. "but then again you aren't exactly a shadowhunter are you?"

Kaya looked up at the man, amazed she hadn't noticed him before. Pain shot through her body from the sudden movement as she took the stranger in: black hair with streaks of different colors, a sharp angular face and yellow-green eyes.

"Magnus Bane?" she asked, her voice unfamiliar and shaky.

The man tilted his head silently, "For now," he answered.

"I need your help. I need someone to teach magic."

Magnus studied the girl on the bed, suspicion in his eyes. He was pretty sure he knew what she was but the last time he had heard Shadowcasters couldn't use magic.

"Name?"

"Kayadena Dragonheart."

He arched an eyebrow as Kaya repositioned herself on the bed casting a worried look around the room. He assumed she was looking for the weapons he had to practically pry from her unconscious body. Magnus was surprised he hadn't recognized her before. The Dragonheart bloodline were the closest shadowhunters had gotten to royalty in the old days before they were discovered to be associating with demons. They were known for having eyes that looked like jewels, they came in any color precious gems did but rarely were there any living at the same time with the same color eyes. The cirl in front of him had eyes the color of Tanzanite.

"Now I don't associate with the those cast out of the Clave often but last I checked those who call themselves 'Shadowcasters' cant use magic."

The girl stretched her arms and pulled herself up from the bed, stretching her long arms above her head and yawning. When she opened her eyes she seemed like a completely different person. The confusion was gone from her eyes, replaced by a steely determination. She stood up straight, almost regally, her arms were crossed and her chin tucked in ever so slightly.

"Times have changed. Shadowcasters have evolved, some of us have taken on demonic abilities, some angelic." Kaya paused watching the warlock in front of her. "Some, like my family, developed the abilities of warlocks as well." A small striped grey cat pushed the door open and into the room jumping on the bed and settling where Kaya had just been sleeping. Magnus settled into the bed next to the cat and watched the girl in front of him quietly.

"Assuming I do believe you, which I don't, why would I help you?"

Fear crossed her face so quickly Magnus wasn't sure he really it really happened.

"Please," she said pleadingly, "I need to save my brothers. There have been…" she paused as if trying to decide how to continue, "developments… I neet to learn how to use my magic or my brothers will be killed. As long as you help me I will do anything you ask, finding ingredients, killing demons, anything. Please just help me."

Magnus was silent as he stroked the cat. After what seemed like forever he finally looked up a smirk on his face.

"You do anything I say. From today on, you're my slave. Got that?"

Kaya nodded and started thanking him as the two wolf demons from the alley ran into the room barking their puppy barks.

One Year Later…

The pounding music filled Kaya's mind as she moved around the padded training room. Her sword moved as an extension of herself cutting and slashing through the air. She moved with the music practicing each step she had learned as a child. Her body was now taught with muscle that she had built up day after day. After the fight with the Ahiab demon she vowed to never get caught unaware again. In the corner of the room sat Yin and Chi, the wolf demons from the alley. Yin had grown completely silver and Chi, his sister, into a sleek black wolf. Both were the size of small dogs at the moment, probably weighing around 50 pounds but Kaya knew how quickly that could change. She paused from her practice and cocked her head to the side listening. With a sigh she pulled the remote for the stereo from her pocket and silenced the music as Magnus padded up the stairs.

"What brings you here?" she asked, grapping a towel from the table in the corner and wiping the sweat from her brow.

"I need you to run an errand."

She watched him, a questioning look on her face.

"They need a spell in Idris, keep your arms covered when you go. They think you're a magician in training named Kay."

Kaya nodded and pulled on a sweatshirt, "you came all the way here to tell me that?"

He smiled, "no, I decided to allow you the pleasure of my company. I also wanted to see how your hair came out."

Kaya laughed and ran a hand through her hair. It was now silver and short, the sides were shaved and the rest of it stuck out at odd angles somehow giving her a fey-like image. Magnus raised his hand to his cheek and answered his phone. He then excused himself and turned back down the stairs. She followed down into the first floor of her apartment. With a flick of her finger the door locked after Magnus and Kaya dropped the towel over a chair and headed towards the bathroom for a shower.