Prologue

Tessa Gray was walking home from the library with two books in her hands. Two new adventure books; filled with heroes and monsters. Just as she turned the corner, a drunk man grabbed her arm. The man was short, fat, bald and had yellow teeth. He wore filthy clothing which consisted of a shirt, torn pants, and shoes with holes.

"Hey, pretty lady." He said. His breath stunk of alcohol.

Before Tessa could say anything or run away, the man pushed her to the ground. He pushed her so hard, she let go of her books. That sparked a fire in Tessa. She kicked the man in the last place a man would want to be kicked. As the man fell to his knees, Tessa quickly got to her feet. Then she punched him in the nose. He fell back onto the dirt road, groaning in pain. Realizing that Tessa was not to be messed with, the man quickly crawled away.

"Nice one, sis." A familiar voice spoke.

When Tessa turned, she saw her sister, Emma Swan, holding her books. She handed them to Tessa and the two of them calmly walked away from where Tessa had beaten up that drunk man. While they are not sure that they share blood, the two of them grew up in the same orphanage. They were both left outside of the orphanage on the same night, together. At first, they were believed to be twins, but that was questioned as they got older. Emma grew blonde hair and had brown eyes. Tessa, on the other hand, has curly brown hair and emerald-green eyes.

"Thank you, sister." Tessa said with a smile. "Care to walk home together."

"Afraid I can't." Emma replied. "The Sheriff has me guarding some merchandise belonging to a wealthy noblemen. It will be shipped across the sea tomorrow."

"If this merchandise is so valuable, should there not be knights guarding it?" Tessa asked.

"Oh, there are." Emma said. "But the noblemen is rather paranoid. He wants all the protection for this stuff as he can get."

"I wonder what is inside it that warrants such concern." Tessa said, full of curiosity.

"I have no idea." Emma replied. "When I asked the knights, they told me flat out that they wouldn't trust me with such important information! They also said if I tried to see what it was, they would throw me in jail!"

"The nerve of those knights!" Tessa said.

"I know!" Emma said. "And I have to be with them until the ship arrives tomorrow at noon."

"Well, if you're still guarding it tomorrow morning, I'll bring you some breakfast." Tessa said.

"Thanks so much, sister." Emma replied.

After that, Tessa headed home with her books. Emma stopped by the pub to have a quick drink before heading to the harbor.

In the forest outside the village, two Shadowhunters were killing a demon. The younger of the two stabbed the reptilian creature with his dagger. Almost instantly, the creature was turned to dust and the dust quickly disappeared, back to whatever dark corner of creation that had spawned it.

"Well done, Bae." Will said.

"It was easier than I expected." Bae bragged.

Despite being a year younger than Will, Bae was the same height as him. Both of them had dark-black hair, and had swords strapped to their backs. However, Bae was skinner and had brown eyes. Will has eyes as blue as ocean water. Attached to his belt, Bae has a number of throwing daggers. On the other hand, Will carried two swords, a hatchet, and brass knuckles. Like all Shadowhunters, they wore light leather gear. The only difference was Bae's armor had a hood. The only difference was Bae's gear had a hood. The two were both quite handsome.

"Come on," Will said. "If we get back to the Institute fast enough, there might be some roast beef left. Assuming Jason had a snack before dinner."

They shared a laugh as they walked through the woods. Suddenly, Bae came to a halt.

"Did you hear that?" He asked.

Will listened carefully to his surroundings. He soon heard footsteps, not far away. Strange, that someone would be in the woods so late at night. Perhaps another demon? Bae grabbed a dagger from his belt, while Will drew one on his swords. Stealthily, the two of them made their way through the trees. They saw a man walking clumsily away from the village. At first, he seemed like an ordinary man who had had too much to drink at the pub.

In the forest outside the village, two Shadowhunters were killing a demon. The youngest of the two stabbed the creature between the ribs with his dagger. Almost instantly, the creature turned to dust and the dust quickly disappeared, back to whatever dark corner of creation that had spawned it.

"Well done, Bae." Will said.

"It was easier than I expected." Bae bragged.

Despite being a year younger than Will, Bae was the same height as him. Both of them had black hair, and had swords strapped to their backs. However, Bae was skinner and had brown eyes. Will has eye that are blue like sea water. Attached to his belt, Bae has a number of throwing daggers. On the other hand, Will carried two swords, a hatchet, and brass knuckles. Like all Shadowhunters, they wore black leather gear. The only difference was Bae's gear had a hood.

"Come on," Will said. "If we get back to the Institute fast enough, there might be some roast beef left. Assuming Jason had a snack before dinner."

They shared a laugh as they walked through the woods. Suddenly, Bae came to a halt.

"Did you hear that?" He asked.

Will listened carefully to his surroundings. He soon heard footsteps, not far away. Strange, that someone would be in the woods this late at night. Perhaps it was another demon. Bae grabbed a dagger from his belt, while Will drew one of his swords. Stealthily, the two of them made their way through the trees. They saw a man walking clumsily in opposite direction of the village. At first, Will thought he was just some lost drunk man. Until he applied a Nightvision rune to his skin. Immediately, he realized that it was only made to look like a man. While the thing wore a brown coat, pants, and shoes, it was clearly inhuman. First, it had no face; just a smooth metal surface with two red half-spheres where a person's eyes would be located. Its left hand had no fingers. In their place was a short blade. The right hand had three fingers, including the thumb. However, it had gears the clearly functioned as joints.

Neither Will no Bae had ever seen such a thing. It needed to be investigated. Will stepped out from the shadows and straight into its path.

"I command you, in the name of the Nephilim, to identify yourself!" Will said.

Only a moment after Will finished his sentence, the odd thing went completely berserk. It charged at him, swinging its blade hand wildly. Will countered the attack with his sword. Quickly. he realized that its attacks had a lot of power behind them. Also, the metallic being could move quite fast. However, its clumsy movements kept it from landing many blows. Once Will got the thing into the proper position, Bae came out of the bushes and began throwing his daggers at it. Most of them bounced off; like they hit solid rock. However, one dagger got stuck inside the shoulder area. Now, it was having trouble moving its left arm. Then, Will thrust his sword into its chest. There were loud ticking noises that slowly quieted. Despite having a sword in its chest, the metal being remained standing.

"What is this thing?" Bae asked Will.

"No clue." He replied. "I have never seen, read, or heard of a creature like this."

"We should take it back to the Institute, so Henry can examine it." Bae suggested.

Before Will could reply, the metallic being began to speak. Even though it did not have a mouth, it spoke perfectly. Its voice was inhuman and plain with a flat tone. There was no emotion in its voice, at all.

Beware Nephilim! Your end is near!

"What are you?!" Will asked.

Beware Nephilim! Your end in near!

"We definitely need to have Henry take a look at this thing." Bae said.