The monster snarled and bared his fangs. The air had the scent of cold, rotten flesh. It growled deep in its throat, eyes flashing to the girl to its right. Kristen stood, seraph blade in hand, ready for battle. She quickly looked around to see if her parabatai was here for battle. Shadows, lights, but no Alexis. Where is she, Kristen thought nervously. The monster swiped its enormous claw in her direction, giving Kristen just enough of a second to jump clear out of the way. Large jaws snapped and snagged at her clothing, centimeters from where the bare skin of her upper arm was located. Kristen swore under her breath and swung the blade, aiming for the monsters head. SLASH! The monster wailed and flinched back. Blood oozed from its arm.
"Oh crap!" Kristen ran, but she was not fast enough to escape the large monster's attack. Kristen was slung against the brick wall of one of the buildings. She felt her teeth chatter, and her brain rattle in her skull. Breathing hard, she looked up to see the monster standing over her, ready to finish the job. Drool dripped from its mouth onto her arm. The smell of musk and death filled her nostrils, making bile rise in the back of her throat. Kristen closed her eyes waiting for her death. Then, she heard a cry of fury, a cry of a warrior. Her eyes opened to see Alexis jumping onto the back of the creature, whipping out her seraph blade.
"Malik," Alexis yelled and her blade began to glow a fluorescent purple. Bringing the blade down, she sliced one of the monster's ears off. The wail the monster gave sent shudders down Kristen's spine. Suddenly Alexis jumped down in front of her, guarding Kristen from the monsters next attack. The sound of blade cutting flesh loudly echoed in the alley. Alexis growled under her breath, a sound of frustration and determination. Hands clasped Kristen's shoulders. She looked up into the eyes of her boyfriend.
"Will! You're here!" Kristen felt relieved. She felt safe.
"Get her out of here, Will," Alexis yelled loudly before turning her attention back to the creature, attacking it with all of her strength. Will nodded before helping Kristen from the alley, just enough so he could protect her, and watch to see if Alexis needed any sort of back up. Alexis kicked the monster's jaws away from her. Before the creature could react, Alexis brought the blade up, into the monsters jaw. The sound was sickening, the smell even more so. Suddenly, the monster vanished in smoke, leaving Alexis standing alone. She was covered with sweat, dirt and blood. She finally turned and saw Will and Kristen watching. Alexis smiled triumphantly.
"Demons… such troublesome creatures," she said arrogantly. Kristen shook her head, in awe and in utter disappointment.
"Alexis! What the heck were you thinking!? Acting so irrationally! You could have been killed," Kristen yelled, frustrated. Will scowled and nodded swiftly, clearly agreeing to what she was saying. All Alexis did was roll her big blue eyes, hips shifting with attitude.
"Well, you know, I didn't die, now did I? So, just chill out. I saved your life and all you have to say is that I acted stupid? Really, Kristen, come on. Oh, and Will? You have no room to talk. You would have acted the same way." Will opened his mouth to disagree, but couldn't. Kristen shook her head and stood, walking over to Alexis, clearly angry with how overconfident she was acting.
"You don't get it. We are parabatai. You die, I feel pain. I get hurt, you feel that I am in danger. We are like blood sisters. All you do is act li-"
"I know, Kristen," Alexis said. She has heard this speech so many times, she had memorized it years ago. All she could do was let her have her say. That is how it always was.
"Kristen. Look at me," Will said calmly," You know that that is the way Alexis fights. There is no changing. If you hadn't understood that, you wouldn't have made her your parabatai. All you can do is learn to cope with it. Alexis, you do act recklessly. We are just worried about you and what might happen. Just try to at least think about what you are going to do before you act on it." William always seemed like the joker type, which he was, most of the time. But, when matters became serious, he always sobers up and says the right things. William Morgenstern is a good man, no matter that his father is the son of Lilith.
Rolling her eyes, Alexis turned her back to them and walked over to where the demon stood just moments before. Though it was gone, the rotten smell it left behind still lingered in the air. Ashes lay on the ground, having a lavender tint from the poison that ran in its veins. Alexis tensed. A little piece of the demon was still intact. Stomping on it, the blob disappeared into smoke. She hated demons. All they were were monsters that tormented the living, killing them, possessing them. It was a shadowhunter's job to rid the world of these beast.
Will came up behind her and pulled her arm to make Alexis look at him. "Alexis. It's gone. That demon is not coming ba-"
"How the hell do you know," Alexis spat, interrupting," That demon just went back to the darkest depths of hell to heal. It will be back, because that is what they do. They are like parasites. No matter how much you smoke them out, no matter how much you kill them, they always come back. That's not the only thing. Those demons come back prepared for the fight." Alexis felt her heart speed up, and her breathing shorten. The world became slanted. "Will…" She grabbed for Will's arm, just before falling into darkness.