"Mummy!" Lizzie screamed. She could see it coming, slithering down the street as she looked out of her window. Her mother raced inside and yanked the curtains closed. "Mummy the monsters coming!"

"Its not there, it's just your imagination." She said in a soothing voice as she picked the toddler up.

"It was I saw it!" Lizzie cried, tears running down her face.

"It was just a shadow, there must be a bug in front of the streetlight. A busy bee or a snail." Her mother said hugging her.

"Oh." She stopped crying. "Like last night?" Her mother paused but Lizzie didn't notice.

"Yes." She said finally. "Like last night. Now you get some sleep, we're visiting your aunt tomorrow."

"Mummy?"

"Yes honey?"

"Why isn't daddy here? When I started school last week." Lizzie paused, she was very please to be at school like all her cousins. "Everyone else had a daddy and they said I couldn't not have one." Her mother turned pale then smiled.

"Because he loves you." She left the room and closed the door so it was dark again save for the thin slip coming from the closed door. Lizzie heard her mothers footsteps but couldn't hear her sobbing. Lizzie closed her eyes and fell straight to sleep.

Eight years later

"Mum, I'm twelve not two!" Lizzie shouted, her mother flinched. "You can't just keep telling me that the dad I never knew isn't here 'because he loves me'!"

"Okay." She sighed. "Sit down, I'll tell you but it's a long story and you might not believe me. You can have the day off school too."

"Okay, thank you." Lizzie smiled after taking a deep breath. She was still in her pyjamas, her hair straight down her back despite just waking up. "Why do I need the day off school?"

"Because you'll be late by the time I've finished telling you and you won't want to go to school until you've processed it properly." Her mother seemed worried, her eyes wide as if looking for something that wasn't there. A few minutes later the school had been told Lizzie was ill.

"What is it then?" Lizzie asked as she sat across from her mother.

"Your dad." She sighed. "He died when you were two. There's these people called shadow hunters, they protect ordinary people from horrid things that are perceived to be myth and fantasy. Demons, the things that you see at night that give you nightmares. I hated lying to you all this time, telling you that it was your imagination. Me and your dad, even you, are or were shadow hunters. I left the shadow hunters after your dad died protecting you from a demon, a strong one. It almost killed me too, it would have done if he hadn't jumped in the way. H-h-he." Lizzie's mother began crying and she could feel tears welling up in her own eyes. "He lived with us in a ruin castle, it was always ours and still is but the demon had friends so to speak and they knew where the castle was. I took you away but now, the demons have figured out where we are. The demon that I killed, killed your dad was what's called a greater demon, it had allies that are even stronger than it was. We are no longer safe here. We are going back to that castle."

"Where is it?" Lizzie asked.

"America." Her mother sighed. "I know its a long way away but it's safe. I have a friend there who can look after us as well."

"Okay but what was dads name?"

"James, but we all called him Jem."

"Anything else?" Lizzie didn't think she could manage anymore shocks.

"Yes, I am, although I'm a shadow hunter I am also a warlock. I am half human half demon. I'm the first shadow hunter to ever be a warlock but being a warlock makes me immortal. I had other children once, with a man named Will however they were ordinary shadow hunters but you aren't. Your dad was once something called a silent brother, I will explain that later but somehow although you are a shadow hunter you are immortal. Not that you can't be killed but you have all the attributes of a shadow hunter except like me you won't age." Lizzie's heart seemed to skip a beat. "I'll explain it all later, I can't do this on my own we will meet my friend nearby and travel together to America. I've arranged to meet him tomorrow morning so quickly go and pack."

Her room was as it always had been, plain white and small with a plain bed next to the window. As she looked it seemed to look even more temporary every second. Her belongings were in boxes under her bed. She didn't have much, her imagination had always replaced TV and books so she never had any need for them. She had a few dolls she had almost destroyed by playing with them so much, her clothes, a pad and pencil case, her school things and a small laptop. She picked up a backpack and put the dolls and their clothes inside along with the laptop, pad and pencil case. She then took a suitcase her mother had put next to her bed that morning and put her clothes inside. She noticed there was plenty of space left so filled it with her school things deciding she may need them there. The suitcase was fairly large so even with all her possessions inside there was still space. It took less than an hour to finish packing. Lizzie felt like falling onto the bed and crying but something stopped her, she realised some part of her knew that she couldn't rest, that the monsters she saw every night were real and that they were coming for her and her mother.

"Finished packing already?" Her mother asked standing in the doorway, she was smiling now.

"Yeah." Lizzie answered.

"Good, so have I, I'd already finished last night." She laughed nervously. "My friend is already here, he came early to check on us. Do you want to come and say hello? I've already made you a cup of tea." Lizzie followed her mother back into the living room, it was bare save for a coffee table, sofa and two armchairs. The doors to every other room were all that decorated the walls. It was a plain flat compared to Lizzie's friends. Not that she had many, most thought she was weird, screaming at monsters only she could see. On one of the chairs sat a man with sparkly blue hair and a plain black suit, he smiled at Lizzie as she came in. Next to him stood a grumpy looking man that seemed the same age, he had black hair and blue eyes.

"Hello. This is your daughter Tessa?" The blue haired man asked.

"Yes." Her mother replied smiling. Lizzie thought it was weird that all three of them only looked nineteen but knew that at least two of them were much older, maybe they don't age like her mother said she didn't. "Lizzie this is Magnus and next to him his partner Alec." She looked up and smiled at Alec. "Would you prefer a chair?"

"No thanks." Alec replied, still not smiling.

"Fair enough, you're a lot like your ancestors you know. Except maybe a little more grumpy." Tessa smiled.

"I find the Herondale and Lightwood relationships over the years to be quite amusing." Magnus said.

"Especially Will and Gabriel." Tessa laughed.

"Hmm yes. What did they hate each other for again?" Magnus asked.

"I think it was because Will embarrassed Gabriel's younger sister when they were both little so they got into a fight and Will broke Gabriel's arm so Will never stopped bragging and Gabriel never let it go." Tessa continued laughed. Bot Lizzie and Alec looked utterly bewildered.

"And to think Cecily married Gabriel." Magnus smiled. "Jace is very similar to Will you know although Alec isn't very much like James."

"Who are these people?" Alec asked.

"You're long dead relatives." Magnus said dismissively.

"Subtle." Tessa remarked. Alec seemed to jump up and Magnus and Tessa immediately became more alert. "What is it?"

"A demon." Alec hissed. Then he pulled a glowing knife from inside his jacket and threw it at something, a shadow behind a slightly open doorway. There was a screech and Lizzie screamed.

"Magnus can we go now please?" Tessa said, hugging Lizzie.

"Of course." He answered.