Chapter 1: Introduction
"Don't be such a puss, Skye!" Jeremiah Blackthorn complained, tapping his foot to the sound of the hollow night. Behind him was a girl, not more than 16 years of age, looking impatient. Her blonde locks were out of place, yet the glimmer in her beautiful blue eyes still made her look beautiful.
"Sometimes, I think you forget I'm a girl," the girl mumbled, looking down at her muddy self.
"I'm not supposed to treat you as a girl. You are Nephilim, and that's all that matters. Got that?"
"Do you even know where you're going? We've been out here for ages, and I'm pretty sure the thing you just saw isn't a demon. It's probably just a hallucination since you're head isn't in the correct place. The breakup with Olivia was kind of harsh wasn't it?" She was testing him. She knew that Jeremiah would never hate her. After all, they were parabatai, lifelong partners.
Jeremiah turned around and looked deep into Skye's alluring eyes. He smiled and said, "You're probably right. Let's get back to the Institute."
Chicago in the middle of the night is a frightful place. Demons are lurking all over the place, vampires and werewolves throwing parties of their own, and warlocks guarded the city with much care. The Institute, being near the heart of Chicago, is the safest place for all the Nephilim to be in. When Jeremiah and Skye reached their home, they felt a heavy weight lifted off their shoulders.
"Hey, what time is it?" Jeremiah asked Skye. She checked her phone. 12:56 a.m.
"Its kinda weird how the lights are still on isn't it?" Skye responded, guessing what was on Jeremiah's mind. This wasn't anything unusual to the two teenagers. They could practically finish each other's sentences.
"Mabel and Caesar are going to kill us," said Jeremiah, walking towards the front door of the Institute. Although more crowded than other Shadowhunter Institutes in the world, it has been Jeremiah and Skye's home for most of their life. Jeremiah and Skye walked in and saw the whole household waiting by the front door. Jeremiah flinched in shock.
"You all obsessed with us or something?" Jeremiah joked. The heads of the Institute, Mabel and Caesar Ravenscar, did not look amused. Behind them stood 5 beautiful teenagers and 2 other adults. Caroline and Laurel, the maids, Wilma, the cook, and Fred, the guard, were there as well.
"It isn't you we're all waiting for, Jer," commented a blonde haired boy, Julian. The suspense broke and everyone started talking at the same time.
"Who's coming?" Skye asked Mabel while hugging her. Skye has nobody in her life before she came to the Institute. When Mabel looks at her, she could only see a vision of a 10-year-old Skye, ragged and filthy, standing in the cold rain in front of the Institute. Even then she looked exquisite.
"A Shadowhunter from the London Institute is coming here for a little visit. He is a Herondale." Jeremiah looked thrilled.
"I heard he's a total hottie!" exclaimed a brunette behind Mabel, about the same age as Skye. She looks exactly like Jeremiah, her older brother. Both siblings are pleasant to look at, even more pleasant to look at than vampires.
"Bree, I thought you were dating Winston?" Jeremiah chimed in. Winston's face turned as red as his hair. He was the oldest one amongst the group.
"When did that happen?" Caesar joined in.
"Father, don't…" Winston responded.
"Bree, I thought you had your eyes on Julian!" Skye teased. Julian was frustrated, and the other blonde girl, Amber, was not joining the group, being in her own little world. She just came to the Institute 6 months ago, due to her parents dying in a tragic car crash. She just doesn't like participating with the group.
"At least I don't have my eyes on your parabatai like Amber does!" Rose screamed. Amber looked annoyed, and Mabel stopped our bickering.
"We have to wait for this Herondale guy now? Midnight?" Jeremiah complained. Julian nodded along.
"I suppose it is getting a bit too late. You kids go up to your rooms and the adults will wait." All the kids started going up the stairs, and Jeremiah felt relieved that no one seemed to notice that he was out late again without permission.
"Thank god everyone was too busy with this guest thing to even notice that we were gone hunting demons," whispered Jeremiah to Skye.
"We heard that," the woman standing next to Mabel exclaimed. It was Jeremiah and Rose's mother, Rosalie Blackthorn. Their father, Ramsey Blackthorn, also eyed Jeremiah and Skye, "We'll deal with that tomorrow."
All the kids, including Winston, were heading towards the entertainment room, a room that was added just recently to the part of the Institute that wasn't built on holy grounds. Amber went the opposite way, not wanting to be a part of the group.
"Not coming along, Amber?" Skye asked. Even though she has a hot temper and can never be serious, Skye had a quality in her that made her extremely likeable and genuine in whatever she does. Even Amber couldn't resist loving her.
"I'm tired, but thank you for offering," Amber replied, going inside her room. Skye smiled and shook it off.
"What's her deal?" Julian asked.
"Don't be like that! She has gone through a lot." Winston protested. He was the mature one of the group, always being wise and making the right decisions.
"It's been 6 months, mate. With an attitude like that, she's never going to get a boyfriend," Jeremiah laughed and high-fived Julian. Those two were meant for each other. They find ways on making everything a big joke.
"Are you kidding me? Stop it!" Winston said.
"You three going to argue all night? I'm not in the mood. I'll be in my room," Bree said.
"Me too!" Skye joined her friend.
"I'm out if my lady's out," Julian said, following Skye.
"For the love of God, SHE BROKE UP WITH YOU!" shouted Jeremiah.
"Well, Wins, its just the two of us then. Men's night out it is!"
"Goodbye Jeremiah," Winston said as he left.