His hair spilled out over the pillow like silk, catching the spark off the moonlight spilling into my bedroom through the window. My breath caught in my throat as I took him in - he was on his side, one arm folded under a pillow as his chest rose and fell with the steady rhythm of sleep.

I knew what he was.

Shadowhunter.

The language of the angel was scrawled along his chest in black ink, the stories of battles won and lost adorned his skin like chapters in a book.

I could feel the heat of his breath. I knew I should feel scared - I should be screaming for help, hoping my sister in the next room hears me and rushes to my rescue. But I didn't.

I not only knew what he was, but who he was.

Sebastian Morgenstern.

"Given up on trying to burn down the world?" I ask, my voice sounding distant and calm to my own ears.

His eyes snapped open - two pits of endless voids gazing through the mirrored black voids of my own, I could sense a terrible sadness in those eyes, mixed with something else entirely - a desire for destruction. Anyone else would have found it unnerving - the pallor of his skin, contrasted with the onyx depths of his eyes, but I didn't.

Maybe because I stared at those eyes in the mirror every morning, scowling at their terrible dullness.

I didn't think they were dull anymore.

His lips curled into a grin, despite his looks, the smile transformed his whole face into something broken and twisted. "Merely seeking an accomplice, care to join?" his voice was low, crackling from sleep.

Desire swept through my veins. Desire to be by this broken boy, to help him achieve glory. Did that make me a bad person? I didn't know. Doesn't everyone seek some form of glory?

I grinned back, my blood racing at the thought of an unknown future.

"It'll be my pleasure."

I should have been nervous, I know. I should have been wondering why on earth Sebastian Morgenstern had sought me out in particular as an accomplice. Above all, I should've been questioning my sanity regarding the fact that a fictional character from a book series was now a living, breathing human being. It was disturbing that the thing that frightened me the most wasn't a fictional character coming to life, but the lack of reaction to it on my behalf.

I was calm.

Too calm. It felt as if I was caught on a fishing hook, getting dragged along for the ride towards one inevitable destination. A calm of submission washing over me as I let myself be dragged to the surface, eager to escape the dull murkiness that was my mundane life.

Of course, there had been only one answer to his question, and that had been yes. Somewhere, deep inside me, I felt a pull, a need to follow Sebastian into whatever trouble he would most likely get us both into. I felt no guilt as I tied the laces of my Nike Free shoes and tied my hair with a ponytail I always kept around my wrist. No guilt for leaving my parents, or sister who I loved to bits. It was as if I was a different person, and I wasn't so sure I liked it.

I watched as Sebastian wandered around my room, observing everything with a feverish fascination, picking up books and flipping through them as if he was searching for something. I felt the cold unwelcome shiver of certainty that I wouldn't see my room again - my room of seventeen years that I was now leaving behind for a complete stranger.

I grabbed my necklace on the bedside table, something I never left the house without, and started securing it around my neck. "Can we address the elephant in the room?" I whispered, not wanting to disturb my sleeping family. The soft light from my bedside lamp was on, lighting the room in an eerie glow. Sebastian grunted, go on, it said.

I took a deep breath."You do realise that, to me, you are an evil fictional villain in a book series?"

He picked up a whale plush toy on my desk and looked at it with amusement. It had buttons for eyes and didn't really resemble that of a whale at all, just a big fat blue blob. I didn't dare tell Sebastian it's name was Willy.

"The 'evil' in that statement was terribly unnecessary." he muttered.

At my silence he continued "Evil and villain, it practically means the same thing.

You might as well have said 'villainous fictional villain'" he clarified helpfully.

"Yeah well, you were twice the jerk that the word 'villain' encompasses, hence the additional 'evil' to further prove my point, anyway, as I was saying,"

Sebastian cut me off, "You're wondering why I, a beloved character from a book series-"

"Beloved" I scoffed quietly but Sebastian continued as if he hadn't heard me

"-has come to life and taken a sudden interest in an ordinary seventeen year old girl?" he placed Willy back on my desk and flicked its tail.

"I'm not ordinary." I said, my voice coming out quiet and cold. It was something I had known for a long time, that I wasn't like girls my age. Too many things separated me from the rest of the world - my determination, my values. Holding my breath under the swimming pool at the age of nine when I found out I had a minor case of asthma, training myself to run long lengths, stopping only when I collapsed in exhaustion. At first I had hated it, being different, strong-minded, but I no longer cared.

Sebastian smiled at my response, turning to look at me as I touched the pendant at my neck, a habit. "No, I can tell you're most definitely not ordinary Shannae Koster for most mundanes would never oppose to being called ordinary. As for me, well, I come from a different dimension, one where the stories you have read are based on truths, where Shadowhunters and Downworlders are real, where demons run wild and rip wounds into the world that bleed a crimson red, where we find life by following the blood of those that hurt others."

I could see the pulse jump at the base of his throat, his voice growing not in volume, but in passion. It was how my grandparents would sound when they talked about God, something they believed in with unwavering devotion.

"My world is not a safe one Shannae, but where you have read about me here, I, also, have read about you." He shook his head, chuckling, "And let me tell you, I am not disappointed."

His gaze seemed to scan me, as if it were the first time he was seeing me. My calves, hips, the curve of my chest. I could see him register every part of me and I felt as exposed as if I were standing naked in front of a thousand blaring eyes, vulnerable to every piece of scrutiny.

I crossed my arms, trying to ignore the pounding of my heart under his gaze. "You've read about me?" I asked dubiously "It didn't happen to be titled 'Shannae's guide to a successful introvert life' was it?"

At my mocking tone the humour fell from his face, replaced by a slight frown between his brows. He opened his mouth and quickly closed it. I couldn't quite interpret his expression and it scared me - It was a curious and calculating look and strangely sad. One that gripped at my heart and twisted until the first drop of fear washed through my body, igniting my blood like fire to gasoline.

Before I could say anything Sebastian's body went rigid as he turned his head to the side, eyes unfocusedly downcast to the wooden floorboard. Soundlessly, he strode to the window and stood there, the light from underneath the curtain bouncing off the floor and causing his boots to gleam.

He moved with all the grace of a trained dancer, looking almost gentle, but I knew better than to be deceived, he was Nephilim after all.

Part Demon and Angel. An intrusive voice reminded me, not an ordinary Nephilim.

He put a finger to his lips, "Demons." he said and gestured to the door."Can you hear that?" he whispered as I leaned closer to the door.

I strained my ears, trying to hear what Sebastian could. I could hear the rustle of palm trees. the occasional whistle of the wind as it howled down William street. I pressed my ear against the cold wooden surface and frowned. There. Just a faint sound. Something like an animalistic growl, too low and rumbling to be that of a dog. The sound was so dim I doubted anyone could've heard it without knowing what they were looking for.

I froze. No, not just a growl. Growls.

I suddenly became aware of the proximity between me and Sebastian. His eyes were glued to mine, a serious expression on his lips that told me he was waiting eagerly to see if I registered what he had heard. The look of involuntary fear I gave him answered the unspoken question as he reached into his belt, causing the muscles on his bare chest to move under the pale illumination of moonlight.

"The portal isn't far from here, it opened up by the river near Queens park."

I gaped at him, "You just opened an inter-dimensional portal near the Mary river? us proud Maryborough-ians find that offensive."

What could I say? it was a small town, and the people in Maryborough, which mostly consisted of pensioners and retirees, were a proud lot. The brown muddy river was the highlight of the town, if not the only one.

"Mary?" he asked, amused.

"Mary Poppins." I clarified, waiting for the realisation to dawn on his face. He looked at me and frowned. "Oh come on! Mary Poppins?" I hissed. " Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious? A teaspoon of sugar? nothing?"

"You're either beginning to hallucinate, or you're just downright insane." he concluded.

I scowled. Something flashed behind his ear, catching the light for just a second. It was too dark for me to make out what it was, or what Sebastian was looking for as he bent down to retrieve something in the side of his boot. The flash appeared again, and this time, I realised what it was - an earring. A silver band that caressed the cartilage of his upper ear.

My lungs tightened. Sebastian never wore an earring in the books.

I began to wonder just how much of the story I grew up reading was true, and the rest false.

"The demons have entered through the portal from my dimension. They're attracted to the scent of Angels, which would mean me." He gave me a calculating look as he straightened, something gleamed in his hand. "Or us."
A warm hand enclosed my own as Sebastian pressed something cold and hard into my palms, I took it, balancing the weight of the object in my hand.
A seraph blade.

"We can't leave them to roam wild on an unprotected world, we'll have to dispatch them before we go. Ready?" he asked.

I widened my eyes, unsure of what being 'ready' meant. If it meant having four hours of sleep and no food for the past twelve hours than I more of less fit the criteria.

Despite the pit of cold that had began to spread through my veins like ice the corners of my mouth twitched into what I supposed looked like a really forced smile. "I was born ready."

He gave a nod of approval, "Name it"

There was a challenge behind those words, an unspoken test behind his colourless eyes as he watched me intently, like I was the most fascinating thing in the world to him.

"Raziel" I called the first name that came to mind as the weapon exploded with a blaring white glow, in the dead silence it seemed to hum as the name of an angel activated the power of adamas.

Sebastian's breath caught in his throat, as if surprised.

He grinned. "That's my girl."