Her nerves tingled as Will turned the emerald green box over in his hand. "What do you think?"
"It's creepy." The girl responded, her slim build shook unconciously with trepidation.
"Relax, mai dim ond blwch."
"I know it's just a box," she scowled. Her brother could be extremely irritating at times. The girl leaned forward, peering over Will's shoulder. Her curiosity far overwhelmed the fear that danced around the edges of her heart.
She didn't know why she was so afraid of that simple box. Perhaps it was because they had found it hidden in a fake drawer, why would their father have gone to such lengths to hide just a simple box? Or perhaps, it was because of that ominous and dark atmosphere that the box exuded. Everything about the box screamed creepy and evil.
Will inserted the hair pin she'd supplied into the keyhole and twisted it before lifting the lid of the box open just a crack. Unfortunately for them, just a crack was enough. A stream of black smoke poured out of the box through the tiny opening, sweeping past the twins in a blink of an eye. It gathered again three feet in front of them, swirling wildly like a mini hurricane. The thick black smoke pulsed with a bright blue lustre. The light grew brighter and brighter as the smoke solidified and hardened—finally forming a figure that was a million times more hideous and monstrous to them, than a duck was to Will.
It was enormous, with cobalt-blue scales and jagged teeth. A huge barbed tail swung lazily back and forth behind the creature. It's bulbous black eyes glared lividly at them. If looks could kill, the two of them would have been little piles of ashes in the Silent City by now. The young girl's cry of horror was piercing.
The creature—a demon, roared in response. The loud, shattering sound only served to make her shriek even louder. Her fingers clung desperately to her brother's shirt, twisting it in her fist. She could feel the strong vibrations of his chest as he shouted in alarm as well. Will's pulse beat fast and hard under her tightly clenched fingers. He attempted to swallow back his fear but a strangled scream escaped from his mouth instead.
The demon roared again, advancing towards them menacingly. The siblings stumbled back. Will lost his footing in the thick persian carpet and brought his twin down with him. The girl fought back a curse as she released his shirt. The two of them clutched at each others arms tightly instead, their horrified stares fixated upon the demon before them.
Her limbs felt like lead, unable to move even an inch as the demon hovered over them. It snarled dangerously.
"Go away," she cried weakly, her voice was barely a whisper. Upbraiding herself, she recollected the strength in her throat. "Go away!" She yelled again, the waver in her voice replaced by determination. But what could determination do against a beast like that?
The demon cackled. "Go away?" It smirked in amusement, yet it's eyes held thinly veiled anger. "I think not. I've been trapped in there for over twenty years, and you think I will let the children of my captor go just like that?" The demon hissed, its grotesque face hovering over them like a huge, ugly fly.
Just then, the door to the library burst open. A lean figure darted in, her eyes raging wildly. She brandished a glowing crystal blade in one hand as she leaped to stand in front of her younger brother and sister.
"Ella! No! Fynd allan o'r yma!" Will yelled at her frantically.
"I'm not leaving." Ella stood her ground against the demon, her face set bravely in fortitude. "Get lost demon, I banish you." She glared at the demon with fiery eyes, the seraph blade held out in front of her defiantly.
But the demon merely laughed, a feral cackle that chilled the library and sent an icy tingle down their spines. "Amusing. Very amusing. Come back when you've learnt about pentagrams girl." The demon retorted acidly.
It's tail whipped out, catching Ella by the side and flinging her across the room. The sword tumbled out of her hand, while she hit the wall and slid to the ground with a sickening thump. "Ella!" The younger girl's muscles ached to run to her, to hold her older sister and check if she was all right. But the demon had turned back to them again.
"It is your father I would destroy, but as he is not here, the two of you will have to do." It simpered in glee, rubbing its claw-like hands together at the prospect of revenge. "I curse you both. All who love you will die. Their love will be their destruction. It may take moments, it may take years, but any who look upon you with love will die of it, unless you remove yourself from them forever. And I shall begin it with her." It snarled in Ella's direction, and vanished.
All that was left was a thin puff of black smoke that smelt faintly of rotten apples. Ella had picked herself up by then and she came rushing to the two twelve-year olds, embracing them tightly and whispering comforting words to them.
"Mae'n iawn, everything is going to be fine." The younger girl was able to hold back the torrent of tears that threatened to spill over for her sister's sake. But she worried all the same. 'And I shall begin it with her.' The words echoed endlessly within her head. She scrutinized her sister over and over for injuries, but aside from the small cut where the demon's tail had hit her, Ella was fine.
Nevertheless, she half-expected Ella to fall dead any moment. The other half of her denied the demon's words, and pretended that the curse had never been said. Ella led the shaken pair of twins to bed, tucking them in with a story she made up on the spot. She had a talent for stories, a talent which she used then, weaving an intricate tale about fairies and warlocks. The little boy fell asleep at the first mention of 'glitter', while his twin stayed entranced. Both because of the story, and her concern for Ella.
Despite the enchantment of the beautiful fairies and the handsome warlocks, the little girl never forgot the demon's words. She didn't forget them either, when she woke up the next morning to a shrill howling fraught with grief.
She dragged Will up from the bed beside hers, and the two of them ran out of their room, following the source os the moaning until they finally stopped short outside the room that was Ella's. They peered past the heavy oak door, only to be met with a grisly sight. Ella.
She lay in her bed, as still as a stone. Their mother was hunched over the body, her thin frame heaving with sorrow. Their father knelt beside the bed with little crystal droplets trickling down his face. He stood up instantly when he saw them, moving to hide the greenish-black corpse from their view. The body that looked as though rot had spread throughout the entire corpse from the inside. The body that had used to be Ella's.
Their father strode forward now, ushering them out through the door and back to their own room. He told them it was nothing and wiped his own tears away hastily. He tried to comfort them, to tell them to go back to sleep where their dreams were filled with delightful fantasy and not gruesomely dead sisters. He tried to tell them everything was okay, but the words came out of his mouth as a choking sound instead, and he left the room in a hurry—unable to say or do anything more.
The twins shared a look of despair. Their curse was at work already. "Mae'n rhaid i ni adael." Will whispered to his sister, "Or they will all die."
"I know, but where do we go?" He clenched his fists in frustration, burying his head in his hands. The girl stared forlornly at her brother's despairing form.
Just then, she caught sight of a large, brown object sitting on the nightstand between their beds. She was certain it had not been there the night before.
"Gwilym," she called, before reaching over and picking up the object.
It was a book. The cover was bound tightly with dark brown leather, and words written in gold decorated it. Curved sharply at points, the letters looked menacing and threatening. The metallic gold colour served to enhance its elegance and grandness, but also made them look aloof and uninviting. Three of these words had been written. 'The Shadowhunter's Codex'.
Will peered curiously over her shoulder.
"Look."
Sticking out of the top of the book, was a portion of a piece of parchment. A single line of Ella's neat calligraphy could just be seen at the top of the parchment. 'The enemy of your enemy is your friend.'
A/N: Hey:) I hope you guys like the story so far! This is just the prologue, and more will be coming soon. If you have any questions or constructive criticism to give, then please leave a review or you can PM me! Sorry about the amount of Welsh inside by the way, I wanted to make as realistic as possible, although I doubt they would be speaking any english at all considering they live in Wales... Anyway, I translated everything in Welsh to english and the translations can be found below! If you think I shouldn't give translations or should be giving them in another way or not give them at all, then review and tell me please!
Thanks for reading!
bella:)
Translations:
'mai dim ond blwch' – it is just a box
'Fynd allan o'r yma' – Get out of here
'Mae'n iawn' – It's okay
'Mae'n rhaid i ni adael' – We have to leave
'Gwilym' – William (Will)