My love was long
Roxelle breathed in the night air deeply, gazing up at the moon, which hung high in the night sky. It was dark in the training room but she liked it that way. Everyone in the Institute was asleep now and Amethyst was also asleep downstairs, still curled up on the bed. They'd all decided to go back to the Sunset Springs on an official investigation and then report to the Clave about it.
Suddenly there was a loud creak, right outside the door to the training room. Instantly alerted, Roxelle moved for the shadows, a hand on her dagger. By the time the door began to open, she was hidden in the long shadow that was beside the door, waiting with baited breath for whoever it was to enter, her dagger drawn.
Finally the door completely opened and in crept . . . Daniel, wearing nothing but his pyjamas, his hair tousled and his eyes nearly black in the dark lighting. She watched as he took another step into the room, glancing about warily, still staying where she was until he walked right past her. Using only her arm, Roxelle raised the dagger to aan inch from his throat, keeping her face hidden.
Daniel froze immediately, turning his face to her. He was grinning widely. "I thought you were a burglar," he said, standing very still, his voice slightly hoarse from sleep. Taking a step forward Roxelle continued to hold the dagger to his throat. "I could say the same about you," she replied, feeling her face break out into a smirk.
Suddenly Daniel burst into action, spinning from where he was, grabbing Roxelle's knife hand and pressing her to the wall, her knife hand pinned up above her head. He was very warm and the space between them was so small that when he breathed, Roxelle could feel it on her neck. Daniel's eyes were black now, his long fringe nearly covering his eyes and a satisfied smirk lining his lips.
"Your balance is crap, did you know that?" he asked her casually. "But that's not fair, you had the element of surprise," she countered, feeling very warm despite the cold air. He just shrugged. "So, what were you doing up here?" Daniel asked curiously, his eyes sparkling. Roxelle shrugged her shoulders dismissively. "Just . . . thinking. About how they were killed," she explained. "Also, you might wanna let go of my hand, it kinda hurts now." Daniel immediately loosened his grip on it and gently lowered her arm, slipping the dagger into her pocket. "Is that better?" he asked with concern. Nodding slightly, Roxelle looked away, trying to think of what else to say. "So when do you think you'll go back to Brazil?" she asked him, wincing a little at a stab in her chest that arose at the very thought of him leaving. Gently brushing a lock of golden hair of her face Daniel just sighed. "I don't think I want to go back," he told her, leaning closer, his lips inches from hers. And then they collided.
His lips were hard at first, but as their kiss became more desperate and passionate they became softer, fitting into hers perfectly. She felt a part of her heart open up, with a Daniel-shaped hole in it. But this wasn't possible, she'd just destroy herself.
"An angel couldn't fall in love with anyone," Roxelle remembered reading in the library. Pulling away, she couldn't look Daniel in the eyes, staring down at her feet. When he spoke, his voice was filled with worry and concern. "Are you okay with this?" he asked, pushing himself off her and instead putting either of his arms on the wall behind her shoulders. Nodding slightly, she just stood there in silence. "What's wrong?" Daniel asked her, his voice still gentle. Roxelle didn't reply, trying to get her emotions under control. Sighing a little, he place a thumb under her chin and gently lifted it up until her face was on level with his. Roxelle couldn't look away, she was drawn, like a moth to a flame, to those big brown eyes, full of concern and a little amusement. "Querida, você está bem?" he asked forgetting to speak in English. Roxelle pretended to pout, feeling her heart slow. "I'm not your babe, and nothing's wrong," she began, pushing him gently out of the way before turning back to face him, feeling brave, "actually, there is something wrong. Have you ever read the 'Book on Angels'?" she asked him, tired of hiding the emotional side of herself from everyone but her parents, wanting someone to see this worried and weak side of her. Daniel shook his head in confusion, watching her intently.
Waving her hand dismissively, she continued. "That's fine. It doesn't matter. I was eight when I read it for the first time and I came across a chapter called human interaction. It said that an angel, a warrior of light, couldn't fall in love with anyone. I didn't tell anyone about it but ever since then I've believed it. That's why I act the way I am," she blurted out, feeling much lighter after having said so. Daniel sighed again and slowly moved towards her. "Roxelle, as an eight-year old, you are still vulnerable. Now, you're ten years older and looking at you, I can see that you love your family. Your brothers, your cousins. So how is loving someone else any different in feeling?" he asked closing the distance between them. "I guess you're right," she replied, wanting to believe him very much. "So, I was wondering. When this weird murder thing is over, I was thinking that we could go to the movies," Daniel suggested, taking her hand in his. Smiling at the thought, Roxelle gently squeezed his hand. "That sounds fun," she whispered, smiling a little. For a moment there was a pause, during which they both stood there, gazing into each other's eyes.
"So, does this make us boyfriend and girlfriend?" he asked her, sounding surprisingly shy. She shrugged. "I think so. But you've obviously had far more experience with this than me," she replied teasing him a little. He shook his head. "I was never in a relationship with anyone. Only once. So I have no idea," Daniel told her, his eyes wide. Roxelle smiled again. "Then I guess it does. Good night," she told him, gently kissing him on the cheek before leaving the training room, her heart so much lighter now.
The next day was beautiful and sunny and as the Institute's inhabitants gathered in the cozy kitchen to discuss everything, Daniel smiled happily to himself.
"Alright, so yesterday there was another body, a member of the Indigo club, a place that deals in demon drugs. The owner is called Felix. You found two indigo stones, one of them Ronnie's and the other owner still anonymous," said Aylwin, as Jason quickly wrote it all down. "Now what do we do?" Maxima asked keenly. "Maybe we should tell the Clave before we make an 'official' visit?" Jason suggested, handing the notes to Lynn. "Why? All we're doing is going over there an having a chat with the owner," said Maria, casually scratching herself behind the ear. Amethyst purred in agreement and pushed herself against Roxelle, who smiled and stroked her head. "You're version of the word 'visit' is different to that of a civilised human," scoffed Sylvique, lazily examining her nails. Daniel glanced over to Roxelle, who stood there with her arms crossed over, eyeing Sylvique.
"Unless you've forgotten, none of us here are humans, including you. Maria is the most civilised person I know, seeing as she's a vegetarian werewolf," Roxelle reminded her, Amethyst's tail wrapped around her shoulders. Rolling her eyes, Sylvique continued to examine her nails while Maria stood there smirking widely.
"I still think we should report to the Clave first, do you agree with me sis?" Jason asked her, his green eyes open wide. She began to reply when Aylwin spoke over her. "What do you think Daniel?" he asked carefully, his blue eyes narrowed in thought as everyone in the room turned to stare at Daniel. Thinking it over, he finally replied, going with his heart. "I think we talk first and explain later," he answered with certainty. Aylwin nodded. "That's settled then. Everyone go get your own seraphs and weapons." At this, Roxelle, Daniel and Sylvique got up and left the kitchen.
As the rest of the kitchen continued the planning, Roxelle went on to the armoury while Daniel stayed back in the hallway with Sylvique, his heart beating faster than normal, despite being the confident man he was.
"Look Sylvique, I won the bet and now I think it should stop," he told her, his back to the corridor behind him. She nodded slowly, studying him closely. "What bet was that again?" she asked him in a sweet voice. He Glared at her, disliking her more than ever now. "The one about me teaching Roxelle a lesson by wooing her until we kiss," he reminded her through gritted teeth. Sylvique smiled in surprise and laughed quietly. "Oh really, silly me I just forgot! You did kiss her, right?" Daniel nodded. "Look, I've completed the bet, I've kissed her. Now give me the prize," he said extending a hand. She smirked. "Okay, but what is your prize?" Sylvique asked, slowly leaning forward. He took a step back, trying not to sound harsh. "Money. Thirty dollars," Daniel replied, calculating the price in his head. Straightening up again, Sylvique shoved her hand into her pocket and pulled out a wad of cash, slapping it down into his palm. Taking the money, Daniel put it inside his jacket before hurrying off to join Roxelle in the armoury.
He didn't see a small shadow in the corner, listening to their conversation.
Roxelle was in the armoury, polishing a great big katana when she heard the door behind her open. Without turning around, she could already tell who it was.
"You took your time," she said to Daniel, putting down the sword and turning to face him, trying to look an sound serious. He smiled widely, but there was a strange look in his eye. "Sorry. She was asking me about something but I made it," he joked, reaching round her back to pick up a cloth, brushing his hand across her spine and sending shivers running through her body. Gently poking him in the chest, Roxelle smiled slightly.
"Just don't be late for the movies," she told him, causing Daniel to grin even wider. "You can count on me," he whispered, gently kissing her on the forehead, sending another shiver through her body. Feeling exilarated and full of energy, she moved away from him, picking up a dagger. "We're meant to be choosing our equipment, not standing here making out," she told him, pretending to polish it off before finishing off an opponent. Daniel grinned. "We have servants for that," he said, assuming a snooty voice. Trying to stay serious, she raised an eyebrow. "Well, I the Queen of England prefer to take care of my own weapons, thank you," Roxelle replied, speaking with a perfect British accent, turning away from him. There was silence for a couple of moments and then she felt strong arms around her hips, pulling her up in the air. Screaming a little from surprise, Roxelle laughed as Daniel carried her around the armoury, setting her down after one complete circle, bowing to pretend people. Feeling her face break into a smile, Roxelle picked up the cloth and gently hit him with it. "You distracted me! Now I need to re-pick again," she told him, trying to sound pissed but Daniel just continued to grin. "Fine. May I suggest this fine whip, made of . . . Ahh yes, electrum," he offered, picking up the spoke of whip and handing it to her. Running the metallic material through her fingers, Roxelle was once again filled with a sense of energy. "Thank you very much, my dear butler," she joked, sliding the whip into her belt.
Gasping in mock horror, Daniel selected his own weapon; a black ebony bow, with runes engraved into its shining surface. "My uncle uses that bow," she told him, thinking of Uncle Alec and Magnus. Carefully slinging the bow over his shoulder he bowed his head slightly before leaning against the wall and examining her lazily. "So, do you have any ideas about who killed them?" he asked finally. Roxelle thought for a moment, trying to remember everything she could from last night. Something stuck in her mind. "I saw Felix talking to Ronnie and then just as we were climbing out the window, I turned back to look at them and saw that they were going somewhere," she recalled, taking out the indigo-coloured stones. "Then he definitely knows something about it. I wonder whose this is?" she asked herself but Daniel still answered. "When we go back there, we could just ask them," he suggested, carefully examining the Runed arrows he was using. Roxelle shrugged. "Maybe, but if they knew, they probably wouldn't say," she reasoned, taking an ancient dagger off the wall and giving it an experimental twirl before putting that too in her belt. "True, but there's bound to be someone either dumb enough or greedy enough to tell usose stone this is and why Ronnie's quote is different," Roxelle mused, reading and re-reading the thin engraved lines. "How many Fallen Angels are there," she queried, addressing Daniel who was studiously examining the arrows that came with his bow. Carefully putting them away he replied from the top of his head.
"Lucifer, Asmodeus, Belial, Leviathan, Azazel, Abbadon and two or three others. Why? You think there's a cult called The Fallen Angel or something that worships one of them?" Daniel questioned and Roxelle felt pleased that he'd caught on so quickly. Just nodding, she slipped the stones back into her pocket. "In Rios, we used to have records of all the demon cults and organizations. I don't suppose you've got that here do you?" Daniel suggested. Roxelle smiled and pulled out her phone. "Well, I don't know but my parents should. I'll call them now," she said, hastily poking the number into the phone. As she waited for it to dial, Roxelle tapped the floor impatiently with her foot, Daniel lounging against the wall.
"The number could not be reached. Please leave a voicemail or call back later," said a dull monotone voice, the sentence ending with a loud beep. Growling in frustration, Roxelle shoved it back into her pocket and left the armoury, Daniel beside her, never losing step and managing to look irritatingly calm.
"You're not very patient for an angel," he drawled, frustrating her even further, though he did have a point. "You're not very understanding for a boyfriend," she replied, adjusting the whip in her belt. He grinned. "I like you when you're pissed," Daniel said, causing her to blush a little. "Why?" Roxelle demanded, hurrying down the staircase, hearing voices in the hall. Shrugging, he continued to walk while she was practically running. "Your eyes turn a beautiful black colour, like obsidian," he replied calmly. She turned to stare at him, still walking.
"I know that every person has their own opinion but I have to point out the obvious; you're crazy," Roxelle stated simply, her blush growing. He was about to reply when they finally reached the hall and the voices became recognisable.
"And why exactly did you decide not to tell me, your very own godmother?!" demanded Jia Penhallow, glaring at Aylwin and Jason, her hands planted on her hips and her greying brown hair pulled back in a bun. Both of the Herondales looked very sheepish and as Roxelle and Daniel approached, Jason glared at them. "Roxelle can explain," he said, pulling her forward and practically shielding himself behind her as Roxelle found herself facing off Jia.
"Hey! How are you, Aunt Jia?" she asked, smiling widely while trying to think of something. Jia continued to frown opening her mouth to scold Roxelle when she noticed Daniel, who was standing at the end of the stairs, silently watching them all with his typical smirk. Seeing the question in her godmother's eyes, Roxelle quickly explained. "That's Daniel. He's from the Rio Institute and he decided to help us with the investigation," she added, her words causing Jia to frown and the glare in her eyes to falter. "What do you mean, investigation? You know it's not approved of unless I know about it," she chided, ignoring Daniel. Roxelle was about to reply when Daniel spoke up. "We were actually planning on telling you," he told Jia, standing next to Roxelle, who glared at him for interrupting. The Consul didn't glance at him. "But why didn't you tell me at the very start of this all?" she asked the brothers, continuing to ignore Daniel. "Well, as you just explained, we had to tell you about our investigation but you didn't actually say when, so I don't think any of us have done anything wrong, do you Roxelle?" he asked, grinning down at her. Unable to control her face, she felt it break into a smirk as she nodded and crossed her arms in a defiant manner. "Nope, I totally agree with you. Now, if you wanna join us Jia, grab a dagger and let's go," she called, opening the front door and stepping out into the street, followed by Daniel and everybody else.
"Smooth," Daniel whispered, stretching out a hand a waiting for her to high five them as they started off down the pavement. Gently hitting his hand away, she lead the group in the direction of Sunset Springs. * * *
"So, I'm going to ask you one last time; is this yours and if it isn't, whose is it?" demanded Jason, glaring at the woman he was questioning, showing her the indigo stones. She shrugged and grinned with a stoned smile. "I think it might be . . . I can't remember. Who was it?" she asked them, frowning with confusion. Jason growled with frustration and snatched the stone back. Seeing how confused the woman was, Daniel felt sorry for her. Pushing Jason out of the way, he pointed to Maxima. "Go over there, she'll help you." As the woman staggered off, he turned away from and addressed the small group.
"Let's talk to the owner, he's right over there," he called, starting over towards Felix, who was standing there staring around him with pursed lips as Maxima began to question the woman, while Lynn and Maria searched for anything that could connect Ronnie's and Lyra's murders. "Jason, go check for any surveillance cameras and if you can, try and get the footage for us," ordered Jia, following Daniel.
"I believe you are the owner of this illegal establishment. Is that correct?" demanded Jia, not giving anyone else a chance to speak. Felix nodded, his face drained of colour. Taking his silence in her stride, the Consul continued. "I have witnesses who saw you talking to Ronnie before he was murdered. What were you talking about?" Felix shrugged, his blue eyes cold and suspicious. "I was asking him if he had his membership I.D," he replied casually. Daniel glanced at Roxelle, who frowned. "And did he?" Daniel asked, speaking over Jia, ignoring the angry look she gave him. Felix nodded. "Sure did. But he looked very edgy, no idea why though. And if you wanna arrest me for the drugs, go ahead," he said, staring at the Consul. "Do you know who this belongs to?" Roxelle asked showing him the indigo-coloured stone, once again interrupting Jia. The owner shrugged. "Can I see it?" he asked, reaching for the stone which Roxelle was about to hand to him when there was a shout. "Stop!" Daniel twirled around trying to figure out where the noise came from. It was Lynn, her eyes wide, staring around the room, gripping her Sensor. "The demon, it's here, in this room," she whispered, waving the Sensor back and forth. Suddenly there was a beam of sunlight that hit Daniel in the eyes, nearly blinding him and as he glanced down to the floor to stop himself from going blind, he saw that there were long shadows on the floor. It took him a moment to realise but the longer he stared, the more clearly he could see it: "Look at his shadow," he whispered as quietly as he could, gently kicking Roxelle, who quickly shielded her eyes and glanced down. Felix's shadow was longer than everybody else's, but the horrifying thing was that instead of being the shadow of a regular mundane man, it showed the silhouette of a tall demon, with large curling horns growing out of it's head and a pair of what could've been scaly wings and one long forked tail snaking down it's legs. Daniel heard Roxelle gasp quietly but not quietly enough. Felix slowly looked down at the ground and seeing their shocked faces grinned slyly.
"You finally noticed, shadowhuntersss," he hissed, his voice like two rough stones grinding against each other. Everyone stared at him, a dark silence filling the room as they watched him slowly transform into his original form. The horns were ivory, his scaly wings a dark red colour and his tail jet-black. "But how?" began Jia, her voice trembling. Realising how dangerous this situation was, she began to move for her weapons, calling out to everyone else. "Draw your weapons and seraphs! Block all exits!"
Felix shook his head and tutted loudly.
"Oh, dear are the shadowhuntersss ssscared now? Well, I mussst sssay I'm very disssappointed in you. You'd never have worked that it wasss me, Lancelot duLac. But ssseeing asss we're all here, I'll give you another clue." Each time he hissed, Daniel could see his purpled tongue, flickering in and out of the demon's mouth.
Seraph blades drawn, they all regarded the demon warily.
"First, tell us why you're killing people," Daniel said, trying to distract it but the demon just laughed it's manical laugh and disappeared. For a minute or so there was a silence as they all waited with rising anticipation for what would happen next when suddenly the lightbulb burst in an explosion of glass and heat. The room was instantly thrown into darkness but everyone remained silent, shifting closer together. They watched the barely seeable room around them turn completely pitch black, writhing around them like a snake, waiting for it's prey to make the first move. As the darkness moved closer to them, Daniel had an idea. "Light your seraphs, it should keep the darkness away, otherwise it'll kill us, like it killed Lyra and Ronnie," he whispered to the group around them. Instantly, there was quiet whispering and the room was lit with the light of ten seraph blades. Glancing around, Roxelle took a step forward, moving her blade in different directions trying to see something. Daniel was just about to pull her back when they were all stopped by a voice.
"Ssseeing asss we're playing in the dark, I think it'sss time I gave you my next clue, or elssse . . . you'll never find it," Lancelot told them, his voice like that of a crying boy. Feeling brave, Daniel managed to quickly grab Roxelle and pulled her back before speaking. "And what's this clue about?" he called into the darkness, keeping his seraph blades high in the air. "I like your curiosssity. Very well, lisssten closssely; a ssstar that fell from Heaven, decided to land in Hell. All thossse sssmaller ssstarsss around the bigger one, followed and worssshipped him. The Morning Ssstar will rissse to the heavensss again, dragging Hell with him." A silence followed, during which Daniel could literally hear the darkness breathing down his neck, which scared and confused him. He didn't like that. Suddenly Roxelle leaned in, nearly scaring him to death.
"Morning star is the name of Lucifer, he's talking about a cult that worships him," she whispered, her soft breath on his ear and neck driving him to distraction. Pulling himself together, Daniel nodded silently and gently pushed her away, wanting to be ready when the darkness struck.
And when it did, they were ready.
A large human-shaped cloud of darkness charged at Daniel, wielding a large axe with demonic inscriptions on the sides of the blade which was made of a mixture of ebony and obsidian. His seraph already alight, Daniel moved his arm back over his shoulder before thrusting the blade forward, straight into where the creature supposedly had it's heart. Immediately the Shadow Demon disappeared with a puff of smoke, leaving a strange burning smell behind. Everything was still, when once again, another Shadow Demon charged out of the darkness but this time, as the demon made for Daniel, it was followed by at least two dozen others. Putting a notch to his bow, he managed to throw the seraph and shoot his arrow at the exact same time, both of them entering the demon's wispy body, before clattering to the floor. Not wanting to waste arrows, Daniel took a few steps back as the demons reached their group, engaging everyone in combat. Hoping that his luck hadn't run out, he sprinted towards a group of fighters, jumping over their heads and tucking his legs in before skidding to a stop on the other side. Picking up the arrow and seraphs he glanced around to see needed the most help. Jia and Aylwin were fighting four demons at the same time while Maxima was easily blasting away the demon who kept on trying to charge at her until she eventually killed it, leaving a burning mark on the demon's chest before it too evaporated. She definitely didn't need help.
Continuing to gaze around the room, Daniel watched, not without a flutter in his heart, as Roxelle cleanly sliced through a demon, lifting back her whip and lashing out at another while Jason hurled what was a mix between a boomerang and a shuriken star, it's curved edges sharp and jagged with small teeth cutting the 'throats' of two demons before returning to Jason's hands, somehow not cutting him. As he continued to watch them, his bow hand slowly lowering, Daniel admired the look of pure, innocent anger in Roxelle's eyes which were just as black as the darkness.
In some ways, he found it cute that the most powerful way in which she expressed everything was through her beautiful eyes. Lost in his thoughts, Daniel didn't notice the demon behind him until it was a little too late.
"Look out!" Roxelle yelled, hurling a dagger towards him just as the demon began to attack. Finally realising what was happening, Daniel fell to the side, a split second before the dagger sank into the demon, clanking to the floor. Snatching it up, Daniel saw another pair of shadows approaching him and fired from his bow. The first on sank onto it's knees, the arrow leaving the same burning hole in it while the second arrow just went straight through the demon, quivering silently as it sank into the wall behind him. Daniel took a few steps back, hurriedly thinking of what else he could kill the demon with. Glancing down at his hand, he remembered the dagger Roxelle had thrown to him. Then it had looked ordinary, but now it shone with a faint white light which grew a little stronger with every step that brought the demon closer. Not knowing what else to do, Daniel threw the dagger towards it, watching as it tore a burning hole, which blazed with a strange white fire. Sinking onto it's knees, the demon vanished.
And when it did the darkness slowly melted away, revealing the room exactly as it had been before. Daniel saw Roxelle and Jason high-fiving each other, Aylwin and Jia immediately beginning to discuss something while Maxima nodded enthusiastically as she joined a conversation Lynn and Maria were having. Feeling out of place, Daniel searched the club floor, looking for his arrows and any other weapons he could salvage. Suddenly, a glimmer caught his eye and bending down to see what it was, Daniel saw the same indigo stone they'd showed to Lancelot, lying on the floor, it's inscription face up. Picking it up, Daniel wanted to re-read the words that were before but this time it was a different message.
Warehouses on Docks. This Friday.