2

Shadowhunters

Leigh-Ann had absolutely no idea where she was or what she was doing there in the first place. Had Jonathan succeeded in the process of kidnapping her?
But that couldn't be possible. She had watched him run away. And it seemed that she was in an infirmary of some sort. She blinked several times before sitting up straight. She wasn't in the clothes she remembered going to sleep in; in fact she didn't even recognize these silk pajamas that she wore, though they fit her perfectly.

Curiosity enticed her, so she threw her legs over the bed and stood up. The floor was cold, sending chills up her bare feet and up her legs. She walked over to the big double doors, reaching for the handle, and slowly opened it. She poked her head out, looking down and seeing that both ways were long hallways and all lined with doors. She stepped out, cautiously, closing the door behind her and decided to go to the right.

When she began walking, all she could do was start thinking about what had happened. Her aunt's dead body on the floor came to her head and she bit her lip trying to fight back the tears, which caused her to draw blood from it. She shook her head, changing to a different thought; Sadie. What had happened to her most loyal companion? The last she'd seen of her dog was her body being thrown against a wall, so what had happened?

Her next thought was drawn to Jonathan and the conversation that she'd overheard about herself. What did "earning her wings" mean? What did "blood of demons put inside of her" mean? What did all of it mean? And he'd called Christa an Angel and said that she'd been put on this earth to protect Leigh-Ann.

None of it made sense to her; absolutely none.

Last of all, her concluded thought came to her rescuer. Who had stopped Jonathan from taking her?

A gasp of pain escaped her lips as a tearing pain wrenched at her gut. She leaned against the wall for support.

"You really shouldn't be out of bed, princess," a voice said behind her. She turned around to see who it was. A young man who looked about her age stood there. He was tall and had tousled golden hair. His muscles were emphasized in the leather jacket he was wearing. She couldn't resist blushing, but tried covering it by speaking.

"I want to know where I am," she answered.

"You're in the Institute in New York. You're not in any danger for now, so if you think that Jonathan guy will be around, it won't be too soon."

Her jaw set at the thought of Jonathan once more, and her fists clenched at her side. She'd completely forgotten about the pain and only revenge now crossed her mind.

"What's your name?" she asked him, trying to get herself off of her current thoughts.

"Oh, you want to be on a first name basis?" he smirked, folding his arms. "You move quick, princess."

She growled, cheeks flushing. "Shut the hell up. You may look pretty, but frankly, your attitude won't stand for me; especially now."

"Calm down, princess. I'm just lightening up the mood."

"Stop calling me princess. I just want to know your name for the sake of you saving me."

He puffed his cheeks and rolled his eyes. "I'm Jace Wayland."

"…I'm-"

"Leigh-Ann Grace Taylor; yes, I know who you are."

"…How-"
"You're rather popular amongst shadowhunters; especially the teen ones."

She knit her eyebrows together, lips going thin, and looked to her right. This bothered her.

The pain in her gut came back to her and she let out a cry, slipping to her knees. She heard Jace's footsteps come quickly toward her. He slipped his arms under her legs and put an arm around her back, picking her up.

"I told you that you should be in the infirmary," he said.

"Is your commentary necessary, ass?" she muttered through gritted teeth.

"I'm just trying to lighten the mood. Lighten up princess."

"Stop calling me that!" she screamed up at him. Jace looked down at her in surprise at how loud her outburst was and paused in step. Her eyes were coal black; not like the dim hazel it'd been just moments ago. And she was glaring up at him in such an angry way. It actually sent chills down his spine.

"Calm down, Leigh-Ann-"

"Don't tell me what to do! Put me down, now!" she demanded. He did as he was told immediately, in fear of setting something else off and knowing about how strong she really was contributed to it.

He looked at her, not understanding what was wrong with her all of a sudden. Something caught his attention though. Her eyes were fading back to hazel and she blinked several times, face softening.

"I-I'm sorry… I…" her face flushed, as if she were embarrassed. "I've never gone off on anyone like that before."

"Are you okay?" He didn't even dare call her princess again.

"I…" she shook her head, and put her hand to it. "I feel…so…lightheaded…" Her body began to collapse but he got to her swiftly, and picked her up into his arms.

"You really should be in the infirmary," Jace said, more of concern than sarcasm in his voice.

"Thank you for stating the obvious," she muttered, putting her head on his shoulder. He couldn't help but chuckle at that.

"Has this…happened before?" he asked her.

She shook her head. "No…I've never had such impulsive urges before. It's like I was completely different."

He nodded.

"Jace," a voice called. He turned around. His step-sister, Isabelle Lightwood, stood there, her whip wrapped around her wrist like a bracelet. "It's rather low to be hitting on a girl who just lost her aunt; even for you."

"Who said I was hitting on her, Izzy?" he replied, smirking. She rolled her eyes approaching.

Leigh-Ann looked over at who Jace could be talking to. The girl was tall, like she was, and her hair was a fairly beautiful shade of black. She wore a silk red dress and some black pumps to go with. Her beauty was phenomenal.

She approached them both, holding out her hand to Leigh-Ann, who reached for it.

"Isabelle Lightwood," she said, sweetly.

"Le-"
"I know who you are, Leigh-Ann Grace Taylor," Isabelle replied, cutting her off. Leigh-Ann knit her eyebrows together in frustration.

Why did everybody know her name?

"You really should be taking her back to the infirmary, Jace," Isabelle told him.

"I was just going there," Jace replied, turning around. Isabelle walked next to him and opened the door to the infirmary for him. He carried her to the bed that was not made, the sheets strewn to the floor and lied her down, picking them up and throwing them over her.

"…Where's Sadie?" she asked, looking up at them.

"I was just about to say that, actually," Isabelle replied, before turning to the double doors and opening them. She whistled and a few seconds later the sound of the patter of paws came to her ears before Sadie came running through the door.

"Sadie!" Leigh-Ann cried.

She paused a moment, let out an enthusiastic bark and ran over to her, jumping on the bed and into her lap. Leigh-Ann giggled when she began licking her and hugged her neck.

"She's rather loyal," Isabelle commented. "She wouldn't leave your side for the time that you were unconscious; at least until she got hungry enough to leave."
Out of curiosity, she asked, "How long was I unconscious?"

"It's been about three days," Jace answered.

She looked to her right, knitting her eyebrows together. "Nothing has happened since then, has it?" she asked without looking at them.

"Not anything unusual," Isabelle replied.

She nodded, leaning back against the railing of the bed. Sadie rested her head in her lap. "You have a library at this Institute, don't you?"

"Doesn't all the Institutes?" Jace said, tone mocking. She threw him a look of distaste.

"Could one of you possibly get me something to read? And preferably, could it be one about Angels?"

"I'll get it for you," Jace said, heading for the door.

"I'll go get Alec and mom," Isabelle said, following after him. They closed the door to the infirmary behind them and then dead silence flooded the room. All she could here was the breathing of her and Sadie. She stroked the top of Sadie's head. Her eyes felt heavy, though she didn't understand why if she'd been sleeping for three days.

Just as she was about to drift off, the door of the infirmary opened and she jerked upright, rubbing her head.

"How could you be falling asleep when you've been sleeping for three days?" It was Jace with a large book in his hands and held it out to her before sitting in the chair next to the bed. She took it; it was heavy set and bound in velvet.