Hey, I'm glad everyone liked the first chapter :) The Blackthorn family is introduced in this chapter so enjoy!

Part 1: Steel and Temper

Kingdom by the Sea

Emma hacked at the practice dummy with a furious determination. Straw burst out of the arm like fireworks. Diana always insisted that they worked on straw dummies rather than the plastic stuff other institutes had. She had said if it was good enough for her in her youth then it was good enough for the children Los Angeles institute.

The Weapons room almost took up a whole floor in the institute and both the west and East walls were made out of a tough glass. From below she could watch the mundies as they ate their ice creams and headed to the beach dressed in shorts and bikinis.

Emma slashed the sword down across the dummy's chest. Dry, yellow straw fell out; the dummy drooped to the floor in a sad flop.

"Emma!" Diana shouted. "What did I tell you about using a real sword on a dummy?"

Emma twisted around to face the annoyed Diana. She had been with them for the last five years. After the dark war she had left Alicante with the rest of the Blackthorns to become their new tutor after their last teacher Katerina, had become one of the endarkened. Emma still remembered that night in vivid detail, running to find Dru and Tavvy, throwing that knife into Sebastian's chest, jumping through the portal.

Only to find her parents were dead the next morning.

Diana stood, one hand on a wooden sword, staring at the disembowelled dummy and Emma with Cortana in hand.

"To not to?" Emma said raising an eyebrow. "Fine." She turned to the dummy on the floor. "Mr Dummy, You have my deepest apologises for disembowelling you. I'm sure you had dreams and aspirations I tragically cut short. Say sorry to Dorothy and the Tin man for me."

Emma could hear Diana sighing from behind her. "For once could you not be so sarcastic? All I ask is that your war on the dummies takes a ceasefire so I can stich them back up."

"Perhaps it's a sign. I'm just saying maybe straw is a little outdated. And a possible fire risk."

Diana twisted her long black hair in a braid. A silver koi fish danced along her cheek, Emma had never thought to ask what her tattoo meant. Diana took out a throwing knife, spinning it in her hands before launching it at the arrow board. With a 'thunk' it hit the centre.

"To become a great warrior, you must have two parts to your psyche. The gentle stream and the raging storm." Diana turned to face Emma. She leaned on the wooden broadsword. "You have the raging storm part down."

"What if I'm all raging storm?" Emma slid Cortana back into its hilt.

"Then you're as good as a half sharpened sword." Diana said. She threw the wooden sword across the training room. "Work on your breathing exercises, like I showed you."

"It's no use Diana, she never listens to any of us. 'No Emma, don't go into the room filled with angry imps. It's dangerous.'" Christina Rosales strode into the room. She was dressed simply in a white tank top and jeans. As per everyday she wore her silver medallion loosely around her neck. Her raven black hair was wet; the red stripe in her hair was faded. Emma had guessed she had just gone for a swim on the beach front before her cousin Jaime showed up.

"In my defence, there were half as many imps as the werewolf had said."

"Half as many was still too much." Christina replied. She had a small butterfly-knife attached to her waist. Diana glanced over at Emma and Christina.

"Do I even want to know?" Diana sighed. "You know what I don't care right now. I've got to resuscitate these dummies from Emma's wrath."

Diana started to pick up handfuls of straw putting it into a small pile. Sometimes in the light her koi tattoo seemed to shimmer silver as if it were alive and breathing.

"You're starting to sound like Ty." Emma said. "He'll be so proud of you."

"If he ever enters the weapons room, I'll tell him but until then," Diana threw another lump of straw onto the rapidly increasing stack.

"You might want to hold off on the scarecrow making, I've just got a text from Jaime." Christina's brown eyes darkened. She looked up at Diana. "Apparently something's happened; Arthur wants you to meet him at Eighth Street on Hermosa Avenue."

Diana stood up and brushed the straw off her lean figure. She was dressed in Shadowhunter black. "Did he say why?"

Christina shrugged. "Well I doubt it's for a romantic picnic."

"I'll get my weapons." Diana marched out of the weapons room. "Remember your breathing exercises Emma!" She shouted from the hallway before disappearing from view.

"I don't think Di's the romantic picnic type." Emma said. She took off her shoes and threw them across the room hitting the weapons wall. Pole staffs and a variety of knives clattered on the floor. Christina shut her phone and slipped it into her pocket.

"Has anyone told you, you have spectacular aim?" Christina said, sarcasm dripping from her voice.

"What about your cousin and the Alicante transfer?" Emma asked ignoring her comment. They walked out the weapons room together. Emma intended to take a shower and wash the sweat from her face. Her blonde hair stuck to her face like glue. Christina was lucky she never seemed to have that problem.

"Jaime said they'd be here in half an hour. Arthur told them the address of the institute and to meet up with us. We have to show them to their rooms and get them settled in." Christina stood at the stairs. Emma started to climb up them taking two at a time to her room.

"I'll see you in half an hour then." Emma smiled back at her. Christina shook her head and headed off. Probably to go feed Oscar the cat. A greying, old cat that hissed at anyone who tried to feed him except Christina and Livvy. Emma still had a scar on her left hand from where Oscar had taken a swipe at her when she was fourteen.

Emma headed up the stairs to the third floor and took a left. She loved the Los Angeles institute from the Beachwood that covered the walls to the views that surrounded the old church. She could see the sea rippling from the east and the vast mountain ranges from the west. The best part was that it always smelled of the beach even in the dark recesses of winter.

"What did I tell you about the bee's!" She heard Jules shout. Emma peaked into Jule's room. His white walls were covered in paint splatters. It was Arthur's idea to let Jules repaint his walls the way he had wanted to when he was small. Julien had loved him for that and welcomed him into the family the moment he bought his favourite take out home.

Julien had his hands on his scruffy brown hair, his blue-green eyes shined. He had a certain type of attractiveness when he was angry Emma thought. She snapped herself out of that line of thought and continued to watch the boys fight.

"You said to get the bee's out of the house. I did exactly what you said you cretin!" Ty had his hands in the pocket of his black waistcoat; underneath he wore a green t-shirt tucked into his black jeans. He was scowling at Jules.

"You put the bees on the roof!" Jules shouted.

"You said out of the house! The roof is outside!" Ty exclaimed. "Learn basic floor planning big brother."

Ty scratched his head. His unruly black curls fell over his stormy grey eyes. Emma sometimes used to wish that she looked more like her parents, the only likeness being her blonde hair.

"Emma." Jules said softly. She leaned on the door frame facing the two boys. Ty looked so different from the other blackthorns, he was rake thin and had jet black hair. He shared none of the Blackthorn traits, her parents used to joke that it was out of pure stubbornness.

"What do you think?" Jules asked. Ty looked at them sceptically.

"Well technically Ty is right, you did say out of the house." Emma said. Ty broke into a big smile

"Parabatai have got nothing on me." Ty flounced out of the room. Jules had folded his arms. His Parabatai rune was clear on his right forearm. Emma's identical one was on her left bicep.

Emma and Julien had been the second of a group to become Parabatai. First she had remembered had been Clary Fairchild and a tall skinny boy with glasses, Simon something. She couldn't remember what Shadowhunter name he had taken after he ascended.

"Did you have to take his side Em?" Jules asked.

Emma shrugged. "If I didn't you two would have spent the better part of an afternoon arguing. You've got to choose your battles sometimes."

Jules slumped down on his bed. His room was a mess, clothes were thrown everywhere, and glasses laid on every surface filled with murky liquids. Still Emma didn't mind it, her room wasn't much better.

"Do mind if I use your shower? The plumbing's busted in mine."

Jules nodded. "Knock yourself out. Wait. Don't actually do that, that would be hard for me to explain to Uncle Arthur."

"Well it's a good thing you don't have to. He's gone."

Jules sat up on his bed. "Has something happened? Is he alright?"

Emma picked up a towel from the floor. "I think so; Tina got a text from her cousin saying that Diana had to meet him by Hermosa Avenue. Must be super secret Clave business."

"Maybe they're going on a date?" Jules laid a hand against his forehead and swooned. "A love separated by several Blackthorn children, A Rosales and Emma."

Emma threw a dirty shirt at him and laughed. "And Emma? Oh be still my beating heart."

Jules grinned at her.

Emma went into his on-suite shower and shut the door, hoping he didn't see how flushed her face was.

Christina poured the catnip into Oscar's bowl. His white fur was lined with grey and he had scars all over his body from fighting. Guess we're not so different Christina thought as she looked down the Rune scars that lined her brown arms.

"I'm just saying that the name Jaime just sounds hot." Drusilla said. In her hand she was holding the five year old Tavvy. He had an ice cream in his hand which he had covered his face with. Dru's wavy brown hair was cut short and danced around her ears. They had walked into the kitchen from the glass doors. Livvy walked in behind them, her brown hair flowing down her neck. Christina could tell that they would both be beautiful when they were older.

"Silas just sounds," Dru shuddered. "yucky."

Christina jumped up from behind the counter. "I'll be sure to tell them you said that."

Dru squeaked. Livvy laughed at her blushing sister. She took Tavvy's hand and sat him on a stool whilst he ate his ice cream. His brown hair was cut short by Diana whom he protested against as well as a five year old boy could.

"I don't think timing gets better than that" She turned to Dru and smiled. "Thoughts Dru?"

Dru had turned cherry red and Christina laughed. She motioned with a finger for the girls to sit at the counter. "Don't worry, I won't tell them you said that." Christina turned to the fridge and took out three bottles of orange juice and passed them to the girls. They both took large gulps.

"Thanks." Livvy said.

"Sooooo, is your cousin hot?" Dru said, the red fading from her face. Christina shut the fridge door and leaned on the white marble counter opposite them. Tavvy was now sliding along the highly polished wooden floors in his dinosaur socks.

"I haven't seen him for a while but last he told me was that the girls in the Mexico city institute were swooning all over him." Christina scrunched her face, thinking back to the letters he had sent her. He always went into a lot of details about the girls there, never once mentioning the guys.

"You've got to admit though, Silas? In the attractive guy's name range that is right next to Quasimodo and Herbert."

"I still retain the opinion that Quasimodo deserved to get the girl." Livvy argued playfully.

Christina's phone buzzed. She looked down to see the familiar old image of Jaime. He was smiling at her but had pimples all over his face, then again the image was taken during his battle with puberty. He's twenty-one now. She smiled at that thought.

KNOCK KNOCK :)

Christina shut the lid of her phone. "Well I guess we'll find out now. They're here."

I hope you've enjoyed :D Remember to review and give me your opinion :) Thanks!

-TheartofMOAR