Shadow Demon- Shadowhunters

Cold Fire

The fire that engulfed the girl wasn't warm, as she had suspected, but almost cold. The red and orange flames licked at the sides of her bare arms and she didn't feel any sensation. She watched as the fire scarred her skin and melted the walls around her. The girl stood in a clean room with blue paint splattered on the walls; the fire made the paint drip onto the white floor in sticky puddles.

The girl reached into her pocket and produced a pen with a crystal attached to the end of it. In her world this is referred to as a Stele. She gripped the Stele in her dominant, left, hand and raised it above her head. She uttered a sequence of words that were not of her native language. The Latin she spoke caused the fire to slowly strip away into her Stele.

With in seconds the cold fire was gone and the blue and white room suddenly seemed dark. She put the Stele back into her pocket and cautiously stepped toward the door that was a short ways from her. Her hand gripped the long door handle and she pulled. The tall door opened with reluctance and the girl walked into a puddle of sharp light.

Echo slowly opened her eyes and looked around her room in a stupor. She blinked several times to wash away the deep sleep she was once apart of. She soon became fully aware that she was not in the blue and white room, but rather in her bedroom of her apartment. She turned her head to the side and caught sight of the clock on her nightstand. The time didn't match what was happening outside her window. The sky was dark with thick thunderous clouds but her clock said it was almost two in the afternoon.

Echo gave a short sigh and pushed herself up onto her elbows. She looked at her reflection in the mirror that was across from her. Her strawberry red hair was in knots and her green eyes were smudged from yesterday's mascara and eyeliner. She groaned, and pushed the blanket from her body as she slid out of the bed.

She grabbed her black jacket before opening the door and making her way down the steps and into the kitchen. Echo wasn't surprised to see two other teens sitting at the kitchen table. One teen in particular had hair and eyes similar to Echo.

The nerdy teen that was sitting in the corner had a laptop in from of him and he was searching the Internet with much curiosity.

Echo clumsily pulled on her jacket and pulled open the fridge. It was almost empty, except for the essentials. Echo sighed and pulled a green apple from the bin and bit into it. The apple was a few days old at best. Echo closed the door to the fridge and noticed that the two teens were looking at her with different levels of interest.

Echo swallowed her bite of the apple, "What?"

The duo immediately shifted their eyes away from her as if they were caught doing something forbidden. Echo sat down on the spare chair at the table and looked at the redhead.

"Where are Mom and Luke?"

The redhead, Clary, shook her head, "Mom went to the store and Luke went to work."

Echo took another bite of her apple and observed the teens carefully. Clary was sketching in her book as she always did and the other teen, Simon, was typing away at his computer.

Echo's eyes snapped back to Clary's sketchbook and observed a particular pattern. This pattern was very familiar to Echo, but to her younger sister, it was a foreign concept.

Echo pointed to the design, "What's that?"

Clary removed her pencil from the paper and looked at the symbol she had drawn.

"Huh, I didn't even realize I drew that."

Echo sat back with familiarity in her chest, "Looks cool."

Clary smiled and continued to sketch whilst Echo ate her apple in silence.

Jocelyn Fray, a woman with hair much like her two children and eyes just as green, entered the apartment with plastic bags in her hands. She carried the heavy bags into the kitchen and placed them on the counter.

Clary, Simon and Echo all helped Jocelyn empty the bags and put away each grocery into their designated place. When every bag was crumpled and placed in the bin, Clary closed her sketchbook and looked up at Jocelyn.

"Simon has a gig tonight, then we are going out with Maureen after."

Jocelyn's facial expressions hardened, "Out? Out where?"

Clary gave a sideways glance at Simon before answering, "We will probably just find a restaurant and hang there for a while."

Jocelyn was suddenly protective, "Just be careful. This isn't really the safest time."

At that point Luke Garroway decided to join in on the conversation as he entered the apartment, "Come on Jocelyn, it's her birthday. Let her have this one night."

Clary smiled when she heard Luke's voice.

Jocelyn smiled as well, "Okay, but can we have breakfast tomorrow?"

Clary nodded, "Of course. Thank you!"

Clary hugged Jocelyn and then Luke before she turned to Echo, "Happy birthday sis."

Echo hugged Clary and watched as her and Simon left the apartment with smiles and laughter.

As soon as the front door shut, the tension in the apartment went thick and Jocelyn could feel it.

"What is it?"

Echo sat down at the counter and pulled Clary's sketchbook to her and opened it to the page that had the intricate design on it.

Both Luke and Jocelyn gave a short sigh, "We need to tell her."

Jocelyn shook her head, "Just let her have one last night as a teenager."

Echo rolled her eyes, "Clary isn't going to just go to a restaurant after the gig; you know that right?"

Jocelyn pulled the sketchbook close to her, "Will you keep an eye on her then?"

Echo nodded, "But I'm going to need my Stele."

Jocelyn tensed for a moment before accepting the circumstances, "Okay."

As Jocelyn left the kitchen, Echo turned to Luke, "Is the city safe?"

Luke nodded and put a hand on Echo's shoulder, "It's always safe."

Echo nodded, "You're so amazing Luke."

Luke gave a shy smile, "I try."

Echo gave a breathy laugh as her mother entered the kitchen with a long thin box. Jocelyn approached her daughter and opened the old lid; inside, engulfed in satin, was a grey Stele with markings engraved in the stone. Echo hesitated for a moment before she gripped the familiar object into her left hand. She could feel sudden power wash over her as she gripped the blessed object.

It had been years since Echo has had the Stele in her hand. The last time she had ever used the object was when she had accidentally gotten ahold of it when she was eight. Her mother had to explain to her that Clary, although only five at the time, wasn't allowed to see her use it. Echo was disappointed and let her mother hide it from her, until this moment; almost thirteen years later.

Echo placed the Stele into her jacket pocket and smiled at her mother, "Thank you." The two embraced and Luke soon joined them in a crushing family hug. The three gave a laugh, as they pulled apart.

Echo walked into her room and looked at herself in the mirror. She gave a slight smile as she glanced at the Stele in her pocket. With sensitive fingers she brushed the stone and the markings. The Stele spoke to her on a spiritual level and she knew that tonight wasn't going to end how her family wanted it to.