Black || Jace Wayland [1]

| 03. invisible angel

"don't judge a book by its cover."

******

"YOU DIDN'T STOP her?" Asher turned back to the blond that evidently messed up her mission.

The man sheathed his seraph blade and shrugged, crossing his arms. Flabbergasted by his nonchalant attitude, she huffed and sheathed her own seraph blade before turning around to walk out of the club. "I don't have time for this."

Asher hurried out of the lounge and back into the mass of bodies, weaving her way swiftly around the people dancing.  She burst through the side entrance of the Pandemonium and turned to walk down the dark alley. The first drop of rain had her grumbling. Today was not her day.

"Wait!" 

Asher rolled her eyes, recognizing the sound of that voice. A hand grabbed her arm, turning her around to be met with the same blond Shadowhunter from the club. "Come to apologize?" She retorted before turning back and speeding up her pace. "Because of you, I have to track down a mundane who's probably scared out of her fucking mind!"

"How come I've never seen you before?" The man questioned, completely ignoring Asher's comment. She scoffed and continued walking. "Did you not hear what I said? The girl could be in danger and it's all because of you-" He quickened his pace and stepped out in front of her, blocking her path. "I'm not going to ask you again." The blond stared down at her, face unreadable. "Who are you?"

The pair were standing so close to each other that Asher could feel his breath fanning her cheek.  Staring into his eyes, Asher knew that she could easily stand against him, but the urgency of the matter had her giving in.

Taking out her stele, Asher held it in her right hand, waving it once over her head. All of the platinum blonde colored hair faded into a rich dark brown from her roots all the way down to the tips of her curled hair. She then scanned her stele over her body, turning off the glamour that hid all of her runes.

Asher stood there silently, lips pressed into a line as the Shadowhunter's eyes widened in surprise. "If you're done gawking, I have places to be." She didn't wait for the man to respond and stepped around him to continue walking. Taking extra precautions, Asher used her steele to draw a rune that glamoured herself from all living things, making her vanish into thin air.

The blonde Shadowhunter stopped in his tracks, searching the alleyway for the girl that was just in front of him.

"Jace!"

He turned back to see his two other companions walking towards him. "What was that about?" The girl questioned him. The other one remained quiet, still holding onto his glowing seraph blade.

Jace turned back around to the spot where the girl vanished. "I don't know, Izzy," He answered. "But I think I know how to find out."

____________

Asher silently thanked Raziel for the modified glamour rune because her makeup was now smudged and running down her face. Her clothes clung to her body as she walked in the pouring rain towards whatever location her tracking rune was pulling her. 

Asher finally stopped in front of an antique shop, catching sight of the girl rom earlier. She quietly watched from afar as the redhead rushed inside, looking as drenched as she did. Asher followed shortly after.

The young Shadowhunter took slow strides once she entered the building. Shattered glass littered the floor from the broken shelves and cabinets all around her. Golden metal cups as well littered the floor with overturned boxes and empty drawers, as if someone was looking for something. The silence made the hairs on her neck stand up; it seemed almost too quiet to be normal.

A scream echoed the stairwell on the far side of the room. Asher sprung into action and ran up the spiraling steps and into the loft above. The place was trashed just like it was downstairs, but Asher also smelled the stench of burnt wood. Charred holes littered the walls and floors, causing the rain to seep through and create puddles in the loft.

The redheaded girl was on the floor, trembling in fear, with a ravener demon not far in front of her.  The demon turned its head at the sound of Asher's entrance and screeched, its jaws splitting apart in four different direction. Four large stingers perched at each end, shining with venom and accompanied by smaller, yet sharper, teeth. 

Asher immediately took out her seraph blade and rushed in front of the girl. The demon's hand shot out and smacked the blade right from her grasp, scratching her in the process. It dug its claws deep into her arm and threw her to the side. Her shoulder collided with the wooden floor, eliciting a groan from her as she turned to see the demon closing in on the girl.

Asher tried to think of a plan as the Downworlder backed the girl up against the wall with no room to escape. Her blade was too far out of reach, so stabbing the demon wasn't feasible. 

An idea crossed Asher's mind: a very reckless idea. It was the kind of notion that would likely send Julian into a frenzy if he knew what it entailed. But at that moment, Asher didn't care. She was a Shadowhunter and she still had a mission to fulfill.

Taking a deep breath, the brunette shot up from the floor and shoved the girl out of the way, taking her place in return. The demon, at the same time, brought its teeth down onto her shoulder, sinking them deep into her skin. The jaw bite broke her glamour rune, revealing Asher. 

The girl's eyes were wide in terror, head screaming in confusion at what was happening in front of her. Asher clenched her teeth in an attempt to prevent herself from showing any pain. "Grab the blade." She gritted, but her words slurred together. The demon venom was talking effect on her.

Out of nowhere, a seraph blade shot through the demon, making it disintegrate before them. Asher couldn't recognize the person who did it because of her blurred vision, but the voice was all too familiar.

"What. No 'thank you' for saving your life?"

Asher let out a scoff, her voice hoarse. "Stalker." She felt her legs give way and her entire body collapsed. Instead of hitting the ground, the last thing Asher felt were a pair of arms cradling her. She couldn't see anything because of her darkened vision, but she managed to let out, "Help her."

The last thing she heard was a soft voice whispering, "I got you." before falling into complete darkness.