Seraph (Harry Styles/Mortal Instruments)

3: Left Behind

Chapter 3: Left Behind

I finally arrived at my street, skidding across the concrete as I raced around the corner. I reached my door, racing inside the duplex and ramming into our downstairs neighbor.

"Ah! I'm so sorry, Mr. Baletzo." I apologized, brushing past him and up the stairs. "Tell your mother to stop all that ruckus upstairs! It's scaring Mr. Freckles." He yelled after me. My heart rate quickened when I heard him say that. He was a man in his late sixties, with grey hair and was always wearing a tailored suit. Mr. Freckles was his cat.

I arrived at my door, hearing more crashing behind the surface. "You'll never find the Cup." I heard my mother yell, and then a thud. I threw open the door, screaming her name.

There were 3 men in our apartment, all very big and burly, dressed in black leather. The same markings that were on Harry's arms were apparent on their necks and wrists, so I assumed that they were also Shadowhunters. "Oh look, the daughter is much scrawnier than I imagined." One of them said, grabbing me roughly by the arm.

My mother was passed out on the couch, a bloody gash on her forehead and an empty vile on the ground. "What did you do to her!" I yelled in protest, kicking and screaming. The three men laughed at my desperate attempts.

The bald man who was holding me by my arms unveiled a knife that was strapped to his large bicep. My arms were starting to bruise under his grip.

He sank the blade into my wrist, earning a scream from me as he pulled out a glass vile, letting the blood drip inside. I cringed at the sight of my blood.

But then, glass shattered, and I was thrown onto the floor.

"It's the Wayland boy!" I heard one of the men scream as I immediately looked up. Sure enough, Harry was standing right by the broken window, the same blade in his hand from last night. He whispered something in a language I wasn't familiar with, and the blade extended, Harry holding it over his shoulder.

He launched himself at the men, and I desperately crawled my way into the kitchen, finding a white washcloth my mother used for the dishes. I ripped a strip off, wrapping my cut wrist until it was fully covered, only splotches of red being seen through the fabric. I stood up again.

Harry had knocked one man out, and was now battling another. "NO!" I shouted as the other man swooped my mother over his shoulder, jumping out of the broken window. Harry was momentarily distracted with my scream, and was flung against my living room wall.

The man Harry was fighting was no longer a man, he had morphed into some frightening creature from Hell, teeth as sharp as daggers and skin now a reddish-black.

Harry jumped back up swiftly, pushing me behind him with his blade drawn. "Still don't believe me?" He sarcastically remarked as he lunged at the creature.

I ran into my mother's bedroom, suddenly remembering the Katana sword my mother kept in a glass case above her bed. She had told me it was just for decoration, but at this moment, I really hoped it had some use.

I smashed the glass with my elbow, earning numerous cuts on my arm, but there was too much adrenaline in my body for me to feel it.

The Katana felt strangely comfortable in my hands, like I had used it my entire life. My hands automatically wrapped around the golden handle, and I noticed the same markings running down the blade. Then, something that shocked me so much that I almost dropped the sword. A name was inscribed into the hilt.

Nightwine.

Jane Nightwine.

This was my sword.

I ran back into the living room, something clicking inside my mind that gave me a new confidence, a new familiarity.

Harry was thrown against a wall again, this time a thick gash across his arm. He struggled to stand as the creature turned to me, staggering over. Harry had obviously hurt him.

"Jane Nightwine...you shall die today." The Demon said, in a double-toned voice, almost as if someone were talking through him.

"I won't be the one who dies, hellbeast." I stated with a threatening tone that didn't sound like myself. I jumped over the beast, his clawed hands grabbing at me as I soared into the air. I raised the Katana, my hands moving in a swift motion, like a current of air.

I landed in a kneeled position, the sword covered in blood as I looked up. The giant was standing there, expressionless and still. At first, I thought I did nothing to him, but then his head started to slide off of his shoulders, slowly but swiftly. There was a clean line through his neck where I had cut off his head.

My grip on my sword was so tight that the joints on my hand were completely white. I was then overrun with pain, finally feeling all the cuts in my arms, like a pack of wasps were stinging me, one by one. I crumpled to the floor, Harry running to my side.

"Jane, stay with me, alright?" Harry said, pulling out a silver and blue rod. The rod began to glow at the tip, and he took my elbow, burning something into my arm. "It's a stele. It draws markings, called Runes." He explained as the rod-the stele-burned across my arm. There was an immense amount of pain until he removed the stele, and then, it faded away almost immediately.

I looked down at the marking he had put on my arm, a strange arrangement of swirls and lines. "Iratze. A healing rune." He explained to me as I nodded, and for the first time, thanking him.

He helped me stand up, but I automatically felt lightheadedness. "Harry..." I mumbled as my knees gave out, Harry having to catch me. There were black spots clouding my eyes.