"expect the unexpected."
******
ASHER GROWLED in annoyance as she walked towards the night club, her black stiletto booties clicking against the cobblestone path.
The young Shadowhunter was immediately dispatched to go look for the ravener demon, giving her barely any time to get situated in her new home for who knows how long. The situation added to her already pissy mood.
Asher tugged at the fingerless leather gloves concealing her hands, thinking about her last conversation with Julian. Why did she have to travel to Manhattan to interrogate one lesser demon about mundane blood? She mumbled words about her thoughts on Julian's task as well as the Shadowhunters in the New York Institute. I mean, aren't there other Shadowhunters who could do this docile task instead? She thought to herself.
Asher twirled her new platinum blonde hair in between her fingers. She found a new glamour that her mother created whilst looking through one of her old books. After all, demons loved blondes.
Asher walked confidently to the entrance of the Pandemonium once she caught sight of her target shapeshifting into a woman with a tight purple dress. The Shadowhunter followed after the Downworlder discreetly, unaware of the other three people doing the same.
The smell of sweat and alcohol filled Asher's nostrils as she weaved through the dancing bodies, curls bouncing with every step. The warehouse-like building vibrated with music whilst the colorful strobe lights beamed in every direction possible. Her fishnet leggings and tight blue lace dress blended perfectly into the crowd.
Asher kept her gaze fixated on the demon. She followed its every move and watched as it stopped in front of two body guards standing on look out near the bar. The ravener passed one of them a red-tinted glass jar in exchange for a blue velvet pouch.
Curiously, Asher wondered about the sole purpose of this mission as she observed the small exchange. Maryse couldn't have possibly asked her to just get information and take down the target. There had to have been something more.
Her eyes lingered on the same two bodyguards as she walked by. A man walked up to them and turned his head, eyes locking gazes with Asher. She felt this strong aura around him, knowing exactly who, or what, this person was. The Shadowhunter gave him a wink before turning back around to continue her mission; she was not going to let a warlock get the best of her.
The demon led Asher to a secluded room on the other side of the club; a green curtain covered half of the entrance. Asher smirked at the guards and gave them a flirtatious wave before walking inside, charming them to draw the curtains behind her for some privacy.
Asher subtly scanned the lounge, counting the demons occupying the space with her. There were far more than what she dealt with before, but that only made her smile.
She liked a challenge.
Asher made a move towards the demon on the far side of the lounge when an arm wrapped itself around her waist. It pulled her back against a well-toned chest as a pair of lips touched the shell of her ear. "I hear you've been peddling mundane blood." She felt her chest flutter at the small interaction. Stupid human emotions.
Asher rolled her eyes at how ignorant this person was and casually leaned into the his embrace, going along with the ruse to prevent the demon from suspecting anything. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a raven-haired girl dancing on one of the tables, charming all of the demons around her.
"Unfortunately," Asher spoke up to the strange man. "You've got the wrong person." When she tried to unwrap herself from his arm, the grip tightened. "Playing games now, are we?" His breath sent shivers down her spine.
Asher clenched her jaw in annoyance as she placed a hand on top of his, gently running her finger across his skin. "I advise you to let me go so that I can finish my job. Unless you want the demon to get away." The man behind her stiffened.
"Who are you?"
Asher chuckled. "You have to buy me a drink first." Slipping out of his grasp, she turned around to look at the person interrupting her mission. She had to stop herself from widening her eyes in shock.
The man behind her stood tall with a fitted black tee covering his broad shoulders and toned chest. Golden blond hair was swept lazily back to keep out of his eyes and runes were scattered across his exposed skin, branding him as a Shadowhunter.
He intensely stared down at Asher. She glared back just as aggressively, but an unexpected sensation burned in her chest. She couldn't tell if she was shocked from his looks or the fact that her glamour worked so well that he couldn't tell who she was.
Asher broke the gaze first and moved onward, biting her lip to stop the small blush that resulted from the interaction. She sauntered over to the demon on the other side of the room holding the blue pouch. With a featherlight touch, she trailed her finger up the disguised demon's arm before brushing its shoulder and sliding her hand down to its waist. "You seem pretty lonely."
Asher felt the demon tense up under her touch, clearly intimidated already. That made her smirk. "Now," She whispered into its ear. "You are going to tell me what you exchanged with those guards and why."
"Why?" The demon spoke, its voice disguised with a sultry female tone. "You looking to score?"
"Not us." The man appeared before the two. Asher watched as he made a show of gripping the hilt of his weapon. "But you will tell us who is."
The demon slipped out of Asher's grasp and moved back to create space between itself and the Shadowhunters. "Last chance." The man whispered, unsheathing his seraph blade. Asher was ready to pull out hers as well when a redhead came running at them with full force.
"Watch out!" She screamed, shoving both Asher and the demon onto the couches behind them. As soon as Asher's back collided with the cushions, the demon shot up. Its mouth blossomed open to reveal four large fangs and rows of sharp teeth.
"Careful!" The man shoved the girl out of the way, causing her to fall and slide backwards. From her seated position, Asher grabbed her seraph blade and jabbed it into the demon, disintegrating it into ashes.
Asher pushed herself up and hurried over to the girl on the floor, extending a hand to assist her. "Are you alright?" she inquired. The girl paused at the offered kindness but took Asher's hand, lifting herself back up.
Asher redirected her attention to the other Shadowhunter, fuming with anger. "You let a mundane in? Are you crazy?"
"I didn't know she was following us!"
"She jeopardized the mission!" Asher seethed. "You're supposed to keep mundanes safe, not put them into more danger!" She felt her face heating up with how frustrated she was. "Who the hell are you?!"
"Who the hell am I? Who the hell are you?"
The two Shadowhunters argued as the battle continued around them. Out of nowhere, a demon came up behind the man and caught him by surprise, landing a blow to his jaw. His seraph blade flew out of his hands onto the couch.
Asher gave the girl a tender nudge backwards with her arm as the man fought the demon in hand-to-hand combat. She instinctively rolled her eyes at his form. The man shot her a glare from his spot and successfully kicked the demon off of him.
"Thanks for your help." He replied sarcastically. Asher shrugged. "I could've killed at least three demons with all that time you took."
The man rushed over and grabbed his seraph blade from the girl. Asher furrowed her eyebrows, not realizing that the mundane grabbed his weapon. What was more confusing was the fact that she was pretty sure she saw it glowing right before he took it back.
"Oh really?" The male Shadowhunter stopped in front of her, snapping her out of her trance. He motioned to the other threats with his blade. "Be my guest."
Asher smirked and turned back to the demons now heading her way. Swiftly, she ran forward and slid down onto the ground, slashing one of the demons on the ankles. It burst into orange sparks, which captured the attention of the others. Left to right, Asher fought with the Downworlders and each one disintegrated back into ash. Once the closest demon evaporated, Asher resulted to throwing daggers at the rest.
The other two Shadowhunters joined their comrade in the center of the floor as Asher's weapon sunk into the last target. They all stared at her with jaws slightly agape as she managed to kill eight demons in under five minutes.
Collecting the last of her daggers, Asher turned towards the blond. The dancer from earlier positioned herself on one side and a taller man, sporting the same black hair, stood on the opposite side. Smirking, Asher lowered the upper half of her body and flared out her arms in an over exaggerated bow. "Please, no autographs." She stood back up and grinned playfully while the blond clenched his jaw, clearly unamused.
A streak darted past her, prompting Asher to pivot and catch a fleeting glimpse of red hair vanishing from the lounge.She cursed to herself silently.
The mundane got away.