Morningstar

Chapter 1

The demon lunged at Teresa, it's wide jaws open to expose a mouthful of razor sharp teeth. Damn Ravener, Teresa thought, leaping out of its way. She hadn't gotten much sleep the night before, what with the party and all, and now she was incredibly cranky and definitely not in the mood to fight Ravener demons in Central Park at 2 am.

The demon began coming for her again, so Teresa freed her seraph blade from her weapons belt. "Raphael," she grunted and the blade lit up with a bright light. Leaping forward, she brought the blade around and under to stab the demon right in the neck.

Black blood poured out of the wound and some of it got on Teresa's wrist. She hissed in pain as the demon's blood burned her skin and she quickly withdrew her seraph blade and stepped away from the dying Ravener. A gurgling sound coming from its mouth meant it was choking on its own blood and it was convulsing and writhing around. It gave one last screech then finally lay still, promptly disintegrating into fine dust.

She looked at her parents sitting by a tree and watching her. "How did I do?"

"Very well," her mother replied, grinning at her. "You inherited your father's skill. Except you didn't think to use your seraph blade until for a while, which you unfortunately inherited from me." It was true. Her mother, whose name was Clarissa Morgenstern, was a great shadowhunter, but a bit dreamy at times. Her father, Jace Herondale, on the other hand, was legendary for his fighting skills far superior to most shadowhunters.

Her father nodded. "I agree, except that I actually think that pride was what made you not use the seraph blade, which you got from me."

"So I should work on knowing what weapons I have on hand, then?"

"Yes, but it is good to know how to fight without a weapon, in case the need arises."

Her mother flipped her bright red hair over her shoulder and stood. "Let's get back to the Institute and get some rest." Her father got up too and they went to stand by a large tree. Her mom took out her stele and drew a portal rune on it. They all leaped into the maelstrom of swirling colors that appeared and found themselves back in the entrance way of the Lightwood Institute.

Teresa immediately made a break for the elevator to avoid anything else her parents might want from her. She pressed the button and waited impatiently, tapping her foot and studying the painting of Raziel on the elevator doors. Teresa had her mother's artistic ability, and with it, her appreciation for art. She had always thought it was a beautiful painting, even though there were so many others of angels in the Institute.

The doors opened and Teresa stepped into the elevator, pressing the button for the third floor. The doors closed and she stood in the pitch black as the elevator lurched upward.

During the ride up, Teresa thought about how she was the daughter of two people with extra angel blood running through their veins. The painting of Raziel had caused it to come to the front of her brain. She wondered if the angel blood would have any effect on her, and if so what it would be. Her father was one of the greatest fighters in history and very handsome, and her mother could create runes. If she couldn't do anything special, than she would be a disgrace to her family. At least she had been born with the Sight, but she hadn't shown anything overly special. Yet, she told herself, yet.

The elevator stopped and the doors groaned open. Teresa stepped out and into the hall. Her feet were silent on the wood floor as she walked to her room, courtesy of her training. She reached her door and unlocked and opened it quickly. She undressed and changed into old shorts and a tank top and fell into bed, falling asleep as soon as she closed her tired eyes.