The Keepers: Earth, Iron, and Blood ~A Shadowhunters Fanfiction ~

The Keepers: Love, Lies, and Lust **Sneak Peek**

My Mommy tucks me into bed, smiling as she does so. She's beautiful, her hair is as light as the sun and her eyes are as dark as the night. I curl into my soft blanket. I love this blanket, my Daddy brought it home from Idris just for me. I always have this blanket with me. My Mommy kisses my forehead and starts to walk out of the room. I get to stay at Grandma and Grandpa's tonight. My Grandma made cookies with me earlier while my Grandpa took my Daddy outside. Grandpa seemed upset. I roll onto my side to watch my Mommy walk out of the room, her smile as sweet as sugar and as soft as my blankie.

"Goodnight, my sweet Lizzy. I love you more than all of the stars in the sky," she says sweetly. Her eyes are starting to shimmer just like the stars do, just like how my Grandma's shimmered tonight before I went to bed.

I giggle at the sound of my nickname. She gave me that herself. "Goodnight, Mama. I love you, too. See you tomorrow," I respond before snuggling deeper into my blanket.

She says nothing more as her eyes shimmer even brighter. When she blinks, the shimmer goes away and starts forming again. She walks out of the room and closes the door behind her. Once she's gone, I lay my hand on the railing of the bed, the wooden railing, and it starts to glow a pretty red. My Grandpa says it's because I'm special that I can make things glow, but my Daddy doesn't like it when I do it. He says it's dangerous. I don't know how it's dangerous, I think it's pretty. I swoosh my fingers around on the bed frame, the red sparkles follow my fingertips. I quickly raise my hand into the air, over my head and to the other side of the bed, the pretty red sparkles follow my fingers. I can see patterns in the sparkles, shapes and places. I like making these sparkles. Mommy and Daddy only know that I can make things glow, they don't know about this. I don't want to stop doing it so they can't find out.

A loud noise coming from downstairs scares me and the sparkles suddenly go away. I don't want to get up to go look, I'm scared I'll be yelled at. I know I've heard the sound before, but I don't remember where. It was loud, sudden, it was like a bang. It was a bang, a bang of a door shutting. Mommy would make that noise with the door when Daddy would go outside.

I get up and look out the window and see my Mommy and Daddy's car driving off. I'll see you both tomorrow. I love you.

~-~

I awake with a start as I jolt up from my bed, tears soaking my cheeks, my hands clenching the sheets. I'm sweaty, I feel hungover. As I catch my breath, I look over to my side. Jace had gone out with Alec tonight, something about a werewolf on the loose. I wanted to go with them, but I've been so caught up on paperwork from the Clave that I couldn't. He said they would be gone for a while and when they come back, he'll join me. I sigh heavily at the sight of the empty spot next to me.

Ever since I killed Aspen a couple of weeks ago, I've been working on getting my family's name back to the top of the charts. I might be the only one in uniform, but we lost our pull and power a long time ago...I want to get it back. I drag my fingertips through my hair, swallowing down the ball that has formed in my throat. I've been having the same dream almost every night, but each time it's been slightly different. Why? I have no clue. But each time I have it, things just keep getting more sinister, more depressing, more...dark.

I rub my eyes, wishing I could just erase my memory of everything that happened before living with my grandparents. I remember pieces here and there of different things, but it's eating me alive that I can't put all the pieces together. It's got to be work and stress related, that's the only thing that makes sense! I get up from bed and slip into my robe. I need some air.

I head out of my room and down the hallway, saying hi to Church as I go along. If Jace comes home and you aren't in bed, he's going to freak. Things have been great between Jace and I; I have no complaints. With everything that I've been going through with the Clave and these weird dreams, he's been nothing but supportive. I honestly couldn't ask for anything more.

The celebration that came after Aspen's death was massive. Downworlders and Shadowhunters held massive parties. The entire Shadow World became electrified. It was a week or so before everything started to calm down and people went back to their everyday lives. My blade hangs in the library; Jace's, Izzy's and Alec's are in the armory. When the cleanup crew was sent to dispose of Aspen and his belongings, we made sure that their weapons came home where they belong.

As I enter the outside gardens, I welcome the chill of the night air. I have always found the cooler New York weather to be refreshing. Taking a seat on a nearby bench, I try to focus on my surroundings and let the fresh air cool me down. The sounds of the night help to sooth me and I can feel my stress melting a little more with each deep breath I take. I've learned how to mostly deal with my stress. I haven't had a panic attack in a very long time, thank God.

I close my eyes and lean my head back, doing what I can to wipe tonight's dream from my mind. When I think about it...I can hardly handle the emotions that accompany my dreams. They're almost too painful. I went for a long time barely remembering anything about my parents, and now, suddenly, things are starting to come back to me. I was just a child. How could I even recall memories from that time? I didn't ask for this! At least now I know why I hate the nickname Lizzy so much and adore soft blankets. I open my eyes slowly and gaze up at the stars. I begin to count them silently in my mind. One...two...three...four...five...six...seven...

eight...nine...ten...eleven...twelve... thirteen...fourteen... I take another deep breath, wishing I had the answers. There must be answers somewhere.

Suddenly, something hits my leg, making me jump. I look down and see a piece of paper, folded like a note, that has appeared on my lap. Where did you come from? I hesitate for a moment before picking it up. I open the note and from the light of the moon, I read what's written.

"Darling, he's coming. Please be careful.

~ A.C. J.C."

Oh, my God! My heart starts to pound faster and my breathing increases. Jumping up from the bench, I rush inside. Hodge! He is always up late when the boys are gone. He will be waiting in the library to make sure they return safely. As I am running through the hallway as fast as my legs can carry me, different memories start flooding my mind. It's like a dam has broken. My head is aching. The war isn't over, no...it's just begun.