Chapter 14

Her breaths were sharp and erratic, like she was struggling to breathe, struggling to understand.

Then her gaze locked onto Zane.

And dashed backwards hurriedly.

He froze, he could barely see her move just now, he had simply felt a rush of air and she was gone.

The raw fear in her eyes was unmistakable, but it wasn't the fear of a helpless girl.

No, this was the fear of a cornered animal.

Zane slowly raised his hands, keeping his voice calm trying to show he wasn't a threat.

 "Eve, listen to me. It's okay. You're safe now."

She flinched, shoulders tensing as her fingers curled into claws. Every muscle in her body was wound tight like a spring, like she ready to pounce at the first sign of danger.

Her breathing was ragged, her chest rising and falling too fast, he had to make her calm down some how before she reacted violently.

"It's me. You remember me, right?" Zane took a slow, measured step forward. "Handsome guy at the club? Zane...."

Her lips curled back slightly, exposing teeth that looked a little too sharp. She wasn't growling, not yet, but the warning was there.

He kept his tone steady. "I know you're scared. But you're not alone, Eve. Just breathe."

Her glowing eyes calmed for a moment, like something inside of her was fighting to make sense of his words. For a moment, just a moment, she hesitated.

It was working!

Then, a voice shattered the fragile silence.

"Step away from the beast, Shadowhunter!"

The command rang through the alley. It wasn't a suggestion. It was an order.

Zane turned sharply, his expression hardening.

The first thing he noticed was the halo floating on her head.

A perfect ring of light hovered above her head, its glow was steady and soft, but undeniably powerful. 

An Apostle.

He had learnt about them recently, he was almost starting to wonder when he would meet them, he didn't expect it to be this soon though.

The woman wore leather armour like the shadow hunters but white, pure white. She was breath taking too with her silver hair.

And she wasn't alone.

More figures stepped into the light behind her, clad in the same white garments, their halos flickering with holy fire. There were six of them in total, but Zane could tell immediately which two were the ones in charge.

The woman. And the man standing beside her.

She didn't look at Zane with hatred, nor did she regard him with suspicion. Instead, her gaze was curious?

She observed the shadow that stood in the carnage, still with the evil looking grin.

The man, however, was another story.

His halo burned brighter than the rest except for the girl, his looked read for a fight. His eyes flicked to Zane briefly before settling on Eve with open disgust.

"You stand in the presence of something unnatural," His Halo dropped from his head and changed into a sword. "Step away before it's too late."

Zane's fingers twitched. "She's not a threat."

"She possesses demon blood, that's enough to be a threat." The man's expression hardened. "Just because we have a treaty doesn't mean we won't attack you if you stand in front of our prey hunter. Move!"

Eve stiffened at that. Her muscles tensed, her breaths grew shallower, more uneven. She didn't fully understand what was happening, but she understood enough.

They were going to kill her.

"Wait—" Zane started, stepping in front of her.

The Second-in-Command moved in the same instant. With a flash of golden light, his halo shifted, reshaping itself into a massive spear of pure radiance.

Eve's breath hitched.

Zane barely had time to process before the Apostle hurled the spear straight at her.

She moved.

Zane moved too, He caught the spear before it could reach her.

Still it wasn't any consolation, he felt like he had poured hot oil on his palm.

With a hiss he dropped the spear, it swiftly returned to its owner.

Who launched it again!

This time, the others joined in, launching their own holy weapons at her.

His eyes narrowed, it seemed like he wouldn't be able to get out of this without conflict, yet he was very exhausted.

Killing the Vampires had taken a huge toll on him, he wasn't sure he could take on these trained fighters too.

Nonetheless, Eve was his responsibility now, so he moved.

He grabbed a spear ignoring the sizzling sounds his own flesh was making before using it to deflect the remaining spears.

He felt a rush a wind behind him, he looked up and his eyes widened in shock

Large Silver coloured feathery wings were lifting Eve up, she seemed to be struggling with the mechanics of her movement but then, instinct took over.

She launched herself into the sky.

"Dammit!" Zane cursed, watching as Eve shot higher and higher, her wings flapping in panicked desperation. "You fucking idiots!"

"Don't let her escape!" the Second-in-Command barked.

The other Apostles reacted instantly. Their halos shimmered, morphing glowing bows all trained on Eve's ascending form.

A burning fire materialized on the bows before taking the shape of a thin arrow as they took aim.

They were going to bring her down.

Zane moved without thinking.

Shadow

His shadow erupted, surging forward before the first shot could be fired. It moved faster than even he expected, a blur of liquid darkness lashing out.

The first Apostle let loose an arrow of pure light—only for the shadow to intercept, knocking it off course. Another tried to summon a spear, but the shadow was already there, twisting around his wrist, wrenching the weapon from his grasp before slamming him into the alley wall.

Chaos broke out.

Zane lunged into the fray, his instincts sharpening to a razor's edge. He ducked under a swing from a flaming sword, grabbed the Apostle's wrist, and twisted sharply—bones snapped, and the weapon clattered to the ground.

Another came at him from behind. He barely dodged in time, the heat of a blade singing the air as it missed his throat by inches. He retaliated with a brutal elbow strike to the ribs, followed by a knee to the gut that sent the Apostle sprawling.

Then, something moved behind him.

A flash of gold. A spear of holy fire, aimed directly for his hands.

Zane didn't react fast enough.

But his shadow did.

The living darkness materialized between them, forming into a vaguely humanoid figure. It caught the spear mid-flight, its fingers closing around the burning weapon. The Apostle gasped, eyes wide in shock.

The shadow turned its head slightly.

A grin.

It grinned.

Then, without hesitation, it shattered the spear in its grip and lunged forward.

The Apostle barely had time to scream before the shadow's claws tore into him.

Zane exhaled sharply, feeling the rush of power through his connection with it. He hadn't even ordered it to attack—it had acted on its own.

It was protecting him.

"Don't Kill them," Zane ordered. Apart from the fact that they also weren't trying to kill him, he really couldn't break a peace that had been here for thousands of years.

The shadow's grin widened. Then, it vanished.

It moved like a nightmare, darting through the alley, slipping between the Apostles like liquid death. One by one, they fell—thrown, slashed, disarmed. It didn't kill them, but it tore through them with ruthless efficiency, leaving them broken and gasping on the ground.

The Second-in-Command barely managed to keep up. He lashed out with a blade of holy light, but the shadow dodged effortlessly, weaving around him like a phantom.

Zane stepped forward, his voice sharp. "You want to preach about righteousness? About protecting the innocent?" His glare was ice-cold. "Then tell me—what the fuck do you an innocent girl who didn't deserve to be caught up in supernatural matters?"

The Second-in-Command grit his teeth, as he weaved through another attack. "That thing isn't innocent."

"She was a human girl until you tried to kill her!"

"She is something else now!"

"That doesn't mean she deserved to die!"

A sudden wave of pressure filled the alley.

"Enough."

The single word was spoken softly, but it carried the weight of an undeniable command.

And just like that, Mia was there.

She stood at the alley's entrance, arms crossed, her expression calm but unmistakably pissed off. Behind her, a group of Shadowhunters had arrived, weapons drawn, eyes locked onto the Apostles with sharp wariness.

Zane could feel the tension in the air, the silent standoff between two opposing forces. 

He commanded his shadow to stop and it did, the obnoxious grin never left it's face even as it stood behind him.

Mia's gaze flicked to Zane briefly, then to the shadow looming behind him. Her lips pressed into a thin line. "We'll talk later."

Then, she turned to the Apostles.

"He's one of ours," she said simply. "If you have a problem with him, you have a problem with us."

"We didn't have a problem with him until he decided to make himself the problem!" The Second-in-command yelled back.

"Enough Elijah" The Apostle leader studied her for a moment before turning back to Zane. "What have you created, Shadowhunter?"

Mia didn't stop him from answering, she was also very curious at what the thing that flew away was.

Zane exhaled. "I don't know, she was injured and i tried to use my runes on her but it didn't work so i tried .....another way"

He looked at the apostles and back at Mia trying to show that he didn't trust them enough to tell the full story.

Mia sighed obviously frustrated but said nothing more, he couldn't reveal the restore rune after all as she would have to answer a lot of questions. Instead, she refocused on the Apostles. "Let's forget this whole mess for now. Are you going to be there for the demonic invasion?"

Elijah scoffed. "Of course. Unlike your kind, we were meant to slay demons." Then his gaze flicked back to Zane. "Unlike abominations who carry their blood."

Mia rolled her eyes. "Yeah, yeah. Same old argument."

She turned away, motioning for the Shadowhunters to leave.

"Before you go, i'd like to ask for the new hunter's name"

This came from the leader.

"Zane." He replied

 She smiled at the reply before bowing slightly. "Very well Zane, my name is Beatrice, I hope we meet again in less hostile circumstances"

He didn't reply instead he casted one last glance at the sky.

Eve was gone.

"Not sure that will be possible unless the girl is safe, Beatrice."

With that he walked away.