The sky had begun to turn a dark omniscient grey, spreading darkness through the trees. Johanna sat patiently on an old rotted log, drawing circles in the dirt with a stick, as she let at a bored sigh. She hated when the boys would run, mostly because the old family house surrounded by forest for miles was ten times as creepy when you were there alone. Of course some would argue that being inside the creepy forest at night alone would be a tad bit more intimidating, especially with three werewolves running about, but it always gave her comfort knowing they were around.
"Really Jo?" A familiar voice rang out, causing Johanna to jump slightly, snapping the stick she had wielded in her hand.
"Emmanuel will kill you if he finds you out here alone like this," Johanna turned her head slightly, catching a glimpse of the familiar boy emerging from the tree line shoving his shirt down over his toned chest. Werewolves. She thought, averting her gaze.
"Hello to you too Sammy." She grinned wryly. "How was your run?"
Samuel rolled is chocolate eyes, as he threw himself down on the log beside her.
"Don't try to change the subject, you know he doesn't like you out here alone while we're running, anything could happen."
"But I'm not alone," she sighed. "I'm never alone."
Samuel ruffled her dark locks, "Just because you have some weird angel guy in your head, doesn't mean you can just do whatever you want."
"I am not some 'weird angel guy' I am Ithuriel, servant of the Lord and archangel. I am also not in your head, but part of your soul. I am part of you, and you part of I."
Johanna rolled her eyes.
"Did you have to get him started?" She muttered, ignoring the angel's words.
"Well, if you think that's bad, you probably shouldn't stick around for Emmanuel to find you out here," Samuel stood up, dusting the dirt off his jeans, and held out a hand.
"Now come on, let's go back inside."
Johanna huffed and reluctantly took the young wolf's hand.
"Fine," she said. "I'll race you."
"Why do you always think you can beat me?" Samuel grinned, pushing his chestnut hair from his face. Johanna took a moment to admire the boy who she had grown up with, the boy who had found her, shivering, small form, lost and frightened in the woods when she was only five years old. But she wasn't that frightened little girl anymore, and Samuel was far from that little boy now. He stood almost a mountain taller than her, broad shoulders, long, slender body, but still somehow muscular. His chestnut hair was always tousled and windblown, like he never combed it, which knowing Samuel, he probably didn't, and yet somehow, he still made it work for him.
"Because," Johanna smirked. "You can't win if you're in the dirt!" At that, Johanna kicked Samuel's legs from underneath him, sending him onto his back.
"Catch you later loser!" She shouted, taking off into the darkness.
"Cheater." Samuel grumbled as he dusted himself off. "But that still won't help you!"
Johanna slowly dumped the freshly chopped carrots into the large iron pot. It was the last ingredient needed for her famous beef stew to be completed. Emmanuel and Oliver would be back from their run soon, and since the deer had been sparse this year, she knew they would have worked up quite an appetite.
"Something smells divine!" Samuel said sniffing the air hungrily, as he ran a towel over his sopping wet head, and plopped onto the kitchen counter.
"Well I am heavenly." Johanna smirked, as she stirred the stew contently.
"That was quite blasphemes."Ithuriel spoke.
"Oh hush you." She grumbled, taking a quick taste of her stew.
Samuel let out a small laugh as he threw the wet towel onto the counter beside him. To some people, Johanna's back and forth banter with the angel she shared a body with may have seemed a bit strange, but to Samuel, it's what made Jo, well, Jo. Since finding her in the woods all those years ago, cold, crying, and confused, he somehow knew she was special. Emmanuel knew that too, that's why he had decided to raise her as one of his own, which was an act greatly looked down upon amongst the downworlders, especially were wolves. But Emmanuel felt connected to the girl, he knew something was special about her, and when she was strong enough to talk, Ithuriel showed himself, spoke from the girl's body, telling Emmanuel everything, that the girl was the daughter of Valentine, a very evil and sadistic shadowhunter, who had trapped Ithuriel for many years. Johanna, being the curious girl that she was, had found him locked away and in pain, she had wept for him, and wondered why something so beautiful could be locked away, so she set him free, but he was too weak to return to his heavenly place, so he bound himself to her, marking her as his vessel, connecting their souls as one, and in turn vowing to protect her from the monsters of the world, including her father.
"Earth to Samuel!" Johanna said, snapping her fingers around his face, and pulling him from his thoughts.
"Right, sorry, I was just thinking about how much food I'm about to consume." He grinned, averting his thoughts back to the delicious smell.
"Right…" She said suspiciously. "Well you better not touch it until Emmanuel gets here or he'll have your head!"
"I know I know, alpha eats first, you know I am a werewolf right, not you, I know the rules." Samuel grumbled playfully, patting the spot on the counter next to him for her to sit down.
"Yeah yeah yeah…" She muttered, following his direction and plopping down next to him.
"When do you think they'll be back?" She asked, laying her head onto his shoulder. "They've been out there quite a while."
"I'm sure they'll be back soon, especially once they catch this delicious scent."
"Stop trying to suck up, I'm not sneaking you a bite, not until Emmanuel gets back."
"Ugh." Samuel grumbled, "You're insatiable…"
"And you're an a-" The sound of approaching footsteps interrupted her.
"I think they're back," She murmured, jumping from the countertop and cautiously making her way to the door.
"Johanna wait…" Samuel snapped, grabbing her by the arm and shoving her behind him protectively. "I smell blood."
"Blood?!" Johanna croaked hoarsely as panic began to set in.
"Is it Oliver or Emmanuel?" She questioned.
"Neither." He responded dryly. "It's Nephilim."
Before Johanna had time to respond Emmanuel and Oliver burst through the door carrying a strange dark haired boy covered in blood, around their shoulders. Johanna let out a gasp as the two men struggled to keep the boy up.
"Samuel, help Oliver get him downstairs quick, he's lost a lot of blood, he doesn't have a lot of time." Emmanuel's deep authoritative voice rang out. Samuel nodded, taking the boy by the arm, and quickly following his alpha's order.
Suddenly another boy emerged from behind the door, clad in black leather from head to toe. The only color on him was his bright, golden hair that was tousled and stained with blood. His deep blue eyes were full of fear and panic as they swept the room frantically. Johanna felt instantly bad for him, the other dark haired boy had to be his friend, but what were they doing out here, deep in the woods and on known werewolf territory at that. Samuel had said the blood he smelt was Nephilim blood, so they were shadowhunters, just like her. She had never met another shadowhunter before, not that she really had any right to be called one, she bore no runes, followed no Clave regulations, hunted no demons, instead she hung out with a pack of werewolves, lived with them, trained with them, followed their rules. She briefly wondered what the so called Clave would think of her, if they'd actually ever accept her, if she did ever decide to follow her heritage.
"They would accept you, I would make sure of that."Ithuriel spoke reassuringly.
Thanks. She replied silently.
It was true, the archangel did know exactly how to get on every nerve in her body, but he did care for her, and she him. In some odd way, they had ended up saving each other from the man that was her father. She often wondered what her life would have been like if she would have never discovered Ithuriel. What her father would have made her into, what other tortures her brother could have conjured up for her. Her brother loved dearly to torture her, and in some ways, she had feared him much more than her father.
Now is not the time to think of such things, the boy needs our help.
Johanna nodded her head in affirmation, and shook herself out of her trance.
"Where are they taking him?" The boy questioned.
"To the infirmary downstairs." Emmanuel answered. "Right now I need your help with a few things…What's your name?" Emmanuel asked, rummaging through the cabinets and tossing a few pots into the boy's arms.
"Jace." He replied "Jace Wayland."
"Well Jace, I need you to fill those up with warm water."
Jace nodded his head and quickly made his way to the sink taking a second glance at Johanna, finally noticing her presence.
"You're not a werewolf." He said half to himself. "She's not a werewolf."
"No," Emmanuel answered nonchalantly. "She's not. Johanna, can you please go assist Oliver and Samuel. I'll be down shortly."
"Yeah." She muttered, as she ran down the basement stairs to the makeshift infirmary. Oliver and Samuel had the boy laid out onto the metal surgical table they used to patch up themselves up from any injuries.
"What happened?" She asked, slowly making her way to stand by her brother's side.
"Hellhounds." Oliver answered dryly, as he began to rip the boys tattered and bloody shirt open, revealing large, gaping, wounds along his chest and abdomen. Johanna gasped at the sight, also noticing the many runes covering almost every inch of his torso, neck, and arms. Was this what it looked like to be shadowhunter? She thought to herself, taking a moment to admire how elegant and ornate the strange symbols seemed.
"Shit." Oliver grumbled, running his hands through his dark hair, pulling Johanna from her trance. "This is bad."
"I don't think I'll be able to stop the bleeding." Samuel added as he pressed his hands down onto the boy's wounds.
"You have to try, please." The other boy she now knew as Jace pleaded as he made his way down the steps along with Emmanuel, and carefully sat the pots down onto the counter next to them.
"We will." Emmanuel said gently, putting a comforting hand onto the boys shoulder.
"Dad, I don't think some warm water and bandages are going to help this, the wounds are deep, it won't be enough to stop the bleeding." Oliver added.
"I can help him." Johanna blurted out, not realizing what she had just said.
"No Johanna." Emmanuel said sternly.
"But he'll die!" She retorted, knowing that Ithuriel's powers were more than enough to save the boy.
"No Johanna, you know what it does to you!" Samuel retorted.
"Please, if she can do something to help, please let her, please don't let him die!" Jace pleaded.
"I can't protect you if they know, if the Clave knows!" Emmanuel growled.
"The Clave will never know, please, you have my word, whatever it is she can do, they will never hear a word from me!" Jace pleaded again. "Please, just save him."
That was all Johanna had to hear, she didn't care what the boys had to say about it, if she didn't save this boy he would die, and if there was one thing Johanna knew how to do, it was saving people. With Ithuriel by her side, she had done it many of times, and she was determined to do it now. She slowly walked up to the limp boy on the table, she wondered what his name was, what he was like. She knew he was loved, at least by Jace, the way he pleaded, tears and fear pooling in his eyes that he cared deeply for him.
"It will weaken you, more than usual."Ithuriel warned. "But he is Nephilim, we must protect him."
Johanna nodded in affirmation. She knew what must be done. Gently she pushed the boys charcoal hair from his forehead. Fever had begun to set in, and he was sweating profusely. His face had paled, leaving only dark circles around his eyes. Even looking the way he did now, Johanna could tell the boy was handsome, again making her wonder what he must be like when he wasn't dying. Johanna shook the thoughts from her head and placed a careful hand onto his abdomen.
"Johanna." She heard one last pleading call from her adopted brother, Oliver, but she ignored it, and instead closed her eyes, taking in a sharp breathe as she knew what was about to come.
Ithuriel's power surged through her body, as his soul began to take over. She felt her consciousness slipping, felt herself being pushed to the back of her mind as Ithuriel's consciousness pushed itself forward. When her eyes opened she was no longer Johanna, but Ithuriel, his eyes bright gold that illuminated the room. Energy surged around him, causing Jace to gasp.
"What the hell is she?" He muttered hoarsely.
"Not what but who." Ithuriel's angelic voice rang out. "I am Ithuriel, servant of the Lord and archangel. Johanna and I are one, she is my vessel, I am her protector."
"I…I've never seen an angel before, I thought they didn't exist…" Jace mumbled in disbelief.
Ithuriel, ignoring his words, set his sights on the boy in front of him.
"Your friend-"
"Alec." Jace added.
"Alec. I can sense he is a true Nephilim, pure at heart and intention."
"He is." Jace agreed. "One of the best. Please, please save him."
At that, Ithuriel planted both his hands firmly onto Alec's wounds, his energy began to burn brighter as he forced his healing power onto the dying boy. Alec's began to glow with the same angelic energy as it coursed through his body, healing every wound from head to toe. Successful, Ithuriel gently removed his hands, wiping the blood absentmindedly onto the legs of Johanna's jeans.
"It is done." Ithuriel spoke. "But he will be weak for a while, my power can be too much on the human body, especially Johanna's." He said, turning to Emmanuel. "She will need to be looked after as well." Emmanuel nodded in confirmation, already knowing the drill.
"Keep them safe for as long as needed," Ithuriel added. "They are children of the Nephilim, they are of my blood."
The wolves nodded, they never really knew what to say to the angel, he was always so intimidating when he showed his face that they never could imagine disobeying him, even Emmanuel, he had seen what the angel was capable of. At that the angel closed his eyes, pushing his consciousness back into the depths of Johanna's mind, but as usual, Ithuriel's power was too much for Johanna's body to handle, causing her to collapse into unconsciousness onto the basement floor.