Chapter One

Theresa Gray tried to ignore the painful pangs of her empty stomach as she frantically searched the streets for any sign of her brother. Nathaniel could be gone for days at a time, looking for food or work or anything that would help them in the dire situation they were in, but never had he been gone for as long as a week without checking in on her and bringing her something to eat. Tessa had began to worry after the third day with no word from Nathaniel but was adamant about staying where she was, in a small but seemingly abandoned shed that must have once belonged to the groundskeeper of a now overcrowded cemetery, as she was conscious that should she leave while Nathaniel returned then he would have no clue where to go and look for her. He would worry needlessly before taking off again to look for her, resulting in them both being lost. However after a week all her resolve was as long gone as the small amount of food she had been rationing.

It was getting dark again and the people of London scarcely noticed her as they hurried home to escape the chill the night was sure to bring. Tessa's hands were numb from the cold already and the thin fabric of her dress did nothing to stop the oncoming rain from soaking her. She wandered aimlessly through the cobblestone streets, the empty parks and down by the Thames until there was no possibility of finding her way back. By the time she stopped to sit down on a wooden bench by the river Tessa's feet were aching and could barely see through the fog beginning to set in around her. She pulled out the necklace from under her dress and clutched it tightly as she lowered her head to her hands.

"What do I do?" She muttered to herself, hoping that by saying the words out loud she may be able to come up with an answer. Why did she think this was a good idea? Did she honestly think that by just by looking her brother might suddenly appear with a straightforward excuse for his disappearance? Tessa tried to laugh at herself but what came out was something between a sob and a sigh. A cold wind swept passed her then, pressing the coldness of her wet dress deep into her bones and Tessa fought off a shiver before deciding to try and find somewhere out of the rain.

Tessa had barely stood when she heard hurried footsteps getting closer to her. Straining to see through the fog, Tessa moved closer to the sound, hoping to see who was in such a state that they would be running through London at this time of night when suddenly, out of the thick mist, the owner of the footsteps crashed into her. The flowing material of a dress was the first thing that told her it was a woman, the second was the high pitched sobbing that rocked through the seemingly distraught young woman.

"Oh my goodness!" Tessa gasped, "I'm terribly sorry. Is everything all right?" The woman looked up and Tessa realised that she was wrong, she was not a woman at all but a young girl, no older than 12 she would say. The fine cut and colours of her dress told Tessa that she must be from a wealthy family, what she would call a society girl back home, something she used to call herself. She knew that a girl of this class should not be out at this time of night, especially unaccompanied. The girl looked over her shoulder into the curtain of grey and tried to scramble to her feet, snagging her feet on her dress a couple of times before managing

"Quick," a deep voice came from the fog, "I think it went this way!" The girls eyes widened and it only took a second before Tessa understood the situation. Ignoring her earlier exhaustion, she grabbed the girls wrist and dragged her off in a run. They were both struggling to breath after 10 minutes of flat-out sprinting down the length of the Thames and it was no surprise when the girl fell to her knees gasping.

"Come on!" Tessa encouraged, desperate to get the child to safety and away from the men pursuing them, "I understand you're tired, but we must keep going!" But the girl didn't move, not even when Tessa grabbed her and tried to pull with all her might. The sounds of the men grew closer and Tessa did the only thing she could think of. She stood in front of the girl and decided that if they wanted her, they would have to go through Tessa first. Not the best plan, Tessa knew, considering what these men where planning to do this late at night with a young girl, but she thought she stood a better chance at fighting them off than this girl did. She squeezed her hands into fists and tried her best to look brave and not at all as stupid as she felt as two figures emerged from the fog.

The pair were not what Tessa imagined. Both about the same height as each other but taller the Tessa, they stood there as a personification of dark and light. One had dark hair that curled around his forehead and even through he fog she could see how vibrant the deep blue of his eyes were. He was wearing a very elegant suit, not something Tessa had expected of a man who was about to violate a young girl, it was dark and well fitted and not the slightest bit disarrayed that would suggest he had just been running for goodness knew how long. In fact, Tessa notice, the other man didn't look that put out either. He had extremely light hair, such a bright blonde it could be considered silver under the dim street lights. He was also in a suit, it was lighter than the former's but just as well fitted. Tessa took a deep breath and stared them down, hoping they would get this over with.

The two had a look of complete and utter confusion as they looked at each other and then back to her.

"What do you think you're doing?" The Dark One asked, taking a step forward. Despite herself, Tessa automatically took a step back. "You should leave. Now."

"Oh? And just let you have your way with her?" Tessa hissed, indicating to the fallen girl behind her.

The Light One looked over Tessa's shoulders, at the girl, and then back to Tessa, his expression shocked, "Oh! Look, Miss, this isn't at all what it seems!" He tried to explain, seeming quite exasperated.

"Well just what is it then? Do you enjoy chasing young girls down the street in the mid of night? Some kind of sport?" Tessa asked, disgust dripping in her tone.

The Dark One glowered. "You stupid girl. You need to go before-"

Suddenly there was something behind Tessa. The men moved into what looked like fighting stances and before Tessa could turn something grabbed her and held something sharp under her throat. She gasped, she knew the assailant must be the girl as they were small and she could feel the fabric of the dress. A sickly sweet, high-pitched voice came from behind.

"Oh, what a sweetheart. Risking her life for mine. Unfortunately, by trying to save my life you just lost yours." A sharp giggle rang through the night like an alarm.

Tessa couldn't grasp what was happening. The Light One had said that it wasn't what she thought it was, and well, let's just say she was beginning to believe him. The vise like grip from what she was beginning to understand was not a young girl at all was allowing her no freedom to move, not that she would when there was something under her chin threatening to slice her open. She looked at the men in desperation. They must have noticed but they looked at each other and nodded in silent agreement before turning and walking away into the haze.

While Tessa was beginning to panic the thing behind her let out a wail of fury. "No!" It hissed, "Stop or I'll cut her pretty little neck in half."

Doesn't look like they care, Tessa thought as she felt the sting of a blade as the girl put pressure on it. Tessa wondered what Nathaniel would do if he ever returned to their little shed to find her gone, without the slightest hint of her return. What would happen to her body? Would this thing take it back to wherever it came from or leave her dumped here? Thinking about it, they were close enough to the river that she would probably be dumped unceremoniously into the murky water. 'Accidents' like that happened all the time and it wasn't as if anyone but Nathaniel would even know she were missing.

All of this floated through her mind in a split second before a shriek was released behind her, loud enough that she was sure half of London heard it. The blade fell and Tessa turned just in time to see the young girl transform into something she couldn't even believe existed. It was skinny and so pale it was almost white. It's face consisted of only eyes and mouth, if you could call them that. It's mouth was a gaping hole that ran from one side of his head to the other, with huge fang like teeth protruding from it. The eyes were also huge but they were completely white, no iris, no pupil, just blank. She only managed to catch a glimpse before the whole form shattered into nothing.

Everything was quiet for a while, the only thing Tessa could hear was the gasping breaths she didn't realise she was taking. She couldn't move or look away from the place where the girl, who evidently wasn't a girl at all, had vanished. She felt something warm trickle down her chest before she realised that her neck was bleeding. Then something was rushing towards her. It took her a moment to realise it was The Light One.

"Oh goddess, are you all right Miss?" It was all Tessa could do to nod, before grimacing at the pain the gesture caused. The Light One looked at her neck and grimaced with her. "Will!" He shouted, "Stop cleaning your blade and come and help me!"

The other man appeared, The Dark One, Will. He strode towards them like nothing had happened.

"That, that girl- I, I- She- It-" Tessa babbled, she didn't know what she was trying to say but she needed to say something.

"It wasn't a girl." Will said, cutting off her needless mumbling. "It was a demon, a shape shifting one it seems." He mused. He took out a handkerchief and closed in on Tessa, looking her right in the eyes as he pressed it gently against the wound. "My name is William Herondale. And what, may I ask, is a young lady such as yourself doing out here at this time of night?"

His face was so close to hers that it gave her something to focus on other than the shock. He was stunning, and his arrogant behaviour showed that he knew it, Tessa thought.

"I, I was looking for someone." She confessed. Shaking her head to clear it, gasping when the pain from her neck reminded her once again of her injury. "My brother, he left a week ago. He didn't come back. I didn't know where to look or where to go but I, and he, and the girl, and, and-" suddenly Tessa was gasping for breath, desperately seeking more and more air even as she got lightheaded and dizzy.

"Looks like she's hyperventilating," said Jem. He'd stepped nearer to Will. "I'm sorry, I'm afraid I don't know you name, Miss, but right now you need to slow down your breathing. Here, match your breathing to mine. In, out. That's it, perfect." He said with a small smile.

"Theresa Gray," Tessa said, when she was once again in control of her breathing again. "I'm Tessa Gray."

Jem smiled, "Lovely to make your acquaintance Miss. Gray, I'm just sorry it's under such circumstances. My name's James Carstairs, but I go by Jem. This is Will, my brother."

Tessa looked from one to the other, looking for anything that would suggest they were related, but alas, found none. Will's heavily lashed, deep blue eyes were the complete opposite of Jem's light silver ones that hinted at an Asian heritage due to the way they were slightly lifted. None of the other features were similar either. Maybe they meant brother in a different term, maybe they were part of a cult, they were chasing that, that demon, after all.

Tessa just nodded, none of what was happening was sinking in, and she realised that the sooner she got away from the pair the better. "I, um, I really must be going now." She said, backing away.

Will's hand fell from her neck as she moved and instead grabbed her wrist. "Wait, we'll escort you home. It's not safe for a woman to be out at night alone. Where do you live?"

Tessa tried to pull her hand away but Will refused to give. "Oh, that's quite all right. You see, I don't live far, I'll be perfectly fine alone."

"Really, Miss. Gray," Jem said, "We insist."

Fantastic. Tessa thought sarcastically, careful not to say it out loud. Her Aunt used to warn her about what a terrible habit sarcasm could be.

Tessa sighed. "Oh, very well." She said as she tried to think of a way to get her out of this mess. Without another word she spun on her heels and walked back the way she had come, following a few footpaths until she came to the streets that were surrounded with buildings. All the while, Will and Jem followed, not once letting her out of their sight.

"I don't suppose you have a nurse at home? Or at least someone to take a look at your neck." Jem called after her.

"Yes," added Will, "Demons aren't exactly known for their cleanliness towards their weapons."

"Um, of course." Tessa muttered, looking over her shoulder to see that they were both a few feet away. Perfect. Tessa sped up her walking and then sharply turned down a small ally. She ran between the looming buildings, not listening to the pair as they shouted after her.

She found a crevice in the line of buildings that she was just slim enough to fit in. She held her breath and waited for Will and Jem to pass her.

"You go that way, I'll go this way," she heard one say and a moment later she saw Jem's light hair, lit up by the street lamps like a halo around his head, move past her. She closed her eyes and counted to 100 before she stepped out of her hiding place. Who would have thought that after everything that had happened she would be back in the same predicament she was in not even an hour ago.

Deciding to try to find her way back to the one secure place she knew, Tessa looked for any signs that would point her to the direction of the overcrowded cemetery. The fog wasn't so thick here and she could she a good distance away from her, but as she walked the exhaustion hit her like a steam train. After a few minutes she didn't care that she was walking through puddles, that the nights of London oozed danger. She just didn't care anymore. She didn't even care when she walked straight into Will.

"Now, Tessa, was there any need for that abrupt escape attempt?" He grabbed her arms and she was too tired to fight or do anything but lean against him. "Tessa?" He appeared startled at her behaviour and pushed her back a little to look at her. Tessa felt her eyelids droop and a flood of drowsiness hit her, her breathing became shallow. Her knees gave out and she was only just aware of Will lifting her to him before everything went dark.

A/N: If you got this far I just want to thank you for reading. Should I continue or scrap it? Let me know :) I'll try not to add so many A/Ns as I know some people don't like them, but as this is the first chapter I thought it would be okay for now.

*Disclaimers (because disclaimers are cool): I do not own The Infernal Devices or Tessa or Jem and, as much as I hate to admit it, I do not own Will. Excuse me while I sob silent fangirl tears of the perfection that Cassandra Clare has created.*