The Tenebrous Weapons

Niall's feet pounded the pavement in an even count, one he kept to keep himself from falling over the edge. His vision blurred red at the edges and he fought to keep his anger in check as he raced after the demon in front of him. He was scum.

He was dead.

The demon skidded around a corner, into what Niall knew was a dead end. He smirked and skidded into it, only to see the demon preoccupied by someone else. Even shorter than Niall was, with dark eyes and hair, he stared the demon down and the demon seemed to shrink even smaller than the height of the man in front of him.

"Hey!" Niall shouted. The demon he'd been chasing turned to him and his expression of fear changed into relief. He charged toward Niall, and in reflex Niall threw him into a wall, his arm pressed up against the chin of the demon, cutting off his air flow. Niall looked over at the stranger, but he'd disappeared. Frowning, he turned to the one in front of him, and with a single effective blow from his blade, the demon disappeared.

He tucked the blade away and stalked down to the end of the alley way, looking for the mysterious man from before. His steps were light now; he was in stealth mode. At the end of the alleyway he found a door, causing him to frown. It was a portal door, he knew, and he wasn't sure he wanted to follow where it lead. That boy though, seemed far too eerie to be normal, or even a shadowhunter. He wondered where he went.

***

Shane walked around the town, lightly rubbing the new tattoo on his neck. He wasn't supposed to be seen out today, but he figured since the hunter had already seen him, his cover was blown. He'd been attempting to figure out why the demon was up on the surface when the blonde vaulted around the corner and into the alleyway that Shane had cornered him in, and the demon knew that the hunter would be the faster way out.

Shane had his ways of gathering information, and a lot of demons knew it.

His mind wondered over the hunter - why was he following the demon? There'd been murder in his eyes. The demon must have done something stupid, bordering on evil... Shane found himself wandering back to the alleyway where he had seen the hunter, and where the door he'd hidden was. No doubt the door had been seen by the hunter wondering where the rest of his prey went. Shane frowned, knowing it was time to change the location of the door. Again.

He made his way down the alleyway, placing his hand on the door, then sliding it down to the knob, when a blade was pressed to the bottom of his spine and he realized it was better not to move. The hunter obviously had a speed enchantment. Shane would be dead before he could get the door open.

"Who are you, and why are you here?" Shane smiled his little smile, letting his head fall in mock defeat.

"You got me. My name is Shane. I was taking a trip into the city when I found your little friend playing hide and go seek." He turned slowly, looking up at his captor. "And who are you?"

The boy's lip turned up at the corner in a bit of a snarl. "That's none of your concern." Shane crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow at his attacker, a very deep and serious look on his face. The boy in front of him shifted uncomfortably and said, "My name is Niall."

Shane smiled, moving back toward his door. Niall matched his step, his hold on his blade never wavering. Shane glanced down at it, his smile fading, and looked up at Niall.

"Look, all I did was go and get a tattoo. I mean no harm to your precious humans or whatever. Leave me alone, all right?" Niall frowned, and glanced back down the alley. Shane could tell something was calling him back to his institute.

He turned to Shane. "If I see you again..." he muttered threateningly. Shane laughed.

"Sure. I'll let you rip out my guts and use them as jewelry, alright?" With that, he opened the door and disappeared behind it.

Niall watched him go, frowning, before turning and sprinting back to his home to check on the girl he'd helped Harry to save.