The glowing sun rises steadily over the rolling hills of the island paradise. Palm trees sway gently in the breeze, their leaves dipped in the golden rays of the sun. I close my eyes and listen to the sound of waves crashing against the soft, white sand.

"Aurelia!" My mother's voice exclaims suddenly. Miranda Rose was neither tall nor short, and she had beautiful brown hair that fell to her shoulders. She had the same brown eyes that everyone in the family had - except for me. My smokey blue-gray eyes set me apart from the rest of my family. And, currently, my mother's honey-brown eyes where glaring at me and my phone.

"Honestly Lia," My mother sighs, shaking her head and putting her hands on her hips. "We're at the Smithsonian and you're on your phone! Put it away right now young lady!" My mother watches carefully as I tuck my phone into my boot, whiling grumbling about how she always said I was on my phone too much. I had been watching videos of Hawaii, the place that I should be in right now. My family and I had been planning that vacation for a year; researching the best places to snorkel, the most delicious restaurants and my parents had set up a day for me to ride horses across the beach. I had been talking about the trip non-stop since school got out. Yesterday, while we were waiting for a flight to arrive, we had received a call from a hospital in Alabama informing us that Grandmother had broken her arm, and needed us to assist her in the coming days. I love visiting my grandmother, but to have my dream vacation snatched away like that was torture. So, two hours later I had begrudgingly climbed on a flight to Alabama. When we landed in Washington D. C., where we would wait for our connecting flight to Alabama, my parents had decided that it would be an 'educational and exciting way to spend time as a family' if we went to the Smithsonian museum. So, I had followed me parents and siblings to the large building, dragging all three of my overflowing luggage bags through to museum. For the past half an hour, I had been leaning against a cold wall, watching videos on my phone. My little brother and sister were peering happily at all the exhibits, often running into the flow of other tourists coming in and out of the museum. Under normal circumstances, I would have been exploring the museum with them, but after having the vacation if my dreams cancelled, I wasn't feeling up to it.

"Lia!" My little sister Missy runs over and tug on my arm. Melissa, who is eight, has light brown like my father. It is currently in a messy ponytail, with an adorable pastel pink bow that I had picked out for her when we had gone to the mall back at home. Her brown eyes stare impatiently at me as she jumps up and down, ready to move on to the next exhibit. Her twin brother Jacob is standing with my parents. Jacob has the same light brown hair and dark eyes as Missy. He is picking up his small, blue suitcase and waiting for Missy and me to come over. He looks like a younger version of my dad, Michael Rose. He was tall, and it was obvious that the twins got their looks from him.

"Pick up your bags Lia! We're going to the next room!" She said happily, looking at all my bags. I set down my favorite book, Clockwork Angel. I already read this book six times, and every time I read it, I loved it a bit more. The Infernal Devices were my favorite series, and I was obsessed. I had all of Cassandra Clare's books -all signed- lining my bookshelves back in New York. Well, actually I have most of them with me.

"Coming!" I say with a smile. It is impossible not to smile when she is around. She is just so happy and hopeful. I stand up and attempt to carry all three of my bags at once, but it's not working. Missy bounces around impatiently as I try to rearrange my bags so that I can move.

"This wouldn't happen if you didn't bring so many books!" She says, watching me struggle. I gasp in fake shock.

"What's the rule?" I ask, pretending to be horrified. Missy laughs and folds her hands, pretending to be a proper lady.

"You can never ever ever have to many books." She recites with a British accent, then giggles.

"Exactly." I say and wink. I finally manage to catch up to the rest of my family. After standing around for another hour, I get thirsty. I look around for a water fountain, but there's none around. Or maybe there is, but I can't see it over the crowds of people staring at the exhibits. I knew that the Smithsonian was popular, but this was just crazy.

"Mom!" I call, standing on my tiptoes so that I could see over the sea of tourists. "I'm going to find a water fountain!"

"Take your bags!" She calls back as she tries to stop Missy from climbing into an exhibit.

"But I'll never make it! How can I possibly carry three bags more than two steps?" I complain.

"You better hurry!" She answers, then turns her full attention to holding back Lizzie. I roll my eyes, sigh and somehow get all my bags positioned in a way that I can still walk. Pushing my way past the crowds, I find a side hallway with a water fountain. Next to it is an open door that says 'employees only.' I peer inside. I know it's only for employees, but the door is open and curiosity is taking over. So after looking around to see if anyone is watching, I walk in. The room is large, lined with shelves that hold boxes that are decorated with colored labels. Layers of dust cover the containers, and they look as if they haven't been touched for centuries. The room is dimly light by a single lightbulb that is flickering. The concrete floor hints that this room must not be important, since no one has bothered to finish it. At the very back of the room, there was a pile of old scrolls. I carefully set my bags down and place my book on top of my largest suitcase. I pick up the scrolls and gently blow off the ash-like dust that covered the writing. It's scrolled messily across the old parchment, and I couldn't tell what the words said. I squint my eyes and turn the paper in all different directions, but no matter what I do, the looped words cannot be read. Sighing in defeat, I set the scrolls aside. As I turn back, I notice a large red stone resting on the cardboard box that the scrolls used to be on. As I move to pick it up, my arm hits my Clockwork Angel book, knocking it forward. It knocks the gemstone off of the box and a loud clanging noise fills the room. I wince and bend down to pick it up. But right before my hand touches it, it starts to glow. My eyes widen and I step back in surprise, almost tripping on my luggage. The jewel starts spinning on the ground, and suddenly beams of light shoot out from the sides, filling the room with red light. I know I should run, but I, not about to leave my signed copy of Clockwork Angel in here to be blown up, do not. As the jewel spins faster, a vortex of light appears in the floor, it gets wider and wider, pulling my book in. I scream and manage to grab it. My luggage, though, is not as lucky. I watch in shock as my luggage falls in, and I can vaguely see a room through the red light. As I turn to run, I step on a box and fall. As the red light swallows me, I clutch my book close to my chest. I scream as I fall, and the last thing I see before I shut my eyes is Victorian-styled wallpaper.