Ciel swung out in a circle with his cane, striking a felling blow to a vampire's waist – enough to knock her from her feet, but not to kill her. He was breathing hard and whipping his head around. He wasn't as practised as the others, nowhere near as prepared or talented, and definitely nowhere near as calm. In stark contrast, Gideon and Gabriel were quite calm. Their backs were pressed together, both armed with seraph blades whose light the vampire's were instinctively recoiling from.

"Right." Gabriel said calmly, casting a look over his shoulder. Gideon drove to his right with his blade, which lodged itself deep under a vampire's ribcage. The vampire staggered back, clutching his waist, livid red blood pouring over his pale hand. Gabriel lunged and slit a long, deep cut across another of the creature's chest, driving in the tip for good measure. He heard a thud as they dropped to the floor with none of the elegance the Children of the Night usually possessed, then felt Gideon's back move against his, and followed his brother to where Jem was single-handedly battling a small crowd of four bloodthirsty foes.

Jem's heart pounded as he breathlessly swung out his cane. He had taken to stabbing with the sword end and simultaneously using the handle to ward off attackers whilst he fought the one before him. He felt a hand scratch at his arm, claw-like nails digging into his flesh, scrabbling under his jacket and ripping at his shirt sleeve. Blood blossomed on his white skin, staining the torn edges of his sleeve, and he felt the hunger and bloodlust overwhelm all of the vampires in the vicinity. The four of them descended on him and he braced, before they were yanked firmly back by two familiar figures.

"Thank you." He gasped breathlessly as the Lightwoods struck down the downworlders with their blades.

"Our pleasure." Gideon replied, offering Jem his hankerchief.

Jem took it gratefully, nodded his thanks and wiped the blood from his arm. He tied the hankerchief around his wound like a bandage. It might not excuse him completely, but it would at least mask the scent so the vampires didn't descend on him like a swarm.

Ciel cast a look around and his eyes fell on Will, on the walkway high above, fighting an unrelenting vampire who lunged toward him as Will stepped carefully back. Just as he reached the edge, he pushed back with his blade, forcing their battle to the middle of the thin wooden walkway. But before Ciel's eyes, another figure began ascending the ladder behind Will, their fangs bared. They were blocking him in, Ciel realised. They were going to kill him.

Acting on instinct, he surged forward, put his cane under one arm, and begun to climb up the ladder, silently tailing the vampire, onto the platform. His sweat-slicked hands slipped on the metal ladder flaking with rust. Under his foot, a rung brittle with age creaked and broke. He caught at a bar over his head with a hand, heart racing, and climbed carefully onto the catwalk.

The catwalk itself was caged by metal bars. However, whilst these had clearly served their job of protecting crew from falling at the time the theatre was in use, the metal bars had started to rust and fall away, leaving ominous open gaps that made Ciel imagine his body lifeless on the hard stage far below. He glanced up in time to see the vampire come up behind Will and dart his head towards Will's neck when –

"No!" Ciel yelled, and drove his cane forward and into the centre of the vampire's back.

The creature fell through the bars, clutching at the tails of Will's coat as he did so, pulling the shadowhunter down with him. Will flung a hand out and grabbed one of the metal bars, suspending himself in midair by his hands. He kicked hard and the vampire fell with a nauseating thud of finality. Ciel darted forward and swung his cane at the vampire Will had been fighting and heard the skull crack with a crunch. He bent down and offered Will a hand, who took it gratefully and, grabbing one of the metal bars, heaved himself onto the walkway beside Ciel.

Will put a hand over his mouth and lay back on the wooden catwalk, his chest heaving. Ciel sat down, resting back against his hands. He chanced a look down at Jem, Sebastian and the Lightwoods finishing their battle, surrounded by vampires laid dead or alive and surrendering into the shadows.

"Are you alright?" Ciel asked, a wheezing undertone to his voice.

Will moved his hand from his mouth, wiping his palm on his trousers.

"I'm fine, thanks to you. Really, it is clear all my training is working wonders." Will said, his words slightly slurred. He rolled to the side and spat blood.

"Will, your mouth! Did you just cough blood?" Ciel asked, horrified. He had seen Jem do exactly the same thing, and Jem was dying. Was Will dying too? Will's eyes widened and he began furiously shaking his head, mouthing for Ciel to shut up. Ciel didn't realise why until he heard a voice below.

"What? Will?"

Will sighed, and rolled onto his stomach, hanging his head over the edge of the plank of wood.

"Jem, I am fine. I just cut my mouth."

"No you didn't. William, get down here."

Will got to his feet and climbed down the ladder, dropping down beside Jem, who looked severe and concerned.

"Again?" Jem asked and Will shrugged a yes. "Let's go."

Jem sighed. "Let us at least try to keep you alive until morning."

Jem barely stopped to greet Charlotte who waited at the door when they returned to the Institute. He strode upstairs, Will following him wordlessly, dread coursing through his veins like blood. Will rarely saw his parabatai angry, and when he was, it was terrifying. Jem was even-tempered, composed and stoic. His emotions were outwardly calm the vast majority of the time. Very few things upset Jem, but Will putting himself in danger did. The two boys hadn't spoken the whole journey home and Will could feel the sad fury radiating off his friend.

Jem sat himself down on the floor and looked properly at Will for the first time since they'd spoken at the theatre.

"You didn't swallow any blood, did you?" he asked, voice as soft and careful as ever.

"No, just bit them and spat out the blood." Will replied.

"How can we get it into your head that biting a creature who wants to bite you is not a particularly intelligent plan?" Jem said and Will smiled, but didn't reply.

"Are you angry?" Will asked, after a long, long pause.

"Yes." Jem replied, pushing a hand through his hair. "I hate it when you do things like this. It scares me. When I die..."

"You are not going to die, James."

"Yes," Jem said gently. "I am. And that is alright. But what it isn't is easy, and you are making it more difficult."

"Jem, I don't mean..." Will began, guilt flooding him.

"I know, I know. It's alright. But I'm afraid, Will. I'm afraid that when I die, there won't be anyone you will listen to to stop you being reckless and biting vampires and doing all the insane things you do. I just...I want to make sure you will be fine when I am not around to bore you into cautiousness."

"Well, I'm not going to be, James. I'm not going to be 'fine' when you're gone. I'm going to miss you terribly. It will be like losing a part of me, like waking up without an arm or a leg." Will said sadly.

"That does sound startling." Jem smiled, then he fell serious again. "William, I would never, ever ask you to find me a cure. I would never make you shoulder that burden..."

"I don't mind." Will cut in. "It is not a burden if it means you get to remain by my side."

"I know, and I do appreciate that. You know I do." Jem replied quietly. "I'm not asking you to save my life. I'm asking you to save your own."

"Jem, the curse. I..." Will began, before Jem interrupted him.

"No, the only curse you have on you is stubbornness. Just because you befriended a dying boy doesn't mean the curse doesn't apply to me. I love you with all of my being which is me, because half of my soul is you now. And I know you love me too; we're parabatai. If you love me, then that curse would have killed me already, wouldn't it? I'm weak, it would kill me straight away. Isn't that right?"

"I don't know." Will sighed. "I don't know."

Jem leaned over and smiled at Will sadly.

"It will be alright. But please, can you try to quell the voice in your head that tells you that biting vampires is an excellent plan? I'm not asking you to stop taking risks – that's what being a shadowhunter is all about. But the parabatai vow says 'Where thou diest, I will die, and there will I be buried.'" Jem caught Will's eyes. "And I don't want you to be the one who's first in the ground."