Go and catch a falling star

Isabelle was pissing Jace off to no end. It didn't really matter that he hadn't had a better idea, or that they'd both caved and not dragged Alec to Pandemonium again. It had been her idea to wander around SoHo, and now she was window shopping. Which left Jace and Alec to make sure that they weren't about to be attacked. It had, thus far, been a boring night.

Alec leaned against a streetlight, clearly watching Jace out of the corner of one eye. Jace turned a pointed glance down the street to see if anything was there. The street was empty, apart from the three of them. It was almost disappointing. This ranked well up there as one of Isabelle's worst ideas ever. It almost topped the fairy plum dare. Almost.

"You could just say something," muttered Alec. "Izzy will probably agree that doing our job is more exciting than scoping out sales."

"So why don't you?" asked Jace, knowing the answer.

"When has Izzy ever listened to me?" asked Alec rhetorically. "Besides, it's a nice night. I don't mind doing nothing, but watching you get antsy is grating on my nerves. So you talk to Izzy, and I'll figure out where the nearest subway entrance is so we can go somewhere else."

Jace grinned. "I like that. See, this is why we're friends." He wandered over to Izzy while Alec slipped off into the night to find the subway and decide where to go. Isabelle was staring critically into the glass, more looking at herself and her brothers than the window display.

"Where did you send Alec to?" asked Isabelle, still studying Jace's reflection in the glass.

"He went to look for the subway," said Jace. "We're bored. You can shop later, when we're not out hunting."

"I know that," said Isabelle irritably, giving actual Jace a glare. "Hasn't it seemed odd to you, lately? We go out hunting, and there are no demons. Anywhere. And if we do find one, it's so weak that it only takes one of us to kill it."

"I hadn't really noticed," said Jace sarcastically. "It is weird, but there's no reason why there shouldn't be a lack of demonic activity. Alec likes the break."

"Yes, but that's just - " Isabelle began. A shout came from a few blocks away. Jace and Isabelle exchanges looks "Alec," they said at the same time. They sprinted towards the sound of the shout, Isabelle quietly praying that her brother was okay.

They arrived in time to see Alec go flying into the side of a dumpster and crumple to the ground. The demon, with its scythe-like forelegs, lashing barbed tail and tentaclesque whiskers, advanced on Alec, drooling acid and unhinging its reptilian jaw only to halt itself as an electrum whip cracked across its massive back. The demon turned away from Alec in an attempt to find Isabelle, only to be hit squarely in the eye with a kidjal.

"Good shot," called Isabelle, slashing at the demons forelegs in an attempt to trip it up.

"Tell me that when it's dead," said Jace, leaping up onto the demon's back while Isabelle distracted it. He attempted to stab between the demon's head spikes, but the demon tossed its head in response to something Isabelle had done, flinging Jace into a lamp post.

A silvery disk flashed through the night and sliced through two of the demon's tentacles. The chakram was followed by two dark blurs that latched themselves onto the demon. One blur resolved as a young man; based on his long fangs, Jace could only assume he was a vampire. His companion, to Jace's surprise, was a werewolf, who was doing its best to hamstring the creature. Isabelle, though slightly startled, flicked her whip so it coiled tightly around the demon's tail. With a jerk, she ripped the tail off. While the creature was distracted by that pain, the vampire dug his hands into the flesh where he had bitten it, ripped the skin open wider and poured a vial of clear fluid into the wound before jumping lightly off to land on the side of a building. Jace dashed forward through the thrashing demon's tentacles and slashed the demon's throat open, spinning away to prevent himself from being drenched with demonic ichor. The demon shuddered, collapsed, and disintegrated into wisps of smoke.

"Good shot," said the vampire. "Nice hamstring manoeuvre, Maia."

The werewolf trotted towards them, morphing back into a human as it went. The young woman sighed. "Shame it didn't work."

"Don't beat yourself up," said the vampire, "besides, the thing's dead. No one died. And there's still hours 'til dawn."

"I can't stay out much longer," said the werewolf. "Gotta make curfew, or Master gets mad. He's good, though, keeping an eye on all of us."

"What the hell is wrong with you?" demanded Isabelle.

"Oh sorry," said the vampire, "I should have asked if you were injured. Are you?"

"We didn't need your help, bloodsucker," snapped Jace. "We were handling it just fine."

"Oh yeah, real fine," drawled the werewolf. "If getting yourselves half killed counts as fine. Besides, we're allowed to hunt too, as per the Accords."

"Listen, bitch," snarled Jace, "we don't need your help. Go back to your kennel."

"Why don't you tell that to your friend?" asked a third voice from the alley. All four turned to spot a petite redhead with Alec slung over her shoulder walking towards them. "Between his concussion and the poison in his bloodstream, yeah, you needed our help."

"What did you do to him?" demanded Isabelle, rushing forward to collect her brother.

"I gave him a potion," said the girl carelessly, "that would neutralize the poison. Let him rest for a few days and he'll be fine."

"You're pretty handy, Downworlder," said Isabelle. "Thanks."

The redhead's smile didn't reach her green eyes. "My pleasure. I've always wondered what Nephilim were like. So thank you for fulfilling my curiosity. Make sure your friend follows the directions on the bottle exactly."

"He's my brother," said Isabelle. "We'll take care of him, don't worry."

"I wasn't going to," said the girl, turning away from Isabelle and Alec. "Come on, let's go eat. I'm hungry."

The three of them headed up the street, the werewolf flipping them off as they left. The three turned down an alleyway; a few moments later, a burst of blue light lit up the street. Jace and Isabelle lifted Alec to his feet, steadying him as he returned to consciousness. His blue eyes were a little bit hazy, but he seemed lucid enough to get home.

"I guess I'll have to come back later to shop," sighed Isabelle. She pulled her wallet out of her purse to check for cab fare and cursed.

"What's wrong?" asked Jace.

"That damn warlock stole all my cash," said Isabelle angrily. "Alec? What have you got on you?"

Alec checked his own wallet. "She cleaned me out too."

"I guess we're walking home then," said Jace. Isabelle punched him and flounced off, leaving Jace to support Alec by himself.