The Blood Bracelets #1: Blood Bound

Chapter Twenty-Five

'If you two don't shut up,' Zed thundered, 'I will quite happily rip your throats out. At the same time.'

Eljae's jaw snapped shut just as Ace's did, their eyes narrowing on each other for a moment before she turned away from him and crossed the reception lounge. Zed sat on the couch, his feet up on the coffee table and Silkie curled in his lap.

She stood in front of him, blocking his view to the television. 'You said I could have this bounty.'

'True,' said Zed.

'He said I could have it first,' Ace argued.

'Also true,' Zed added.

'Zed!' Eljae hissed, making Silkie's head jump up, her ears perked.

'Retract the claws, Eljae,' said Zed, petting Silkie's head until she relaxed again. 'Bounties have been few and far between lately, so you can both have this one. First in gets the payment, sound fair?'

'No,' they both said.

Zed shrugged. 'Then neither of you can have it. I'll give it to Coranna.'

'Hell no, I'll take it,' said Eljae, planting her hands on her hips.

'So will I,' Ace said.

'And we're back here again,' Zed muttered. 'Can you move out of the way? You're blocking my television.'

Eljae growled under her breath and stomped into the kitchen. She was about to open the fridge when she heard the front door slam shut. She sniffed the air.

'Ace is gone,' Zed called.

'Dammit!'

She grabbed her scarf off the kitchen table and ran to the front door, just managing to twine it about her neck before she went outside. Eljae caught Ace's scent on the wind and followed after him, determined not to let him claim the bounty first.

It was a chimera demon she was after, one that had escaped from the desert in Western Australia to hide out in Melbourne. The report said it had the head of a lion, tail of a snake and body of a bear, which she was more curious to see than anything. She hadn't seen a chimera before since they preferred desert climates, and apparently this one was tough; wanted for the deaths of a group of miners which was unusual in itself because chimera weren't known to attack humans.

As Eljae walked through the streets, heading to the last location the chimera was spotted in Port Melbourne she caught Ace's scent on the breeze again, as well as alcohol.

Frowning, she veered off the street and into a laneway, following the smells until she found a group of people hanging outside the entrance to a bar, a cigarette in one hand and a drink in the other.

And then she saw Ace.

He had some girl hanging off him already, and Eljae was pretty sure it had only been ten minutes since they had left Zed's. He works fast, I'll give him that.

'Ace!'

Ace snapped around and Eljae ignored the glare sent her way from the girl hanging off him. 'Why are you here?'

'Just making sure this means you've left the job to me, that's all,' she said, making her implication clear. This was obviously a human bar, so Eljae didn't want to give too much away.

Ace understood though, because he pulled away from the girl – who stumbled drunkenly without someone to lean on – and walked over to Eljae.

'I haven't left anything to you, I just got distracted,' he said.