The Blood Bracelets #2: Demon Born

Chapter Twelve

Kael staggered backwards as a shockwave of energy crashed into him. He caught himself on the back wall of the cell, his hands smoking and although his blistered skin began to heal instantaneously, that didn’t mean the burns weren’t stinging.

‘Go on, try it a fifth time,’ Ace said, gesturing flippantly at the bars.

'Maybe the wards will feel sorry for you and just disappear.’

Kael cut Ace a sharp glare before returning his gaze to the orange-gold symbols that blazed across the iron bars sealing him in the cell. They faded away, becoming nothing more than scorch marks until Kael attempted to touch them again.

‘It’s not often the holding cells have a demon in them, since it’s mostly only Immortals waiting to be exiled that are placed here, but they have wards against demons etched into every wall just in case,’ Ace explained.

‘Then I’m sure the Immortals will be delighted that the wards are finally getting some use,’ Kael replied through gritted teeth. ‘Did you come down here with an idea of escape, or just to annoy me?’

‘Since you’re safely tucked behind bars, I’m going to go with Option B,’ said Ace, grinning.

It took all of Kael’s willpower not to run at the bars and reach for Ace through the gaps, blistering skin be damned.

But Ace’s expression sobered and he straightened from where he slouched against the opposite wall, his hands buried into the pockets of his jacket. ‘If I knew how to get you out, Kay, I would. Why did they throw you in here though?’

‘Because our interests don’t align,’ Kael said tightly. He let out a frustrated sigh and sat down on the stone bench in the corner of the cell, his head dropping into his pink, freshly-healed hands. ‘What happened to Taryn isn’t just an ordinary possession, Ace. She’s had a demon living inside her since she was a child – an Infernum, no less. Julius has been doing everything he can to ensure Fury never broke free because it meant that if Fury was released, Taryn would cease to exist. The Angels want to kill Fury, but doing so will kill Taryn.’

‘Ah,’ Ace murmured, threading his arms through the bars to lean against them. There were a few steady beats of silence as Ace considered Kael’s words, and then almost reluctantly he said, ‘But if Fury’s free now, doesn’t that mean Taryn’s… gone? Like you said, Taryn will cease to exist. If that’s happened… killing Fury won’t matter.’

‘No, Fury said it herself. If we kill her, we kill Taryn,’ Kael told him.

‘I’m not trying to be the bad guy here, but what if she was lying?’ said Ace. ‘She could be using your feelings for Taryn to manipulate you.’

Kael knew it was a possibility. He knew he could be fighting a pointless battle against the Angels, because what if Taryn was gone? What if killing Fury had no impact on Taryn because Taryn, or at least her soul – everything that made Taryn who she was inside – had already been destroyed by Fury?

Looking down at his blood bracelet, Kael felt fear claw up his back, his shoulders, even his throat like legion trying to drag him into the depths of the ocean. It began to make terrible sense why his blood bracelet hadn’t played any part in helping him find Taryn, because if Taryn was gone… then there was no connection left to guide it.

But as Kael tried to slide the bracelet off his wrist, he found that he couldn’t. He wasn’t sure what was meant to happen to the blood bracelets when the connection broke, whether they’d disappear from the wearer’s wrist or simply slide off like regular jewellery, but the fact that it did neither was enough to give him hope.