The Blood Bracelets #3: Soul Scarred

Chapter Twenty

Ace stumbled as Fury released him, disorientated by her method of transport. It wasn't quite like a Doorway, but nor was it any form of portal either. She transported herself and anyone she was touching as if twisting the entire universe just to get from one place to another, which left Ace with the feeling that all his insides needed to be sorted back into place when he landed.

They had arrived at Temple Court Place, the unassuming laneway that led to the even more unassuming roller door of the Limbus Club's entrance. To one side was a solid, grey stone building and to the other was a high-rise of apartments, though given how late it was at night all the windows had their curtains drawn and no lights bled through the gaps. It left Temple Court Place in shallow darkness that grew deeper the further Fury and Ace walked down it and lost the nearby light of the street lamps in Little Collins Street.

Ace glanced at Fury as they walked, and although he didn't regret his decision to ask for her help he still wasn't sure how to interact with her. His first instinct was to speak as if it was Taryn he spoke to, until he saw her eyes that were as red as blood but glinted like rubies, and he remembered that it was a demon – potentially one of the strongest – that he was talking to.

Fury radiated danger, even in Taryn's body and wearing Taryn's clothes – she hadn't deigned to change into her body armour yet – but, contrarily, she also radiated boredom. If Fury slaughtered the entire Limbus Club, Ace wondered, would she still wear the same indifferent expression?

Probably.

A single lightbulb illuminated Limbus Club's entrance, and this time the female veritas demon who guarded the entrance was standing outside it, beneath the column of light. She turned toward them as they approached.

Remembering the warning, Ace leaned toward Fury and said, 'You can't look her directly in the eyes, but you can't make it obvious that you're avoiding her eyes either. If you do, she'll—'

'Get out of the way,' Fury ordered, flicking her wrist like a queen dismissing a servant.

The veritas' sightless blue eyes widened, and then her entire body shimmered out of existence as she retreated.

'Huh,' said Ace, surprised. 'I would have thought, after seeing your intention to attack the Limbus Club, that she might have raised the alarm.'

'I highly doubt it was just my intention to attack the Limbus Club which she saw,' said Fury, a wicked edge to her voice as she stepped up to the roller door.

Ace shuddered.

Fury brought her finger to her mouth and bit into the skin, creating a small bauble of blood. It was enough for her to draw out into a thin stream, which she then shaped into a sleek, needle-point sword. She admired the sword for a moment, testing its sharpness with her finger, and then drove it into the steel roller door.

Ace cringed at the sound, and then cringed further when Fury dragged her sword in a circle through the roller door. She kicked at the steel and it crashed inward, creating a round opening for them into the elevator.

'So I take it we're not going for the subtle approach,' Ace remarked.

Fury stepped into the dark elevator. 'I was never very good at subtlety.'

The elevator moved without instruction, and completely unaffected by the broken entrance. Darkness engulfed them as they descended, and for a moment Ace forgot that Fury was beside him and remembered when it had been Eljae instead. She had been drunk, having indulged a little too much while he entered the Limbus Club's showing room, but he had never thought to question why she got drunk. Eljae was normally so guarded, with a sharp-tongue and a particular distaste for affection or people getting too close, so why had she drunk so much in such a short amount of time, and risked dropping those inhibitions?