The Blood Bracelets #1: Blood Bound

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Ace was running out of energy. He could use his time compression for only a certain number of times before it began to drain his energy, weakening him. He had already sailed well and truly past his limit, and he was struggling.

It felt as if there was no end to the Pursuers, but fighting in pitch black could give that illusion since he couldn’t see where they were coming from or how many there were. All he could sense were a jumble of demonic energies, too scrambled for him to separate them as individual demons. He could sense Eljae though, and it was easier for him to focus on her presence than anything else. The only light that he could see was the sparking of the Alchemist’s electricity as she attacked, but it was more like a strobe-light than anything else; hardly helpful.

Yellow eyes flashed in front of him and Ace ducked, somersaulting across the ground as he felt a Pursuer soar past him. Ace forced out another time compression, feeling a dull throbbing start at his temples, and he threw out his short-sword to where he sensed the Pursuer and felt it connect. The Pursuer wailed and Ace moved out of the way as its stone body crashed to the ground.

The room was suddenly silent. Ace tried to remember where he was and stepped back, meeting a wall behind him. He raised his palm, squinting his eyes as they began to adjust to the dark, but he couldn’t see the flame symbol Eden had put there.

Fire, he thought.

Nothing.

Fire, you stupid symbol!

Still nothing.

Isn’t that all Eden had told him to do? Why wasn’t it working?

Someone grabbed his arm and Ace would have struck out in attack if he hadn’t realised who it was at the last second. Relief pushed back the tension.

‘Ace,’ said Eljae, close to his ear, ‘you glued to the wall or something?’

He grinned in her direction, because even though he could hardly see her face he knew she could see his. Lucky cats. ‘Not all of us have night-vision, feraii.’

‘Better start training your eyes then, exile,’ she quipped.

Ace could hear the smirk in her words. ‘What can you see, anyway?’

‘There are two more Pursuers in here but they’ve disappeared, doing some crazy wraith stunt, and the Alchemist is to our left,’ said Eljae. ‘I want to get to the light switch, but—’

‘One of the Pursuers is hanging around there,’ he said, sensing the demon.

‘Then—’ Eljae sucked in a sharp breath. ‘Ace!’

They didn’t move in time. A Pursuer barrelled into Ace, knocking both him and Eljae to the ground. His shoulder jarred against the hard slate but he didn’t linger unguarded for long, flipping his weight back on his feet just as Eljae did the same. They stood back-to-back and waited.

Electricity sparked on the other side of the room, making Ace’s head whip around in that direction. He tried to cause another time compression but pain twisted in his chest, sending him to his knees. His body shuddered with the pressure and he immediately pulled back, releasing time. He tasted blood in his mouth.

And then the lights came on.

Ace blinked against the harsh fluorescence, his eyes automatically squinting, and for a second he thought Eljae had somehow made it to the switch. Instead, he saw someone else standing by the switch, the roller door still sealed shut.

It was Julius.

A Pursuer charged at him, but Julius whipped out his hand and caught the demon by the neck. His eyes flared, amber light blazed up at his feet, and then the same light burnt through the Pursuer from the inside out, banishing its soul. Julius dropped the creature just as its body turned to stone. Another Alchemist came up behind Julius, a rope of fire twined up his arm and only a few injuries.