The Blood Bracelets #2: Demon Born

Chapter Fourteen

'I'm going to stop you right there,' said Ace, lifting a hand for emphasis. 'There's no way I'm breaking that news so you're on your own, buddy.'

'As selfless as always, Ace,' Julius quipped.

Ace offered a mocking bow.

'Thanks for getting us out of Alcatraz, Julius,' said Eljae. 'Are you sure there won't be any backlash?'

'Alcatraz was severely damaged following San Francisco's earthquake, so no. The Immortals have bigger problems to face at the moment,' he replied. 'Just promise me you'll stay out of trouble, and let me know if you encounter Fury.'

Ace and Eljae exchanged glances.

Julius sighed. 'I don't want to see Taryn hurt any more than Kael does, and if that means withholding information from Rafael and Michael, so be it.'

'There's that rebellious streak,' said Ace, grinning.

Julius waved his hand dismissively and stepped back from the hexagon's edge, right before a sudden wind swept through the gateway room. Eljae let out a dismayed sound as her red hair tangled around her, but she pushed it back from her face and turned toward the Doorway to split apart the air behind them. Ace turned as well, tipping his head briefly in farewell to Julius, and then watched as Zed's lounge unfolded from the other side of the Doorway.

Ace stepped through first, his vision blurring for a moment as if passing through a curtain of water, and spotted Zed standing by the front reception while holding down several piles of paperwork that were threatening to be lifted by the Doorway's swirling energy. Feet landing inside Zed's, Ace turned around to watch Eljae as she crossed through to the in-between space as she left the gateway room.

But before Eljae took the last step into Zed's, the winds created by the Doorway suddenly grew stronger and Ace stumbled back from the force. He frowned as Eljae stopped, one foot in Zed's and the other still poised in-between, her head turning to look back at the gateway room over shoulder. The image of the gateway room began to falter though, wavering like the magic that tethered it wasn't strong enough.

And then it ripped away, leaving nothing but a black void at ELjae's back.

'Eljae,' Ace called sharply. 'Eljae, get out of the—!'

An arm split through the blackness to wrap around Eljae's neck. Her eyes flew wide with shock as she was pulled back, the foot anchoring her to Zed's retreating back across the Doorway's threshold so that she was wholly in-between, and over her shoulder Ace saw a familiar face.

Orsen.

'No!' Ace shouted, lunging forward to reach Eljae – but he was too slow.

Orsen pulled Eljae into the black void and the Doorway sealed shut, letting Ace crash to the ground. The air settled around him, becoming utterly still in the wake of Doorway just as realisation sunk in.

Orsen had Eljae.

'What in the hell just happened?' Zed bellowed, coming away from his desk to grab Ace by the elbow. He hauled him to his feet. 'Did the Immortals—?'

'Just one,' Ace muttered. But what did Orsen want with Eljae? He couldn't drag her back to Demon's Alcatraz because there was nothing left after the earthquake, and Julius was going to ensure the charges against them were dropped in light of Asina's true intentions.

Looking back to the space where the Doorway had been, Ace grasped lamely at the air. How did Orsen intercept the Doorway? He wouldn't have thought it was possible at all if he hadn't seen Fury do it, but Fury was an Infernum. Orsen was nothing.