Silence | Simon Lewis

chapter two

chapter two: demon slaying

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VENUS HAD NEVER felt body positive, constantly wearing baggy shirts and jeans to cover up anything men might be able to joke about. The skirt and brasserie she was wearing was borrowed from Isabelle, it curved somewhat around her waist and enhanced certain assets. It made her feel uncomfortable, vulnerable - not just from the presence of demons.

"Why does Jace always walk ahead?" Isabelle asked her, noticing that Jace was hunched over in a predatory way. Venus shrugged, glancing ahead at the crowd of teenage mundanes, some which were slurring from alcohol, painting a van with spray cans, making out with some guy that they won't remember tomorrow - and Venus realised that mundanes did try to live life to the fullest.

"You know Jace, he likes to be in control." Venus reassured her, fiddling with the plastic-like material of her coat. The silver glinted in the moonlight, reminding her of the view from her Institute window, when she could see the fair fireworks on New Years Eve. The day she sat on her window cill, the breeze getting caught in her hair as she stared down at the ground of the cathedral.

"V," Isabelle had to nudge her to gain her attention, "Did you see that?" She asked Venus a bit too forcefully, making her eyes dart to Jace - who was being enveloped in a crowd of people.

"See what?" Venus questioned her in turn, earning a moan from her nonbiological sister.

"Jace bumped into a red-headed girl and she saw him." Isabelle gasped, her strides becoming wider as Venus swiftly kept in step. She could tell that Izzy was a little bit shaken by the fact a girl had seen him as she mentioned, "V, she saw through his glamour."

Venus drew in a breath as they hurried towards Jace, watching as the red-head argued with her friends. It made Venus wonder, does she have the sight? But her thoughts were scattered when Isabelle harshly grabbed her wrist, yanking her through the crowds. She didn't even feel claustrophobic as the room seemed to get more humid, but it was only probably because of the amount of people flirting and having steamy make-out sessions. Venus barely acknowledged it, uncomfortable by the amount of PDA.

The girls passed Jace, and Venus earned a thoughtful glance from him as she asked him about the situation with the red-head back outside of the Pandemonium, but over the music he couldn't hear her. She felt the bass vibrate through her chest as they walked through a pair of thick, khaki curtains. All eyes were on them, the demons eyeing them both like candy.

Jace entered, closing the curtains almost immediately as he entered. Barely glancing at Isabelle, he uttered her name, not mentioning that he was indicating to both of them. Venus knew that she wasn't extremely distracting, but she just had to learn from Izzy. Her heart was thumping as they both separated, seductively walking towards the platforms that were usually required for hired dancers. They just needed to entertain them for a while.

Almost in sync, they both unzipped their coats and pushed the fabric off their shoulders, watching it slip to the floor. Already she felt her skin tingling, not even enjoying this in the slightest. She was glad that her chrome bangles hid the scars on her wrist, which may have been tempting for some of the demons. A glamour may have hidden her runes, but it couldn't hide what she had afflicted. Both of the girls whipped off their wigs, shaking their hair free before turning in the direction of the random men. Izzy didn't mind that there were men roughly twenty years older than her, staring at her in ways that Venus made her feel sick to her stomach.

The men stood up, almost in a dominos affect; Venus watched their eyes turn teal. Her heart ached for the victims that had been in the same spot they were, setting themselves in a death trap. Venus forced a smile on her lips as she swayed her hips, grazing her fingers from one of her heels and dragging them towards her jaw seductively, licking her lower lip as one man held her hand and placed one on her hip.