The Blood Bracelets #2: Demon Born

Chapter Five

'So what type of demons did you do deals with?'

Ace cracked open an eye, having been feigning sleep. 'I'm not a name-dropper.'

'Oo-oh!' said Eljae mockingly. 'So they were powerful then? I suppose they'd have to be if one of them gave you the ability to manipulate time.'

'I think I liked you better when you were silently planning my death,' Ace said, closing his eye again.

'I finished planning it though.'

Ace's eyes snapped open. 'Seriously?'

'Seriously,' she assured. 'I plan to irritate you to the point that you kill yourself. It's far more entertaining for me and I don't have to stain my claws.'

He shrugged. 'Makes sense.'

'So what demon gave you your time manipulation?' she asked again.

Ace leaned forward off the wall, stretching his legs out before him. He had only made four deals in his life, but only one had been permanent. People often confused him as being Contracted to demons, but he wasn't; he didn't do a demon's bidding in exchange for their power or protection, instead he offered something of his in return for something of theirs, but only temporarily. Some people did it for thrills of momentary invincibility or a day-trip into their future, even the ability to kill someone without feeling guilt or hesitation. Whatever the reason, it was only a one-time thing. Ace's time compression ability, however, was different.

'Okay, easier question. What was the first thing you made a deal for?'

He knew she wouldn't stop asking, so Ace said, 'A bazillion dollars.'

'Wow, you really don't want to tell me, do you?'

'Is it that obvious?' he said, feigning shock.

Eljae rolled her eyes.

'You tell me why you don't have a pack, and I'll tell you who I made deals with.'

'And what you made deals for?' she added.

'Don't push it,' Ace said.

'It was worth a shot,' said Eljae, shrugging. 'I don't have a pack because I wasn't taken in by one. I was born looking utterly human, if you hadn't noticed, so my pack didn't accept me. I was adopted by humans. And don't look at me like that, this isn't a sob story.'

Ace hadn't realised he was giving her a look, but he shifted his expression anyway. He hadn't really expected Eljae to tell him anything, since she seemed like the type to keep her secrets close to her chest, but maybe he had been wrong; maybe she didn't mind reliving her past, because she didn't care about it.

'So why were you born looking like a human?' he asked.

'Who knows? But it's proven to be a pretty good advantage,' she said, flicking a hand through her hair. It was still as red and fiery as it was the first time he had seen her, even in the dark of her apartment when Ace had been hired to hunt her down. That felt like a lifetime ago.

'Okay, your turn,' said Eljae. 'The first deal you ever made?'

Ace sighed. 'I was fifteen and in Japan to study Japanese demon lore, when I read about a demon that could meld clay into living people – just without the insides – so they could do it's bidding. I was curious so I tracked it down and asked if it could make a copy of me, just so I could skip the next day of lessons I had.'

'You made a deal with a demon so you could skip school for a day?' said Eljae incredulously.

He shrugged. 'I was fifteen, what else would a rebellious kid want?'