The Blood Bracelets #2: Demon Born

Chapter Four

Kael looked at Drake flatly, failing to comprehend his words. 'What?'

'We can't find anything,' said Drake again. 'At the train yard? Nothing. Here? Nothing. All we get is something that smells like a Doorway.'

'Smells like?' Kael repeated. 'As in...?'

'As in smells like a Doorway but isn't a Doorway. Am I not speaking English anymore?'

'Since you're British, It's debatable,' said Zed from the kitchen.

'That doesn't even make sense!'

Kael sat heavily on the couch, reminded once again of how poorly he had slept last night. Exhaustion had hit him only in the morning, and he been dragged into such a deep sleep that he hadn't roused until midday. Drake had come by to see him during that time, but Zed had turned him away while Kael slept – Zed struggled to be in the same room as Drake without intervention, after all.

'Jeez, I feel like I just took your favourite toy away,' said Drake. 'Way to make me feel bad, Kael.'

Kael rested his head back, looking tiredly up at the ceiling. 'If you can't track them, how the hell can anyone else?'

'I'll take that as a compliment,' Drake said. He was about to take a seat on the edge of the coffee table, but heard Zed's warning growl come from the kitchen. He quickly stood back up. 'You're trying to find Alchemists, right?'

'Obviously.'

'Then why don't you ask an Alchemist?' Drake suggested, giving a lopsided grin. 'Ever heard of Tank?'

'With a name like that, I'm surprised I haven't.'

'He's not hard to miss, trust me,' said Drake, 'but if he doesn't want to be known, then he won't be. Fortunately for you I know that he's in town, and where we can find him.'

Kael sighed. 'I'm going to owe you another favour, aren't I?'

'Four favours so far. Would you like to make it five?'

'Not particularly, but I know I have no choice,' said Kael, glancing over his shoulder to the kitchen. 'We're leaving, Zed.'

'Good riddance!' Zed called back cheerfully.

It had started to drizzle outside, turning the midday sky a bleak grey. Kael raised the hood of his jacket, his hands dipping into his pockets, and followed Drake up King Street.

'So where does this Tank hide?' asked Kael. He was expecting someone with such a name to be fairly hard to miss, but demons and the like did have a natural-born talent of making themselves inconspicuous if it meant staying alive.

'Underground, mostly. You know the Old Melbourne Gaol? He hides out underneath it,' Drake told him. 'Where do you think all the ghost stories come from?'

'You're saying it's just some rogue Alchemist making scary noises?'

'Pretty much.'

The Old Melbourne Gaol was on the other side of the Central Business District, so Drake and Kael took the first tram they came across along La Trobe Street to avoid the rain. When they reached the visitor's entrance Drake pushed through a crowd of visitors to speak to a staff member, while Kael looked to the courtyard of the gaol where high stone walls and grid-iron gates closed it in. The gaol wasn't nearly as ominous as it used to be, considering most of the adjoining buildings had been knocked down or refurbished into classrooms for the nearby university campus.

'Kael,' Drake called.

Kael turned around and followed Drake through the visitor's entrance, joining the back of a group embarking on a tour. 'Did you actually just buy tickets?'