u/Familiar-Ad-9737

The link clawed at Ashton’s mana, devouring his reserves quicker by the second. “This doesn’t feel right,” Ashton said.

Roy’s fire coiled around his arm, aimed at the heavy wooden door. His other hand clutched a fist sized sapphire with enchants swirling inside, and bits of skin from the previous carrier still bound to the gem. Roy glanced towards Ashton’s feet, at the body whose neck had been twisted like a screw. “Jackson got a little carried away, no big deal. You got the line before he died, right?”

“No not the… I mean yes I took his link, but it’s–”

“If you have it then hurry up and get us out.”

“I think Kacey’s wrong, this feels too taxing to be a sewer connection.”

Jackson grabbed the lifeless body and tossed it against the back wall, his muscles twitching as they pulsed with enhancements. He leaned to meet Ashton’s eyes, the smell of tobacco and sour ale wafting from his mouth. “You think we trust some drop out over a god damn Observer?” 

The door handle jiggled, followed by a chorus of loud bangs. The wood began to splinter and creak with each subsequent ram from the other side. The fire around Roy’s arm snaked to his palm, forming a condensed knot, “If you don’t get us out of here right now, there will be more bodies thanks to your feelings.”

Ashton felt the link draining him past half, past a quarter. “Ok, I’m… I’m starting it.” Ashton closed his eyes and concentrated on the link. Three travel, Roy, Jackson, Ashton. The door gave way, sending splinters flying through the room, pelting Ashton’s face. He heard Roy yelling, he smelled the burning. He activated the magic, shifting the three down the link.

Darkness. Wooden floors replaced by hard, uneven stone. Ashton inhaled sharply, dry air burning his lungs.

Roy sent a new flame around his arm, holding it above his head, “Where did you take us.” 

“I told you it felt–” 

Jackson took Ashton by the neck, slamming him into a cave wall, “You crossed us?”

Ashton felt his feet leave the ground, Jackson's grip so tight he couldn’t choke out a single sound. Ashton's eyes desperately searched for Roy’s. He’d turned away. Ashton looked back at the man squeezing the life from him. Blood trickled from Jackson's mouth. His eyes lifelessly stared through Ashton. His head slid from his shoulders, landing on a pale knife-like skewer reaching from the darkness. Ashton frantically clawed at Jackson’s still gripping arm, kicking against his body. Ashton wrapped his hands around Jackson’s wrists and focused on the enhancements still coursing through him. Ashton’s vision began to fade, veins bulged on his neck. No mana left. Paid with skin, then. The skin on Ashton's fingers began to boil, he ripped the enhancements from Jackson and seeded them into himself. His muscles tensed, involuntarily flexing and spasming as he pried Jackson’s fingers off his neck. 

Ashton fell to the ground, gasping for air. He released the enhancement magic, meat around his fingers sloughing off his hands. Jackson's body fell in front of him. Blood spilled from his exposed neck.

“What the fuck!” Roy said, aiming his flame at Ashton. “You fucking killed him!”

“No– Monster–” Ashton choked. Ashton tried to stand, backing against the wall, eyes darting through the darkness. Jackson no longer choked him, but he couldn’t draw even breath, like a deathgrip still held him. 

Roy waved his arm through the air, illuminating different areas of the cave, “There’s no one else–” He stopped, arm held towards the wall opposite Ashton. The silhouette of a cloaked figure cowered behind a stalagmite. “Who’s there!”

Ashton felt his stomach twist, “Roy, I don’t think that’s human.” 

“Fuck it,” Roy’s flame launched at the silhouette with a bright flash, leaving them in darkness after it connected. 

Ashton didn’t hear any screams. Didn’t smell any burning. Didn’t see a new flame lit. 

“Roy?” 

Ashton pressed himself flat against the wall. He inched to the right, holding his breath. A warm, humid puff of air hit his cheek, scented deeply of copper. Ashton heard a whisper, almost sweet in its tone, “Where would you go?” A sharp blade traced Ashton’s stomach, deftly cutting the fabric of his shirt, slicing through his skin enough to draw blood. It cut cleanly up to his chest, slowing as it neared his collarbones.

“Vescor. Not that one.” A smooth voice called. 

The blade stopped, withdrawing from Ashton’s skin. 

Blue light illuminated the cave, originating from the tall, thin man walking towards Ashton. Ashton didn’t see the monster, or his former allies anywhere.

“Kacey?” 

“Hey, kid,” Kacey strode to Ashton, taking his hand to inspect the exposed bones of his fingers. “Damn, dug that deep?”

Ashton couldn’t focus, his eyes darted around the cave, “Kacey what are–.” 

“Take this.” Kacey pulled a pale blue stone from his pocket and pressed it against Ashton’s forearm, “You can get it from there, right?”

“A mana stone? What do I need–”

“You either work with me or I leave you with Vescor.” Kacey pointed over his shoulder, to the stalagmite, where a silhouette cowered, coveting a dripping mass.

Ashton’s whole body shook as he looked at the creature. He raised his opposing arm to squeeze the stone between his forearms, reaching for the mana. “How… How much do I take?” 

“Until you’re full.” 

Ashton couldn’t feel the bottom of the stone, he pulled more and more into his own reserves. 

Kacey walked to the center of the cave and channeled his magic.

“You’re making a link? I thought you were an Observer?”

Kacey smiled, “If I was, do you think I’d be working with thieves?”

The woman clung to the dripping coat of the collector. Fallen to her knees in her doorway, crow's feet deepened by the grief contorting her face.

"Please! He lied!" the woman said. "He's a liar… I… I didn't do anything wrong…"

Rain gently tapped the awning above the collector. He looked at the woman, then to his clipboard. Her profile read clearly: 

Lender: Marsha Wall, Age 43
Time Loaned: 40 years
Date of Loan: 6th Lunar Rise of the 3248th Falling
Recipient: Hanford Stevens, Age 87
Date of collection if no time received: 6th Lunar Rise of the 3249th Falling

The runes flickered around the edges of the page, sending any stray droplets gliding away. 

"Ma'am, I can't make that call. I'm only a collector."

"But he said we'd be together! That the time would stop the spread! I…" The woman's arms dropped to her side. "I didn't think he'd just leave." 

The collector slid the clipboard into his inner coat, it seemed to vanish within. He knelt to meet the woman at eye level. "Draining? Time can't heal some sickness. It will be quick, and it's only been a year since your loan. You should have some time left to try to get some back. How's your memory?"

"My memory?"

"Yeah, loaning so much tends to mess with the mind a bit. Do you have any family you can contact? A few years here and there and you might be able to recoup some losses."

"I think I have a sister." The woman's eyes began to gloss with a new sheen, "I don't remember her name." 

The collector opened his mouth to say something when a sharp pain struck through his chest. He could feel something heavy pooling inside his coat. The Binding wanted this done now. He grimaced, retrieved the clipboard and stood. Marsha's profile had morphed into a mass of glowing black sludge. He held it above her for a moment. "Marsha Wall, by the terms of your contract, 40 years have been given, and now 40 years shall be taken." The profile oozed off the clipboard, dripping onto Marsha. The sludge soaked into her skin as it made contact. Marsha's face began to droop and wrinkle. Her bones became visible in her fingers and elbows. Her black hair began falling to the floor, and what remained turned stark white. The last of the page landed on her and the collector turned away. 

The collector walked down the dark street, keeping his eyes on his clipboard. The runes kept the pages dry from the eternal rain. They did their job, bound by magic.

The next lender didn't live far. He scanned the profile:

Lender: Harley Richard, Age 34
Time Loaned: All Remaining, Additional Requested
Date of Loan: 203rd Lunar Rise of the 3239th Falling
Recipient: Rebecca Richard, Age -
Date of collection if no time received: Upon Completion of Obligation

His hands trembled as he read the file. The cold rain must be getting me, he thought.

The collector arrived at the house. Thick weeds had taken over the front, creeping across the walkway. The collector knocked firmly on the door. No answer. He tried again. Nothing. He tried the handle. Locked. His chest felt tight, Binding must be getting anxious. He raised his leg and drove the heel of his boot hard into the door knob, sending the door flying open. A flash of blue light shot out into the dark sky. Alarm magic. The collector walked inside, uncaring who knew. A layer of dust coated the place. He made his way through the small living room, looking for signs of the lender. Pain in his chest increased with every room searched. It didn't feel like the normal Binding pain, but this contract was odd from the start. No one in the kitchen, or in the bedroom, or hiding in the bathroom. Only one room left to check. The only closed door in the place. His hand hovered over the handle. Fingers wrapped around the cold metal. Unlocked. He opened the door. Pale light from the dusty window shone onto a crib in the center of the room. The collector stepped closer and looked inside, timid, as if some demon awaited him. Nothing. Nothing save one official document. A declaration of the deceased. Rebecca Richard, death before birth, afflicted by the draining. The door creaked behind the collector, he jumped and turned to face it, not noticing the thick ooze pooling on his clipboard.

A woman stood in the doorway. The words choked from her mouth as tears rolled, "You're back…"