Blood For Time

CONTRACTED TO THE DEVIL'S BODYGUARD

EPISODE 5: BLOOD FOR TIME

`364:20:12`

The war room was silent except for the timer.

`364:20:11`

`364:20:10`

`364:20:09`

It was ticking on the big screen now. So everyone could see it bleed.

Vexa slammed her fist on the table.

Vexa: "They hit us again. We lost 47 minutes in that attack. At this rate she won’t see 360."

Ryder stood in the corner, arms crossed. Black blood still on his knuckles. He hadn’t shifted back all the way. His shadow had too many edges.

Ryder: "Then we stop the bleeding."

Ava sat between them. The dagger from the training room was in her lap. It was still warm.

Ava: "How? You said I have 365 days. Now you’re saying I don’t."

Ryder looked at her. Gold eyes, tired.

Ryder: "The contract is tied to you. To your blood. To your life force. If they hurt the contract, they hurt you."

He walked to her and held out his hand. Palm up.

Ryder: "I can stabilize it. But it’s going to hurt."

Vexa: "It’s the only way. Blood for time, Wrath to Vessel. It’s an old binding."

Ava: "What do you mean 'blood for time'?"

Ryder: "I give you some of mine. It patches the contract. Slows the burn. Buys us days back."

`364:20:03`

Ava stared at his hand. At the black veins under his skin.

Ava: "And what happens to you?"

Ryder: "I get weaker. For a while." A beat. "I’d rather be weak than watch you die."

Basement. No windows. Just the circle of salt again. Bigger this time.

Ryder cut his palm with the black dagger. Black blood dripped onto the floor and sizzled.

Ryder: "Hand."

Ava pulled off the red card. The sigil flared instantly, bright enough to hurt. `364:19:58`

Ryder grabbed her wrist. His blood met her skin, right over the sigil.

It felt like fire and ice at the same time.

Ava gasped. The timer in her vision glitched.

`364:19:57`... `364:21:00`... `364:20:30`... `364:22:15`

It jumped. Back up.

Ava: "It went up! Ryder it went up!"

Ryder didn’t let go. Sweat on his forehead. His hands were shaking now.

Ryder: "One hour. I bought you one hour back."

Vexa watched from the edge of the circle.

Vexa: "That’s all we get per binding. And he can’t do it again for 3 days. It’ll kill him."

The light faded. The sigil dimmed.

`364:22:14`

Ryder let go and stumbled back. He looked pale. Even for him.

Ryder: "Don’t waste it."

Before Ava could answer, the screens in the war room all turned on at once.

The man in the white suit from before. House Kestrel.

Man: "Lady Vexa. Wrath." He smiled. "And the Vessel. How charming."

Behind him: a countdown. But not Ava’s.

`072:00:00`

Man: "72 hours. That’s how long we’ll wait before we come for her. Every hour, we burn another day off her contract. By the time we arrive, there won’t be enough left for ascension."

He leaned forward.

Man: "Surrender the Vessel now, and we make it painless. Fight us, and we watch her burn in real time."

The screen cut to black.

`364:22:13`

The room was dead quiet.

Vexa: "They’re going to siege the contract."

Ryder wiped blood from his mouth. He looked at Ava.

Ryder: "72 hours. That’s all we have to get you strong enough to survive what’s coming."

Ava stood up. Her hands weren’t shaking anymore.

Ava: "Then teach me."

She held up the dagger. The sigil pulsed once, in time with her heart.

Ava: "If they want to burn my days... we burn them back."

Vexa actually smiled this time.

Vexa: "Alright, Vessel. Lesson two starts now."

Outside, the rain hit the stone above them like drums.

The timer ticked.

`364:22:12`

...TO BE CONTINUED......

***Download NovelToon to enjoy a better reading experience!***