The Brink of Insanity

Payment by Blood

Adrihan's booth was one of the few stalls that was an actual building, and not a tent. It had glass walls, allowing me to see inside the crowded store. Not crowded with people, crowded with products.

Swords, knives, clothes, food, and books covered every inch of space, but there seemed to be no one there. Even the desk in the back was empty. Theo cursed and grabbed a dagger from his boot. "Stupid store hours. Never open when I need it," he muttered as he started messing with the lock on the door.

"You're picking the lock," Milo said slowly. "That's not-"

"Legal? Ethically correct? A good example?" Theo finished. "Trust me Milo, I know. But I'm friends with Adrihan. He's cool with it, 'kay? No need to freak out." The door cracked open and we filed in.

"Adrihan!" Theo called. "I need some stuff!"

No one answered. Simone started examining the worn-out books as Milo headed straight for the food. I stayed close to Theo just in case he tried to kill us or something.

Theo's bangs fell into his eyes again, but this time he didn't blow them away. "Adrihan Perilliaf! I know you're in here!"

"I'm coming, I'm coming!" a scratchy voice said from behind the wooden desk. "Mafav, Theo! You know we're not open on Fridays!"

A man popped up from the desk and leaned against the wall. He had pale blue hair that was a stark contrast to his dark skin. His shirt was covered in stains of every color, almost tie-dyed, and a pair of old aviator goggles were balancing on his head.

"You brought other people?" the man, presumably Adrihan asked.

"They need weapons," Theo sighed.

"You need a haircut," Adrihan laughed. "Whaddya have to barter this time, kid?"

"I have makines," Theo said shortly. "Also, you might want to upgrade your lock. It took me ten seconds flat with just a knife."

"I'll keep that in mind. You got a job?"

"Nah," Theo smirked. "You think anyone would hire me?"

"So you stole them," Adrihan grinned. "You're too sneaky for your own good."

"Why, thank you," Theo smiled. "Three knives. The cheapest ones that are actually good and work. And don't cheat me like you did last time."

Adrihan popped under the counter and came up with three blades. They were all silver, but the hilt colors were different. One was a deep purple, one was a faded gray, and the third was maroon.

"Twenty-six makines, Theo," Adrihan said, holding out his hand for the money.

"Twenty," Theo glared suspiciously. "As of last week, this would be twenty."

Adrihan shrugged. "Dunnerly raised taxes, now it's twenty-six. I'd love to kill Dunnerly myself, but for right now I need twenty-six makines or one of those knives will have to go."

Theo looked up at the ceiling and whispered numbers to himself like he was running calculations in his head. "How much is one drop?" he said after a second. "Same price, or did that change too?"

"Still half a makine," Adrihan smiled.

Theo dropped some cash on the table. "Eight drops. Go get a bowl or something."

"Drops?" Simone asked as Adrihan walked through a door in the back of the store.

Theo tossed the gray knife to Simone. Miraculously, she caught it without cutting herself. "So apparently," Theo explained. "My blood has some 'magical property' or whatever that Adrihan's studying. When I run out of money, I can pay using my blood. One drop equals half a makine."

"That's... messed up," I said slowly. The thought of blood as payment made me squirm in my skin. Milo, on the other hand, seemed fascinated.

"What does he do with it?" Milo asked Theo curiously.

Theo shrugged. "Don't know, don't care. As long as it buys me stuff, I'm fine."

Adrihan walked out of the door, holding a wooden bowl and a rusty knife. Theo grabbed it and make a single thin mark on the palm of his right hand. With his left hand, he smashed his skin together. Three drops fell in quick succession. A few seconds later, another red teardrop. Theo cursed, made another mark, and in no time flat eight drops were in the bowl.

"Here's your knife back," Theo scowled, wiping his hand on his jeans. Theo gave Milo the maroon knife and threw the purple one at me. I fumbled it and it clattered to the floor.

"Are you trying to kill me?" I asked Theo.

He rolled his eyes. "Of course not, then I'd have to deal with a dead body, and that's not what I need right now."

"Cremation," Simone suggested.

"Brilliant idea," Theo laughed. "I'll keep that in mind."

"You two are weird," Milo smiled.

"More like murderers," I muttered.

"Rude!" Theo gasped. "I only murder people when I really need to!"

I was afraid to ask if he was joking or not.

"Food," Simone reminded him. "We need food."

"Oh, yeah," Theo smirked. "Follow me."