Elias didn't speak. He rolled up his sleeve, revealing a glowing translucent vein that ran from his wrist to his elbow. It didn't pulse with the red of a heartbeat; it thrummed with a deep, liquid gold.
When the vial was full, the woman vanished into the rain without a word. Elias sat alone, watching his vein fade back to a dull, bruised purple. He took a sip of his drink, trying to remember his mother’s face, but all he could find was the schematic for a cooling fan. 20. You Are the Blood
He was the blood. He was the library. And with every transaction, he became a little more hollow, a book with its pages slowly being torn out to fuel someone else's fire. Elias didn't speak