The debriefing was short and sweet, thanks to Mark telling Rylie to keep her new power under wraps. Instead, they reported that once the Artist follower dropped his illusions, Rylie had managed to sneak in and distract him long enough for Mark to slice him up. No questions were asked about where he went when Mark said there were only two of them, and showed the clean up crew the bodies of the tall man and the short man.

After the debriefing and some healing from the in office healers, the two partners took off to Louie’s, securing a quiet booth in the back of the bar. After a few shots that Mark took in silence, he shook off any lingering feelings from the illusions, and finally cleared his throat.

“First and foremost, I want to thank you for coming in and saving my life. It’s completely wild to me that I’m already thanking you for that in your first month here. Second, I owe you and explanation on why I didn’t want you to tell Hanna about your new power.”

Rylie nodded, and he continued, “The Agency has been working on a ritual to allow us to sever people from their patrons for decades. Well before I showed up at their doorstep. From my understanding working with Jay, rituals usually have a physical component that they can base the spell off of, which is the main problem. For a fire spell, you need fire. For raising the dead, you need a corpse.”

“So you think I would be the ritual component,” Rylie interrupted.

Mark took another shot and nodded grimly, “I do. And I don’t know how dangerous it would be for you. But I do know that they would stop at nothing to convince you to do it. First and foremost, they would find a way to make you feel like you can’t break off your deal with Traitor yet. But, you do still have time.”

“I’ve been curious about that,” Rylie said, “What’s the time limit on that?”

He smirked, “All the patrons have their own rules for that. Traitor still uses the old way from when he was still Guardian. You have to form a bond with another Traitor. It’s why we have partners. Not only does that cement you into the collective, but our powers are based on tandem practice. With a full bond, we become stronger as a team.”

“You think you would lie to me and sell me on the idea then,” she said. “However, you tell me the full truth of the matter.”

“Call it me thinking you deserve a shot at free will without someone manipulating you. It’s what Jay did for me. A lot of people do lie and sell it up, like trying to get you into the military. Jay laid it out for me. A bond can be made without full trust, but full trust leads to a stronger bond.”

“So, I keep my new power secret so that they don’t break that potential for us to be bonded and more powerful? Still seems kind of selfish on your part. We could be severing monsters from evil patrons.”

He nodded, “Absolutely. And you can go do it if you want. But you are the component. At best, you will be the conduit. That being said, I won’t stop you if you want to. I just thought you would want everything laid out first.”

Rylie looked into her glass for a minute, then back at Mark, “There was something else. About my power, I mean.”

Mark cocked an eyebrow. He didn’t use his powers on his partner, but he could still read expressions well. She was nervous. “What is it?”

“When I first used it, I felt like I was missing something. Remember? As the day kept going, it grew and grew. I walked home and saw a group of girls. They all had the most beautiful smiles. I kept going, but I kept thinking about how I wished my smile was that beautiful. Before I knew it, I thought about ripping their teeth out and taking them. And that part that felt like I was missing something ached and ached. I came back to find you, and that’s when Natalie told me everything. Suddenly, that feeling, that need in me, was pissed. My only friend around here was in danger. I could feel the mist swirling up in me.”

“How do you feel now?”

“Fine,” she shakily laughed, “That part of me that was her connection left with the mist. I’m just me again. My only concern is that Natalie knew the connection was severed. That means everyone else does to.”

Mark shook his head, “That by itself won’t tip them off. Some patrons let go of their members without killing them. In a way, it’s a much worse punishment. They’ll chalk it up to that. Hell, if it wasn’t for seeing you use that mist, I probably would too.”

Louie brought by a few more drinks and left quietly. Mark appreciated that Lou always knew when to stick around and talk shit or when to walk away and let people have their conversation. He had switched to beer and began draining his glass.

“So, where are you at with this, Rylie? Naturally, if you decide you don’t want to stay around, the powers are gone. But that’s not necessarily a bad thing. If they exist in you, they can exist in someone else. If you do want to stay, I’ll always be glad to have you as a teammate.”

“Right now,” she whispered, before straightening her posture and speaking more confidently, “I want to stay in the field with you. As long as you help me keep this secret and pay me back for saving your ass, then I’m in.”

He smirked, “That’s the Rylie I’ve come to know. Alright then, we still have a way to go before forming a full bond, but that doesn’t mean we can’t play twenty questions again.”

The mood shifted, the two laughing and carrying on learning random facts about each other. They carried on until Rylie was tired and left. Mark stayed at his booth, drinking slowly and watching the room, getting a feel for the other monsters there. He could feel their magic differently, finally starting to learn the nuances of each collective. Eventually, a man slide into the booth opposite of him, stealing Rylie’s seat.

He was bald and grumpy, but rather large. His shoulders were wide but his stomach had some pudge to it. Give him a pair of reading glasses and he could be an eighth grade science teacher. Most noticeably though, Mark could sense his magic, but couldn’t quite describe it. It seemed as if nothing was there at all except just the outline of power. He watched as Mark sized him up, before cracking a grin.

“Marcus James, right?”

“I have enough problems,” he replied. “And most of them call me Mark.”

“Mark it is then. I’m Keith. I represent a collective of my own. Can you tell which one?” Mark had an idea but needed to make sure. He turned his head toward the bar. Lou was wiping down the counter and Mark felt a little guilty he was the only one in the bar, keeping her here when she could close up early. He turned his head back to his glass and remembered Keith was there.

“Ah. Blank.”

“Very well done. Though that can be fairly dangerous in the right circumstance,” Keith said.

Mark laughed into his glass as he took another drink, “If you really want to cause trouble at Lou’s, be my guest.”

Keith looked toward the bartender and visibly swallowed, “Yes, well. Not too many stupid enough to try something like that these days. Anyway, I’ve come to deliver a message and a gift.”

“Like I said, Keith,” Mark grunted, “I already have enough problems going on. I’m not really in the mood to be tacking on anymore. So unless the gift is money or a vial of your blood, I’m done here.” Mark went to get up as Keith laid a vial full of red liquid on the table. Mark eyed it then slowly sat down, “You’ve got to be fucking kidding me.”

“I am absolutely not. I’m here on business. It will be vague information, or you’ll easily mess it up. But in order to get you to go with the vague things I have to say, I need you to trust me. Hence, the blood. Do you know the spell?”

Mark did. Working with Jay had taught him some of the rituals that any magic user could do. One of the most important was this one. He had done it twice before and expected to do it again. Though he had to admit, not with some bald guy at the bar. “How do I know it’s yours?”

Keith chuckled, “I can pull some more from you or you can just hope for the best. But I must really be going soon. And before you ask, no. I don’t need yours. This will be one-sided.”

“You’ll be at a disadvantage. Are you sure?”

“Of course,” Keith said, “Just more good will on my part. Now, if you would.”

Mark held the vial, pulling the plunger as he whispered the old spell to him. He then drank back the blood. The heat of the magic filled his body then slowly dissipated. He looked at Keith, then turned his head back to the bar. This time, as he looked at Lou’s worried expression, he remembered that Keith was sitting across from him. It was his blood after all.

“Very good. Now, the information. You are being watched, and you are being plotted against. Someone wanted you alive.”

“Yeah, Strategy,” Mark said, “They wanted to make sure Traitor didn’t have a back up plan.”

Keith smirked, “That’s definitely why they signed on, but that’s not quite it. They traded your rebirth for something else. Something way more important, though I don’t know what. But I do know that the person who wanted you alive again had something to do with why you left.”

Mark was getting pissed. If it wasn’t for Lou and her bar, he would drive a sword through Keith in a heartbeat, knowing full well the one-sided bond would give him the power. But the man clearly knew something, so Mark took a breath and let him carry on.

“I’ve heard you’re still a bit upset about all of that. And normally, I would tell you to let it go. But in this case, you very much cannot. They were doing something way more important than destroying your mental state, Mark.”

“What were they doing?”

“Sadly,” the bald man sighed, “That’s not one of things I can let you know. Nor the person who did it, but I assume you’ve figured out I can’t do that. It would mess with things a bit. Because it’s all going to happen again. They need you to try it a second time.”

“Why me?”

“The first time was convenience. This time, I assume they’re just mad it didn’t work the first time.”

“You sure are telling me a lot for a Blank. Don’t your kind hate giving people knowledge? More apt to take it away or destroy it entirely.”

“You are right. But I have my reasons. And that, my friend, is information I cannot freely give,” Keith said.

“So basically, I need to keep my guard up. I’ve already been doing that. But if the spell is the same, I can’t say that will help much. I remember barely anything other than the shit they made me see.”

“Yes, I know,” Keith said, “That’s why this time, you have a little bit of extra protection. This time you will be able to report it to the right people after you escape. You’ll be able to stop them from blending in and trying again in the future.”

Mark looked at the man curiously, “And why is that?”

Keith looked grim, “Because this time I won’t be able to erase your memory.”