The Fallen Pact

A pact has been cut in blood, and it is not the kind that saves anyone. The person who carries the mark feels the vow pull downward, toward desire, debt, or a master they still cannot see clearly. Falling is the direction written into the cut. Climbing out is not among the clauses. / They can hide the wound and pretend a signature is only a signature. The pact does not pretend. It recognizes its holder in a crowd and asks, quietly, for the next thing they swore without reading.