Ink in the Blood

The anonymous narrator of Ink in the Blood has long been fascinated by tattoos, by the symbols and emblems people choose, and by the physical aspect, even pain, of a needle injecting ink under the skin. As an artist who makes his living by drawing illustrations, he starts making designs for Dimitri, a skilled tattooist, and eventually decides to undergo the process himself. He chooses a Latin phrase in the form of a cross: vulnerant omnes, ultima necat — 'they all (the hours) wound, the last one kills'. Once it has been done, his whole being seems to change, his feelings about himself and, especially, his attitude to women. Soon however, the first two words of the tattoo fade and ultima necat becomes a threat dominating his life.