“I had no life before Tikray,” Calvin breathed, repeating the mantra to himself. “I had no life before Tikray.” The thought calmed the writhing in his stomach, and he relaxed. He opened his eyes and allowed himself a small smile. The mission was going more smoothly than he’d anticipated.

  He was seated at a fire that gave a sphere of comfort amid the cold, dark night. The campfire danced merrily before him, ecstatic to offer its light to his business. The flames waved like victorious flags to celebrate his success. Calvin appreciated the sentiment, but he’d have to save the full Tikray celebration for when he completed his mission.

  Two crimson eyes glared at him from the other side of the fire, flashing with fear, hatred, and defeat. Aside from those red eyes and several patches of dark blue scales, the creature seemed mostly human. He’d used that deceptive appearance to lure countless innocent villagers to torture and death at Unichi hands.

  No more, Calvin thought. I’ll soon put an end to those lying worms. He stood and approached the captive Unichi cultist. The captive had been gagged and tied to a tree by Pelias and Danti, who crouched just outside the fire’s brightest ring of light, preparing the negotiators.

  Calvin pulled off the captive’s gag. Immediately, the captive spat at him, but Calvin had expected that. He dodged, then smirked. “Do you really think I’d take the gag off if I couldn’t handle that?” The captive responded with another glob of spit. This time, it hit, landing on Calvin’s arm and congealing in his arm hair.

  “Release me!” the captive demanded.

  Calvin wiped off the spit with a rag, but the effects were already starting. The venom made him lightheaded and urged him to set the captive free. His arms twitched in response, eager to follow the urge, but a deeper twitch froze him in place. His stomach writhed and pinched. One particularly sharp pinch snapped him back into focus. Instead of releasing the captive, Calvin slapped him across the face.

  “See? Your venom isn’t going to work on me.”

  The captive opened his mouth as if to spit again, but he thought better of it and turned his head away.

  “You’re probably wondering why you’re still alive,” Calvin said.

  The captive raised an eyebrow. “Do you think I’m dumb? Or are you trying to be cute?”

  Calvin grinned. “Whatever makes you think that?”

  “You obviously want to sacrifice me to your Talkus.”

  “You’d like to think that, wouldn’t you? But no, that’s not how we work. We don’t want your life, just some information.”

  The captive narrowed his eyes. “I’m no squealer.”

  “Not so fast. I haven’t asked you any questions yet.”

  “I won’t tell you anything.”

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  Calvin smirked. “Discreet, are you? I’ll tell you what. I’m going to ask you some questions. If you answer them freely, I’ll set you free. If you don’t, we’ll have to do some negotiating.”

  The captive snorted. “I can handle torture.”

  Calvin ignored that and launched into his questions. He needed details on Enganaq, the leader of the Unichi cult. He wanted to know everything about Enganaq’s routines, the places he frequented, and the guards he kept. He wanted to know about the level of security in and around the Unichi base. Anything to help him find and assassinate the Unichi leader.

  The captive pulled against his ropes as he tried to bend with laughter. “You really think I’d give up any of that? You’re crazy!”

  Calvin shrugged. “Just thought I’d give you a chance. Danti, Pelias! Bring over the negotiators!”

  Three days later, Calvin looked down at a map of the Unichi ziggurat. They were in a cave near the place, the map drawn on the earthen floor. Pelias and Danti stood on either side of him, studying the plan in their own ways.

  Pelias was an elf with greenish-brown hair and a leaf tattoo on his left temple, a relic of the shadow he’d been before joining Tikray. He had a detailed list of all of the Unichi cultists that might be present at the ziggurat when they launched their operation. He was halfway through it, going over each one to make sure they could adapt their plan to fool anyone who questioned them.

  Danti took a more direct approach. He marked choke points on the map and mumbled in dwarvish about how they might purposefully trigger traps to gain an advantage against the Unichi should the plan fall apart. He pulled at his thick beard between marks. Cambiador didn’t generally approve of beards, but he’d made an exception for Danti. He didn’t want the suspicion a beardless dwarf would draw.

  Edwin combed over the map to make sure he hadn’t missed anything. He’d been their Unichi captive three days before, but after their negotiations, he was fully sympathetic to Tikray. No need for any more ropes or gags. He was determined to see the mission to the end and perfectly ready to initiate the collapse of his native cult.

  Calvin rehearsed the plan to himself as the others worked. It seemed perfect from every angle, but he had to be sure. If they failed, they’d lose all of their progress and more: the Unichi would be alerted to Tikray’s intentions. Cambiador’s plans would be set back for years at best. Calvin’s stomach writhed at the mere thought. He couldn’t afford to let that happen.

  But time wore on, and Calvin couldn’t find any holes to fix in the plan. One by one, the team relaxed. Pelias lowered his list. Danti and Edwin stepped back from the map.

  “We’re all set, then?” Calvin asked.

  The others nodded.

  “You’re sure the other cultists won’t disrupt us, Edwin?”

  The former Unichi nodded. He still had those red eyes and blue scales, but those would change in time if he proved useful to Tikray. “They all know what trouble they’d be in if they tried to intercept a gift for Enganaq. The worst any of them could do is insist on delivering it personally and take the credit.”

  Danti pounded his knuckles. “A few extra hands to fight, then. I’m up for that.”

  “And suspicions?” Calvin asked. “Will they trust the gift?”

  Pelias consulted his list. “It seems to me that they’re generally a gullible breed. Considering their specialty is hypnosis, I’m unsure whether that’s ironic or logical.” He smirked. “Still, if we play our parts right, I believe they’ll swallow the story.”

  “Perfect,” Calvin said. He pointed out a room at the center of the ziggurat. “Enganaq will be here at midnight for a contact ritual, correct?”

  Edwin grunted, grabbing his stomach, his breathing growing labored. Calvin knew the feeling, so he cut him some slack. “Whenever you’re ready.”

  Edwin took a deep breath, then nodded. “Tonight. He’ll be there tonight. If we get there just before then, they’ll expect the gift is meant to help boost the ritual’s effectiveness.” His discomfort visibly melted as he finished speaking.

  Calvin smiled and turned to get some rope. “Let’s get to it, then.”