They did come to an arrangement. Bob wrote three more letters. The first was a replacement for the first, which had gotten bloody from the fight. He amended the new letter to ask Pintor to bring all of his Undershamans with him to the ritual. Martin expected the Grandmaster would be satisfied with this opportunity to ambush Pintor and the Undershamans who didn’t support (or weren’t privy to) the unification of the tribes.

  The second letter was addressed to the Grandmaster himself, requesting a meeting with him and threatening to expose Unichi’s location if the terms weren’t complied with. The third letter was nearly identical, except it was for Cambiador. Bob signed the former with his Tikray name and the latter with his Hark’akuy name.

  Martin set off directly to deliver the first letter to Pintor. After that, he was to convey the ambush plan to the Grandmaster and deliver the second letter.

  Meanwhile, Vyran, Shale, and the rest set to collecting venom from the dead snakes, hoping to develop an antivenom. They had a lot of Tikray slaves to liberate, and it would be no easy task. They hoped an antivenom would help, and they expected it would be most effective and easiest to apply if they could get it to work via piercing weapons.

  Chester reserved to himself the task of delivering the letter to Cambiador. As soon as he was satisfied his crew had the hang of harvesting the venom, he left for Tikray.

  It was a long journey, and taking it alone gave him a long time to think. His memory was especially active. He remembered scenes from his life before Tikray, each potent with meanings that Tikray had erased. He remembered atrocities he’d committed in service to Tikray: capturing innocent people to force into slavery, torturing and killing witnesses of the negotiation process, and sending injured crewmates to Cambiador. As bad as the first two were, the third was the most painful for Chester. That had been the one thing he’d done as Calvin that really felt good to him. From his first instructions as a Tikray crew leader, he’d been instructed to send injured crewmates to Cambiador for healing. But none had ever come back. I should have seen it sooner, Chester thought, kicking himself. He never healed them. He killed all of them. And yet I believed in him.

  It took him a long time to quell his anger, both at himself and Cambiador, so it was lucky the journey was so long. He needed to present a calm face to the Tikray leader, or else he’d be found out. He had to act as if he was still Calvin, still under Tikray control.

  At long last, he reached the entrance of the Tikray stronghold. Two guards stood there, and they smiled on seeing him. The left one was called George, but his real name was Ayen. He was one of the last Chester had recruited before starting his mission to take down the other cults. He seemed to have a bit of a cold, as he was sniffling and blinking every few seconds. The other was called Darrel and had a patch of red scales on one cheek. He’d been part of a different cult before Tikray got him, but that was before even Chester’s time.

  You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

  “Calvin!” George said. He “Another success? I could do with a party.”

  “Not yet,” Chester said, “but you’ll get a party soon enough. For now, I just have a message for Cambiador. It’s urgent. I can’t continue my mission before he gets it.”

  Darrel began stepping aside, then paused, a confused look on his face. He put out his hand. “Let me deliver the message. I’ll be quick. You stay here.”

  Chester was happy to hand over the letter, but he only stayed put to maintain his cover. Going into the stronghold could easily be fatal if they discovered he was free.

  Darrel disappeared into the stronghold. George cleared his throat and asked about the progress of the mission, and Chester told him about the complication arising from Unichi and how he needed Cambiador’s help ambushing the Grandmaster and his allies. Silence fell, broken only by George's sniffles.

  It wasn’t long before Darrel returned. He waved Chester inside. “He wants to see you.” He nodded to George. “You're to go with him.”

  Chester fought to maintain his composure. Obeying this request put him directly in Tikray’s power once again. If Cambiador found out Chester was free, nothing could stop him from either killing him or forcing him back into slavery.

  On the other hand, to disobey was to immediately blow his cover. Cambiador would know that the letter had been delivered by a free man rather than a devoted servant, and he wouldn’t fall into the trap.

  Chester steeled himself and nodded. “Of course.”

  George accompanied him down the hallways to Cambiador’s chamber. Though Chester remembered the way perfectly, it seemed darker and more sinister than ever before. The torches on the walls were hooded to muffle their light, and the walls were etched with subtle carvings of snakes. A cursory glance at the carvings would give an impression of a pattern of weaving cords, but Chester’s eyes were open now, and he picked out the occasional spots where a snake head bit another snake’s tail to continue the length of ‘cord.’

  But the most ominous sign came when they stopped at Cambiador’s chamber. A soft, flickering yellow light shone around the edges of the curtain. Chester had never seen the chamber lit up so well, and he hesitated, fearing what the light meant. It was generally forbidden to look upon Cambiador.

  “Come on,” George said. He pushed through the curtain without even lowering his gaze.

  Chester focused on steadying his breath, considering his options. He wasn’t likely to leave that room a free man, but the stakes hadn’t changed much. To disobey was still to abandon the plan.

  “Calvin,” Cambiador’s deep voice rang out. “Come to me.”

  Chester took a deep breath and entered the room with his head down. Even so, he could see the pulsing yellow light fill the chamber. He heard the crackling of fire from the back of the chamber. He also heard George’s wet breathing from the higher part of the room, and something else up there was quietly scraping against the floor.

  “Look upon me,” Cambiador said.

  Chester bowed his head deeper, panic rising. “It’s forbidden.”

  “Not anymore. Not for you.”