Slowly, Chester lifted his head and saw the whole room for the first time illuminated by pulsing yellow light. The entrance where he stood was no larger across than a dinner table, with little candles standing on side tables at either end. A staircase on one side rose nearly four feet to reach the bigger section of the chamber. The stone table stood at its center. The door stood behind it, with the two lit braziers on either side of it giving off the yellow light. George stood by the wall near the table, his face a mask of utter awe and admiration as he stared at Cambiador.

  Cambiador was a huge red serpent, patterned with black and white diamonds. His scales sparkled like gems in the flickering light. He wore a white toga over a muscular torso, and Chester thought he saw the hint of a dagger hidden in the fabric. One reptilian hand rested on the table, and the other held Chester’s unfolded letter. Cambiador slowly circled the table, letting his long tail wrap around it.

  His eyes raked Chester for two long seconds, giving him the impression that he was a tiny creature about to be pounced upon. Then the serpent cocked his head. “Is something wrong, Calvin?”

  “No, I’m just… nervous.”

  Cambiador smiled. “Do not be afraid. Come to me.”

  Chester ducked his head again. “I haven’t finished my mission, sir. Have you read the letter?”

  “I have. You have set things up nicely. Pelias will be able to finish the job.”

  Chester’s face went pale. “Pelias? But I—”

  “I have a different task for you. Come to me.”

  With the distinct impression that Cambiador wanted to kill him whether or not he blew his cover, Chester slowly mounted the stairs and came to stand just out of arm’s length of the great serpent.

  “Hold out your hand.” Chester lifted his hand toward the snake. Despite his efforts to hide it, his fingers trembled like leaves in a vicious wind. Cambiador grabbed Chester’s wrist with a grip like stone. “Do not be afraid.”

  He drew his dagger with a flourish, holding it high. It was an intricately wicked object. One side was serrated; the other was sharper than a razor. It had menacing runes etched all over it, and a tear-drop-shaped ruby glittered from its pommel, its point nearly as sharp as the dagger itself.

  Cambiador lowered the dagger and sliced Chester’s palm. Chester groaned, knees buckling beneath him. He clenched his injured hand into a fist and fell to one knee. Still, he fought to stick it out. I’ve faced much worse than this. If this gives my crew a chance to take this monster down, it’ll all be worth it. He gripped his stomach with his good hand, pretending to be punished by the snakes he hoped Cambiador believed were still inside him.

  The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

  Cambiador either didn’t notice this reaction or didn’t care, for he immediately turned toward the door. He flicked the knife toward a brazier, flinging drops of Chester’s blood into it. With a hiss, the brazier’s light turned red, and it belched out a thick stream of smoke that pooled at the ceiling above the door. Cambiador repeated the process with George, lighting the other brazier with his blood. George winced at the pain but didn’t complain. Pretending to regain mastery of himself, Chester rose to his feet.

  “While you were away,” Cambiador said, gesturing to the smoke, “I conducted my own operation.”

  Smoke billowed from the braziers and churned together, condensing into images. Chester gaped in horror, his stinging hand forgotten. The smoke depicted the entrance of the Q’wisqa labyrinth, guarded by two of their Unhinged monsters. One had a bear’s head and a lion’s paws, and the other had eagle wings and the head of a dragon. But Chester wasn’t horrified by those monsters. It was their attackers.

  A large host of Tikray slaves charged at the Unhinged. Each was expertly trained and outfitted for battle, but they were hardly a match for the Unhinged. The beasts ignored most of their blows and plowed through the slaves as if the attack was a welcome diversion.

  The battle changed when dozens of skeletons emerged from the ranks of the slaves. They weren’t just any skeletons. Instead of bare skulls, they wore heads all too familiar to Chester. Danti, Rupert, Damien, Marlon, Borris, Mike. All of his crewmates whom Cambiador had murdered were present among the skeletons, and Chester recognized the rest as other Tikray slaves who’d disappeared at some point or another.

  The skeletons fought the Unhinged with reckless brute force. The Unhinged’s blows scattered bones here and there, but the bones always reassembled to continue the fight. So they overcame the Unhinged and forced Tikray snakes into them. The negotiation took many more snakes than usual, but the creatures eventually succumbed. Many slaves lay dead on the ground, but Cambiador would no doubt see this as a victory. He’d converted two Unhinged from Q’wisqa.

  The monsters turned with the skeletons into the entrance of the labyrinth and attacked the rest of Q’wisqa. They ran with incredible speed through the halls until they came directly to face Chaqrusqa, Q’wisqa’s Prime Creator. Chaqrusqa had a ferret in one hand, a young cultist in the other, and a restrained crocodile on the ground before him. Heedless of the ritual he was about to perform, the attackers tore him to pieces. Then they spread like fire through the labyrinth, attacking and destroying any Q’wisqa cultist or Unhinged that didn’t flee before them. Many more Tikray slaves fell in the process, but the skeletons were largely unharmed. They even captured a third Unhinged.

  At last, the smoke churned back into a more mundane shape, relieving Chester of its disturbing images.

  Cambiador smiled. “Q’wisqa is dissolved. I had feared it impossible, but your retired crewmates proved their worth many times over. Talkus granted me the power to make them useful again. Fantastic results, no?”

  The smoke churned again, and a huge face formed. Two terrible horns curled down along the sides of the face, and fangs jutted out from its lower jaw. Its eyes were black pits, and they snapped to focus on Chester.

  “Speak of the devil,” Cambiador said. He bowed deeply, and George followed suit. “You have instructions for me, Master?”

  “Seize him.”