At the plaza, Kenny hurried to talk to Thomas, carrying the grave warning to be careful with the tainted energy and the instructions to deal with it.

  I, on the other hand, had a much more important mission.

  Parading with the desiccated head of a ghoul impaled on the spear, I was attracting alarmed stares. The shaft rested comfortably on my shoulder as I weighed my arm on its other end, balancing the load behind me like a grotesque trophy.

  Several days ago, such a sight would attract a crowd and unwanted questions from our resident police officer. But nowadays, it was met with apathy or fear.

  It took us some effort and finesse to guide most of the remaining heavily tainted essence to concentrate in the ghoul's head. Finally, one chop later, I had the required bait for my next hunt.

  Waste not, want not.

  I didn't have to display it in such a blatant way, but I was enjoying the attention a bit too much.

  "Hey, Victor," I called out to my target. "I have an offer you can't refuse."

  Victor was hanging with his pals. Despite their dirtied and tattered looks, they were the lucky representatives of a very small number of people that felt relaxed and rested at this time.

  He eyed me critically.

  "Came here to be congratulated?" He asked.

  "No," I answered. "This one here is a gift from my friends over there," I bobbed the bait head to Thomas's gang across the plaza.

  Thomas was dancing some jig, entertaining Kenny. Either his high was a lot more persistent, or it was just his personality.

  "You see," I collected myself. "We taught them how to use the ghouls to regain their strength and heal. We don't need the witch's services anymore."

  Victor was unimpressed.

  "We already heard all about it," he replied. "Even had a long talk about it with the Priestess this morning."

  "Really?" I asked, a little discouraged. "And she was so open to educating you?"

  "Not much to it," Victor waved away. "We heard about people eating the ghouls, and she told us about the dangers of it."

  "That's news to me," I replied. "And what are these dangers?"

  "Corruption," He answered succinctly. "She explained it with a lot of spiritual mumbo jumbo, but whatever it is, it's not good for you."

  I was taken aback by this.

  "She didn't want to talk about it during the ritual," Benjy, from Victor's crew, added. "Said it will only make more people try it."

  "Good to know," I replied. "But that's not what I was offering. I know the legit way, the same one she uses to do it safely."

  "Bull," Victor cried out. "I tried the same thing, and it didn't work."

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  "Then you didn't do it right," I refuted. "It works for me and four others now," I pointed at Kenny.

  Victor squinted his eyes at me.

  "Show me a cut or a bruise if you want proof," I offered.

  Victor showed me a small scratch on his pinky.

  "Not exactly a life-threatening injury," the broad girl near Benjy said.

  "It either works, or it doesn't," I replied. "I'm not pulling your leg. Do you want me to heal it or not? I'm not asking for anything in return," I addressed Victor directly.

  He nodded and extended his hand.

  His buddies looked expectantly, and I decided to spice it up.

  "Done," I exclaimed as I slapped his hand away.

  He already gave me his consent to be healed, and all I needed was the brief contact and the will to burn my energy to heal him, aided by the Life symbol hidden on my chest.

  "What the" Victor started to get aggravated but then noticed his skin. "It's gone?" He asked, dumbfounded.

  "Child's play," I confirmed. "Do you want in on it or what?"

  "What do you want in return?" He asked.

  "The two of us join you three on a hunt. And we get half," I offered.

  "That's too much," Victor declined. "I'm not against smashing some heads, but I can't risk them getting injured. We won't have enough to heal if we get injured."

  I was disheartened at his fast refusal, but the reason made me laugh. I laughed and couldn't stop myself. Some of it must have been from all the stress I had been under for so long.

  They looked uneasily at me, like I had become unhinged.

  "Ohh... Not enough," I chuckled. "I forgot to tell you the best part."

  "Which is?" Victor asked suspiciously.

  "Our esteemed High Priestess is skimming off the top," I told them, again with the criminal speech. "Wanna guess how much?"

  "I know she's not running a charity," Victory said. "Using some of the mojo for herself."

  "So, how much do you think she's taking?" I asked. "How much would be fair?"

  Everybody loved things, to be fair. I sure did.

  They looked at me, waiting for the twist while I smiled my best infuriating smile.

  "Let's say you're like these guys," I referred to the exhausted-looking people milling about. "They missed what? Three nights' worth of sleep?"

  "Thereabouts," Victor agreed.

  "Well, if a group of these suckers came with their hard-won game, begging for her help, it would only take her about a third of the ghoul's power to patch them all up," I looked into their eyes. "Not only do you have to depend on her and can't heal in the field right now, but she's also making more than you without the risk."

  "That's-" Victor was at a loss for words.

  "Robbery," I finished for him. "If you give me half of it, the remaining half would still be better for you than taking all of it to her. Do the math. Even if I had asked for half of all your future hunts, it would have been better for you than having any business with her."

  "Too good," Victor mumbled.

  "I'm offering to teach you how to triple your gain and get independence all at the same time," I finished my pitch.

  "That's too good," Victor shook his head. "If it's so good, why would you give it away?"

  I considered presenting it as an altruistic gesture but decided against it. Self-interest is understandable enough, and we are all benefiting from it anyway.

  "This knowledge will leak eventually anyway," I admitted. "In a day or a week, it doesn't matter. It's only a matter of time."

  Victor watched me closely.

  "So, I'm not asking for much. I'm making it profitable for you from the first ghoul," I said. "All you need to do is help me on our joint outing, be my safety net."

  Victor thought it through. I noticed he didn't consult with his pals.

  "Problem is, we don't need it right now," He confessed. "it's going to be a waste. Just got treated."

  "Here's the bonus," I said, sealing the deal. "I'll teach you how to save it for later. So you won't need to carry the stinking carcasses ever again."