An hour before midnight, they arrived at the entrance to the Unichi ziggurat. The stepped pyramid stretched like a small mountain toward the stars above, trees and bushes growing out of its terraces like matted fur. A cool wind blew past their procession. The only sounds were the leaves rustling in the canopy and their footsteps as they matched along.

  The two guards at the entrance drew scimitars as Calvin’s crew approached, but they relaxed when they saw Edwin leading them. Calvin, Danti, and Pelias all had their wrists bound, with Edwin holding the rope. Calvin and his fellow “captives” kept their faces in a state of flat, uncaring contentment, as if they were hypnotized to enjoy the journey Edwin was taking them on.

  “Nice haul,” one of the guards said. Like Edwin, both guards had crimson eyes and patches of blue scales marring their skin. “You’ve been busy.”

  “Thanks,” Edwin said. “I thought they’d make a nice addition to Enganaq’s petition tonight.”

  The guard frowned. “You fishing for a promotion?”

  “Maybe. You should take notes. Maybe you’ll get one, too.”

  The guard growled. “No need to rub it in. Go on.” He gestured aggressively for them to enter the ziggurat. Edwin pulled his “haul” forward, but the other guard stopped him, pointing at the swords at the captives’ sides.

  “Hold on. They’re still armed.”

  Edwin rolled his eyes. “They’re hypnotized, worm-brain. Besides, Enganaq prefers to end them with their own weapons.”

  “What? Why?”

  Edwin pushed the guard away. “You clearly don’t know him as well as I do. Like I said, take notes. Maybe you’ll learn something.”

  They left the bitter guards and pushed into the ziggurat. The stone halls were dim, lit only by infrequent red torches with hoods over the flames to muffle their light. Still, Edwin led them confidently toward their destination, guiding them the safe way around traps and talking his way past cultists.

  The last room before Enganaq’s contact chamber was a prison lined with filthy cells and lit by a central brazier. The cells were empty, but the room itself wasn’t. Two Unichi Masters sat talking by the brazier. Unlike the other cultists, these couldn’t pass for humans if they tried. One had the head of a cobra. The other sat coiled on a long serpentine tail instead of human legs. Both had deep blue scales covering their serpent features, marked with black diamonds. Their arms and chests were bare, showing biceps and pectorals that bulged beneath human-like skin. They dropped their conversation when Calvin’s procession entered, their red eyes scouring them hungrily.

  “What is this?” Cobra-head asked.

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  “A gift for Enganaq, special for petition day.”

  “Fool,” Long-tail said with a scathing smile, “He’s just about to start. He won’t like you interrupting him.”

  “I understand the risk.”

  “No, I don’t think you do. Leave them here and come back to present them later.”

  Edwin smiled and shook his head. “I know what you’re doing. You want me to leave so you can present them yourself and take the credit. I’m not about to let that happen.”

  Long-tail dropped his smile. “I’m afraid you don’t have a choice.” He sprang at Edwin in a flash and lifted him right off the ground. He tore the rope out of Edwin’s hands, then slithered over to a cell and shoved Edwin inside.

  Meanwhile, Cobra-head snatched up the rope and started pulling the group toward the door to Enganaq’s chamber.

  “No, you don’t!” Long-tail rushed at Cobra-head, drawing his scimitar. Metal rang out as Cobra-head blocked the attack with his own blade. They clashed. Blood flew like sparks as they slashed at each other. Long-tail wrapped himself around Cobra-head and squeezed. Cobra-head sank his fangs into the tail, injecting a huge dose of hypnotic Unichi venom.

  As quickly as the fight started, it was over. Long-tail, his face slack and eyes glazed over, released Cobra-head. He slithered into an empty cell, locked himself in, and tossed the keys to the center of the room. Cobra-head collected them with a serpentine smile. He picked up the rope and tugged Calvin’s group toward the door again. “Now all is as it should be.”

  Cobra-head pushed the door open. The room inside was cave-like. Strange torches illuminated the rough rock walls with green light. A huge circular table occupied most of the space, nearly twenty feet across and covered with infernal runes. A humongous blue cobra sat coiled in the center of the table, taking up about a quarter of its surface. Its back was to them, displaying a pattern of black, white, and yellow diamonds. It held a woman in its thick coils. By the panic creeping into her expression, her hypnosis was wearing off.

  The snake turned toward the interruption, revealing that it was much more than a snake. It had a pair of muscular arms sprouting from shoulders just a little way below the jaw, complete with bulging pecs and a torso that tapered to the base of his cobra hood, which expanded to hide his arms from behind. He held a wicked-looking knife in one hand and a goblet in the other.

  This was Enganaq, no question. The Grandmaster of the Unichi. Calvin’s number-one target. Calvin’s fingers itched to grab his sword and get the job done. Not yet, he thought. Not yet.

  Enganaq hissed. “You dare interrupt me?”

  Cobra-head gestured to his captives. “I think three sacrifices are worth an interruption, are they not? Considering you only have one tonight?”

  Enganaq growled, then looked over Calvin’s crew. “Adventurers?”

  “Yes, of course. Some of the best. Murzurud will greatly appreciate them.”

  Enganaq folded his hood back, dismissing his annoyance. “Very well. Your gift is noted. Now leave me.”

  Cobra-head bowed and backed out of the room, closing the door behind him.

  “Come to me,” Enganaq hissed. The end of his tail moved to pick up the rope as they obeyed. Calvin gave two subtle tugs on the rope as he climbed onto the table, a signal to the others to be ready to strike. Once they were all on the table, he gave one more tug, then pulled a loop in his bonds. The knot fell apart and released his wrists. The rope fell to the ground, and Calvin whipped out his sword.