It was something else to see Cailu again. Every emotion in the book washed over me. On more than one occasion, I’d struggle to recall his features. Honestly, there were times I’d forgotten he was even an elf—though I had Ravyn and Ball to remind me of his “knife ears.”

“It surprises me to see you… Ravyn, was it?” Cailu said. “You didn’t seem a loyal type.”

“And you still haven’t learned to mind your own fucking business. Surprises for everyone, Cailu,” Ravyn snapped.

“Cailu the Cunt!” Bally screamed overhead.

Cailu narrowed his eyes. “Charming.”

The unfamiliar catgirl to Cailu’s right smirked. Naeemah shot a furious glare to the sky.

We returned to camp, and Ravyn stormed back into the tent without another word. Keke moved to join Cannoli, and Ceres looked up in interest, but Cannoli quickly averted her gaze. Lara perched in the sand next to the fire, her lips moving as if she were whispering her secrets to the licks of flame. Zahra sat a few steps back from Lara, oiling the blade of her katana. Destiny huddled closer to Tristan but was left alone when he stood, eyes wide and hands resting behind his back as if Cailu had called him to attention.

“Who is this?” Cailu asked flatly, looking at Tristan.

“Tri—” I started.

“Tristan Erato,” Tristan interrupted, offering his hand. “You must be Cailu. Matt’s told me much about you.”

Cailu briefly looked at me, then back at Tristan before offering a gloved hand. Their difference in stature was immense as the two of them shook hands. “Cailu Raloquen, first of his name. A pleasure.”

“The pleasure is mine,” Tristan said easily.

“I cannot stand on ceremony, so let’s make this quick.” Cailu looked at me again, crossing his arms. “I must congratulate you on acquiring Shi Island’s…” he paused, glancing at Tristan. “Man. However, I must ask—why are you pitched so far away from Rājadhānī? Surely you’ve been to the capital by now.”

“We were forced to retreat. Temporarily, mind you,” Ceres said as she moved to stand beside me. “A minor setback.”

“I believe that I asked Matt,” Cailu said with a hint of irritation.

I tensed, but Ceres was the picture of grace.

“My apologies,” Ceres said with a slight bow.

Cailu looked back at me. “Now. Why are you not closer to the city?”

I cleared my throat. “Cailu, what are you doing here?” As much as I hated answering questions with questions, his tone with Ceres had me on edge. In addition, Ravyn’s warnings from earlier worried me. The last thing I wanted to see happen was Cailu burning this place to the ground.

“It’s been months. I wished to see how far you had come along,” Cailu said with what felt like a forced smile. “Considering your acquisition of Shi Island’s man, I must say I am impressed.”

Acquisition? Tristan isn’t a piece of gear. “That’s in no small part to Tristan and his Party.”

“Your methods aside, it seems you’ve run afoul with Rājadhānī.” Cailu’s tone changed, and the friendly facade vanished. Something dark flickered in his gaze, and his mouth pulled into a thin line. “Magni is a rakefire. I intend to see that this meeting occurs, no matter what it takes. Now, if you would, please answer my question.”

My heart skipped a beat, and my mind ran a mile a minute. I wanted to say something snarky in reply, especially with that challenging tone. But I’d never seen such a serious look on his face before. He has a history with Magni, then.

“As Ceres said, we just had a setback,” I said. The fire crackled, granting Cailu’s armor an almost holy glow. I stepped in front of the flame to block the light.

“We were kicked out of the city,” Keke said, surprising me. She returned to my side, looking up at the tall elf. “The inner shells want nothing to do with us, and their warriors are bullies.”

“Ah, just as I remember,” the woman I didn’t recognize said on his right. Her skin was dark, littered with splotches of white in streaked patterns. Her tail and ears didn’t seem to have any hair or fur, but it was difficult to say for sure with so little light available. Rings of gold like those of her eyes wrapped around her limbs, her fingers, her neck, hell, even her toes. The word “Wild” came to mind. She continued, “As the wind blows, so too does the sand. I suppose it will only be a matter of time before our home is buried beneath the sands, huh, Nae?”

Naeemah shot her a glare, yanking her mask down around her neck. “You’ve truly a death wish?”

The stranger’s sharp smile widened. “Come now. At least introduce me first.”

Cailu sighed. “This is Kirti, my Party’s [Witch Doctor]. Pay her no heed. Tell me what happened at Rājadhānī.”

“Rude,” Kirti murmured as she toyed with a glowing pair of red and blue rocks between her fingers.

I didn’t like it—did anyone enjoy admitting their shortcomings?—but after the first few sentences, Tristan and I spilled the whole truth of the matter. Cailu hummed and nodded while we laid our tale bare, making occasional comments here and there on our mistakes and room for improvement. It felt less like I was talking to an ally and more like I was reporting to my manager.

“And that’s where we’re at,” Tristan said once we’d finished.

“I see,” said Cailu. “Appear, iPaw.” The device manifested in his hand, and after a short time, he frowned and looked up at me. “We need to talk about your progress. I will be frank with you. I am amazed that you managed to survive up to this point. I expected you to at least have your Second Class by now.”

“He’s been working on your little project,” Keke said in my defense. “Cut him some slack.”

Is this what it looks like when your girlfriend sticks up for you in front of your dad?

Cailu opened his mouth.

“What are you planning to do now that you’re here?” Tristan cut in before Cailu could admonish Keke.

Cailu paused. “That depends on the rest of you.” His hand rested on the hilt of his blade. “I think it would be in our best interests to work together. These Ejderha sound unreasonable at best.”

“That doesn’t even begin to explain it!” Destiny exclaimed. Her sudden outburst had us all turning to face her. “I have never met such an irritating group of unreasonable, uncouth scum as them! I swear they want to dig their own graves! Relish in it, even! Their actions are inconceivable!”

To my surprise, Cailu chuckled. “Then we are in agreement. Despite our strengths and numbers, we must figure out how to circumvent them first. Do you know what Class Sanrai is?”

“The best source of information that we have on the Ejderha’s leader is her sister.” Tristan looked to his right. “Zahra?”

Zahra continued to polish her sword, glancing in Naeemah’s direction. It seemed to me her mind was in another place. “When we trained long ago, she spoke of becoming a [Crusader] or [Battleguard]. I know not which she chose to devote herself to.”

“What Skills has she used?” Cailu asked, nearing her.

“None that I’m aware of. She’s never called out her Skill names,” I admitted.

“Wise woman. Does she believe in Saoirse?” Cailu asked.

How would we know that? Ring her doorbell and try to convert her?

“Everyone does,” Cannoli said with wide eyes. “Everyone must.”

I scratched the back of my head uncomfortably, looking to shift the conversation away. But Cailu spoke before I could.

“There are many who decline to practice Saoirse’s commandments,” Cailu said, turning his head toward Cannoli. “Do not make such presumptuous claims.”

“Watch it,” I said, growing defensive. What the hell, man? This isn’t the friendly asshole I knew. This is just the asshole.

“It was meant in good faith. If she does not wish to accept my counsel, she will learn the hard way.” Cailu shrugged.

“You’re every bit the man I’ve heard, Cailu.” Zahra resheathed her katana and raised a brow. The [Myrmidon] didn’t seem the least bit intimidated by Cailu.

“I’ll assume you meant that as a compliment. I would like to avoid digressions.” He gestured with his hand. “It seems I must defer to you on Sanrai. What of her faith?”

“No, she was not religious. Not that I’m aware of.”

“All [Crusader]s are required to take a test of faith issued by Nyarlothep’s enclave. Considering how you’ve described Sanrai’s actions and intentions, I find it unlikely that [Crusader] is her calling. Of the two named possibilities, [Battleguard] is more likely.” Cailu moved his finger across the iPaw, nodding to himself. “This Chikara. You say it summoned decomposed heads from the ground. What did they look like?”

“The heads of catgirls,” Tristan answered, narrowing his eyes. “No two heads looked alike from what I could tell.”

Cailu’s gaze landed on me. “Yeah, just as he said. Each one was unique,” I said.

Cailu brought a gauntleted knuckle to his chin, flickers of firelight catching his face. “First, let us dispatch the Chikara.”

“I get that you’re a big guy and all and the savior of Nyarlothep and yadda yadda, but I don’t think ya get it. The Chikara kills anythin’ and everythin’,” Agni said, rounding the tent and passing the fire. She’d been tending to the gigashanks and hadn’t caught the first half of Cailu’s arrival. “I ain’t gettin’ within three miles of the thing, friend.” She reached up to throw an arm around Cailu’s shoulders.

Naeemah’s form blurred. In the blink of an eye, she had Agni’s wrist in one hand and a knife at her throat.

“Then don’t,” Cailu replied, his stare impatient and cold.

“Saoirse’s tits. Put me down, snake,” Agni blustered, hand clenching in Naeemah’s grip. “A warning would have been nice.”

“This is your warning. The only one,” Naeemah hissed, then pushed Agni toward me.

I caught her, and the fiery woman shouldered me off, murmuring profanities as she returned to the tent.

“The head of the Chikara would make an excellent bargaining tool to secure an audience with Magni. Surely you all see that,” Cailu continued, as if his [Assassin] hadn’t just tried to murder our guard.

“I really don’t think we can kill it. Not at our Level,” I said, frustrated with Cailu and his Party treating the rest of us like misbehaving dogs.

“I could do it,” Kirti said, smiling. No. That wasn’t a smile. Not in the traditional sense, anyway. I hadn’t seen that expression in some time, but I recall Celestia wearing a similar make. I got the sense that she looked at this island like a game. As she spoke, her smile settled into indifference. “The Chikara subdues the souls of those it takes, making them its own. If one can reclaim the souls, then the Chikara loses its puppets, and the Defiled is forced to fight using its main body.”

“How do you know that?” I asked.

“Wouldn’t you like to know, boy.” She giggled.

You know, I’m getting tired of this ‘boy’ thing. First, Ravyn, and now you.

“What if it decides to run?” asked Keke. “Defiled aren’t stupid. If it realizes that the odds are against it, it could run away to fight another day.”

“I will call upon Earth,” Lara said with her usual air of whimsy. “I almost had the Defiled last time, but I needed to protect Tristan.”

“Could you force it above ground?” Tristan asked.

“If Earth is happy that day. He’s aggressive and territorial. He and Water get into arguments a lot here, so sometimes I must be careful who I call upon because then they get angry at me.” Lara sighed. “Which frustrates me. I get that Earth is proud and strong, but so is Water. Just in different ways. I think that if they were to talk it out and really just assess their—”

“Thanks, Lara,” Tristan said, gesturing for her to quiet down.

“Very well,” Cailu said, frowning at Lara. “Then Lara will force it above ground in the event the Chikara chooses to flee.”

“What if we run into their morning hunting party?” I asked. “As we said, we’re not exactly on great terms.”

“It changes nothing,” said Cailu. “If they choose to engage us, then we dispatch them. Simple as that.”

“Could we not approach that possibility from a more diplomatic viewpoint?” Ceres asked, her hand draped across her chest.

“That opportunity left when you decided to hold them hostage,” Cailu argued. “Your blunder will not jeopardize this mission, I assure you.”

Gee, thanks, Dad. You’re the greatest.

“Naeemah and Kirti suggested we travel the desert at night, much to my dismay,” Cailu continued. “However, seeing as you are, I will not impose our standards. Tired bodies are the most useless kind.” Cailu’s stare traveled a short distance from our tent. “We will assemble our tent across from yours. If anything is amiss, pray, do not hesitate to inform me.” He placed a hand on Naeemah’s shoulder. “Stand watch.”

“As you say,” Naeemah said.

“We will reconvene at first light,” said Cailu. He waved over his shoulder as he left, Naeemah beside him.

Kirti turned and began to walk away. After a few swaying steps, she turned her head, staring at Lara. That same sinister smile stretched across her mouth, and without another word, she strode her way over to where Cailu and Naeemah were putting up their tent.

That woman is bad news.