Pirren felt naked. She pulled the old cloak tighter around her shoulders and lower over her features as she strode down the moonlit streets. The chilly wind curling through the alleys around her did nothing to her scales, but she couldn’t shake the uneasy feeling that hung around her neck like a millstone.

It had been so long since she’d left the safety of her nest. The outside world was dangerous. Uncontrolled. Her children were back in the nest, unprotected. That was where she should have been. Without her to watch over them, they could get into trouble.

A dull spike drove into Pirren’s mind at that thought. She winced and pulled her hood lower over her face. They should have been safe with her watching over them.

Instead, she’d nearly gotten Jophelus killed. Spider was absolutely nothing like what he should have been. The demon set every single one of her senses on end. Pirren had always considered herself fairly good at reading people.

She’d never had trouble tricking demons stronger than her. There had always been a way to manipulate the situation. Most lower-ranked demons didn’t realize that there was more than one way to fight, and they were utterly unarmed when it came to any form of combat other than the physical one.

But Spider… he hadn’t just been able to read her. It felt like his cold eyes had pierced right through her skin to dig through every single thought held within her head. An involuntary shiver ran down Pirren’s spine and she shuddered.

It almost felt violating. Her strategies had never failed her before, but the look in Spider’s eyes had made it evident that he saw her like a child playing with toys beyond her comprehension. She hadn’t even been a threat to him. He’d just taken what he wanted and left.

A portion of her longed to wrap her claws around Spider’s throat and rip it open for how casually he’d dismissed her strength. For how he’d slaughtered one of her guards without so much as a blink.

The rational portion of her mind crushed that desire without mercy. Pirren hadn’t gotten to Rank 5 by being an idiot. There were some fights that could be taken. Some that could be trained for. There were enemies that could be tricked or brought down through collaboration.

Spider was none of those. He hadn’t shown a single weakness. A single point of care toward anything other than his goals. The only reason he’d left her alive is because he’d needed something from her. He was an enemy beyond reach.

And, when there was an enemy that could not be defeated, the best path forward was for them to no longer be an enemy. That was her only winning move. Spider didn’t care about Pirren. He’d made that clear.

If he didn’t care about her, then they had no reason to be enemies. All she had to do was what he wanted and — with some luck — there was a possibility that he would begin paying her for her efforts with more than just her life.

Pirren repressed a sigh and turned down another alleyway. She couldn’t completely recall the last time she’d gone to an auction in Treadon, but she remembered enough for the experience to sting like a Wastewasp bite.

Her fists clenched. She hadn’t forgotten the humiliation when she’d arrived at the auction and announced herself, only to discover that all of her efforts to advance hadn’t even put her on the lowest echelons of upper society in Treadon.

Her runes were poorly made, cobbled together from the scraps she’d fought tooth and claw for. She had no support or alliances with other demons. No power with which to bargain.

Her cheeks burned with shame when she remembered the bag of gold she’d so proudly brought at her side, the entirety of her savings she’d worked to build over her life. The laughter of the other demons still echoed in her ears in the deepest parts of the night, when her thoughts were too loud to ignore.

The idea of returning filled her with dread. She’d built more wealth since that day, but nowhere near enough to afford what she needed. Nowhere near enough to face the other demons again. Even she could only bluff so hard.

Perhaps one of them will anger Spider. If I could watch him flay one of them from head to toe, then this will have been worth it. Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

There was just one problem. She didn’t know when the next auction was, and no demon could just show up to it without any warning. They had to be announced. It was equal parts a way to ensure that only worthwhile demons were allowed in and so the demons auctioning runes could determine what quality offerings they wanted to put up that auction.

Even if Spider gave her nothing else, sending the monstrous demon in the direction of the others could cause enough damage to give her an opportunity to pick up the pieces. Pirren’s thoughts twisted in her mind as she slipped through Treadon’s streets. They were only thoughts, and no thought had ever stopped her before.

She was so lost in her thoughts that she nearly didn’t notice that someone was trailing her. Nearly.

Pirren ground to a halt as a form moved in the shadows at the corner of her vision. Her tongue flicked out and she narrowed her eyes, squinting into the darkness. Attempting to flee or taking other evasive maneuvers would only make her look weak.

Appearances were everything. The demon that claimed to be the strongest often controlled the narrative unless the others knew them to be weak. And, in this part of the city, there shouldn’t have been anyone strong enough to dare trying Pirren.

“I know you’re there,” Pirren hissed. “I am busy tonight, so I will be merciful. Leave, or you will find yourself speaking with death.”

A demon stepped out of the shadows. His skin nearly blended in with it, only made distinct by thin silver veins that ran beneath it. Instead of pointing up to the sky, his horns curled around the sides of the face, their tips facing the ground. They, and his hair, were both pitch black. The demon looked like a living shadow.

“It is unwise to raise threats before you know to whom you speak,” the demon said, unbothered by Pirren’s threat.

Pirren pulled her hood back to reveal her features and flexed her claws, her tongue flicking out to taste the air again. “Sound advice. You should take it yourself. I don’t know you, but I don’t bother learning the names of most of the demons I kill. Tonight is not the night to try my patience.”

“She did say you would be defensive,” the demon said, his head tilting to the side. “As usual, she was right.”

She?

“One chance,” Pirren said. “Leave. This is not your part of the city. These streets are under the control of—”

“The Mother Serpent,” the demon said, his lips parting to reveal a row of pointed white teeth. “Or do you prefer the Fangless Coward? I have heard you go by both names.”

Anger burned in Pirren’s stomach, but she held her hand. There wasn’t any fear in the demon’s posture or words. It could have been a bluff, but she’d already had one surprise for the day. She didn’t need another.

“Who are you?” Pirren demanded.

“I am Taleel, but that name will mean nothing to you.”

He was right. Pirren had never heard of a demon named Taleel, but that meant little. Treadon was enormous. There were always new demons passing through it. Always new demons dying in it. Keeping track of everyone would have been impossible.

“Why are you here?” Pirren asked. If anything, keeping him distracted and speaking would give her an opportunity to rip his throat out. Pure strength was not the only element that dictated the victor of a fight.

“To find you,” Taleel replied. “You seek entrance to tomorrow’s auction.”

Pirren hesitated. Nobody should have known what she was seeking other than her own people, and they wouldn’t have let rumors spread. There was a chance Spider had asked other demons or revealed his plans elsewhere, but somehow, she doubted it.

“What makes you think I have any plans of doing something like that?”

“My mistress sees all that bask under her light,” Taleel replied, a tremor of zealotry running through his words. “And she commands you to meet with her.”

“Who is she to command me?” Pirren asked warily. She glanced around the alley, but she couldn’t detect the presence of any other demons. They seemed to be alone.

“It is not my place to answer questions about my mistress. Her knowledge is hers alone to share. You will not gain access to the auction without her aid. If you leave, you will fail in your task.”

Task… the phrasing implies he knows I’m not trying to enter the auction for myself. How do they know? My mansion is well guarded. There are no windows to my inner room. It should have been impossible for anyone to listen in to my conversation with Spider — and I feel like he would have noticed if someone had been present. How could Taleel know this?

“And what if I refuse?” Pirren queried, tilting her head to the side and letting her tongue flick out. “Will you try to stop me?”

“I will do nothing, because you will have already failed,” Taleel replied simply. “The only path to success is through my mistress. We will have to do nothing. Your own inability will end you.”

He knows about Spider.

Pirren’s jaw clenched. She regretted sending Jophelus to investigate Spider more and more with every minute that passed. He was involved in something far larger than she had any desire to be. The last thing she wanted to do was get pulled even deeper, but refusal would have been weakness. Years of training permitted her only one response.

“You have piqued my curiosity,” Pirren said with disinterest. “I hope you will make this worth my time. Take me to this Mistress of yours, then. I will listen to what she has to say. One way into the auction is as good as any other.”

“She said you would think as much.” Taleel smiled again, then turned and beckoned for Pirren to follow him. “Come, then. I will take you to speak with the Rising Moon.”