“Urgh!”

A man hunched down, vomiting violently on the rough, wooden floor. His body spasmed and shook for a while before calming down, leaving him a messy pile on the ground. After some time, he lifted a trembling hand and wiped away the blood and vomit from his mouth.

“Damn, their shaman was a real nuisance!” he croaked and gathered himself up.

“What did you expect? That bastard only picks the best dogs,” a lean woman in black and white clothes wrinkled her nose and muttered, as she looked at him from a distance. “Did they get anything from you?”

“Of course not.”

The man steadied himself and motioned at the slightly gleaming red markings on the four walls. They bore the shape of huge eyes with two pupils each. It felt as if they were gazing right into one’s soul.

“Nothing better than fresh blood, crushed vervain, and glass powder to reflect a searching gaze.” The shaman giggled, making the woman involuntarily shiver as chills ran down her spine. “Besides, I have left them some nice presents with the decoys. My little drals will be waiting for them if they are too stupid to follow. Too bad that someone ruined my last creation before I could finish it…”

“That little wench had her nails digging in your throat. How should I know you let her free on purpose? And then you had the great idea to dump the body in the bay, instead of burying her, so that those damn dogs caught onto us.”

“Ignorant limerian! Water purifies!” screeched the shaman and grabbed a cup from the nearby table, gulping it down in one go. “Since the ritual was interrupted, her spirit could not be bound. I have no intention of being latched on and haunted by a malicious ghost.”

Just when things were about to get heated, the sound of clapping hands startled them both. A muffled voice said with distinct mockery:

“Enough bickering, children! Simone, please, don’t nag at our benefactor. And you too, shaman, forgive us for the rude remarks.”

The binshi huffed and looked away. On her end, the woman clenched her teeth but did not complain against the orders of the person leisurely leaning against the table.

The man’s body was clad in inconspicuous gray clothing with no remarkable features, except for the shiny silver mask adorning his face. It was smooth and covered his features completely. A masterful hand had carved the silver like a distorted grinning face with long curved teeth. Together with his ghostly gray robes, it made his visage similar to that of some otherworldly being. And not from the ‘good’ part of the beyond, Simone was willing to bet.

He nodded towards the shaman and continued, his muffled tone – now pleasant, almost purring.

“You did well my binshi friend. And as promised, here is your reward.”

The masked man rummaged a bit through his gown and placed two small crystal vials on the table. Each of them contained golden-colored liquid. The moment he saw the flasks, the look in the shaman’s eyes changed. His whole being became full of hunger and yearning as if he was seeing food for the first time after months of starvation. The binshi licked his lips and quickly motioned to grab the vials, but the masked man was even faster, snatching them away.

“Now, now, dear friend. Do not be hasty. These new and improved “Angel’s tears” will be yours, but first I need one more favor from you. Please do indulge me.”

“W-what do you want?” The binshi almost whimpered, making Simone fight her laughter. In less than two months he had become totally addicted to her master’s potions.

“Since I arrived just three days ago, I barely missed that ritual of yours to make a, how did you call it again… dral?”

“N-no. Drals are animals.” The binshi gulped, his eyes fixated on the potions in the man’s hand, as if fearing that they might disappear. “Anyone can make a dral. I was about to make a dhrowghost.”

“Well then, I would be in your debt if you show me the end of the dhrowghost ritual.” The man behind the mask motioned to the door of the adjacent room that remained tightly closed. “Simone told me that you have been preparing the next one since the day before yesterday.”

“Y-yes”, the shaman nodded slowly, “I was just about to finish it when we were interrupted by that searching hex. Now I need some time to prepare again and purify. And the confrontation on the Spirit Plane has sucked out most of my strength…”

“If it is strength that you are lacking, I can help there.” The voice behind the mask chuckled as a third vial was pulled out. “If one was to take half a dose of the “Angel’s tears” instead of the usual quarter it would bring not only clarity and peace to the mind but also fill a man with strength and vigor beyond imagination. I am even willing to gift you the third bottle as compensation.”

“Your generosity is highly appreciated, limerian!” exclaimed the shaman and almost lunged at the table, stretching out claw-like palms to take the potions. “I’ll start the purification immediately. Give me a couple of minutes.”

With these words, he stormed out of the room with a lustful glow in his eyes. Left alone with the masked man, Simone clicked her tongue and shrugged.

“What a lecherous fool! He is like a beast even with the quarter dose, so I can’t begin to imagine what a half would do to him. And why does he even need to purify when he’ll be soon covered in blood again?”

“Who are we to judge the local customs, my dear.” The man stood up from the table and started circling the room, stopping from time to time to take a better look at the grotesque symbols on the walls.

“Anyway, it would be a nice test to see how the higher dose will affect a binshi’s body. After all, I need them drugged and not dead.”

“Forgive me, my lord, but I still don’t understand. Why do we even have to work with these repulsive savages.”

“Well, because they are quite useful to me, of course,” replied the man, carefully pressing his slender finger at one of the still wet markings. “I have always found their barbaric magic so fascinating and simple. Blood is the medium for the soul, vervain repels ghosts and glass reflects. Combine them with the correct glyph and you have a shielding charm from prying eyes. And you personally told me that that dral-thing is extremely powerful too. Imagine a whole army with the abilities of our dear friend here.”

“And under your complete bidding thanks to that little potion of yours.”

Simone moved closer to him and wrapped her arms around his waist. Her lips found his bare neck where they left a light kiss, then another one.

“I like ambitious men,” she whispered, her breath tickling his skin. “How long will you stay his time?”

“I have a few things to discuss with our turgan partner. But still, it will be no more than a week or two. The meeting of the Council will be around that time, so we have to be cautious. On another note, how was the hunt? Did we managed to fill our quota for the cargo?”

“Aw, talking work as always. And I only get to see you for a couple of days.” She could feel his grip tightening in response, his hands making their rounds all over her. A small whimper escaped her lips. “T-they are ready for shipment the moment the port opens. But we should move on quickly. It was a bold move to even attempt this in Yalda.”

“Well, I thought you liked to be bold.”

“I do. But I like being alive even more.”

She lifted her chin and nipped on his ear. Oh, how much she wanted to remove that mask and taste his lips but knew very well that this would mean her death. Instead, she had to satisfy the desire by tracing his earlobe with her tongue.

“As for the special one, she is in the cellar with the latest merchandise. We fed them your night-night tea.” She could feel the tight muscles underneath the man’s clothing as she pulled him in even closer. Her nails dug a bit in his back resulting in a pleasant groan.

“Excellent! Then we don’t have to think about them for at least a day. And don’t forget to treat her highness, the duchess, with the proper respect when she wakes up.”

“I still think it would have been better to kill her on the spot.” Simone pursed her lips like a naughty child which made the man laugh.

“Don’t be jealous, my dear scheming “sister” Simone.” His fingers became bolder and dug even deeper in response to her teasing, savoring every crease of her body and making her shudder with pleasure. “The lady is a gift to the leader of the Red Hands. We can’t break his present before the delivery, right?”

While still talking, his skilled hands made her body feel on fire even without the “Angel’s tears”. Simone wanted to merge with him right here and now, to melt in his arms. And from his own vigorous reaction, it was evident that he wanted it too. Unfortunately, the sound of steps outside the door interrupted them. The man released his grip, leaving her to feel alone and frustrated.

The door opened and the binshi shaman flew in. This time, he was dressed completely in thin white robes that were already wet and sticking to his body with perspiration. His blue irises had turned into tiny frames for the huge black pupils. There was something not quite right in his bouncing step as he came closer to them.

“I am ready, limerian.” His voice was jittery and urgent. “Your potion is truly marvelous. We can start immediately.”

“Thank you for the praise, dear friend.” The masked man threw Simone a glance. “Will you be joining us, my lovely? There is nothing like a good show to lift the spirits.”

“I’ll pass.” The woman’s features distorted in disgust, remembering the last time she got involved in that… thing.

The man took her hand and bowed gallantly.

“In that case, I’ll catch up with you later.”

Then he added in a tone that only she could hear:

“Be patient, my dear. I’ll quell your hunger after the demonstration.”

The door closed behind the two. Not long after, the screaming started.