After leaving the rocky island, Laonte escorted a blindfolded Dragon on a trip that involved various land and air vehicles, all meant to thoroughly confuse him as to his whereabouts, so he would have no idea where the Academy headquarters were located.

“We have arrived,” Laonte finally said.

A sound that resembled a vacuum cleaner resonated from outside, followed by a subtle lurch of the aircar they had been flying in for the last hour. A moment later, the sucking noise ceased, and the internal buzz and hum of the vehicle stopped at once, leaving Dragon disoriented as he blindly tried to assess where they were.

A door hissed. Fresh air entered the cabin. Salty breeze and humidity reached Dragon’s nostrils, making him wonder if they had ever left the underwater chamber they briefly stopped in, in between legs of the journey.

“This way,” Laonte said.

Dragon followed the man’s silent instructions as he steered him out of the aircar. Again, Dragon’s boots hit a smooth and slippery surface, reinforcing his previous thought. Although, if he were the Academy, he would want him to think that they had never left, when in truth, they were somewhere else altogether.

“Just a few steps this way.” Laonte’s calm voice and his steady hand kept guiding him for several minutes until he said, “Stop.” He moved away from Dragon, and a moment later, the hissing sound of a hatch closing on its hinges resonated in a much smaller space. The quality of the air changed at once, and the temperature rose as well. “You don’t need this anymore.” His hand reached for Dragon’s blindfold, untying the cloth.

It took a moment for his eyes to focus, and he blinked a few times, but soon Dragon was able to see a white room that was an antechamber. Behind him was the hatch door Laonte had just closed, and in front, a second one the man was already opening.

“Someone else is going to escort you to your meeting,” Laonte said, motioning for Dragon to follow him outside into a dimly-lit hallway.

At the end of the narrow corridor that looked like it had been excavated from a rock wall, a man waited as promised.

Laonte nodded at the assassin, then said to Dragon, “I’ll be out here, waiting for you.”

Dragon followed the assassin through a series of windowless corridors that held no recognizable decorative accents. The illumination was too bright and hurt his eyes which had been closed until a few minutes earlier. Slates of gray marble covered the walls, the floors, and the ceilings, all of which seemed to expand forever until the next corner revealed another never-ending hallway. The place was built like a maze, looked like a mausoleum, and didn’t invite lingering. Brimstone and humidity covered every surface with a shiny dew.

Beforehand, the assassin had told Dragon that he wouldn’t answer any questions he might have, so they walked in silence, their steps resonating too loudly in the nightmarish space.

After several minutes of unending turns, a door appeared at the far end of yet another branch from the main corridor. The man knocked on the metal surface three times, then pushed it open and motioned for Dragon to cross the threshold into a dimly-lit room.

Once he stepped inside, oppressively humid warmth enveloped him. The scent of burnt incense wafted toward him, leaving the room in clouds of hot vapors. The door closed with a resounding slam, and, coming from the outside brightness, Dragon squinted to find his way in the sudden darkness.

“High Lord,” a man said. “Please, take a seat.”

Dragon recognized the command masked as politeness and didn’t move, asserting his authority. He remained where he stood until his eyes adjusted to the low level of illumination in the room.

After a moment, he saw the man sitting on a chaise lounge on top of a tall dais at the end of the room. On the platform, there were two oval braziers filled with smoldering embers the man doused with a ladle of water. A moment later, white steam enfolded the room.

“I am Master Eon.” The man waved a hand, pointing at the lonely stool several meters away from the dais. “You asked to talk to us,” the man said. “Our time is limited, and my sauna break is almost at the end.”

Dragon drew a sigh of relief. He had feared the negotiation with the Academy would take forever. “I’m here to buy my life and the life of the first assassin sent after me,” he said, walking past the stool. He stopped a few steps from the dais, where his great stature allowed him to look directly into the man’s eyes.

“And what makes you think the Academy would consider your plea?” the man asked. His face was expressionless, and he remained so utterly still he didn’t even seem to breathe.

“I’m not here to beg,” Dragon said. “Mine is a business transaction.”

“Is it now?” The man’s mouth curved up into a sneer.

“Someone hired you to kill me. I’ll pay you double what they offered to rescind the contract.”

“It isn’t that simple,” the man commented.

“Three times the amount.” Dragon never lowered his gaze.

“Would you pay six times that?”

Dragon nodded.

“Without even knowing the original amount.”

“I’m rather fond of myself,” Dragon said, knowing that the man was playing with him.

“And you’d pay for the assassin who failed to kill you.”

Dragon tilted his head in assent but otherwise kept silent.

“Why is that?” the man asked.

“She’s my soulmate,” Dragon answered. He didn’t see the point in lying.

Master Eon frowned. A brief emotion passed across his stony face, but it was soon gone. He leaned against the back of the chaise lounge and simply stared at Dragon who endured the scrutiny without moving a muscle.

Time stretched as their eyes remained locked in a game of who would lower his gaze first. The air around Dragon grew warmer. The scent from the burnt incenses was too sweet. The room closed in on him, the weight of the whole world pressing against Dragon’s chest, but he didn’t move.

Finally, Master Eon said, “The Academy doesn’t accept your offer.”

“What do you want instead of money?” Dragon asked.

“The contract with our employer stands,” Master Eon said. “We promised a death, and a death we’ll deliver. You die, but if you’re willing to pay ten times what they offered us to kill you, the assassin’s life will be spared.” The man raised his brow in a challenge. “Final offer.”

“I accept,” Dragon said.