High Priest Pens stood on one side of the thick velvet curtain in his quarters at the temple.
“Come no closer,” said the voice on the other side of the curtain.
“That is ridiculous, I am the High Priest of the Cult of Allor. Come out and speak to me.”
“This you must understand. My identity is known only to my victims. If you come any closer I will become the man who assassinated the High Priest of the Cult of Allor. Do I make myself clear?”
Pens rubbed his head and stepped back away from the curtain.
“Good man,” replied the man behind the curtain. “What do you require of me?”
“An assassination,” replied Pens, now more cautious in speech.
“Do you have the deposit?” asked the man behind the curtain.
“Yes,” replied Pens. He walked over to his wooden cabinet. From it he removed a large wooden box. From it he removed a cloth bag with a drawstring. He took it to the wooden table near the curtain and poured out the gold coins on the table. He counted them until he had reached one hundred and had no more to count. Then he swept them back into the bag with his hand then cinched the drawstring tight.
“What about the Virginia stones?” asked the man.
“I have them too. But I don’t know why you want them. They are worthless,” replied Pens.
“On Earth 7 only,” came the reply.
Pens reached into his pocket and removed another bag. He poured the stones onto the table and again counted them to one hundred.
“Good. Now come over here and extend your arm into the curtain. Hold both bags very still, else there will be a new high priest.”
Pens was scared now. He picked up both bags and moved over to the curtain and extended his arms. He held both of the heavy bags out from his body. And in an instant they were taken from him. Yet he didn’t see the hands of the man behind the curtain. The bags sparkled around their edge for a tix before they disappeared. Pens was now even more scared. He was hiring an alien to kill for him, someone that could easily kill him.
“Who is my target?” asked the invisible man.
“Tal, mother of Allor,” Pens replied. He heard the man laugh.
“It is important to my plans. She must die soon.”
“I have no interest in your plans, only your money,” came the reply.
“When will it happen?” asked Pens.
“The answer to that question will cost you your life. Do you still want an answer?”
“No. No,” replied Pens quickly, and he moved backwards from the curtain two steps.
“You only need to know that it will be soon. Before you bring all of the other regions under your control.”
How did his assassin know about their plans? An invisible man had listened to their planning. Who else knew of their plans? Would he sell the information to Ceros?
“How do I know that you won’t give Ceros advance warning?” Pens asked.
“You don’t. But I will tell you this: you know I am not from Earth 7. And the interests I represent want the Cult of Allor to be victorious. Believe it or not, it doesn’t matter. It is fact.”
“But how do I know if I can trust you?” Pens asked.
There was no answer. Pens repeated the question. After repeating it a second time he pushed aside the curtain.
He was alone.