Everett Daxon did his best to play the part of a perfectly respectable man. He may currently be relegated to the life of a Trencher, but everything about his bearing insisted that wasn’t going to last forever.

A man after Maximilian’s own heart. The petty squabbling for territory and violence over even pettier thieving, it was all beneath him. An irksome necessity until he bought his way to the life he knew he deserved.

But neither of them could do it alone.

Dax remained embroiled in territory disputes, despite his best efforts to break free. There simply wasn’t enough money in ambition and aspiration without the right skills and connections. Dax continued to work on the connections, but he could only move so fast without the startup money necessary to make a real change.

So when Maximilian showed up at his door with a carefully crafted story of betrayal and retribution, the human would be predisposed to believe him.

After all, Max’s loathing of the upstart children who’d come along and dominated their little patch of territory was hardly a secret. He worked with Braxy and Lily out of necessity. He may know better, but they had the power to back up their ignorant idiocy. They’d disregard his advice, would they? Take the information he worked so hard to obtain for granted, all while traipsing about like they thought they owned the place?

No, there was no question of where Max’s true loyalties lay. Himself, and no one else. But what benefitted one could benefit another at the same time.

Dax opened the door just as Max raised his hand to knock. “Yes, yes, come in.” He seemed distracted, waving Max to a seat while rummaging through the papers on his desk.

His attitude threw Max off, abruptly wondering if he’d overestimated the man. What kind of self-respecting criminal invites a known adversary into their office, then turns his back and carries on with something else so carelessly?

Just before Max could decide to speak, Dax found what he was looking for. He shifted the pages around, then settled himself into his chair before leaning forward with steepled fingers.

“So what brings you to my side of town, Maximilian? Finally decided to ditch your precious Abraxis?” Dax said the name with unusual venom, as though there were a personal score between him and his adversary, beyond the simple dispute over territory.

That hatred, Max could use it. He and Dax may officially be on opposite sides of this territory dispute that had been going on lately, but they each recognized one another as kindred souls. They knew how to use and be used to mutual benefit, each confident they could come out on top.

For all his faults, Dax was known to be a cunning man. If Maximilian were anything lesser, the human might have been correct in his assumptions. But Max’s facade of humanity was barely skin deep.

When this was over, Max knew without a doubt which of them would reap the greater benefits.

“I’ve heard those two brats are planning to hit Heinrich very soon.” Max didn’t bother with opening remarks or pleasantries, just got straight to the point of the matter. If Dax wanted informality, no reason not to play along. “There’s a window of vulnerability around the Estrona’s visit that they plan to exploit. I say we move first.”

“We?” Dax straightened his shirt importantly, leaning back in his chair as he adopted a sly half-smile, clearly aware of the value of his participation and not willing to be sold short. “That’s a rather large assumption you make there.”

“This is an opportunity that won’t be coming again for years. I know you can get people across—don’t try to deny it. Your scuttles have been making the trip often enough since the merchants linked on. Together, we can do what would take a half dozen others.”

“Yes, I’m sure we could,” Dax murmured, one hand patting at his chest absently.

“This is a chance that we might never get again. The Heinrich family heirloom, imagine the power.”

“Mmm, you may be surprised. Its reputation is no exaggeration,” he said, nodding knowingly. He muttered something indecipherable to himself, then looked up at Max with a heavy amount of skepticism.

Dax didn’t seem convinced, so Max pressed harder. “I also know you don’t have anyone of my caliber who can get you past the outer security. You need me. I have skills you can’t get anywhere else.”

Demonfire, and envyfire in particular, came with some very helpful fringe benefits when it came to getting what you wanted. If not for the fact that he’d be murdered before he made it halfway across the Steelway, Max would be tempted to make a play for a solo infiltration. Alas, even his full strength wouldn’t be enough for a frontal assault. As much as he hated to admit it, two was the absolute minimum required to pull this off, and stealth was their only shield against failure and death.

He'd have to be discreet about his power when working with and around humans, but concealment came as naturally to Maximilian as any other form of deception.

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Dax’s half-smile twitched toward a smirk. “Hmm, yes. You do have a particular skill set, don’t you?”

Max suppressed a frown. He increasingly disliked the casual tone Dax was taking with this negotiation. He knew he'd set the bait properly. The chance of Awakening wasn't something anyone in the Trenches could reasonably expect, even if they slaved their whole lives toward that end.

The Amulet of Despair formed a core to the Heinrich family's ancestral position of power among merchants and mageborn alike. This was no small trinket to be lightly snatched by anyone who wandered by.

So why was Dax treating this all like something he could casually play power games with instead of the high-stakes gamble for unforeseeable power that it was?

"No," Dax finally said. "I don't trust you. Even if this so-called vulnerability is true and not some lie you've concocted, what's to stop you running off to the authorities the moment I'm inside? You want my territory."

"What kind of imbecile would I have to be to do that? Waste the chance at Awakening just to get rid of one tweener? If I wanted you gone, I'd throw you into the Rift and have done with it."

Dax’s smile vanished. "Is that a threat?"

"Certainly not. I value your position far too highly to want you gone. After all, I'm here to ask for your help, am I not?"

Dax crossed his arms, still suspicious.

Max let a little of his Sin creep into his voice, the echo of endless desire. "I swear to you, my only aim is to use that amulet. If you decide to betray me once you have it in your hand, then yes, I will end you. But so long as you uphold your end of the agreement, we can both come out of this richer and stronger than any Trencher has dared to dream of. That power can be mine, ours; it will be. One way or another."

It pained him to expend so much of his gathered strength, but this was too important to leave to chance.

And it worked. The absolute conviction in his tone made something in Dax relax, just the slightest bit.

"It won't bother you to work with a tweener?" Dax’s uncharacteristic note of humor was back, all trace of malice gone as abruptly as it had come.

If he had any other option, Max might have walked out. If he’d been more prideful, he might have killed the man on the spot. They were not friends. Barely potential-allies. Nor was Max someone to be treated casually. He would love to put the human in his place.

But for now, desire outweighed pride. Dax’s merchant connections, he needed them.

"My one and only goal is to use the amulet and Awaken. After that, you can merchant it to your heart's content."

Dax remained silent another long, long moment, then his arms unfolded and he grabbed the paper he’d selected earlier, holding up a copy of the Heinrich Manor's floor plan with a dramatic flourish. "In that case, I think we might be able to work something out. I’m going to need a bit more than that, though. Disposition power on the amulet is a good start, but what else can you offer?”

Max couldn’t help but stare, dumbfounded by the sheer brazenness of this man. “What else? Because helping you steal one of the most powerful and valued artifacts we could possibly access isn’t enough?”

Dax shrugged nonchalantly, as though the fate of the amulet were a settled matter. “From where I’m sitting, it looks like you need me a hell of a lot more than I need you. I’m perfectly capable of getting to the manor, you’re only an easier and more convenient way of getting inside.”

I’d like to see your replacement humans get past their wards without my help, you overblown wannabe.

Max kept his temper in check, restraining himself from spitting out a string of demonic curses which would be quite out of character for the human he currently pretended to be. He couldn’t exactly come out with the truth, which left him frustratingly limited in his negotiation options.

“Meanwhile,” Dax continued blithely, “you have no other options for getting across the Steelway without me inside the available window of opportunity. So if I’m going to be allowing you to Awaken with my amulet, I think I should be compensated appropriately.”

Max had to stop himself from speaking at all, or he definitely would have said the wrong thing and spoiled the negotiation. Curse the human’s perceptiveness. If Max had any other contact point, any other potential way of getting across the Steelway to the merchant city…

But Dax was his only chance, and Dax somehow knew it. So much of Max wanted him to storm away, to burn the place and never look back, but the Amulet of Despair was too great a potential prize to let go.

“You seem to be struggling to think of anything to offer,” Dax said, “so I’ll save us all the guessing game and come right out and say it. I need your help trapping a demon.”

For a moment, Max sat stunned, mind racing. Had the human figured him out somehow? Was his cover blown, he’d have to run again and start over somewhere else?

But, no, the human seemed entirely sincere. In fact, if he were to trust his instincts, Max would say Dax sounded like even thinking about this demon absolutely terrified him.

“What kind of demon?”

“The kind that I can’t deal with alone, obviously.” Now that he was listening for it, the human’s voice clearly vibrated with not-quite suppressed fear.

Max leaned back in his own chair, the balance of power abruptly tilting back toward equilibrium. They each needed the other. He couldn’t fathom how Dax was so uninterested in the amulet, but they could still make this work.

Trapping a demon, that would require a very specific array and a few triggers set up in advance, but it was something Max knew how to handle. At least, he knew how to recognize and avoid it himself.

If he were to be on the outside of such an array though… it wouldn’t be hard to turn it into a siphon. Sure, he may be physically weak and magically unexceptional, but he did have some fairly specialized knowledge. His creative use of ritual was one of the primary reasons he’d been forced to flee Hell in the first place and go undercover among humans.

This could be the chance to do more than simply Awaken. If he trapped the demon that caused Dax to be afraid and feasted to his heart’s content, could he also upgrade his Existential Ranking at the same time?

“Alright. I’m in.”