Kat took a step back from the open door prompting an enquiring look from Jen. “What?”

Kat shook her head. “Nothing. It’s just with the door open I can sense her true power and it’s greater than I first thought.”

Jen dearly wished the Headmaster had assigned her a less jumpy sorcerer to work with. Beggars couldn’t be choosers so she’d just have to make the best of it. At least Kat was competent and reasonably strong. That was what mattered.

Jen sighed and turned back to Marie-Bell who had climbed to her feet and wiped the tears from her face. Her hair was a mess and she had on nothing but a simple shift. It looked like someone had dragged her out of bed and brought her straight here. Jen took a step deeper into the white-tiled room. Marie-Bell rushed over to her and threw her arms around Jen’s neck.

“I thought I was going to be stuck in here forever. They’re all dead, Jen. I felt them vanish one by one.” She sniffed and Jen feared Marie-Bell might start crying again. “It was horrible. Heaven’s mercy, what was the commander thinking?”

“Slow down, take a breath.” Jen guided the distraught young woman out of the room and into the hall. “Now tell me everything, slowly.”

“After I delivered the king’s message Commander Kendy and her three sub-commanders broke into my room, captured me, and stuck me in the punishment chamber. The next day, at least I think it was the next day, time is really hard to figure in the room. Anyway, after a while I felt the paladins leave the fortress. All of them. I couldn’t believe it.”

“Where did they go?” Kat asked.

“Into the haunted lands I think. That’s the only thing that would account for the sudden drop in their soul force. The haunted lands aren’t a good place for paladins, though we can withstand it better than most. They grew farther and farther away then I sensed dark power before the paladins began to disappear. I felt them die one by one.”

“Sounds like they walked into an ambush.” Jen scratched her head. “Any idea why the commander led her forces out into the haunted lands?”

Marie-Bell shook her head. “I think it had something to do with His Majesty’s letter. Commander Kendy didn’t like it at all. And no way did they walk into an ambush. Any of the paladins would have sensed demons long before they encountered them, especially ones of sufficient power that I could detect them from here.”

Marie-Bell led the way back downstairs. Jen, Kat, and Amanda fell in behind her.

As they walked Jen asked, “Did you read the king’s message?”

“No. The commander didn’t see fit to share the contents with me. The way she crumpled it up and tossed it immediately into the garbage told me everything I know.”

Marie-Bell pushed a closed door open and stepped into a simple bedroom. Her armor and other gear sat on a bench opposite the door. “They took me out of bed before I even knew what was happening. Four of them used a suppression technique reserved for capturing rogue paladins for punishment. They threw me in the chamber and sealed the door.”

“They sound like real jerks,” Amanda said.

Marie-Bell tried a half-hearted smile, but failed. “Yes, and now they’re dead. All dead. Even the initiates.”

She plopped down on the bed and held her head in her hands. Jen had no idea what to say in a situation like this. Her talents lay in other directions. Maybe if she could distract Marie-Bell it would help, keep her focused on solving their current problem rather than worrying about something she couldn’t change.

“We found the message. The king ordered the paladins to stand fast and await the arrival of the eastern army. When they arrived you were to fall under the command of General Gauge.”

Marie-Bell looked up at her with red-rimmed eyes. “Well that helps explain it. Commander Kendy isn’t…wasn’t, the type to accept a lesser position. She probably figured they could deal with Connor on their own. All the older paladins liked to talk about past crusades and how they wished they’d been around to participate. I doubt the commander had much trouble convincing the others to head out and bring the battle to the enemy.”

“That’s insane,” Kat said. “The haunted lands are the worst place on the planet. No one in their right mind would go out there, especially looking for a warlock building a demon army.”

“Demon army?” Marie-Bell set about putting on her armor.

That’s right, Marie-Bell didn’t know what they’d learned from Professor Dorius. “That’s our working theory,” Jen said. “And your observations pretty much confirm it.”

“I need to alert the Headmaster,” Kat said.

“Question.” Amanda raised her hand like a little kid in class. “If the paladins are dead and the army is who knows how far away, who’s going to protect the fortress when the demons arrive?”

“We are.” Marie-Bell cinched down the last buckle on her armor.

Amanda groaned. “I was afraid you were going to say that.”