Their trip was peaceful, and no Hellwolves or giants accosted them as they went. Jacquelyn proved to be a silent companion despite her boisterous storytelling the previous day. Florian wondered if it was because she still hadn’t forgiven him for his inaction during that first attack. He didn’t blame her; he regretted having feared using his magic and potentially damning a few people he could have saved.

Leeds Castle’s gate was opened upon their arrival, the wood thing looking as if it were about ready to collapse at any given moment. “Does it always look this bad?” Florian asked, having never paid any particular attention to the gate from the outside.

“Never…” her voice faded as she joined him in staring at the barrier that protected the thousand people within the walls from the enemies outside them. Then Jacquelyn drove through the gate, and Florian was left to watch as a crowd of people flocked to the pickup with more gusto than Florian had ever seen. He’d been gone a couple of days. What in the world had happened?

All at once, the people started clamoring to make their trades known. Jacquelyn tried to shout through the truck’s open windows, but her voice was drowned out by the dozens of others. Florian pushed his door open, shoving it into a handful of people and exiting the vehicle. Upon seeing him – and noticing the lack of goods in the bed – the people began to dissipate with disappointed murmuring.

A few, though, remained behind. He saw Anna, who rushed up to him posthaste. “Thank God you’re back,” she said, wrapping him in a one-armed hug. She started to say something else, but they were immediately joined by Kayla and Mack.

Kayla smiled warmly, though the smile didn’t touch her eyes. Instead, where her mouth formed a facsimile of happiness, her eyes were cold and unfeeling. Mack, on the other hand, was so far the only person who had not changed in Florian’s brief absence. “Disciple Florian, I’m glad to see you back here in Leeds. There’s been a situation, and Master needs all the help he can get.” Mack pulled Florian away from Anna, and he was escorted to the keep by his two students.

“What is all of this about?”

Mack grimaced. “We faced an abnormal amount of those demons a couple nights ago. From what I’ve been told, the Warriors were barely able to contain them and at great loss.” Florian didn’t miss Mack mentioning that he had been told about it; Mack hadn’t actually fought that night.

A lightbulb ignited in Florian’s mind. “Is that why the gates look as bad as they do?”

“Exactly.”

Unwilling to make a scene before knowing all the facts, Florian let the anger simmer quietly inside his chest. Many of the people he had known – people that he himself had abandoned – died because others chose to fear that which they didn’t know. He promised that he wouldn’t let this rage simply be bottled up and forgotten about. The last time he had done that, people had died. One way or another, someone or something was going to regret standing in front of him.

Guarding the keep were not men in green-caped armor, but rather a pair of Theo’s inner circle of disciples. They continued to wear the drab grey robes, but over the robes they wore what looked like leather armor. The armor was going to be completely useless against the Hellwolves, which could tear metal to shreds with their sharp claws. This armor was to protect themselves from people.

Florian didn’t know what to think of all this. He wondered if perhaps Jones had been forced to send his men to the wall to reinforce the beleaguered Warriors. Still, he doubted that the lord would want to be left alone with just Theo’s people, given that Jones had admitted to suspecting the wizard of something.

He was led to the dining hall, the large room completely empty of people except for Mack, Kayla, and himself. Mack pulled out one of the chairs near the head of the table. “We’ll go ahead and let Master know that you’ve returned. He’ll join you as soon as he is able.”

Kayla smiled again, that creepy, not at all genuine smile. With that, she turned and followed Mack out of the room and left Florian to his own devices. He sat there, hoping that Theo wouldn’t make a whole deal out of this. With any luck, Jones would be able to mitigate Theo’s abrasiveness as it looked like Jones favored him.

To his credit, Theo didn’t make him wait for long. He entered the dining room alone, the door closing gently shut behind him. “How was your trip?” Theo asked with amusement. The blonde-haired man took a seat at the head of the table: Jones’ place.

“Dover was destroyed, and I’ve discovered a new type of enemy,” Florian started, the wizard betraying not a hint of worry. It almost seemed like Theo was preoccupied with something else entirely. “There’s these massive giants that are impervious to regular weapons except around their eyes. Everything else just melts right on their skin.”

Theo waved Florian’s concern away. “There is no need to fear, Disciple Cale. We wield magic for a reason; it was inevitable that we would one day find ourselves face-to-face with stronger enemies.”

“But what about the Warriors? They can’t use magic like we can, Master.” Theo laughed at Florian’s words, reaching for the bottle of wine that had been prepared on the table before either of them had entered.

“We will assume the mantle of defending this settlement.”

Florian felt relief flood his body. “So we’re going to fight?”

“Yes, Disciple Cale. From today on, we will use our might and defeat any enemy that dares encroach on my territory,” the wizard grinned, the wine in his glass sloshing dangerously as he lifted it into the air. “We will not be held back by that buffoon any longer.”

“Jones? What happened to him?” Florian felt all his newly found relief escape once again like the last summer breeze did before the autumn leaves fell.

“He was discharged from his duties. The people of this settlement knew that he was going to lead them to ruin, and so they charged me with ousting him from his corrupt seat of power. And now, we will lead Ypsilro and create a bastion for all humanity!” Theo’s words were loud and happy, but there was a kind of fervor to them that Florian did not like.

“Ypsilro?”

“This settlement’s new name, my disciple. Ypsilro means ‘The Stronghold from Above’ in my native language. I believe it is fitting.”

And now all the puzzle pieces came together. While Florian had been gone, Theo had successfully pulled off a coup d‘etat. Miss Faye had mentioned something about a wizard telling her about him, and it wouldn’t have surprised Florian if Theo had been the one to orchestrate his absence. Though Florian felt he had given Theo no real cause for distrust – beyond his general distaste for pretending that this place was some kind of fantasy world – clearly the wizard felt otherwise. Both he and Jones had fallen for it.

“Where is Jones?”

“Dead.”