Vernon looked over his shoulder at Michaela tied up in the chair. Her head still hung to the side. Her chest rising and falling slowly.

Turning back to Mildid, he said, “Ya know, Story, and what’s left of her brood are still here. When Cilia did her little explodey thing,” the possessed townspeople around him all laughed at the joke. “Her magic protected the people of this town from them.

“But then when I was sent with my cohort to take over this worthless ...