Full-Circle

The ride was long, tense, and quiet across the night sky.

Eventually—the blaster came to a landing in the heart of town, just at the intersection between the shops, perfectly in front of the Silverhollow Christmas tree. There were no people around, the only lights from the tree and the oil lamps up and down either side of the snowy roads, and Thomas powered the engine off, parking the blaster flatly in the snow and sighing.

The silence to follow was heavier than any that the five had ever shared with one another.

Then—Evony leaped off the blaster and instantly started marching down the wide path alongside the tree, heading to the west side of town towards home.

“Wait…!” Cally called out, she and Javari jumping off the blaster as well. “Where’re you going…?!”

Osric planted his boots to the ground and released Oliver.

“ Evony! ” he yelled after her loudly.

Evony continued walking, storming away and slowly vanishing from all of their sight.

Osric sighed heavily, releasing an icy cloud into the air. He turned to the others, Cally still gazing after Evony sadly, Javari looking uncharacteristically severe as he pocketed his hands and did the same, and Thomas sitting sideways on the blaster now, wiping his face and looking disturbed.

There was another grave silence.

“So…” Thomas muttered, tossing up a hand. “Are we gonna talk about what just happened, or…?”

“No need. Just keep it to yourselves,” Osric replied shortly, facing the other road and breaking into a brisk walk toward Silver Peaks.

“Oh… oh, that’s fair,” Javari yelled after him, throwing both hands into the air. “Yeah… we all almost get our ass ripped off by a reptillioid, and we don’t get to know what’s going on?! Okay. Sure, buddy. That’s real cool!”

Osric kept walking without paying the others any further mind, Oliver hovering quietly along beside him.

The three remaining beside the blaster watched him go, then looked to one another, wearing intense visages.

Cally sighed, glancing between her brother and her friend.

“I told you,” she murmured sheepishly.

Thomas and Javari gave her a serious look, then glimpsed at one another, all of them looking thoughtful and troubled now.

“Yeah. You were right,” Javari uttered, nodding at the ground. “Nobody buys a laser pistol for a personal assistant unless they’re up to some shit…”

“And… I think I know what it is,” Thomas breathed, gazing at the front of the nearest shop. “Hold on…”

He jumped off the blaster, strode over to the shop, and stopped at the outdoor newspaper stands, which had a few leftover copies of each publication after many of the others had been bought during the daytime. The one he was staring at was a paper called Beyond the Veil , instantly allured by its headline, and he snatched it up and read over it.

After quickly skimming the front page, he made a nod and flipped the paper around, approaching his friends and holding it up for them to see.

“Look at that,” Thomas said.

Cally and Javari both leaned closer to it and read it. The headline read LAST WORDS: “THEY WANT TO KIDNAP HIM.” Beneath the headline was a large picture of a small, petite reptilian female lying in a hospital bed, and beside the image was the article, detailing a story about how a dying reptilian found on the outskirts of town was taken to the hospital, then later confessed to a journalist on her deathbed that she was a runaway from Alazar’s Army, who had tried and failed to prevent the apprehension of Osric Azarias by assassinating him beforehand. She expressed that she and her ally were freezing to death, and her ally had perished to the cold before she was found and taken to Silverhollow Medical Center, only to die the next day.

After reading over all of it—the three of them exchanged grave looks with one another again.

“Holy fuck,” Javari breathed, shaking his head once. “Why is nobody talking about this…?”

“Because it’s not in the Silverhollow Times ,” Thomas deducted, flipping the paper again and giving it another once-over.

“And they never told anyone,” Cally murmured, gazing down the road at Silver Peaks.

Thomas and Javari both looked at her.

Cally continued staring at the distant lodge for a moment, sighing and facing them again.

“Oz and Evony became really attached at the hip… like… overnight, right when she blew into town,” she explained to them. “And, now… I think I know why. The paper says they tried to assassinate Oz… and… they failed. Why did they fail?”

Thomas and Javari traded eyes again.

“Because somebody stopped them,” Cally stated. “And if anybody’s gonna just wander into a situation like that and take action… Evony would.”

Javari bit his lip and looked down, Thomas folding his arms and nodding.

“And Alazar’s Army wanna kidnap Oz for some reason,” Javari mumbled, scratching the hairs on his chin. “So…”

“Him and Evony are just trying to fend that off by themselves,” Thomas shrugged. “Why wouldn’t they go to the authorities?”

“They must not think they can,” Javari told him. “Authorities might be in on it, I guess… I don’t know…”

“Holy hell.” Cally snatched the paper from Thomas and read it closely. “Look at that. Look who wrote this story.”

She held the paper out and pointed at the name of the article’s author, Terian Ackerman.

Thomas and Javari both looked confused.

“ Ackerman ,” Cally yelled, slapping the paper down by her side. “That’s Evony’s last name—and her father’s a journalist.”

“Whoa. Okay,” Thomas muttered. “Well… there’s definitely something going on here… and we can’t really write it off as conspiracy theories, after… tonight happened…”

“Oh my God,” Cally breathed, covering her mouth and letting out a shaky cloud of breath. “Oh my God, they really are trying to kidnap him…”

“They really must think that other people in town are in on it, too,” Thomas nodded, glancing at Javari. “Or else they’d just… y’know… tell someone.”

“Well… we’re not in on it,” Cally griped. “We’re gonna help them whether they like it or not! Come on!”

She thundered over to the blaster.

“What’re we gonna do…?” Thomas asked as he and Javari followed her.

“I don’t know… but let’s go!” Cally yelled.

The three of them climbed onto the blaster together, and Thomas started the engine, driving in a circle before speeding out of the heart of town.

Meanwhile—when Osric reached Silver Peaks, he marched up the stone stairs and pushed the double-doors open, stepping into his lodge as Oliver floated inside right behind him.

Then, the inventor instantly stopped on a dime, huffing out a breath and resisting the urge to audibly groan.

At the front desk—which was now occupied by the slender and brown-haired Grady—Bellura and Mayor Byers stood there, each of them taking turns yammering at the manager.

“I did tell you ahead of time,” Byers griped. “There was no reason whatsoever for that meal to have been prepared with gluten. I explicitly told you and your chefs to make it gluten-free for my guests.”

“My cousin has allergies to gluten!” Bellura yelled, blowing her hair from her face and scowling at Grady. “ What is the matter with you? You can’t seem to do anything right tonight!”

She reached over and smacked the large vase on the edge of the desk—and Grady quickly caught it, stabilizing it and letting out a slow, deep breath, looking as if he was having a very hard time remaining calm.

“Daddy!” Bellura pouted, stomping her foot and huffing up at her father. “I want him fired!”

“Don’t bother,” Grady said, raising his hands and shaking his head. “I quit.”

Then—he strolled out from behind the desk, walked directly past Osric without looking at him, and marched out the doors.

Osric turned and watched him go, then faced the mayor and his daughter again, inhaling a heavy, agitated breath and feeling utterly done with this day.

“There you are,” Byers grumped, spotting him and frowning, pointing over at Bellura. “I believe you owe my daughter an apology for that exceptionally poor service your staff gave us here tonight. Her cousin was forced to regurgitate her own Thanksgiving dinner.”

“Your stupid place made her sick!” Bellura screamed. “Where is Cally? I wanna ask her why the kitchen staff here is so —”

BANG—CRASHHH.

Bellura and her father both leaped from their skin and reeled back in alarm.

Osric had fired off a shot from his cane capper—thoroughly shattering the vase on the end of the desk and sending shards of blue ceramic flying amok.

Then, he calmly lowered his cane, placed it back to the ground, and set his goggled gaze firmly on the mayor, the casing from the bullet gently rolling across the wooden floor.

“If you don’t like… the way that my staff… treats its patrons here,” Osric said in a soft, serpentine voice, taking a slow stride forward. “Then you… are free… to leave .”

He stopped directly in front of the mayor, glaring daggers at him from behind his dark lenses.

“And stay away ,” Osric snarled through gritted teeth.

Mayor Byers slightly raised his head, staring into him coldly and intently, wearing no expression at all now.

Bellura was staring over at them in shock—but Byers and Osric maintained their heated leer with no fear whatsoever, the passing seconds feeling like hours.

Then, at last, Byers finally tore his eyes from the inventor, stepping towards the exit and beckoning his daughter to follow.

“Come on,” he said, glancing back at Osric from over his shoulder. “I believe the lunatic has had himself a rough night. Let’s not be here for the tantrum.”

Bellura shot a final sneering look at the inventor before hurrying off after her father, and the both of them pushed the doors open and walked out of the lodge.

Osric remained standing in the center of the now empty lobby for a long, quiet moment, releasing a stressed cloud of breath before he broke into movement again, marching up the rounded stairs with Oliver still gliding along silently in his wake.

After riding the elevator to his secure top floor—he stepped out into the spacious hallway with the many windows, slowing to a stop and seeing his doctor just a few feet away, having just emerged from his office.

Osric stopped, staring at him and merely sighing.

Levi read him astutely. “Rough evening for you…?”

Osric paused, then let out another breath and turned to march away. “Rough evening for everyone…”

He ventured to his office, thumped the floor twice, and walked inside when the doors were barely two feet open.

Levi gazed after him thoughtfully for a moment, then slowly turned on his heel and returned to his office, deciding to leave Osric alone for the night, as he seemed to be in a bad mood.

And just a mile or so away—Evony was in much the same mood herself.

Everything that had transpired tonight was playing through her mind on repeat—and now, she stood pacing in her room, flipping through papers, and occasionally plopping down on her bed with her laptop, thinking of yet another thing she needed to order online. She’d already ordered body armor from samscorp.com , and now, she wanted more. Everything that happened on the mountain sent her into a furious tirade, with only one goal on her mind—winning whatever secret conspiracy war was going on beyond the veils.

Her entire evening was consumed by every detail of the frantic memory, making her angrier and angrier, making her do more orders and deep-dives on the internet, the hours passing her by—until she finally relented and flumped onto her bed, clutching the proton pistol in her hand as she drifted into a jumpy, restless, and nightmare-filled sleep.

The next day—everyone seemed to wake up late, though nobody later than Evony.

Osric awoke with a hangover, quickly rushing to drink water and have a frugal sip of his tonic before he eventually spoke with Oliver about his findings the previous evening.

Cally woke up and went straight to work, as did Thomas and Javari, each walking silently from their respective homes and thinking deeply on the events of last night.

Around eleven in the morning—Cally taking a break in the Silver Peaks kitchen, and Thomas and Javari sitting in the back room of the Silver Hollow, talking about monetary exchanges with other businesses—the three of them began texting each other frantically, Cally quickly resuming her inspiration from last night, wanting to help and get involved with Osric and Evony’s situation somehow.

It was during this same time when Osric thought to ask Oliver where Evony was, as she’d never shown up for work. Oliver remarked that Evony was likely not planning to today, after what had happened the previous evening.

So—with an odd smile—Osric leaped up from his desk and marched out of the office, instructing him to follow.

Terian was periodically leaving the editor’s office to interview people for his stories—as he’d been doing ever since being hired here—and today, he’d gotten a tip from a young woman called Ashley about a frantic reptilian sighting on the mountain last night. So, he decided to go home during lunch and sit at his home office computer, snacking on a sandwich and searching for vehicle rentals in Silverhollow so he could safely make a trip up the mountain to interview the people living there.

And while this was all going on—Evony was still lying crookedly over her mattress and messy comforters, radio still playing, laptop still on, and laser pistol still sitting atop her stomach, just underneath her limp fingers. Her curtains were open, the dim sun washing over her, and she remained asleep for a long, undisturbed while.

Then—a strange, oval-shaped shadow began to overtake her bed from the window, something eclipsing the sun and blocking it from her bedroom.

A large, silver pod was hovering just outside of her window, an egg-shaped contraption with a single sliding door on the side. The Azarias Pod glided slightly closer—and the man inside it was hunched at the inner wall of the contraption, reaching up and adjusting his goggle settings again.

Osric was on one knee inside the pod, bent down and gazing through his goggles, which were feeding him a perfect camera view of the outside. His right hand was equipped with a bulky blue glove, which contained many metal parts and sensors, and this hand was held upright, two fingers raised to the sky, as it was the very device used to steer an Azarias Pod.

“Are we quite certain this is a good idea…?” Oliver said tonelessly, glancing over at him with pixelated eyes of disdain.

“Oh… hush,” Osric smirked. “It’ll be funny.”

“She is armed , you know,” Oliver told him. “And likely rather jumpy after last night…”

“ Shhh ,” Osric hissed, trying to focus.

He moved his two fingers forward, just barely, and only for a split second.

The Azarias Pod floated an inch closer to the window.

“For… ward,” Osric breathed, moving his fingers very slightly again. “Care… full…y…”

The pod moved a bit closer.

“Stop—hold position, mode; stationary,” Osric said, flattening his hand. “Door—open.”

The pod fell still in its floating position behind the Ackerman home—and the door slid open, revealing the bedroom window to him in person, only about a foot away from him.

Osric reached up and switched the settings on his goggles back to ordinary viewing mode, then leaned slightly out of the pod, gazing into Evony’s window and seeing her fast asleep sprawled across her bed, her leather jacket discarded beside her, her laptop open on the other side, and her tank top twisted up around her stomach, just under the proton pistol in her grasp.

“Oh,” Osric exhaled, spotting the gun and leaning back inside the pod. “Um…”

He glanced over at Oliver.

“Here—you go,” Osric said, placing two fingers on the back of the bot and nudging him forward. “Just tap on her window. Real quick. She’d be a lot less likely to hit you if she shoots. You’re a lot smaller than I am.”

“Heaven forbid we use the front door,” Oliver grumped.

“Well—her family doesn’t know the situation,” Osric whisper-yelled. “And I don’t wanna float a pod through her house.”

Oliver turned and displayed a caustic expression. “Because that would be crazy, sir?”

Osric’s mouth flattened; he grabbed the bot butler and reared back, pitching him out of the pod.

Oliver’s round metal body hit the window with a loud thunk .

Evony jumped in her sleep, wincing slightly and clasping her gun tighter.

And downstairs—Teiran made a face, turning away from his computer in the corner of the living room. He gazed across the empty room, then over at the stairs, not having expected anyone to be home at this hour, though he swore he heard a noise.

Evony blinked herself more awake, turning and staring groggily up at her window—then she gasped and scooted back, leaping to her feet and aiming her gun at whatever was looming outside of her bedroom.

Seconds later, as her eyes adjusted behind her messy hairs—she spotted Osric knelt inside of the floating pod outside, merely smiling and waving at her.

Evony lowered the gun, scoffing out an astonished little noise.

Then, Oliver appeared outside of the window as well, crookedly floating upright and wearing a particularly unenthused expression on his screen.

Osric pointed at the window, mouthing the word open! to her.

Evony huffed out a breath, then stormed over to her nightstand, placed the gun on its stand, and quickly patted her hairs down before kneeling on the bed and unlocking the window.

She pushed it fully open, allowing a cold breeze to sweep over her, then she stared out at him incredulously.

“Hi,” Osric smirked.

Evony shook her head once, still ogling him bizarrely.

“Hi?!” she choked. “What’re you doing…?!”

“Well… you never showed up for work, and then I realized… I’d never put a pod in your house,” Osric replied with an odd nonchalance, as if he was explaining nothing out of the ordinary. “So can I do that now?”

Evony stared at him in sheer bewilderment. “Why…?!”

“It’s a safety precaution,” Osric assured. “Trust me, I’d feel a lot better if you had one here. Can I?”

Evony stared strangely at him for a moment longer, glancing across her room, then back at him. “What… in here? ”

“Ah-huh,” Osric nodded and grinned. “I can fit it through the window. Wanna see? Watch.”

Then, he leaned back into the pod and raised the hand with the big glove on it, engaging steering mode—and closing the pod’s sliding door.

“Oh, hell… okay,” Evony gasped, quickly scrambling off the bed and distancing herself from the window.

She watched in befuddled astonishment as the pod slowly elevated, then began to turn onto its side, Osric presumably lying on his back inside it now. The bottom of the pod—the larger end—began to float forward, easing into the window, the side of it scraping against the window frame with a long, grating noise as it oozed deeper into the room.

Evony made a wincing sort of face as she watched.

And downstairs—again, Terian turned away from his computer, staring up the stairs and knowing for certain he was hearing a noise this time.

The Azarias Pod entered the room fully, Oliver whizzing inside once the window was unoccupied, and then, the pod hovered over Evony’s bed, narrowly missing the top of her laptop before gliding across the room with strange grace.

Next, the pod began to turn rightside-up again, making a slow turn until its closed sliding door was facing the rest of the room. After that, the pod slowly lowered to the floor, hitting it with a small thud , positioned just beside the messy laundry hamper.

Seconds later—the sliding door opened, and Osric staggered out of the pod, adjusting his hat and choking out a breath.

“Whew… well, that was uncomfortable,” he uttered, glancing around and facing the pod. “Probably should’ve climbed out first, now that I think about it…”

Knock, knock, knock, knock, knock.

A hard rapping hammered against her bedroom door—and Evony, Osric, and Oliver all whipped around and stared at it.

“Whoever’s in there—you’ve got until the count of three to either unlock this door or jump out the window,” Terian shouted, standing outside of the bedroom door with a revolver held by his side. “Otherwise—I’m kicking it down and blowing your goddamn head off. One—two—”

“Dad!” Evoy hollered at the door. “It’s just me…!”

Terian hesitated at the top of the stairway, making a strange face again. “Why’re you home right now…?”

Evony gaped at the door, then over at Osric and Oliver, tossing up her hands.

“I don’t have to be at work until later today,” she lied.

“Oh.” Terian paused, still skeptical. “What the hell are you doing in there…?”

“Nothing!” Evony griped.

“Open the door,” Terian ordered.

Evony sighed and ran her hands down her face—then turned and shoved Osric and Oliver into the pod.

“ Hide ,” she hissed.

Osric stumbled into the pod and regained his footing, then shrugged and held up his gloved hand. “Door—close.”

The sliding door sealed shut—concealing the inventor and the bot butler from sight.

Evony approached the door, unlocked it, and pulled it open, shooting her father an annoyed look. “Yes…?”

“What in the everloving hell are you doing up here?” Terian demanded to know, now trying to push his way past her. “And who were you talking to…?”

“Nothing—no one—back off!” Evony griped, standing firmly in the doorway. “Quit it!”

Terian stopped for a second and gave her a look. “Do you have a guy in your room?”

Evony’s face fell flat. “What am I… fifteen?”

Terian leaned into the room past her, looking to the side—and spotting the Azarias Pod.

“Oh. You have a pod in your room,” he said tonelessly, turning back to her and perking his brow expectantly. “Why do you have a pod in your room?”

“It just… it was a gift,” Evony told him. “I’ve made friends… and one of them has money, and he got me that as a present.”

Terian gave her a long, suspicious stare.

Inside the pod—Osric was hunched in the darkness with Oliver close beside his head, clutching onto his cane and smirking as he eavesdropped on the Ackermans.

“That one’s not even a lie,” he whispered to the bot.

“Be quiet, sir,” Oliver advised.

“Uh-huh.” Terian cocked his head to the side, gazing past his daughter and spotting the open window in her room. “Why’s your window wide open? It’s twenty-nine degrees outside.”

“Dad… I literally just opened it,” Evony groaned. “I just wanted some fresh air for like two seconds before I close it again. Is that freaking okay with you…?”

Terian fell silent, staring at her and letting out a sigh.

“What the hell is all over your wall…?” he mumbled.

Evony paused, glimpsing over at her wall of newspaper clippings, pictures, sticky notes, and yarn strands.

“Just… planning stuff,” she said vaguely. “I’m gonna be helping with the Christmas Convention a lot.”

Terian’s eyes narrowed, his brow wrinkling, giving her a troubled sort of stare.

“Really,” he uttered moments later. “Because it looks a hell of a lot like the wall at my office.”

Evony huffed out a distressed cloud of breath, gazing at him and saying nothing.

“Whatever you’re doing,” Terian said intensely. “You need to stop pushing me away from it… especially if it has anything to do with what I’m doing. There are things going on in this town that could really put you in danger.”

Evony gave him a long, grave stare.

“Yeah,” she breathed. “I know.”

The two of them fell momentarily silent.

Osric leaned slightly closer to the inner wall of the pod, listening intently, and wearing a thoughtful expression.

“Just talk to me,” Terian pleaded.

Evony gave him a conflicted look, sighing and looking down. In reality, she did want to tell him—especially after what just happened yesterday—but she knew he would get more involved, and he might end up in danger himself. Besides, she’d promised Osric that she wouldn’t say a word about it to anyone.

“I can’t,” Evony told him regretfully. “There are certain things that I… just… can’t talk to you about right now.”

Terian let out another disdainful breath.

Osric’s brow hardened, frowning and sighing, holding his ear slightly closer to the pod’s wall.

“I spoke to… a young woman,” Terian revealed. “A young… reptilian woman… who was on her deathbed.”

Evony stared, remaining silent.

“And what she told me… was that she and her friend were trying to assassinate Osric Azarias several weeks ago. But, then… some girl, with black hair, and scarring on her face… just showed up out of nowhere and stopped her,” Terian informed, raising his brows and giving his daughter a fairly serious look. “A girl… with a black .25.”

Evony still didn’t speak, but she felt a cold, icy sensation slither down her spine at hearing this.

“Now… I have been very patient, and for weeks , I stepped back, and I waited for you to come to me,” Terian told her pointedly. “But… I’m not waiting anymore. I need you to tell me what you’re getting involved with. Now.”

Evony felt utterly torn inside, choking out a breath, glancing over at the pod, then back at her father, not knowing what she could say or do now.

Then suddenly—the sliding door of the pod opened.

Evony swallowed a sharp gasp, watching as Osric and Oliver emerged from the pod, her heart instantly pounding.

“You can tell him, Evony,” Osric said somberly, standing in the center of her bedroom and placing both hands atop his cane. “I don’t mind. Go ahead.”

Evony gave him a strange look, and Terian—suddenly hearing a new voice in her room—pushed past her and stepped inside, now face to face with the inventor and his bot butler.

“Hello,” Osric smiled whimsically, taking a step forward and offering his hand. “Terian Ackerman, I presume?”

“Oh… my God,” Terian sputtered, his glasses hanging halfway off his nose, gaping back at the man in shock. “Ah… wow… okay, um… hello…”

He adjusted his glasses, reached out, and managed a handshake with the bulky glove Osric wore.

“Aha… sorry about that,” Osric smirked, raising the large blue glove and wiggling his fingers inside it. “This is the steering mechanism for an Azarias Pod, believe it or not. I was just in the process of making a home delivery. Pardon my intrusion.”

“Ehm… okay… sure,” Terian stammered, glancing repeatedly between Evony and Osric. “Wow, all right… sorry, but this was the last thing I was expecting today…”

Osric smiled again. “I can’t imagine why it wouldn’t be. I think… some context might help. First of all… that story you were just referring to… that was how your daughter and I met, and I have since made her my personal assistant. Oh… and great job on that story, by the way. Beyond the Veil is my favorite paper, and I have been delighted to see what you write every week. You’re the only journalist in town who actually managed to find and crack that story, do you know that?”

Terian opened his mouth several times in an attempt to respond, swinging his fist by his side and looking almost flustered now.

Just when it looked like he might manage a reply—there was a loud, distant knock on the front door of the house.

Evony, Terian, Osric, and Oliver turned and stared at Evony’s open bedroom door for a second, all of them having heard the knocking from downstairs.

“Um… okay… hold that thought for just one second,” Terian said, raising a finger and rushing out of the room.

He thumped down the stairs, stopping right at the front door, Evony and Osric leaning out of the attic room and peering down the stairs after him.

Terian opened the front door—and three people were on his doorstep staring back at him, one of them holding a newspaper.

“Ah… hello,” Cally said shyly, lowering her pink gloved hand from where the door once was, Thomas and Javari standing just behind her. “Are you Terian Ackerman…?”

Terian gave all of them an odd squint. “Who’s asking…?”

“Um…” Cally glimpsed at her brother.

“We’re friends of your daughter’s,” Thomas explained for her. “We’ve seen her come and go from around this area, and this is the only house sitting over here, so we just kinda figured this was the right place to go…”

“Yeah, and um… we need to talk to you,” Javari added, scratching his brow. “It’s really important, and we’re all burning up our lunch breaks to come here, and it’s friggin’ freezing right now… so can we come inside?”

Cally turned and smacked him on the arm.

“Ho… ly… crap,” Evony breathed, leaning over to Osric and gazing down at the open front door, as well as everyone who was crowding it. “Are you seeing this…?”

“I believe the cat is very much out of the bag now, yes,” Osric affirmed with a nod.

“Ahm… sure,” Terian agreed, stepping to the side and allowing all of them to walk in. “Welcome to the party. I guess…”

“Hey!” Cally shouted, looking up the stairway and spotting Evony and Osric.

Thomas and Javari followed her trail of vision, making faces at their friends up the stairs as Terian closed and locked the front door behind them.

“Well… you might as well come on up,” Osric laughed, waving them onward. “Judging by what you’ve got there, I bet I know why you’re here.”

Cally looked down at the copy of Beyond the Veil in her hands, then gazed back up at him sheepishly.

Terian marched back up the stairs, this time followed by Thomas, Javari, and Cally.

Everyone entered Evony’s bedroom, found a place to stand, and faced one another, nobody speaking right away.

“Well. Love the tension,” Osric smirked, glancing between them all and patting the top of his cane. “And, it looks to me… like this has all come very full-circle now. And we have a lot to discuss, my friends. So… who, among us all, wants to start?”