“Boundless pleasure awaits you. If, of course, you do what I say and open the back door for my friend.”- Succubus Zilah, before the Bloody Night of 1980, a massacre suspected of being carried out by the Hunter Family.

  Throughout the day, more and more of the city began to pull itself back together—the foundations laid for a return to civilization. But as the sun started to wane, something else happened that nearly set everything to chaos once again.

  The great towers, the homes of the nobili, opened.

  They poured out of their abodes, the bright colored liveries of their houses a flicker of the city’s past. Cowering servitori, richly ordained nobili, bejeweled nobildonne, and heavily armed and armored guardie bled into the streets. A nobile led them, his balding black hair covered by a cap, and glasses covered his shifty eyes. He wore blue silken vestments, and a silver medallion depicting a serpent hung around his neck. On either side of him were guardie, swords drawn, and heater shields enclosed around their charge.

  Cittadini and undead alike turned to see this entourage approach. Guardie pointed their weapons, and nobildonne nearly fainted. But the hungerless did nothing, merely watching them parade by. But various cittadini simmered, and their fists were clenched. They slowly followed them. They even gestured for the reluctant hungerless among them to join.

  Leo saw the colored convoy approach the square. His eyes narrowed. “Luna, Stello, you need to see this!”

  The twins ran up to him. Stello bristled, and Luna frowned. “Oh really? Now they show up, huh?”

  Others began to gather upon hearing the commotion. A tide of anger rose as more and more people saw who was approaching. Behind the nobili, an even larger crowd had formed. Servitori whimpered, and even the guardie were shaking. Yet the leader of this entourage was unfazed, his eyes set upon the temple sanctum.

  As the procession entered the square, Luna stormed up to them, flanked by Stello and Elizabeth. Leo and Martin dashed to keep up. The two sides stared each other down. Luna whispered into Leo’s ear, too livid to speak herself.

  Leo gritted his teeth. “Where were you?”

  Their leader looked around. The hungerless and cittadini were banding together. “What devilry is this?” His voice was snobbish and shrill.

  Martin gasped. “I know you! You’re Joseph Hunter. My grandparents knew yours.”

  Joseph looked at Martin and squinted. “Oh yes, you’re Martin d’Lyon. My father spoke highly of you.” He began to sweat. “I had no idea that you were down here. Had I kno—”

  “How dare you! How fucking dare you!” screamed Luna.

  “You’re a disgrace to your famiglia!” shouted Martin. “All of you! Your famiglie built this city! What would your forbears say?”

  “Wait a minute,” said Elizabeth. “Don’t these rich people have food and supplies stored up?”

  Luna grinned. “They do.”

  Joseph trembled. “We did what we had to! You cannot judge us! We are the nobili!” The others behind him didn’t look as confident, and the crowd closed in. Guardie took up a defensive circle. There were at least a couple hundred of them. But the mob was thousands.

  Luna was fuming. Only a gentle hand from Stello kept her at bay. “If there’s one thing we learned from all this, it’s that we don’t need you!”

  Joseph pointed to Giani and the other scattered dead and said, “It’s not our fault the city was destroyed! It was theirs!”

  “Daemons controlled them, but Etheros has freed them!”

  Etheros strode forward. “It’s true. Their foul hunger consumes them no more. They may still be dead but are normal in every other way.”

  “While you hid in your towers like the craven wretches you are!” shouted Leo.

  Elizabeth spat. “Even the North is not as vile.”

  Joseph glowered. “I will not be lectured by a bunch of foreigners about what is or isn’t acceptable in my city!” With every remark Joseph made, the crowd inched closer.

  “These foreigners did what you would not!” growled Giani.

  “I say these families don’t deserve to be in this city anymore,” Luna declared, brandishing her spear. “Do they?”

  A cheer rang up into the air as the crowd broke into a charge. The guardie pointed their weapons.

  “Stop!” screamed Martin, and he dashed between both sides, hands raised in either direction.

  “What are you doing?” whispered Leo.

  “We can’t give in to fighting! We just started putting this town back together!”

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  “So what? We can do it again,” hissed Luna.

  “I knew a fellow nobile would understand,” whispered Joseph.

  “I’m not doing it for you,” snapped Martin. “How about this,” he said, pointing toward the nobili. “The famiglie give up their living space and their supplies, at least until the rest of the city is repaired.” Martin turned toward the crowd. “And in exchange, they get to live and maybe even stay.”

  “This is outrageous!” whined Joseph. “I will never concede to such a demand.”

  “And what about the other famiglie?”

  A woman behind Joseph moved to speak, but he held an arm out. “Do not dignify these feccia with your words!”

  “Why don’t we just kill them and take what we need?” grumbled Elizabeth.

  Luna nodded. “Yeah, they don’t deserve anything! And they aren’t even cooperating!”

  Angry voices rose, and for a moment, Martin faltered. He looked into the crowd for any sign or proof he wasn’t cosigning himself to the same fate. His frantic glare landed on Etheros. He was the only calm face in the crowd. He nodded.

  That’s when the idea hit him. “This is what the daemons want!” Silence filled the square. “Don’t you see? Why do you think they did this in the first place? Why they created the undead? If we all gave into fighting now, we might as well have not even cured the undead of their hunger. Taking the Godshards is only the first step of their insidious plans!” Martin turned toward the nobili. “Your famiglie once built this city, a foundation of which generations flourished, rich and poor alike! You have money, power, and the ability to use it for good, not just for selfish gain. It’s not too late to change.” Angry voices rose once more behind him. “If the hungerless were able to be given a second chance, then surely the same can be said for them. If we give into fighting now, we might as well all be in chains since the daemons have already won!”

  The crowd paused. Even the twins were lost in thought. Anger weighed heavy in the air, yet a glimmer of hope entered Martin. He saw people thinking. It was a start.

  Leo sighed. “Martin, I know you’re trying, but how can we trust anything they say? They can say yes now, and when we’re gone, revert to the way things were before.”

  “If I may,” said Etheros. “The twins have Soulsight. Let them use it and see what they see. And whatever they decide based on what they see will be how it plays out.” Etheros’ eyes narrowed and added, “No matter how violent.”

  Joseph spat and hid behind his guards.

  The twins walked forward in unison and stared into the group. Their glowing eyes flickered. The servitori were on board. They were as poor as the cittadini. They would have been caught in the crossfire had Martin not stopped them. If no one else, they should be spared. The twins moved their focus to the various nobili. Some were genuinely apologetic; most were at least willing to play along for the greater good. For now, at least. They would need to keep an eye on them. There was a beacon of blackness in the center, Joseph Hunter. He had to go. He would make a good example.

  Luna turned to Stello and nodded. “I think we can work with them. However,” she said, pointing her weapon at Joseph, “he needs to go. Only him and any who would try and save him.”

  “You can’t do this to me!” whined Joseph. “Guardie, seize them!” The guardie sheathed their swords and threw Joseph forward. He hit the ground hard. His hat fell off, and his glasses broke. He rose to his feet and looked around to find that he was alone. The rest of them backed away. He turned to Martin. “This is all your fault!” He unsheathed a dagger and raised it.

  A hand grabbed the arm. Elizabeth clenched her fist until Joseph dropped the blade. He sprang back, clutching his hand. “Typical northerner brute. Gonna finish the job like the barbarian you are?”

  Elizabeth bristled, and she rushed forward, fist raised. She saw the grim smirk on his face and remembered her promise to Annabelle. She’d probably forgive her in this case, but she’d made a promise. That mattered more, and besides, this is what he wanted. She grabbed him by the tunic. “You’d like that, wouldn’t you? But no, I won’t kill you.”

  He snickered as she walked away only to be met by Luna stabbing him in the gut with his own dagger. The blade latched itself to the medallion, stuck in his flesh. Joseph staggered backward with a groan. Leo was next, bringing down his fist. Joseph’s back hit the ground. He stood up, only for Leo to push him back down. The two closed in, pummeling him repeatedly, blood splattering with each blow.

  Joseph gave a crooked smirk, with half his teeth now gone, and his eye was blackened. “I know you, Leo! You’re part of that Guardia Grifone. You’re just a bunch of lowborn suini masquerading as nobili. You’re not the only compagnia in these lands, and you’re gonna get yours soon.”

  Stello pushed past the others, yanked the nobile by his greasy hair, and slammed his face into the cobblestone. His teeth were bared, and a wave of naked and terrible anger filled his eyes. Over and over, he pulverized him, the blood pooling. He did this until, at long last, the nobile stopped moving. Stello was wheezing from the exertion as Leo helped him to his feet.

  “Any more complaints?” muttered Leo.

  True to their word, the nobili allowed cittadini to take refuge in their towers and partake of their food. The servitori were sympathetic, and things went smoothly. The hungerless kept an eye on all parties lest anyone break their word, and Giani kept an eye on the hungerless in turn. With the added facilities of the rich, society began to pull itself back together all the swifter.

  The next day, everyone gathered outside the temple sanctum. The sun was beaming down on them as Etheros pulled the wagon forward. They were freshly stocked with provisions offered by cittadini. People applauded as they prepared to depart.

  They cheered. “Hail to the Six Strangers! Hail to the saviors of Ventoso!”

  “Are they going to keep calling us that?” grumbled Elizabeth.

  Martin beamed. “I kinda like it. It’s mysterious.”

  Leo smirked. “Are you sure that’s a good thing?” Luna and Giani strode up next to them on their own steed. The poor beast was nervous, and Luna struggled to keep it under control. “Where are you two going?”

  “There are hungerless all over the land,” said Luna. “We need to see how far that spell went. Stello and Marco can keep an eye on things here.”

  “Luna is coming with me so people get the hint everything is okay,” said Giani. “I want to rally all of us hungerless together.”

  Etheros nodded. “Best of luck, my friends.”

  “And with you,” said Luna. “You will always find friends here.” She strode closer. “And if you need us, let us know. We will gladly return the favor for what you’ve done.”

  Etheros gave a warm smile. “We’ll keep that in mind.”

  Elizabeth shook Luna’s hand. “You got conviction, child. I respect that.”

  Luna grinned and said, “So do you.”

  “Are you sure leaving things in Stello’s hands is a good idea?” muttered Petro. “Aside from whispering in your ear, I’ve yet to hear him speak.”

  “Oh, I could always talk,” said Stello as he shifted to the front of the crowd. “I just saw no reason to. Luna did everything for us.”

  Petro blinked. “Fair enough.”

  “We ready?” asked Etheros. Everyone nodded. “Then let’s go.”

  With that, they departed, the crowd waving as they left, and the wagon faded under the horizon.