A young woman, not much older than I was, was leading the knights in a finely crafted white silk dress.She was tall, had raven hair, and her skin was pale.I knew she was in charge because of her long, confident strides.Despite the fact that she led my friend and his mother to unknown terrors, I resented myself for being swept up in her beauty.

I looked around to see if any of the residents of the town would intervene.No responses were received.Everybody forged ahead with their exercises imagining that nothing was going on.They went so far as to avoid looking at the hotel where the woman and her nights were now congregating.

They were insecure.Why then?What had transpired in my community?

The knights immediately began pounding their metal-shod fists against their chest plates when the woman made a gesture.It was a warning.The group gathered in front of the inn, consisting of both adults and children.

I heard knights' chests clanging like a death knell all over the town, and soon people from all over the city began to arrive.Evidently, they had done this many times before.

I had to leave that place.I didn't want anyone to notice me and include me in the upcoming events.To find out what had happened to Woodford, I had to see it unfold.I pulled myself up onto the building's roof by scaling the pile of boxes I'd been hiding behind just a little while earlier.With my body flat against the shingles, I watched the events unfold as I peered over the roof's peak.

The knights stopped beating when what appeared to be the entire town gathered in front of the inn.As the gentle rays of the morning sun fell on us, there was silence.Everyone seemed to be holding their breath in anticipation of what might happen.

The lady then spoke.I'm pretty quiet.disappointed.”Not an individual uttered a sound. "I clearly recall being informed that Landon had perished in the plague, but he is still alive.There was no doubt that he was known to more people than just his mother.Which of you were aware?How many of them helped conceal him from me?”My neck hairs stood on end as she spoke slowly and coldly.

She continued, "Do I need to remind you why we are here?"We were invited.You sought our assistance because you were scared and weak.We also did.Isn't the disease over?Did we not keep our word?”

I slightly raised my head.The plague had been eradicated by this woman and her knights?Thus, a treatment existed.Evan did not have to perish.I didn't have to risk losing everything.

However, "what has been taken can be given back," she whispered.She made a signal to her knights.Landon was dragged over and compelled to kneel in front of the woman.She sat down next to him and drew a line with her finger along his jawline.It appeared odd, like a spider playing with its food.

I absolutely detest being deceived.Wouldn't you tell the truth to me?The chilliness was still there in her voice, yet presently she added a bit of pleasantness.Even seduction.

“No.No, Madame.As he responded, Landon's voice was shaken.

She grinned.Good.I'm happy.So, let's start with a simple question.Did the plague kill you?

He gave a head shake.

“Good.Let's try something more difficult now.Who worked to keep you away from me?

Landon gulped. "ma'am, just my mother.That's all.I wondered which of the people in the crowd depended on Landon's words as I examined their faces.

With her tongue, the woman made a clicking sound.I aspire to have faith in you.Yes, I do.Therefore, I will give you one more chance.Is the plague going to kill you?

Landon's confused brow furrowed.As confused as he appeared, I was also.That was a question of what kind?On the off chance that the plague had been restored, how . . . "No ma'am.The plague has vanished.

Silence.The crowd waited in anticipation to see what would happen as the woman stared at her prisoner.What a disappointment.I had expected more.

She grabbed him by the throat and squeezed him violently and quickly.Landon made an effort to fight her, but she must have been more powerful than she appeared.He tried to scream, but he ran out of air.He would be killed by her.

I hoped that someone would step in and do something as I looked around the crowd.My expectations were misplaced.Their faces were blank as they did nothing.

Then, even from my situation on the rooftop, I witnessed the unthinkable.His veins started to swell and turn green as he was being choked, and before long, the green was in his eyes.He quit battling, his body incapacitated.The woman finally let go, and as the delusions began, he collapsed to the ground and screamed.

He was plagued.

“No!”His screaming mother said,No!”The white woman got up, smoothed her dress with her hands, and then told her knights to let the mother go.She rushed forward and sobbed as she buried her face in her son's chest.

It was unbelievable to me.Landon had been infected by the woman.So, was she a djinn?I was the only person I knew who could do anything.

She surveyed the crowd, many of whom had expressions of fear.We can easily undo what we have treated.Do you desire that?The silence.I figured not.

The residents of the town did not react.As Landon screamed in his delusional state, they could do nothing but stare at him.Each of them had lost a loved one to the plague.They knew its revulsions.Against this woman and her knights, they would not fight.

In this way, I was shocked when a man advanced forward and said, "We are not your slaves."His name was unknown to me, but I knew he was a blacksmith.It made sense because blacksmiths were frequently regarded as leaders and held the highest status in any town.It's likely that he believed it was his responsibility to represent the people.We will no longer tolerate it.The smith kept moving in the direction of the woman.

I was not expecting her reaction.She grinned.Is this true?Is everybody in agreement with him?She glanced out over the group.Fearing that her gaze might catch mine, I sank back down, getting as close to the roof as I could.There was a little foot shuffle, but no one spoke.I figured so.

When the smith realized that no one was behind him, he slowed down, but he didn't stop.Return to the kingdom from which you came.

“Kingdom?”The woman appeared to be amused.Kingdoms are no longer in existence.The Path is at the helm of a new world order that is emerging.Take a look around.She made a town-wide gesture.Are not things better than they were a couple of years prior?The pandemic is over.You are successful.From one side of the planet to the other there is harmony, and everybody can be cheerful the length of they follow The Way.We only require your obedience.When you asked us to get rid of the plague, the only thing we needed was this, and with your help, we can make a perfect world.A utopia

The Road?It had never occurred to me before.

“Perfect?”The smith made a joke.When you kidnap our loved ones or make your subjects live in fear of you, I wouldn't call it perfect.I couldn't help but wonder if he was about to fall prey to a trap as he got closer to the woman.

She shrugged. "Perfection cannot be achieved overnight.She ventured her hand into the folds of her dress as the smith moved ever nearer. "It won't be simple to obtain either.Is it not true that day follows night?Isn't the test the only time one gains strength?And don't blessings necessitate sacrifice, too?Her hand with a dagger reemerged from her dress upon hearing the word "sacrifice."She lunged forward like lightning, buried the dagger to its hilt in the smith's breast, and she stabbed him in the heart.As the woman turned the knife, his gasp turned to a groan.

His lifeless body fell to the ground.

She returned to the astonished crowd.You or not, Aerven's purification and perfection will continue.It is your decision."

She walked back the way she had come, making sure her dress didn't get stained by the smith, and her band of knights followed her.The meeting finished.Landon's mother wept over him as the crowd dispersed, leaving behind one corpse and another soon.

What exactly was The Path made of?I had absolutely no desire to follow it.After what they had done to Evan and me, I may not have liked the townspeople, but they didn't deserve this.

However, The Path appeared to be the solution to my issue, despite my feelings.I had to find a solution because there was one.

It was time to visit Bailey.