CHAPTER ELEVEN: FOR VERA

DEREK'S POV:

The message emerged just as the first shaft of dawn filtered through the heavy clump of trees, casting a muted glow across the morning skies. I could hardly sleep and had spent most of the night, walking around the cramped room which had become my recluse since Vera had been taken by King Sylvester.

A bell tolled in the distance, signaling the gathering of all inhabitants of Callahan county where the old low slung town hall building was located in the heart of the town.

A nagging feeling welled up in my gut - another condition that has become prominent with the loss of Vera.

The county hall was a dingy monument and a far cry of its historic past - a stark reminder of the nostalgic times in the North - Western Hemisphere. Life used to be easy and less stressful but in recent times the reverse has been the case.

Approaching the hall, murmurs from its occupants were unmistakably evident. Whispers of "...Perry Moore's death..." and "...King Sylvester and his goons did it...