Thisbe bit her lip, feeling her stomach churn. The memory of the time she’d drunk it before was a difficult one. And the stuff had tasted pretty awful. In order not to gag, she had to get past dwelling on what was actually in that vial and just drink it down. She took the top off and sniffed it tentatively, then made a horrible face. “No doubt it tastes better steaming hot than lukewarm,” she remarked. Before she could allow herself any more thoughts about it, she plugged her nose, then threw the broth into the back of her throat and swallowed. She gagged reflexively, but held the liquid down.

A second later, a new series of images flashed before her eyes. But she could hardly pay attention to them, because at that moment, a huge group of people burst out of the mansion. They were yelling harshly, demanding Aaron’s immediate removal from the office of head mage.

•  •  •

Alone in her room, Fifer woke up her blackboard, Desdemona, and read the announcement that Aaron had posted to all the blackboards in Artimé.

Attention, everyone! I regret to inform you that Drock the dark purple dragon has spotted the Revinir (formerly known as Queen Eagala) coming this way with a fleet of dragons. They will arrive sometime tomorrow. If you are a trained mage, please load up your component vests and meet Florence on the lawn tonight after dinner for more details and training exercises. If you can use traditional weapons, gear up and join the mages, for we need you most of all. We believe the Revinir is seeking to capture Thisbe Stowe and will attack Artimé ruthlessly to get to her. Unfortunately, our magic is not strong enough to fend off her or the dragons she controls. We are working on a solution now. Stay tuned for further details and instructions.

Fifer stared at the words, hardly comprehending them. Then she looked around the room, now void of everything belonging to Thisbe, and groaned. “I’m a terrible person.” She ran to the window and looked out, spotting Thisbe on the lawn with Sky and Drock. Aaron and Florence and a few others were nearby. And streaming out of the mansion was a huge group of dissenters—way more than Fifer had ever seen before. They were heading straight for Fifer’s family. And they were spitting mad.

The Chaos before the Storm

By the time Fifer found Seth and the two wormed their way through the crowds to the lawn, the number of dissenters had increased even more. Cleary, Frieda Stubbs had been recruiting followers in her quest to stop Aaron from being their leader. And the recent news that the Revinir was coming to attack had convinced a whole lot more people that maybe Frieda was right.

Florence tried to quiet them all down, but she made no progress. They began chanting “Fire the mage! Save our land!” over and over again in unison.