Darius raised an eyebrow as he looked the old man in the eye. “You’re lying. All of the formidable black-robed people are dead.”

The old man looked at him dazedly. However, when he spoke, his tone was agitated. “When did that happen?” He looked at Darius desperately, but it soon faded into doubt and suspicion. “You’d better be telling the truth, Darius Reid. Otherwise, there’ll be hell for you to pay. I know you grew up in squalor, so you might’ve picked up some bad habits. However, you should