The principal's explanation left Mr. Adeleke unusually silent. He stood before the desk without saying a word, allowing every statement to settle within his mind. The more he thought about it, the more uncomfortable he became. Not because the principal's words were difficult to understand. But because they made too much sense.

One assumption after another began collapsing beneath the weight of everything that had happened that day. The darkness had been hijacked.

The plague had been altered. The lightning had turned against the demons. And now, moments after Mutiu had gone to receive the General, the overwhelming malevolent presence that had entered the city had suddenly disappeared.

Adeleke slowly...