As they approached it, it opened, and behind it was a tall black figure.
"This is the one who lured us here," the demon said. His stature began to shrink. At the worst possible moment, something began happening to him that promised new trouble. Something painful. "It was a trap from the very beginning. The Flayers were the Moon-Devouring Cult's beaters. But we have fallen into the hands of someone far worse than the Flayers. He has taken their prey."
As soon as he spoke those words, the faulty lamps in the corridor went out completely, and everything was plunged into total darkness. The Cursed could see with his vampiric vision.
Two red lights flared up where the figure's head was. They devoured, they dominated.
"Do not look into his eyes!" the demon shouted. "Otherwise, he will drag us away! No! Curse it!"
The red lights dominated. They filled everything around them, while at the same time promising the fulfillment of every desire. Because of that, resistance lost all meaning. Even if you understood that it was an outright lie.
The red eyes were before them. They found themselves in a dark room. Beyond the large, tall windows, an alien night and an unknown darkness were swirling. Darkness was also creeping in from the corners of the room, intending to drag them away into unknown dimensions. They did not have enough strength to resist.
Suddenly, everything disappeared. They found themselves in darkness. They were sitting on the floor in a room. The walls of the room surrounded them. Sitting on the floor opposite them was a girl with shoulder-length white hair. Dark strands ran through her hair. The girl's appearance was majestic. And gave the impression that she had been through much. She was sitting in the room with them, while beyond the walls dark unknown monsters were passing by. The girl raised her index finger to her lips, making a sign that they had to remain silent. The Cursed nodded.
Then something happened that he had never expected to see. Ancient magical symbols flared up across her face. A Cursed! Exactly like him! It was unthinkable! The existence of the Cursed had always been regarded as nothing more than a legend or a myth, dismissing the fact that they truly existed. He himself would never have believed it if he had not been one of the Cursed. But the fact that there were other Cursed besides him gave rise to a new wave of madness.
Had she too made a pact with the Sleeping Demons? Or was there another way? As far as he knew, no other way existed. Which meant that her fate was far from enviable. The fact that she was still alive, so far from the dungeon of the Sleeping Demons, having come so far, proved that she was no ordinary person, and in many ways lethally dangerous.
A door appeared in the wall of the room. The girl stood up, walked over to the door, and opened it. She turned around and gave them a sign to follow her. The Cursed and the demon followed her. The monsters beyond the wall did not notice them.
They were walking through a dark corridor. At first, bare walls drifted past on the left and right. Then stacks of crates and containers appeared. The sound of the sea and the murmur of voices were coming from somewhere far outside.
"What is this place? Where are we going?" the Cursed asked.
"This is another city on another continent or island," the girl replied, glancing at him. "But don't ask exactly where—I can't tell you. I saved you from the Red-Eyed's grasp and now I'm simply leading you through other spaces. If you've noticed, I'm one of the Cursed. Just like you. So I have that ability in my arsenal. I killed someone in the past."
She gave a grim smile. And, it seemed to him, there was a trace of regret in it.
At the end of the corridor, they reached the doors and stepped outside.
Night reigned outside. They found themselves in a port where a large ship was being loaded. Two dozen men in jackets, trousers, and boots, some wearing hats and others bareheaded, were carrying crates aboard. The ship's lights burned like the eyes of a grim creature lying upon the dark waves and swaying with them.
A tall stranger wearing a tricorne and a black suit stood with his arms crossed over his chest, watching the loading. He noticed the three of them emerging from the warehouse building. He uncrossed his arms. Nearly every one of his fingers bore a ring set with a gemstone. He turned one of the rings on his finger and looked at the passersby again.
"Do not stop or pay any attention," the Cursed girl said. "We're heading to the next warehouse building. There is a door there that will lead us out of here."
They headed toward the next building.
"Hey! Stop!" they suddenly heard a man's voice behind them. The Cursed did not turn around, but guessed that it was the same stranger in the tricorne shouting.
At that very moment, the Cursed girl placed her hand on the door handle. She sensed a rapid disturbance in space. Something was flying through the air at great speed. She stepped aside, and a long dagger slammed into the door. Its hilt was wrapped by a stylized serpent with red eyes. An unfamiliar symbol on their continent. But she had heard of it once.
She opened the door and stepped into the darkness. The Cursed and the demon followed her.
When the door closed and vanished without a trace, a faint light began to glimmer ahead.