As Isabelle secured the door of an empty house and bolted it shut from the inside, William searched the house for water. And when he found some in a jug at the kitchen, he scooped a mugful and drank. When it emptied, he served another to himself.

“Stay out here in the living room. Away from the walls as much as possible,” ordered Isabelle.

Right after another serving, William stepped back into the living room and sat on a stool, placing the mug in his shivering hands. “What’s going on? I didn’t feel the Cloak. Why are the damonens here? People can see them.” Tremors in his voice were apparent.

Isabelle moved to the closest window and barred it shut. “We’re in a harvesting ritual,” she said.

“You’ve said that before. What does that mean?”

“The damonens had taken over the town and put a barrier around it. They’re collecting humans and extracting their souls one by one.”

“Extracting? Don’t they just eat it?”

She moved to the next window and shut it, then went to the next. “They do. But this time, they’re collecting it for their master. So they aren’t allowed to,” she explained.

“Master? What master?”

“A Legion,” she said. “It’s like any other damonen, only with a brain, capability to speak and interact and command every other damonen.”

“Kind of like their general,” he offered.

When Isabelle was satisfied with the blocked windows and doors, she sat down on the closest bench and rested her rapier beside her. “It is. Only the worst part isn’t that they can think; it’s the fact that they look like us. When Legions come into our world, something in the Cloak prevents them from existing more than a minute in their form. That is why they use human bodies as vessels so they can stay here for a longer period of time,” she explained.

“The damonens are here to collect souls so they can feed it to their Legion,” he repeated with an asking tone as flashbacks of his first encounter with the damonen came to him.

She stood up and got a mug of water of her own. “They are. And until we discover who the Legion is hiding in, more damonens will come and take these people.” She drank a mouthful and filled her mug again.

“We have to let the soldiers know,” suggested William. “If the Cloak doesn’t exist here, they could help.”

“Not with the barrier they won’t. As long it’s around us, people will avoid this town and act like it has never been here before.” When William opened his mouth to speak, she held out a hand and said, “And if you think running out there to tell them what’s wrong will help, it won’t. Once something passes inside the barrier, nothing can go out.”

William sealed his lips then another thought struck him. “What about your brother and your cousin, won’t they know you’re missing? Won’t they know you’re here?” he asked.

A snicker passed over her face. “They’re the ones who put me here. Part of my pilgrimage, they said. Guess this is a challenging solo task,” she said.

“Pilgrimage? What?”

She brushed her hand in the air. “All you need to know is that I’m here to save this town on my own, without their help. How about you? Why are you here?”

To prove my worthiness to Death, he thought in his head. “To sell salves. My father and I need the money.”

She let out a mild giggle. “Funny how a simple business makes for something life-threatening.”

“Yes, funny,” he snickered forcedly, asking himself what had he gotten himself into.

A hoarse cry erupted from outside.

“What is it?” asked William.

“Shh.” Isabelle placed her mug down, grabbed her rapier and peaked outside.

A damonen picked up the child, Francis, who was now unconscious, and placed him on its shoulder and then walked forward. Behind them, the mother screamed and reached for her son, but two other damonens blocked her path. When she hurled herself forward and attacked one damonen, the second one shoved her off its companion and punched her in the gut. As the mother coughed blood, the damonens veered away and left her in the middle of the road.

“We have to help her,” said William as he backed from the peeping hole in the wall and went to the door.

Isabelle blocked her before he could reach the handles. “There’s nothing we can do for her. We have to go after the boy, he’s the one in trouble.”

He gazed at Isabelle’s dark brown eyes and then nodded.

“Let’s go.”