Chloe and I check all the doors and windows, making sure that every one we find is locked tightly shut. The worst thing about the room's windows is that some of them don't have blinds, and we can see the shadowy shapes outside, though the glass being privacy glass prevents us seeing beyond the vague humanoid shapes.

"You said they're called The Maligned?" Chloe asks me as she backs away from one window with a dark shape looming on the other side. "But what are they? Ghosts?"

"No. The Other says they're humans, just like us, but... like possessed or something," I say, backing away as well.

"I thought that would be less frightening, but on second thought it's not. Like a real Invasion of the Body Snatchers huh?"

I don't reply.

The Other is laid down on the floor in the centre of the hall, staring at the ceiling with a blank expression. If it weren't for the way that his hands were tightly clenched into fists, I'd think he was entirely unbothered.

He blinks slowly.

"We're done. Got them all," I say, walking over to him and kicking him lightly on the thigh. "Are we going to be safe here?"

"Most likely, love," The Other replies. "Sunrise should drive them back a bit, though be under no illusion that they're afraid of sunlight. They just won't want to draw attention to themselves by swarming the place."

"Lovely," Chloe says, dropping into a chair and bringing her knees up to her chest. "What will they do to us if they catch us?"

"Turn you into one of them, dear," The Other says, sitting up and rolling his shoulders. "But depending on how hungry they are, they could also eat you. It's a fifty-fifty bet."

Another loud bang against the door.

"Why do they keep banging against the door?" Chloe's voice shakes as she reaches for one of her braids, twisting it around her finger. "You said that it's only an invitation if it's open right? That's why they can't just smash the windows to get in?"

The Other nods. "They're hoping you'll get curious enough to open it. The Maligned aren't precisely intelligent creatures, just incredibly dangerous animals."

I reluctantly lower myself to sit on the floor beside The Other. It's clear that I can't leave this place right now, and no matter how I look at it I either take my chances at being locked in with a predator or taking my chance being locked out with multiple ones.

"How do we stop them?" Chloe doesn't seem inclined to get closer to The Other and I don't blame her.

"That's what we were discussing when you arrived. Only someone incredibly powerful and with knowledge of these things is going to be able to send The Malignant back to whence it came. It seems Soren, lovely as he is, doesn't have a clue who might be able to help us."

I remain stubbornly silent.

"How did they get here?"

The Other looks pointedly at me and I put my head in my hands. "It's my fault."

Another bang against the door.

"What did you do?"

"I wanted to summon The Hierophant," I whisper, mostly to myself. "I didn't mean for any of these things to get through."

"And yet, dear, here I am. Because our lovely Soren's intent over-weighed his common sense. Though truly, he'd have been in no better situation had he summoned The Hierophant. For the strength of Soren's wish, he'd have probably taken his eyes and tongue in payment."

There's a scratching against the windows and in my throat. I take off my glasses.

"So... Soren messed with some black magic or something and... this happened? Sounds like a horror movie," Chloe says, and after the sound of a knuckle rapping against the window, she uncurls from her position and moves down onto the floor closer to us.

"Well, dear, that's pretty much what you're living. Don't split up or do anything morally dubious," The Other says, smiling with his full sharktoothed smile.

"What about you then? You said you're The Other? Are you like those things outside or...?"

Despite our situation, despite the adrenaline, despite the fear, I can feel the crash hitting me. The wave of shame and guilt pummelling into my soul like a brick. The anger at The Other for being here when it's all my fault in the first place...

"No, dear. I'm... We're a Dark species, just like The Malignant is. But we're different from them We can't multiply like they can, and we generally don't interact with this world at all. We... We are a survivor species. After all, you cannot have a predator like The Malignant without prey for it to hunt."

Prey. He says that The Other are prey but...

"That's why you have teeth that could tear the arm off a grown man without breaking sweat? Prey creatures don't have fangs," I say, looking up at The Other. "Don't lie to her about what you are."

Chloe looks between us again, before looking back at The Other expectantly.

For it's part, The Other looks unbothered by my accusation that he's lying. He shrugs.

"We are all a product of our evolutionary environment. Do you humans not also have canine teeth for ripping apart the flesh of mammals? Would you count yourself as a dangerous apex predator that must be stopped at all costs?" The Other says, shrugging. "We evolved in an environment that is less forgiving than yours. The Other need teeth to survive."

I brought this lying, disgusting creature here. And yet it's our only hope for catching something much, much worse. My grit my teeth and clench my fists in my lap to hold back the anger that threatens to overtake my common sense.

"Oh, love, this is why your summoning failed. All this negativity around you really is no good."

The Other reaches out a hand and places it on mine, and suddenly my head is clear. Its a terrifying, aching, empty clarity that I can't process. Like I've been running through a thick forest trying to find my way out, only to reach a cliff that leads to a swirling ocean.

I jerk my hand away, and though the feeling fades, the all-consuming guilt and anger seems muted still. I'd have to conjure it back up and stoke it to feel it as strongly again.

"What did you do to me?"

The Other rests his cheek against his palm, looking at me bored. "Didn't you know, love? The Other's greatest power is empathy."