Barely had Feliks finished his lecture on the essence of concentration while using magic when, in the glow of the campfire, he spotted the sleeping Will leaning against Ryan’s shoulder. Lola and Sophie had long been fast asleep in their tent. The wizard stared at the prince for a moment, so Ryan's words reached him with a slight delay.

"Will you help me carry him to the tent?"

"Hm...? Sure. Just unzip the entrance," Feliks replied, still a bit stunned by the sight of the sleeping prince. William was truly adorable. Even when he was furious or completely embarrassed, he didn't lose his charm. Ryan had actually hoped the wizard would be the one to open the tent, but he didn't want to argue with him anymore. He gently took William’s head off his shoulder and moved him toward the wizard to lean his friend's limp body against him. Meanwhile, Feliks took William in his arms and walked slowly toward the tent. Once he managed to transport the boy inside and lay him on the sleeping pad, Will sighed under his breath and murmured softly:

"Ryan... Cover me..." Feliks answered:

"There, there..." After which he gently adjusted the unzipped sleeping bag. Will knit his brows slightly and half-opened his eyelids. He immediately whispered:

"Feliks..." The man looked into the green eyes, shrouded in a thin mist of sleep. He didn't want to look away. This boy... was magic itself. He raised his hand and stroked the boy’s hair with the back of his hand, sliding slowly down to the cheek, before using his thumb to lightly brush the slightly parted lips. He whispered back:

"Goodnight, my prince." William rubbed his cheek against his hand, then turned on his side and fell back asleep.

***

Once again, that strange numbness overcame him. This time it came while he was already asleep. He was falling into darkness, and when he finally felt solid ground beneath his feet, the gloom around him barely lightened. It was night. William stood in the middle of an unimaginably large bridge. When he looked up, he saw the silhouette of a castle looming in the distance. The monumental structure was hidden by the impenetrable darkness of the night. Behind him, he saw only a guardhouse, much less impressive than the palace on the opposite side.

He moved forward cautiously toward the massive castle. The view from the bridge was breathtaking: below stretched forests and fields, and a river with remarkably fine meanders made its way between the hills. The bridge must have been suspended at a great height—the sight of the grass-covered rocks far below gave William a bout of vertigo. The wind lashed against the stone walls, showing no mercy even to his already ruffled hair. He quickened his pace, approaching the stairs, as the sudden gusts became almost unbearable.

Suddenly, a familiar howl tore through the air. Terrified, he looked around and froze—a winged monster was diving toward him, the same one that had attacked them at Ryan’s house. William clung to the wall, saying goodbye to life in his mind. The demon—as Feliks used to call these creatures—zipped right past him. Giant wings flapped loudly as the beast flew through one of the openings in the balustrade. William thought that on an ordinary bridge, he would call it a railing, but here the stone safeguard was a good four meters high. The entire construction was a monument that inspired both awe and dread.

He ran up the first steps at the entrance, taking the next ones more slowly. He felt something leading him; a foreign voice called him directly into the interior of the castle, and the boy subconsciously knew where to go. At a fork, he turned left and, after a long climb, reached a corridor. He walked forward, turned right, and hit stairs again. Climbing up, he spotted the moon through a narrow window. It was unnaturally large—he had never seen one like it before.

He continued down a long, dark corridor. Every so often, he saw brightly burning lamps above the doors leading to subsequent chambers. At first glance, they reminded William of ordinary kerosene lamps, though a strange, almost magical glow emanated from them.

Suddenly, he stopped in front of a door. He stood rooted to the spot, completely unaware of the reason. However, he felt as if something... was pushing him to this place, and though he was almost trembling with terror, he grabbed the handle of the massive door and pushed it open. He heard a scream. He looked toward the source of the sound and jumped himself, covering his mouth with his hand. On a huge bed in a darkened room were two men. One was pressing the other by the neck into the pillows and taking him forcefully from behind.

"Please... Enough..." the one pressed to the bed groaned painfully, clenching his hands into fists on the pillow. The other man moved inside him mercilessly, without pause. William wanted to react and was about to move toward them when he suddenly felt someone's hand on his shoulder.

As soon as Ryan and Feliks managed to wake the screaming-in-his-sleep William, the wizard immediately began questioning him about the nightmare: what had happened, what he had seen, and so on. What the mage heard did not fill him with optimism. His barriers were ceasing to work. And worse still, it looked like Will was seeing things he really shouldn't have been witnessing. Whoever the man was who was hurting that boy, he likely wouldn't want witnesses in such an intimate moment. This had to mean that, in a sense, William himself was initiating these... dream voyages. Though he was certainly doing it unintentionally. The wizard pinched the bridge of his nose, scowling as if in great discomfort. They couldn't delay any longer. Since he still hadn't received any news from Sarihmas, he had to look for the portal on his own.

He decided not to inform his companions about this for now. He only told them to try to get some more sleep before morning came. The next day was going to be full of intense experiences, so he hoped everyone would be sufficiently rested. He heard Lola's worried voice, so he scrambled out of his sleeping bag quickly and went outside to calm her down. At that point, the boys were left alone inside. For a moment, they remained in silence, unable to fall back asleep due to the overload of emotions. Finally, William spoke up:

"I wanted to do something, when... you know." Ryan nodded briefly.

"There was nothing you could do, Will," he replied after a moment and snuggled against William's back. The boy sighed with clear relief. Ryan's closeness always gave him courage. As long as there were no witnesses, of course. He listened to his friend's calm breathing until he finally fell asleep. No more nightmares haunted him that night.

***

The next day, Feliks announced to everyone that they could wait no longer and it was high time to look for the portal on their own. Furthermore, as soon as they reached Sarihmas, it would be necessary to visit the house of a certain woman who might know the answer to how to keep William's uncontrolled dream travels in check. Before they set out, Feliks declared he needed some time alone to contact someone who might have knowledge of active portals. However, he didn't want to reveal who he meant. After the wizard's words, Lola and Sophie looked deeply concerned but didn't breathe a word about what exactly was worrying them. The four of them began packing up the camp, while Feliks headed uphill along the trail in search of a more secluded spot.

He moved far enough away that the forest he entered became significantly denser; the trees grew tightly together, and it was difficult to push through the thicket, yet Feliks knew perfectly well that in this situation, it was... necessary. The soft forest floor muffled his footsteps. He saw a small clearing ahead and decided the place would be suitable. Perhaps even too much so. He stopped in a small depression in the ground, took out a pouch with ash and salt. Line by line, sign by sign. He remembered every symbol from the books he should never have read. Unfortunately, some circumstances required... special measures.

"I have no choice," he muttered to himself, as if trying to justify himself to the surrounding forest or... to himself.

When he finished, he cut the skin on the inside of his left palm with a pocketknife. The blood was not payment, but merely a declaration. Only when it touched the ground in the right place did Feliks feel the ground beneath him tremble and the air around him thicken, filled with ozone and sulfur. He swallowed through a constricted throat and straightened up. In the place where he had poured the pentagram and other magical signs, a dark, undefined shape emerged as if from underground, slowly taking on a pseudo-human appearance. The wizard nodded in greeting. This entire undertaking... simply put, was an exceptionally risky move on his part. One could even go as far as to say it was absolutely insane.

"Feliks," the demon said, without being asked. "Your signs are neat, as always. We all appreciate that immensely."

"Belial. I didn't summon you to exchange pleasantries," the wizard replied. His voice was calm, but his clenched hands betrayed his tension. "You will show me the nearest portal to Sarihmas and safely lead me and my companions through it." The demon tilted its head to the side, peering intensely at the wizard. The whole being seemed to... flicker. This made sense, considering that demons are purely dark energy, devoid of a physical shell.

"'Nearest,' you say... That which is nearest to people often turns out to be the costliest. But..." he trailed off, like a merchant skilled in his craft. "It can be done." Feliks nodded.

"Price?" he asked directly, wanting to get to the point as quickly as possible and return to his companions.

A cunning smile blossomed on the demon's featureless face.

"Oh Feliks, Feliks... You know my price well, you little sneaky wizard," the demon replied with a hint of amusement in its colorless and inhuman voice. It was true, Feliks knew its price, but he had no intention of giving up the possibility of bargaining with Belial. There was a certain, indisputable rule for making contracts with demons: one must always negotiate.

"That is a terribly high price for the kind of service I summoned you for," Feliks replied, crossing his arms over his chest.

"I want a fragment of your disgusting soul, mage," the demon said. "I know well that time is pressing you. All of hell is whispering that you hold a significant pawn in your grasp. Therefore, this price is not negotiable," it stated firmly, before continuing in an almost tender tone: "But know my mercy. You will give me a piece of your soul, and I will open a portal for you right here, on the spot, and safely lead you and your lovely company through it. The portal will transport you to the outskirts of the kingdom, near the rebel camp. A perfect solution!" the demon shouted at the end, clapping its hands with excitement. It leaned low over Feliks. The proposal did indeed sound tempting. The price for it was another matter.

Feliks felt a cold shiver run down his spine. He swallowed hard, quickly gathering his thoughts. He had realized from the start what price he would have to pay. He wasn't sure why the demon wanted it so badly, but he had his suspicions. For a moment, a very old memory flashed before his eyes. He had given a piece of his soul to a demon once before, and he didn't remember it fondly. But he didn't want to risk another moment. It was slowly dawning on him that he completely failed to understand the nature of the bond linking Will to the kingdom and his entire cursed family. He had to admit to himself: he was simply afraid. And Belial sensed that perfectly.

"Why do you crave my soul so much, demon?" he asked, buying himself time. Even though many centuries had passed, he still clearly remembered how agonizingly it hurt when a demon permeated the body and bit into the defenseless soul.

"Everything for my master. And he loves souls both pure and defiled at the same time, like yours," Belial replied, giggling in a shrill voice. The wizard knew he wouldn't achieve much more here, but another idea came to his mind.

"Fine, so be it. You shall have a piece of my soul. However, I have one condition," Feliks said in a tone that allowed no argument. "You will open the portal not on the outskirts of Sarihmas, but near Rosie’s house." There was no longer any trace of the demon's grinning teeth. Feliks could see as clear as day that Belial was not pleased with what he had just heard.

"You don’t lack cleverness, wizard," the demon replied. "So be it. I have a few outstanding accounts with Rosie. I’m sure she’ll be delighted to see me," it said with clear distaste in its voice. Without further delay, the demon began creating the portal. Feliks, as perhaps never before, was immensely glad he shared a Will-Bond with Lola. Thanks to this, they could contact each other, exchanging thoughts, as long as the distance between them wasn't too great. He immediately sent her a signal—or rather, a pure intention into which he poured his will—for everyone to come here as quickly as possible.

Feliks felt a fraction of a second later. As if something had yanked the Will-Bond from the inside. He doubled over slightly, gasping for air. The magic reacted with a delay, incoherently. The protective circle trembled; one of the signs dimmed for a moment. Belial laughed softly.

"Oh, how sensitive you are," he murmured with clear satisfaction. "That was but a touch."

"Don't touch my Bonds," the wizard growled, straightening up with effort. "That was not part of the deal."

"Don't be angry, Feliks; anger spoils beauty," the demon replied, giving him a malicious look. Feliks rubbed his chest where it burned intensely. The touch of a demon’s naked skin was not the most pleasant thing. He glanced at the portal, which was pulsing, still unstable.

"Finish it," Feliks snapped through clenched teeth. "Now." Belial made a theatrical gesture with his hand.

"As you wish." Without waiting a moment longer, he forced his way into the wizard’s body.