Freed

Sister Dorothee suddenly understood why the demon was enjoying himself so much. The former cellarers had given themselves over to him so that he would avert ruin from the convent. They had condemned themselves to stay here with him. Today, Sister Innocenza had sacrificed herself instead of her. Now she was free to go, but she had to take him with her from this dungeon so that she could save the monastery with his help. After generations and generations of being stuck in this hole, he was finally free. To prevent this, she would have to stay here herself. But then she wouldn't be able to keep the convent safe. She was in a quandary.

Yes, this train of thought didn't sound logical. But it was the nature of demons to spread chaos and reduce logic to absurdity. There was nothing she could do about it.

“Oh, Lord, forgive me,” she prayed. Then she turned and climbed the long stairs. Without having to look back, she knew that he was following her. Her steps became more and more laborious, it was as if she was carrying a burden weighing tons. She walked through the seemingly endless underground corridors, crossed the cellar, passed the archives and finally reached the ground floor.

The foreshadowing of the first light of day shimmered through the windows. From the church, she faintly heard the voices of her fellow sisters singing a chorale to celebrate the Vigil, the first service of the day, which is traditionally celebrated in the early hours of the morning, usually before dawn.

“Won't you join your sisters? They'll be waiting for you.”

She felt his words rather than heard them. As if he had overruled her will, she shuffled off in the direction of the church.