In the afternoon, the party of four gathered in the foyer and plotted their escape from the surrounded estate.

“I may not know much about the origins of these phantasms,” said Azor. “But I have had occasion to observe them for a long time, and I know how they behave. And I’ll tell you this: they are not as dangerous as you seem to think.”

“Wh-what do you mean?” asked Lucy.

“They lack aggression, and they have no hunting instinct at all. You need only escape their sight, and they will practically forget you exist. Destroy the few that pursue you, and the rest will not follow.”

“So, basically, they’re kind of stupid,” said Dreadli. “Maybe if we can sneak out without being seen, we won’t even have to fight them.”

“I’m sure that would be the case, if we weren’t bringing him with us,” said Pitch, looking at Azor. “As you said earlier, it’s you they want. Regardless of how stupid they are, they’ve all gathered here for you, and I don’t think they’ll let you leave without a fight.”

“Well, I’m sure you three can handle it,” he replied. “You fought competently enough last night…truth be told, I was waiting for you to die the whole time; I only came after you when it became clear that you would not.”

“Hey, th-that’s mean! I think!” cried Lucy.

“Do you expect us to trust you when you say things like that…?” said Pitch.

“Well, that was before, when he thought we were just here to bother him,” said Dreadli. “Mr. Azor is on our side now.”

“The fact that we have a shared goal isn’t enough if you ask me,” said Pitch. “For instance, if it ever became convenient for him to let us die, do you believe you could count on him to do otherwise?”

The girls looked at Azor dubiously. He stared back, then let out a metallic sighing sound. “…I don’t know what you expect me to say. I certainly won’t beg you to trust me,” he said. “If my presence is so disconcerting to you, we could always go our separate ways once we leave this place. I’m certain I could reach the moon without your help—”

“But what about us?? We need you!” said Lucy. “P-please let him stay, Pitch! We promise he’ll be good!”

“I am not a dog…”

“Whether he stays or goes is his decision,” said Pitch. She narrowed her eyes. “If he stays…well, I suppose I will have to keep an eye on him.”

“You do that,” said Azor, rolling his tail-eye. “Now that I’ve been assigned a keeper, are we at last ready to depart…?”

“We’ll just run into the void until we reach the other side, right?” said Dreadli. “We might as well go now.”

~~

The group left the mansion via the front door. Down the steps they went, and along the path. As they passed the bushes, Azor picked a single black rose, perhaps for luck.

The phantasms crept after them, slowly at first. But when the group felt the inky hordes closing in, they broke into a run, and the phantasms sped up in turn. They chased them like a pack of dogs, but instead of growls and howls, they produced a cacophony of splashing sounds, which grew ever louder as more of them joined the hunt.

“I-I-I-I don’t think we’re gonna make it…!” Lucy cried, beating them back with her mace.

“Just keep moving!” said Pitch. “Whatever you do, don’t let them stop you!”

The phantasms swarmed them, blinding them even to the stark brightness of the void. It had already been hard enough to tell if they were getting anywhere in the fog; with the phantasms everywhere it became nigh impossible.

Dreadlilocks began to feel dizzy. She could have sworn she felt the ground disappear beneath her feet as she ran. She called for her allies but could not hear her own voice, let alone any of theirs.

“I think…I remember this happening before,” she thought, just before she collapsed.