Vavel: The End of the Dance

Leontina had to gather her thoughts quickly. Mozuta stood beside her, clutching her dress tightly and hiding behind her back, breathing heavily.
The Soul Guide’s thoughts drifted back to the punishment inflicted on Jawozina.
Right.
Her spirit hadn't completed the full punishment due to a contract she had made with a demon from Selew. She had left her there, shackled, to fulfill the agreement.
The demon had to release her. There's no other way. She thought. The contract compelled Jawozina to surrender her soul to a demon indefinitely, so her presence here can only mean that the binding agreement has been nullified.
She clenched her fist.
This meant that Firnau and Jawoznia were backed by the demon from Selew.

She turned her gaze towards Dargorad, who gave her a sly smile. He looked as if their shock amused him.
He knew.
He knew who she and Mozuta were. 
That was why he had approached them in the village and helped them to reach the dragon more quickly.
She felt uneasy. She wanted to trust him, even though he was a chort.
After all, before becoming one, he had been human... but perhaps she had been mistaken. She continued to watch the situation and came a little bit closer to the entrance with Mozuta behind her.

With a bold stride, Dargorad approached the master of the house and his wife. He was the first of the guests to greet them.
“I thank you both sincerely for the invitation,” the chort said.
“We are the ones grateful for your presence,” the Count said, patting the chort on the shoulder and smiling at him appreciatively. “'Are our guests of honour with us?” he asked.
Dargorad bowed, a malicious grin playing on his lips.
“Of course,” he replied, then shifted his gaze to the Count's wife and added, “Both of them.”
At his words, Jawozina beamed. Her snow-white dress shimmered in the dim light of the oil lamps hanging on the walls. Pleased, she clapped her gloved hands together. “That’s fantastic! I’m so glad!” Yet the joy reflected in her eyes was far from warm.

Leontina, watching the scene unfold, placed her hand on the trembling hand of the boy hiding behind her.
“Mozuta, it will be all right,” she tried to reassure him, though she herself was uncertain. As long as the guests were around, she believed they would not be harmed. But what then?
“That chort betrayed us after all...” Mozuta whispered. “I knew he couldn't be trusted. The spell he left us is probably fake, too.”
Leontina would have preferred if that possibility wasn’t true. She reached for the slip of paper hidden beneath her glove and read its contents. 
She was surprised by the first words she read.

The spell is genuine. You’ll find it below. Give it to the strongest wizard you know.

Below that were words written in an ancient language in a distinctively different hand. The handwriting suggested that it was the work of the bomb’s creator.
Leontina tucked the note away again.
Could she really trust this chort?

She began to follow him and the Count with her gaze.
Von Firnau and his companion, Jawozina, followed the rules of etiquette, greeting each guest courteously. On the other hand, Dargorad trailed behind them, moving with a jaunty, bouncing steps and whistling. He snatched a glass from a waiter's tray, downed its contents in one gulp and shouted out to ask if they had anything stronger. This behaviour was a far cry from the elegance he had displayed while dancing with her. Even those who had previously talked with him and praised his dancing were surprised by this sudden change.
“Maybe he won't betray us after all,” she muttered. Mozuta shot her a skeptical look.
“And what made you think that?”
Leontina leaned towards Mozuta and whispered, “You know what happens to a Soul Guide at night, don’t you? It's possible that he’s joking around and giving us a sign that way.” At least, that's what she wanted to believe. But how did he know that personality changed? Was he mocking her? Or, maybe that chort is trying to distract the Count and his mistress. She couldn't be sure, but it was better to act quickly before anyone got hurt.
“But…” The boy didn’t finish. Leontina pulled him towards the exit. She told the servant standing there that she was going out for some fresh air. Once they were in the alley, she looked up at the crescent moon.

She raised her hand, intending to signal to the Moon Wizard to come down to Earth, but before she could do so, a cloud of rising smoke and dust obscured her and Mozuta.

"A warm welcome to you," called out a husky voice, drawing nearer.

She and Mozuta looked around, but it was difficult to see anything through the swirling dust.
“Hello,” she answered. “It would be nice if our guest introduced himself, so I might know who I am dealing with,” she said. She tried to remain calm and not betray the fact that she felt somewhat overwhelmed by the situation. It looked like Jawozina wasn't the only surprise awaiting her at the ball. Evidently, the demon that woman had made a pact with was there too. Leontina suspected that it was thanks to him that Jawozina had somehow been brought back to life.
If so, perhaps this creature from Selew knew something about her, too.
She decided to seize the opportunity she had been given.
“Hahaha!” the owner of the voice laughed loudly. “But surely, young lady, you ought to know me!”
Then, right before her face, a broad visage framed by green curls emerged from the smoke. The two red horns poking out of the lush green locks spoke volumes about the entity she was facing.
Leontina placed a hand over her chest and bowed. A broad smirk played across her face. She was extremely grateful for her ability to access the memories of souls during trials.
“Well, well. I did not expect to encounter such an esteemed guest today. The Demon of Selew has come in person to grace us with his presence.”

A shiver ran through Mozuta. The smoke surrounding them had thinned, but it still hung overhead, obscuring the view of the moon. Before them stood a tall figure wearing an unbuttoned white shirt and long, loose trousers tightened by a wide belt. The creature held a club in its muscular right hand.
At that moment, Leontina was grateful for her doll's body. The shudder passing through her went unseen.
The demon standing before her was the very one with whom Jawozina had struck a bargain. This meant that he had released her from her chains and likely freed her from the contract, given that she was now able to walk the earth freely.
But how had Jawozina come to possess a physical form? Leontina pondered. She didn’t look like a ghost. Everybody saw her and greeted her. However, Jawozina’s movements weren't entirely natural. There was a certain stiffness to them. It was a bit like Leontina herself, only far more noticeable.

It was as if she, too, were a doll.

Leontina’s eyes widened. She clenched her fists and glared at the arrogant demon standing before her, her eyes ablaze with fire.
“I would like to ask you something. Were you the one who gave Jawozina that doll’s body?” she asked, dropping all pretense.
The demon snorted. He lowered his head and stared straight at her. His foul breath made Mozuta wince and cover his face, but the girl remained unmoved, waiting for an answer.
“Yes. Just as I did for you.”
He began to cackle loudly. His sinister laughter pierced the air around the pair standing before him. Mozuta felt as though his end had come. Leontina reached out to shield him. She had a bad feeling.
The demon raised his club.
“Young lady, you must go back where you were,” he announced, gazing at her with an empty stare.
“Mozuta, run!” she said. The boy shook his head. He didn’t want to leave her.
“Do as the young lady says. Run,” the demon laughed. “Straight into your Mummy’s arms.”
At those words, Mozuta felt arms wrapping around him.
They were cold.
Bone-chillingly cold.
He felt a cheek, hard as porcelain, press against his own.
He didn’t need to turn around to know who had whispered those haunting words.

“Hello, darling! Daddy and I have been waiting for you.”

Mozuta felt like crying. They had come here to defeat Count von Firnau, not to walk into a trap.
They hadn’t expected Jawozina, not that demon.
They hadn’t expected things to turn out this way.

The boy felt his cruel mother pulling him along.
Leontina grabbed him by the arm.
“Mozuta!” she cried.
As his arm slipped from her grasp and their hands brushed against each other, he felt a scrap of paper.
Leontina had slipped him a spell.
The boy pursed his lips.
He was the one who had to call for Mr Twardowski.
Jawozina dragged him away.