The Devils

Alex wakes up on the beach to Sunny slapping her. The two begin scavenging for useful debris washed up from the wreck, including a chest containing Duke Constans’s clothing, which Alex appropriates. As they collect supplies, Sunny spots a group of well-armed figures approaching.

The two women flee to the dunes to hide and watch the strangers inspect the wreckage and the chest. Sunny overhears that they’re actively searching for Alex. Realizing they left tracks in the sand that betray their hiding place, Sunny and Alex hurry to escape.

Balthazar and Baptiste struggle to shore of the Dalmatian coast after hours on a makeshift raft, blaming each other for their current misery. The binding still affects Balthazar, so they know that Alex is alive and reluctantly agree to set off in search of her. Balthazar proposes finding a stone circle to perform a divination ritual, as it’s their best chance of tracking Alex.

They begin moving inland and find a battlefield littered with dead bodies. They scavenge for clothes and supplies and are accosted by a group of looters who claim ownership of the battlefield’s spoils. When one of the looters insults Balthazar, he snaps and animates several corpses, making the looters recoil in horror.

Vigga and Brother Diaz talk as they trek through the dunes. Vigga questions the truth behind the Church when the Church itself is broken by the schism. Diaz argues with her over it, but then he admits he never wanted to be a monk. He confesses that his family pressured him to take the vows after getting a girl pregnant.

They come across the ship’s wreckage and find the chest with Duke Constans’s clothes. Vigga catches Alex and Sunny’s scents, along with those of several other unknown men. They deduce that Alex and Sunny were chased inland, but Vigga soon picks up a different scent: There’s another werewolf nearby.

From her hiding place, Sunny observes the camp of the group following them—bounty hunters, including a werewolf known as the Dane, a pair of twin sorceresses, and a man in a golden cloak named Duke Sabbas. When they discuss tracking Alex, Sunny sabotages the camp; she puts poisonous mushrooms into their stew and frees their horses. The Dane catches her scent and realizes Sunny is there, forcing her to flee.

After she escapes, she finds Alex on the road, speaking with a couple in a cart. Sunny drags her away and scolds her for risking her safety. Alex says she learned that a local count and countess have gone to war with each other. Sunny questions how Alex makes friends so easily, when she never can. Alex reassures her that she’s made friends with her.

Jakob regains consciousness in a corpse cart, disoriented and badly wounded. Baron Rikard appears and confirms he’s alive, much to the annoyance of the cart’s driver. They arrive at a makeshift field hospital, and Rikard fills him in on the situation, reminding Jakob of his duel with Constans.

They are interrupted by the arrival of Count Radosav of Niksic and the priest Mother Vincenza. They are the leaders of the local Western Church-backed side of a regional conflict with Countess Jovanka of Pec, supported by the Eastern Church. Radosav questions if Jakob is related to the legendary Jakob of Thorn from the Third Crusade. Jakob, who was also cursed to never lie, tries to figure out a way to avoid saying he’s the same man, but Rikard says the two men are related.

The count proposes an alliance between them: If Jakob aids him in defeating the countess, he and his forces will help recover Alex. Jakob cynically recognizes the war as another proxy conflict between the Western and Eastern branches of the Church but reluctantly agrees.

Alex and Sunny continue to run from the bounty hunters. As they reach the top of a hill, they see a town below under attack and engulfed in flames. Despite the danger, they decide to enter, hoping to lose their pursuers amid the chaos. They sneak through the outskirts and into the heart of the town, hiding from soldiers. Sunny uses her ability to vanish to scout and distract soldiers, clearing a path for Alex. When they reach the town square, Alex disguises herself using a dead soldier’s cloak and helmet to blend in with the others.

The bounty hunters soon arrive in the square as well. Thinking quickly, Alex turns the soldiers’ suspicion on the newcomers by loudly accusing them of being thieves. In the ensuing fight, she and Sunny escape to the nearby quay. They steal a small boat and row away from the burning town. Alex laughs in relief, only to realize that a horse injured Sunny during their escape.

As Balthazar and Baptiste walk through the war-torn countryside, Balthazar complains about their miserable conditions, while Baptiste says he should learn to be more adaptable. Their argument is interrupted when they’re ambushed and captured by soldiers.

The pair is brought before Countess Jovanka and a stern priest of the Eastern Church named Father Ignatios. Balthazar attempts to explain their presence but grows increasingly flustered. Baptiste intervenes and insults the countess. Recognizing Baptiste, the countess releases them both, as she and Baptiste once served as ladies-in-waiting to the Queen of Sicily.

She takes them on a tour of her military camp and rants about Radosav, saying he’s provoked her. She leads them to a vantage point overlooking a valley. Balthazar sees the standing stones in the no-man’s-land between the count and countess’s armies.

Count Radosav, his entourage, and Jakob and Baron Rikard survey the valley between their forces and Countess Jovanka’s. Radosav expresses his desire for the coming battle, and his knights and clergy say he will have a righteous victory.

However, Jakob warns that Radosav’s troops are weary and undersupplied, unlike Jovanka’s forces. He also argues she has a superior position, with higher ground and a favorable wind. In the end, he appeals to Radosav’s pride and convinces him that it’s better to win through negotiation than risk humiliation in open battle.

Following Sunny and Alex’s trail, Brother Diaz and Vigga arrive in the town to find the square littered with dismembered corpses. At the river’s edge, Vigga determines that the pair likely escaped by boat. Their investigation is interrupted by someone approaching, and Diaz drags Vigga into a dark warehouse to hide.

Diaz, overwhelmed by exhaustion, collapses beside Vigga. In the shelter of the warehouse, the two finally have a moment to rest and talk. Vigga admits that she needs Diaz to help keep her inner wolf in check, while Diaz considers how much he’s reverted to how he was before he became a priest. Vigga muses on Diaz’s vows of celibacy and wonders about the Church’s stance on relationships with beings like herself. Diaz finally gives in to temptation and kisses her.

Alex and Sunny take refuge in an abandoned, crumbling barn. Sunny insists Alex should leave her behind, but Alex refuses and kisses her. Alex then leaves and later returns with a stolen horse to get them both to safety.

They are interrupted by the arrival of three of the bounty hunters, who corner them. Sunny notices Vigga approaching, and she and Alex stall while Vigga creeps in behind the hunters and strikes, killing two and maiming the third. Brother Diaz rushes into the barn, armed with a tree branch.

The surviving bounty hunter begs for his life. He tells them that Sabbas is closing in and offers to deliver a message to the Duke. Despite Diaz’s protests, Vigga kills the man, saying it is her way of sending a message.

Countess Jovanka, Count Radosav, and their respective retinues meet at the standing stones to negotiate. Jakob learns, to his surprise, that the count and countess are married. The mood of the talks grows tense as they argue over land, and past grievances bubble up. They hurl insults and accusations at each other, and both armies prepare for battle, only for the pair to begin kissing passionately. As the threat of war evaporates, Father Ignatios and Mother Vincenza take over finalizing the peace terms.

After the peace negotiations, only Balthazar, Baptiste, Jakob, and Baron Rikard are left at the standing stones. While he prepares for the tracking ritual, Balthazar is reminded of his failure to break the pope’s binding. To everyone’s horror, he summons Shaxep, a Duke of Hell, and requests to be freed from the binding.

After examining it, she refuses, saying she can’t break it. She disappears, leaving the group shaken. Balthazar tries to rationalize the failure, reasoning that it wasn’t really Shaxep. The others, however, begin to believe in Benedicta’s divine power.

Alex, Vigga, and Brother Diaz continue their journey on foot, while Sunny rides the horse. She offers Alex a turn, but Alex declines, despite needing the rest. The group trudges past a strange fence marked with ominous symbols. Brother Diaz identifies it as an interdict boundary, declaring the cursed Barony of Kalyatta off-limits due to past plagues like the Long Pox and Sighing Sickness.

As they head over a ridge, they spot a village in the valley below, promising food and shelter. Alex worries about the risks of going, but the others convince her.

In the village, the group watches a troupe perform a satirical and raunchy play about the pope and patriarch. Afterward, they talk with the actors, who note how their act changes depending on the region’s religious leanings. The performers explain that the real sin depicted in the play is not sex itself, but the hypocrisy of those who preach virtue while indulging in vice. The pope performer also mentions a recent encounter with Sabbas, who had inquired about a girl named Alexia. When they ask if the group has seen her, Alex brushes them off, and the actors leave.

The group slogs through the muddy countryside of the Barony of Kalyatta. Vigga is affected by the nearing full moon and is combative and irritable. They’re still being tracked, and she wants to go on the offensive. Brother Diaz refuses, insisting that their priority is getting Alex to Troy. They argue, but Alex steps in and scolds them.

Sunny points out a distant shape through the rain, which appears to be a ruined abbey atop a ridge. Hoping for shelter and rest, Vigga takes the lead toward the structure, and the others follow.

The group takes shelter in the ruins of the Abbey of Saint Demetrius. Vigga sheds her soaked clothes with her characteristic shamelessness. Brother Diaz retreats into the chapel, wrestling with his guilt over his physical relationship with her. When Vigga finds him again he resists, but by dawn Alex finds them naked under a shared blanket.

Diaz says he never wanted to be a monk in the first place, and Alex says she never wanted to be a princess. He tries to explain, but she cuts him off, admitting she’s jealous of his willingness to go after what he wants while she’s still too afraid.

The group exits the Abbey of Saint Demetrius, only to be confronted by Duke Sabbas and his entourage. Sabbas presents Alex with his copy of the papal bull and mocks her disheveled appearance. Sunny sabotages the enemy’s weapons and gear while Vigga steps forward to defend Alex. She confronts the Dane, and the two werewolves fight in the abbey’s graveyard. However, the fight turns into them having sex mid-transformation, leaving the onlookers stunned.

Sabbas regains his composure and orders Alex and her companions killed. Before his forces can respond, the dead rise from their graves to attack them. As the hunters fend off the undead, Brother Diaz notices Balthazar standing on the other side of the graveyard. A moment later, Jakob charges into the battle on horseback.

The surprise attack creates chaos among Sabbas’s forces. Jakob cuts a path to Alex and Brother Diaz, and they fortify themselves in the monastery building. Sunny continues to use stealth to sabotage the hunters. She climbs the ruined colonnade to throw stones at them but is spotted by one of the twin sorceresses. A blast of magic knocks her down, and she crashes into the nettles below.

The rest retreat through the monastery and into the old infirmary. The twin sorceresses attack the building, causing the walls to crumble. The group is forced into the church at the cliff’s edge. As the back wall crumbles, Alex nearly falls but is saved by the others. They take cover behind the altar as Sabbas and his surviving hunters force their way inside.

Sunny, separated from the others, is captured by a hunter known as the Man-Catcher. Before he can bring her to Sabbas, however, Baron Rikard appears and kills him.

In the ruined church, Jakob offers Sabbas a duel to stall the slaughter. Sabbas accepts and reveals the enormous, feathered wings he’d hidden under his cloak, which Eudoxia gave him. In the ensuing fight, Sabbas batters Jakob with his spear and wings. Baptiste shoots one of the sorceresses in the head, killing her. The surviving twin unleashes a massive earthquake, threatening to collapse the monastery.

Balthazar, urged on by Alex and Diaz, calls forth the ancient plague dead buried beneath the abbey. The ground splits, releasing a swarm of corpses. They drag the hunters, the sorceress, and Sabbas into the pit.

After the battle, the group shelters in Sabbas’s abandoned camp, drinking his wine. Sunny and Alex share warmth under his gilded cloak. Baptiste stitches up Jakob, and Vigga finally returns. When they ask if she killed the Dane, she informs them that they had sex instead. She also admits to her affair with Brother Diaz, much to the disbelief of the others.

Amid the wine-fueled talk, a drunken Sunny attempts to make a toast about seizing happiness but vomits before she can finish. Alex helps her into Sabbas’s tent to rest. In the tent’s privacy, Sunny thanks Alex and kisses her, only to become sick from the wine again.