Page 116 of Demonic Cage
I don’t have much time. Lavian said I’ll find the knifewhere my memories are. There’s one person who can help me decipher this. I tie up my hair, put on a fresh jumpsuit, and apply some purple lipstick. My hands shake as I glide the color over my lips. This gesture always helped me survive my days in the humanworld. Now, I have to survive here too. For the first time in my life, I want to fight, but this is when I’m most likely to fail.
I won’t give up – a thought that solidifies like my lipstick. I step into the room, place my hands on my hips, and just stare. An idea sparks.
Alright. I’ll be a fucking Rapunzel.
I strip all the bed linens and decorative cords tied to the bed, knotting them as tightly as I can and securing them to the sturdy bed frame. When I’m done, I toss it out the open window. Unfortunately, it doesn’t reach all the way down. I’ll have a big drop, and the bat-sized demons patrolling in the distance might easily spot me. But I have to try.
I grip the rope and stand on the ledge, taking a deep breath. It’s like abseiling. Slowly, I put my full weight on the rope, and once I’m sure it will hold, I start descending.
I dangle several meters from the dark-scaled stone tower, the black stones barely offering my feet any purchase. I keep reminding myself that I’ve grown stronger, but my muscles burn as if thrown into a fire. My heart pounds in my throat. I hurry while trying to stay steady. I ignore any creaking, and the rope does hold.. I can’t stop. The dragon-scaled tower reflects a green light, just like Mathys’s eyes. I can’t let him down. I can’t abandon the other children. It would be like me abandoning my brother.
Still, I mess up, swaying too much. The rope starts to thin, and with every descent, I feel the fabric tearing. Just a bit more, I beg, but the material doesn’t listen, giving out just before the end, and I fall about ten meters.
My ankle takes the brunt of the impact, and a terrible crack is followed by pain. I scream out. So much for my stealthy escape. My foot dangles limply, the pain so intense I don’t dare touch it.
Then suddenly, the pain lessens. I’m stunned. Darya’s blood is still in me, and I feel the bone slowly knitting together. Thehealing burns; I press my hand to my mouth and pound the ground with my fist. I don’t have time to wait for a full recovery, so I stand.
I straighten up, turn, and freeze. Hundreds of demons are staring at me hungrily.
I try to appear calm, not showing how terrified I am. Some drool in human form, others just smile and lick their lips. Their eyes gleam with the desire to tear into me.
I straighten up.
“What do you want?!” I snap at them. “Get out of my way, or you’ll have trouble with the Kraldem! Don’t you remember how he slaughtered anyone who so much as touched me? How he’s torturing his favorite mermaid underground right now?”
I spread my arms to make myself appear larger, but I still feel small among the crowd. My words make them retreat to a respectful distance. I start walking; I’ve seen them too many times in my dreams to fear their appearance.
People are the same way, only masked by their rosy skin.
I limp forward, forging a path through them. I can’t walk straight. A shattered ankle can’t heal quickly.
Inside the castle, there is no courtyard, with only towers making up the structure. I have no idea what rooms most of them contain. I walk along the wall, entering the cave system in the mountain. I pause.
Which way now? The tunnels are so dark I can never hope to navigate them. I close my eyes. I have to start moving.
It feels like a rope is pulling my chest to the right. I blink. What the…
I close my eyes again and feel the tug once more.
I don’t understand what’s happening, but there’s no time to figure it out. I follow the pull and stumble through the cave system to the gate I know well.
When I open it, I can’t believe I’ve found the mirror garden.
Maybe I should worry more about the feeling in my chest. Perhaps I should also worry about how easy it was to find my way here, but I don’t have time for that now.
I go straight to Pandora, ignoring the other mirrors, and tap on the glass. No response.
“Pandora,” I say, closing my eyes. “You have to help me! I need to find the key to the Gates of Heaven!”
Fog swirls behind the glass, but the girl’s figure doesn’t appear. As in the past few days, she doesn’t deem me worthy of a response.
“Lavian is coming for me today,” I say, hoping the angel’s name might provoke a response. “He’s taking me out of Filizi, to Herebu. This is the last time we can talk. If I succeed, I can open the Gates of Heaven and end the suffering. Pandora…” I continue slowly, wanting her to hear every word. “You were created to be deceived. They had no right to do that. But I was born, and somehow, I have the power to change everything. Defy the gods with me! Don’t be the one who was defeated. Be the one who takes revenge on them! Show them that, although you were created for a predestined fate, you can pick up the pen and write your own story!”
My face is almost pressed against the mirror. I sigh as the white mist behind the glass thickens, and the surface becomes fluid, as if stepping onto water.
I fall through it and find myself in Pandora’s garden. The colors and tranquility numb me. In the distance, harp music plays, drawing me closer. At the source, a pale blue stream trickles beside a girl with copper-red hair. She doesn’t look up, but she knows I’m there. I feel her attention shift from the instrument to me, like a bee towards flowers. The hibiscus blooms beside me blaze from pink to red. I realize I’ve touched the plant, and to confirm, I run my finger along a pale white datura flower. It too bursts into flames, red streaks covering andthen completely masking the former light shade. The color of restlessness, exactly how I feel.
“Pandora,” I whisper to the girl.
