Page 131 of Demonic Cage
I grab my bag, pull out the makeup kit, the hairpin, the mirror, the tweezers, the paint – everything Nàrs returned to me. I attack the bars. I have no idea how to do it, I even take out my bank card and try to use it like I saw in a movie, but nothing. The tools clumsily fall from my hands, and my card breaks in two. I pound the door angrily.
“Darya!” I scream. “Let me out!”
Nothing. Then the wall explodes, throwing me back.
My chest stings as I gasp for breath, as if tiny needles are stabbing me from the inside. Dust covers my face. I cough. I pull my leg out from under the rocks, dizzy, as if bells are ringing in my ears. With my right hand, I reach under my head and see sticky, red liquid spreading across my palm. The room spins as if I’m on a carousel, and my stomach churns as I push myself up. My left arm, along with my bag, is trapped under the rubble, and its only now the pain reaches my consciousness. I scream. It’s like I’m burning from the inside out. I try to roll the stones off my arm, but they are too heavy. Blood continues to seep from my head. The room’s lights start to dim.
“Lotte!”
A familiar voice echoes in the destroyed space. A dead demon lies in front of me; I don’t recognize him. Above him, with a bloody spear, is Lavian. His bronze eyes stare at me in horror.He quickly pulls his spear out of the dead demon. His white wings are dirty with dust and blood.
With a simple move, he sweeps the stones off my hand, making me groan. I’m sure my arm is broken.
“Lotte! Lotte, look at me!” He presses his hand to my face, and I smell the iron scent of dried blood on his palm, but his voice comes from afar. His bronze eyes shine, and it’s as if golden specks form a halo above his head.
“You’re beautiful…” I whisper, and he grimaces. He tears a piece from his clothing, bandages my head, and secures my arm to my body, then lifts me into his arms. He throws my bag over his shoulder.
“Is it in there?” he asks, bringing me back to reality.
“Let me go!” I say firmly, shocking Lavian.
“We have to leave…”
“I don’t have the dagger.”
The angel’s features tighten, and he slowly releases me.
“I know where it is,” I declare, grabbing my head as the world spins around me.
Lavian’s jaw tightens, and he sighs angrily. “We should already be gone…”
“Give me my bag,” I say, already taking it off his shoulder and heading towards the rubble. “I’ll get it. Just cover me!”
Lavian seems surprised, but quickly composes himself and follows me. “How do you know where it is?” he asks.
“I just do.” I’m not entirely sure how, but Pandora was right. Somehow, my blood will show me where it is. I have to trust it. I have to trust myself.
“Then lead the way,” Lavian says firmly, slicing down a demon that suddenly leaps from the wall.
Without Lavian, I wouldn’t be able to reach the dagger. The demons constantly appear in front of us. I slip as a monster erupts from the ground, but the angel decapitates it in an instant. Sharp claws scratch my ankle, and I fall, but Lavian’s sunbeam burns the dark creature. This must be the light Darya spoke of. It’s terrifyingly beautiful and deadly, just like Lavian.
There’s no time to ponder this as two more monsters attack us. Before I can think, I grab the knife stolen from the Demon King. I hold it the way Darya taught me and throw it into the heart of one of them. I’m amazed at how accurately my aim is. After Lavian stabs the other creature, I pull the knife from my victim. I pause for a moment. The demon’s body is half-human. I shiver. I’ve never killed anyone before, yet it was so easy. I treated it like a target practice. I didn’t even think. What if this demon had a family, what if…?
Lavian pulls me along. He smiles encouragingly. How can he smile in the middle of a battle?
“Nice job.” Hewinks.
Suddenly, we stop, and I almost bump into Lavian. A man with orange hair blocks our path, his eyes wide and rimmed with purple circles. His smile is chilling.
“My sweet Little Flower!” the demon says, licking his lips. I freeze, feeling a sharp pang of guilt in my heart. “Didn’t Darya tell you that it’s not nice to make deals with the enemy?”
“Lotte,” Lavian calls out to me, not taking his eyes off Nárs. “Do you know where to go?”
I nod slowly. “Yes.”
“Then go! I’ll handle this.”
Fear crawls up my spine, and I look at Lavian. “No!”
