Page 21 of Demonic Cage
Darya’s face stiffens, and he replies in a deep, cool voice, “To me, it’s not them who are the monsters, Lotte.”
We stop in front of an iron door that resembles the entrance to a well-guarded prison. Its rust-brown color merges into the purple light of the cave. Darya opens it effortlessly. I hesitantly step inside, and when I see a massive bed frame, I pause.
“No,” I insist. “I won’t sleep here…”
The iron door slams shut. I spin around.
“No!” I scream, throwing myself at the door. Desperately, I start hitting it with my fists. He has left me alone in a dark room. Alone.
“Darya! Let me out! No!”
He’s locked me in. Locked me, locked me, locked me.
“Calm down.” The cold voice comes from the other side of the door and I pause my rage to hear what he says. “Once the poison clears from your system, you can leave your room. I give you my word.”
“No… Please, don’t leave me here. It’s dark, and…”
The space suddenly lights up with small oval lamps. Lights extend on the floor, the brown wall, and the ceiling. I don’t know who needs such a large bed. The mattress, topped with blood-red pillows, is supported by four pillars, each resembling a tree trunk. Carved snakes twist around them, reaching up to the ceiling.
I clutch my fist to my stomach and take a step back, my shoulder hitting the door.
“You promised to take me to a place where they can’t lock me up,” I whisper.
“Your blood needs to clear for the demons to sense you have demon blood.”
“But the monsters…”
“They won’t attack you. They can’t come in here.”
I turn to the door.
“They attacked me in thebarn!”
“The room is secure,” Darya insists. After a brief pause, he adds, “but if I were you, I would stay in bed. You won’t need to be locked up once the poison no longer suppresses your abilities.”
What damn abilities is he talking about? Do they really need an interpreter this badly?
“So, you’re leaving me here to starve for two days?”
“There’s food in your bag. You’ll survive.”
I shake my head and direct my gaze to my bag placed against the wall. I didn’t notice Darya putting it there.
“Don’t worry. No one will harm you,” he repeats. “You will only mean more to me dead if I see you on the side of the angels.Two days, and you’ll be out.”
The footsteps slowly fade away, leaving me alone.
Leaning my back against the door, I slide down to the floor. I recall what my psychiatrist taught me about what to do when I have a panic attack. It feels like a rope is tightening around my neck, and I sense the airway constricting. I can’t shake off the belief that someone is watching.
To calm down, I should think of something that connects me to the present, but the here and now are the problem. I’m locked in a creepy room, and a monster’s head could appear on the wall at any time. There’s no sound to focus on.
The crimson light seems to ripple.
I hug the bag closer, digging my nails into the fabric. Darya’s last words present a new threat to me, one I can’t process yet.You will only mean more to me dead if I see you on the side of the angels.I mean something to Darya, and he won’t kill me until I am with the angels. Filizi is Darya’s realm, and Herebu, if it’s real, belongs to the angels.
Oh my God.I’m thinking about angels and demons. Is this why I struggled for fifteen years, only for the demons to then be sitting in my room when I open my eyes? What do they want with me?
“I will wake up,” I whisper to myself. I will wake up, and then everything will be fine. There will be no Darya, no angels. I’ll take my medication, and everything will be fine.
