Page 38 of Demonic Cage
“And don’t stand like a column. Bend your knees!”
I blink but do as he says. I trace my finger along the blade, following it all the way to the tip. Then I throw it. The knife lands in the ground again, barely closer than before. I look at Darya.
“What are you waiting for?” he asks, bored. “It won’t teach itself.”
The whole afternoon goes like this: I try to hit the target, but even if I succeed, the blade doesn’t want to embed. The fighting spirit slowly leaves me, and I am tired. I won’t be able to kill monsters. Why is Darya even bothering with me?
When the dagger bounces back from the target for the umpteenth time, nearly landing back at my feet, Darya sighs.
“This will be harder than I thought.”
“You don’t say!” I reply irritably, picking the knife off the ground. “I can’t aim well.”
“That’s not the main problem,” the Kraldem says. “You lack stamina. You were tired after the first two throws. And yes, you aim terribly.”
I furrow my forehead. I hate being weak. And Darya took away from me the only thing that helps me not to be!
“Yourgirlfriendwas right,” I say, stepping closer. Suddenly, I’m very interested in how he'll respond to this, and I scrutinize the small features of his face.
“If you want Léthé to be right, feel free to do it this way, but then you’ll die.”
Something snaps inside me. I don’t want to be here, I’m so tired. He forced me into this. He took away my medication. I need my medication. My throat is dry and I hunger for it. Myhead begins to throb, anger rises in my throat. A dark cloud is gathering at the edge of my field of vision.
“You should kill me right here, right now,” I hiss between my teeth. Come on, Darya, bite. See how useless I am without the pills? Muscles tense, I look at the demon, but he just gazes calmly.
I need that fucking medicine.
“Why don’t you just stab me with that shitty knife instead?” I shout at Darya, who raises his eyebrow. Come on, come on, give up, asshole! “See what I’m capable of? Nothing! Whatever you want to use me for, you shouldn’t have taken me!”
The Kraldem picks up a dagger from the table and balances it on his finger while speaking to me.
“I don’t intend to kill you.”
“Darya,” I say, the mere use of his name producing those silver streaks in his eyes. “Without my medication, I can’t do anything, I can’t function. Give me it and then find yourself another sucker!”
Darya stops spinning the blade, focusing his entire attention on me.
“Give me those fucking pills!” I yell at him, feeling the dark clouds coming closer. My head throbs stronger, and my arm trembles. “I can’t fight. And I don’t want to. You can’t force me into this!”
Darya slowly puts the knife on the table. He doesn’t take his eyes off me.
“Why won’t you answer me? I won’t do anything for you until you give me my medication!”
Darya narrows his eyes.
“I won’t fight,” I continue shouting. “I won’t play your game unless you givethose pillsto me! I don’t care what you think about my destiny, I’m not going to run through those two doors I saw…”
“What did you say?” Darya’s voice blows away the black fog like a cold wind.
“Uh,” I start uncertainly, as my anger evaporates with a wave of his hand. “It’s like the Mirror of Destiny or something. Nárs said that—”
“You saw two doors,” Darya states, interrupting me.
“Yes.”
The Kraldem stares stiffly, then his porcelain face trembles and laughter bursts out.
“Right when I was about to lose my faith in you,” he says, with a shake of his head.
