Page 80 of Demonic Cage
Sitting on my heels, I look up into Lavian’s sun-like eyes. Tilting his head, arms crossed against a gray, jagged rock, he leans. The silver spear is next to him. He doesn’t come closer, or maybe he’s already gone back, I can’t tell. Time and events function differently in this place. That reminds me…
“Where am I?”
“Somewhere between the Second and the First World,” the angel answers. His voice is like a bell, filling my soul.
“Did you come to kill me?” I ask. My speech elongates, with hesitant pauses between my words. “But I’m already dead…”
I stabbed myself to seek revenge.
Lavian shakes his head. He approaches cautiously.
He stops in front of me and kneels, placing his spear beside him. Again, we look into each other’s eyes, like the first time we met. Him kneeling, me sitting. But I’m different now. I’m no longer alive.
The breeze gently strokes me; I close my eyes until soft fingers lift my chin, forcing me to open them again. The angel’s touch is silky, holding my face gently.
“Lotte…” Lavian’s gaze is determined. “Do you remember me? Do you know who I am?”
I nod slowly.
“We don’t have much time,” he declares. “You need to go back.”
I just stare at him.
“Go back? Where?” My voice is softer than ever before.
“Back to the demon world.”
“Why should I go back there?” I ask, placing my hand on his chest, causing it to tremble slightly. Who is this man? It’s like I knew him once, but I can’t remember, anymore. All I know is that his voice is pleasant, his eyes wonderful, and I breathe evenly around him.
“Look at me, Lotte.” He calls me by my human name, and warmth floods over me. From Lavian’s mouth, my name sounds like a harp melody. Beautiful, like the redheaded girl who played for me.
“What was her name?” I ask Lavian, causing him to furrow his brow.
“The girl,” I say. “She played for me. She was so beautiful! She had a box and…”
Memories of a garden flood back into my mind, as if I had been there years ago.
“Pandora?” Lavian asks softly.
Pandora… My body warms up in memory of the girl. I remember hurting her. I remember running away afterwards. I remember fighting a monster. The thought makes my stomach churn uncomfortably. I remember Darya. I remember Filizi. My calmness is covered by the gray cloud of memories. My heartbeat intensifies. The island seems to respond to my mood change. The wind roars, whipping up larger waves. Lavian stares into the distance, sensing the sudden change.
“Listen to me, Lotte.” His penetrating gaze bores into mine, hand firmly holding my chin. “We are on your side, and you must go back! We need your help to defeat him!”
The wind grows stronger as I finally comprehend the weight of his words. I dig my nails into the freezing sand.
Go back tohim.To Darya. To the reason I died. To the one who stood over the dead child and sank his teeth into its heart.The memory of the boy’s voice taps my spine, and my nose recalls the metallic scent of his blood.
“We have a plan,” Lavian continues. My hand clenches into a fist in the white sand, and my breath quickens. “We will bring you back from there and take you to Herebu. We’ll save you, Lotte, just hold on…”
“No!” My eyes widen. He wants me to go back. To the monsters, whose musty smell chokes me, who tear off my clothes and try to…
“Please, don’t…” I whisper in terror to Lavian as the wind whips up the waves reaching the shore, covering my bare calves. I hiss at the cold and pull away from the angel.
“Please, don’t… don’t make me go back, Lavian! I can’t go back, please, no, no, no…”
He grabs my shoulders, looking into my eyes.
“Your story isn’t over yet, Lotte. Not by dying now! I can’t save you here, I…”
