Page 81 of Demonic Cage
The last sentence is so forceful, as if he was angry with me.
“You have no idea how valuable you are, what you mean to us! With you, we can overthrow them. With you, we can kill Darya and put an end to the demons’ slaughter!”
The words freeze on my lips. If I were to go back, would we really succeed? No more killings, no more abducted, broken children. No one else will disappear; no one will feel what I feel.
I look into Lavian’s bronze eyes.
“How can I help?” I ask. “I can’t escape, I’ve already tried. You won’t get in. Darya controls almost the entire cave system.”
“Which part can’t he control?”
Unpleasant memories creep into my thoughts. I feel my back against the tree, Darya’s touch on my thigh. I shake my head.
“There’s a chamber… there’s a tree there. But reaching it… I don’t know how.”
Lavian nods.
“We know about it,” he says, checking me carefully. “Do you know about the gates?”
I nod.
“Do you know what happens if you open the Gates of Hell?”
I nod again, but he doesn’t leave it at that.
“Suffering will engulf everyone, Lotte. Whatever you’ve seen, whatever you’ve experienced, it will be much, much worse than anything before.”
Lavian’s words make me feel shattered inside. I don’t want to be part of this. But if I’m not, could someone else do it? Deep down, I know the answer, and guilt leaves a salty taste in my mouth as I grimace. I could help the children, but… I don’t want to go back. I decided to seek revenge on Darya by killing myself. If I were to go back… if I were to go back, I don’t know if I’d be strong enough not to fall under the Kraldem’s spell again.
I look at the angel, whose stare anxiously follows the whims of the changing weather.
“You’ll have to leave soon. Listen to me.” His voice brooks no dissent, and I listen, crushed. “You know that your blood is mixed, which means he can still manipulate you. Lotte, I… I don’t know how to put this, youmustresist. He must not turn you into a demon, youmustfight him! Youmustn’tchoose the wrong path…”
Like Pandora. I mustn’t choose the wrong path, like Pandora.
“If you don’t want him to transform me, don’t send me back to him! Let me die, so no one will open the Gates of Hell!” My voice rings out hysterically on the now gloomy shore, my pride no longer mattering.
Lavian’s voice is gentle and encouraging as he squeezes my shoulders.
“I can’t do that,” he whispers, almost vulnerable. “I couldn’t kill you, I…” he swallows. “I can’t take your life. We are angels, they are demons. They destroy, we build. They take… we give.”
His last words come out hesitantly, as if even he doesn’t believe them, but I don’t have time to dwell on that now. A bead of sweat trickles down my neck. They’re going to return me to the demon world.
“If you send me back,” I whisper, lowering my gaze, “he will kill me.”
The day turns to night on the island as I think of the Demon King’s power. Pain sears through my chest where I stabbed myself. I collapse, but Lavian reaches out and grabs me.
“He will torture me,” I say, my voice breaking. The pain in my stomach enhances, requiring me to lean once more against Lavian.
“No, he won’t,” Lavian says gently, letting me collapse into his arms. Pain creeps under my chest. How could he be so sure that the Demon King wouldn’t hurt me? I don’t believe him. He doesn’t know him as well as I do.
He stares at me for a moment, head tilted to the side, then reaches into his pocket and pulls out three green pills.
“They are calledcelestial orbs,” he says. “This is the only way you can send us a message from the demonic world. It will stop your heart, and then we can speak again. Get demon blood, and you can wake up ten minutes after taking it.”
I blink.
“What? Itstopsmy heart?”
