“You can see, you can see!” the first demon cried. It was the one with the tattered cape and wilting gray hair. “Horror, beauty, dreams, life. Oh, but what will you do now? Let us in—let us be with him. Set us free!”
Shadows fell from the grooves in the carvings, forming into grotesque monsters. They rippled on the surface of the iron doors, moving so quickly that it was difficult to distinguish one from the other. Hooked claws, serrated horns, lips peeled back into malicious grins—I could feel their hatred as they poured out. Hundreds of eyes glared at me, seething with malice. It didn’t look as if they had the power to break free, undulating against the doors as they were, but I didn’t want to find out, either.
The demons were moving more quickly now, stumbling every few paces with their uneven gaits.
“Stay away from me!” I shrieked, edging closer to the monster-infested castle doors.
“Must you stare with such disgust?” The first demon held out its arms, showing off its gray, wrinkled flesh.
“It is because youaredisgusting,” I hissed. I couldn’t believe it. I was conversing with a demon, and a deranged one at that. “All demons are disgusting.”
“Cruel girl. My mortal body died during—what do you call it?” It paused, looking at the demons behind it as if they were supposed to know what it was talking about. “Forgive me. It’s been some time since I walked the true earth or exchanged words with a human. Does your kind acknowledge you by a name? Or shall I just call you ‘girl’?”
“You will not trick me, demon. I’ve heard many tales of your deception.”
“Well, if you wish to be closed-minded, so be it. Makes it easier for me.” It tossed the cloth that trailed from its shoulders and bent at the waist, mimicking an aristocratic bow. It stood again, a smile upon its cracked lips. The light of the stars, looming over the castle’s many spires, glowed in its eyes. “Open the castle or I will devour you.”
“Open it yourself and stay away from me!” I shrieked again. “I won’t help you.”
The demon held up its gray, claw-tipped hands. “It won’t open for these hands, girl. The doors flinch and scream and hide—just as you do.”
“If only we had wings,” groaned a demon with spines protruding from its back.
“If only,” agreed the gray-haired demon. “But alas.”
Then they started walking, steadily closing the gap between us.
Esmer.
Esmer.
Esmer.
It was as though someone—orsomething—inside the castle was tugging on a single invisible thread fixed tightly around my rib cage and needed me to go beyond the gates of shadows and monsters. The call didn’t feel evil, exactly, but it reeked of hatred and despair.
It felt achingly familiar.
I stretched my hand toward the castle doors, bracing myself in casethe monstrous carvings decided to bite it off. But as soon as I reached their snapping jaws, the creatures slid away, leaving just enough room on the metal for two carved handles inlaid with onyx stones.
Behind me, the demons began running, nearly to the base of the castle stairs.
“Let us in!” they shrieked. “Lead us to him!”
As soon as my fingertips grazed the handles, the doors swung inward, sliding quickly and quietly against a marble floor. The creatures decorating the doors stilled, shifting their eyes to the abysmal darkness that coaxed from within. It felt similar to standing atop a precipice and staring into the eyes of a mysterious immortal beast that was clearly staring back. But there was no time to ponder.
Move, Esmer.
The demons were climbing the stairs, so I hurried into the castle, flinching as the doors crashed shut behind me. Fortunately, the doors were silent and unmoving once closed; they wouldn’t let the demons in.
“Hello?” I ventured softly.
In response, a snarl sounded in the distance. The noise hovered in the musty air, raising the hairs on the back of my neck. Inching forward, I finally ran into something solid—a corner. Not a door, but not a demon, at least. I pressed myself against the stone, legs threatening to give out, but the growl echoed again, low and guttural. Unhurried, even.
As if it knew I couldn’t escape.
I shivered as my eyes adjusted to the darkness. The vestibule was cavernous, adorned with opulent furniture and sprawling, gold-framed paintings and mirrors. And the colors—the colors within the space, slowly emerging—were unlike any I’d seen before in Norhavellis: indigo like the sweeping night sky, emerald like a forest floor at dusk, burgundy like a bruised plum left to settle in red wine.
I gritted my teeth, attempting to muster some courage. I needed to fight. Whatever came, Ihadto fight. If I didn’t resist the demons intent on Corrupting me, I’d be just like Mother and Father, festering in a dark room until the Light Bringer came to purge the shadows from my soul.
