Demon in Ruins

Chapter 3

“There is a strong shadow where there is much light.”-Johann Wolfgang von Goethe.

Chapter 3

“Since it’s your last year and you’re graduating, I’ll tell you the basic principles of life,” Mr. Claremont, our English teacher said. “Dave, would you please do me a favour? Take your eyes off your phone for a while and pay attention here.”

We saw a humiliated Dave Jacobs shoving his iPhone in his pocket. He straightened up on his seat, breaking the sloppy posture. His eyes were now glued to Mr. Claremont.

“As you are aware the world outside from this building is really different from what you’ve experienced till now. You’ve been carefree, childish, and irresponsible. It’s natural. We can’t become mature unless we personally face a situation. Once you get out of this school, there’s a lot to explore and understand.” He paused. “Life is not to be wasted in doing what you’ll regret later on.”

“But how will we know?” Someone from the back of the class asked.

“Brilliant question. In answer to this; there is a conscience in all of us. You see, sometimes when you do anything wrong or lie to someone you feel like something is trying to stop you,” Mr. Claremont continued. “This is conscience, made up of everything you stand for. We must not turn it off.”

He took a long breath before speaking.

“You get life only once,” He said, “live it to its fullest.”

As the fragment of the memory faded away I realised that I had stopped falling. I had no idea for how much time we had been falling. It had felt like forever. I had landed on the hard ground but it didn’t hurt. I know it doesn’t make any sense according to physics but my body wasn’t smashed, not even a single bone in my body was broken. Jon landed next to me soundlessly as if there was some force making him glide.

“Where are we?” Jon asked. He sounded tired.

Thankfully, it wasn’t dark anymore. I looked around, taking in the strange surroundings. We were in a room made of big stones, and the source of light were the two torches that hung on the walls. Where were we? Was this place a secret basement made at the time of World War II? War bunkers? And how were we alive?

I looked at Jon for some help but he looked like he needed more help than I did. His lips had turned violet because of the chilling atmosphere. There was no sign of humour on his face. His boy-next-door looks were replaced with the look of a dying person. Due to cold air, his breath was visible.

My eyes stopped at a door.

I shivered. “We need to get out of here,” I got up on my legs with great effort. They were so numb I couldn’t feel them. If I would hit my feet somewhere I wouldn’t even know.

Jon was still sitting on the floor. He did not move. I held my out hand to him.

“Get up.”

Struggling, he groaned and grabbed my hand. I tried pulling him but he was too heavy for me. He placed his other hand on the floor and pushed himself up to stand. He didn’t let go of my hand.

“What just happened? How long was that fall?”

It had to be nearly half an hour.

“You may find it quite unbelievable but my watch has stopped working and it’s not even broken,” He said looking at his wristwatch. “What about yours?”

“I forgot to bring my watch.”

“Why?”

“Are you mad?” I asked. “You dragged me out of my bedroom window in the middle of the night to come with you to this freakish place and you expect me to wear a watch?”

Jon took out his phone and made the worst face I had ever seen him make. His jaw worked. I knew he was getting angrier by every passing second. He obviously wanted to fling his phone against the wall. “It is not working too.” He snickered, “Now don’t tell me you forgot to bring your cell too.”

“I didn’t.” He really thought I’d leave my house without my phone?

“Mind checking it?”

I checked my phone. The screen was intact, not even a scratch. Yet, it refused to turn on after several attempts. Did the battery die? That was impossible. It was fully charged when I had gone to bed. What was with this place and technology?

“It’s not turning on,” I said exasperatedly.

Panicking, I stared at the door once again.

“There is a door. We gotta open it.”

“I’m never ever gonna open doors in my life,” Jon shook his head. “What if there is another black hole on the other side of the door?” He ran his fingers through his hair, his eyes glistening. “What’s going on? I don’t get.”

He had a point.

“Okay, do you have any better idea? One that doesn’t involve staying here and dying of hypothermia. We can’t just stand and wait for the grim reaper to take us,” I choked out. “I’ll open the door this time.”

“Sure, maybe you’ll have a better luck,” He chuckled half-heartedly.

“Fine,” I replied.

I started walking towards the door with Jon following me. During one of the classes, Mr. Claremont had told us to listen to our gut feeling when we stuck in trouble. So, here I was, opening the door to an unknown, probably life-threatening trouble. I put my hand on the handle of the doorknob, turned it and opened the door.

The bright light from the incandescent lamps flashed on my face, blinding me. It took me a while to adjust to the brightness. Guess I was wrong about technology theory. These lamps needed electricity to run on.

“Where are we?” I heard Jon mutter. He walked to stand beside me, checking the view. “Oh my God.”

Before I knew, I was already walking into the room, taking one step after another like a force was pulling me in. Warmth engulfed me. Jon didn’t hesitate to follow my lead.

I spun around. It was the same mansion but different in every way possible. Like someone had resurrected it from the dead. It was mesmerising. The walls were freshly painted and decorated. There were no white clothes hiding the furniture anymore. Everything looked new and polished, from furniture to the picture frames to the statues.

There was a man standing next to the statue of a horse.

No, he wasn’t a forty-year-old man. I wouldn’t call him an old man exactly because he didn’t seem that old and calling him a boy would put him in the younger category for he looked only some years older than us.

He was wearing a long, black trench coat. Beholding his tall and lean figure I could tell he didn’t really fit into the sports enthusiast category like Jon. Maybe he was in college studying…History. His face lacked colours and compassion whilst he continued to stare at us. His dark hair falling on his forehead was a contrast to his pale skin. A part of me had already admitted that he was gorgeous but the other part of me was giving me strong danger alert alarms.

Jon muttered something unintelligible under his breath.

“You found the portal.” The guy let out a relieved laugh. “I didn’t expect you to be here this soon. Thought it would take a thousand years or so.” His lips lifted upwards, forming a deceptive charming smile.

Portal? What portal?

“What are you talking about, madman?” Jon asked in a steady voice. “Who are you?”

The guy didn’t respond. He just kept smiling. There was something about his smile that made him look both striking and treacherous simultaneously. It was a familiar smile, the one that I had seen somewhere earlier. But at this moment I couldn’t think of anything but the chances of getting out of here.

“Are you freaking deaf? I asked you something,” Jon spoke again. “Who are you?”

“Stop.” I gave him a warning glance.

Shaking his head, the guy clicked his tongue. “You were not supposed to be here, boy.” His thick eyebrows arched. “But we’ll take care of you.”

What did he mean? Jon was not supposed to be here?

He took long steps towards me. Jon quickly took a protective stance by walking in front of me, shielding me with his body. He grabbed my arm to keep me behind him. I could feel his body tense. He was scared, still, he wanted to protect me. Although I admired him for this, I wanted him to know that I could face the madman.

“Why don’t you answer my questions and make this easier for both us?” Jon sneered at him. “I don’t want a fight.”

“You think I’m asking for a fight?” The smooth voice replied with another question of his own. “Hypothetically if I did, you should know that you’re no match for me.”

“Stay away from us,” Jon warned him. He took a step back, making me move back along with him. “What do you want?”

His eyes met mine. Thunderstorm. The word rang in my mind instantly. His grey eyes reminded me of clouds in a thunderstorm. “Move.” I realised he was talking to Jon despite his eyes were fixated on me.

His eyes shifted to Jon. I watched the iris in his eyes reduce in size and stretch again. “I’m asking you to move.” Though his voice was soft, it was commanding.

Surprisingly, Jon let go of my arm and moved aside without any struggle.

“Human minds are so easy.”

Did he say human? Wasn’t he a human too?

“What did you do to him?” I asked him desperately. “What did you do?”

“Nothing you need to worry about,” He told me. “He will be fine when he’ll snap out of it.”

“Snap out of what?” I bit my lip. Was he a magician or something? “What is this place?”

He laughed, moving closer to me. He leaned over. “You are in the Escoffier mansion, Sweetheart.” His breath was cold against my face. “Don’t you recognize?”

“E—Escoffier mansion?” I was scared. I was petrified. I was dead.

“But in a different dimension.”

I had read about dimensions on the internet while searching for some project. In stories, different dimensions were said to exist. It was the same place, same time but in a different space. The universe was different. People were different. Everything was different. But stories are stories, aren’t they? They can’t be real. Fiction cannot turn into reality. This person, whoever he was, was lying.

Jon stood there silently with his eyes focused on the wall ahead. What was wrong with him?

“Don’t worry about him. He is under my compulsion,” The guy said. “He won’t budge without my permission.”

“What are you?”

“You’ll know soon, Karen. You have a lot to find out.” He whispered. “Now, where are my manners? I should be introducing myself.” His eyes lit up with excitement, “My name Victor.”

He knew my name! How did he know my name? Victor? Ring a bell? Nope. I didn’t know him. I surely had never seen him. He was a total stranger to me. Unless he was a stalker.

I bit my lower lip hard and tasted blood.

Mistakes are a part of life. You make mistakes, you learn from them and you become a better person. Mistakes which can take away life are the mistakes that you should never commit.

“Your blood will certainly work for him,” He moved his face close to mine inhaling deeply. “I wish it was for me.”

His arm came around my waist before I could attempt to move away from him. His eyes were on my lips. He moved me closer to him, leaving just an inch of space between us. His breath smelled of fog mixed with alcohol.

“Get away from me!” I yelled in spite of the fear.

I gathered the strength and courage to push him away. His chest felt like a rock under my hands. He didn’t move a bit. His hand only tightened on my waist, digging into my top.

I glared at him.

“You shouldn’t have done that, idiot.” He snarled. “You’re so tiny. Do you actually think you can move me?”

He smirked, and his other hand clutched at my hair. I froze when I felt his lips on my jawline. It sent shivers down my spine. I tried pushing him again but he just lifted his head up and winked at me. My eyes went wide when he stuck his tongue out to lick the blood on my lips. I was more grossed out than scared.

“Victor Devries.” A feminine voice shouted with authority.

Victor moved away from me with disappointment on his face.

Jon also moved from his place as his compulsion was broken. He looked around in confusion and strode near me. “What happened?” He asked.

“I don’t know.” I managed to whisper. My heart was beating crazily.

“Why are you interfering?” Victor asked the dark figure that stood in the unlit area of the room. “I told you to stay away from this, mother.”

The dark figure came into light and a gasp escaped from my mouth.

The lady had a cute face. Her long eyebrows were drawn in a frown. Her curly dark brown hair touched her shoulders. Green eyes gleamed with rage and malevolence.

Dumbstruck, I stared in horror. Jon let out a small startled cry.

It was her.

The lady from the portrait.

She was Lady Adeline Simon Escoffier.