Divine Falls

Chapter 17: The Ceremony

I wake up gasping loudly and my hand flies to my neck. I was having another nightmare that Ash kidnapped me. I look around to see that it's true. I'm in a large room. The bed has a long sheer red canopy that drapes over it giving me romance vibes.

A decorative chandelier is above the room and a furry black rug takes up the middle of the floor. There is also a fireplace which makes no sense at all because it's already hot in here. The walls are black rock concrete and I can see actual lava seeping through them. Where am I? It looks and feels like royal hell.

I can't remember much but I do remember darkness and Pierce. He was there but he couldn't save me. Ash words plays in my head, "he had no problem tricking those other angel girls." Have I been trusting the wrong person all this time? The same person who swore to protect me but let his own brother drag me to hell.

I look down and see that I'm wearing different clothes. Someone changed me into this white flowy gown that's hugging my body. All I can think of is nasty, old demon hands groping me while I was unconscious. It has been concluded that demons are perverts and when I find out who did it, they won't be using those hands anymore.

I hear a voice from beyond the door call my name. It sounds like a girl. I get off the bed and walk over to the molten wall. It's burning a lava filled pattern.

"Seraphina." A girl whispers my name. I hear it near the door. I hear her voice again when I touch it. Something is telling me I should follow it but I am in a place where demons call home. I hear it again. Fuck it maybe it can be a way out of here.

I push open the double wooden doors and it reveals a short hallway with several lamps hanging in a row from the ceiling. The walls are the same, but it feels hotter out here for some reason. The ground is a smooth stone and warm to the touch.

At the end of the hallway is another door with that symbol of wings facing upside down. I really am in the belly of the beast. I walk through the hallway and quietly open the door to take a peek. No demons are guarding the door. Is that normal?

I hear the girl call my name. I fully go inside the room and there's nothing but tall bookcases full of books. Paper is thrown everywhere on the floor and all around the long rectangular table in the center of the room. Vane must have been researching something. Even the great oldest demon doesn't have the answer to everything.

"Seraphina, come find me." The girl whispers in the air.

"Who's there?" I say out loud. My voice sounds off as it bounces off the walls. The voice whispers my name again but it's coming from outside this room. I follow the voice through wooden doors and it leads to a long hallway that stretches down farther than I can see.

It's empty and I don't know if that is a good sign or not. The voice calls to my right so I guess I'm going that way. There are doors on either side of the hall. I walk up to one and on the door it reads "Classroom A". Another says "Classroom B". This has to be where demons learn to be evil and vile like they're leader. I can't imagine Pierce sitting in one of these rooms being briefed about how to capture me.

"Come" The voice calls, scaring me half to death. I'm not sure what this voice wants from me but I do anything for it to stop ringing in my ears. It's mad, creepy and scary as hell no pun intended. The voice echoes louder the more I walk down the hallway.

Then it repeatedly whispers things I can't understand once I get to this gated entrance into this dark tunnel. The gate squeaks when I open it and it smells like death. I think this is where Vane keeps his prisoners. I take a lantern off the wall to light the way. The whispers grow louder as I walk through the hall and then stop at the fourth gated door.