Demon Daughter (Book I)

3.1 | Secret Tunnel

Ravenna lay in bed, her eyes fixed on the window and narrow shoulders covered by a fluffy blanket. Outside, the wind raged, the overcast sky predicted rain and her mood got cloudy. Besides, how could she go to the Crystal Palace after what happened yesterday? Her mother hardly ever asked where she was going, but her father would probably watch her every night, so she decided to be more careful and stay away from the Crystal Palace for a while. Perhaps if she got lucky, if Agnese wasn’t around, she might be able to sneak through the door in the daytime, which made her happier.

She shuddered at the thought of what would happen if Roger caught her again. Ravenna was glad he was rarely home and sometimes stayed late at work. She didn’t want to be with him.

“Ravenna, you’re late!” suddenly, a voice came out and soon the door opened. “Are you all right? You’ve been acting so strange lately.”

“Don’t worry about me, Agnese, I just didn’t sleep well,” she smiled. “Is Dad at home?”

“He has breakfast with us. Why do you ask?”

“Doesn’t matter. I’ll come soon.”

When the door closed, Ravenna got out of bed and prepared to leave, but stood still for a few minutes, hoping that when she got to the kitchen, Roger would be gone. But he wasn’t. The girl’s heart sank into her heels when their eyes met, and she sat down at the table, trying to pretend everything was fine. She never once looked in his direction as she ate, but she felt his eyes on her from time to time. The girl sat as if on pins and needles, wondering what he was thinking and if he was going to punish her in the same way he used to punish her when she somehow disobeyed. She clearly remembered each stroke. He said it was their secret, and she remained silent, tearfully accepting her punishment. Sometimes he punished Ravenna for no reason and enjoyed her misery when Lynn and Agnese weren’t at home.

“Well, it’s time to go, I’ll see you tonight,” Roger said. He patted Ravenna on the head as he walked by and she flinched in surprise. What does that supposed to mean? Was he sorry for yesterday, or just tried to show how good he was in front of Mum?

Lynn accompanied him to the exit and Ravenna had a chance to run into her room. She collapsed on the bed, covered her head with a pillow and lay still for a while. What was happening to her? Why couldn’t she stop thinking about the Crystal Palace? As if the place had somehow enchanted her. She already imagined herself walking through the door and seeing the view of the conservatory opening in front of her.

Yeah, that door...

The girl quickly jumped out of bed and the paper figures on the ceiling scattered in all directions. Well, of course, the door! On the same day, she discovered the Crystal Palace, she also found a strange door in the corridor that had never existed before, so maybe now was the time to check it out. What if it’s a clue? After all, the voice couldn’t invite her to the door without a reason, could it?

Without making a sound, Ravenna left the room and crept along the wall until she finally reached the door. Even though she knew it had been locked last time, she lowered the handle and pushed the door. It creaked and opened slowly. Her heart skipped a beat with excitement. For a moment she stood frozen, wondering what to do, whether to go in or to close the door and pretend it had never been there. Through the crack, she saw only darkness. She couldn’t tell what was inside but felt the coldness coming from there. Her hand opened the door wider. This time, however, Ravenna knew she was coming here of her own free will, no one forced her to, so she slipped through the crack and stepped inside.