The hallway walls, covered in black wallpaper, closed against the young woman's body as she ran for her life. Her eyes struggled to make out the path in the dim light, yet she didn't slow her speed. Behind her, the sound of steps against the wooden floor told her that her pursuer kept a close distance.

A burning sensation invaded her lungs, every breath she took sent a pang to her chest. Agatha had never felt so much pain in her legs, not even during the long training sessions with Lorcan. A giant shadow loomed on the ground below her, the demon's form encircling her small body as if about to swallow her.

"Come here, filthy human!" A voice strong like thunder reverberated through the endless hallway. "I'm gonna break your spine! Let's see if you can spy on us after that."

Agatha didn't answer, not because she chose to keep quiet but because terror had taken over her to the point of robbing her of her words. A small, red ball rolled to her right side, before she could get away, the object exploded and a green liquid came out of it and splashed a portion of her leg. The young woman screamed as she shifted her gaze toward the area where the pain was coming from. A part of his pants had melted and his skin had been burned. Still, she kept running.

Laughter filled the space as the prey tried to get away from the monster. Agatha fought against her thoughts, against the pain and the fear. She advanced dragging her injured leg, her speed decreased, she was no longer running, she could only walk.

More balls came to her, the floor was tied red. Some of them began to explode. An agonizing scream traveled through the mansion. The pain paralyzed Agatha, the burning reached her bones forcing her to fall to the ground.

"Beautiful screams, they're like music to my ears," said the demon as he closed the distance between them. "I would love to hear some more."

The wounded human dragged herself trying to escape her cruel fate. Her body couldn't stop shaking. Little by little the green-haired monster got closer, his colossal body covering the young woman's vision.  He extended his hand to show the ball present in his hand.

"Maybe I can throw this one to your face. Would you like that?"

"Please, no." She talked for the first time.

"What a pretty, sweet voice, just my type. The sweeter the voice, the better the screams."

Agatha kicked the demon's legs as hard as she could. Her desperation led her to act irrationally, although she knew that the blows did not cause any damage to her attacker, she refused to give up.

"Belphar, back off, now." A new voice came from the dark side of the hallway. The one that the young woman used to call her boyfriend stepped into the dim light, his red eyes held a warning. "You know I don't share my toys."

"Sorry man, I didn't know she was yours." The demon absorbed the ball into his hand, then he raised it in surrender. "You shouldn't let her walk around the mansion, not everyone is as nice as me."

"Nice?" Agatha asked in a whisper.

A laugh escaped Belphar at the young woman's words.

"Princess, I could have crushed your head in just a second. Do you really think you're faster than me? I was simply having a little fun."

The human could feel the tension between the demons, they stood still in front of each other with their heads up and a frown on their faces. She saw her ex-boyfriend push his opponent before walking in front of her.

"Playtime is over," he said, then grabbed her by the arm. "Get up, you can't be here."

A cry left Agatha's mouth as he picked her up like she was a disposable doll. Her entire body burned from the wounds, yet she didn't have energy left to fight against him.

"Shut up! This is what you get for trying to escape, soon you'll be healed thanks to your power. And you, Belphar, keep your distance, next time I'll rip your hands off. Make sure to let the others know."

"I told you already, I have no interest in your things, there's plenty of humans outside.  But I'll be careful if I were you, you can't keep her away from everyone. I'm not interfering because I respect you, yet there are some who don't like you very much, they would love to meet your toy. See you later, princess. Stay away from the monsters."

The green-haired demon winked in Agatha's direction before disappearing inside the darkness. The young woman closed her eyes and took a deep breath, one less threat.  Is this how her life was going to go on? Coiled in a chain of constant danger? She had been locked in the lair of the deadliest of predators, with no hope of ever being free. Her escape attempt showed her what awaited her beyond the room she was locked in, she had to be careful if she wanted to survive.

Agatha was dragged to the end of the corridor. The smartest thing would have been not to resist, to let the demon pull her through the labyrinth formed by the endless walls of the mansion, but the pain that invaded her was too much.

"Ellis, please stop."

"That's not my name," he answered without slowing down.

"How am I supposed to call you if you didn't tell me your name?" Her words came out broken, it almost sounded like a whisper.

"I'm Zagar. Now shut up, I won't stop, this isn't a tour and It's not my fault you're hurt, it's yours."

She gave up. The human isolated herself inside her mind, she didn't care about her surroundings, she didn't care about the decoration of the hallways or how many steps they climbed. She didn't find a reason to remember the way, after all, she didn't know where the exit was and all the nooks and crannies looked the same.

They came to a halt in front of a back double door, Zagar took a key out of his pants pocket and opened it.

"This is your new room. It's better than the room I locked you in yesterday, you'll be more comfortable here," he explained as he pushed her inside the bedroom.

The young woman wandered her gaze through the place. He was right, this room surpassed the previous one. With a grey marble floor, black wooden walls, and a big chandelier hanging from the ceiling, it seemed to be a space worthy of a guest of honor, rather than a prison.

One object caught her attention, the queen size bed. Agatha moved toward it as if she was the victim of an enchantment, she touched the grey comforter finding it as soft as a feather. She couldn't wait any longer, the healing her body was going through drained her energy, her legs barely supporting her weight, so she flopped down on the comfortable mattress.

"I see you like your bed," commented the demon, getting closer to her. "Good, because you'll be here for a long time. The bathroom is passing the red door and behind the curtains is the balcony, don't think about escaping, I already took care of installing the bars. You'll find plenty of clothes inside the closet, and I left some books on your bedtable so you can be entertained. You are forbidden to leave the room, what you did today was stupid. The mansion is full of demons and I don't want to lose my doll so soon."

Zagar reached for something under the pillows, he hid it behind his body. Agatha saw him erasing the distance between them, she crawled away, her breathing became irregular. The demon pinned her against the bed, squeezing her neck.

"Don't be scared, doll, I have a gift for you," he said next to her ear.

He moved his arm, revealing a golden necklace shaped like thorns. The young woman punched his chest in an attempt to free herself, her efforts were in vain, she was unable to prevent him from placing the collar on her.

"It looks gorgeous on you," Zagar affirmed as she caressed her neck. "Now if you ever leave this mansion I'll know. No one can take you away from me, we're going to have so much fun."

Welcome to the second part of "Protectors of Umbra" Thanks for joining me on this adventure.
Did you like the first chapter?
I'll be adding new chapters every Friday.
Love ❤️ Bel.