Dark Path to Heaven [Demon Romance]

Chapter 1

Chapter Music: "Gothic Ballroom" by Derek & Brandon Fiechter  

I was not lying on my bed, back home, but on the floor of an unknown place. Since I used to live alone, I didn't have to worry about the immediate consequences of such an immense change. But, fortunately or not, I wasn't a complete hermit. There was no person who I could call a 'friend', but family (or, at least, what was left of it) worried. Indeed, that fractured institution that I was meant to meet from the moment I was born had, surprisingly, been my best companion ever since I could remember. 

Sad, wasn't it? Random people caring and encouraging you more than anyone else just because they happened to be your relatives. The only reason I still had a good relationship with my mother was that I admired a considerable part of her personality. Blood meant nothing to me and I had no qualms about disregarding almost everyone else. Sooner or later, though, even those few people who knew of my existence would start to worry. Would I even return in time, before they noticed? Would I have to worry?

Since the moment I had woken up, everything around me was tinged with a darker shade than I was used to. Even though it was late at night, I couldn't shake the dread that the new environment was causing me. Was it suspicion? Confusion? One thing was certain: the new scenery was more similar to my inner world but that didn't mean I could feel happy yet.

Time couldn't pass more slowly. I could hear them talking outside the locked room I was confined in but the sound was still muffled. Even though they had been discussing for a few minutes, it seemed way longer to me. When, finally, I heard the sound of the key turning inside its keyhole. Only then was I able to breathe normally again. I couldn't stand the uncertainty of my peculiar position.

"Ms. Sophia Black," said the first man who entered and who I believed to be the head of the academy. "From now on you'll be staying on this campus. We cannot allow outsiders to learn about your existence."

He was old, thin and had a beard. His smart brown eyes made him appear suspicious of everyone. Everything about the way he acted gave him away: his furrowed eyebrows, his cautious walk and the way his hand always ended up on his chin, in an attempt to drive his contemplation forward.

"But, Mr. Ashford, the discussion is not over yet!" a stern looking woman complained behind him. She looked aged as well and old fashioned. I didn't expect her to have an open mind. She only seemed to do what was expected of her position.

Relieved, I inwardly sighed at the predictability of those two. At least there were some things I could be sure of even here.

"Silence, Meredith!" he raised the tone of his voice by a lot.

"But how is she supposed to keep up with the rest of the students–"

"Enough!" he shouted and breathed out huskily. "Enough. I believe that our supervisors are responsible enough and will not allow such a thing to happen. Besides, are you aware of the unrest which will follow if the government finds out that a human without an ID slipped away from our Academy?"

Ms. Meredith seemed convinced by his reasoning but she still seemed to have objections. However, she decided to go along with the suggestion of her superior.

"Ms. Black," Mr. Ashford now turned to me. "Are you sure you don't remember how you woke up in the library?"

I nodded and tried to explain it as calmly as I could: "All I know is that I fell asleep in my bedroom back home and when I opened my eyes I was here."

"We were lucky that the library was closed when the staff members found you," Ms. Meredith commented.

"Such a thing has never happened," the principal appeared to be immersed in his own thoughts. "It's impossible for one of our students to have summoned you here."