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Right when the door closed behind Sebastian, the voice came back.

You need the police, it said. Those monsters will get you once they realize your shields are gone. You'll be in even more danger than before.

I did my best to ignore the voice. I didn't believe what it said. I trusted in Sebastian. He would protect me no matter what came our way; he was the only shield I needed.

You're scared of him. You can't even look at him when his true colors brush the surface. How do you expect someone you fear to protect you?

"Shut up," I told it.

You know as well as I do that's not going to happen. You are in danger. I'm trying to save you. You need to get away from him; you need to get away from this house. You can trust no one.

Once the words sank in, I felt my mind begin to grow cloudy, and I felt myself nod. I couldn't trust anyone. I had to run.

So I ran.

The voice chuckled in my brain, and I heard it's words, but couldn't comprehend them in my foggy mind.

Not even me.

***

I have no idea how long I ran for, but when I finally stopped, I barely noticed that I had lost one of my white heels along the way. My mind was still clouded; I couldn't think about anything.

I felt myself step forward into a familiar cave. I walked forward, stopping only when I got to the warm fire that was lit at the end.

Sitting beside it was a man dressed in black, staring into the bright orange flames. He glanced up at me as I approached, and he gave me a bright smile.

Standing, he walked over to me, took my hand gently, and led me over to a wooden stool. I sat down and stared into the flames, unable to think about the situation.

The man knelt before me, continuing to smile at me with a calm, slender face and eyes that looked vaguely familiar. From seemingly nowhere, he produced my missing shoe and slipped it onto my foot, his black hair falling in front of his eyes as he did so. He then glanced up, shook his hair from his face, and smiled again at my blank state. His hand reached out and cupped my cheek, and I felt myself lean into his touch.

"That's a good girl," he remarked in a low voice. His other hand came up and gently peeled the bandage from my face. When he saw what was beneath, his smiled fell into a deep frown.

"Such a nasty cut," he whispered as he leaned in and kissed it. He continued once he pulled away. "I am truly sorry my men hurt you. They were only supposed to bring you to me." He smiled then. "I guess they hadn't expected you to put up a fight. I'll have to punish them accordingly."

"Please do," I heard myself whisper.

The man before me nodded. "They cut your beautiful face. It is necessary that they learn their place in my plan."

I nodded numbly. The man smiled again before leaning forward and kissing my forehead. He then stood and offered me a pale hand. "Shall we go? It isn't safe for you to stay here."

I reached out my hand to accept his, but was stopped by a shout.

"Chrystal!"

I dropped my hand and shook my head, the thick fog around my mind quickly clearing. I looked up to the person before me, and saw his eyes glowing in rage as he stared at something near the entrance of the cave.

I scrambled to get away from the demon in front of me, scooting back and falling off the stool. I gave a yelp as I scraped my elbow on the stone ground, then stared up at the demon, petrified.

The demon glanced back down at me, lowering his hand and his rage faltering slightly as a look of concern flashed across his face. "Look what you've done," he accused, directing his attention back to the mouth of the cave, his anger stronger than before. "You've injured her. You have no right to claim her!"

"Chrystal, get away from him."

I looked behind me to see who had come and broken the spell I had been under. My eyes flooded with tears of joy when I saw Sebastian staring back at me.

I stood quickly and ran to him, surprised when the man behind me didn't try to stop me.

I latched onto Sebastian when I reached him, sobbing. "I-I didn't mean... I c-couldn't..."

"Shh. Everything is alright now," he said, smoothing my hair comfortingly.

The man behind me growled, causing me to hold Sebastian even tighter. His hand stopped moving and held my head to his chest protectively.

"What business do you have with her?" Sebastian called to the other demon.

I could hear the anger in his voice as he talked through a smirk. "The prophecy, my friend. It is time that it is fulfilled. I'm going to make her mine."