Preface: Lilya is a bound soul, a human being whose soul is tied directly to a demon. The demon and human live symbiotically, each acting as a protector and extension of their consciousness.

The air was ice cold, making Lilya's breath fog in front of her as she sat up. It was nearly pitch black in the room, save for a few stray beams of moonlight through boarded up windows. She held her breath and listened intently for any trace of life. To her relief and dismay, there was none. She had hoped for the familiar sound of Soryn's breathing but the room was silent, save for the creaking of floorboards elsewhere. Her mind felt fuzzy, like she'd been drinking. She felt a sharp pain within her mind as something pried it's way out. Jayda's voice screamed in Lilya's head. "LET ME OUT!!!!"
Lilya flinched and attempted to calm her, "Jayda whoa! What's going on?"
Lilya could feel Jayda's conscience relax, "Oh thank the devil, I'm finally out. When you got knocked out I got forced into the back of your mind, and I couldn't break free. I think we may have been drugged or cursed temporarily."
Lilya nodded, "Do you have any idea where we are or what's going on? Where's Soryn?"
Jayda shrugged. "I wish I knew, my senses aren't working right. I think we're really far away from where we were."
Lilya frowned and tried to reach out her conscience to find help, but to no avail. She could barely extend herself ten feet ahead of her. She panicked slightly and traced a rune over the back of her hand, the same one that Soryn had on his. To her relief it glowed a dull purple. "He's okay. Thank the devil."
Lilya glanced around as her eyes adjusted. The room looked like it was part of an old house, close to a hundred years old. The walls and floor looked well worn and much worse for wear than should be possible. Detris and debris were scattered around haphazardly. A thin layer of dust was on a lot of it, showing signs of abandonment, though there were fresher tracks leading to Lilya. The tracks didn't belong to her, but it looked as if she'd been carried into the room and then her carrier had vanished, as there were no tracks leading away from her. There was a black hallway in front of her, and beyond that was uncertain. Lilya swallowed hard and felt the hairs on her arms and neck stand on end.
She could feel Jayda's efforts in keeping Lilya's heart beating slowly so as not to attract anything to them. Lilya put a hand down to steady herself and found her palm resting on the grip of a gun. She blinked as she gripped the cold steel and lifted the gun into view. No dust. This had been placed here alongside her deliberately.
Lilya instinctively pushed the button on the side of the gun, dropping the magazine into her hand. It felt heavy, fully loaded. She guessed she had about thirteen shots before she was *******. She dismissed the thought of her impending demise as she slid the magazine back into place. Lilya could feel Jayda's apprehension colliding with her own and she shut her eyes. "We may as well get moving. Dead or not I can't just sit here."
Lilya carefully stood up, trying fervently to make as little noise as possible. Now on her feet, she took a moment to check her pockets. To her surprise, she still had her phone and her lighter, though she had the feeling she shouldn't use either of them frivolously. Jayda echoed Lilya's thoughts as she said, "Any light will more than likely attract unwanted attention. Deadly attention."
Lilya thought about how to proceed. She could just charge blindly forward, stumble across some trap or hazard and die foolishly, or she could be methodical, choosing each step carefully. She decided to rely on what little area she could see with her extended conscience to guide her. At the least it would keep her from tripping over debris or running face first into a wall.
Lilya took a deep breath and took a confident step forward, shifting her weight slowly. The boards creaked quietly, accepting her cautious steps. Lilya focused on the darkness ahead of her, her senses on high alert. The hallway was barren as far as she could tell, save for a few scraps of paper she wouldn't have been able to read. The hall was roughly fifteen careful steps long and took almost the same amount of time to traverse.
As Lilya stood at the end of the hallway, she heard a sinister reptilian hiss somewhere in the building. She held her breath as she heard soft thudding beneath her. She thought to Jayda, "Either we're on a high level or there's a basement."
Jayda remarked, "Either way, I'm not looking forward to meeting whatever that was."
Lilya turned her attention back on finding her way out. She glanced to her right and listened carefully as wind rocked the house slightly. she could sense another hallway leading to her right, deeper into the darkness. However, as she took the first step down the corridor, a single flame ignited at eye level, as if it were a candle springing to life. She froze, was someone holding it? It didn't seem to move at all, only the flickering of the flame.
As Lilya took a step forward, so did the flame. She realized that someone was holding it, perhaps someone else trapped here? She couldn't be certain but she stepped forward again, aiming the gun just above the flame, where it's carrier's head should be. The figure stepped forward simultaneously, it's motion as cautious as her own. Lilya grit her teeth in fear and determination as she stepped forward again. The flame flickered again and now lilya could see the bearer. She froze as she saw a mirror like image of herself illuminated by the flame of a lighter. Her lighter. Lilya's hand crept to her pocket, feeling the block of metal right where it should be. The lit face blinked in confusion and glanced around, as if not seeing Lilya in front of her. At this distance, Lilya should have been lit up, if even just slightly. Something seemed off, and Mirror Lilya opened her mouth as if to say something but turned away, as if startled. Lilya stood deadly still as she watched her mirror image turn slightly, the flame arcing around horizontally around her. Jayda was oddly quiet and Lilya asked within her mind, "What the hell is going on?"
Jayda stifled a response with a simple, "Sshh!"
Lilya looked again and saw that her mirror image had turned back towards her and had taken another step, nearly directly in front of Lilya.
Lilya held her breath and kept the gun aimed at the person in front of her. Confusion crept through Lilya's mind as Jayda pointed out that the mirror hadn't reacted to Lilya or the gun. Lilya looked closer at the doppelganger and focused on a mark across her chest, like a faded scar crossing from the high sternum to the inner arm. Lilya bit her tongue as she reached up and felt the same scar crossing her own chest. "Is this really me? What the hell?"
Lilya didn't have time to ponder an answer as the person in front of her gasped and dropped the lighter. As the flame fell, Lilya could see a fistful of razor sharp claws clutching the mirror's heart. The body slumped and disappeared from Lilya's view as the flame extinguished on the ground. A strong chord of fear reverberated within her as she imagined what beast lay just in front of her. She dare not light her own lighter for fear of attracting the same fate. "Jayda. What just happened."
Jayda hesitated before responding quietly, "I... I'm not sure how to explain it. But you just saw yourself die."
Lilya frowned, "Well... Yeah but. Was it me? Or an illusion? Or what?"
Jayda was quiet again. Lilya queried again, "Jayda?"
Jayda's voice was delicate, as if she were afraid the information may hurt Lilya. "It was another version of yourself. From an alternate timeline if I had to guess."
Lilya frowned, "So in other timelines I'm still stuck here? And why was I able to see her... Er... Myself?"
Jayda sounded agitated, "I'm not sure. This is a first for me too. But one thing is for certain now. We are not alone here."
Lilya nodded, "And we know not to use the lighter."
Lilya took a step forward, half expecting her foot to collide with a body. To her relief, her foot was met with hardwood floor. The next few steps were agonizingly slow and the tension I'm the air was only growing. Jayda squirmed inside her as she screamed, "STOP!"
Lilya froze in place and held her breath as Jayda guided Lilya's gaze to her right, where the faintest shadow was cast with light from a nearby window. She was at the mouth of a large room, possibly a living room, and something large was moving in the center. She could faintly hear a lapping sound and the slight pattering of liquid on the wooden floor. Jayda squirmed even more, "Oh **** oh **** oh **** do NOT ******* move for the love of God. That's a ******* angel."
Lilya frowned, "I thought angels were supposed to be like, divine benevolent beings or something?"
Jayda scoffed, "**** no! Angels are brutal, heartless killers. They feed on the corpses of their victim's to keep fueling their sick bloodlust. You ever wonder why angels only ever show up in the Bible when someone needed to die? They're monsters."
Lilya swallowed and took a deep breath. "So what do I do?"