Nicholai left Marokale, turned right and made his way to the edge of the fence. He was hoping he would find Elara on his way to the castle. He looked around frantically as he was walking. He did not see her anywhere. He heard a voice, “you will not find her, she is somewhere safe.”

His heart jumped in his chest, down his spine ran a shiver. The voice carried an undeniable certainty within its words. He glanced around, hesitating to go further. The landscape around him started to dim. Under his feet was a path, it was twisted and forked.

He took a step, looked down and the path was well trodden, but he had been warned not to go this way. So why was the path like this and not looking brand new and unused? He turned around to head back the way he came. The voice whispered “turn around Nicholai.”

. Nicholai frowned, he wanted to go back. He was nervous to go and look around the property he had been sent to evaluate. He wandered along the path until he came to a cross section. The voice that had just spoken was back, this time telling him to go the way with no path. Nicholai thought of disobeying the voice, he went to turn the other way and it shouted at him to turn around.

He looked around and he couldn't see anyone or anything that could be saying it. He followed the instructions this time as he turned onto the route with no path the voice came back louder than ever. “Keep going straight, do not look back now. This is the way you need to go.” With a confused look on his face Nicholai looked around trying to figure out where the voice was coming from. It seemed to be everywhere, all directions. “You will not see me until I decide.” Said the voice again.

“Who are you? Why do you want me to come this way?” Nicholai responded. “ “Oh, I cannot tell you that just yet, Nicholai.” Said the voice. He carried on slowing down with each step, curious and scared of where he was being led.

Nicholai stopped. “I will not go any further until you say who you are and how you know my name.” He shouted. “I make the rules Nicholai, not you! You do as I say not the other way around” The voice exclaimed in an angry tone. Nicholai sat down on the floor where he stood. “I am not moving until you say.” He replied.

“STAND UP AND MOVE NOW!” The voice was getting louder and angrier the more Nicholai defied it. “That does not scare me, shout all you want, until you tell me who you are, this journey is halted where we are.” Nicholai said in a stern voice. “You are testing my patience Nicholai, get up and come to the mansion, I know that is why you came here.”

This made an idea come into Nicholai's head. “Oh my, you are the one that made my car stop working, the one who made it fly through the air. You are the entity from the mansion aren't you?” He sniggered. “What makes you think that?” Said the voice. “It is just a guess, the way you keep telling me to go this way, this is not the first time you have tried to make me go this way.” Nicholai could not tell the gender of this voice.

He just sat still, ignoring anything the voice was saying. The voice went quiet, realising Nicholai had stopped listening. Slowly Nicholai got to his feet, he spun around slowly wondering if there would be a chance of a glimpse of what could be saying all this stuff. He saw a shadow up in a tree, he stood looking at it for a while trying to figure it out.

It vanished into thin air. Nicholai continued walking for a little while, he saw an old oak standing alone. It had no leaves, branches or twigs. This place was just getting more curious the deeper into the forest he went. After he passed the oak tree he walked on looking around at everything changing, it went from trees that looked like they would grow when the weather changes to ones that looked dead, the bushes were brown.

“Thank-you for walking again Nicholai.” The voice was back. Nicholai stopped still. Not sure what to do, he had said he wasn’t going to move until the voice said who it was. He sat back down again. “No Nicholai, you need to keep on moving before it gets dark.” The voice said softly. This was weird, has the voice changed tactics? It was angry and shouting before but now it is talking soft and gentle.

Nicholai just ignored it and carried on walking. He felt like he was being watched. Through the corner of his eye he saw the shadow again. “Just tell me who you are please?” requested Nicholai. There was no answer, the shadow vanished again. As he walked he came to a crossroads, unsure of where to go Nicholai looked around to see if he could see anything in the distance on any of the paths in front of him. “Turn left.” Said the voice.

The path grew lonelier, the silence heavier since the voice stopped. An ancient oak stood in front of him. Its leaves long since gone, the branches etched against the sky. As he passed it Nicholai noticed the stark contrast, the forest he had left was alive, green with some leaves. But this tree had nothing. Ahead of him everything was dead and desolate.

He turned left. Down the dirt path he went, following the directions of the voice. The questions circulating in his mind, who is the voice? Is it the one who all the locals fear? Will the mystery be solved soon?. He looked ahead and there was the mansion. The land inside the fence was dead, no colour at all, even the evergreen shrubbery was dead.

He looked up a hill, there stood the castle. It was not what it once was. Broken, everything surrounding it dead. He carried on walking until he got to the edge of the withered grounds. Not yet crossed the gate. Up close the castle looked like a forgotten relic of sorrow. What was once a grand estate now exuded an eerie silence. The only thing that broke it was the rustling of dry leaves in the wind that only circled around this half demolished building. The whisper that had been following him all this time travelled in the wind. “Step inside, Nicholai. All the answers to the questions you hold inside are within those crumbling walls.”

He went to step forward but hesitated. His heart was beating so fast he could not catch his breath. He leant on his knees and with a deep, slow steadying breath he stood up straight. The dirt path became little circle stepping stones. As he stepped closer the whispers in the wind got more excited, like it was happy he had made it. He stopped at the bottom of a path. Thoughts running round his head. Why was he warned not to come here?.