Obscuratus Anima

Labyrinth of Madness

"Pardon my recklessness. I forgot to introduce myself." Leah realised that she had not introduced herself to him. "Leah, Leah Serpico.". She stretched out her hand to Dmitri.

"Your father already mentioned me to you. However, let me still introduce myself to you. I'm Dmitri. Dmitri Cailes, former heir of the Cailes family fortune or shares like Roland mentioned. It's a pleasure to meet such an aspiring youth." He praised her.

"So, I assume you don't have any clue of who might've been behind the deaths in your family all those years ago." She asked him.

"I have a hunch. I know that it is linked to my mother, as for how I found out how it's linked to her. Well, that's because a day before the incident, I heard someone speak with Alia on the telephone. Although I don't know what the person at the other end was speaking, it wasn't hard to find out." Dmitri began to explain the situation.

"Wait. I know that it's been many years. But I might have a way to figure out who she spoke with all those years ago." Leah said.

"Please feel free to share with us. If it weren't for my fear of being discovered and targeted by the spies she had strategically placed within the family, I wouldn't have remained in hiding. She had painstakingly bided her time until the perfect moment to strike," Dmitri politely enquired.

"I need to know something first. What was the telephone number?" Leah asked and Dmitri took some time to recall it. Then he handed her over the number from memory. "And was that the last call that had been made on the telephone?" She asked him to confirm her suspicions.

"Not really. My dad was a businessman, as you know. We used to receive many calls daily. However, the lucky thing is that there were only 4 more calls after that." He answered her.

"So the call where Alia Cailes was speaking should be the fifth one from the end of the call logs. Mr. Cailes..." Leah said but was cut off in the middle by Dmitri.

"Please do away with the formalities. It makes me feel that we're not close at all. And that's not true because you and my nephew are best friends like your dad and me." Dmitri requested her, and Leah giggled, agreeing to call him uncle.

"Patruus. Like I was about to say, I wanted to know if it's possible to maybe revisit the house you lived in?" She inquired.

"It's not impossible. The house is still in my name, and I was never proclaimed to be dead, so there shouldn't be any problem if I enter the house." He remembered his father's will. 

"Alright. Then should we head there now?" She asked him. "Also, I suggest you meet your sister and your brother-in-law. Sean's outside with the other three idiots. So, I can get them to come inside." Leah informed him.

"I'd love to meet my nephew. Thank you." He thanked her and then headed towards the door of the mansion. "Sean!" He yelled.

The four young men who were standing and communicating with each other were stunned to hear an unfamiliar voice. "Who are you?" They asked in unison. 

"Dmitri. Dmitri Cailes. Sean's biological uncle. In other words, he should address me as 'Avunculus'." Dmitri introduced himself to the dumbfounded boys.

"No fucking way!" Sean exclaimed, showing his amazement. "You should find a way to come home. Oh my God! I need to tell Leah." Sean was excited like a child who had witnessed something that they had never witnessed before. 

"Calm down, nephew. Leah is well aware of my appearance. I sneaked in to have a chat with Roland when she suddenly popped in." He notified Sean. 

"Well, well, well. If this isn't a happy reunion, I don't know what would be one." Riven exclaimed. 

"I don't think it would be wise for me to go meet your mother now. I need to first handle a few things. She wouldn't be safe if I appeared now. I never want to see her in harm's way. It would break me." He justified his reason for not appearing in front of his sister in all the years he was alive. 

"So, when do you think would be the right time?" Sean questioned him. 

"Soon. But, right now, I have to go to the Cailes mansion. Do you want to follow me, nephew?" 

"Yeah, sure. What are we going there for?" He asked. 

"Leah said she knows a way to retrieve the conversation Alia had with someone a day before the incident that devastated your mother and me," Dmitri said. Sean remembered that Leah had a huge change in the past few weeks. However, he decided to keep his thoughts private. As long as she wasn't in danger, he didn't care what she did. 

The large group sat in a minibus and instructed the driver in the directions to the mansion. When they reached there, they were surprised to find that the mansion was hidden across a maze. 

"What the–" Dmitri stared at what was in front of them. "Let me make a call." He hastily dialled a number on his phone. "What the hell is in front of the path to the mansion? I thought I let you know that I was going to be returning soon." He was enraged. After screaming at the receiver for a minute, he cut the call.

"So what do we do now? I hate mazes." Sean was displeased with what he saw. "They can drive a person mad," Sean exclaimed. 

"It's not a maze. It's a labyrinth." Zac corrected them.

Meanwhile, Leah, on the other hand, was talking with Ra. "Do you think we'll be able to pass through this maze safely before midnight?" She asked him. 

"It's better if you try to go through the maze at night, though. You can draw from the darkness and channel your magic to guide you on the right path." He suggested. 

"We don't have that kind of time on our hands." Leah was worried. 

The Luduan suddenly appeared and asked her if she needed his assistance. "That's sweet of you, but I find it hard to understand how you could help," Leah said honestly. 

"Well, there is a hallucinogen that's present in the labyrinth. Hence, I asked if you needed any help." He said. 

"What?" Leah exclaimed loudly. Her voice was loud enough for the others to hear. 

"What's wrong?" Riven asked. 

"This isn't your average labyrinth. Sean was right. This can drive a person mad." Leah cautioned them of the impending danger if they stepped foot into the labyrinth.