Chapter 20With Pandora at his side, Ryland made his way slowly, but determinedly, to the Hall. Everything they passed seemed decayed or overgrown. The gate, its walls, the winding driveway, and even what at one time would have been magnificent gardens.
“I had no idea it was this bad,” Pandora whispered.
“The Hall itself looks in good repair.” Ryland gestured at the enormous house. “But…ominous, darker. Even darker than I remember.”
“It’s down to him. To Jabez. He still visits. Holds his parties, so I hear. The villagers stay away, and no one from the Hall go into the village.” Pandora slowed. “It feels…cold. Like the sun doesn’t shine here.”
His aunt wasn’t being fanciful. Each step closer to the house chilled Ryland incrementally. But it was there that he’d find the way to free his mo
