The Birdcage

In The Garden Of Night

It returned to her room that night.
Nyx glared at it as it sunk through the ceiling and glided down towards her; sitting up in her bed upon its arrival with her arms crossed. "What do you want?"

As expected, there was barely any response; the being's whispering just rose in volume, unintelligible, droning on and on in her skull.

Frustrated, Nyx snapped. "Talk normally! I can't understand what you're saying! Why do you do this? Why are you like this?"

The thing began to move, drifting away across the room. Immediately, Nyx swung her legs over the side of the bed, getting up and storming towards the creature. "Oh no. You're not going anywhere. No one else is getting hurt, do you hear me?"

The being said nothing; just drifted forwards through the door, which opened with a click. The message was clear. You can follow if you choose.

Aggregated, Nyx stomped her foot before reaching for the handle. What kind of strange game was this?

Fuelled by a strange mix of fury, curiosity and determination, Nyx stepped out into the hallway; hurrying to keep the creature in view. It zipped down the halls ahead of her, gliding fluidly through the air; Nyx running on its tail. It always stayed just so far ahead; far enough that she couldn't reach it but close enough to entice her on. Somewhere in the back of her mind Nyx knew if this thing wanted to escape her it could, easily; but it didn't. It wanted her to chase.
As they turned corner after corner, down stairs and along hallways, she wondered if it had a plan of where it was going or if it was leading her on for kicks. They passed every room they came to; leaving the bedrooms way behind. The place was deathly quiet, once again illuminated only by the pale florescent night lamps.

Nyx followed it around the corner into another corridor, and suddenly... it was gone.

Nyx strangled a frustrated scream. Of course! Of course it was a fucking joke! Ha ha, how funny! There was no sign of movement in the hallway, no indication of where it could have gone. Slowly, she walked down the hall; desperately seeking any clue, but knowing it was lost.
A sudden cool breeze stroked her senses; making her realise that the door at the end of the corridor was unlocked and had swung ajar.

Creeping forwards, Nyx pushed it open. The garden lay before her, bathed in pale moonlight. Enraptured by its beauty, Nyx had barely realised she'd begun to walk forwards until she felt the dewy grass against her bare feet. Cold air prickled her skin, raising goosebumps under her thin nightclothes.
The garden seemed stunningly alive at night. Fireflies danced through the sky, drifting from flower to flower; hypnotic perfume released into the air, the heavy scent relaxing her senses. The brilliantly coloured flowers were illuminated in the silvery light; some even glowing with veins of bioluminescence, burning like coloured stars in the dark around her. The rose climber stood high and proud over the secret night-garden, crimson blossoms saluting the moon. Captivated, Nyx walked towards it slowly; raising her eyes up the vines towards the heavens.

Suddenly, the door slammed shut behind her.

Alarmed, Nyx raced over, trying to pull it back open; but it was no use, it was stuck. Urgently twisting the handle this way and that, she hammered against the door, trying to jolt it open. Upon further examination of the door, she realised it wasn't jammed at all- it was locked.

"Hey, what's going on!" She yelled, banging her hands against the door; trying to get the attention of whoever was there. "Let me in!" She twisted the handle back and forth uselessly, kicking at the doorframe, rapping her knuckles against the window glass. Desperately, she dug her nails into the crack around the door, painfully trying to pry it open; teeth clenched and eyes prickling with tears.

Suddenly, she jumped out of her skin; there, in the corner of her eye, she saw a pair of burning red eyes, watching her through the window. It noticed she'd noticed and Nyx could have sworn she saw it grinning in sick amusement in the dark. Frozen to the spot in fear, she felt the adrenaline rising in her blood- and suddenly she careened towards it, slamming her hand against the glass. "You bastard! Let me in!"

"Why are you here?" The monster hissed, it's voice grating like metal over stone.

"Open the door!"

"Tell me why you're here!"

"Let me IN!"

The demon snarled and Nyx stumbled back in surprise, tripping and falling onto the grass. The demon laughed cruelly, true mirth in its voice. Enraged and embarrassed, Nyx pushed herself up, scrambling unsteadily to her feet- and struck out at the window.
The glass cracked on impact; a large spider web spreading across the window, but the pane held.

The demon ducked back in surprise, but chuckled as she glared aggressively at it through the window; drifting away into the dark.

"No, no, no!" Nyx screamed; rattling the door handle fruitlessly and banging against the wood as she slid down the door frame, tears streaming down her face. She was completely alone.

The cold air was rushing in, chilling her to the core. Crossing her arms over herself to try and hold in some heat, she rose to her feet and paced back and forth a little way before setting herself in a corner to try and stay warm; forced to wait it out until the morning.