Cupid & The Cursed Cup (WAYHAUGHT)

Chapter 18

Waverly was interrupted by the appearance of Mercedes Gardner, the warden's cousin, Head Curator at St. Albans museum, a slender woman probably a few years older than herself Waverly guessed, well-dressed, carrying an executive looking folder in one hand. "Hello, gosh I thought it would only be us two," she said, holding out her hand.

"This is DCI Holliday, he's investigating your...and this is my friend Jeremy, who likes old things."

"Well, you're certainly in the right place. There's a fascinating story around this tomb."

"Witchcraft," Waverly replied.

Mercedes smiled, Waverly spotting its falseness immediately. "Did you know when they opened Humphrey's coffin the body was found to be perfectly preserved over two hundred and fifty years after his burial."

"I did not know that," Jeremy said, clearly impressed. "Presumably some form of incantation by his wife."

Mercedes laughed. "Only if her name was brandy. No, he was swimming in a bath of alcohol and herbs. Women would visit his tomb to drink a thimble of the liquid, supposedly to ward off wrinkles."

Waverly retched. The thought of drinking the juices of a dead man pickled in brandy a little too much for her. Holliday had unlocked the door already, standing back to allow the ladies to enter first, eyeing Jeremy suspiciously as he followed. Flashlights on, Mercedes unzipped her folder, pulling out a map she had drawn of the underground space. "We've located two tunnels, so far. Bound to be more. Did you know there's a set of steps in one of the pillars under the cathedral's organ? Now, there's a story."

"The warden mentioned markings on the pillars," Waverly interrupted, sensing Mercedes was about to launch into another tale, not wanting to spend any more time than she had to underground. "He seemed to think they were made recently."

"Oh, there's lots of markings," Mercedes replied. "I've counted over three hundred so far in my explorations and that's just scratching the surface. Many I believe are from people sheltering here during the war, given the dates etched, some are much older. It takes a trained eye to differentiate which is random, and which is ritual."

Holliday's ears pricked up. "Why ritual? I would know if something like that had occurred down here."

Mercedes gave him a curious look. "You may need to go deeper. Chambers below this lower level once used by monks when this was a monastery. Supposedly where several Templar knights are buried. Oh, and don't forget much of this cathedral is built on top of an ancient Roman town."

Consulting her map, Mercedes strode off in the direction of the pile of bones, arriving at the spot where the damp earth once was. "This is the spot where the warden brought me," Waverly said. "Earth, with bones sticking out."

"Gosh, how strange," Mercedes replied. "Yes, there's a damp patch, I can see. I wonder why that would be here."

"Your cousin was confused too. Said, he hadn't seen anything like this before."

Mercedes studied Waverly's face. "Yes, I've never come across that in any of our excursions. Someone must have thought it would not be spotted being down here. A little creepy, if you ask me."

Waverly was in complete agreement. Everything under the cathedral was a little creepy, the bone pile especially so. She no longer was sure whether the bone pile's removal was creepier, or that someone had chosen to place it there in the first place.

Shining her torch over the area, Mercedes surveyed her map again, turning left counting along another fourteen pillars, turning right nine pillars, right again fourteen more pillars. The group followed behind, Jeremy throwing light over every pillar, noticing the chiselled markings on each as they passed.