The legacy of the dark blood

Chapter 50

Shelter in Gumprecht

At no time in her dark adventure could Liz have imagined meeting that lady again. The old woman walked from the path, on the sides of which grew the famous flowers that had the power to repel anyone who was defiled with dark blood. Liz smelled the scent, which she found nauseating, but she made an effort to conceal it, hoping that the news of her impurity would not spread more widely than expected. The old woman was carrying some of those flowers in her tunic.

"Oma (Grandmother)" Lukas was glad to see the woman, as were the other two men.

The old woman realized that her grandson was wounded.

„Geh mit Papa und Onkel nach Hause. Mama kümmert sich um deine Wunden (Go home to your dad and uncle, your mom will take care of your wounds)," the old woman commanded. The three men went to one of the houses, probably the largest in the area. Before entering, they looked at Anika, whom they had not seen since their encounter in the forest. They looked at her with concern as if she were some specter, until the old woman turned to them with authority "Go home, I will speak to our guests".

The old woman looked at Anika, with a different expression from that of her grandson and her two sons; the little girl was shy at first, trying to hide behind Liz, although the woman only responded with a smile that she erased after fixing her gaze on the agent.

"You should have listened to me when I told you, young lady," said the old woman. Liz, however, did not remember hearing anything from the old woman, apart from a few incomprehensible phrases that filled her with terror for the unknown "Now you are tainted, like all those beings. You don't have much time left".

Liz was surprised to hear the old lady, she wondered how she knew of her situation. She then remembered that she was present in the morbid village of Holzmann at the time she was removed in an unconscious state to one of the chapels, without it proving that she had been subjected to the ritual. Nick watched Liz with disdain, for a moment he thought the officer would not hesitate to kill her in front of everyone.

"I'm beginning to think we should have let you kill yourself," Nick looked more upset than usual. Liz was prepared to defend herself from any violent reaction coming from him.

"Stop" The old woman was running out of energy, she walked towards her house, passing the agents, "Come to my house with my family, I have information that may interest you".

They entered the old woman's room. The front door led into the living room where Lukas sat in a chair while his mother cleaned his wound with an alcohol solution or other elements. The old woman sat down at the table and asked the agents and Anika to do the same.

"Welcome to Gumprecht, you will be safe here for a while- they had entered a new village that none of them had frequented before" My name is Berta "she introduced herself- I see you have found Henoth's orphan- she said looking at Anika".

"Do you know her?" asked Liz curiously, while Lukas' mother poured water in glasses for the guests.

"Something like that," answered the old woman, "we all know about the attack on Henoth. Here in Gumprecht and in Bien there was a rumor that a little girl had survived the massacre; nobody believed that a little girl could survive such a holocaust, for that reason, most of the inhabitants of the village believe that she is a soul in pain, or a ghost, that's why they fear her" Berta observed the girl once more and held out her hand, she responded by placing her small fingers on the old woman's hand "Indeed, what she supposed. The girl has a power that few in this sector have. Thanks to this gift she has survived".

"But I don't get it," Liz fretted, "Do you go through these areas alone, why did your sons go out at night?"

Berta closed her eyes after taking a long sip from her glass of water. She looked upset at Liz's question, which made the agent feel guilty.