The legacy of the dark blood

Chapter 71

Meeting at the shelter

Three days had passed and the race against the relentless march of death had given no chance for respite, after so many sorrows, Liz had finally managed to restore her energies. As she relaxed in the Roman bath, an indescribable peace flooded her soul, she managed to temporarily expel the sorrows that the curse of blood caused her. She did not know, however, whether this would permanently deliver her from the power of the Holzmanns.

Despite her immeasurable desire to remain underwater, the call of duty and the meeting with Jake called to her. With her mind completely clear, she donned her new uniform consisting of a white shirt with a dark vest on which the initials of her institution stood out. Although Mr. Holzmann's voices whispering things in her ear frequently wandered through her mind, her new therapy had helped her to have control over her emotions so that her enemies would not manage to break into her thoughts.

After wandering the corridors of the asylum for a few minutes and consulting with other members of the order, she managed to locate the exit. She expected to be greeted by her companions, however, dozens of people were present outside the compound covering the fields of flowers; she did not recognize most of them, the inmates of the camp were dressed in tattered clothing. She could identify Dr. Zimmermann, Dr. Larsson with his daughter, as well as Mr. Wolfgang Oppenheimer, the librarian of the upper sector with his dog Odin, who ran to greet Liz as soon as he recognized her.

"You?" Liz was surprised while she petted Odin, Wolfgang only nodded with a serious look and removing his glasses.

"The duchess found out about your entrance in the library, she had already ordered my transfer to the palace of justice" the man didn't show much energy, except for a disguised smile "fortunately, the woman in the green suit rescued me and brought me here. Besides, the sisters needed my help deciphering Amelie's manuscripts, I hadn't told you, but I was the one who placed them in code in the section, I was afraid that the Holzmanns would find them".

"Oh, I'm sorry," Liz apologized for not having thought about the danger she had put the man in.

"It doesn't matter now, your companions are waiting for you over there," she said indicating a place behind a triangular hut with wood paneling in Bavarian style, "Sister Judith had gone to look for you, I'll tell her you're already here".

The image of all the people they had managed to rescue was as comforting as their time in the Roman bath; Wolfgang entered the asylum, Liz had no choice but to join her companions, she looked around hoping to find someone she knew among the people; it was at a communal table where she found Andreas, Tobias, Steffi and Jake sitting enjoying a cup of coffee and some bread rolls that the sisters of the order had baked for them, she was not at all surprised that Nick was not with them.

Jake greeted her by giving her a bow with his hand, the agent was not wearing his vest on this occasion and was taking the opportunity to relax and get to know the German officers better.

"Jake," Liz greeted him, sitting down at the table and taking a piece of bread, then she turned to the officers, "Are they all here?".

"Positive," answered Andreas, leaving his coffee cup on the table, "it was a difficult mission, but we managed to pull it off".

"You're welcome," Jake interjected in a mocking voice, waiting for recognition for his prompt intervention.

While they ate breakfast, Andreas and Jake filled Liz in on all the details of the operation in the concentration camp. Tobias had not intervened in the conversation, judging him to be the shyest of the group.

"Where is Anika?" asked Liz, remembering that he was in charge of taking her out of the death factory.

"The sisters gave her a room in the nursing home, Judith said that they would keep her with them as long as the mission was over. We only know that while she is here the Holzmanns will not be able to move forward with their plans, although they have already gathered all the relics".