The legacy of the dark blood

Chapter 88

The statue of Anneliese Holzmann

Alone were Liz and Jake amidst the brooding and terribly gloomy atmosphere that comprised the Holzmanns' quarters. Without Nick at their side, they were now more vulnerable, even with the entire group of American agents on their side. Amelie's memory had induced in her the memories of Friedrich Holzmann, thanks to this, she could now see the man's shadow through time; a sign of the gift that Anika and Sister Berta had.

From the main lobby of the place that appeared to be the demon's lair, they departed into a second room towards the west lobby. Liz could sense a slight level of nervousness in Jake as they walked through door after door. In the midst of the sepulchral silence some other obnoxious manifestation was to be expected; Liz still felt Amelie Holzmann's protective veil next to her, with a strength akin to a talisman of protection against dark powers. She passed a room covered in dust and cobwebs that was nothing more than a cellar where sculptures and demonic objects were kept.

From the walls emanated the icy ghostly breeze that announced how dastardly the dark powers of their pursuers were. The tapestry bore a somewhat extravagant style, long roots were drawn on it losing themselves among different corners of the palace, Liz knew that they played to confuse the intruders, although her instincts directed her in a relentless march towards the end of the bloody nightmare. She could see the aura of the beasts emerge from various sectors, all of them fleeing in terror at her presence as if they were similar poles of two magnets.

In less than expected, they arrived at a room Liz was sure she had frequented before. There was a dining table, now abandoned, not with the remains of an appetizing feast, but a vast cluster of every filth imaginable; human and beast viscera, blood, organs and so on. One of the chairs bore the marks of Max's wounds.

"We're close," said Liz, not letting the scene disturb her.

"You think so?" Jake asked sarcastically with symptoms of retching.

Liz saw her destiny coming sooner and sooner, Günther's death had unleashed a cataclysm that ignored her like the air around a mountain. From the dining room they reached a corridor that was going uphill, as gloomy as every corner, only the presence of death in that place ended the meditative atmosphere. The area was ascending, passing groups of rooms that Liz preferred to ignore, behind several of them lay the inert beasts waiting for the moment to be released. Doors to other elegant rooms stood ajar, transporting into the age of reform and counter-reform. The pathways of the extravagant mansion spiraled around a lunar glow coming from the top of the roof; curiously they looked up at the light, they had reached the top of the interior of the hill, the end of the run was there, it did not move, it remained as static as a statue, Liz sensed it.

Before continuing, she paused for a few seconds to reflect, Mr. Holzmann now had superhuman power, everything around him could be transmuted with the power of his blood. The attack had to be unique and concise.

"Your time has come, young Elizabeth," a heavenly voice whispered in her ear, "the natural order is at stake, the time is now".

They walked for minutes in the middle of a seemingly endless path until they reached the exit of a cave; they did not feel the peace and silence of the cold night of late autumn, the atmosphere was turbulent, the blades of a helicopter could be heard a few kilometers away, the beasts ran looking to satisfy their bloodlust with an insatiable desire to annihilate. Everything around them was in chaos, except the place they had reached, the top of the hill.

The place was not exactly an extension of the forest, a wide stone surface was next to them towards the exit, in the area the river circled the mountain. The pentagram of the Holzmanns was drawn large with something in the center that was unmistakable to their sight; in front of them lay the cause of the apocalyptic tempest that terrorized Reich der Finsternis. A radiant silver statue gleamed in the moonlight, the body of the sorceress queen Anneliese Holzmann. Liz understood that the force that transported her there did not come from Mr. Holzmann, but from her.