The legacy of the dark blood

Chapter 92

Back to the asylum

The sisters of Amelie's order were waiting for them with open arms, the sudden death of the beasts signaled the end of the Holzmanns' reign. All the refugees had been transported there by the German agents, not only the doctors, the librarian and the German and American officers; old Bertha, Lukas and his family had been transported there, at least that image gave Liz hope that her struggle had borne some positive fruit, even though the overwhelming image of little Anika's body now carried by Jake gnawed at her soul.

The members of the asylum were celebrating, preparing to welcome their rescuers, Elizabeth Sharrow, Jake Abu-jamal, Nick Deisler, Andreas Berger, Stefanie Lenz, Kira Ackermann and others. They managed to applaud, the action was interrupted after the image of Sister Judith Melzer emerged from the crowd giving the order to be silent, she had realized that Anika, better known to all as the orphan of Henoth had gone after being used by the sorceress to revive.

Some tears welled up in the crowd, even without knowing the little girl, the lifeless body of an infant represented a heartbreaking scene for the more sensible. There were no words to describe what was happening, only silence while Judith and two other sisters made a gesture of reverence and received the child's body, which they removed from everyone's sight.

"Calm down," Judith tried to comfort them, apparently she knew the story, "we wanted to save her like all of you. We didn't think Mr. Holzmann would be able to influence her to get her out of here while she slept. But the lord works in ways we don't understand. Now without Anneliese no one will ever make use of this diabolical knowledge ever again".

Although her friend Bernard was a practicing Christian, Liz did not understand what she called "God's designs. The death of an innocent girl reinforced that thought; however, the intervention of the order and Kira's help had been so crucial to the end of the mission that she preferred not to discuss that detail with her, as did the other agents.

"What happened with the Holzmanns," Liz asked, puzzled.

Nick patted her on the shoulder, the sadness barely reflected in his eyes, he pointed to the side towards a group of four black statues in irregular poses that had been transported there by his group: Mr. Holzmann, the duchess, Ludwig and Ulrike had met the same fate as Anneliese thirteen hundred years ago. Their bodies did not express the same radiant feeling.

"No," Jake broke his silence, the image didn't give him peace of mind, "we gotta do something about these things, all this can't be repeated!"

"Calm down," Judith asked him with a subtle melancholic voice, "we'll take care of that. It will take us some time, that's why we have talked to your superiors and they have agreed to protect this area while we do it. No one will find these individuals, I can assure you of that".

"I'm glad it's all been taken care of!" an American man joined the conversation, Mark Warren, he was looking at the four statues with curiosity "I guess now we can prepare everything for our return to the United States, our families will be happy to receive us".

"Not so fast, sir!" Commander Eberhard arrived, along with Andreas, anguish overcame Warren at that moment, even more so when another pair of German officers arrived to restrain him from behind.

"No, wait!" Warren pleaded, "Really, I can. ...."

"Save your explanations for later" ordered Eberhard with an authoritarian tone, now Liz understood why his group had so much respect for him- your case will go to the European courts, on behalf of our institution we will make sure that you will not enter Germany or any of the states that conform the Schengen zone again and for sure other places will deny you the entrance as well- Warren stammered, he looked around in search of support, Jake let out a mocking laugh.

"Don't worry," Jake interjected, "we will return to the United States once you are deported, the American courts will be happy to receive you. There are several families waiting for answers".

Warren was immobilized, he didn't know what to say, Nick enjoyed the scene and didn't miss the opportunity to be the one to put the handcuffs on him.

"Mark Warren," Nick began, handcuffing the man, "you have the right to remain silent, anything you say will be used against you. My colleagues will read you the rest of your rights".

With those last words, the officers accompanied Commander Eberhard along with Warren to take him to their holding area.

"You should take that bastard too" shouted Warren pointing his head at Nick "he's a fucking terrorist".

The team turned their backs on the American mercenary and joined Judith to say goodbye to Anika, she was talking quietly with their former leader Berta who was waving to Liz from her position. They were preparing in turn a minute of silence to remember all those who had given their lives for the cause: Captain Ulrich Bunde, Bernard, Tobias Fritz and others. Steffi had finished tending to the wounded officers, now she was free to rejoin the group.

"What's next," asked the German medical officer.

"I'll stay here," said Kira wiping away her tears, "now that we have to clean the Holzmann statues, Judith and the others will need me by their side," she looked at Nick, "we don't leave our family behind," Nick shook her hand and hugged her, somehow managing to sketch a sly smile.

"We will continue to serve those in need" Nick mentioned "Warren's case is still not closed, all the inhabitants of this town must be relocated to more dignified areas" he said sighing and looked sideways at the Americans "do you agree with that Shar...?... Liz".

The girl couldn't believe it, for the first time she heard Nick call her by her name, even with his rather serious tone. That gesture brought back her happiness, she smiled and shook his hand as Jake did.

"I don't know if our country wants to collaborate in that cause, but at least with Lizzie and me they can count on" Steffi and Andreas also joined the cause, Liz hit her partner with her elbow.

"Don't call me Lizzie," she warned with a mischievous grin.

"Hey, it's okay" he excused himself, Liz found a reason to laugh after so long "although I confess, I'd like to take my vacation sooner".

"We'll start after we take a well-deserved rest" said Liz, running the palm of her hand over where the Holzmann's mark was, she closed her eyes to meditate "I could already see myself sunbathing in Puerto Rico or Acapulco, but with this thing on my waist, I don't think I'll ever wear a bikini again".

"Come on, don't let that put you off!" Jake smiled at her, patting her on the back.

Nick ignored them, he saw that Anika's goodbye was about to begin and encouraged him to give her a suggestion.

"You are in Europe, you have a lot to discover" Nick commented "you can take a short vacation here, there is a world beyond Reich der Finsternis. But after that, we will start our work right away!"

"You don't change," Liz smiled, crossing her arms as she watched her group rejoin the other refugees.

It wasn't long before the sun would rise and a new splendor would shine upon the place they knew as the realm of darkness, Reich der Finsternis.