Tell Me A Story

Chapter 22: The Cellar

To be honest, I was tired of this stupid game. Every time I thought I was about to find out everything, the further things drifted away from my reach. I sighed.

"Nana, what do you mean? You're probably the only remaining person alive who knows what had happened. How am I gonna find it out myself?"

She cast a curious glance on me, which was accompanied by a smile on her face. "I never said you'd to do it alone... I'll be accompanying you."

Relief washed all over me like a wave. I peeked at Anna, who was on the edge of her seat like I was.

"We've to go somewhere," Nana said.

"Where?" I asked her.

"To the spot where a church once existed."

Moments later, the three of us were making our way through the mist filled woods into the demolished church. Before we'd gotten out, Nana took an extraordinarily large metal key from behind a book in the shelf. She didn't utter a word and we didn't ask her anything.

Come what might, I wanted to get done with this whole flashback thing once and for all. But when one mystery was solved, another one popped out of nowhere. God only knows what else was waiting in store for me.

Nana was leading the path, with Anna and I close on her heels. Suddenly she turned back, and came on level with us. There was a sense of urgency in her, as if she'd been anticipating this moment for so long.

"The church was demolished for a reason," she said, as we strolled forward. "Haven't you ever wondered where the tunnel from In Cubiculo Magicas led to?"

We both shook our heads, although her hint was more than enough to predict what we were going to hear next.

"The church was built on a demand made by Aranchis, before the construction of the Palace commenced. Quite contrary to what you think of the Katrasta tribe, Aranchis was the only person in the tribe who was bestowed with the secrets and magical powers. Only he could induce the power of magic in others. He could withdraw it at any moment from others. That was why the founder created a close reputation with him from the beginning.

All the rituals, secrets and history of the tribe were recorded in manuscripts. It was of utmost importance to protect those. So he secretly constructed a cellar under the church, where he stored all those."

Despite the fact that I hated Aranchis with all my life, I couldn't deny the fact that that man had one hell of a brain.

We reached the road and The Old Cemetery landed into our eyeballs.

"When the founder asked him to build a secret chamber under the Palace, Aranchis doubted a foul play and in order to escape if it turned out to be so, he created the tunnel, which linked In Cubiculo Magicas and the cellar. He hid the mouth of the tunnel carefully with a mirror on either side.
Now you know where he went to once Amelia and George had occupied the room. He went straight into the cellar, killed the priest at the next opportunity, and was eventually assigned as the priest of the church. It aided him, as consulting the manuscripts were easier than ever."

We reached the gate of the Cemetery. Without any hesitation, Nana pushed open the gates to either sides. We made our way into it and ascended the stairs that led to what was once the entrance of the church. As we did so, I glanced over to the grave of Abraham Coller.

My grandfather! All these while, I'd forgotten completely about him.

As far back as I could remember, I'd always been a Crate. I suppose that mom had reverted to her maiden name after the divorce. Dad respected her so much... Otherwise he wouldn't have named me as Crate in his diary. When I turned back, my glance caught upon our shadows that were slithering on the floor.