Forbidden Power

Chapter 7- Digging for Danger

I looked at the large stone church looming on the hill and let out a low whistle. It was indeed old. Not as old as Ancient Egypt, but it was old enough to hold some secrets, and even from the outside I could tell it was going to be ornate on the inside.

I adjusted my bag and looked around. I couldn't shake the feeling that I was being watched, but I didn't see anything or anyone suspicious. Besides, I'm not doing anything illegal...yet. There is no reason for anyone to have an interest in me.

I focused on the church up the hill and casually walked toward it like any other tourist. The last thing I need to do is draw attention to myself. That's why I try and look like I could be anybody from anywhere. I can speak many languages. Once I learned one, it wasn't hard to learn more. I can become a simple citizen of Spain if I need to, rather than an outsider from America.

I glanced around one more time, but I saw no one paying me any attention, and looking over my shoulder constantly would only draw attention to myself. I'm just being paranoid. I'm a nobody. Why would anyone want to stalk me? Then again...someone gave me the puzzle ball. Someone is tracking me. Someone knows something about me.

I picked up the pace and walked up the hill at a speed that a normal human would fine hard to match. My heart raced as I approached the old stone church. This is it. The first step on my journey. This time I'm going to be successful. I just have this feeling.

I knocked on the doors and waited. This church is closed to the public for tourism, but it is open to those who wish to seek truths from within.

The door opened and a young friar greeted me in Spanish.

"Hello," I greeted him back with a perfect native tongue. The young man opened the door a little further and looked at me questioningly. Ah, a man of few words. I can appreciate that. "I am here to see Father Pietro. He is expecting me."

"Theodore?"

"Yes. That is me."

"This way, please," he beckoned me in and closed the door firmly behind me, bolting it into place. Odd for a church. I wasn't expecting it to be a fortress as well. I followed the young man through an arched entrance and into a modest sanctuary still lit by candelabras and torches. It was dark with no windows, exactly what I'd expect as a dwelling place for an old vampire hiding in the human world. My eyes landed on a figure kneeling at the altar. The young man motioned to me to stop walking and approached the man, crossing himself before the statue of Mary before addressing the man.

"Father Pietro, the man you have been expecting has arrived."

The man at the altar rose and placed a hand on the young man's shoulder.

"Bless you, son. You may return to your post." As the young man stepped away, Father Pietro lowered his hood and turned to me. He looked at me at first with a puzzled expression before addressing me.

"I am honored to host one of the royal beasts of legend! Welcome! But, what is this? You have come to me during the day? And in broad daylight no less..." he implied. Ah, right. I forget that we're not like normal vampires. I take my freedoms for granted.

"Is this a safe place to talk? Are there unwelcome listening ears anywhere?" I asked. Pietro glanced around before nodding in satisfaction.

"There is no one. Can you not smell the absence of blood?"

"My vampire senses are not as honed as yours, your grace. Perhaps when I am older I will become more aware of such things," I answered as vaguely as possible. I don't know what my father has told Pietro. I should have asked him if the old vampire is trustworthy.

"I see. And the daylight? What black magic is this that you walk freely in the daytime?"

I saw some eagerness in his eyes, and warning bells rang in my head. Adiel is no longer alive, but revealing the truth could put his tribe in danger. I have only rarely run into other vampires, and it's only been at night, so I've never aroused suspicion. I am a fool for coming here right away.

"I was rewarded by a great wizard who is now deceased for my role in the war in Canada," I lied smoothly. "He knew of a drink that could grant a vampire permanent immunity to the sunlight."

"Ah! Such a gracious reward this is!" Father Pietro clapped his hands. "Perhaps if I share secrets with you, you shall return the favor, mmm?"

I have a really bad feeling about this guy. I'm starting to regret coming here. I let my guard down because this is a church.

"I would gladly share this secret with you if I knew it, Father Pietro, but it is not something I know. I was only gifted the rare tincture. I was not told what was in it or how it was made," I told him.

"Alas, after all my years of life I can tell when someone is lying. I can see that you have told the truth about the origin of the tincture. How disappointing for me! I have been in this church for centuries, only being free at night. It is a great sadness that this continues to be my burden," he gazed at me down his crooked nose, and I nodded curteously, though I really just want to get out of here.

"Forgive me, Father, but I only have a couple of days in Spain. My father told me you might have some information for me about this?" I pulled my bag around and unzipped it and removed the puzzle ball. Father Pietro's eyebrows instantly scrunched up as he stared at it.

He reached for it, and I handed it to him willingly. After all, until I figure out how to open it, it is of no use to me.

He turned it in his hands, running them over it and looking further confused. Then he looked up at me abruptly.

"Come with me," he said in a hushed voice and turned and flitted away at vampire speed.

I gave chase, following his scent through twists and turns in the old corridors, but I saw no one. Not even him. What is going on? I kept following his scent, which was fresh enough to tell me I wasn't far behind him, even though I couldn't see him.

I rounded another turn and came to an empty alcove. There was nothing here except an arch with a torch mounted below it. And yet his scent is here. I leaned down and looked at the floor. It is quite clean of debris, and the stones look like they are polished. This area seems insignificant, just a small alcove jutting off of a main hall as a place to hold a torch and provide dim light, but if that is all it is, then why did Pietro bring me here, and why does his scent stop here?

I hesitated. As an archaeologist, I know that old buildings hold many secret doors and tunnels. Crusaders, Knights Templar, Freemasons and Monks of old were skilled craftsmen who knew how to hide their valuables from the rich and greedy monarchs who hunted them. I examined the torch on the wall and pulled at it. Nothing happened. I removed it and examined the sconce, but I didn't see anything unusual about it.

I replaced the torch and looked closely at the walls. There will be an indication of a secret door or tunnel somewhere if there is indeed one. I examined the walls and floors to the right but saw nothing unusual. Same on the left. These areas are quite narrow. The logical place for a secret is behind the torch wall.

I looked over my shoulder and made sure the hall was still empty. Adiel had taught me that things that move have energy. If there is any moving mechanism in here, I should be able to feel the source of energy. I took a deep breath and channeled my power. Electricity sparked in my fingers, and I held them up to the wall, letting the energy interact with it. I got nothing until the bottom right area where a small stone was in the wall only slightly further than the other stones, looking natural to the naked eye. The electricity in my hand interacted with the energy there, and I stepped forward and shoved my foot into the hole. Instantly the wall swung around like a well-oiled machine, and I was in a dark space.

I removed my foot and turned around. Darkness is no problem for me, but not being able to see far ahead concerns me. I lit a fireball in my hand and held it up, peering into the darkness warily. Pietro's scent is fading, but it's definitely fresh and present. He's leading me somewhere. Either that or he's using the puzzle ball to bait me.

I scanned the walls and floor for traps. The Knights Templar of old were known for their love of traps to protect their treasures. The longer I'm here, the more I'm convinced I see their work along with the work of monks in creating this church.

Cesar? I called my beast.

I will take over now. I don't trust him. I don't like him.

Me neither.

My beast and I are always in agreement. We live in harmony with each other and trust the instincts of the other. Both of us are feeling the presence of danger. I quickly disrobed and put my clothes in my bag. Cesar emerged, cracking my body, lengthening it, bulking it up until I was a huge living gargoyle wandering the secret hallways of a forbidden church. It was the makings of a horror movie.

Cesar let out a warning growl. If Pietro is playing games with us, then he'll recognize that he has unleashed the royal beast on himself. Vampires are right to fear the royal beasts as they are merciless to treachery from their own kind. We are in place to keep balance in the world and destroy vampires who step out of line.

A low chuckle echoed through the hallway.

"Come, great beast. Come with me," a whispery voice floated through the darkness. Cesar moved at an insane speed down the narrow hall, setting off a few traps that went off fruitlessly behind him. He summoned our flames as he moved, lighting up the way and taking in his surroundings as he moved through them, following the fresh scent of his enemy.

Up ahead a dark figure moving at a quick pace was illuminated in the fire, but he was no match for the speed of the vampire beast. Cesar picked up the pace and caught up to him, grabbing him by the back of the cloak and jerking him off his feet, turning him ruthlessly to face us. To our surprise and anger, the person now looking at us with a relaxed and apathetic expression was the young man who opened the door to us when we first entered the church.

Cesar growled in his face and sniffed at him. Why didn't I notice before? It was glaringly obvious now. The young man smelled like a wizard. A wizard in one of Pietro's robes, confusing the scent.

"Where is Pietro, wizard?" Cesar demanded. The young man just smiled.

"The great immortal one has tricked you, just as you tricked him. He suspected the Fairchilde family had become abominations. His suspicions were correct, I see."

"How dare you mock me, boy!?" Cesar snarled. The young man just shrugged and lurched, pressing a stone on the wall before I could react. The floor opened under us, and Cesar fell into it, still holding the young man, the hall being too narrow for his wings to even open.