Alexander shrugged out of his coat and draped it around her shoulders.
“Mind your head as you walk through.” Ivana pointed to where the diagonal rib curved down to meet the pillar. “The ceiling is quite low in places.”
“I assume there used to be burial tombs in here.” Elliot stamped on the tiled floor with the heel of his boot. “If you look closely you can see where they would have been.”
“I imagine so,” Ivana said as she came to stand at his side.
Leo scanned the room. “Perhaps Talliano used this as his laboratory though I wonder what happened to his equipment.”
Evelyn walked over to one of the recesses. “The paintings are beautifully done. I suspect whoever was buried down here must have been quite a grand person indeed.”
Leo came to examine it. “They all depict various impressions of the gates of Heaven.” Indeed, the walls were painted with images of angels holding trumpets. The hues of gold and blue were soothing, yet uplifting. “The theme would suggest this was a final resting place. I wonder why they painted it on the wall and not on board or canvas.”
“Perhaps they feared someone would steal the paintings.” Evelyn ran her hand over the stone wall. “I would have expected them to fade after all this time, but then there is no natural light down here.”
The sound of heavy footsteps descending the stairs captured their attention.
Sylvester appeared. “I didn’t mean to interrupt, but I thought this might be important.” As they all gathered around, he held out his hand and presented them with an elaborate iron key.
Ivana ran her fingertips over the metal. “Where did you find it?”
“It was sitting amongst the pile of dust littering the courtyard.”
Alexander turned to Leo and whispered, “I take it the sun has made an appearance.”
Leo nodded. “That must be all that’s left of Nikolai.” Despite witnessing him meeting his demise, Leo felt relieved to find Nikolai didn’t know of a mystical potion to turn back time or a spell to make the dead walk again.
“Thank you, Sylvester.” Ivana took the key, and their hero trudged back upstairs. “You were right, Leo. It would seem there is a hidden room in the castle.”
“We can’t go racing through the corridors during daylight,” Leo replied. “So we may as well conduct a thorough search of the crypt before we leave.”
They all glanced around the empty room.
Elliot cleared his throat. “I doubt that would take more than five minutes.” He put his arm around Grace and she cuddled into him.
Leo sighed. “Well, you can tap the floor with your boot, just to ensure there are no loose tiles concealing a trap door. We will all examine the walls.”
They all went off in different directions. Leo chose to inspect another painting, his mind engaged with thoughts of Heaven and Hell as he considered the notion that their affliction meant they were all damned.
The constant thud of Elliot’s boot rang through the chamber, to the point Leo thought he could hear it echoing beyond the walls. He shook his head. It was impossible. They were twenty feet or so below ground. He stepped back and stared at the painted alcove. It felt as though the vibrant depiction of the golden gates of Heaven, coupled with the angel gesturing to the lock, were there just to mock him.
In one respect, he supposed the cure was the key needed to access the afterlife: their humanity being necessary for them to gain entrance. He stepped closer again, knocked on the stone wall only to hear a hollow sound.
Bloody hell!
As he ran his frantic hands over the surface of the painting, he could feel the seams of a door. “Ivana. Quick, bring me the key.”
A sudden flurry of activity behind him made his heart race all the more.
They all rushed to his side, a nervous tension vibrating in the air as eager eyes examined the painting.
“I … I cannot see anything.” The tremor in Ivana’s voice echoed his own feelings of excitement. Trembling fingers handed him the key. “What is it? Is there a door?”
Elliot leant forward and narrowed his gaze. “Look at the keyhole on the gate. The artist has done a superb job of concealing it.”
Leo swallowed deeply before stepping forward. Time stopped. Not a single sound could be heard, not even their ragged breathing for they all held their breath in anticipation. The small iron key slipped into the hole in the wall. With two turns and a click, the door shifted just a hair’s breadth from the jamb, but he felt a soft breeze of air brush over his face.
Ivana gasped. “Is it a room?”