Church of Darkness
"Here we are." Lara tugged at Kurtis's hand. "Duomo Oscuritá. Looks pleasant enough."
"Yeah, sure, if you like the whole gothic architecture thing."
"Oh quit being so cynical all the time. I don't even have to do this, remember?" Kurtis only shrugged.
"Well, we aren't going to get anything accomplished out here." Lara followed Kurtis in.
The church's name was a misnomer. It was no grand cathedral, but rather a single, large room with various cappelle or chapels flanking its corridors. There was no dome in the center, no tiles of gold or mosaics, simply cold, gray stone creating the structure, décor, and embellishments on everything. The church was cool in the way that this stone lends itself to a natural chill, and Lara couldn't help but shiver as it she stepped into the cold air. It didn't help that the church was irrepressibly dark and ominous.
"Where do we start?" Kurtis asked, also slightly shaken by the atmosphere of the church.
"The chapels are my guess. I'll take that side, you check these. Look for anything that mentions nephilim, alchemy, or Lux Veritatis. Or, rather, anything that looks suspicious." Lara left Kurtis and made her way to the left of the entrance, weighing in the amount of work she had in front of her.
There were four small chapels on her side, the two in the center slightly larger that the two flanking them, housing a few small tombs in addition to the shrine like prayer alter to the various saints worshiped therein. She could tell immediately that the first chapel had nothing to offer, its rectangular walls depicting scenes of Jesus' various miracles, a spectacular shrine dedicated to Paul, and a few small pews of wooden benches for quiet worship. The second chapel was much in the same way, although larger and with more pews. The third Chapel this time had a relief of winged angels, and a small angel statuette on an altar. She recognized the possible relation to the Nephilim, the "fallen angels" in Hebrew; although their fanciful faces and spells of laughter left her feeling there was little connection to what she was searching for. To her dismay, the fourth chapel was occupied, a family gathered for some certain worshiping service. She may have raided many tombs and temples with respect but little regard to the holy and spiritual practices they related, but she had enough tact to not disturb an ongoing ritual, whatever it might be.
With a sigh, she glanced over to see that Kurtis, whose eye was not quite as used to the particularities that would cast suspicion, was still on the second chapel. Deciding that he would finish soon enough, she sat down in a middle row of the pew, resting and simultaneously waiting for the special service to end. She thought she'd best check the engraving Kaufman had given her, hoping that she could at least determine what path she had to take once she'd entered the vault. She looked at it in detail, realizing that she'd only glanced at it earlier. The church was dim, and she held it up to the light hoping she would be able to see it more clearly.
She nearly jumped at what she saw, gasping and dropping the engraving, she quickly recovered and bent down to pick up the engraving. As she was gathering it up, a red stone caught her eye. She glanced at it, noticing that it created a line directly through the center of the church. Suddenly, as if she'd seen a vision, she leapt up, practically running to the altar at the front of the church. Once there, her elevated position gave her a full view of the church and its floor, and, smiling, she held up the paper with the engraving.
Out of the corner of his eye, Kurtis saw Lara's sudden movement. He still had one chapel left, he knew, but thought it best to see what Lara was up to. He followed her up to the altar, and stood behind her as she meticulously eyed the paper.
She turned to him, smiling. "Looks like we found our secret door." She showed him the parchment. When held up to the light, a watermark was clearly visible, elaborating some symbol comprised of two perpendicular lines, One stretching and the other similar, intersecting at its middle, forming a Spanish cross with a circle surround the meeting point of the two lines. Also intersecting at the middle was a ray, branching from the center to the lower right hand corner.
Kurtis found all this very interesting, but was still slightly confused. He looked inquisitively at Lara, who understood his apprehension immediately. She took the engraving from him and gestured at the floor of the chapel. Kurtis's mouth dropped open.
There, embedded on the floor of the church, was a long line of red stone, intersected by an identical line in the middle, forming a Spanish cross. A stone circle of similar color surrounded the intersection, with various rays reaching from the center to the chapels. The engraving could be held up, and from the sole window light above the main entrance, the watermark matched perfectly with the design on the floor, the line pointing clearly to the last Chapel, where the family service was being held.
Fortunately, the chapel had been vacated, the service ended. All but one woman remained in there, and Lara and Kurtis waited patiently for her to leave. As she withdrew, they saw a tall woman of stately figure, appearing to be in her forties but obviously pregnant, although it was of no hindrance to her. They thought nothing of her as they brushed past her, entering the chapel and closing the door behind them, the soft red velvet granting them some privacy.
Once inside, Lara saw the obviousness of the chapel and its relation to the painting. The relief on the wall depicted the same winged angels as the chapel next to it, although the angels were scarcer, looking sad and forlorn, no longer caught up in the scenery of heaven but distracted by something far away.
"Look." Lara pointed at one angel who was crying, its wings no longer present. Kurtis followed her finger to the angel.
"The angels who fell from heaven," He explained. "They became jealous of humans; they lusted after the women of the civilizations they were meant to teach righteousness to, led by the angel Shemhazai. They taught the women magic and procreated with them, creating a race referred to as the nephilim, half human, half angel, but unwelcome and unwanted in both realms. This has to be the place." Lara nodded, still transfixed by the crying angel.
Kurtis started scouring the chapel, searching for a key or hole that would lead them to the painting. Lara didn't move, although she let her eyes drift from the angel down to the altar. It was a peculiar altar; there was no saint or patron that it worshiped. It was plane, but large, a single cross standing on top of a large marble block that protruded from the rest of the wall, adding to the indentation allotted for the cross. Lara didn't have to second guess that that was the entrance. She stepped closer, bracing herself and readying to forcefully push the block any way it would move. She was surprised when it wouldn't budge. She sighed, standing up, registering the surrounding area. She noticed that immediately in front of the cross in the altar was a depression, as though something was missing. She smiled at the realization, ducking out of the room before Kurtis even had an opportunity to question her. She returned only a few seconds later, carrying the small angel statuette from the chapel next door. She placed it in the depression, but frowned when nothing happened.
"You're pretty resourceful," Kurtis teased, now noticing Lara's frustrated, rapid thinking of how to proceed.
"That more than I can say about you," She shot back. She tried pushing the block again, but to no avail.
"Mind if I try?" Kurtis asked
"Be my guest." Without another word Kurtis stepped forward and switched the statuette of the cross and of the angel.
"The angels were meant to support the holy doctrine. They were sent down to earth to preach righteousness, and that's when all are problems started. Rightfully, they should be behind the cross, not before it." Now the figurines switched, and Kurtis nudged the marble block, and without any further assistance it shifted to the side, revealing a spiral staircase just wide enough for someone to crawl down.
Lara stood in amazement, then shrugged. "It seems a little obvious, doesn't it? Not much protection from a nephilim."
"They would never put themselves after God." Kurtis replied before retreating down the stairs, Lara following, descending into darkness.
I did my best to research this, and that was the best I came up with, sorry if it's wrong!
N.F.I- thanks so much for offering to fix my mistakes, I will certainly take up your offer, but am away from my computer with all the early chapters saved on it and will be for a couple of days. If your offer still stands, I'd love to send them to you then!
Okay,I knowI said the action was coming up, but it looks like it might be a few more chapters before it gets really, well, action-packed. Until then, enjoy whatI have and don't hesitate to review!