Road led the three down a long hallway that branched off in several directions, and Allen clung tight to Kanda's side when he realized he could get easily lost in the winding hallways. Jasdero and Devit snickered at him as he clutched for dear life to Kanda, then skipped after Road with large grins. Road pulled a chain out from inside of her shirt, removing it and swinging it and the key that was attached to it around in circles. She stopped and turned towards an empty patch of wall, she stepped forward and pressed the rusted skeleton key into an almost invisible hole in the wall. With a quick flick of her wrist, the thick ancient wall letting out a poof of dust as it separated slowly from the rest of the wall. The old track that the fake wall moved on groaned as it worked after years of not being used.
"This way,idiots." Road stated, snapping her fingers to light the candles that we mounted along the walls in the stairwell. Allen stepped before the opening and gulped, feeling the wind rush past him and the soft moan it created. Kanda gave Allen a reassuring push and he stumbled down the stairs slowly, allowing his free hand to trail on the smoothed wall. The stairs ended abruptly and opened up into a large room the was filled with herbs that grew in large pots, and dried ones hanging in bundles from the ceiling. Towards the back of the room was a large fountain, a stone lion head letting fresh water flow from its mouth and into the basin below which wrapped around the room. In the center of the room was a long oak table that was covered in multiple open books, and from Allen's place he could see drawings of pentagrams and circles similar to the one Tyki had drawn. Three bookshelves were carved into the stone walls, each holding multitudes of objects ranging from rose quartz to dove feather to graveyard dirt. Bottles of labeled blood were in every available space, from the table to a cluster in the corners of the room. Allen suspected that they were separated by species,as he read the label of one, he frowned when he read that it was the blood of an unborn child.
"What are these books?!" Lavi squealed happily bending over the ancient text of the largest book. Road frowned, grabbed him by the ear and pulled him away.
"Those are books of spells, obviously, and I'd advise you not to touch them. Some will catch fire if anyone other than me touches them, they're still rigged up from the Salem witch trials."
"You witnessed the witch trials?!" Allen asked curiously.
"You guys are so loud! C'Mon Jasdero, let's leave these idiots to do their witchcraft." Devit stated, turning on his heel and making his way back the way they'd come. Jasdero followed quickly behind, slamming the heavy door closed as he left.
"The three of us were there. It was all fun and games until innocent women get tied to a pole and lit on fire." Kanda stated and Allen elbowed him.
"Yes, it truely was." Road agreed and both let out a happy sigh. Allen wrinkled his nose at the thought of seeing something like that.
"What is wrong with you people?" Allen asked with a frown and Road snickered.
"Multiple things, but that's a conversation for later. Give me the crystals you currently have." Road replied, holding out her small hand in demand. Once the three crystals were in her palm, she smiled and set to work. Road unearthed a pedestal and mortar, dumped the old, forgotten contents on to the counter and started anew. She grabbed an assortment of herbs, a knife, a small vial of blood, and she produced a small jar filled what appeared to be finger bones.
After crushing the multiple herbs, Road snatched a bone from the jar and snapped it in half, a small piece flying across the table. Road cracked it open further and dug out the small bit of marrow that was inside and dropping it into the mixture.
"Since Tyki is gone, I'll just use this." Road stated uncorking the vile of blood, tilting it and letting multiple drops fall in with the rest. After replacing the cork, Road grabbed the knife from the table and smiled.
"Each of you hold out a finger." Road demanded and each did as they were told. She brought the blade to the tip of each vampires fingers, giving each on a small slice. She let the droplets fall into the mixture then had the three back away.
Road produced another jar that contained finger length crystals sunk at the bottom of dull water. With a sigh, she opened the top and reluctantly put her hand inside, fishing quickly around for four crystals. Allen could see her hand begin to burn and blister inside the water and he cringed at the thought of it.
"I hate holy water so much, you don't even know." Road gasped, dropping the for rocks to the table and holding her red hand in pain.
"Are you alright?" Lavi asked, watching as Road's hand healed quickly, the new skin still pink and slightly raw as she began working again. Road mumbled in response and grabbed and empty jar from the floor.
The four crystals were put into the cracked jar along with the mixture that was just created.
"This will have to sit for a week then you can have them. They should work much better than those half assed ones you had before, it works better if you have the blood of the one you're making it for. Now, Tyki should be back and I'm starving!" Road stated, putting everything back into its original place. She turned on the heels of her school shoes and made her way through the single entrance to the room.