by Adele Clee
Ivana smiled in response to his affectionate gesture as she considered his question. “Nikolai has not been back to the castle for years. There are certain rooms that are used daily, and I would be surprised if he had stored it in there. The elixir is important to him. So much so, he would have killed us all to prevent us from discovering more about it. If I had the cure, I would hide it in a place no one knows exists.”
Leo narrowed his gaze. “Do you mean somewhere like a secret vault or chamber?”
“Many castles and old houses have hidden rooms,” Alexander said. “I have seen priest holes behind oak panels, secret corridors behind bookcases, a concealed flight of stairs leading down to God only knows where.”
Grace spoke up. “Has there ever been any mention of a secret room? Often you hear tales of such things in the village, stories that have been passed down through generations.”
“I have heard mention of previous owners.” Ivana nodded. “One of them was thought to have been obsessed with witchcraft. I was warned there may be charred bones buried in the crypt, told I may experience terrifying nightmares. But due to the nature of our affliction, I have never paid it much heed.”
Leo pursed his lips. Nikolai said he had inherited the castle from a friend, a man of some wisdom. Someone with knowledge of magic or medicine must have helped him to develop a cure.
“Nikolai said the castle belonged to a great scholar named Talliano. Has anyone ever heard of him?” Leo scanned their blank expressions as they shook their heads. “Nikolai said he came back for the cure and for Talliano’s notes. He threatened to burn the place to the ground before he left, including everything else in it.”
“Surely his interest in the fellow’s notes must have something to do with the cure,” Elliot folded his arms as he perched on the end of the bed. “Perhaps Talliano experimented with medicine. Perhaps he used his knowledge to heal.”
Evelyn’s eyes grew wide. “Herr Bruhn said many people come here for the healing waters. There is a waterfall up in the hills no more than a mile away. People say it flows from Heaven.”
Alexander nodded. “I’ve heard it mentioned, but thought it was gossip spun by the locals as a way of securing more visitors.”
“If Talliano is a man of medicine, then we are looking for a room that has been used as a laboratory,” Leo said confidently. If Talliano had invented a cure, it would not have been a simple process. “My guess is that it is below ground level.”
Evelyn gripped Alexander’s arm. “I know I should remain calm and not get excited, but the thought of a cure warms my heart.”
Alexander kissed the top of her head tenderly. “We must expect disappointment, my love. And we must also remember that whatever we find here belongs to Ivana.”
Evelyn sighed. “I know.”
“It is strange,” Ivana mused. “Most people would sell their soul for a chance of immortality. Yet here we all are desperately clinging to the hope that we will one day age and die.”
Elliot shot off the bed, the colour draining from his face as his frantic gaze shot to Alexander. He turned to Grace, opened his mouth to speak but froze.
“What do you mean you hope to age?” Grace asked in an innocent tone. “Everyone ages.”
Leo suspected that neither of his brothers had told their wives they were immortal. His heart went out to them as no man wanted to see pain in the eyes of the woman he loved.
Ivana’s fearful gaze flitted between the two gentlemen. “Forgive me. I assumed they knew.”
Evelyn frowned. “Assumed we knew what? To what do you refer?”
Alexander pushed his hand through his mop of dark hair. He grasped Evelyn’s hands and stared soulfully into her eyes. “There is no easy way to say this, and so it is best to say it quickly. One of the consequences of our affliction is that we are immortal.”
Evelyn jerked her head back as her mouth fell open.
“Immortal?” Grace gasped. “But such a thing is not possible.”
Elliot took a step towards her, and Grace took a step back. “Alexander speaks the truth.”
“You mean you cannot die?” Evelyn’s eyes were almost bulging from their sockets. She snatched her hands from his grasp as Grace came to stand at her side.
“We do not age, Evelyn.” Alexander gave a heavy sigh. “Therefore, we will not die unless we are caught by the sun, starved of blood, lose our head.”
Leo expected to see tears flowing; he had expected to hear sorrowful wails echoing through the chamber, and he held his breath in anticipation.
Evelyn thrust her hands on her hips. “You mean to tell me when I am wrinkled and haggard you will still look like this?” She waved an irate hand down his body and then stamped her foot.
Alexander inclined his head.
“And neither of you thought it was important enough to tell us.” She hooked arms with Grace.
“We did not want to hurt you,” Elliot said solemnly as he came to stand at Alexander’s shoulder. “Please say something, Grace.”
Grace shook her head. “I can understand why you didn’t tell us. But I don’t know how I can be happy, knowing one day I will be gone, and you will still be young, free to marry again.”
“That will never be the case,” Elliot replied. “We have made a pact. As you draw your last breath so will we.”
Evelyn stared at him and then looked at Alexander. “A pact? Then perhaps Grace and I will make a pact. Perhaps we will ask Ivana to turn us too. Then we will never be apart.”
Ivana sucked in a breath. “I’m sorry. But I could not do it. Please do not ask it of me.”
“Damn right she won’t do it,” Alexander roared.
“But why?” Evelyn implored. “Don’t you want to live with me forever? Don’t you want to love me for all eternity?”
“I will love you for all eternity. There will never be anyone else for me.” Alexander closed his eyes and sighed. When he opened them again, Leo could see his pain. “This is not living, Evelyn. Everything about it is unnatural. There is still hope for us. I am convinced we have lived a life together before, and we will do so again. But not like this.”
Ivana clutched Leo’s arm and put her head on his shoulder. A dark cloud descended. With it came the reality of how difficult it was to live with their terrible affliction.
Elliot held his hand out to Grace and whispered, “Just let me love you.”
She stared at it for a moment before running into his arms.
Leo and Ivana watched as both couples embraced, muttered endearments, soothed their souls. Nothing could break the bond of true love. He believed that now. In his meditative mood, he glanced out through the window; slivers of orange tinged the dark grey sky. Time was both a blessing and a curse. In an hour, the sun would edge up over the horizon, and they would be relegated to the shadows once more. Finding the cure seemed more important than ever, but all he wanted to do was curl up in bed with Ivana and forget the rest of the world existed.
“We must head down to the lower levels before sunrise.” Leo straightened as he took Ivana’s hand.
“We can still search the Great Hall, the crypt, and the dungeons,” Ivana informed them.
“Regardless of what we do or do not discover, know that fate binds us all together.” Leo thought it best to be realistic. “Sometimes failure reaps unexpected rewards.”
Elliot narrowed his gaze as a smirk played on his lips. “When did you become a man of great sentiment?”
Leo shrugged. “As you know, love has a way of rousing emotion even in the most cold-hearted rakes.”
They spent an hour scouring the Great Hall: tapping on wooden panels, peering behind paintings in search of hidden doors. Once Leo was satisfied there were no other places to look, they moved to the crypt.
The underground chamber consisted of a series of aisles divided by limestone pillars, each one flaring up to the vaulted ceiling. The stone’s golden hue illuminated what would have ordinarily been a dark room. Leo noticed the arched rece
ss to his left, admired the highly-colourful painting of a celestial scene decorating the stonework. As he stepped into the centre of the room, he saw that each wall had a similar recess, all embellished in the same artistic way.
“My, it’s so cold down here.” Evelyn crossed her arms over her chest and shivered visibly.
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?”
“We will soon see.” Leo placed his palms on the flat surface and pushed gently. An icy chill settled over him as he stepped into the small tomb. While the golden limestone blocks in the crypt made the room feel bright, the walls in the tomb were a dull, dreary grey. “It’s too dark in here.”
“Grace and I will go and ask Sylvester to light some candles,” Evelyn said. She gave Alexander his coat before they raced to the stairs.
“Follow me inside.” Leo shuffled forward. “But have a care. We do not want to break anything.”
They all crept inside; a sense of awe and wonder flooded his chest, and he knew his brothers felt it, too. This tiny chamber could contain the answer to their prayers. As they stood huddled in the centre of the room, they scoured their surroundings.
“The longer I stand here, the clearer the objects in the chamber become,” Alexander said squinting in the darkness.
“I can’t believe I have lived here all this time and knew nothing of this secret room.” Ivana touched his hand. “Do you think we will find the cure in here?”
Leo sighed. “We can but hope.” A strange sense of foreboding settled over him. Perhaps his anxiety stemmed from knowing Nikolai was not a man to be trusted. Perhaps a fear of the unknown caused mild panic to flare.
What would it be like to be human again?
In the years he’d spent coming to terms with the nature of the affliction, he never dared to ask himself the question. To walk in the sun, to eat ham and eggs for breakfast, were but simple pleasures most people took for granted, yet he would have sold his soul to experience them once again.
But things were different now.
Ivana was his life, his love, the greatest gift, the only pleasure. In those terms, his affliction changed nothing. It was neither a hindrance nor a blessing, and so he would not be disappointed if their efforts were in vain.
Evelyn and Grace returned carrying a candlestick in each hand. As soon as they entered the chamber, the golden glow illuminated the table at the far end. Leo took one from Evelyn’s hand and placed it on the wooden surface while he inspected the equipment. The others were placed in various positions around the room.
“It looks like some sort of filtering device,” Elliot said touching the glass tube leading into a bulbous bottle. “This piece of muslin could have been used to remove impurities.”
Leo shrugged. “Such contraptions mean nothing to me.”
“I think these are Talliano’s notes,” Alexander said. He was sitting behind a desk at the opposite end of the room, flicking through a leather-bound book. “It’s all in Latin. His writing is appalling unless he was drunk when he scrawled the words.”
“There’s a chest on the floor over here.” Grace knelt down in front of the small wooden trunk. “It’s not locked.”
Leo and Elliot came to stand behind her. “Open it.”
With hesitant fingers, she raised the lid. “There’s nothing inside but a piece of rock.”
“Rock?” Leo bent down and peered into the chest. He removed the grey, silvery lump. Its shiny metallic lustre sparkled in the light. “I have
no idea what it is.”
“In Latin it is known as haematītes,” Alexander said coming to stand with them. “Talliano mentions it in his notes. From what I can read, the scholar believed it removed impurities from the blood.”
Leo frowned. “Do you suppose we are to ingest a fragment of the stone?” He shook his head. “Surely not.”
“There is something under this tray,” Grace said, removing the wooden structure that had supported the stone. “There is a box underneath.” With steady hands, she removed it and carried it over to the table before placing it down gently.
They all came to stand before the inlaid mahogany box.
No one spoke for a few seconds, but it felt like hours.
“One of us will need to open it,” Elliot eventually said with slight apprehension.
Leo turned to Ivana. “Perhaps you should. After all, the contents belong to you.”
Ivana grasped his arm. “No. You open it.”
Leo sucked in a breath before flicking the tiny brass catch and lifting the lid. Five small brown bottles lay nestled amidst a bed of burgundy silk.
Leo stepped back, his hands were shaking, his heart thumped hard in his chest. “Good Lord. I think we have found the cure.”
Excitement thrummed in the air until the whole room vibrated with suppressed hysteria. Leo removed the first bottle, picked out the stopper and sniffed. He could smell nothing. He shook it. But he did not hear the liquid sloshing against the glass. Holding out his hand with his palm facing up, he attempted to pour a drop out for all to see.
But the bottle was empty.
His throat grew tight as he tried to swallow. Leo turned to see their smiles fade, to see fear flash in their eyes. He checked the next bottle, knowing that there were only four left, not knowing what to do should it be empty too.
Replacing the empty bottle back in its cushion, he took the next one, knowing as soon as he held it in his hand it was also empty. Still, he went through the motions, felt his shoulders sag as he tipped it upside down and shook it.
The room was deathly silent.
