James Rollins - Blood Infernal

Once there, he waited until another rumble of thunder burst forth — then used his elbow to crack through the lowermost pane. Glass tinkled to the floor inside. He waited to see if any shout was raised. The house stayed silent.

Still, Rhun proceeded with caution. He reached through the broken glass, undid the latch, and slowly pushed the window open. The inside smelled like mildew and concrete — but something else set his skin to crawling. He remained where he was, listening, but when no alarm sounded, he rolled inside.

Even before his feet hit the floor, he felt the strength drain from his body. He landed in a crouch, remembering Erin’s story of this place being built on accursed ground.

It seemed some legends were true.

Rhun grabbed his cross, to center himself. The air in the house was ice cold, and it crackled with malevolence. He searched for any overt threat but found nothing. Light from streetlamps outside revealed an empty room with high white ceilings and smooth plaster walls.

He whispered a prayer of protection — then headed down to let the others in, ignoring a stronger urge to flee this place.

As Rhun held the tall wrought-iron door open, Elizabeth stepped through, pushing ahead of the others who were huddled under the entrance archway. She sensed the ungodliness of this place as soon as the way opened. It drew her like a moth to a flame — but rather than being burnt as she stepped inside, she felt a surge of power flow into her, the unhallowed ground calling to the darkness in her blood.

She noted Rhun sagged on his legs, hanging on the door handle to keep upright.

This unholy place has plainly sapped him deeply .

She saw the same effect as Christian and Sophia entered. It was as if a heavy weight had been dropped upon their shoulders.

So why am I unafflicted?

She stared around, wondering if it was because she was new to the holy wine, but she suspected it was something else, a testament to her true heart.

To hide that, she placed a palm against the wall and leaned upon it, as if beset by the same unholy malaise.

Rhun came to her side, offering his arm. “It is the accursed ground,” he explained. “It fights against our strength because it is born of Christ’s blood.”

She nodded. “It’s… it’s just dreadful.”

Jordan gave Elizabeth a suspicious look as he passed them, as if he knew of her deceit.

Sophia spoke with a strained voice. “Let us hurry about our task then.”

“Where should we start looking?” Erin asked, looking to Elizabeth for direction, suspecting that she had been here before. “Do you have any idea?”

Jordan clicked on a flashlight, revealing a wrought-iron chandelier and white plaster walls. They stood in a large entryway looking into a grand hall, with a curving set of stairs beyond.

Elizabeth let go of Rhun and headed across the hall. “Kelly’s damnable angel, Belmagel, appeared to no one else.” She glanced back to the others. “Because, of course, it was all farcical nonsense. Kelly was a charlatan looking for financial gain from the foolhardy. But what I do know is that Belmagel only appeared to Kelly in a room upstairs. If Rudolf left that message for me, perhaps that is where we should look first.”

Erin kept to Rhun’s side, protectively, concern for him plain upon her face. “This unholiness that you’re feeling?” she asked. “Does it emanate from any certain point, or is it everywhere?”

“I felt it stronger upstairs,” Rhun admitted.

“Worse than this?” Christian muttered under his breath, looking supremely unhappy.

Rhun nodded.

Elizabeth felt it, too, as she reached the curved set of grand stairs. It was like a breeze flowing down those wooden steps. While it seemed to buffet the Sanguinists back, she had to fight to stop from running giddily upward into its embrace.

“We should follow that unholy trace,” Erin recommended. “Whatever has accursed this place might be significant to our cause.”

“Or it could take us straight into trouble,” Jordan added.

Elizabeth continued to guide them, mounting the stairs first. She climbed slowly, feigning weakness by clutching the carved rail, pretending to have to pull herself up. She did her best to match the pace of the Sanguinists behind her. But with every step, she felt dark strength flowing up from the oak planks underfoot.

Impatient, she distracted herself by examining the passing walls. They were rich ochre and decorated with paintings from the Renaissance. At first glance they seemed to be ordinary court paintings, but a closer look revealed demons dressed in the garb of lords and ladies leering out at her. One demon held an innocent child in his lap; another feasted on the head of a unicorn.

At last, they reached the topmost story. Here the air hummed and crackled with malice. She longed to throw back her head and drink it in. But instead, she kept her hand on the burning silver cross, and her face blank.

“This way,” Elizabeth said. “Kelly kept his own alchemy lab just ahead. It’s where he purportedly summoned Belmagel.”

She led them through a double set of doors to a large circular room with bare plank floors. A stained wooden table had been pushed against one rounded wall.

“Smells like brimstone in there,” Rhun said, hesitating at the threshold, leaning on the doorframe.

“Sulfur was a common alchemical compound,” Elizabeth explained, as she moved deeper into the room with Erin and Jordan. “Apparently whatever Kelly worked on in here has seeped into the very bones of the house.”

It was a reasonable explanation, but even Elizabeth doubted it was true.

It is the evil of this place that infects the house .

She began to wonder if she had been wrong about Kelly. Maybe he had successfully summoned something dark into this space.

While Jordan examined the desk, opening various drawers, Erin circled the walls, noting a series of three frescoes painted on the smooth plaster, examining the Latin inscriptions below each one.

Once done, the woman returned to the room’s center and motioned to them with her arm. “These alchemy symbols are similar to those we saw in Dee’s receiving room.” She crossed back over to one — a circle holding wavy blue lines — and read aloud the Latin found below it. “ Aqua . Water.”

Intrigued, Elizabeth moved to the second, a ring dappled with green, like leaves in summer. “This one says Arbor . Latin for tree or garden.”

Jordan stepped over to the third, not far from the desk. His circle dripped with crimson lines. “Sanguis.” He gave them an ominous look. “Blood.”

Erin pulled a camera out of her backpack and began to take pictures of all three. She spoke as she worked. “Over at John Dee’s place, there were four symbols, representing Earth, Wind, Air, and Fire. Not only are these marks different, but there’s no fourth symbol.”

Elizabeth searched around. The only other decoration on the walls was an elaborate mural. She shifted over to it, bending down to examine it closely, to see if that missing fourth symbol was hidden somewhere in this lush painting.

The mural depicted a verdant valley surrounded by three snowcapped mountains. A river ran through the valley and emptied into a dark lake. Curiously, a red sun hung at the top of the picture. Underneath the fresco were the Czech words jarní rovnodennost .

She ran a finger over the words, translating aloud. “ Vernal equinox .”

Erin joined her. “What’s that coming out of the lake in the center?”

Elizabeth looked closer. From the water’s dark surface, limbs and demonic visages seemed to be boiling forth under that red sun.