Bleeding Tears, Crying Blood

I walked brusquely through the trees, following the increasingly demanding call that vibrated through my very being. White grumbled at me incessantly, constantly telling me that if things go wrong he was not to blame. Leroy trailed after me quietly, wordlessly interested in what I was following. I was pleased he was not berating me about my decision. But then again, Leroy didn't fully understand what I was hiding from.

We circled around the town and, as the night grew old and colder with a mist forming in the air, I found myself standing outside of a waist high wall. What it circled around was the town church and it's graveyard.

"You've brought us to the old church, Alma." Leroy commented as he observed the trees and shrubs within the grounds blindly.

"The old one?"

"Yeah, the new one was built some time ago, so it's not new exactly, but it's younger than this one. The place here was practically abandoned."

I stared at the crumbling grey stoned building that sat sadly in distance. "Why?"

Leroy paused. "I don't know. Nobody really comes here and no one really knows why this place is left alone."

"Something hides in this place, I can feel it." White growled softly.

"Or being hidden." I commented then titled my head and listened. The call was coming from within the church. "I think whatever is hiding is what is calling me."

"Do what you want, Alma, I don't care anymore." White snapped and fell silent sharply.

I sighed lightly in despair then glanced at Leroy. He shrugged at my questioning gaze, silently telling me to take the lead. With on quick glance at the ominous church, I pulled myself over the sharp crumbling wall.

The grounds were large and, having been left to its own devices for so long, was unruly. The earth was still soft from recent rain and sucked at my feet lightly. The grass was thick and stupidly long while the trees had grown and expanded so much, their roots were tearing up the old graves and markers. By the thickness of most of the trees I guessed this place had been abandoned for hundreds of years.

The mist thickened slowly, causing the strange ominous feeling to press. I could feel Leroy growing unnerved behind me while White grew tense as we neared the decaying building.

We stood before it, on the stone path that was now cracked with weeds and grass forcing their way between them. The door was gone. Either because the wood had completely rotted away or destroyed by the wind, I wasn't sure. Bits of wood remained in the archway however. The stain glass windows were gone and, like the door, only the gaping holes in the stone were the only indication to what was once there.

"Come on, Leroy. Stay close." I said softly as I walked lightly and very cautiously towards the mouth of the church.

I leaned my head inside first, quickly glancing around with my wide sensitive eyes, keeping White clutched to my chest for safety, before I stepped inside properly. It was a mess. The roof had collapsed long ago, leaving beams and clay littering the cracked stone floor. The pews were rotten or broken and weeds had over run most of the walls. What surprised me though was that there were statues and small trinkets left behind. The place hadn't been looted in the years of absence. I came to the conclusion this was an immortal domain, just like Wolfram's home. No mortal would step foot in here. They instinctively feared to and never realised they were doing it. But the Branch didn't know of this place either. They had never told me another immortal was living here which meant they instinctively kept themselves away too.

"What lives here?" I asked myself as I wondered further inside, observing the night sky through the collapsed roof above.

White remained quiet but he was stiffer now. He had come to the same conclusion I had. He didn't like that was now going to roam this place, a place an immortal has kept himself hidden for so long only to randomly call for me. It was dangerous to him. To me, it felt perfectly safe.

"Where now?" Leroy asked.

I instantly closed my eyes and felt for the call. Now I was inside the church, the call was loud. It was humming in my ears and confusing my senses a little. It took a while before I managed to pinpoint where it was originating from.

I pointed a finger at the floor. "Below."

Leroy glanced at the floor and shifted his weight uncomfortably. I could smell his unease but his pride prevented him from saying anything.

I picked my way across the main hall until I found the remains of another door. I pocked my head around and saw stone stairs spiralling underneath the church. It was dark though.

"Leroy, there will be no light." I commented.

Instantly his hand shot into this pocket and he pulled out a small object. He pressed a button and a small pale light came on, illuminating his face. I peered closely and noticed it was a mobile phone, something I had never seen before. My Clan had never had much use for a portable phone back home.

"I can use this." He said.

"How long will it last?"

He hesitated. "An hour, maybe two."

I nodded in approval. "That should be enough. Take my hand so you won't lose me."

Again he hesitated but I noticed his face redden slightly and his heart pick up a little. White growled softly but stopped when I squeezed him in warning then took Leroy's hand. I let him hold the light as his eyes were weaker than mine, and slowly lead him down the broken steps.

After twenty steps, we reached the bottom which was a long hall littered with rotten wood and doors. The darkness was very thick down here. If it wasn't for the strange light from behind me, I wasn't sure I would be able to see. While I could see very well in the dark, I still needed a small slither of light to be able to. Leroy couldn't see that much, I knew, and my grip on his hand tightened.

"Be careful, there is rubble around." I warned.

Leroy mumbled in agreement and I led the way down the corridor in search of the source of the call. It took a while. We both glanced in some of the room but there wasn't much in there now as time had eaten at almost everything that wasn't stone or silver. I also made sure we went slowly so Leroy had time to observe the floor and not trip up over the random debris.

Eventually I found a thick door. I stared it for a moment. It was wood, made of solid oak. But it hadn't rotted and remained sturdy even though all its fellow doors had fallen.

"This door is guarded." White said. "I can feel Witch wards."

"Witch wards?" Leroy echoed behind me in confusion.

I glanced back at him. "Witches are human women who use Matter, an energy that gives them the strength to fight the immortals and keep both worlds in check." I explained briefly. "Witch wards are symbols that are carved into stone or wood and have the ability to hold Matter."

"Okay, so what do they do?"

"Prevent any immortal from touching or seeing whatever it guards." White said.

"Or stopping an immortal from escaping a prison." I murmured.

"So can you touch it?"

I hesitated and glanced down at White. He observed me quietly before shrugging his tiny shoulders.

"I can." I said softly.

Leroy looked a little bewildered at the impression I gave him. I didn't want to tell him that no immortal should be able to destroy Witch wards. It's how Witches protected themselves. But I could. I worked it only recently but I had the ability to destroy Matter.

"Keep that information to yourself, Leroy." White warned. "It's dangerous for people to find out."

Leroy kept silent but I knew he would not speak. Especially if he could put me in danger with this information. I raised my hand and extended my claws slowly. They were long and curved and took on an unnatural black colour as they extended from my fingers. I flexed my hand then placed my hand against the door and dug them in before racking them down hard. A loud pop and hissing sound exploded from the door and my hand whipped to my chest as a horrible burning sensation filled the tips of my fingers.

"It's gone now, Alma. Well done." White said softly, knowing that, while I can destroy Matter, it hurts me to do so.

"So we can go in now?"

"Yes."

"And whoever is calling you is inside?"

I hesitated then. It just dawned on me that I could no longer hear the call. I had not for a while., shortly before finding the door in fact. I glanced at the clawed door.

"Yes." I replied.

"Be on your guard, Alma, and flee if you so much as feel the tiniest slither of danger." White warned. "Whoever is in there was put there for a reason."

I didn't argue with him. While I still felt safe, I wasn't so sure I was anymore. The immortal in there could keep himself hidden from the Branch and Wolfram. I wouldn't be surprised if he could also smother his real intentions.

"Stay here Leroy. I'll check if it's safe then call you." Leroy opened his mouth to argue but I spoke firmly before he could utter a word. "The one thing you must learn is to obey. You are in an Old World situation right now and you listen to those stronger or more knowledgeable than you and do as you're told. If you don't, I may get hurt or killed trying to defend you."

Leroy sighed and nodded his head irritably. I guessed Cassandra had told him something similar during his time with her. "Fine."

I was pleased he gave in without too much of a fight. "Thank you." I said softly then turned on the doors.

White brimmed with power, threatening whatever was inside in an attempt to keep me safe. I put my handle on the door and pushed, hoping this was not a decision I was going to regret.