Page 60 of The Vampire and the Barista

CHAPTER 20

Mathis and Gabe walked along their corridor. There were doors here and there and more faded picture spaces on the walls.

They arrived at the first room and walked in. It looked like an office, at least there was a desk and chair, but nothing else.

“Poor desk,” Gabe said, looking at it.

It must have looked stunning once, in mahogany, with three draws, and an area where a leather pad would have been. Instead, all that was left was a scratched empty space, with the draws open and empty.

“This room feels wrong,” Mathis said, looking around. The walls were covered in black mould and smelt of damp.

“It does, but the place has felt wrong since we arrived. I can’t imagine any old asylum feeling nice.”

“I pity those that have bought houses and flats in repurposed ones.”

“Yeah,” Gabe said, “and I thought my coven house was bad enough. Let’s try a different room.”

They left that one and carried on to the next one. This room was empty, as was the next one. They finally found a room that had something interesting in it.

“Somehow I wasn’t expecting this,” Mathis exclaimed.

“Me either,” Gabe said, walking closer. He looked at the floor, where a giant pentagram was painted on the floor in red. The middle of the pentagram contained a circle, at the point of each triangle was a circle, and what looked like runes were written around the outside.

“Do you know what the runes mean?” Mathis asked, walking around it.

“Protection, balance, health, healing and prolonged life.”

“Would chanting in here work for whatever?”

Gabe pulled his phone out and took some pictures. “It’s possible, it depends on the chant or spell used, or even what they were doing in here.”

Mathis knelt by a dark stain on the wooden floor. “This looks like dried blood.”

“Blood is used in certain spells; no matter the colour, it can require blood to activate them.”

“Virgin sacrifices?” Mathis queried, standing up.

“Possible. You know that doesn’t mean a person who’s not had sex, right?”

Mathis looked at him in surprise. “Really?”

Gabe nods. “Yeah, it just means someone whose blood hasn’t been used in a sacrifice before.”

“Huh, I never knew that. I always thought it was young maidens.”

“Nope. I wonder if Dave knows that. Remind me to tell him later.”

Mathis stopped walking and slowly looked around.

“What’s wrong?” Gabe asked, walking to his side.

“Can’t you hear that, that muttering?”

Gabe listened, and then he heard it, the hairs on his arms standing up. “We need to leave this room, right now.”

Mathis grabbed Gabe, and before he knew it, they were outside the room, just as the door slammed shut.

“Whoa,” Gabe muttered, clinging to Mathis’ arm.