A Mix Of Fear And Fascination

Sister Dorothee let the first impulse to hold Innocenza by the arm pass. Instead, she also stepped onto the stairs and descended. Her helper was right. They probably wouldn't find anything valuable in this deep cellar room, but as long as they didn't look, they would never know. Besides, there certainly wasn't a monster lurking down there, was there?

The ancient door was waiting for them at the foot of the stairs. Doubt came over Dorothee again. The heavy bolts and thick chains had certainly not been put there for no reason. What if there was an unimaginable horror locked up inside that she could unleash?

Sister Innocenza was already one step ahead. She rattled the iron locks.

“How do we get them open?” she mused.

Dorothee straightened her back and exhaled audibly. She took one last look at the parchment in her hand to make sure she wasn't mistaken. Then she held it up.

“Herewith!”

Curious, the younger woman looked again at the confusing, illegible signs and symbols, which stood out clearly and meaningfully to Dorothee. She placed both feet firmly on the hard stone floor and read.

It was as if the syllables came directly from her mouth without her having to understand their meaning first. The words sounded strange and old.

The chains rattled, the bolts began to creak. Innocenza looked back and forth between the door and her co-sister with a mixture of fear and fascination.

Then the latches fell to the floor, rendered ineffective, and the portal swung open.

The two nuns stared into the darkness beyond.

The statue of a huge man was enthroned in the center of the high, vaulted chamber. Every muscle of his powerful arms and torso was carved in great detail from the shiny black material. His face, on the other hand, was hidden in the shadow of a hood. But horns on his head hinted at his nature.

Dorothee and Innocenza felt irresistibly drawn to the statue, although they did not recognize who or what it was supposed to depict. They could not help but approach it. They were gripped by an indescribable awe and prostrated themselves before the pedestal.

A blindingly bright light flashed up, burning in their eyes. Blinking in its glow, the two women recognized people surrounding the statue. The veils on their hair identified them as nuns, but their bodies were unclothed, revealing that they were in a state unbecoming of a nun. They were all heavily pregnant.

And in a terrible flash of enlightenment, Dorothee suddenly knew with certainty who was standing there worshipping the idol. They were her predecessors.