They stopped in front of the gates of the Gothic-style Catholic Church. The arched windows reflected moonlight like silver mirrors. They sat on the car's hood staring at the wrought-iron fence that surrounded the church building and was painted dark black.
"We came here too late. Of course, the church is locked," Rain said, glancing at Jace, who looked thoughtful.
"Leave it to me," Jace said as he rose from his seat and headed for the tightly closed gate. He rolled up his sleeves and placed his palm on the large padlock that locked the fence.
Rain watched Jace grip the lock, and a few seconds later, the heavy iron lock suddenly fell with a thud to the ground. The gate opened after Jace gave a slight push.
"Wow, how did you do that? If all thieves were like you, there would be no prison. Because all prisoners can freely escape anywhere with just one touch."
"Are you kidding me? You mean to call me a thief?" Jace glared at Rain.
The girl was still restless. Rain occasionally looked up at the sky, which seemed dark, and only moonlight existed.
"What are you looking for?" said Jace. "Don't want to come in?"
"The reddish light following our vehicle during the trip is now invisible. I know you saw it too."
"You don't have to think about it. It's just the messenger dragon. Soon he will come with the rest of the dark forces."
Jace and Rain walked through the wrought-iron gate that was already open. They stood in front of the church door made of thick wood with double arches. The door was also tightly locked.
Rain looked doubtful. "It feels wrong to break down the church door."
"Who is going to break down the church door? We're not going to do that," Jace said casually.
Jace took a step back, and now he started moving his hands. He dropped his palm on the surface of the tightly closed door. All over, Jace's body appeared like black smoke. The same smoke usually rises from the bodies of the dark forces when they use their magic abilities.
The black smoke rose from every surface of Jace's skin, gathered, and began to shroud the church door. The next second, the door suddenly opened with a click, and the hinges creaked.
The door swung gently in front of them and opened into a quiet, empty dark room. Hotspots of fire lighted the room.
"Jace," Rain whispered.
"You come in first!" Jace said to Rain.
When Rain stepped inside, a cool air enveloped her with the smell of stone and burning candles. Rows of gloomy pews stretched before the altar, and piles of candles shone like sparks on a distant wall.
Rain realized that apart from the highly luxurious and old Darkwood Palace, she had never actually entered a church. Vaguely in her memory, Rain had seen a church somewhere at some age. However, she was never really in it. Rain only vaguely noticed the church buildings from a distance. She thought maybe her parents had kept her away from the church all this time.
Rain should have felt safe in the church, but she didn't. The girl's eyes darted, and her body was alert. The strange shapes of the candlelight reflected in the shadows on the walls made her shiver.
"This is an old church with a gothic style. You will not see the beauty here other than the exoticism of the remnants of history."
"No, it's not the shape of the building that makes me uncomfortable," Rain replied quickly. "I just haven't been to church at all. I mean, well, I've never been to church, and this makes me a little uncomfortable."
"Okay, I'll speed things up here." Jace continued walking towards the altar. He knelt before the altar with his head bowed as if praying in a long peace.
Rain stood a few feet behind Jace with a hint of curiosity and surprise.
"I didn't think he was pious, " Rain thought.
Rain thought Jace was praying. The altar in front of Jace was relatively high and dark granite decorated with red cloth. Behind the altar is a veil of golden ornaments depicted with figures of saints and martyrs. Each of them wore a flat gold disc behind his head as a symbol of a halo.
"Jace, are you praying?" Rain couldn't help but ask.
Jace didn't answer. Rain stepped closer to look at the man in front of her. Jace was putting his hands on the stone floor. His moving runes all over his body appeared to cover the rock in front of him.
"I never pray," Jace replied coldly. "I'm busy looking for anything that can be used to clean up the wolves."
"Are you looking for a weapon? Here? In church?" Rain was utterly shocked and couldn't believe her thoughts.
"Yeah, what's wrong? The safest place to store weapons is where you never think there will be violence, let alone murder. My army of darkness also comes from churches like this that are thousands of years older."
Rain was stunned but didn't say much. She just watched while imagining what kind of weapon the man was looking for.
Unexpectedly, the floor in front of Jace, which was covered with runes, was a door leading to a dungeon. There was a niche that wasn't too deep and not too wide but enough for an adult human to enter.
"Would you like to wait here? If you're scared, you can come with me downstairs."
Rain immediately backed away in fear. "No, I'd better stay here and wait for you to finish. I'm too afraid of dark and cramped rooms. That would make me--"
Before Rain could finish her words, Jace's body had already disappeared into the dungeon's darkness. Rain almost jumped in surprise. She had to poke her head in search of Jace's whereabouts. But the cellar was too dark, and no light was going in or out.
"If I'm allowed to pray, I have only one request. I don't want to be left here alone. Whatever Jace is looking for, Lord, quickly bring him back here."
"Your prayer is quite interesting. I thought you would pray for me to die down there soon and not come back to bother you," Jace quipped, who suddenly appeared carrying a black bag that looked quite heavy.
Rain was embarrassed. She diverted the conversation. "What did you get?"
"Not many."
Jace placed the bag on the altar after closing the cellar door again. Rain watched and groped the floor where the door had been but didn't see an entry. It was a pure marble floor which was solid and tight.
"How could that be?"
Jace opened the bag he had managed to retrieve and showed the objects inside. "It's just a bottle of holy water, a blessed knife, a drill of steel and silver, and a gun and two silver bullet cases."
"I mean, not what you get!"
Jace ignored Rain. He kept taking things out of the bag and lining them up on the altar. However, there was still some left in the bag. Jace reached into it again and pulled out its contents.
"This is for you," Jace said.
Rain received the thing, which looked quite thick and was wrapped in black velvet. "What's this?"
"I think you need to change your clothes. The dress you are wearing now is inefficient for our next journey."
"Do you also store clothes in a place like this with those weapons? Wow, you're quite well prepared? What is this girl's clothes for?"
"There are a lot of things that are going to happen. We must anticipate them, including any clothes, disguises and anything that mortals normally wear. Because once in a while, we also have to go to the mortal world to travel."
Rain received the package and was confused about finding a place to change clothes.
"Do it here! There's no one else but us."
Rain's cheeks turned red. She was timid. She thought she had seen another side of Jace that was too immoral.
"I won't see you! I will be busy checking these weapons."
Rain rolled her eyes. "Can he read my mind?"
Jace didn't look at Rain. The man had his back to Rain and was busy with his things.
Before Rain changed clothes, she glanced at Jace to ensure everything was safe. Jace looked like he was taking something quite long from his bag.
"Is that what you're looking for?"
Jace froze for a moment. He didn't expect Rain to see what he was carrying.