"This… there's something weird about this painting?' Brenda walks a few steps forward and lean towards the painting to sniff at the painting. As she did her eyes wide open and she took two steps drastically attracting everyone's attention.
"This… this smells like blood. This scarlet colour inside the painting smells like blood." Brenda revealed with hight pitch voice in fear as she stares at bleeding fingers as blood seems to be flowing down. She feels as if her mind is playing tricks on her but it's just the painting, it can't be some cursed painting or possessed by the ghost?
All of them heard her voice and turned their heads at the painting on the wall, though it looked good but that's it there was nothing special about the painting in most people's eyes except for Brenda and David. Even Yui failed to notice anything as it's just a simple looking drawing or made by some face artist. Carlo, Jaxon and James got close to the painting but they didn't find anything from the painting, Carlo got really close to sniff the smell of the painting as the smell hit his nostrils and his eyes narrowed down.
"She's right, it does smells like blood and it isn't recent work as far as I can tell. It would be worth a lot of money on any black market or even in legal auction. This wooden frame I've never seen anything like this before. This small part… my god this must date back to thousand years old Libical city art work, How this painting got here and how did it able remains still in perfect condition despite such a long time period." One of the David men got close to the painting to see why everyone was making a deal out of the painting but his words made everyone jaws dropped in awe and shock.
"You, how did you know this?" Carlo asks something that is good to be true, if this painting is from that certain time period he can't think of the amount of money he would get from selling this in black market. and the money, power and connection he will get from this is unimaginable. He can even start his own gang. But first I have to make sure this is real stuff, not fake one.
"I went to art school before and I've seen this wooden frame on one of the painting in art museum and they also had the same method of making painting with the human blood and if this is real Libical painting then those roses growing from faces must be from real human face skin as it symbols their growing nature as human being." Mistick said with an excited face as he finds his knowledge has finally become helpful to him and finding such art.
"Jaxon, you knew about this?" Carlo asked with eyes narrowed down as Jaxon knew about this place. So, he might even know the owner of this painting or to whom this painting is being sold.
"Oh, hell nahhh bruhh. I only stumbled across this place because of this alien invasion. I don't know shit about painting and all these things inside the room and thanks to Johnson I was able to stay alive as he was the one who found this place in the first place." Jaxon face is full of shock and regret, if he knew this early he might have hidden this painting to keep it for himself.
Carlo turns his eyes at the Johnson standing behind the Jaxon like his shadows, he hasn't seen him making any move or speak all this time and that's quite unsettling and the way he had this poker face all this time but then he eyes falls onto the bookcase, it's wooden bookcase with many books covered in dust and spider web. Out of everything only this place is dirty in this room. Carlo walks past Jaxon and Johnson as he grabs the one book from the bookcase and sees the old rusty yellow cover of book covered in dust and the book doesn't even have a name on it or faded away with time, he opens the book to start reading it but to his surprise. It's written in a language he doesn't understand or know about. "Hey, art men, do you know anything about these books and language?"
Mistick nervously holds the book in his hand, he felt all the eyes on him. He already said was in art school before not into literature or archaeology, being called for checking something he has expertise in it. Is the worst feeling ever but despite that he moves in front of Carlo and takes the book from his hand but as moves the pages with his fingers he still doesn't understand anything at all?
"I'm sorry but I've no clue regarding what this book is about or this language." Mistick said truthfully as he doesn't know what this gangster would do if they find he lied to them about something he has no knowledge off.
Carlo is a little bit disappointed by this but he still understood the value of this book and painting far exceed the prices of drugs he uses to manage under his area and the upper level eltes connection this will bring can't even be described with words. As most of the history of their world is burnt to ashes in the fire of the first great war, wealthy people's hobbies always seek this: books, art, sculpture, murals, cloths, jewellery, objects, skeletens and the graves.
But in this all they all forget about the one who got their attention first, Brenda alone in the dark corner of the room starts grasping for the air as she can't breathe the air. Her eyes rolled back and slowly the outline of the rose tattoo started to appear in the centre of her breasts. The tattoo looks oddly similar to the single rose that the lady painting was holding in her hands as the tattoo on her breast became more detailed. The rose in lady hand starts to disappear till it completely disappeared and Brenda woke up from the Nightmare full screams and agony in Roses hell. Her head is covered in sweat and the smell coming her body start to change slowly that got unnoticed as it began to take slow effect and her sensitivity starts to enhance more than usually human have, her mind slowly start to overwhelm with all the sensation she's feeling but to her it feels like really bad headache as all she can do is cry silently in the corner while holding her head.
Carlo grabs another book from the bookcase but just like before it was written in a different language that he doesn't understand, he places the book on the bookcase where it was before and starts to walk towards Johnson to know about how he found this place as he was here before but he never suspected something like this. If there's one such place already exists chances of another such hidden room being around sea port isn't far from off.
But then he stopped on his track just as he got close to Johnson as felt something different than usual and moved back a few steps back as he listened to his footsteps sound as he walked on the centre of the carpet and started kicking the floor around. Some of them didn't understand why he was doing that but Yui, James, David and Johnson understood that coming from the floor sounded different than usual as if it was hollow from below. Carlo raises his head and looks at Johnson and Jaxon and in a commending tone with smirk on his lips as if he hit the jackpot says, "You two move out of this carpet."
As Johnson and Jaxon take a few steps back from the carpet, Carlo with one swing throws the carpet away from the floor and dust flies up in the air. The sound of coughing fills the room but he doesn't care as watch the trap door on the floor with beautiful art work, his greedy mind telling him to take away this trapdoor and leave nothing behind from this place. He holds the small gap on the trap door to open it and sees before his eyes change to stairs disappearing in complete darkness.
"Hands the one torch to Johnson and both of you are going to walk down stairs first, lead the way." Carlo said with a grin on his face as he looked at the face of Johnson and Jaxon. One thing he knew from his life long experience was never stand first in whatever you are doing in your life, be the third or fourth person to stand in line, when you don't know what's in front of you. If that's something good, you can always steal it and make them silent and if that's bad you have two or three meat shields with you.
Jaxon stood beside Carlo to look inside the hidden basement, unlike this room the basement seems to carve out of the one big boulder as steps and walls are carved out by fine craftsmanship but the darkness inside the basement seems more dangerous than what he saw in the corridor. His sense of danger was never wrong, Johnson walked up to him and placed his hand on Jaxon. The fear he felt a moment ago got subdued little as long as he has his brother with him to protect his back there's no need to fear anything.