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"Mr. Baldur, have you been able to translate it yet?" My brother looked at the angel inquiringly but immediately realized that his attention was on me. For a brief moment, I heard him gasp next to me, and out of the corner of my eye, I saw him follow Tanael's gaze in my direction.
"That wasn't necessary," the angel replied without taking his eyes off me. "I am fluent in Aramaic." Now, he turned to Chris and smiled openly.
"The days of polite address are over. My first name, Tanael, seems more appropriate, Chris."
He had offered my brother the same name as me. Should I be happy or angry about it? What did it mean that everyone else called him Lucifer?
"Gladly, Tanael," the priest responded with a cool undertone to his counterpart's offer. The angel pretended not to notice and continued unperturbed.
"The text tells of a sacred place with underground tunnels in the Assyrian Empire. As this area covered a large part of the Orient, it is difficult to determine which tunnel system is meant. It could be anywhere."
"Phew, that's really not easy. If I remember correctly, Egypt was just as much a part of the empire as modern-day Turkey, Babylonia, and Jerusalem." Chris thoughtfully ran his fingers through his hair.
"Maybe we're talking about the pyramids?" I suggested.
"The pyramids?" My brother looked at me doubtfully. "But what about the underground passages in that case?"
"Well, there are no underground passages but many tunnels within the pyramid itself, and these lead to almost inaccessible chambers," I tried to defend my theory.
"That is definitely a possibility. After all, pyramids are considered sacred places, and not all the tunnels have been explored to this day." Tanael stepped over to a desk by the window, took a sheet of paper and a pen from its drawer, and returned to us.
He wrote the word pyramids in curved letters. Enchanted, I couldn't take my eyes off his elegant handwriting.
Suddenly, Chris cleared his throat and elbowed me in the ribs. I turned towards him angrily, but before I could address him, Tanael was already talking.
"Chris, you mentioned Jerusalem. That's where we have the Temple Mount."
The priest was immediately on fire. "The Temple Mount, that's right! King Solomon had a temple built there around 1000 BC. So here, too, we have a connection between a holy place and a tunnel system."
Tanael bent over his note again. This time, I was careful not to stare at him again, and instead, I tried to concentrate on a painting on the opposite wall.
Silence spread through the room. Everyone was lost in thought, but I couldn't think of a comparable place for my life. The men seemed to feel the same way.
"That's it?" I broke the silence minutes later, and they both looked at me dejectedly.
"I wasn't often in the human world at the time; I was kept under much scrutiny," Tanael confessed contritely, and my brother shook his head.
"What about Edward?" I asked him. "Could Edward have an idea?"
"That's for sure. As you know from our previous nights of research, he's a walking encyclopedia."
"Where is he anyway?" I now turned to the angel, who avoided my gaze.
"Well," he stammered. "Since we didn't know for sure whether this Edward was working with Jack, we put him in a cell in the underworld."
"In a cell?" I exclaimed, startled.
"Yes," the angel admitted, and I could see from the molten gold of his irises he had to control himself not to start another argument with me. It was no different for me.
"But he's in a trance and therefore doesn't realize anything about his captivity," he quickly defended himself.
Sighing, I plopped down on the armchair in the corner of the room. Why could nothing ever be straightforward? But apparently, when angels, gods, or other mythical beings were involved in an event, nothing was uncomplicated.
Could I really ask my brother to accompany us to the underworld? One thing was clear: as long as Edward's guilt for the failed mission and Alex's death was not wholly disproved, the stubborn angel would certainly not release him.
"I know it's a lot to ask, Chris. But would you accompany us to the underworld?" I asked without looking at my brother.
"I'm coming with you."
