AllFreeNovel
Share Us
"Does that corridor there lead to Jesus' tomb?" I asked him.
"Exactly. In the tiny room at the end of the tunnel is a marble slab, under which there is another one from the time of the Crusaders, covering the stone on which Jesus was laid after his death."
Unfortunately, there was no time to ask any more questions, although I would have liked to know what was true and what was not in the stories about Jesus and his death. The appearance of an angel was now one of the real possibilities.
When everyone had gathered in the chapel, Sam opened the wooden entrance door as quietly and slowly as possible, which was only a crack wide compared to the tunnel arch adorned by several angels. Nothing could be heard outside this small building, and after Sam had looked around carefully, he signaled us not to make a sound.
One after the other, we crept out of the chapel. In front of it were six candles, about 23 feet high, which, together with other small light sources, illuminated an impressive round hall. I followed their entire height with my eyes until my gaze fell on the top of the dome, which was undoubtedly more than 160 feet high. Through its center, the moonlight shone in. This circular opening was framed with golden spikes, making it look like a sun in the firmament. Next to it, golden fans ran down the dome until they met the first row of arches. Below this were three ever-widening rings of arches, the lowest of which were primarily supported by columns.
Before we hurried through one of these arches to the exit, I looked back one last time at the chapel, which seemed like a miniature church with its small tower on the roof.
We encountered no other people, and it was only a short time before we reached the exit, which was fortunately unguarded. Stephan tried to open the tiny gate, which seemed small in contrast to the size of this church, but to no avail. It was locked. He gazed questioningly at Tanael and hunched his shoulders.
Quietly, the angel pulled a leather case out of his pocket. I was amazed to see that it contained tools. Couldn't he just magically unlock the gate?
"It's safer not to use magic or other powers, as they could be detected too quickly. The portal was already a risk," Tanael whispered close to my ear. He skillfully used the tool to tamper with the lock, and shortly afterward, a soft click was heard. The angel smiled triumphantly, returned his case and tools, and opened the gate a little.
Outside the church, it was also deserted and quiet.
Tanael silently signaled Sam, Stephan, and Aspasia to leave the building first. They quickly put on their black hats, pulled them low over their faces, and slipped through the open gap into the open air.
Edward, Tanael, and I waited patiently for a few minutes until the angel looked outside again and gave us a sign to follow him. I also covered my pinned-up hair with my black hat and left the church on unsteady legs. As soon as we entered the street, reality hit me hard. We were back in the human world, a place where I would be tied to a stake right here in this courtyard and burst into flames if I was discovered.
My forehead broke out in a cold sweat. I looked around nervously, flinching at the slightest sound from one of the alleyways we passed at night. I felt sick with panic. Was this a trap? Was the streets so quiet because we'd already been exposed?
Suddenly, I heard footsteps. The men quickly hid in the darkness of an archway at their level, but I couldn't reach the hiding place in time as I ran a little way behind them.
I hurriedly turned into a narrow alleyway that seemed typical of the cityscape. The sand-colored houses with their old walls had mostly only two floors. Windows and doors were closed with shutters, so I could walk between them unseen. I turned right at the next corner and followed the stairs to a new row of houses.
The buildings were built right next to each other, and finding a gap to hide in was difficult.
I stopped momentarily and listened with bated breath for the footsteps, which were quieter now but didn't disappear.
So, I kept running deeper and deeper into this unfamiliar city. The alleyways narrowed with every turn, and my fear grew.
Out of breath, I looked around again for a hiding place. Where were the archways that had provided a niche for Tanael and Edward?
Then, I discovered a staircase on the outside wall of a house that led directly to the second floor. Trembling, I crawled under the stone steps and curled up. I sat there, hardly daring to breathe and listening to every little sound around me.
There they were again, the footsteps. Had the person been following me? I heard them coming closer. Sweat was running down my back by now. The clacking of shoes on the paving stones got louder and louder until someone finally stopped next to my stairs.
Panicked, I pressed one hand over my mouth; the other clutched my necklace, and I held my breath. I didn't dare look at the person standing right before my hiding place. Instead, I closed my eyes and tried to stay calm.
The person moved forward a few steps, then back again, until he finally turned on his heel and walked back in the direction he had come from.
Nevertheless, after the footsteps finally faded, I remained motionless in my hiding place for a long time. Cautiously, I crept out from under the stairs. I was standing in one of those narrow alleyways that looked exactly like the others through which I had fled from the invisible pursuer.
Where was I? And how did I get to the Wailing Wall? Even if I had memorized the way on the map, it wouldn't be able to help me now. I had to be somewhere deep inside the Old City of Jerusalem.
Determined, I walked in the direction I had come from. It couldn't be that difficult to find my way back to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre and from there to the Wailing Wall.
But after the second fork in the road, I no longer knew whether to go left or right.
Our mission failed, and only because I got lost in Jerusalem. Tears welled up inside me and I was highly annoyed with myself.
There had to be a solution. I hadn't seen a public map or a sign anywhere that would help me.
Suddenly, an idea came to me. I hastily wiped the tears from my face and closed my eyes. Could I contact Tanael in my thoughts just as he could contact me? It was worth a try.
