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Dawn crept over the rolling hills to the east of the Dead Sea, painting the sky in strokes of pink and orange. The water lay still, reflecting the glory of the heavens, and the crystalline salt and sand at the water’s edges seem to glow with its own rosy hue. I stood at the edge of the water, taking it all in. The world was hushed, like it was holding its breath. Memories stirred of the world when it was young and peaceful before temptation and evil had crept through it like a disease, marring the perfection of creation. I couldn’t remember clearly, just snatches here and there. Millennia of memories in one mind meant many were lost to time, and others, well maybe others weren’t meant to beremembered. Looking out at the serenity of the early morning, it was hard to imagine fiery skies and raining brimstone. The earth had healed from its punishment. Something told me the human race never had.
“You coming, Sariel?” I turned to find Lily watching me. Not an early riser, she still looked half asleep as she stood there dressed in skintight leggings and a crop top. I wasn’t sure if I’d ever get used to her lack of clothing, or her freedom in pursuing her carnal needs like last night, but she had been nothing but friendly, and I was trying to remember what Euriel had said about not thinking in black and white but in shades of grey. Lily’s promiscuity, despite it being her energy source, might make me wary of her, but I was starting to see that there was not a malicious bone in her body. I smiled at her.
“I’m coming. Just enjoying the view.”
She came over to me and stood next to me, looking out over the still water and slipping her arm through mine. I stiffened a little at the physical contact, but reminded myself that she’d backed off as soon as I’d made it clear I wasn’t interested in anything sexual. This was, perhaps, friendship. Something I’d never had. A tiny flicker of warmth stirred within my chest as I turned to look out at the vista again. I liked friendship.
Lily sighed. “It’s beautiful. Hard to imagine all the horrors that happened here. I guess it just shows though.”
I looked at her. “Shows what?”
She turned and smiled at me. “That no matter the devastation and the darkness, there’s always hope for a beautiful dawn.”
I returned her smile, still a little surprised at such poetic musings from a demon, when I’d believed most demons were of little intelligence and depth. I made a decision to try and not work on that assumption anymore. Alastor wasn’t a demon, but he was still from Hell, and there was definitely more to him that met the idea.
The thought of Alastor sent a thrill down my spine. As much as I’d tried to forget what had happened the night before with him and Cole, my dreams had been haunted by the possibilities, one of which had me riding Alastor as Lily had done with her shifter, my nails digging into his broad dark shoulders as I rolled my hips over his, and I’d woken gasping and sweating before dawn. I tried not to react to the memory, but Lily must have sensed something because although her smile remained, her lilac eyes narrowed slightly.
“Shall we join the others?” I suggested.
She nodded, and we turned from the lightening sky and headed for the large tent further down the beach, its sides billowing slightly in the morning breeze. A makeshift base camp, this tent was black rather than the natural-coloured tents in the main camp, and had sides that could be lowered or raised, depending on the need. We had reached the beach fairly early, but it seemed a team had already been dispatched to set everything up ready for when we got here and I had to admit, I was a little impressed at the smooth organisation. A low ramp led up to a solid floor built with sturdy boards, and boards had been laid from the ramp up the rocky platform where three of the cars had been left. Practical and necessary for Cole’s wheelchair.
As we headed up the ramp, I saw him sitting at a low desk, tapping away at one of the laptops that were open, I wondered about him. A demon, and an incubus to boot, I was grateful his abilities didn’t work on angels. I could see how with his dark good looks and charm to go with it, he could be very dangerous. What fascinated me was how with the well-known healing abilities of incubi and succubi, how he’d become injured enough to put him in a wheelchair permanently. He should have healed from any damage, even if it took time, and it was clear he’d spent many years in a chair from how smoothly he moved around.
Cole glanced up from the laptop as we entered, offering us a warm smile. His dark hair was perfectly styled back, and he wore a similar linen shirt to the day before, except this one was a pale pink. Something felt different though. He seemed… healthier. Maybe it was the different colour of shirt against his skin, or maybe he’d just had a really good night’s sleep.
As we approached Cole, Lily dropped her arm from mine and sauntered over to him. She leaned against the desk, her presence like a warm breeze that seemed to chase away the shadows that clung to Cole.
"Morning, handsome," she purred, her voice a lilting melody that held a hint of mischief. I couldn't help but roll my eyes at her blatant flirtation, but Cole simply chuckled.
"Good morning, Lily, Sariel. Did you enjoy the sunrise?" Cole replied, his tone light and easy, with no indication that he even remembers the night before when he’d fed from my lust for his boss.
“Stunning,” Lily said. “Don’t tell me we’re the first here. I was actually earlier than Alastor? The lazy sod. I bet he’s still asleep. I could have had another ten minutes in bed!”
“Or maybe he got here earlier and was performing safety checks on the dive equipment,” said Alastor with an amused tone from behind me.
I stiffened as the weight of his presence settled on my body. Not a heavy weight, more something that wrapped itself around me, holding me. My heart skipped as I turned to face him, preparing myself. As it had yesterday, my first glimpse of him sending my pulse skyrocketing and my breath catching in my throat. Today he wore another black tank top that showed off his sculpted arms and shoulders perfectly, with the same cargo pants and boots. I swallowed, forcing my eyes up to his before he realised I was looking at him like… well, I wasn’t sure what. I justknew that for some reason I couldn’t fathom, I found it very hard to keep my eyes off this man’s body.
Physical attraction, I told myself. I had felt it before over the centuries. That appreciation of a body that the Almighty had created perfectly, like some artist’s sculpture. It came and went, but I had never felt it this strongly. Without realising it, I had taken two steps towards him. He seemed to regard me in the same way, his gaze moving slowly down my body taking in every curve and detail in a way that caused heat to build inside me. I felt naked, vulnerable but part of me craved his eyes on me, and I hated that. I took a deep breath and deliberately turned away.
“Yeah, so, diving… about that… how far down are we going?” asked Lily, a tiny waver in her voice.
“Here,” said Cole. He grabbed a large tablet and slid it further across the table, so we all had room to look at it. "I've been going through some of the data Alastor collected yesterday. There are some interesting anomalies in the readings in this part of the sea, but I can't quite make sense of them yet. I'm running more scans now I’ve got the more powerful equipment set up, and Theo already has the camera in the water and is checking further out.”
I moved away from Alastor to stand next to Cole, glancing at the screen filled with complex graphs and numbers. "Any idea what could be causing the anomalies?"
Cole shook his head, a thoughtful expression on his face. "Not yet. Oh, wait, there’s a message from Theo… he’s got something on the camera…”
"Whoa," said Lily, as the image came into view and sharpened.
The scan showed the seabed, but right there, a little way out — there it was. A cliff, where the seafloor just dropped off into darkness.
Alastor's finger traced a digital contour on the screen, homing in on the sharp intersection where sea met stone. "The entrance has to be on this wall."
Cole nodded. “I agree. The scans you did yesterday show the tunnel energy signature ending around this location. The anomalies make it almost impossible to pinpoint the exact location though. You might have to explore a little.”
Alastor frowned. “We’re going to need plenty of weights to get us down that low.”
“Already taken care of,” said Cole. He nodded towards the back of the tent, where a long table had been set out with piles of diving equipment. “Tanks and additional weights are down by the boat.”
