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”Not exactly,” I said. “I’ve never played cards.”
His eyebrows raised. “Really? I shall have to teach you one night. No gambling, though. I promise not to try and corrupt the angel.”
I smiled. If only he knew…
“Actually…” I confided. “I’ve never played any kind of game.”
“Well, then, I shall certainly have to remedy that.” His voice sounded as though he was smiling, but when I glanced at him, his face was as blank as ever.
“So… you tempt people into gambling… what do you get out of that?'' I asked, trying not to judge, and genuinely curious. Gabriel would have said his motive didn’t matter, but I was starting to see that every person and demon was so different, and now my curiosity was sparked. Plus, it was distracting me from my own shame spiral.
“What do I get out of it? Money, mainly. I’m a very good player, and my poker face is exceptional. The more people bet, the more I win.”
“You throw the game,” I said.
He stopped and looked at me. “Not at all. I’m a very honest player. I just like to play for decent rewards, and my lifestyle is… expensive.”
“So, if you make so much money gambling, why work for Cole?” I asked.
Ash went quiet and I thought for a moment I had pried too far.
“I needed a new challenge,” he said, slowly. “Gambling is my love, but it has become… restrictive. Working for Cole has given me new challenges and I believe it will lead me to more freedom in the long run.”
“I can see that,” I said.
“Heads up, guys!” Theo’s voice came from further down the tunnel, and we sped up, nearly crashing into Theo and Carlisle as we rounded a bend and came on them suddenly. Theo turned to grin at us.
“I think we found it!”
I looked past him to where Alastor was standing, shining his torch ahead to reveal the end of the tunnel.
“I can’t hear anything,” he said. “But let’s take it slowly just in case.”
We moved out into the space beyond, torches panning around the space, the beams fading into obscurity. The cavern we had walked into was immense, far bigger than the one where wehad encountered the winged hellions. It was also not entirely natural. Alastor stepped away from the tunnel entrance and turned, sweeping his torch over the wall which held the tunnel entrance. Either side of the entrance his light revealed two shallow stone bowls. Ash leaned over one and sniffed at it.
“Oil,” he said. “I wonder…” he held his hand over the basin and red flames appeared at his fingertips.
“Wait-” said Alastor, but it was too late. The flames touched the liquid and the oil caught, hungry and bright, casting a halo of light that set our surroundings aglow. Flames travelled down a carved channel and along a groove in the floor, created for this very purpose. We all turned, watching with bated breath as the fire took to its destined path. Like liquid gold, the flames spilled forth, coursing through the labyrinth of channels that branched and wound their way through the city. The fire spread, a living entity, a network of light that sought out the dark recesses and hidden corners of the cavern.
As the flames found their way to the myriad lamps and braziers set before dwellings and along the thoroughfares, the city came alive in a crescendo of light. The architecture of this subterranean marvel was revealed in all its splendour, each flame a revelation. The structures spanned several stories in height and stretched away into the recesses of the cavern. Towering columns carved from the cave walls stretched up to support the weight of the world above, their capitals blooming like stone flowers in the firelight. Arches and bridges connected the cavern's myriad levels, creating a vertical tapestry of habitation that defied the very notion of above and below.
Balconies adorned with intricate railings overlooked plazas where the firelight danced upon statues, each one a sentinel of the silent city. The walls bore reliefs of scenes so lifelike they seemed to stir and breathe in the flickering light, telling tales of the people who once walked these stone streets. Staircasesspiralled up to lofts and alcoves, each step worn smooth by the passage of countless feet. Marketplaces lay open, but bare, as if the merchants had merely stepped away, and would return come morning to hawk their wares.
And in the heart of this cavern city, a central plaza housed a grand temple or palace, its facade a masterpiece of sculpted marvels.
The light from the flames threw the entire city into a warm, golden hue, settling down to a low flicker in the lamps and I finally found myself able to breathe again, and I gazed around in wonder.
“I thought Sodom was destroyed,” breathed Theo. “I assumed we were looking for cellars and storage rooms, not… this…”
“I mean, there’s plenty of explanations about what happened back then… a meteor burst, an earthquake…” said Carlisle.
“Maybe they didn’t destroy it,” I said quietly.
“What?” Alastor turned to face me, but I struggled to meet his eyes, turning to Carlisle instead.
“No one ever saw the cities destroyed by the angels,” I said. “There were no witnesses. They made sure of it - look at Lot’s wife. The Bible says she was turned into a pillar of salt for looking back when she’d been told not to. What if the angels didn’t destroy the city? What if they just… sank it in to the Earth?”
Chapter Twenty-Four
