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After we had turned left, Sam lit the torch again.
We followed the now visible path in silence. The walls' stones were very different. Sometimes, we passed huge ashlars and sometimes stones of various sizes. In places, the passages were so narrow that only one person could fit at a time, only to widen again a little further on.
"These tunnels were created after King Herod covered the Temple Mount, which formerly housed King Solomon's Temple, and a second one after its destruction, with a slab and built new outer walls. The so-called Herodian Temple was placed on top of this level. However, the space between the new and old outer walls formed these corridors here, which have not yet been fully explored. Unfortunately, excavations and archaeological investigations were prohibited in the past," explained Tanael.
"Are you talking about King Herod, who had the population counted and the babies murdered?" I asked in astonishment.
"That's exactly him," Edward replied. "Incidentally, the first temple, King Solomon's, is even said to have contained the Ark of the Covenant. Where, for example, the stone tablet with the Ten Commandments was kept. When the temple was destroyed by King Nebuchadnezzar II and his Babylonian soldiers, this temple treasure disappeared without a trace. It is claimed that in 1100 AD, the Crusaders recovered the Ark of the Covenant in these same tunnels. Perhaps the documents we are looking for are still kept inside it."
The history of this place was palpable. A history that had caused much bloodshed and great suffering.
"This is the top tunnel, but we must go further into the labyrinth." Tanael pointed with his free hand in the direction ahead of us while holding mine with the other. "There's a part up ahead that goes down deeper."
Shortly afterward, we discovered a hole in the ground secured by a fence. Sam shone the torch into it, and steps became visible. Stephan climbed over the fence and descended the first steps without further ado. Sam followed him with the torch to explore the surroundings.
"There really is a new tunnel here, with steps leading further down into the ground," Sam finally confirmed Tanael's assumption. Aspasia, Tanael, and I stood in the deeper tunnel system a little later.
"It's pretty spooky this far underground," muttered Lilith's daughter. "Unfortunately, my experience with underground tunnels, tombs, and dungeons is not the best," she added contritely.
It made me sad to think that in situations like this, all the terrible things she had to experience probably bubbled up. She was shaped by memories from many millennia ago.
"Are you all right, Aspasia?" I asked her, which she acknowledged with a grateful smile but didn't answer. "Let me know if you need a break."
The further we descended, the more humid the walls and the stuffier the air became. The thought of the many layers of earth above us made me feel oppressed.
Nevertheless, we followed the dark corridor that led us deeper and deeper, away from the earth's surface.
"There's a light up ahead," Stephan suddenly realized in amazement, and we all stood rooted to the spot.
Sam hastily extinguished the torch. We pressed ourselves against the tunnel wall in silence.
"Do you hear that?" the demon asked. I listened intently into the blackness that surrounded us. I couldn't see any light, not a sound, nothing.
"It sounds like chopping picks on rock," he told us, describing what he could hear.
Tanael put a finger to his lips and, with various hand gestures, made clear that Stephan would accompany him and the rest of us would wait here until then. Sam nodded immediately because it was clear what his task was while the God of the First Light scouted the surroundings with the demon. He had to watch the two humans and Lilith's daughter.
Before Tanael disappeared into the tunnel's darkness with Stephan without the torch, he tenderly stroked my hand one last time with his thumb, leaving it cold and empty afterward. I immediately shuddered. Something was wrong with this place.
Sam joined me. "Are you all right, Myrina?" he asked. His whisper was so quiet that I didn't understand what he had said at first.
Once again caught up in a premonition, I shook my head.
"There's something wrong here," I said, expressing what was bothering me.
"What makes you think that?"
"I don't know myself, but I've felt uneasy since we entered the tunnels. The further we go down, the stronger it gets," I said, hoping Sam took me seriously.
"Is it perhaps the darkness or the depth bothering you?" he asked patiently.
"No, it's not that. I'm not afraid of the dark, and apart from a queasy feeling, the thought of being so deep under the earth's surface doesn't worry me either. It's something else."
At that moment, Tanael and Stephan came back. They looked worried.
"We came across a mine. Hundreds of women are digging there with picks, shovels, and other tools," the angel reported.
"Women?" Aspasia asked.
