“The man whose bones rest in this sarcophagus was slain by the forces of Moses,” Carmen said. “That’s pretty amazing.”
“It’s possible Moses might have slain Og himself,” Amanda said.
“Assuming this really is Og,” Zane said with a hint of skepticism. “At this point, who knows?”
“Well, the size of the skeleton seems to fit the biblical description.” Amanda was looking at her phone again. “Listen to this passage from Deuteronomy. ‘For only Og, king of Bashan, was left of the remnant of the Rephaim. Behold, his bed was a bed of iron. Is it not in Rabbah of the Ammonites? Nine cubits was its length and four cubits its breadth, according to the common cubit.’” She looked at Zane. “In other words, he was about thirteen or fourteen feet tall.”
Zane nodded.
“You’ve sold me,” Emily said.
“So do you believe the legend is true?” Zane asked Amanda. “Do you really believe we may be near the entrance to the underworld?”
“I’ll admit I’ve been a bit skeptical about the map and the key. Then again, the map did lead us to this underground city. Not only that, but now we find a burial box containing what appears to be the bones of Og. So is hell’s gate somewhere down here? At this point, it would be intellectually dishonest to say it’s impossible.”
Carmen wondered if it was time to let the entire group know about the child she’d seen. Admittedly, Zane’s initial doubts had rattled her, but she didn’t take it personally. After all, Zane held himself to the same standard. During a recent Delphi operation at CERN, he’d traveled to the facility’s underground tunnels to save a man who’d been kidnapped. While there, both he and the man saw something — a large creature, perhaps a Nephilim — and yet for a time, Zane had labeled it a hallucination, the product of smoke inhalation.
That brought her back to the child. At this point, why should she hide what she saw? The group deserved to know what was out there.
She turned to Amanda. “Do you think it’s possible there is demonic activity here?”
“Absolutely. Why?”
She let out a sigh. “I saw something earlier… when I left the group.”
Amanda’s eyes widened. “What? Why didn’t you tell us?”
“I did tell Zane but wasn’t sure if I should tell everyone until I was sure of what I’d seen. Hearing you talk about the history of all the things that happened here gave me the little nudge I needed to share what I saw.”
“So what exactly did you see?” Amanda asked.
“From the moment we entered this cavern, I sensed something was out there, something dark. And it wasn’t just the general creepiness of being in a strange place. There was more to it than that, and yet, I couldn’t put my finger on what that was.
“That all changed when we actually began walking through the city. I realized someone or something was watching us. I never saw them. I just felt the eyes.”
Carmen recounted the events inside the building, from the killer rats to seeing the child. She also shared how he seemed to vanish when Zane came up the stairs.
When she was finished, Emily asked, “Are you sure it wasn’t a member of the order?”
“No. As I said, this was a child. Correct me if I’m wrong, but I don’t recall seeing any children on the way down.”
“Nor did I,” Keiko said.
“You said he spoke a few words to you,” Amanda said. “What did he say?”
“It was weird. He asked me if he could approach. He also mentioned wanting something to eat. Honestly, it’s all so bizarre. None of it makes any sense.”
“No, that’s fine. You’re sharing what you saw.” Amanda frowned. “You also mentioned his eyes looked strange. How so?”
“They were black — black as night. I can’t begin to tell you how frightening they were. It was like looking into the pits of hell.”
“What do you mean when you say black?” Amanda asked. “Some people have eyes so brown they appear black.”
Carmen shook her head. “No, his eyes were completely black. Not just the iris… the entire eye.”
A look of understanding spread across Amanda’s face. “I think I know who you saw.”
Zane’s brow furrowed at her remark. “You know who he is?”
“They’re called black-eyed children, and they’ve been seen all over the world. Most believe they’re a hoax, an urban legend, but others believe they’re something that has crossed over from the supernatural realm. There are even those who believe they’ve been created via genetic manipulation — modern-day Nephilim, if you will.”
“It sounds a bit far-fetched to me,” Zane said.
“I’m not saying I agree with them. I’m simply saying those are the theories. If they do exist, I believe they’re somehow related to demonic activity. Perhaps they’re demons masquerading as children. As I said before, the whole thing could just be an urban legend.”
“Put me in that camp,” Zane said.
“Fair enough. That’s certainly possible.” Amanda gestured toward Carmen. “But that leads us back to her story. How do we explain what she saw?”
“I believe her story. I saw it in her expression when I arrived. She’s telling the truth.”
“Maybe I got everything right but the eyes,” Carmen suggested.
“We may never know what—”
Amanda was cut off by a distant sound. At first, it was hard to hear. As the group fell into silence, Carmen realized it was the loud blast of a horn. She also realized what it meant.
The order had discovered the gate.
CHAPTER FORTY-TWO
Zane led the team out of the temple and into the streets. The bullhorn had blown for several minutes. As best he could tell, the sound came from the far end of the cavern. When they turned on to the main avenue, members of the order filed in the same direction. A few wandered too close for comfort. It would be hard to avoid contact for much longer, something that concerned Zane greatly. If exposed, they could probably fight their way back to the surface, but it would also mean they’d have to leave Reid and Pratt behind — unacceptable.
“Do we know what we’re going to do when we get there?” Amanda asked as they walked.
“We need to go through our due diligence then formulate a plan,” Zane replied. “It’s impossible to come up with specifics until we know what we’re dealing with.”
“We’re going to need a diversion,” Carmen added.
Zane was thinking along the same lines. While he still held out hope Reid and Pratt might be held somewhere away from the action, it didn’t seem likely at this point. They were being taken along with the rest of the order, probably for some nefarious purpose.
“Anything specific in mind?” Zane asked.
“Only that it needs to be something that will create a high level of chaos, something that will have them scrambling in every direction.”
“Gunfire perhaps?”
Carmen raised an eyebrow and nodded.
“I can peel off and take shots from a distance,” Zane said.
“I was thinking Keiko,” Carmen said. “She’s unlikely to be harmed by return fire and can also better fend for herself if we get separated.”
Zane nodded. “I like it. Anything that keeps me alive is a great idea.”
Carmen smiled.
“I think we’re almost there,” Amanda said.
The city ended two blocks ahead. Beyond, the flock gathered at a natural alcove in the cavern wall. Zane checked to make sure no one was directly behind them then signaled the team to step into an alley. There, Carmen laid out her preliminary plan. After entering the alcove, they would first attempt to determine the location of the hostages. Once that was established, Keiko would slip off to a remote location while Zane and Carmen moved as close to Reid and Pratt as possible. Keiko would shoot at the guards, not just to take them out but also to create chaos. Hopefully, the incoming fire would draw the guards out of the alcove. If it worked, Zane and Carmen would take out any remaining guards and free the hostages.