The Celestial Gate by Avital Dicker (red white royal blue txt) 📗

“Ouch! Stop biting me,” the angel said crossly. “They are no longer my responsibility. Leave me alone. Besides, I’m not getting involved with the gray monsters.” He tried to retrieve his trousers and, just to be sure, lifted his wings to keep them as far as possible from the bogo’s teeth.

“Listen, I can’t fly. It makes me nauseous,” he said angrily.

Without letting go of Enochio’s ankle, the bogo barked something in reply.

“All right, they came in during my shift. I know,” Enochio acknowledged with a sulk. Nonetheless, he turned to look at the sea below. “If I weren’t an angel, I’d really hate you right now,” he said to the stubborn little critter. “Too bad that angels can only love because right around now I would really enjoy a good session of hating.” The bogo answered him with a series of barks.

“Fine, I get it. Responsibility, shmesonsibility,” said Enochio furiously, giving up the argument. He trod heavily down the mountainside and back to the sea.

Mor kicked the water lightly and watched, fascinated, as the ripple spread into a circle, immediately forming a wave.

“Stop, you’re making the water shake,” Anise called from afar.

Mor was too far away to hear her. He kicked the water again, this time harder, and shouted out, “I remember everything now! People never change. They’re always evil.” The next kick was particularly ferocious. Anise anxiously watched as an enormous wave rose and rapidly approached them.

“I’m not going back to the war, and I’m not going back to my father.” Mor lifted his arms to his sides and started to run.

“Stop,” Anise screamed. More and more waves were rising around her and Yam, and she was starting to swallow water.

“I told you not to trust the sea,” said Rae who was sitting on the white horse Mor had ridden. She lifted her wings and tried to rise in the air, but a wave tossed her off the horse and cast her into the water.

Enormous waves topped by white spume were rising all around. Anise, Mor, and Yam were thrown ahead, flung about and sucked deep into the sea. The horses whinnied in panic. The bogo on the shore barked madly and Enochio looked at the spectacle with distress.

There was a knock at the office door. Sual’s heart skipped a beat, but it was only Aisha. She entered smiling, with an eight-year-old boy in tow, and introduced him. “This is Ibrahim.”

Amalia looked at the sunglasses on the child’s head. The right edge of one of the lenses was cracked in the exact same place as Yam’s. That’s not possible, she thought. “Those are Yam’s sunglasses. What are you doing with my son’s sunglasses?” said Amalia, snatching them off the child’s head.

“He gave them to me,” said Ibrahim. Insulted, he took a step back.

Amalia was embarrassed. He’s only a child, she thought. “I’m sorry. I apologize,” she murmured, “it’s just that we’re worried sick about our children.”

Ibrahim wasn’t mollified and continued retreating. Before he could make it to the door, Sual strode briskly to his side and held one of his arms. Her voice quavered. “Please, Ibrahim, where did you see them?” she asked in Arabic. She opened her wallet, took out all the bills she had, and placed the money in the boy’s palm. “Are they alive?”

The child nodded yes, and Sual embraced him fiercely.

“They wanted to go to the Muslim cemetery next to the Temple Mount and I showed them the way,” he said, wiggling out of Sual’s arms.

“Why on earth would they want to go to the cemetery?” Theo wondered. Ibrahim only shrugged.

“Thank you, Ibrahim,” said Sual, gladly bending down to embrace him again. This time he managed to evade her altogether and, before anyone had a chance to stop him, he opened the door and disappeared.

A bent-over figure emerged from the dark alley to meet the child. Ibrahim smiled happily. Old Ali placed his hand on the boy’s shoulder. “Did you remember to return the watch and the earrings?” The boy shrugged, and Ali laughed with acceptance. “Are you hungry?” he asked fondly, ruffling the boy’s hair. Ibrahim nodded and the two were quickly swallowed by the narrow alleyways of the Old City.

In the small restaurant office, Amalia hurried to put her coat on. “Let’s go,” she said.

“You can’t go to the cemetery! It’s being bombed from the air,” Aisha exclaimed.

“We’ll find a way. I’m not leaving them alone in the battle zone,” Theo pledged, and turned to the door.

“Wait. I have a better idea,” Aisha broke in and started to roll up the room’s old Jerusalem rug, revealing a rusty square trapdoor set into the floor. Aisha lifted it up on screeching hinges. “This leads to a system of underground tunnels,” she said, adding, “and it goes all the way to the Temple Mount.”

Sual looked at her mother with amazement. “You said there’s nothing under the city, Mother.”

“You were just a little girl, Sual binti; the tunnels are a dangerous place. I was protecting you just as you are now protecting Anise,” said Aisha. Sual knew her mother was right.

“In my army unit, there were always legends about an underground city beneath the Old City, but nobody believed it really existed,” said Amalia.

“What unit did you serve in?” Theo asked.

“Oh, it was a long time ago,” Amalia avoided answering.

“Mind you, there are many tunnels,” Aisha warned. “Be careful not to get lost.”

“You’ll find night vision goggles in your backpacks. They’re better than flashlights,” said Amalia. Theo and Sual looked at one another as if saying, This one never fails to surprise.

Aisha embraced Sual warmly. “Bring my granddaughter back,” she whispered in Sual’s ear.

Amalia was the first down the hatch into the dark, Theo and Sual close behind her. Aisha closed the trapdoor from above and rolled the old rug over it, hiding its existence once again.

Chapter 24

Mor slowly regained consciousness and looked around. The crystalline water was not stinging his eyes. “I think we may be breathing underwater,” he said dumbfounded.

“We’re tied up