The Babel Codex by Alex Archer Page B

for words. The flight to Damascus, Syria, had been a last-minute scramble and they’d barely caught the connection. Then they’d endured a fifteen-hour flight, and a stay at a hotel so they could get an early start. Security in the country was also tight because of civil unrest. Soldiers armed with assault rifles patrolled constantly.
    Annja had spent her time researching everything she could about the Tower of Babel and Rafik Bhalla, and she’d even gotten a breakthrough on the brick’s inscription with Cybele’s help
    “They should put in a plaque. It would be more impressive.”
    Deciding to ignore Burris, Annja passed through the parishioners and tourists headed into the church. She scanned the area for Bhalla and his people, but didn’t see anyone suspicious.
    “Where are we going?”
    “To the Cave of the Seven Sleepers on Mount Qasioun .”
    Burris caught up to her. “Wait. Why are we at the church when we’re looking for a cave?”
    “There are documents in the church library I need to find the cave.”
    “The cave has been around for thousands of years. Don’t they have a sign or something?”
    “Well, there’s a madressah —a secular school—on the site, which will be a form of sign.”
    “How do you know this?”
    “I deciphered part of the inscription on the brick.”
    “What?” He stumbled. “You should have told me.”
    Annja ignored him and kept walking, growing more excited with each step she took. “The inscription I figured out was made later, but still in the same language.”
    “How much later?”
    “I don’t know.”
    “So it said there was a cave that no one has found in two thousand years? In a place where a school has been built?” Burris shook his head. “There are guys in L.A. that give fake tours of stars’ housing. I’d say your brick was part of a scam.”
    “Okay, then you can go back to the hotel while I check this out. I’ll let you know how it goes.”
    Burris grumbled as he kept pace. “Who are the Seven Sleepers?”
    “Who were the Seven Sleepers . They were seven young men who fled persecution from the Romans. Emperor Decius either chased them to the cave and they hid, or he sealed them up in it alive. The stories vary, and so do the locations of the cave. Greece and Turkey each lay claim to it. The Muslims have their version of the cave story, as well, so it spread across religions. It made a big impact.”
    “We’re sure we want the one here?”
    “It was named and placed in the inscription on the brick. Sometimes they are referred to as the Companions of the Cave.”
    “And these guys were supposedly sealed up in this cave?” Burris hesitated. “We’re not gonna be digging through corpses, are we?”
    “Wouldn’t that be more fun than digging in the dirt?”
    Burris scowled at her.
    * * ** * *
    It took them two hours to get past the administrative staff and gain entry to the church’s library, despite Annja’s having made previous arrangements by phone. And even then they were assigned two priests as chaperones to walk them through the towering stacks.
    “These people have serious trust issues,” Burris muttered as he and Annja followed the priests.
    “Of course they have trust issues. For centuries, churches have been looted for artwork and precious metals. It’s not the material goods they worry about losing so much. It’s the ties back to history, and to their faith. If I didn’t know some of the people I do, we wouldn’t get in at all.”
    A nondescript room held the antique documents at the back of the library. The two men in the lead stood at the door and let Annja and Burris go in first.
    “What is it you would like to see?” The young priest spoke flawless English. He also carried an iPhone. Annja had seen him checking it as they’d walked through the library. He’d introduced himself as Father Louay.
    The older priest appeared disdainful and hadn’t spoken at all. His disapproving scowl deepened the wrinkles that lined