Ben didn’t consider himself particularly observant, but even he could feel the vibrant energy surrounding the churches. They walked down worn steps into an open trench that sloped down and cut around toward the front of the church. There was a tunnel ahead—one branch led straight and another cut off to the left, blocked by a wooden door.
“There are many tunnels in Lalibela,” Mula said. “In fact, all the churches are connected by tunnels or passages.”
“And how many churches in all?”
“There are eleven rock-hewn churches in the town,” Mula said. “King Lalibela built them to create a New Jerusalem in Ethiopia.” He stepped into the tunnel, but his hushed voice was easily audible to their vampire ears. “The churches are separated into three groups. The first group is the six churches that represent the earthly Jerusalem; the second group represents the heavenly Jerusalem.”
As they exited the tunnel, Ben looked up and up, the red facade of Saint George Church stretching into the night sky, framed by a halo of stars. “And this church?”
“Bêta Giorgis,” Mula said, removing his shoes before he climbed the steep steps of the church. “The house of Saint George. This is considered the finest example of Lalibela’s architecture, a church of three stories, carved from a single rock.”
It was magnificent. Ben walked around the church, taking in the steep angles and simple decoration around the windows. Daniel walked behind him, his shoes removed and his amnis alive even to Ben’s senses.
“It’s extraordinary,” Daniel said. “But I don’t sense any tunnels or chambers below us.”
“Keep walking,” Ben said, running his hands along the walls. “I can sense empty space in here though.”
“Oh yes.” Daniel’s hands followed Ben’s. “These cliff walls are riddled with chambers and passages.”
“Some of them are chapels,” Ben said quietly. “I was reading about them.”
“Some are monks’ rooms as well.”
“And there are mummies.”
Daniel’s eyes went wide. “Mummies?”
“Not like Egyptian ones,” Ben said. “But there are tombs, and the air here naturally mummifies the corpses.”
Daniel looked distinctly uncomfortable. “We’ll try to avoid those chambers, don’t you think?”
“Probably a good idea,” Ben said. Mummies didn’t freak him out; he’d seen too many of them from around the world. Still, if they could avoid human tombs, all the better.
“We’d better get back to Tenzin and Mula,” Ben said. “God knows what questions she’s tormenting him with.”
But when they rounded the corner around Saint George Church, Mula was staring into the distance and Tenzin was nowhere to be found.
Until Ben looked up. “Tenzin!”
She was floating two-thirds of the way up the church, peeking in the windows. “Ben, you have to see this.”
Taking a short sweep of the area, he launched himself into the air. “What did you do to Mula? You are not supposed to use amnis—”
“On priests!” She held up a finger. “You said no amnis on priests. He’s a tour guide. Completely different.”
Leave it to Tenzin to find a loophole when it came to amnis. He looked into the dark window, holding up the yellow rope candle. “What are we looking at?”
“Look.” Her smile was bright. “There are doves nesting here. Isn’t that beautiful?”
The doves fluttered and cooed in the dim candlelight, clearly unhappy about having their rest disturbed, but Tenzin’s expression reminded him of Sadia’s the other day when she’d seen a butterfly. Delight and wonder, all because she saw a bird’s nest.
Who are you, woman?
“I love you.” He barely resisted the urge to pinch her cheeks. “We probably shouldn’t wake them up though.”
“I know.” She peered into the window for a moment longer. “I don’t think the bone scroll is here. This was the last church built. I think Lalibela, if he had the scroll, would have secured it someplace earlier.”
“That fits with what Daniel said.” He nudged her down from flying. “He says there are no passages beneath the church, just in the walls around it.”
“What are we going to do if the scroll is in the holy of holies of one of these churches?”
“I don’t think it would be,” Ben said. “The priests go in and out of there regularly to get the tabot for ceremonies.”
The tabot was a replica of the Ark of the Covenant, and every Ethiopian church used it for ceremonies throughout the year. It would be covered in elaborate, rich tapestries and paraded around the church while worshipers sang and chanted.
“That makes sense. It would be someplace more isolated. Like a treasury.” She briefly touched Mula’s hand, and the man woke up. “Thank you for showing us the church.”
Mula looked confused for a second. “It is extraordinary, is it not?”
“Very.”
“Mula?” Ben asked. “Was Lalibela known for his riches?”
“Oh no.” Mula shook his head. “He was a priest as well as a king, and all reports from the time say he lived a very simple and humble life.” He gestured up to the church. “Lalibela did not leave us castles or palaces as you see in Gondar. He left us churches.”
Ben nodded. Great.
So no obvious treasuries.
“Fascinating.” Tenzin’s lips were pursed together. “What about books? Did he have a big library?”
“The manuscripts of the church are gathered in a library now,” Mula said. “But traditionally, the books of scripture were also kept in the church.” He motioned them back toward the old wooden door. “Come, there is much more to see.”
Ben saw an old woman wearing the garments of an Orthodox nun sitting in a corner near the wall, staring at Tenzin with eyes the size of saucers. Her lips were pressed shut, but she slowly made the sign of the cross, never taking her eyes off them.
He decided not to alert Tenzin that she’d been watched. With any luck, the woman would think it was a vision.
“So Mula…” Daniel was following the human back into the darkness. “Tell us more about these tunnels.”
31
“This is what I have so far.” Daniel spread a large, poster-size piece of paper out on the table the following night. “These are the publicly marked tunnels.” He pointed to passages indicated with solid lines. “These trenches connect the churches to each other in the first group. There are passages and some tunnels that go off the main trenches.” He pointed to various tunnels and chambers marked in dotted lines. “But from what I can tell, they’re pretty well traveled. Lots of human markers in all these places.”
“What about Saint George?” Tenzin asked. “The rock around that felt like a honeycomb.”
Daniel was impressed. “It was. The rock is thick, so I’m surprised you felt it so clearly, but there are a massive number of chambers around there.” His finger moved to a different part of the map where only one church was marked. “Now, some of those are hidden or seem abandoned, but like you said, this was the last church built in the complex.”