“Very strong, please,” Niel said, leaning his axe against the wall. Flecks of dark, dried blood still marked the blade. “I’ll head to the shower first. I won’t be long.”
For the next few minutes, the group cleaned up and changed their clothes, and after making the coffee, Ash retrieved the paperwork from his room. He carefully opened the pages, relieved to see that the oilskin package had kept the information safe. He scanned the list of names, noting that Lamberti had even listed the type of jewel for each piece, whether it was a ring, torc, clasp, necklace, or even short, jewelled daggers.
Gabe took a seat in the armchair and poured himself a coffee from the pot on the table. He’d showered and was wearing clean clothes, although he needed a shave. Stubble lay thick on his cheeks, and his damp hair was unruly. More than anything, he looked tired, but he also looked hopeful as he saw the paperwork in Ash’s hands. “Anything useful?”
“Plenty. Whether they’re still where they are listed, though, is another matter. This is dated about five years ago. There are, I estimate, about thirty people that we’ll need to track down. Have you found out anything?”
“Shadow did.” Gabe looked up as Niel and Shadow entered the room, both wearing loose trousers and t-shirts after their showers. “We have a clue as to where Jiri is, but the name is unfamiliar to us. However, Estelle also managed to give us useful information. I take it you haven’t heard from Barak or Nahum?”
Ash sat upright, alarmed. “No, why?”
“A dozen Nephilim attacked JD’s place. It was touch and go for a while, but they’re okay. Mostly. No serious injuries.” Gabe outlined what had happened.
Ash felt terrible. His night had been nothing compared to everyone else’s.
“I can’t believe they attacked. Estelle did well to get Emre to talk.” He could see the scene only too well. The blood. The fear.
“Very well,” Gabe agreed. “If Emre is right, and some of them will help us, we can win this!”
“Have they called Ozan yet?”
“They’re trying to decide on the right time.” Gabe closed his eyes briefly. “Tomorrow morning, perhaps.”
“If Ozan was a good friend to Emre, he won’t take kindly to the call.”
“He will if it gets him his freedom. But just in case, we need to find out where they are.” He looked across to Shadow. “Show him the photos. If we can identify the island, maybe the place name that Estelle was given will make sense.”
Shadow sat next to Ash on the sofa, and after accessing the images, she handed her phone over. Ash frowned. “Another statue?”
“There were several in the garden,” she explained. “Most were of Belial, but this one was different. Gabe says it’s Jiri. That’s the base.”
Ash enlarged the images. “If Jiri has his own statue, it must mean they consider him very important. Is that a cityscape?” The image showed the relief of a range of buildings, their silhouettes standing proud of the stonework.
“Looks like one, doesn’t it? On the other side of the plinth is what looks like an island. Very stylized, with waves around it.”
Ash kept scrolling, reading the words carved into the base. “It exalts Jiri as Belial’s commander. It’s a bit grandiose.”
Niel grunted. “He was always a pompous ass.”
“The text,” Gabe says, “describes him as returning to the base of his power, where he will centre his command. A place called Aethalia. We don’t know the name, so I’ve searched for it. It’s the name of a few boats and tankers. That can’t be right!”
“Aethalia.” Ash frowned, knowing it sounded familiar. “It was the name of an island. It’s Greek.”
Niel had been slumped in the chair, but now he perked up. “A Greek island?”
“No, but it was in the Mediterranean, though.” Ash was still tired, and his eyes felt dry. He needed more sleep. However, he handed Shadow her phone and accessed his own, quickly pulling up a map of Europe. “It was in this area, I think.”
“Could it be anything on that northeasterly line?” Shadow asked.
Ash glanced at her. “That’s a great suggestion. It can’t be further north from here, so we must have to go south. Just off the Italian coast is Sardinia, Corsica, and…” He frowned as he enlarged the image. “Elba.”
Niel looked confused. “Elbow?”
“No! Elba. It’s where Napoleon was exiled. That’s it!” Ash felt more alert as excitement welled. “Look at the shape of it compared to what’s on the base. It’s the same.”
Everyone crowded around as Ash showed them the image. Then he did another search of Elba and grinned. “I knew I recognised the name! It was called Aethalia by the Greeks. It was famous for its mines.”
Gabe took the phone off him and scanned the details, while Ash looked at the photos of the statue’s base again.
“So, we’ve found him?” Shadow asked, eyes sharp.
“Looks like it,” Gabe answered, “if he hasn’t moved. But why advertise where he lives on his statue?”
“It isn’t so much where he lives, it’s just about him! Of course,” Ash said, as more memories returned, “I remember rumours that whispered while we had palaces, he had a bloody island. It was under his dominion for a while before the Flood. It all adds up.”
“So, the statues pointing in one direction originate from Elba?” Shadow asked, confused. “Again, why?”
“Maybe they like games?”
“Maybe,” Niel suggested, “they didn’t think anyone would notice the statues aligned in one direction. I mean, they were supposed to be private. So, what now?”
“We have to go there,” Gabe said. “If that’s where he’s based, we go to the source. The name that Emre gave Estelle was Cabo. Let’s see… There’s a place called Cavo! Could that be it?”
“Perhaps,” Ash said. “You said he was dying. He could have mispronounced the place’s name. Unless, of course, he was lying and just pretending to help. I’m certain of the island, though.”
“Good. The rest,” Gabe nodded at the paperwork that Ash had found, “can wait until afterwards.”
Ash leaned back, hands behind his head, thinking through their options. “Did you kill all the humans tonight?”
