The Ring of Solomon

Prologue

The night was particularly cold and quiet, even after considering it was January. Just like everybody else in his unit, Chayim didn't like it. Adjusting his grip on his M4, he flashed his torch over the dark alley on his left. It was just another dark, empty alley. He grumbled as he turned his torch to the other side.

'Maybe the tip was fake after all. There's not even a ghost here tonight.'

'Maybe it's too early to say that. We have covered only half of the sections entrusted to us in East Jerusalem.'

Alon, the leader of his unit, cautioned him as he flashed his right side. His grip on his weapon was still tight, just like when they started their patrol.

'I personally wish it was a fake one. Wasting time over a fake information is much better than to deal with a bunch of crazy Palestinian extremists anyway.'

Another member of his unit, Berel, spoke out his mind somehow bitterly. The rest two members of the unit, Mack and Caleb, nodded their heads in agreement. Conflict between Israel and Palestine has always been in Jerusalem ever since Six Day War, but it did not mean they had to like it.

There was a tip from Mossad that there was an ongoing plot of terrorism attack in the region of East Jerusalem, especially near to the site of Old Jerusalem, and possibility of some extremists' meeting tonight. The lead, however, was yet too vague to have Mossad or military take an action. Hence, the authority decided to send MAGAV, the Border Police, in the area pretending just to be a patrol. That was the reason why they, Unit Three of the Border Police responsible for West Bank area, along with two more other units, was doing this unplanned patrol duty in the middle of the night. So far, however, there was literally nothing.

They turned another corner. Now they were entering into an area of the outskirt of Silwan where empty, illegal houses to be demolished in the next few months were lining up. This particular area was quite notorious even among MAGAV because of the protest that took its place here in mid-November, when the eviction order of the area was issued more exactly. There had always been some commotion and protests when the dwellers got evict orders, but this time and for this area, it was whole another level. It was all because of a small but ancient darih, or shrine, centered in the area. Even though it was practically empty for decades, if not for centuries, the protest of dwellers was furious. They practically cursed the Israeli government and law enforcement saying the wrath of spirits dwelling in darih would come upon them. The protest was no short to be classified as a small riot in fact. The Israeli government, of course, did not have any reason to pay the slightest heed to their baseless curses or to show any mercy to those joined the riot. The protest was put down eventually. Rumour said there were some casualties eventually though there was no report of any person who got killed on site. Again, the Israeli government had no reason to pay any heed to those casualties or their families. Then the eviction was enforced and done completely just before the end of last year.

There was also a rumour that a female archaeologist had almost desperately begged to have an access to this area, to the darih more exactly, for several months, saying there was a good chance she could make a historical discovery, but the Israeli government decided to reject her request in the end. If the rumour was true, however, then this lead from Mossad must have been one of the reasons of the government's refusal as well though it would not have been informed to that archaeologist. Anyway, that fact the area was totally empty made the district even quieter than all the other areas they had patrolled. And thanks to that, Alon was able to catch an almost inaudible sound from the inside of the very darih behind him.

Without making any sound, he signed his team. All members of his unit tensed up in a moment. In such a swift movement, they lined up against the wall on each side of the entrance. The darih didn't look very different from other buildings from outside except for the dome and the entrance, which was in shape of Arabic arch. Two gates were simple but made of exceptionally hard wood. There were also two brass handles one on each gate.