Stone and Sky

The sky over Coconut Grove was a soft, forgiving blue the morning they left. Jessica stood in the doorway with a mug of coffee gone cold in her hands, watching Kevin kneel to help Jessica Marie tie her shoes. The child’s curls bounced with each giggle, oblivious to the gravity tightening around the adults.

Leanna loaded the last of their bags into the rental car while Olivia sat on the hood, silently tapping through last-minute logistics on her phone. The Florida humidity wrapped around them like a heavy curtain, reluctant to let go.

Jessica crouched beside her goddaughter and touched her forehead gently. "You remember what I said?"

Jessica Marie nodded. “You’re coming back.”

“I am.”

“And you’ll bring me a rock from Jerusalem.”

Jessica smiled. "A special one. You’ll know it when you see it."

Hannah pulled her into a hug that lingered a little too long, like she was afraid to let go. "Be careful," she whispered.

Kevin was quieter. He clapped a hand on Jessica’s shoulder and leaned in close. "If you disappear again, I’m coming after you. And I’m bringing tequila."

Jessica laughed once, tight and tired. "Deal."

They drove away with the windows down and the radio playing something soft and wordless, a string of cello and piano fading into the wind.

* * *

At the airport, while Olivia checked them in and Leanna paced with her usual pre-flight tension, Jessica stepped away and dialed Sam. He picked up on the second ring.

"Jess?"

"I’m heading to Jerusalem," she said. "We found the letter. Jason left it with Kevin. It points to a deposit box somewhere over there with Templar connections. Dominion, Lazarus... it all ties back."

There was a pause. Then, in a steady, low voice, he asked, "Are you sure you’re ready for this?"

"No," she said honestly. "But it’s time."

"Then trust yourself. Follow the trail, but don’t lose yourself in it. You’re more than what they made."

"I know," she said. "I just needed to hear it from you."

"Call me when you land. And Jess?"

"Yeah?"

"Bring back something holy. Even if it’s just peace."

She smiled softly. "I’ll try."

* * *

Jerusalem was all stone and sky. The moment they stepped off the plane, it was like the air changed. It was drier, older, and filled with a gravity Jessica could feel in her bones. The city wasn’t just ancient. It was watchful.

Their taxi climbed the winding streets through West Jerusalem, modern glass and concrete giving way to old-world sandstone. The buildings glowed amber in the late afternoon sun. Olivia kept glancing out the window like she expected to see something familiar. Leanna stared straight ahead, jaw tight.

Jessica felt the shift begin the moment they crossed into the Old City. Noise faded. Time slowed.

They had rented a small flat near the Armenian Quarter. It was nothing special, but high enough to catch the breeze off the hills. From the balcony, Jessica could see the rooftops of churches, domes, and the pale curve of ancient walls. Somewhere beneath them lay centuries of secrets.

That night, they met with their contact.

Rabbi Dr. Eliav Shamir greeted them in the library of the Hebrew University. He was tall, lean, with silver-rimmed glasses and a voice like folded paper, dry but precise.

"Most people come here looking for faith," he said as he motioned them to sit. "You’re here for something older."

Jessica nodded. "We’re looking for a bank. Or a key. Or a symbol."

He tapped the edge of the parchment Jessica unfolded that contained Jason’s crude Templar cross.

"This," Shamir said, "is not merely a Templar sigil. It’s a derivative. It includes elements from Kabbalistic numerology. And something else. It predates the Templars."

Leanna raised an eyebrow. “How old?”

Shamir’s eyes glinted. “That depends on whether you believe time is a straight line.”

He turned toward a shelf and pulled down a weathered leather-bound volume. “We’ll start with the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. If your Jason saw something, that’s where it would have been encoded. The Templars left more in stone than in ink.”

Jessica glanced toward the window. The city beyond pulsed in quiet layers of history on top of memory, dust over blood. She felt it again: the same pull she felt standing before the machine in the lab. A gravity outside language. The game was still in motion, and the next move was hers.