The Repentant Demon Trilogy Book 1: The Demon Calumnius by Samantha Johns

a professor at U of C Berkeley.  How long are you two staying?  Do you have a hotel room?”
    “We hope to stay for several weeks or more, but it isn't definite yet,” Doug answered.  “We are staying with some friends about twenty miles south of here.  So we'll just be joining you during the day, if that's all right.  We can pay for any provisions we use—like water and whatever you can spare, but we'll have our main meals with my friends.”
    “Friends? That's quite unusual,” said David McGuire, “especially that near to Mosul.  We hear the gunfire coming from that direction all the time.  Are you sure it's safe? You are welcome to join us at the hotel.  We have an extra couch in our room.  It opens into a bed.”  He had assumed they were a couple traveling together.
    “Thanks for the generous offer,” answered Doug, “but there is no need to be concerned for our safety.  These are Iraqi friends of mine from the war.  They know how to guard against danger, and if I wasn't sure Abigail would be safe with me, I wouldn't have brought her.”
    “So you teach Anthropology,” said Joyce, addressing Abigail. “That’s also my major.  Is this your first dig?”  The woman stood showing her well-built body to its full height, wearing a loose cotton kaftan that revealed the curves of her form and the solidness of her physique.  Her silky, silvery hair hung loose and straight about shoulder length but was tied back with a scarf to cover most of it.  She was tanned and healthy with attractive dark eyes, well-formed brows, and a straight, Grecian nose.  She gave Doug a sensual glance, obviously admiring the most attractive man in sight.
    Abigail explained her past few experiences to the others as they all walked together to the current excavation site.  David McGuire explained the layout of the current dig at Nabi Yunus, just south of the slightly bigger site of Kouyunjik.  Nabi Yunis was the one in which Abigail had tremendous interest.  Its name is Arabic for the name of the Prophet Jonah, and a Muslim shrine dedicated to Jonah sits nearby.  Apparently the Assyrians have regard for the prophet who warned them to repent, saving them from the wrath of God, while much of the Western world still doubts his existence.
    At this location, the city of Nineveh had been excavated to the level of the time of King Sennacherib, who reigned in 705 – 681 B.C.  It would have been truly magnificent then with broad paved roads, fountains, mosaics, and a palace without rival.  Unfortunately, most of its treasures had been looted, and it continues to be threatened.  Many archaeologists have had their finds stolen by Bedouins, who have been known to turn around and sell them back to them.  Sometimes they have found their precious objects for sale on eBay.  Many of the best specimens that survived such disasters were housed in the museum at Baghdad before being destroyed in the war that deposed Saddam Hussein.  Those who study antiquities moaned in horror at the television images of the Iraqis looting and destroying the museum.  Through all of these perils, archaeologists labored to discover the secrets of the ancients.
    Noah Wilkinson arrived back in a jeep with eight cases of bottled water.  It wasn't cold.  Cold water in the intense heat would have caused them to vomit, making dehydration inevitable.  Doug gave Noah cash, which more than covered the amount that he and Abigail would consume.  She told him she would get the next one.  They introduced themselves to Noah, and he assigned the two of them to a roped-off section under a tarp, which helped to keep the worst of the sun off them.  It was uncomfortable, but not dangerous for anyone in reasonably good health.  They both had done this before.  Abigail carefully dusted off shards of broken pottery with a soft paintbrush and placed the pieces in a cardboard box lid—very sophisticated equipment.  Doug worked next to her along with Joyce Michaels,