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Lord, I need Your help.
The wail of a ram’s horn echoed across the rocky desert. A call Ari loved from his days as temple guard. The use of the shofar by the queen’s soldiers was one of many abominations marring Judah. It often brought great sorrow to his heart. However, he could not be more thankful for the answer to his hasty prayer.
“I promise to return,” the Queen’s guard said as he released Mira before he and his companion mounted their horses and cantered away. Praise God the patrol obeyed the command, leaving Mira unharmed.
She touched his arm, rocking him on his feet. Without thinking, he traced his finger along her brow and the curve of her ear, tucking her hair behind her back until his hand rested on her shoulders. “Are you well?”
“I am. Thank you.”
Her graciousness proved she’d had a fright. He’d been scared, too.
How close she had come to being used. Her chances for a good marriage near lost. He dropped his gaze to the finger imprints on her wrist and shoved his hand through his hair. Stepping away from her sweet innocence, he expelled the breath caught in his lungs. His pulse kicked.
He glanced toward where the soldiers had ridden. He refused to allow his pulse to settle until the dust cloud disappeared into the horizon.
“You should not leave the walls alone.” He faced her, arms crossed.
She swallowed. A wounded look fluttered through her eyes as she knotted her hands into her tunic. “I have chores to attend.”
Reaching out, he took her fingers in his. The tips warm in his palm. “Even so...”
Mira pulled away from him and released a shuddering breath. All civility between them gone. “Even so I will not live no better than a slave in my father’s house, being told when and where I can go.” She stalked away.
Her words cut, but he knew she said them out of fear. Fear of what those men could have done to her. What they might do if they returned as promised.
Guilt stabbed him at the thought of the queen’s cruel minions destroying the innocence of his master’s daughter. The soldiers preyed on the weak, the helpless.
How was he going to keep her safe from another incident if she insisted on being stubborn? For he had no doubt the guards would return.
His first priority was to protect the child king. Just as it had been since he’d followed Tama and the child to this small village that awful night. They’d left Jerusalem because of the danger, and now it seemed to have followed them here.
He scrubbed his palm over his face. Tama, the boy’s nurse, would no doubt miss her cousin, and Mira her, but perhaps it was time to take the child and leave. But to leave his master’s family, defenseless? Leave Mira to the mercy of the soldiers? There had to be a way to protect them all.
He returned to his work, his mind heavy. Why had the soldiers even come? And why now, after almost seven years of absence? He jabbed the lava stone into the basin and scooped out the last bit of mud. He smoothed the clay texture over the stones, filling the gaps in the rock wall.
“Shalom.”
Ari spun on his heel, the tool cutting into his palm. His eyes focused on the hunched, graying man before him. Ari bowed low before his master, whom he wanted to please. “Shalom, adon.”
His master gripped Ari’s shoulder. The warmth of the aged hand reminded him of the man’s waning strength.
“Come now, my son. There is no need to be startled. It is I, Caleb, your friend. Rise.”
Ari scraped the lava rock clean before balancing it on the edge of the earthen bowl. He dipped his hands into a small basin of water, scrubbed away the clinging plaster and dried them on a cloth.
Straightening to his full height, he scanned the area for a sign of the queen’s soldiers. “My forgiveness, Master Caleb. I had just seen the queen’s soldiers.”
“No forgiveness needed, Ariel. I saw them ride away in haste and wondered at their presence. Perhaps they are keeping peace.”
Peace, when they inflicted so much violence? Ari shifted his gaze beyond the rugged hills toward Jerusalem. When would Jehoiada, the high priest, send for them? Perhaps he should risk sending a message to the high priest about the increased patrols in the area? It was time to take the boy and leave. “Is that all, Master Caleb?”
“You have done a fine job, Ariel. It is nearly finished, yes?” Caleb ran his fingers over the contours of the piled stones.
“Another layer of plaster and it will be complete.” He had labored beneath the hot sun for months over what would be Mira’s portion of Caleb’s home once she married. He had prayed for her happiness and asked the Lord to bestow upon her great blessings as he had set the stones. It was the closest he would ever come to ministering to God’s people since he couldn’t perform the temple duties. Not that he bemoaned his fate. Keeping the young king safe was an honor.
