enough with a bow, a thick walking staff would suit him better if they were to get into a fight. Jonathan handed the broken limb to Eli, who accepted it eagerly.
“Thank you!”
“My pleasure. It ought to keep you busy.”
Eli winked at Jonathan. He took the dagger from his belt and used it to lop off the remaining twigs, producing a rough, but usable “stick,” as he called it. “I can finish it as we walk,” he said.
The men then left the river and returned to the trail winding through the trees. They marched at a good pace for several hours and talked about various things, none of which were very important, but it helped to pass the time. While they traveled, Jonathan watched with interest as Eli used a smaller boot knife to whittle down the sharp ends of his stick. Eli also removed the bark and rough knots on the limb, making it smooth. By the time Jonathan noticed the long shadows of late afternoon around them, Eli’s walking staff was a work of art. Although the rounded surface had a slight natural curve to it, the now-carved branch proved to be very strong and sturdy.
Eli claimed he could not have found a better specimen if he had tried. As they traveled, he occasionally tested its strength by hitting dead branches upon the trees lining the trail, easily shattering them. After a few finishing touches to the surface of the staff, Eli sheathed his knife.
The heat of mid-afternoon was now well upon them, causing their pace to slow considerably as the trees thinned along the trail. The sound of the river, all but lost to them now, made Jonathan suspect it had taken a turn to the north. They discussed theories as to where the waterway had gone, but were not overly concerned, knowing the river would eventually meet up with them again.
About half an hour later, as they had predicted, the river came close enough to smell and hear, and just ahead of them, the simple forest trail drastically changed. They could see the path widen, being joined by a cart- road from the south which rose over a hill covered in wild flowers and grasses.
Pekah stopped walking. “Not far from here is a pass to the city of Gilad. Being this close to Gideon makes me a little nervous. I didn’t know we would find this particular road-I thought we were farther north than this.”
Jonathan pointed to the road in the distance. “This road goes to Ain?”
“Yes. I have traveled it before, although not all the way into the city.”
Jonathan’s brow furrowed, and he sighed with some frustration. “I’m not sure how to proceed, Pekah. If we take this road, there are sure to be Gideonite soldiers on it, and we’ll be found.”
Eli cleared his throat and motioned in the direction of the river. “What if we cross the water and continue west from there?”
The three of them debated their ability to re-cross later if the river deepened, but in the end, they all agreed it was a prudent thing to do. They left the trail before the road joined it and waded into the river at the shallowest part they could see. It took them some time to cross because of the current, but they did so safely.
Once on the other side, they found the area north of the river to be a bit more forested, yet still passable, even though there were no trails. Progress was slow at first, but their pace improved as they got used to navigating the thick timber. After many hours of strenuous hiking, they were rewarded with a good camping site for the night, just as the suns fell below the eastern horizon. The grassy glade before them proved to be even more secluded than the site they had used the night before, and far enough from the road on the other side of the river that they were certain any travelers from Gilad to Ain would neither hear them nor see them.
They made their camp as comfortable as possible with cut pine boughs for bedding, and then took time to eat a peaceful end-of-Sabbath meal, after a prayer together. Dusk turned into night while they ate. Before retiring, they stoked the fire high to keep any animals in the area from disturbing them.
Pekah was the last one still awake. He reflected on the day, immensely grateful for the peace he now felt. Staring into the night sky, he enjoyed seeing the three sister moons rise and begin to cross the sky in typical grandeur. The beauty of the procession and the face which they made went unnoticed by the sleepers. The sight of the moons made him smile.
In contrast to the previous night, and with his soul no longer aching, Pekah drifted off. During the early morning hours when the fire had dwindled to nothing more than low embers, he began to dream.
Chapter 10
Pekah wandered alone down a dark, moons-lit road bordered by many tall pines. Pungent scents of pitch and green needles mixed in his nostrils with the dust being kicked up from his boots. Each step he took sent pebbles skittering before him, bouncing and banging so loudly as they went that the sound reminded him of a rock-slide in the high wilderness areas of Gideon’s mountain ranges. Silence hung like a pall over the landscape, a stark contrast to the cacophony produced by the little rocks. Endless trees on an endless road blurred into what seemed like walls of a tunnel deep underground.
He trudged on for hours. The scene around him did not change. More trees, dark walls of them. No sound except his thunderous steps and the pebbles jumping before his toes. Despair slithered across his heart. He stopped.
At that moment his attention was drawn to a leather bag hanging from a strap around his neck. Pekah pulled the drawstring open. Inside, he found a cloth-wrapped cylindrical object, which he lifted from the bag. As he studied the roll of purple cloth, he recognized the head of a serpent embroidered upon it. Taking great care, he unfolded it to reveal a clear glass rod. Engraved white gold knobs capped each end of it, and the glass held a thin, gray object embedded at the very center.
Curious, he brought the rod closer for inspection. The scene around him instantly changed, startling him. No longer on the pine-bordered road, Pekah found himself in a well-lit chamber, with wood-paneled walls and candles burning atop multi-stemmed candlesticks in all corners of the room. To Pekah’s surprise, Eli stood next to him, smiling.
Pekah lowered the glass rod in order to take in his surroundings, and saw an ornately carved wooden chair at one end of the room, empty, but flanked by two armed Gideonite soldiers. They glared at him crossly, and pointed to the object in his hand as if they wanted him to explain it. Pekah could not identify what he held. He looked to Eli for help, but before Eli could speak, another man entered the room from a door behind the chair. He recognized the man at once.
Dressed in the finest green silk vestments Pekah had ever seen, the man reeked of luxury. An almost gaudy amount of white gold and other finery trimmed the silk, catching every candle-flame flicker. A thick silver chain stretched across his chest to clasp a shimmering gray robe, which flowed from his shoulders like a mist.
His short brown hair was intensely dark, though not quite black. A cleft chin and a sharp, long nose dominated his clean-shaven face. His lips were pursed, his demeanor very unhappy.
As Emperor Manasseh took his seat in the wooden chair, Eli nudged Pekah and told him to show the object in his hands to the Gideonite. Eli added three words to his request, in a most serious tone: “Holiness, Honor, Humility.”
Pekah reluctantly did as Eli asked by extending his arm forward, the glass rod resting atop the cloth in his outstretched palm.
The very action of moving his arm forward sparked a fire of warmth under his shoulder which traveled through his arm, across his chest, down his back, and deep within his heart. Every part of his body erupted into feeling, as if the hot blast from a smelting furnace bubbled up molten iron within him, causing the hair of his head to react with motion as if from an unseen wind. At that instant of intensity, a flash of blinding light emanated from the glass rod. The invisible power sent shock waves through the room.
Chapter 11
