in the back with such force, he was knocked to the ground. Jasher pounced, his sword tip pressed against Ilan’s neck.
Jonathan grabbed for an arrow from his quiver, but realized his unstrung bow was of no use. He drew his own sword and stepped next to Pekah for support as Zev disappeared behind a rising cloud of dust.
“What is your message for the emperor?” Jasher thundered, pressing his sword point harder against Ilan’s neck.
Ilan did not respond. He lay on his side, wincing. Jonathan and the others approached, weapons in hand. Jasher backed away as Ilan was encircled. Ilan’s gaze darted all around at the Gideonites, Danielites, and Uzzahites above him. He trembled in fear.
Before Ilan could be stopped, he whipped out his belt dagger, placed the tip against his chest, and rolled over on top of the blade, choking out a pain-filled yell. Jonathan leaped forward, trying to grab Ilan’s shoulders, but was too late-Ilan gasped for breath, then stilled. Frustrated, Jonathan dropped to a knee and flipped him over.
Abigail let out a soft scream and collapsed into a pile on the ground. Jasher ran to her, and Eli followed to help. The general lifted her sobbing frame into his arms, having some difficulty keeping her limp body from dropping again. The rest of the men gathered around, watching with great concern as Jasher consoled his wife.
After several minutes, Abigail was strong enough to stand on her own. She wiped the tears from her eyes onto the sleeves of her slim green dress.
“Are you hurt?” she asked, nearly sobbing out the words.
“I am fine, my love. I am fine.” Jasher rubbed her shoulders tenderly until she stopped shaking.
Abigail sniffed, then pulled her raven-black hair into a knot. She managed to give Jasher a thin smile.
His hand still on her shoulder, Jasher turned to address the men. “I didn’t see what happened before Pekah drew his sword. What made you all suspect something was wrong?”
With great admiration in his voice, Jonathan said, “Abigail noticed it. She asked why they were wearing a single glove.’”
Jasher squinted as if confused.
Pekah explained. “Her observation reminded me of a rumor I heard while serving under Captain Sachar- General Rezon has placed men under a blood oath to kill his enemies. They make the oath by cutting their right hands.”
Jasher’s eyes grew as large as apples. He looked at Jonathan, then at Pekah.
“They were going to kill you!” Abigail trembled, her body swaying.
Catching her, Jasher pulled his dear wife into his arms once again.
Chapter 20
Just after dawn, Uzziel the High Priest stood on the outer city wall of Ramathaim and peered over the crenellations toward the steep hillside below, hoping to catch some view of the army in the distance. He grumbled, still unable to see much of anything. Rains from the previous day caused a lingering, thick fog to enshroud the entire landscape, including the slopes of Bald Mountain over which the sister suns were rising. It would be another hour or so before they would be able to burn off the mists.
Josiah and Abram stood nearby, fully armed, with bows ready. Even though they were occupied with their own thoughts, their presence made the old high priest feel safe where he stood. Uzziel peeked over the battlements again, thinking about the previous evening when visibility had been hampered by the storms that rolled through. He hoped clearing skies would soon allow him to catch a glimpse of the progress being made below.
The Gideonite army had been camped there for the last four days, building embankments and connecting them with trenches. The trenches provided cover-the only way for the Gideonites to stay safe from an onslaught of arrows from skilled Uzzahite warriors. Each time Uzziel had checked, piles of earth and deep ditches were ever closer to the city walls.
Uzziel analyzed the strategy he had previously observed, marveling at the careful, deliberate planning being done by the Gideonite army. Clear paths on both sides of the advance had been left completely untouched by pick or shovel, along with a wide patch of ground next to the road from Hasor, running straight up the middle. This would allow siege machines and other heavy equipment to advance into position eventually. Yesterday, Uzziel had caught a glimpse of covered battering rams and weighted catapults being built. He expected the damage inflicted by the machines would be terrible.
Worried, Uzziel leaned against a merlon and looked over his beloved city. He felt gratitude for what he saw- elegant architecture and tactical design. Ramathaim nestled up against the Hara Mountains, its northern gates wedged far into a wide canyon leading to Karmel and other cities of Uzzah and Daniel. Two other semi-circular stone walls, each reaching for anchor points on opposite sides of the gaping canyon mouth, protected the southern side of the city. Skilled stone masons had anchored the gray granite blocks of the outer wall to the eastern and western cliffs, and the height was a dizzying drop of more than two hundred feet. The inner southern wall, although not as high, rested on the top-most terrace of a network of stepped gardens, orchards, and vineyards. A vast, arcing courtyard touched both the bottom terrace and the outer wall, unbroken except for a sloping road which climbed from the outer gates, up the terraces, through the main gates, and into the city.
Besides being the fastest way to the northern realms, the canyon provided a plentiful water supply to the city. Fed by natural springs, the small river descended from the heights above to duck under the northern wall, disappearing into numerous tunnels under the city streets. Various branches of the hidden river then poured into open-air stone canals that zig-zagged across the city until all routes met again at a beautiful pool in Ramathaim’s eastern quarter. Water then spilled over into an aqueduct that hugged the eastern cliffs and bridged the city walls. Reaching the end of its journey, the water plummeted into a small lake below the outer wall, and the remaining stream then meandered through the southern foothills until it turned east to the ocean.
As he looked northward, Uzziel thought of the reinforcements who had arrived the previous day. In addition to families seeking protection, warriors from neighboring communities to the north had poured into Ramathaim, greatly adding to its strength. The provisions they brought with them would easily allow the city to endure a siege of over ninety days, if the walls were not breached. Many of the northern cities had been emptied of their inhabitants, and a thousand of their men were staged in the northern canyon to protect both the passage and Ramathaim’s water supply.
All of this gave Uzziel some amount of confidence. Reinforcements and provisions were blessings from above. As long as the southern walls held, families would be protected.
Families.
Uzziel searched below for the road to Hasor, but still couldn’t see through the fog. Previously guarded emotions bubbled up within him.
Where are Asah and Rachel? They are now five days late.
Uzziel’s chest tightened. With Gideon here, may the heavens keep my daughter away!
He caught an unexpected sob before it could escape and gripped the parapet to steady himself. Neither of the attending soldiers seemed to notice his body trembling under the control he tried to exert. It took him several minutes to fight back the grief that threatened to overwhelm him.
With a heavy sigh, Uzziel motioned to Josiah and Abram to follow him back down the steep steps into the grassy outer courtyard. “I will come back later,” he said. “Perhaps with more time, the fog will burn off.”
“That’s fine. We can go,” Josiah replied.
Uzziel led the way. Already girded up, his robe was held in place by a coarse, white sash, but the steep decent still forced him to further lift the lower folds in order to prevent a fall. His robe, almost entirely white except for the exquisite blue hem, bounced on his bony knees with each step down the granite stairway.
Pushing thoughts of Rachel out of his mind, Uzziel thought instead of the colored hem. “As blue as the heavens above,” he was fond of saying, or as his wife Miriam would say, “As pure as the color of Azure.” Both were good descriptions for the rare color, produced from saltwater shellfish obtained in one particular lagoon a few days north of Karmel.
