stand in the waist-deep water, where they could perform the ordinance without fear of striking the sides of the font.
From the vantage point of the Rock or the font, an observer could gaze up at the single temple spire. It towered far above the hand-carved oak entrance, reaching for the suns. The stepped, cylindrical spire was the most impressive feature of the structure, and the top-most cylinder had been crafted from small, white granite blocks, intermingled with large, exceptionally wide glow-stones from the Hasor mines. The natural prism-like surfaces of the glow-stones spilled rainbow colors and bright shafts of light all around the complex. The capstone of the spire held both stone and crystal together-a semi-globe of pure gold that dazzled the eyes of anyone looking thereon.
Uzziel would never tire of the temple. Gazing upon it brought such deep and poignant feelings to him, he always felt inclined to smile and say a prayer of thanks in his heart for the beauty of it.
Now at the second hour of the day, a group of temple priests arrived to begin their duties. One of the more senior members of the group broke off from the others and approached Uzziel with obvious excitement to see him.
“Boaz!” the high priest greeted as the man approached.
“Peace be to you, Uzziel! What word have you had from the Captain of the Host?”
Uzziel put his hand on his friend’s shoulder and said with some consternation, “I have not spoken to Jeremy this morning, but I fear the outlook will not be good. I went upon the outer wall just as the suns were rising, but could not see the progress being made on the trenches. I would guess, from what I saw yesterday, that there may be only one more day before Gideon is close enough to use the machines.”
Boaz scratched his beard as Uzziel released him. “I’ll join you at the wall with my own bow, if you wish.”
“I know you would. But for now, we’ll leave the battle to the younger warriors,” Uzziel said with a wink.
Boaz gave a low chuckle and patted Uzziel’s arm. “You’re right. My eyes are not as sharp as they were yesterday.”
Uzziel laughed with him for a moment, but then became grave. “Boaz, I came to tell you that I got word from a pair of our scouts, who returned last night under the cover of darkness. They confirmed that both Hasor and Saron have been taken.” He paused, then said, “I fear there will not be any assistance from Daniel.” His eyes misted.
“I have feared the same,” Boaz acknowledged, a tremble in his voice.
Both were silent for a moment. Josiah and Abram glanced at each other, but said nothing.
Uzziel took a deep breath. He needed to remain positive. “All will be well. The Holy One will give us aid.”
“We’ve been praying for such aid,” Boaz said. “We have also been praying for your children. Please take courage, Uzziel.”
“Thank you, my dearest friend,” Uzziel said, a fresh tear tumbling down his cheek. There was another awkward silence, and then Uzziel spoke to Josiah and Abram.
“We must be going, my friends.”
“Yes, sir.”
Boaz said goodbye and trudged toward the entrance of the temple, his head low as he went.
Chapter 21
That day passed, and the auroras of the season burned across the skies once again during the night. Uzziel did not sleep well. All night long, he searched through wooded mountains and called out for his children in his dreams. None of them answered.
The first signs of light appeared behind the thin curtains of his bedroom window, and Uzziel awoke to find he was holding Miriam close. She did not stir. He lay there, his mind churning over the scenes he had witnessed the previous afternoon. He had watched the progress of the Gideonite advance-slow, yet constant, the enemy never tiring. By day’s end, they had come considerably closer to their goal of bringing their siege weapons to an attack position within range of the outer city wall.
Uzziel gently pulled his arm out from under Miriam’s neck and dressed in silence. He left just before dawn to meet Josiah and Abram at the base of the outer wall. A fire-pit stood near the stone stairway by the outer gates- one fire among many scattered between the inner and outer walls. In addition to the soldiers assigned to protect the high priest, ten more Uzzahite warriors were present, each nursing steaming hot cider.
“Peace be to you, Priest of Uzzah,” came their formal greeting.
“And to you, my sons.” He tried to hide the sorrow in his voice. “Have you heard the enemy stirring this morning?”
“Not yet,” Josiah said.
“Then let us get to the top and see if we can wake them up. I brought a nice big torch-arrow to light their morning,” Uzziel said, attempting to be playful.
Abram set down his mug with a wide grin, and grabbed his bow. Uzziel handed him the arrow. Josiah yanked a cold torch from a holder near the fire and lit it before handing it to the high priest. Uzziel invited the other soldiers to stay behind to finish their breakfast, and motioned for Josiah to lead the way. The three of them walked to the familiar stairway and began the ascent. As they climbed, they could see Azure and Aqua just peeking over the western heights of Bald Mountain, bathing the entire valley in bright light. It was going to be a beautiful, clear day.
Once they attained the walkway, they huddled behind the merlons for a few seconds before venturing a peek below. What Uzziel saw nearly took his breath away. Somehow during the night, and without the knowledge of the patrols of Ramathaim, the Gideonite army had succeeded in bringing one of their siege engines within striking distance of the wall. The catapult was hidden beneath a camouflage of brush.
As he watched, a contingent of Gideonites uncovered the catapult, while other enemy soldiers stood by with bows ready. None of them paid any attention to the top of the wall, and the three spying Uzzahites were not noticed before they had a chance to duck behind the parapets again.
Josiah said in a whisper, “They don’t realize they’ve been seen. Let us light our arrow. We’ll send it as a gift and make the siege engine burn!”
Eager to comply, Abram nocked the arrow, and Uzziel put flame to it. Abram waited a few moments to let the fire encompass the entire tip, and then swung around to the nearest crenel, letting the arrow loose.
It was nearly to the target before the Gideonite soldiers reacted to the tell-tale whistle. They yelled in alarm when the arrow firmly embedded itself in the exact center of the catapult’s throwing arm. Several scrambled out of the way and sent their own arrows flying toward the wall, but much too late to hit any mark. One man yanked the arrow from the catapult arm and stomped on it to extinguish the flame. Only a singed streak was left behind on the war machine.
“I think we should get off the wall!” Uzziel chuckled.
Josiah assisted Abram to move Uzziel away from the parapet, then the three of them ducked out of sight and bounded down the stairs from which they had come. The other Uzzahite warriors at the fire-pit were now armed. One soldier stepped forward, introduced himself as Samuel, and offered a large shield. He insisted that Uzziel walk under it, and helped Josiah and Abram to hold it above the high priest’s head. They hurried across the grassy court and up the ramped road to the protecting inner wall of Ramathaim. They darted through the open gate, and Uzziel thanked Samuel, who then dismissed himself. A loud crash and rumble came from the direction they had just come.
“They’ve used the machine!” Abram exclaimed.
Without comment, Uzziel ran back out and stood next to Samuel. Josiah and Abram caught up with him, and the four of them watched as a flood of Uzzahite warriors assembled from every direction, helmets and shields flashing in the morning rays. With amazing speed, the troops fell into columns, with arrows ready. A spotter on the wall signaled the direction of the catapult and provided the archers with directional angle for their aim, and then he
