“I’m sorry you have returned it unused,” Rezon said dryly. “But don’t worry-I will find another use for it.”
Rezon rolled the written message and tied it with a leather strap from his box.
“Take this to Jael of Maharai.”
“Yes, sir. I will.”
“Good. These are orders to make you a captain of fifty. Jael has been instructed to reassign you.”
Previously a captain of ten, Zev appeared to be excited by the promotion. He thanked the general, saluted, and left after being dismissed.
Rezon was pleased with the way Zev had demonstrated his total commitment.
“I will use him well,” Rezon said out loud, although no one was there to hear him. He unbuckled his belt so the returned dagger could hang there once again. After cinching his belt, he left the tent to return to the campfire. Gad was there, ready to deliver more news of the preparations. Rezon listened until Gad was finished.
“Zev, now a captain of fifty…” Rezon said with a long pause, waiting for the raised eyebrows of his third in command, “… was just here to inform me that Jasher of Bezek marches with Daniel and Uzzah out of Saron today.” Rezon did not use the title of “general” for Jasher, now that he considered Jasher a traitor to the cause.
“We have only two days before their arrival, then,” Gad calculated. “Unless they march through the night.”
Rezon held up two fingers. “But I think it will be two full days. The foolish man travels with women.”
Chapter 25
Aqua and Azure swam high in a cloudless sky when Rezon’s first in command and Chief Captain of the Host, Jael of Maharai, arrived at the main pavilion in the center of the Gideonite encampment. Jael greeted Rezon warmly-not with the customary salute of all other soldiers, but with an embrace reserved for very close friends or brothers. Like complementary patterns of the same weave of cloth, they carried themselves in a similar manner, yet were a contrast in physical appearance.
Jael, large and stocky, also of mixed decent, had short-cropped, straight black hair. His facial features were more indicative of his Uzzahite lineage than his Gideonite heritage. Rezon, on the other hand, sported shoulder length sandy-brown hair and was of average height and build, his inherited Danielite features unmistakable.
“Rezon,” Jael said in a matter-of-fact tone, “I am anxious to begin. I want that wall down.”
“So do I. Like you, I’m ready to bring down the pride of Uzzah. I intend to make this city mine by tomorrow.”
Both men turned to see Gad approach and salute. Behind him were two other soldiers, one of whom held a rope. The other end of the short rope was tightly wrapped around the wrists of a terrified Uzzahite boy.
One of the soldiers whacked him behind the knees, and he fell to the ground.
“What is this?” Rezon demanded as he studied the boy, who was dressed in Uzzahite armor far too large for him.
“We found him hiding in some trees just east of here. He’s a spy.”
“I am no spy,” the boy said, trembling.
“Raise him,” commanded the general.
The two soldiers jerked the boy to his feet.
“How old are you?” Rezon asked.
“Twelve.” The boy seemed calmer.
“What is your name?”
“Daniel.”
“Daniel? A young Uzzahite warrior by the name of Daniel? Isn’t that precious. ”
The boy held his tongue.
“What are you doing here, if you are not a spy?” Rezon asked, his eyebrows low.
“I came to burn your catapult.”
Rezon laughed. His captains laughed with him.
“I am impressed by your courage. Do you know who I am?”
Daniel shook his head.
“I am Rezon, General of the Host of Gideon. This is my army. I am quite surprised to find you standing before me, alive. You must be a brave warrior to have come out here alone.”
Rezon looked to his captains and asked, “What shall we do with him?”
“Slit his throat,” Jael said, his eyes cold.
“He is a spy,” Gad added.
Rezon’s hands went up. “My countrymen, let us not be so hasty. This boy has spirit.”
He stepped closer so he could lift Daniel’s chin. He gazed into the boy’s eyes and saw both fear and determination. He let go and stepped back. “Who am I to prevent this young man from accomplishing his mission as a spy? Somebody, give me a solar.”
One of the soldiers guarding Daniel jumped forward and handed the general a Gideonite coin, then stood as if he expected some sort of gratitude. Rezon waved him away.
“Boy, take this coin as your payment. You are now an emissary of Gideon. Return to your city. Tell them everything you have seen here. Tell your leaders that I intend to attack today.”
Rezon closed Daniel’s hand around the coin. Daniel didn’t flinch.
“Let him go at the edge of camp. Inform the archers that he is not to be harmed.”
“Yes, sir,” answered Gad.
Rezon and Jael watched as the three soldiers stopped to talk with one of the archer captains. Once the orders were relayed, Gad took the boy past the siege engines, through the front lines, and out onto the road leading to the main gate. When they cut his bonds, the boy ran. A hand to his forehead to shield his eyes, Rezon was amused when he saw the boy stop in the distance and turn to face the army, his arm cocked back. Light glinted off the coin as it sailed through the air to land near one of the catapults. Spotters on the wall signaled for the door to open, and Daniel ran the rest of the way to disappear through the gate.
I can be kind-even merciful, Rezon thought, praising himself. He returned to his tent.
An hour later, Rezon stood next to Jael in the safety of a three-walled observation hut placed behind the front line. Anxious, he shifted on his feet and shook his head.
“Where is Gad?” Rezon demanded, irritated.
His face red, Jael did not answer, but stared out from under the propped-up cover of the window facing the city.
The sound of boots near the hut caught Rezon’s attention. He turned to see Gad appear at the opening of the hut.
“General, we are ready.”
“I hope so, because the suns do not travel backward.”
“I know, General. I’m sorry for the delay. But the troops are ready now.”
Rezon turned back to the window as Gad hurried away on another errand. “Jael, hit them hard.”
Jael reached out the window and dropped his hand in signal. A single horn sounded, then others repeated up and down the line.
All at once, six catapults were shoved into position by several hundred men and fired in unison. The first large stones and iron balls hit the top of the outer wall of the Holy City of Uzzah like a thunderclap. Two protective merlons crumbled, exposing a section of the walkway.
Using his spyglass, Rezon saw a spotter run for cover on the wall, one of Gad’s archers barely missing the man. Behind the battlements where the spotter now hid, a volley of flaming arrows from Uzzahite archers whistled high into the sky. Gad’s shouted commands caused an immediate response from those protecting the siege engines. A mass of men in green tunics swarmed over the catapults, and large shields were raised. Most of the incoming
