Army of God

by Dennis Bailey

  “For all we know, she’s part of a ruse to get you out of the way so Malluch can take control of the city,” Shem said.

  “Tell me, why would someone, part of a ruse, alert our family to a plot to kill us, then insist on coming along?” Shem raised an eyebrow but remained silent. “After barely escaping with our lives today, do you really find her story that hard to believe?”

  Shem’s wife, Ariel, glared at the woman who’d identified herself as Shiphrah. Shem’s wife wasn’t as soft looking as Elisheva and a bit on the thin side, but she had strong features set in a nicely rounded face. “Father, this woman is from Enoch, brought here as concubine for the men of Eden. Have you not warned us repeatedly of the treachery of the Enochites? Who is she that we should trust her?”

  “Perhaps the person who saved your life.”

  “Humph.” Ariel returned to driving the oxen.

  “Do you not think Shiphrah deserves, at least, our gratitude?” Noah wasn’t really expecting an answer. He nodded at Miryam, who took Shiphrah’s hand and thanked her.

  Shiphrah forced a shaky smile.

  Japheth brought his donkey alongside the cart driven by his father. “What about Grandfather? And Great-grandfather?”

  Noah had expected questions from his family about those they’d left behind, especially from his firstborn, who’d enjoyed a special relationship with his grandfather. Elisheva was an orphan, and Ariel’s parents died of a fever forty years ago. But Shiphrah’s warning about the murder plot sent him rushing out to try and persuade Lamech to come with them.

  “I am sorry, son, I could do nothing to compel them to come with us.”

  “But with us gone, what’s left for them?”

  “Their birthright. Your grandfather is the ninth in the line of Adam. Your great-grandfather has lived in Eden for almost nine hundred years. YAH took his father before him alive to heaven from a field behind your grandfather’s house. He said it was a legacy neither of them could leave.”

  “And Malluch? His hatred and desire for vengeance against Grandfather is as strong as it is for you.”

  “Your grandfather is still the governor. He has many old and influential friends. And if I know Malluch, he craves power more than he craves vengeance. He knows it would not be politically expedient to eliminate him. Not now.” Several sheep and goats wandered off the roadway to graze. “Better tend your sheep, son.” Japheth veered his donkey away.

  Now, with the river behind them, Noah welcomed the quiet. They continued south, with the deadness of night marred only by the rhythmic squeaking of wooden wheels and the impact of cloven hooves upon the dirt road.

  Despite their good fortune, he couldn’t help questioning what the future held. Was their escape short-lived? And if not, how far would they have to travel to stay out of their enemy’s grasp? What of Shiphrah? Shem and Ariel already held a deep suspicion of her. Most worrisome of all was the welfare of his father and grandfather. Japheth had been right: Malluch’s vow of vengeance included both Lamech and Noah. With him gone, would his adversary become emboldened enough to have his father eliminated?

  * * *

  “Where are they?” Shechem cried out.

  Confusion reigned inside before the two teams of assassins met in the center of the house, furiously aware something had gone wrong. “Somebody, light a torch,” Malluch said. Light filled the room to him pounding his fist in his palm.

  Several men searching other parts of the house joined them. One confirmed what everyone already suspected. “They’re gone.”

  The lump in Shechem’s throat subsided and relief washed over him. But he stifled his emotions. “A couple of you search outside,” he said, then pointed to several others. “You three, check to see if any of the livestock have been moved.”

  Even in the reduced lighting of the torches, signs of a hasty departure abounded. A few small plates, a chalice of fine metal, and a broken piece of pottery littered the floor.

  “Clothes in the other rooms?” he said. “Any food?”

  Another member of the search team arrived. “Not a crumb. And it looks like the water buckets are gone too.”

  Bohar picked up the chalice and placed it inside his tunic.

  Malluch frowned at him. “Put it back! I told you, nothing disturbed.” Bohar dropped the chalice to the floor. The leader turned to Shechem. “I think the Preacher just made our job easier.”

  Two men outside called for Malluch and indicated they’d found something. He and his lieutenants hurried to where the men stooped beside the pathway. Torches illuminated disturbances in the soil. Tracks. Lots of them. Human, animal, and wheel ruts—all leading south away from the city.

  Malluch stood and faced the livestock pastures. “Have the men bridle some of the donkeys and make it fast.”

  “We’re going to follow them?” Shechem said. “The river is only twelve furlongs away.”

  “I know, but we don’t know how long they’ve been gone, and they can’t travel fast driving cattle and pulling loaded carts.”

  Five hundred forty parts later, the nearly two dozen raiders pursued their quarry south. Inside, Shechem waffled. Duty required his loyalty, even if he didn’t agree with his friend’s methods. On the other hand, he wasn’t sorry Elisheva had escaped, fleeting though it may be.

  * * *

  A cacophony of croaks and whistles from the bulrushes greeted the search party when they arrived at the northern bank of the Eden River. They knelt at the water’s edge next to tracks leading into the water. “You think they made it?” Shechem said.

  “At this time of year—absolutely.” Malluch grabbed the torch from him and waded into the river to his waist, about thirty-five cubits from the bank. He set his feet along the silt of the riverbed and raised the torch above his head, peering out over the water. “Current’s not too strong.”

  “Well then what are we wasting time for.” Bohar rubbed his hands together briskly. “Let’s get after them.”

  “You still want to track them across the river in the dark?” Shechem said.

  Malluch’s head snapped around. “Any reason why we shouldn’t, other than that heartache you’ve got for Japheth’s wife?”

  Bohar grunted and smirked, while several others laughed.

  Shechem bristled. “You said it yourself. We don’t know how long they’ve been gone. But if it’s anything over eight hours, they’ll have traveled a good ways, even driving cattle. Besides, isn’t this just what you wanted—the Preacher to disappear?”

  Malluch made his way to shore. “What I said is I wanted it to look like he’d disappeared. And knowing his charred body was rotting away in the earth somewhere would in no way conflict with that want.” He sloshed up the bank to join them, pausing to turn back to the river. He pulled the torch in so that the flame’s reflection danced on his face.

  “Are we going, or not?” Bohar said.

  Malluch brought the torch closer, turning it slowly in his fist. “No. Let them go.”

  “What!”

  “Shechem’s right. Even driving a small herd, they could be 150 furlongs away by now.” He lifted his gaze skyward. “And this moonlight’s not bright enough to track that distance.” He leaned in so only the two of them could hear. “There are twenty chances for something to go wrong. The way things are, Lamech will figure the Preacher and his family fled a stoning. But all we need is for one of these simpletons to let a word slip, get drunk and start boasting, talk in his sleep, whatever, and I’ll have more than Lamech to deal with.”

  “There’s a solution to that problem too,” Bohar whispered, smiling.

  “Thanks, my friend. But I’m going to need every available man to help launch this overthrow.”

  While the posse mounted their donkeys, a brisk rustling came from the grasses to their right. Bohar grabbed a torch to investigate. A fox subduing a young rabbit proved to be the source of the commotion, but the predator remained too fixated on its meal to notice his advance. He drew his knife and threw it, i
mpaling the fox just behind the left shoulder, drawing a sharp yelp. The fox attempted to crawl away—the rabbit still in its mouth. Bohar stomped on the fox’s head, crushing its skull. He pulled the knife from the animal, not bothering to wipe the blood from the blade before climbing onto his donkey.

  “Nice,” Shechem said.

  “At least the night wasn’t a total loss.”

  Chapter 4

  Six months had passed since Noah and his family completed an eight-day journey to settle in an area they deemed fertile to raise cattle and crops. To the southwest, a huge forest loomed as a living wall to defend them from the hot winds that blew across the Mesopotamian plain. The first lambs had been born to several of the ewes, and one of the heifers was gestating. Water flowed liberally from the well he and his sons had dug. Still, he worried each time they entered the local village for supplies. Today was no exception.

  Two soldiers watering their horses stared at them loading provisions into a cart. The two men looked familiar, but with Eden having no army, they were unlikely to be acquaintances.

  Shem moved in close to his father while lifting a bag of grain. “What do you think they’re looking at?”

  “It’s not the what that concerns me, but the why. Keep loading, and don’t look them in the eye.” Noah walked to the other side of the cart to get Japheth’s attention. “When we’re done, I’ll take the donkey, you two drive the cart.” Both sons nodded.

  The three men headed out of town en route to their new home. One hundred eighty parts into their journey, they noticed the two soldiers following at about a two-furlong distance. The trio increased their pace, but another 270 parts did nothing to increase their distance from the soldiers.

  Just ahead, the road cut through a small forest. Noah slowed his donkey to allow his sons to pull next to him. “When you reach the trees, drive the ox as fast as he will go.” He smacked his donkey on the rump and kicked at its sides.

  “Where’s he going?” Shem said as the animal pulled away. “Father!”

  He entered the woods and glanced over his shoulder in time to catch Japheth slap the reins against the oxen’s back.

  Fifty-four parts later, Japheth and Shem passed by where Noah crouched at the base of a tree peering through the brush. They were followed by the sound of horse hooves pounding the road. He pulled taut the rope stretched across the roadway between two trees. When the horse’s legs hit the rope, it slipped, burning and cutting his palms.

  Horses and men tumbled, crying out on their way to the ground. Noah drew his sword and raced to the closest man, thrusting the weapon through his back. He checked the second man, who lay motionless, the skin of his neck distended by bulging vertebrae. The horses—to his relief—appeared to suffer no injury.

  Shem jumped out and joined him. “You do nice work, Father.”

  Noah frowned. “There is no satisfaction in the taking of a life. But I couldn’t risk their reporting us to their command.”

  “No argument here. I doubt they were following us to make our acquaintance.” Shem kneeled to examine the dead man’s clothing. “They’re not from Enoch.”

  “No, they’re not.”

  “Hey,” Japheth said, climbing down from the cart to examine the bodies. “I think I know these men.”

  “I thought so,” Noah said. “Can you place them?”

  “They’re two of Shechem’s men.”

  “I was afraid of that.”

  “Afraid.” Shem’s head snapped up. “Why?”

  “Because it can only mean one thing—Eden has its own army now.”

  Japheth nodded slowly. “Which means Malluch has seized control of the city.”

  “Probably,” Noah said.

  “Great. What do we do with the bodies?”

  “There’s a shovel in the cart. We should get them off the road and into the woods now.”

  While Shem and Japheth moved the bodies, Noah examined the rope burns on his palms and popped back into place the dislocated fifth finger on his right hand. His relief at having escaped detection or capture conflicted with the reality they were still fugitives. They’d traveled nearly thirteen hundred furlongs from Eden, yet he’d still been forced to kill to protect their secrecy. They were lucky only two soldiers were in the village today. When they didn’t return to their command, more were sure to follow.

  Chapter 5

  A half year following Noah’s disappearance, Shechem rode his horse north out of the city to a tent encampment where harlots entertained the men of Eden. To the northwest, the first courses of a stone wall rose from the ground surrounding rows of barrack-like structures. The early evening ride gave him an opportunity to reflect on one of the choices he’d made.

  He had married who many considered the most beautiful woman in all of Eden. Taller than the average woman, Claudia’s bearing drew immediate attention from anyone passing her on the street, man or woman. Flowing dark hair to her waist and high cheek bones added to her stately appearance. With such beauty, he often questioned why she’d consented to marry him, seeing she could have had her choice of suitors.

  Yet all that beauty and grace had come at a price. Claudia was not only vain, but also expensive to maintain. Even after over 170 years of marriage, he found himself having to spend vast sums of gold to keep her in the finest things. He often wondered how different life would have been if he’d married someone less self-absorbed. Like Elisheva. Was Elisheva alive? If so, where was she? Did she ever think of him?

  He located Bohar’s horse outside one of the tents. Even if he hadn’t recognized the animal, Shechem could have found it blindfolded. He waved the odor away before alighting his own mount, giving the horse a wide berth when approaching the tent. “Bohar, you in there?”

  “What do you want?”

  “Malluch wants to see us.”

  “Now?”

  “Now.”

  “Give me a few parts.” A smacking sound, followed by a quickly muffled cry reverberated from inside the tent. Eighteen parts later, Bohar exited the shelter. “How did you find me?”

  “It wasn’t difficult. You and your horse have a lot in common.”

  “What’s that mean?” Bohar scowled.

  “You know, if you’d bathe once in a while, you might find yourself a woman you didn’t have to pay for.”

  “I didn’t pay for this one.”

  “And how did you manage that?”

  “I simply told her I wouldn’t disembowel her if she were nice to me.”

  “You’d better hope she doesn’t tell her handler.”

  “She won’t.”

  “Why not?”

  “Because I told her I’d come back and cut her tongue out if she did.”

  “You’re going to ruin a good thing if you keep this up.”

  The two men mounted their horses and headed to Eden, passing by several construction sites of walls being erected around the city. Near the center, they entered a large two-story house built largely of marble. Men armed with swords and spears stood guard on either side of an ornately carved door post and lintel.

  “Come in, my friends.” Malluch smiled broadly and strode with open arms across the marble floor. “I hope I haven’t inconvenienced you by summoning you at this late hour.”

  “No inconvenience.” Shechem answered for both of them. Bohar twisted his mouth and raised an eyebrow.

  “Good.” Because tonight is a night for celebration.” Malluch poured wine into three chalices and handed one to each man. He raised his arm holding the third. “Gentlemen, the city is ours. I must admit, I anticipated a great deal more resistance.” He took a long drink. “But since the Preacher graced us with his departure, Lamech has become all but impotent.”

  “He doesn’t even come out in public any more,” Shechem said.

  “And many of his allies have either joined us or left the city. Congratulations.”

  The three men drank again.

  “Never underestimate the power of a grieving heart to sap th
e fortitude of one who is weak. I take it you’ve seen the progress being made on the fortifications?”

  “It’s hard not to.” Shechem swept the arm holding the chalice around the room. “They’re everywhere.”

  “And so the reason I summoned you—besides this toast, of course. I would like you to personally oversee the construction. As it stands, there is no coordination between the various projects, and they are commencing far too slowly. If we are to match the formidable defenses of Enoch, there needs to be more centralized control.”

  “Coordination isn’t the problem. We need more men.”

  “Then get them.”

  “Nearly all the men of Eden are working on the walls now.”

  “Then get some men outside of Eden.”

  “It’s going to take a lot of resources to hire enough men to complete a project this size.”

  “I don’t believe I mentioned the word ‘hire.’”

  Shechem turned to Bohar, then back to Malluch, who were wearing identical smirks. “The construction to the northwest? A slave camp?”

  “I’m placing you in command of our new army as well. The men of Eden have been training for months, going out on short patrols. Time to put them to the test. And take Bohar with you. I’m sure his special talents will prove invaluable.”

  Bohar flashed his trademark moss-colored smile.

  Shechem’s stomach tightened at the sight of that grin, for he knew all too well its implication. Bohar wasn’t excited at the prospect of going on a raid, of the spoils he might acquire, or even for another opportunity to use his knife. He was excited about the women. For him, it was always about the women.

  The father of two daughters, Shechem had an aversion to rape. The killing of one’s enemies was one thing—even women in battle—so long as it was swift and merciful. But he found the prolonged torture of rape unnecessary, committed only by the most loathsome of animals. A title Bohar wore proudly.