Glorious Companions

by Summer Lee

  “Have you seen how they look at each other?” Kenana giggled. “Perhaps a triple wedding!”

  Sarah laughed. “Miss Keni, could you imagine?”

  “Yes,” said Kenana. “I can.”

  “They have barely met.”

  “I think they are in love.” Kenana spoke in a singsong tone. “They possibly have seen each other before.”

  “But right now there is a war to fight,” said Sarah, and the moment her words left her mouth, a great horn sounded upon the hill. The horn was answered by many other horns—hundreds of horns scattered throughout the land.

  “Sadly so. Sadly so.”

  Asher and Tall appeared instantly in the kitchen, both wide-eyed.

  “The Nephilim are here,” said Asher grimly. “Come, we must seek shelter in the palace. Immediately.”

  Chapter Thirty-two

  With the various horns of warning still echoing over the hills and throughout the land, Kenana quickly gathered up Tyro and followed Asher and the others outside. The palace had already been stocked with supplies, and so the four of them joined the throngs of villagers wending their way anxiously up the winding road.

  The massive palace doors, made of stout wood, were open. Villagers and the like streamed in. Asher immediately led the way up a wide staircase, past several floors, and to a royal residence high above.

  The room was massive, with a wide stone archway that led out onto a balcony that overlooked the western lands. The room was also nearly bare, with only a half dozen wool mats laid out against the far wall. There were a handful of chairs, a sturdier reed crib for Tyro, and that was it.

  Once inside the room, Asher turned and faced Kenana. “I need to oversee the fortifications. You will all be safe here.”

  Kenana, despite telling herself to be strong, broke out into tears, weeping hard. Tyro, seeing his mother weeping, began crying as well.

  Asher hugged them both, and whispered into her ear, “It is all right, Keni dear. Do not fear.”

  “I don’t want to lose you,” she said into his neck, which was already slick with her hot tears.

  He gently pulled away and gave her a lopsided smile. “I don’t plan on becoming lost,” he said again, winking. He gave the sniffling Tyro a kiss on his cheek, and then he and Tall, who had been holding Sarah’s hand, dashed out of the room and disappeared down the hall.

  *

  The influx of villagers into the safety of the palace walls continued throughout the day. Horses, carts, wagons, donkeys, and families all were given refuge. None were turned away.

  Kenana watched all of this from her balcony. And as the sun began to set, with the last of the stragglers making it through the palace gates, Kenana heard the massive wooden gates shut with a mighty groan. Finally, she heard the great iron bolt heaved into place.

  The palace residence was oddly quiet. The three women stole the occasional glance at each other, but none of them felt like talking. Even Tyro was oddly subdued, curiously watching his mother and the other women. They all took turns holding him, as the boy did not want to be left on his own, crying furiously if he was set down.

  Restless, Kenana paced the balcony. She tried to play with little Tyro, but she could not focus on him. A young servant girl approached and asked if she could help with Tyro. Kenana agreed it was a good idea. She could not give him the attention he needed. Instead, she looked out over the horizon. The setting sun illuminated the distant hills with furious reds and oranges, as if the land itself was on fire.

  Kenana took in some air. She was finding breathing difficult. She remembered Nod outside her window in Zoan. She recalled him warning her not to return to the palace. He promised he would kill her, but she did not think he needed an army. Then she recalled the story about Asher’s family dying at the hands of the Nephilim. It was all beginning to make sense. Her stomach began to hurt. She thought she might vomit.

  Where were Sarah and Ava? She called out their names.

  The other two women came out and stood next to her, one on either side. All three women looked out across the land. And as they stood there, a dark line formed on the horizon.

  Kenana saw that the dark line was moving closer and closer.

  The Nephilim were here.

  Am I going to have to face off with Nod again?

  Chapter Thirty-three

  As Kenana stood on the balcony, she saw, amazingly, a single figure running before the dark wave of Nephilim.

  Stumbling and holding something in his arms, the man stumbled up the rutted road to the palace walls. He appeared to be badly injured, quite badly injured.

  “That is not a Nephilim. He is too short,” said Ava.

  “He is an ordinary man,” said Kenana.

  “He’s hurt,” said Sarah, leaning forward and shielding her eyes. “His robe is red with blood.”

  Ava suddenly gasped. “He’s carrying a baby!”

  “They must open the gate and let him in,” Kenana said, almost hysterical.

  The man disappeared from view, and there was a great commotion below. What was going on down there? Surely, the men knew he had to be a friend in order to be granted shelter in the palace. She heard Asher’s voice, followed immediately by the sound of the heavy gate opening and then quickly closing again.

  Kenana sighed, was relieved. Asher had come to the rescue.

  A moment later, Tall and Asher appeared in the palace room, each holding the arm of a wounded man with his head dropped. A maiden was with them, holding a petite toddler.

  Kenana gasped, putting her hand over her mouth. The man was her cousin, Lamech, and he was badly wounded. The baby was Noah, the promised deliverer.

  *

  They prepared a bed for the injured Lamech, and the women tended to him. Asher appeared a short while later with material for stitching, a bone needle and cat-gut for sewing the skin back together.

  As the Nephilim army amassed beyond the outer walls, Asher, sweating under the light of a crackling torch, gently and meticulously went to work on Lamech’s considerable wounds.

  With Ava assisting Asher and Sarah holding little Noah, Kenana paced just beyond the torchlight. Beyond the balcony, she could hear the grunts and yells of the Nephilim army. They sounded like hideous beasts.

  And after what seemed like hours, Asher lifted his head, wiped the sweat from his brow and commanded Ava to wash the wound with hot water. She did so immediately, pouring it from a jug. Then Asher applied a mysterious green poultice. Kenana was quickly learning that Asher was not only a warrior of El, but a great healer as well. She recalled how he had brought her back from the brink of death when she had given birth to Tyro.

  Finally, Asher stood and looked them all in the eye. “Pray to El for Lamech to return to health quickly.”

  Little Noah made a noise as Sarah bounced him in her arms, calming him. She found a chair and sat down singing softly words of a lullaby. Noah began to coo and closed his eyes, with a smile on his lips.

  Asher, hands covered in fresh blood, smiled weakly at Kenana and left the room. “I must wash up and then get back to defending the palace,” he said.

  Lamech lay unmoving on the mat, his side freshly stitched. The only way Kenana could tell he was alive was the occasional groan that escaped from his lips.

  Tyro was curious and wanted to point and talk about the sick man. Kenana picked him up and took him deeper into the palace where she found a nursemaid to watch him. She then turned and walked to the balcony’s edge, looking out over the land.

  The hillside was awash in a roiling sea of surging Nephilim, marching between the massive rows of thorny briers. More giants than she thought ever existed. All standing many spans taller than any human. All easily twice as wide as any human, and twice as mean. And all born of angel blood.

  Fallen angel blood.

  Chapter Thirty-four

  With the Nephilim army amassing just outside the palace gates, Kenana and the other women took turns watching over Lamech, nursing him with cloths
dipped in hot water and, as instructed by Asher, applying more of the mysterious green poultice. His occasional groans became louder, and words would form on his lips. Not curse words, but words of a true prophet of El. He spoke words of praise and adoration to the Almighty.

  Outside, beyond the balcony, Kenana watched the burning fires of the Nephilim encampments. They were a loud bunch, prone to fighting among themselves. Furious grunts would erupt, followed by the clang of swords, and often a long, agonizing death cry. A pig had been roasted over an open fire. When it was cooked, several giants pounced on it all at once, eating the bones with the meat. A brawl broke out. They fought until the meat had been devoured. She wondered why they had only roasted one. About the time that she thought they would settle down, others would cry out, and more such fights would break out.

  Kenana stepped away from the balcony, sick to her stomach. Maybe they’ll kill themselves.

  The night wore on, and sometime near morning, as the dark faded to purple with the coming of dawn, Lamech stirred and opened his eyes.

  The women immediately huddled around the young prophet, giving him more water and mashed cornmeal. He smiled weakly, and then lapsed back into unconsciousness. Kenana tightened a coverlet around him to keep him warm.

  A short time later, he was awake again, and this time, he was able to sit up. Kenana was amazed by his speedy recovery. Asher must truly be a gifted healer.

  And when Lamech was fully alert, he proceeded to tell the women a very sad tale.

  *

  With little warning, the Nephilim had swept through his village, destroying crops and livestock, killing the men and raping the women, leaving the children to fend for themselves.

  Lamech himself had only been spared when Ham, leading this wave of the Nephilim armies, had realized Lamech was the grandson of the Prophet Enoch. Fearing reprisal from El, and hoping to get a special personal prophecy, Ham had kept the young prophet alive. “That was a miracle.”

  A short time later, with much of the Nephilim army drunk on the spoils of war, Lamech had escaped into the night. And in a ditch by the side of the road, Lamech found his little boy clinging to the lifeless body of his wife. Unconscious but breathing, Lamech picked up mother and son, and carried them to his mother’s home. He had left the body of his beloved wife in his own mother’s care—a woman who knew El and was endowed with healing powers. He then had kissed his still wife goodbye, scooped up his boy and fled before the advancing army.

  Lamech lapsed into silence, his strength spent. Sarah gave him little Noah, and the women somberly watched as Lamech held the baby tightly, and wept silently.

  *

  It was morning and Kenana was alone on the balcony watching the Nephilim army organize itself. She could make out the evil flaxen-haired giant, Nod, riding before his heavily armed soldiers. If anyone deserved to die, it was Nod. He was evil personified—the most evil Nephilim she had ever seen. Someone had hired him to follow her to Zoan last year and kill her. Now she knew for certain that it was her stepson, Ham.

  Asher had been there for her, bless him. If it had not been for Asher, she would be lying in a cold grave in Egypt now.

  She even thought she could make out Prince Ham among the many hundreds of traitorous humans who fought alongside the Nephilim. Hopefully, he did not know she was hiding inside the yet unfinished palace. El help her if he did. Ham wanted Kenana dead more than he wanted his next meal. He always had, ever since the day she’d married his father. It had put an obstacle between Ham and the throne and he was furious about it.

  Ham, the eldest son of her deceased husband, Jubal, was proving to be a very wicked man. Even Prince Jubal, who had treated his servants and slaves like dogs, had the good judgment not to side with the evil Nephilim. He had sent her away to protect her from them.

  Disgusted, Kenana turned away from the scene, heading back into the suite. Lamech was sitting up on his cot and eating from a small platter of dried fish and bread. Little Noah was sitting with him, reaching for the food. His father broke him off small morsels. Noah eagerly shoved the food into his tiny mouth.

  Kenana could not help but notice the beauty of baby Noah. He seemed to have a holy radiance about him that no other child in the world had. His skin and hair white like that of an angel. He was chosen by El from birth to master a great task in his life. Of this, she was positive.

  Kenana smiled. Tyro was fascinated by the new baby’s arrival. Yet her own boy had always been unnaturally shy of other children. Although they were the same age, Tyro looked and acted twice as old. People guessed him to be much older than he was, and she let them believe it. That was so much easier than explaining that he was the son of an angel—an angel who fell out of graces with El to be with her. Even being an angel had not kept him from acting in pure selfishness and forcing himself on her.

  She turned her attention once again to the babies at play. Each had an angel floating above him. Tyro’s was gentle and pretty. Noah’s angel was strong and masculine. Kenana guessed the reason was that Tyro needed training in gentleness, and Noah needed to be strong and of a good courage to accomplish his mission in life.

  She looked around. No one else saw the angels. Only she could see into the spirit world.

  Both boys seemed eager to play with each other. Now, after warming up to Noah, Tyro approached the sitting baby. Noah looked up at the waddling boy, food falling from his chubby cheeks. As he reached out toward his cousin, Tyro stumbled and crashed into the sitting baby. Both boys rolled and laughed and hugged each other, and Kenana found herself laughing and weeping.

  Chapter Thirty-five

  Well into the following day, as the Nephilim hurled shouts over the walls, taunting those within to come out and fight, Kenana saw they were also building two mighty catapults.

  “Ignore them,” said Lamech from his mat on the floor. “Their day will come. Judgment is coming to all of them.”

  Kenana suddenly wondered what her cousin knew of her grandfather’s predictions, and decided to ask him. “Will there truly be a large boat to rescue a remnant of holy people, and the rest be destroyed in a flood?”

  Lamech nodded, wincing, for he was still in pain. “Yes, it is my understanding that my son, Noah, will build the great ship, which Grandfather has called an ark. The name ark is quite significant, because it is a vessel sealed all the way around and on top.”

  “It will probably have a roof to keep out the rain?”

  “Yes.” He took in some air. “But this will not happen until the year of my father’s death. Luckily, it is my understanding that Father will live to a very old age.” Lamech winked.

  *

  It was later in the day, and the Nephilim were still building the massive catapults at a remarkable pace.

  Not good, thought Kenana, standing on the balcony. Soon they will be attacking us. What is Asher waiting for?

  Indeed, Asher had been gone for most of the day, having disappeared somewhere within the palace. Kenana sighed. She was just going to have to trust her Goel.

  Lamech stepped next to her on the balcony. He was holding his stitched-up side and staring out across the sea of Nephilim. “El loves you more than you know, my cousin,” he said quietly. She hugged him carefully around his shoulders. He took in some air, clearly in much physical pain, let alone the emotional pain of losing his wife. Kenana’s heart went out to him, and she hugged him a little tighter. “This is not the end of things,” he said. “No, we are very far from the end of things.”

  He smiled down at her and there were tears in his eyes. She hugged him again, and the two of them stood there quietly together as a small wind worked its way over the balcony, bringing with it the stench of the Nephilim army.

  Chapter Thirty-six

  Kenana awoke the following morning to find Asher standing alone on the balcony. She arose quietly and was about to call out his name when she saw he was speaking to someone.

  No, not speaking. He was praying. Indeed, his arms were outstretched
, face lifted to the heavens.

  Through the balcony, Kenana saw that overnight the skies had grown gray with rain-swollen clouds. As she approached Asher, a bolt of lightning suddenly split the heavens, followed quickly by a boom of thunder.

  Asher raised his hands even higher, seemed to be praying even more urgently.

  More lightning. More thunder. The palace walls shook with the force of it. The angels of Heaven were going to fight for them. Of this, she was certain.

  Kenana debated leaving Asher alone, but curiosity got the best of her. She moved slowly toward him, stepping lightly over the cold stone floor. She was not surprised to discover that her heart was beating unnaturally loud in her ears.

  Something is about to happen, she thought. Something big.

  Through the gathering clouds, the rising sun cast the distant foothills in a muted shade of gray.

  Kenana continued forward. Asher was still praying furiously, still holding his hands high into the air. And then, abruptly, he lowered them onto the balcony wall.

  Asher turned his head, and she caught a glimpse of his strong profile. “Good morning, my queen. You are in time for the show.”

  *

  Kenana stood next to Asher, huddling against the cool wind, which now whipped over the balcony. The previous day had been hot, with no sign of any inclement weather. Now roiling gray clouds stretched from horizon to horizon, and the temperature was dropping by the moment. The weather seemed angry, but no angels had appeared on the scene.

  “What’s going on, Asher?” Kenana asked quietly. She heard the fear in her voice. This weather was so strange, so…unnatural.

  Something is going to happen, she thought. But what?

  Asher continued looking off toward the distant horizon, beyond the gathering Nephilim army and toward the distant, bleak foothills.

  The wind blew harder, moaning over the battlements, pulling at Kenana’s robe, whipping her hair about her face.

  Below, the giants seemed to be awaiting orders. The two catapults had now been fully erected, and were now being loaded with massive boulders by even more massive giants. Ham and Nod rode before the ranks of Nephilim, shouting muffled orders lost on the howling wind. The giants all held curved swords, their blades impossibly long, catching what little light there was.