Before the Fall

by L. G. Castillo

  Lahash pressed the spear deeper. A spot of red appeared and slowly oozed down Saleos’ bronzed skin.

  In one swift motion, Saleos jerked the spear out of his hands, tossing it off to the side. Gripping his throat, he leaned in, his face less than an inch from Lahash. “Go home to your mother, boy.”

  Saleos pushed him to the ground and headed toward Naomi. “I have come to take what was stolen from me.”

  “I took nothing from you!” she cried as she scrambled to get out of the stream.

  “Your sister cost me my gold and your kiss. Since the gold is gone, I will take more than a kiss from you as payment.”

  He lunged after her and she screamed.

  Lahash leapt to his feet and tackled Saleos to the ground. “Run, Naomi!”

  He wrapped an arm around Saleos’ neck. Saleos stood as if there was no weight at all on him. Giving out a roar, Saleos took hold of Lahash’s arm. He then took a step back and swiftly bent downward, sending Lahash sailing through the air.

  There was a loud crack as he landed on a nearby stone, his head smashing against it. He groaned as he tried to stand. His eyes grew blurry as he looked for Saleos. Through the haze, he thought he saw Naomi with the spear in hand, her back to him.

  “Stay away from him,” she threatened.

  “How sweet. You’re protecting the boy. I like that. But what you really need is a man.”

  “I’m warning you.” She jabbed the spear at him when he took a step toward her.

  He grabbed the spear and hit it against his leg, snapping it in two. “Come with me now and your screams will be of pleasure. Or don’t. Either way I shall make you scream.”

  Through the haze, Lahash pushed himself up and with a savage roar he lunged after the huge blurry blob.

  “Lahash!”

  He heard Naomi’s screams as Saleos slammed his fists into his stomach. Each punch felt like a hammer ramming him. Ribs crushed beneath the blow of his fists. He took hold of Saleos, coughing up the taste of salty blood. He held on tightly, knowing that if he released him, he would go after Naomi. He had to hold on.

  He tried to get himself at an angle to where he could hit Saleos. But Saleos was faster, stronger.

  Black spots began to fill his vision and he struggled to keep conscious. From what seemed like a distance, Naomi yelled out his name.

  “Please, Naomi. Run.” He grunted when Saleos landed another punch on his left side.

  The pain was excruciating and Lahash sank to the ground. Saleos grabbed the front of his tunic and jerked him forward. “You will learn to heed my commands, boy.”

  Saleos drew back his massive arm, fist clenched.

  Lahash was struggling to push himself up when there was a sudden rumble and Saleos disappeared.

  “Lahash!”

  Hands lifted him gently, placing his head on a soft lap. He looked up and blinked, trying to focus his eyes. Worried blue eyes gazed down at him.

  He struggled to sit up.

  “No, lie still,” Naomi said.

  His head fell back at the sound of fists and crunching bones. Then he heard Saleos groaning.

  “If you ever lay a hand on Naomi or my brother again, I will kill you.”

  “Jeremiel,” Lahash whispered, turning his head in the direction of his brother’s voice.

  “You were holding yourself back.” Saleos grunted as he stood. “You are as strong as others say you are.”

  “I know not of what others say. Leave now and don’t ever come near this place again,” Jeremiel said.

  “You will know soon enough.” Saleos spat out blood onto the ground. Then he smiled, his teeth streaked with blood. “Soon I will be as strong as you and I will even have the same gifts.”

  Jeremiel froze. He glanced at Lahash. Lahash shook his head. He had no idea how Saleos knew about their gifts. He hadn’t told a soul.

  “I don’t know what you are talking about.”

  “You and your brother are not the only ones who are . . . special,” Saleos said. “Though some are more so than others.”

  As he began to leave, he passed by Lahash and Naomi. He paused, glaring down at Lahash. “This one will only hold you back, Jeremiel.”

  “Please, Lahash. Be still,” Naomi said softly when he tried to stand.

  “Yes, Lahash. Listen to her. She is wise . . . for a woman.”

  Saleos laughed as he walked away.

  Jeremiel went to Lahash’s side. “Do you need any help?”

  You’ve helped enough.

  “No. I’m fine.” He pushed himself off the ground and got back onto his feet.

  “Are you all right, Naomi?” Jeremiel extended his hand to her.

  She placed her hand in his “Yes. I’m fine. Thank you for helping us.”

  Lahash watched as she hugged his brother. When Jeremiel looked down at her, he flashed his dazzling smile. The expression on her face shifted and her eyes seemed to glaze over. It was as if she was in awe of him. It was the same look she had after he had kissed her.

  “May I escort you home?” Jeremiel asked.

  She looked at Lahash while Jeremiel waited for her answer. The glazed look in her eyes was gone, and he wondered if he had imagined it. It was as if she was waiting for him to say something. After a moment, her eyes grew sad and she turned her attention to Jeremiel.

  “Yes, you may.”

  16

  Lahash slammed the door shut and tossed the basket onto the table. He had spent most of the day at the stream again, hoping to see Naomi. He should’ve known that she wouldn’t be there. Not after the incident with Saleos yesterday.

  He rubbed his side where he was positive he had cracked a rib. Yesterday, he could feel it snap when Saleos punched him. Today, it felt perfectly normal. It was as if nothing had happened. He touched the back of his head. No pain there either. He knew he had hit it hard. He had left a large fissure in the stone where he had hit his head. The headache he had yesterday was gone.

  It must be part of his special gifts that his father had told him about. Problem was that his gifts didn’t take away the ache he felt whenever he thought of Naomi walking with Jeremiel to Ai.

  He should have gone with them. He should have been the one to take her. He sank down on a chair and pressed his head against the table. He was stronger than most people, but not Jeremiel. Why? And why couldn’t he beat Saleos?

  He looked down at his hands. The bruising from yesterday had fully disappeared. He was amazed at how quickly they had healed. So very different from the other men. Just that morning he had run across one of the men he had wrestled with. His arms were still marked where Lahash had taken hold of him.

  Then he thought of the indentation he had made when he hit the mud-brick wall. It had surprised him that he could do that. And in the competition against the other men, it had been so easy to overtake them. He had listened to his father’s warnings. He hadn’t pushed himself to his fullest—except when it had come to Saleos.

  He wondered if he should ask his father. He had never thought of asking why he and his brother were different. It was just something that they always lived with.

  No, asking wasn’t a good idea. Every time he tried to talk to his father, they somehow ended up in an argument.

  The door opened and his mother gave him a soft smile when she walked in. She held two loaves of bread wrapped in a cloth.

  “Lahash, you’re back. I thought you would be gone all day. Your father and Jeremiel have gone into the city. They won’t be back until nightfall.”

  Great. Jeremiel was probably at the inn right now.

  He took the bread from her hand and placed it next to the basket of fish. “I’ve caught enough for today.”

  She looked at him for a moment and her brow furrowed. “What is wrong, my son? You’ve been melancholy since yesterday.”

  He shook his head and started toward the door. “I’ll go milk the goat.”

  “Please, Lahash,” she said, taking a hold of his hand. “Tell me what t
roubles you.”

  He shook his head.

  She went to him, wrapping her arms around him. She pressed her head against his chest.

  “Time flies by so quickly. It seems like only yesterday your head was pressed against my chest when you were sad,” she murmured. “I would kiss the top of your head and wish your heartache away.”

  “It always did make me feel better.”

  “Tell me your troubles. I am still here for you . . . even if you are a man now.”

  He let go of her and sank back down onto the chair. “I don’t want to hurt you.”

  “It’s your father.”

  He was surprised that tears sprang into his eyes. Why did it still hurt him? He would think that he would be used to it by now.

  “I’ve tried with him. I really have,” his voice shook slightly. “It’s like nothing I do can satisfy him. And we always seem to be fighting with each other. I have tried to be more like Jeremiel—”

  “No, my son.” She covered his hand with hers. “You must be who you are. Your father and I love you for who you are.”

  “He loves Jeremiel more.” He swallowed thickly at the pain that crossed her face. “I don’t mean to hurt you. It is something that I have known for a long time. Today, it’s just . . . I don’t know . . . maybe it is time I left.”

  “No, Lahash. Please don’t speak that way.” Her eyes looked frantic. “Your father . . . he loves you. I know he does. It is just that he is not used to being . . . challenged.”

  He gave her a slow smile. “I know what you mean to say, Mother. I don’t follow his every word like Jeremiel does.”

  “It is more than that. Things always come easy for Jeremiel. It is always easier to see the world in a positive light when life comes easy to you. For you, it has been a bit more difficult. You have a different way of seeing things. And you are not afraid to question it. And you should hold on to those beliefs.”

  “You mean I’m stubborn?” He grinned.

  “You are passionate. There is nothing wrong with that, Lahash. Your father is the same way. That is why you two always butt each other’s heads as the rams do. You are two of the same type.”

  “That is hard to believe.”

  “Believe it. One day your father will realize how you are so much like him. Jeremiel has his father’s looks . . . but you, my sweet son, you have your father’s spirit.”

  Lahash looked deep into his mother’s hazel eyes, so much like his own. He wanted to believe her. Growing up, not once had he ever seen his father be anything other than strict with him. Oh, there were times when he played with him, especially when he was little. But as he grew older, his father had grown more distant from him and more attentive to Jeremiel.

  He got up from the table and headed toward the door. “I don’t know if that day will ever come. One thing I know for sure, it won’t be anytime...”

  He swung open the door. Standing at the doorway with her hand hanging in the air in mid-knock was Naomi.

  His jaw dropped at the sight of her. It couldn’t be her.

  He blinked.

  She was still there.

  “Lahash.” She gave him a wide smile.

  “You must be Naomi, daughter of Gideon and Esther,” his mother said from behind him. “Jeremiel has spoken greatly of you.”

  Of course, Jeremiel, he thought.

  “I am Rebecca. Lahash and Jeremiel are my sons.”

  “Jeremiel is in the city,” he snapped. “Sorry you wasted a trip out here. He’s probably at the inn right now. If you hurry, maybe you can catch him.”

  Naomi looked taken aback.

  “Lahash,” his mother’s voice dripped with disappointment. “Where are you manners? My apologies, Naomi.”

  “I came to see you,” Naomi said, scowling at him.

  “Me?”

  She tilted her head and gave him a curious expression. “Yes. You.”

  He stared at her, stunned.

  “I wanted to give you this.” She handed him a jar. “I wanted to thank you for being so wonderful helping my sister and me. I hope you like honey.”

  “I . . . uh . . . I . . . thank you?”

  “Well, okay.” She gave him a strange look. “It was a pleasure meeting you, Rebecca.”

  “Perhaps you and Lahash would like to go for a stroll.” He felt a finger poking his back. “I am sure Lahash would like to show you the new lamb. It was born a few days ago. Wouldn’t you, Lahash?”

  Lahash finally tore his eyes away from Naomi. Still not able to comprehend the fact that Naomi came all this way to see him. Not Jeremiel. Him!

  He looked at his mother. Her face was glowing with excitement. Her eyes danced between him and Naomi.

  “What?”

  “I don’t want to be a bother,” Naomi said. “I’m sure you are busy. I will be on my way.”

  She’s leaving! Don’t let her leave! His heart screamed to his brain.

  “No wait!” He finally unglued his feet from the ground. He ducked back into the house, grabbing his walking staff. “Naomi, would you do me the honor of going on a walk with me?”

  Perfect pink lips curled into smile that made him melt. “I thought you’d never ask.”

  17

  Using her peripheral vision, Naomi took a peek at Lahash as they walked up the hill. She could feel his eyes on her but every time she looked over to him, he would look off into the distance. Why wouldn’t he look directly at her? What was he trying to hide?

  They had been having so much fun yesterday before Saleos had to come and ruin it. She should’ve been mortified that he had caught her bathing. Instead, all she thought about was the expression in his beautiful hazel eyes that stared at her transfixed as if she were the only person in the world. His sculpted lips had parted slightly as if they were waiting for hers. The thought of it brought a flurry of butterflies to her stomach.

  Even Jeremiel’s kiss hadn’t made her feel the way Lahash did with just one look. His kiss had caught her off guard and made her embarrassed more than anything else. Any other woman would have probably died to have been kissed by Jeremiel. Instead, it had made her head hurt. It had been as if he were pulling something from her. She had never felt anything like it before. It was powerful, and scary.

  The same thing had happened after Jeremiel got rid of Saleos. She had given him a hug and when he looked down at her, his sapphire blue eyes looking intently into hers, she had felt it again—the pull. It was a different kind of pull than she felt when she was with Lahash. With him, it was something that came from the core of her being and made her feel like she was alive. With Jeremiel, the pull felt like it was outside of her, and it left her feeling numb.

  “You’re quiet,” she said, hoping to get him talking. “What are you thinking about?”

  He stopped and turned to her. She felt that familiar flutter when his light eyes gazed down at her.

  “You really want to know?”

  “Yes. I do.”

  He paused, holding his breath for a moment and then finally let it out slowly. “I was trying to figure out why you felt obligated to come to our home. You know, you don’t have to walk with me either. Really, you don’t owe me anything.”

  “What makes you think I feel obligated?”

  “Because you are here . . . with me.”

  “And that makes me obligated? That’s a strange deduction. Can’t it be that I want to be with you?”

  “I don’t see why. Wouldn’t you rather be with Jeremiel?”

  “No.” She could feel her voice rising. “I told you. I came to see you. Why is that so hard for you to believe?”

  He brushed a hand through his thick hair. He opened his mouth to say something then shut it.

  “What? Tell me what you were going to say.”

  “Never mind,” he mumbled. He continued to walk up the hill.

  “Wait a minute.” She scrambled after him. “You were going to tell me something. I want to hear what you have to say.”

  “
No, you don’t.”

  She ran ahead of him and stopped, placing a hand on his chest. For a moment she lost herself in the feel of his warm muscles under her hand.

  “Naomi?”

  She shook her head and looked up at him. “Tell me.”

  He sighed. “I was going to say that it looked like you enjoyed my brother’s lips on yours so it was obvious to me that you would prefer his company rather than mine.”

  She sucked in her breath and snatched her hand off his chest. “I can’t believe you said that.”

  He scowled.

  “You asked.” His voice was cold.

  “You were there. You knew I had no choice in that.”

  “It didn’t seem like it was something you didn’t like.”

  “You have no idea what I like or don’t like.”

  “You asked what I was thinking. I’m just obliging your request.”

  She gawked at him. What was wrong with him? One moment he was like a little boy looking at her like she was the most beautiful thing in the world and in the next he placed a wall around himself, shutting her out.

  She placed her hands on her hips and glowered at him. “Well, for your information, not that it is any of your concern, I didn’t like his kiss. It gave me a headache.”

  His lips twitched. “You didn’t?”

  “No.”

  “Oh.”

  “Is that all you have to say is ‘oh’?”

  “So you really did come to see me?”

  She threw up her hands in the air. “That’s what I’ve been trying to tell you.”

  Saleos must have done some damage to his head yesterday. He wasn’t making any sense. “You know, it wasn’t easy getting that honey. I had to trade a night’s stay at the inn with the merchant who bartered with me. Father was furious when I told him. Then Lilia stuck her finger in it and then she had it all over her hair. How she did that I’ll never know. And I had a terrible time trying to—”

  Lahash pulled her to him, his lips crashing down onto hers.

  Her legs turned to liquid fire and she fell limp in his arms.

  His stubble rubbed against the bottom of her chin as he deepened the kiss. She couldn’t breathe and at the same time she felt like his breath had brought to life parts of her that she never knew existed. Her hands swept over his muscled arms and up to his broad shoulders.